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**
Facing Yan's explosive assault, Xie Yue's expression grew increasingly solemn. He held his fingers together like a sword and pulled back; the Crescent Blade immediately retreated, spinning rapidly as it returned to hover before him.
Seizing the brief moment before the Flame Savage Assault reached him, he manipulated the Crescent Blade to rotate at high speed, building momentum until it transformed into a circular wheel of blades that resembled a full moon.
Unfortunately, after advancing to the Soul Grandmaster realm, Yan's control over his First Soul Skill had become far more proficient and his soul power mobilization much faster.
There was little time left for Xie Yue to charge the Crescent Blade to its maximum potency. With a point of Xie Yue's finger, the silver wheel of blades, shining like a full moon, turned into a streak of light and tore through the air to collide with Yan's Flame Savage Assault.
Silver light and dark-red halos intertwined as the two attacks generated a massive surge of soul power. The Crescent Blade was not immediately knocked aside; instead, the two clashed violently in a stalemate.
However, the Crescent Blade was ultimately not an explosive, pure-attack soul skill. Although it was a Second Soul Skill, Yan had already reached the level of a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.
His Martial Soul's source power had been elevated once again; the sheer volume and proportion of the source power he could control far exceeded what he possessed as a one-ring Soul Master.
The power of the First Soul Skill he unleashed now was incomparable to before.
With a loud bang, the Crescent Blade was struck aside and sent flying back.
Although Yan had consumed a significant amount of power, he did not stop. He continued flying toward Xie Yue, his momentum barely diminished, seemingly intent on defeating Xie Yue in a single stroke.
Yet, utilizing the force of its rejection, the Crescent Blade—under Xie Yue's control—returned to his side just a step ahead of Yan. Just as Yan was about to strike, Xie Yue unexpectedly leaped onto the Crescent Blade.
Treading upon the crescent moon, a flash of silver light followed as the Crescent Blade carried Xie Yue directly away from the spot, dodging Yan's fierce blow.
Boom!
The full force of the Flame Savage Assault finally slammed into the earth.
The ground shook violently, forming a massive crater nearly ten meters in diameter.
A pillar of searing flames erupted from the pit, soaring into the sky like a volcanic eruption.
The soaring flames gradually subsided, though residual fire continued to burn on the surrounding ground, and the area around Yan had been scorched pitch black.
Yan suddenly jerked his head up to look at Xie Yue in the air, cursing inwardly.
"I didn't expect Xie Yue's Second Soul Skill to grant him flight. This is even more annoying than when he used his agility and speed to dodge!"
Even in his Martial Soul Possession state, Xie Yue seemed to see Yan's face turning red with fury, which he found quite amusing.
"Xie Yue, get down here! Let's settle this once and for all. What kind of skill is hiding in the sky?"
"Haha," Xie Yue joked.
"I'm not coming down. Why don't you come up instead?"
"What? Can't reach?"
"You!!!"
Enraged by Xie Yue's taunting, a dense plume of fire rose from the top of Yan's head—he was quite literally "fuming with rage."
"Hahahahaha!"
Seeing Yan's soul power erupting in anger to the point of venting fire from his head, Xie Yue couldn't help but burst into laughter.
He was usually a man of few words, spending most of his time cultivating. Yan was his best friend, and in front of him, Xie Yue showed a side quite different from his usual calm and indifferent self.
Suppressing his laughter, Xie Yue withdrew his soul power and steadied his breath. He leaped down from the air as a streak of silver light followed close behind, landing in his palm.
Seeing that he had withdrawn his soul power and put away his Martial Soul, Yan knew he didn't want to fight anymore. Yan snorted and also retracted his Martial Soul, revealing his true form.
Xie Yue walked forward with a smile, clapping for Yan. He said sincerely, "Congratulations, Yan. Now that you've advanced to the two-ring level, your defense has improved immensely. I can no longer defeat you as easily as I did before. Congratulations."
Hearing this, Yan couldn't help but feel delighted. He said boastfully, "Of course! The Flame Lord Martial Soul inherently has high defense, but basic defense alone wasn't enough to withstand your Moon Blades."
"It was easy to be countered by high-speed, high-attack opponents. I absorbed this second soul ring specifically to compensate for that weakness."
Xie Yue nodded, then changed the subject to dampen his spirit slightly.
"But your speed is still quite slow. While your defense increased greatly after using your Second Soul Skill, your speed decreased a bit accordingly."
"If I had stayed down there to continue fighting, I have ways to dodge your Flame Savage Assault, but I'd have no way to deal with your defense. You could repel me, but you couldn't wound me, making it hard to deal any effective damage."
"Since neither of us has a way to deal with the other, continuing the fight would just turn into a war of attrition to see whose soul power runs out first. That would be boring."
"You're not wrong about that. Fighting you really is a bit boring—you never face me head-on, and I can never hit you," Yan continued.
"But what does it matter if my speed is a bit slow? High enough explosive power is enough to handle most enemies."
"As for people like you..."
Yan glanced at Xie Yue and said somewhat smugly, "I don't necessarily have to defeat you in a head-on clash. I remember something Ling Xiao said before; it makes a lot of sense."
"So what if my control isn't strong enough or my speed isn't fast enough? As long as my combat power is strong enough, it's fine. Provided my absolute combat power is high enough, when my enemies face me, they will either flee for their lives or suffer a crushing defeat."
"Well said, truly well said!" Yan looked full of approval, feeling as if he and Ling Xiao were kindred spirits.
Those words perfectly expressed his own sentiments.
"Oh?" Xie Yue was surprised.
This was the first time he had heard that quote.
Thinking it over, he couldn't help but feel it held some truth. However, spoken like that, it was a bit too arrogant. It would be fine if one truly had sufficient strength, but if one lacked the power to back up such words and got beaten instead, it would be quite hilarious.
Smiling and shaking his head, Xie Yue suddenly remembered something and said, "Yan, although our styles are too different and sparring with me isn't very satisfying, there is a very suitable candidate. I think that person's style should be quite similar to yours."
At this, Xie Yue thought to himself: That's putting it modestly; their styles are practically identical.
"Oh? You mean Ling Xiao?"
"Exactly. Among those in our grade, no one is suitable to be your opponent. Among those close in age, Ling Xiao is the most fitting."
"True. But he still needs to grow. It will take at least a few years for his cultivation to approach mine," Yan said proudly.
Xie Yue turned toward the inner depths of the academy and said thoughtfully, "As far as I know, Ling Xiao is likely to be taken in as a disciple by the Dean. You should understand what that means."
"The Dean is going to take Ling Xiao as a disciple?!"
Yan was shocked.
He naturally knew what that meant.
The Dean was not only the only Rank 9 Alchemist in the world but also a Titled Douluo with profound cultivation. His exact rank was unknown, but he was definitely at least a Super Douluo at Rank 95 or above.
His status was equal to the Worship Elders in the Douluo Consecration Hall. Even the late Pope, Qian Xunji, was a junior before him.
"He certainly has good fortune and great luck," Yan couldn't help but comment.
"With the Dean's nurturing, he will surely grow faster and stronger. You will have a new opponent. In the future, you won't have to keep pestering me for spars; fighting him should be more interesting than fighting me."
"Ling Xiao will probably only return once school starts. I wonder what changes he will undergo in this month."
**
Enjoying the story? Support the translation and get early access to future chapters here: www.patr eon.com/c/FanficTranslator
Thanks for reading!
I have 70 advanced chapter now on Patreon. I will post 5 advanced chapter on Patreon everyday except Sunday