Chapter 17 Battle
p atreon.com/KeyofStars for advance chp
Since Yan Jin obtained her Soul Ring, Icewind Junior Soul Master Academy has been in an uproar. She's been eager to re-establish her position in the food chain, engaging in two or three fights a day.
Those older students who had already obtained Soul Rings, whom she didn't have the confidence to challenge before, all became her targets.
After she defeated more than a dozen people, Wu Siman, the acknowledged strongest in the sixth grade, finally accepted the challenge after being persuaded by others.
Their duel was set for after school one day, in the small woods behind the academy.
There were many witnesses, from first to sixth grade.
Most of the sixth graders stood behind Wu Siman, supporting him. This time, he represented the face of the sixth grade. If he were completely defeated by a first-year student, they would truly become the "worst class ever."
However, many students from first to fifth grade stood behind Yan Jin, all of whom had been defeated by her.
Combat is the standard for testing Soul Masters, although not the only standard, but under the influence of the 'respect the strong' mentality, they acknowledged Yan Jin's position as the leader.
Wu Siman was a handsome young man with tea-colored hair and blue eyes, but the shape of his pupils was a bit strange, like the vertical pupils of some reptiles.
"I didn't want to fight you originally. Such a conflict is meaningless, but you've gone too far," Wu Siman said coldly. "For a first-year student to do this is completely trampling our faces underfoot."
Yan Jin raised an eyebrow. "The strong are respected, and the weak are despised. This is a universal principle among Soul Masters, and also a universal principle of this world.
"We are all Soul Masters, and we cannot avoid conflicts with each other. Isn't it natural to use combat to test the results of our cultivation?"
Boom… A flame burned on her fist, then quickly extinguished. Magma oozed from her skin like water stains seeping from a wall, enveloping her palm.
After these days of fighting, she became more and more proficient with her First Soul Skill and could control her Martial Soul well.
Yan Jin discovered that covering her hands with a layer of magma of moderate thickness was the most cost-effective combat method, which could both exert the destructive power of the magma Martial Soul and reduce the consumption of Soul Power.
The more she fought, the more she understood, and the more grateful she was to Amon.
The Soul Ring that the other party helped her choose was a perfect match for her Martial Soul!
"Yan Jin, level 14, Attack type Battle Soul Master."
"Wu Siman, level 15, Attack type Battle Soul Master."
Wu Siman looked solemnly at the lava emitting high temperatures on the other's hand and shouted, "Martial Soul, Possess."
A dark green lizard phantom appeared behind Wu Siman and merged with him.
Dark green, fine scales grew on his skin, his hands turned into claws, and his tailbone extended, transforming into a thick tail filled with Soul Power.
The Soul Power of level 15 surged, and the air was filled with an invisible sense of oppression.
"Oh, finally someone who's passable."
Yan Jin was not surprised but delighted. The previous ones were too weak. She had to worry about killing them with a full-strength punch.
"Take this!" She rushed up and threw an ordinary straight punch.
Wu Siman responded with an equally ordinary straight punch, using Soul Power to strengthen the scales on his hand.
Bang!
Yan Jin's strength was ultimately no match for Wu Siman, who had his Beast Martial Soul possessed. She retreated several steps before steadying herself.
Wu Siman looked at the scales on his fist, which had been mostly burned away, and his heart sank.
It could cause such an effect with just a moment's contact. If it lasted a little longer, his hand would probably be ruined.
"Hey, not bad." Yan Jin covered her hands with even thicker magma, like wearing a thick pair of gloves.
Wu Siman's Soul Ring suddenly lit up. He opened his mouth wide and spat out a green ray from his semi-lizard-like mouth.
Yan Jin's expression changed. She reached out and created a large amount of magma in front of her, forming a shield. At the same time, she took a step to the side.
The ray paused slightly before piercing through the shield.
Pure attack-type Soul Skills have this advantage. In battles of the same level, they are almost always effective.
The moment of time gained by the shield was enough for Yan Jin to dodge the attack. She immediately counterattacked.
"Lava Bomb!"
That being said, it was actually just making the magma the size of a baseball and then throwing it out with force.
In Amon's vision, this should have been a scene simulating a volcanic eruption, shooting out magma like bullets under the burst of Soul Power.
However, Yan Jin didn't have such delicate control and couldn't do this. She took a shortcut and used the force of her arm swing instead.
Naturally, this had no attack power, but it could form an effective interference.
Wu Siman waved his arm in front of him, blocking the ball flying towards his face.
The magma scattered under the force of his arm, and some specks fell on him, burning patches of charred marks on the scales.
"What a troublesome Martial Soul." He frowned.
Amon appeared in the crowd of onlookers at some point. He pinched his monocle, with a smile on his face.
"Teacher Amon, why are you here?" A student recognized him, somewhat nervously.
Their behavior was suspected of gathering to fight, which was strictly prohibited by the academy. He was worried that Amon's report would cause the academy to punish them.
Amon said gently:
"Don't be nervous. I'm just a teaching assistant, not the dean of students. Moreover, I teach fighting techniques. If students are still diligently finding classmates to spar with after school and practicing in actual combat, shouldn't I feel gratified by this kind of motivated attitude?"
"Tch…" A sixth-grade student sneered.
Many older students didn't buy into Amon's words. They were about the same age, and some even had higher Soul Power than Amon, so naturally, they looked down on this informal teacher.
Amon didn't care about their attitude at all. He just stared at the battle in the field.
Seeing that his Soul Skill hadn't secured the victory, Wu Siman didn't continue to use it. Pure attack-type Soul Skills, although always effective, also consumed a lot of Soul Power. He couldn't release it many times.
The battle re-entered close combat.
Yan Jin expanded the range of magma coverage, forcing Wu Siman to invest more Soul Power to enhance his scale defense.
Due to the characteristics of his Martial Soul, Wu Siman needed to consume far more Soul Power than Yan Jin to offset the effects of the high temperature with each contact; otherwise, he would suffer extensive burns.
The balance of battle continued to tilt towards Yan Jin. Wu Siman used his Soul Skill again, trying for a final gamble, but was blocked head-on by the large amount of magma that Yan Jin created.
Finally, in unwillingness, he was knocked to the ground by Yan Jin's punch.
"Oh, I won!" Yan Jin raised her hands, waving to signal those who supported her.
The sixth-grade side was silent.
They were generally five years older than Yan Jin. Such a result, even with a five-year gap, was unacceptable to them, even with Wu Siman, the most talented and strongest in the grade, losing.
"Heh… Sure enough, there are differences between people." Wu Siman stood up, with a bitter smile on his face.
He had many burns on his body, but they weren't serious.
Another girl with a healing-type Martial Soul quickly went over to help him heal.
"Hehe, how was it?" Yan Jin looked at Amon, with a look of eagerness on her face again.
"Not bad." Amon straightened his thumb and forefinger, pointing at Yan Jin like a gun.
This made the latter shudder, recalling the beating she had received before, and calmed down.