Chapter 29: First Spirit Battle

After Yang Xiong and his opponent both entered the Arena preparation area, the opponent turned out to be a very robust middle‑aged man, standing as tall as 2.1 meters, his whole body seemed packed with muscle, and he even carried a huge hammer on his back.

In contrast, Yang Xiong's physique looked much smaller, as if an ordinary person were facing a giant.

The host began the introduction: "Hello everyone, welcome to this Great Soul Master Tier Soul Fighting Competition; the two combatants are the Xiong Ba Tian Xia Contestant and the Da Di Man Niu Contestant."

"The Xiong Ba Tian Xia Contestant is participating in a Soul Fighting Competition for the first time today, with a Soul Fighting Arena record of zero, his martial soul is Body, and his Soul Power Level is 24."

"The Da Di Man Niu Contestant's martial soul is Bull, his Soul Power Level is 29, his Soul Fighting Arena record is seven wins and two losses, and he has already achieved a three‑win streak."

"Will the first‑time Soul Fighting contestant Xiong Ba Tian Xia claim his inaugural victory, or will the Da Di Man Niu Contestant accomplish a four‑win streak? Stay tuned. Now, please have the two Great Soul Masters step onto the Arena."

The two, originally in the Arena preparation area, then gradually moved toward the center of the Arena.

When the two finally stood together, the disparity in their builds became even more pronounced, especially as the Da Di Man Niu Contestant's upper body was bare, muscles exposed, and he even pounded his chest, causing the entire Soul Fighting Arena to seem to boil.

Yang Xiong felt a bit nervous, seeing that the Da Di Man Niu Contestant opposite him was clearly a pure Power Type soul master, and that massive hammer on his back was especially heavy; while weapons are allowed in a normal Soul Fighting Competition, few people actually carry a large weapon onto the Arena.

The Da Di Man Niu Contestant looked at Yang Xiong with disdain: "Kid, you're still young; this brutal Soul Grandmaster tournament isn't for you. Go home quickly."

Having been nervous before, Yang Xiong instead calmed down: "Once you step onto the Arena you have to fight to know, and I also want to see just how strong this three‑win contestant really is."

The host continued: "Both Great Soul Masters have one minute to prepare; please summon your martial soul and Soul Rings."

The Da Di Man Niu Contestant let out a roar, and instantly a massive Bull illusion surrounded him, while two yellow Soul Rings appeared.

Yang Xiong did not hesitate; his body emitted a faint glow, and two yellow Soul Rings also appeared.

When the minute elapsed, the host said: "Both Great Soul Masters are ready; the Soul Fighting Competition officially begins."

As the match began, the Da Di Man Niu Contestant rushed at Yang Xiong at breakneck speed, his massive fist swinging forward, seemingly packed with power.

Yang Xiong, moving extremely fast, slashed with a hand‑knife from the side onto the fist, causing the force of the fist to veer off course.

Seeing his first strike miss, the Da Di Man Niu Contestant launched a flurry of punches, each packed with ample force.

But in Yang Xiong's view, the Da Di Man Niu Contestant had excess strength but insufficient speed, let alone agility, and his punches lacked any form, suggesting he had never systematically trained his boxing.

After half a minute of continuous exchanges, Yang Xiong used his body's agility and extreme speed to swiftly dodge every punch.

This was Yang Xiong's first Soul Fighting Competition; real combat is entirely different from training on sandbags or wooden dummies, and the opponent was even more unpredictable, so even at the start Yang Xiong felt a bit overwhelmed and thus focused on evasion.

The Da Di Man Niu Contestant seemed unusually angry: "Can't you, kid, fight a Spirit Battle honorably? Why are you only thinking about dodging attacks? Then what's the point of a Spirit Battle?"

A hint of a smile appeared on Yang Xiong's face: "Then I'll see what strength you have to speak so brazenly."

Now Yang Xiong had adapted to the battle's rhythm; when faced with the Da Di Man Niu Contestant's fist, he threw an equally powerful punch, the two fists colliding in mid‑air while Yang Xiong's body remained still, whereas the Da Di Man Niu Contestant stepped back two steps, clearly showing Yang Xiong's superior strength.

The Da Di Man Niu Contestant was unusually astonished; it was his first time in a Great Soul Master Soul Fighting Competition that he lost in strength to an opponent, and that opponent appeared much smaller than him.

The Da Di Man Niu Contestant let out a roar, his First Soul Ring flashing, and his whole body surged forward like a massive Bull Rush—his first soul skill: Bull Rush.

Yang Xiong watched the attack and couldn't help to mutter internally: "How did this brute earn three straight wins? With the Arena this big, trying to dodge him is far too easy."

Nevertheless, Yang Xiong wanted to test his own power limit, gathering countless soul power into his fist, which he slammed forward at full force.

Yang Xiong's soul‑power‑filled fist collided with the massive Bull illusion, producing a huge crashing sound throughout the arena, even accompanied by a faint bone‑cracking noise.

When the arena settled again, Yang Xiong stood calmly in place, while the opposing Da Di Man Niu Contestant was blasted away, his hand even bleeding, clearly badly injured by the blow.

A flash of terror crossed the Da Di Man Niu Contestant's face; he hadn't expected his opponent, five levels lower, to crush his soul skill with sheer force—so how strong would he be if he used a soul skill?

But the terror was brief; clenching his teeth, his Second Soul Ring flashed, and his already robust body seemed even more imposing—this was his second soul skill: Bull Strength, clearly a Power Type amplification soul skill.

Seeing the man attack again, Yang Xiong kept his fists clenched, matching him with full force; the duel resembled a pure contest of strength and flesh, with neither gaining a clear advantage.

However, everyone understood that the Da Di Man Niu Contestant had already used two soul skills, while Yang Xiong had not used any, creating a huge disparity in soul power consumption.

After a full minute of contest, the Da Di Man Niu Contestant realized the gap in strength and drew the massive hammer from his back, smashing it toward Yang Xiong, clearly unwilling to concede easily.

Yang Xiong had only intended to test his own strength; since the opponent had already resorted to a weapon, it meant he was holding nothing back, and Yang Xiong saw no reason to continue the game.

Yang Xiong's five fingers, like claws, suddenly latched onto the hammer's handle, and the massive hammer instantly froze in place.

Then Yang Xiong spun and delivered a swift, hard kick to the Da Di Man Niu Contestant's abdomen, sending him flying several meters.

Before the opponent could react, Yang Xiong rushed toward him at a speed several times faster than before, appearing like a Shadow in front of the Da Di Man Niu Contestant, and this time landed a punch squarely on his chest.

The Da Di Man Niu Contestant felt the opposing fist brimming with power, as if his bones were about to shatter, and he spat a mouthful of fresh blood onto the Arena, clearly badly wounded.

The audience first expressed surprise, then erupted in thunderous cheers; they hadn't expected the three‑win contestant to lose so easily to an opponent whose Soul Power Level was five levels lower, and the whole bout was extremely brief, with the Xiong Ba Tian Xia Contestant not even using a soul skill.

A wry smile appeared on Yang Xiong's face; he seemed to have overestimated the intensity of a Soul Fighting Competition.

Yang Xiong had trained rigorously since childhood, pushing his strength, speed, and reaction ability to the limit, and his defense was no less; the opponent's strength was respectable among soul masters of the same tier, but in other aspects the gap was huge, especially in speed and agility.

Especially with the various costly Medicine Baths and painful Body Tempering, his physical robustness was undoubtedly the strongest among Great Soul Masters.

Fundamentally, however, it was the martial soul's potency; the Bull is merely an ordinary Power Type Beast Soul, far inferior to a true top‑tier martial soul.

(End of Chapter)