"First Soul Skill: Hellfire Lament!"
As the soul skill was unleashed, terrifying magma surged from Yan's fists, erupting in several violent surges that directly neutralized Oscar's icy sword qi.
The moment magma and ice made contact, a white mist instantly rose. Yan's lips curled into a smug smile, and his speed increased slightly.
Yan's figure suddenly plunged into the white mist. Before the fog could affect his vision, it was instantly evaporated by the terrifying flames around his body.
Oscar watched this expressionlessly, raising his ice-blue longsword again.
The next moment, Yan's fists closed in, heavily striking Oscar's ice longsword.
However, to Yan's surprise, such terrifying power was easily blocked by Oscar. Moreover, Oscar reversed his grip on the hilt and shook forcefully, causing Yan to uncontrollably retreat several steps.
Shocked, Yan couldn't help but stare at Oscar in astonishment. A swordsman actually possessed such terrifying strength? This was impossible!
Was it soul skill amplification? Or a soul bone skill?
In an instant, several possibilities flashed through Yan's mind, but he also knew that Oscar hadn't used any soul skills from beginning to end. So... could it be a soul bone?
Your Spirit Jade Sword Sect, though a secluded sect, now displayed strength no less than the Upper Three Sects, even slightly surpassing them. But how old was this opponent? He already had a soul bone?
Not to mention this super genius of the Spirit Hall's Golden Generation, the future successor of Spirit Hall not having a soul bone. Even Hu Liena, the current Saintess of Spirit Hall and the Pope's personal disciple, didn't have a soul bone!
You, a mere disciple of a Sword Sect, actually possess a soul bone?
However, Oscar didn't know what Yan was thinking, nor would he give him any chance to speculate. After shaking Yan back with his sword, Oscar advanced with his sword raised.
The sword, king of all weapons, is not only elegant but also extremely dangerous, especially when facing a seasoned swordsman.
As Oscar closed in, his sword thrust toward Yan's chest. Yan, being a true genius, quickly stabilized his stance and swung his fists wreathed in blazing flames.
The scorching fists and icy sword clashed again, this time not with the blade's flat surface, but with the edge!
The strength of both sides was nearly equal, with Oscar even having the upper hand. But Yan's fists not only endured Oscar's terrifying power but also that tearing pain!
Just from two close-range contacts, Yan already understood that Oscar was no ordinary Soul Master, but a true genius like himself.
Because Yan's power was already extremely terrifying among his peers, yet it couldn't match a swordsman?
Plus, his defensive power was very strong, but in this second collision with Oscar, the opponent didn't even use a soul skill yet made his fists feel the familiar sting of pain.
Thinking of this, Yan no longer underestimated Oscar, regardless of whether he had soul bone enhancement. Now, he would go all out and defeat him fairly.
The next moment, Yan's yellow second soul ring lit up. As the soul ring's light flashed, a layer of granite-like armor condensed around his body. Red-hot magma flowed on the armor's surface, majestic and domineering.
At the same time, his fists doubled in size, also wrapped in magma gauntlets.
Yan struck out heavily, knocking Oscar back a step. This time his fists didn't feel pain, but the thick magma gauntlet was chipped.
Although Yan was shocked, he didn't show it, silently mobilizing his soul power to repair the gauntlet before striking again.
Oscar raised his longsword to block. The icy power and magma power neutralized each other. Each collision between the two would create a white mist, but the mist was almost instantly evaporated by Yan's flames or frozen by Oscar's ice.
In this cycle, the two fought as if in a water mist, not only delivering the shock of flesh-to-flesh combat but also adding a strange element.
Hu Liena watched this expressionlessly, then turned to Xie Yue beside her and whispered: "Brother, this Yue Ao is indeed extraordinary. The data from the Soul Arena might not reflect his full strength."
Hearing Hu Liena's words, Xie Yue's gaze remained on the fighting Oscar and Yan as he replied softly: "Indeed, although Yan seems evenly matched with Yue Ao, from start to finish, Yue Ao hasn't used any soul skills, nor has there been any sign of soul bone skills."
"His strength, attack power, even his reaction speed and explosive power are all above Yan's. Even his defense and attacks seem effortless. This guy... is terrifying!"
As he spoke, Xie Yue added softly: "Even I couldn't do that against Yan."
As the saying goes, laymen watch the excitement, while experts see the details. What Xie Yue and Hu Liena saw completely made them have an inappropriate shock toward Oscar, because their talents were already at the pinnacle of the younger generation in the Soul Master world.
But now, someone was actually above them? How was that possible?
And Yan's feelings were even more direct than his siblings. From the start of the battle to now, he hadn't caused Oscar any real harm.
Meanwhile, he already had wounds on his arms and chest, and this was after using his second soul skill, Granite Armor. Most importantly, the opponent hadn't used any soul skills.
Yan knew he couldn't continue being so reckless, because in close combat, he wasn't Oscar's match either.
The next moment, a purple soul ring on Yan's body lit up. Since he couldn't gain the advantage in close combat, he would take advantage of the terrain!
"Fourth Soul Skill: Magma Turbulence!"
With a terrifying release of soul power, under his fourth soul skill, a terrifying magma zone with a diameter of sixty meters suddenly appeared on the Soul Arena with a diameter of a hundred meters.
The scorching magma churned, and a terrifying fire pillar suddenly rose from under Oscar's feet.
This was Yan's fourth soul skill, an extremely powerful skill similar to a domain. It not only created a magma terrain favorable to him but also allowed him to control these terrifying magma to attack his opponent at any time.
Although this soul skill consumed a great deal of energy, even when facing a Soul King, this skill could bring powerful pressure to the opponent.
Let alone a mere level forty-five ice sword that had a mutually restraining attribute with him?
However, Oscar wasn't as flustered as expected. He leaped up, and terrifying soul power condensed on his ice-blue longsword. The yellow second soul ring flashed, and with a sword strike, the terrifying magma fire pillar that rose was instantly frozen.
"Second Soul Skill: Ice Fangs!"
Seeing this, Yan was even more shocked: "How is this possible?"
The opponent only used a second soul skill to directly freeze his terrifying magma fire pillar?
What did this represent? The opponent's attribute power was definitely above his own, otherwise it would be impossible to achieve this level!
"You're strong, but not enough." Oscar's lips moved slightly, and his entire body stood calmly on a flying sword, looking at Yan.
The next moment, Oscar's figure bent on the flying sword, like a drawn arrow locking onto Yan.
Then, a purple soul ring rose from Oscar's body. Purple soul power bloomed, and waves of icy aura surged from Oscar's body. The soul-chilling ice seemed capable of freezing one's heart.
Even the watching Hu Liena and Xie Yue, seeing Oscar's appearance, felt their eyes stinging from the sharpness of the ice, unable to look directly.
"Fourth Soul Skill: Ice Thorn—Piercing Heart!"
As the soul skill was unleashed, Oscar shot out like an arrow. The ice-blue longsword in his hand seemed to transform into an incomparably sharp arrowhead, locking onto Yan's heart.
In an instant, Yan felt his heart stop for a moment. A terrifying sense of danger surged in his heart. This was the first time he had felt such a terrifying sense of danger against a peer, even when facing Xie Yue.
But Yan was a genius after all, not losing his composure in the face of danger. The flames around his body suddenly erupted. With the explosion of soul power, two terrifying fire pillars rose before him.
At the same time, the purple third soul ring on his body glowed. The terrifying flames seemed to condense into a lion's head, biting toward the approaching Oscar.
"Third Soul Skill: Hellfire—Lion King's Heart!"
"Praise!"
A streak of ice-blue passed through two terrifying magma fire pillars. The two fire pillars turned into ice sculptures, but the ice-blue light also dimmed slightly. It still shot forward toward Yan without stopping.
The terrifying flame lion head bit toward the ice-blue. When this streak of ice-blue entered the lion's mouth, both lights instantly dimmed. The terrifying energy fluctuations of both sides rapidly neutralized each other, terrifying steam rose, and white mist suddenly filled the air.
Hu Liena and Xie Yue couldn't see the specific situation in the thick mist. Only Luoying showed a smile on her face, thinking to herself: 'Not bad. To be able to completely suppress the opponent but turn it into a narrow victory without a trace, it's also giving face to this little genius of Spirit Hall.
No one knew what Luoying was thinking. When the thick fog dispersed, they saw a scene.
Oscar's upper body was wrapped in a giant lion head frozen into ice. Just when everyone thought he had lost, they saw a longsword horizontally across Yan's neck. Fresh blood was already dripping from Yan's arterial skin. If Oscar's sword had moved forward even a little, Yan's carotid artery would have been cut...
Yan stared at Oscar's handsome face behind the ice with a terrified expression. He saw Oscar wink at him, then the ice shattered, and Oscar's voice sounded: "Sir, excellent technique. However, I won by a narrow margin."
As he finished speaking, Oscar retracted his longsword. His ice-blue hair returned to its original black color. His robes fluttered as he looked at Yan. Oscar's robes weren't even damaged, just slightly disheveled.
Yan staggered back two steps, stared at Oscar for a long time, then fell backward: "Lost... I actually lost?"
"Yan!" Seeing Yan fall, Xie Yue rushed onto the Soul Arena in one step. But when he reached Yan's side and grabbed his hand to check, he found that Yan hadn't been seriously injured, just with excessive soul power consumption.
Yan's gaze was somewhat dazed, as if he had been hit. In fact, that was the case. Oscar was only level forty-five, yet he had defeated him. This battle wasn't just a narrow victory; it had crushed Yan's long-standing confidence.
Although he was surprised at the end that Yue Ao, who had been suppressing him so much, would be hit by his third and fourth soul skills, that sword just now had truly made him feel death.
If the opponent had moved forward even a little, his artery would have been severed!
Xie Yue looked at the devastated Yan and couldn't help but say: "Yan, are you alright?"
Yan didn't answer Xie Yue, just lying there.
Oscar slowly walked to Yan's side, squatted down and whispered: "You're strong, but still lacking. So... be polite when you see me in the future, otherwise..."
Oscar didn't continue but patted Xie Yue's shoulder: "He's fine, just consumed too much soul power. We have professional healing Soul Masters. Take him to recover."
Xie Yue looked up at Oscar, was silent for a moment, then nodded: "Thank you."
After Xie Yue left with Yan, the entire training arena erupted in enthusiastic cheers. There were quite a few spectators, and what's more, Oscar had defeated the Spirit Hall's current Golden Generation.
Oscar didn't stop their cheers but adjusted his disheveled robes, walked off the Soul Arena, and stood before Hu Liena with an apologetic expression: "Your Highness Saintess, our guards are quite enthusiastic, and sometimes I can't control them. How about... you fight me again. If you defeat me, they won't cheer so loudly."
Hearing this, Hu Liena's smile slightly faltered, because wasn't this what she had said earlier?
So vengeful? Still trying to make a dig at her?
Yan had lost, and the face of Spirit Hall was naturally damaged. But wasn't Yue Ao's words just now trying to let them gang up on him?
Hu Liena still smiled: "Brother Yue Ao is joking. You just had a great battle with Yan and consumed a lot. We don't need to rush our spar. After all, we have plenty of time in the future."
Hearing this, Oscar smiled slightly, his gentle voice sounding: "Although Yan was a bit impolite, he truly deserves to be of your Spirit Hall's Golden Generation. I also suffered internal injuries in this battle and really need to rest for a few days. How about we end the spar for today? I'll treat you to tea?"
Looking at Oscar's handsome and gentle face, for some reason, she always felt that Yue Ao might have held back at the end. But on the surface, Yue Ao had indeed directly endured the combined attack of Yan's fourth and third soul skills.
Even her brother wouldn't dare to directly withstand the combined attack of these two soul skills from Yan. Yue Ao might be stronger than Yan, but it was absolutely impossible for him to be completely unharmed.
Perhaps, the opponent wasn't lying and really did suffer internal injuries. Otherwise, how could he refuse such an opportunity to gain the upper hand over Spirit Hall?
Hu Liena smiled back: "If that's the case, I'll accompany Brother Yue Ao to taste your Sword Sect's delicacies, as compensation for Yan's rudeness."
Hearing this, Oscar's smile deepened: "That would be wonderful. With a beauty's company, my injury will heal faster."
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