Chapter 48: Smashing Jiao Kouya to Pieces!

"You're amazing, you're the best!"

Xu Sanshi gave Ning Wuque a thumbs-up in admiration. He had no words left; this piece of gossip was too massive, and he needed to share it with that bastard Bei Bei immediately!

Soon, the two of them engaged in another pleasant chat, and before long, it was time for them to take the stage for their soul duel.

"The seventh match of today's Soul Duel Arena is between incoming first-year student Ning Wuque and fifth-year student Xu Sanshi. It's a challenge that seems entirely without suspense, yet is filled with the unknown!"

"A first-year? Has Xu Sanshi really fallen so low as to bully a freshman?"

"Something's off. This freshman must be very powerful. Xu Sanshi has probably placed restrictions on himself; this match is a wager-based duel."

"Let's watch. I'm really looking forward to this junior's performance. I feel like he might last a few minutes against Senior Xu Sanshi."

On the soul duel stage.

Following the entrance of Ning Wuque and Xu Sanshi, the referee's introduction and the gasps of the audience echoed endlessly.

Both Xu Sanshi and the spectators were eager to see why Ning Wuque dared to challenge him—was it sheer arrogance, or did he actually have some tricks up his sleeve?

"Spirit Avatar Incarnation! Junior, I won't hold back, you know."

"Senior Sanshi, I won't waste you as my sandbag either. Spirit Avatar Incarnation!"

Without hesitation, if it were just an ordinary three-ring soul beast, Ning Wuque certainly wouldn't need to use his spirit incarnation, but his opponent was Xu Sanshi, who was at the quasi-Soul Ancestor level!

Not removing the weighted training gear on his body was already the greatest restriction Ning Wuque had imposed upon himself.

Whoosh—

Upon the stage, the audience collectively plunged into a frenzy the moment Ning Wuque activated his spirit incarnation and revealed his soul rings, wave after wave of cheers continuously stimulating his vanity.

"Two thousand-year rings! Junior Wuque, you really weren't bragging to me. How on earth did you pull that off?"

Opposite him, Xu Sanshi was also shocked, but he felt it was still well within his control. Level forty versus level twenty-two, no matter how one looked at it, the advantage was his!

So what if he had two thousand-year soul rings? His rank was a full eighteen levels higher than Ning Wuque's; even without using his soul rings, he didn't believe he would lose.

At most, the fight would just take a little longer.

"The duel, begin!"

The referee's voice resonated through the soul duel arena.

On this side, Ning Wuque offered no explanation and instead directly chose to activate his soul skills to launch an offensive against Xu Sanshi.

First Soul Skill: Blood-Arousing Vitality!

The first soul ring lit up, and the blood within Ning Wuque's body began to surge. The training equipment on his body that had felt somewhat heavy suddenly became feather-light.

It wasn't over yet. Right on the heels of the first soul ring came the second soul skill, originating from a six-thousand-seven-hundred-year-old Dark Gold Dire Ant. It, too, had bestowed upon Ning Wuque a soul skill perfectly suited to him.

"Dark Gold Ant Might!"

Also a state-type soul skill, Ning Wuque's fists were instantly coated in a layer of dark golden shimmering light, followed by a direct punch hurtling toward Xu Sanshi ahead.

Seeing this, Xu Sanshi raised the Xuanwu Turtle Shell Shield in his hand, preparing to defend. He was confident that with Ning Wuque's strength, it would simply—

"What the hell! What kind of freak strength is this?!"

Thud—!

Fist collided with shield, yet it was Xu Sanshi who was sent flying several meters away by Ning Wuque's single punch. The sheer force was so great that even while in a complete defensive posture, he was scraped across the ground, leaving two deep trails!

Across from him, Ning Wuque gave Xu Sanshi no time to catch his breath.

His second soul skill wasn't as perfected as his first, which allowed him to still gain bonuses even after breaking his soul ring.

But it was far from shabby!

Dark Gold Ant Might had the effect of allowing Ning Wuque to unleash three to five times his current physical strength in punch power! The magnitude of the punch force depended solely on the amount of soul power he output, and soul power would be continuously consumed as long as the skill remained active.

This was equivalent to granting him the ant tribe's greatest innate talent—their bodily structure. Although it wasn't as exaggerated as lifting objects hundreds of times their own volume, maximum fivefold strength could be utilized across the early, middle, and late stages alike.

Even though this could only be applied to his fists, Ning Wuque was already extremely satisfied with it.

With just two soul rings, he had already secured two of the Dark Gold Ant tribe's three most formidable traits. If his third soul ring could hunt a thousand-year Dark Gold Ant Emperor or Empress, who knows, he might even acquire the final divine skill!

"Hey, hey, hey, you really aren't holding back at all, are you, buddy?"

"If my opponent is Senior Sanshi, of course I have to go all out!"

Ning Wuque casually replied, then swung his fists, raining blow after blow upon Xu Sanshi's Xuanwu Turtle Shell Shield until the other party didn't dare to counterattack. Only then did he quietly cancel the effect of his second soul skill and began treating Xu Sanshi like a human sandbag to practice his punching.

Bang bang bang—

The sound of fists striking flesh echoed endlessly.

"It hurts, it hurts so much!"

After several minutes of relentless battering, Xu Sanshi was on the verge of losing his mind. Unable to use soul skills, he couldn't fight back at all in front of Ning Wuque. To make matters worse, this bastard's physique was like a monster's, acting as if he would never tire no matter how much he hit.

Moreover, whenever Ning Wuque failed to break through his defense, he would forcefully shatter it with his second soul skill, then raise his fists and subject him to a brutal beating.

It was so frustrating, utterly infuriating!

No matter how tough his defense was, it couldn't withstand this kind of grinding wear and tear; this fight wasn't worth continuing!

Finally, after enduring seven full minutes of misery, Xu Sanshi could no longer hold back and chose to surrender:

"I surrender, I surrender, stop hitting! I must have the worst luck today."

Seeing that Xu Sanshi had chosen to surrender, Ning Wuque stopped punching with a somewhat unenthusiastic expression. Disengaging his spirit incarnation, he cast a resentful gaze at Xu Sanshi.

This sandbag was a poor sport; he actually surrendered!

It was just like a fish suddenly leaping out of the water right in the middle of mating; I was having the time of my life and you're telling me you're quitting?

"The soul duel is over!"

The referee's announcement rang out.

On the soul duel stage, both sides retracted their spirits and then walked down the stage together.

Along the way, the bruised and swollen areas on Xu Sanshi's body were concealed by his clothes, but just looking at the fist imprints on the fabric was enough to tell how viciously Ning Wuque had struck him.

"Take it, take it. I really took a massive hit at your hands today. By the way, how on earth did you get a thousand-year first ring? Are you a Body Spirit master?"

"No, my spirit is the Dark Gold Dire Ant. My first ring is from the same spirit family. As for being able to absorb it... perhaps it's because I'm passionate about physical training in my daily life."

"Never mind then. But your strength is truly terrifying, those punches pack a wallop!"

Xu Sanshi muttered, pulling out some healing pills from his storage soul tool and casually swallowing them.

Beside him, Ning Wuque neatly packed away the wagers from this soul duel, planning to gift them to Ning Tian later. The two walked toward the exit, but to Ning Wuque's surprise, two figures were waiting for him there.

"Wuque~"

"Ning Tian?"

Because he had already crossed paths with Xu Sanshi, Ning Wuque didn't beat around the bush and directly addressed Ning Tian by her name.

Nearby, Xu Sanshi gave a playful, knowing smirk and quietly slipped away from Ning Wuque's side, standing a short distance away ready to watch the drama unfold. However, the scene that followed shattered the defenses of this old turtle who had been simping hopelessly for ages.

"Your performance just now was amazing. You must be super uncomfortable covered in sweat, right? Go take a bath first, and later we'll head to the cafeteria for a big feast to treat ourselves."

Ning Tian stepped forward and approached Ning Wuque, her tone gentle. Before finishing, she even reached out to straighten his somewhat disheveled collar.