"Third Soul Skill – Dance of Iron and Blood!"
Naturally, the Ironblood Soul Master had no intention of remaining on the defensive. He immediately unleashed his third soul skill, and a blood-red surge of soul power burst forth, forcefully knocking back Dugu Yan. His aura instantly doubled in intensity. With a flick of the spear in his hand, he thrust it straight toward her.
"First Soul Skill – Ironblood Thrust!"
As the saying goes, the spear strikes in a straight line. The Ironblood Soul Master had merged his spear technique with his soul skills. Though his technique stemmed from a military background—simple and direct—it was honed through countless battles, making it the most efficient form of attack.
"Sigh… Yan'er is suffering from the drawback of being unable to use poison and lacking offensive soul skills. She's relied too much on controlling the battlefield with toxins in the past and neglected her own techniques. She can't block this one."
Xu Yang sighed inwardly. Realizing he couldn't remain idle any longer, soul power burst from beneath his feet, and in a flash like lightning, he leapt in front of Dugu Yan. With a powerful swing of the Sun Sacred Blade, he blocked the Ironblood Soul Master's attack.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
The clash of metal rang out repeatedly as Xu Yang engaged the Ironblood Soul Master in a duel of blade versus spear.
Xu Yang's blade technique was simple—so simple that it was even more straightforward than his opponent's. Years of relentless training had brought him to perfection in three core strikes: downward slash, horizontal sweep, and upward lift. These three covered all possible force directions in blade techniques, giving his style surprising versatility.
With a simple upward slash, Xu Yang deflected the Ironblood Banner attacking him and turned to Dugu Yan with a smile.
"Yan'er, go handle that support-type Soul Master in the back. Leave this guy to me. And remember—don't use poison!"
"Alright!"
Dugu Yan obediently turned and dashed toward the support-type Ironblood Soul Master at incredible speed.
"Don't even think about it!"
The Ironblood Soul Master's expression changed. He immediately gave up his fight with Xu Yang and tried to rush to his brother's aid.
In a two-versus-two match, a support-type Soul Master, while able to boost allies, was also a liability. As long as one battle-type Soul Master could stall the enemy, the other could easily eliminate the support-type, turning the fight into a two-on-one.
Clearly, the Ironblood Soul Master was well aware of this, but Xu Yang had no intention of letting him get away. Raising his Tang Blade, he unleashed dozens of golden crescent-shaped slashes, sealing off all escape routes.
It was a splitting technique transformed into ranged attacks.
"Is this guy really not using any soul skills?! That blade energy just now… and now this splitting technique—and even the soul power armor that occasionally appears on his body… every one of those seems like a top-tier soul skill!"
The Ironblood Soul Master furiously swung his Ironblood Banner, shattering all the golden slashes, but his face grew increasingly grim. Though the attacks didn't appear too powerful, they had still delayed him long enough.
Even that short delay was enough for Xu Yang to block him again and for Dugu Yan to reach his younger brother.
What was worse—he couldn't break through this kid's defense at all. Xu Yang didn't appear to be using any soul skills, yet everything he did felt like a soul skill. Especially the soul power armor that formed on his body from time to time. Several times, the Ironblood Soul Master tried to take advantage of his flag's reach and visual cover to launch surprise attacks—but even when his strikes seemed sure to land, the armor would block them entirely.
He didn't believe for a second that this was a self-created soul skill—Xu Yang must have some method to hide his soul rings.
On the other side, Dugu Yan moved swiftly. With buffs from her first two soul skills, the support-type Soul Master was no match for her. Even though he wielded a spear using military-style techniques like his brother, the gap in speed and strength was too great. In just a few exchanges, he was knocked out of the ring.
With her opponent defeated, Dugu Yan stood quietly at the edge of the arena. She was merely observing now—just as they had agreed beforehand. After all, they hadn't joined this Soul Duel to win, but to gain real combat experience. They wouldn't miss such a valuable opportunity.
"You're using me for combat training?!"
The Ironblood Soul Master understood their plan from Dugu Yan's actions, but he wasn't angry. He and his brother had also joined the Soul Duel for training, so there was no reason to complain—they were all the same.
"But one-on-one, I'm not afraid of you. My soul power is Level 38!"
"Second Soul Skill – Blood Surge!"
A crimson glow flared around the Ironblood Soul Master, and his already fierce aura grew even stronger. It now carried the pressure of a Soul Ancestor. He swept the Ironblood Banner, transforming it back into a long spear, and spun it once with a flourish, pointing it directly at Xu Yang.
"Come!"
"Two amplification-type soul skills? This guy must be really confident in his spear technique."
Xu Yang was a little surprised. This wasn't a time when the theory of Extreme Soul Masters had been perfected. While the concept existed, most power-attack Soul Masters still went for balanced configurations. Having two amplification soul skills in the first three was quite rare.
Moreover, his first soul skill, the thrust, was highly restrictive—more suited for military charges than one-on-one duels. That meant he was relying entirely on his spear technique.
"Still, that's good. I'll have a chance to learn something new!"
Since he couldn't reveal his soul ring configuration, all Xu Yang could rely on were his blade techniques and the little tricks he'd developed from soul skill inspirations.
"Let's go, then!"
At his words, both fighters charged straight at each other. Blade and spear collided, soul power surged—one side as blazing and domineering as the sun, the other as resolute and relentless as a soldier.
Clang! Clang! Clang…
Blade and spear clashed again and again, each side pushing their technique and footwork to the limit, constantly learning from each other mid-battle.
Both wore smiles on their faces. This was the kind of exhilarating fight they both enjoyed. In their eyes, there was only the other's blade and spear, locked in a dance of pure combat. Blade energy and spear light collided continuously.
Even the spectators and Dugu Yan were stunned. They hadn't expected to witness such a pure, intense duel in the Soul Arena. Every move, every parry—it was like watching a dance of steel.
She wanted to intervene, but Xu Yang shot her a glare that firmly kept her in place.
Inside the VIP viewing box above, Qian Renxue—who had changed boxes to continue watching Xu Yang—stared intently, her mind full of confusion.
"If in that one-on-one he didn't use his martial soul because of confidence… then what about now?! He's clearly at a disadvantage—so why is he choosing such a laborious way to fight?"
Qian Renxue knew very well what Xu Yang's martial soul was—the Sun Martial Soul, one of the most powerful tool-type martial souls in existence. If he used it, the battle would end immediately.
Saying he just wanted to train his blade technique? She didn't buy it at all.
"There's only one explanation—his third soul ring is special… so special that he doesn't dare reveal it lightly!"
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin