Douluo Continent: I, an evil soul master, work nine-to-five in the Tang Sect.

Chapter 86: Victory!

"what?"

Seeing this unbelievable scene on the field, everyone present was shocked. Even Zhang Lexuan, who already knew a little about Luo Chen, widened her eyes in astonishment.

While Luo Chen and Yao Haoxuan were clashing head-on, she had already imagined the outcome of this sparring match in her mind. After all, even if Luo Chen was able to absorb a ten-thousand-year soul ring when he was a three-ring Soul Master, it would not change the fact that he was a three-ring Soul Master.

Compared to Yao Haoxuan, who is a five-ring Soul King and a prodigy, she is far behind in terms of Soul Power. Therefore, her best expectation for this sparring match between Luo Chen and Yao Haoxuan is a draw.

To her surprise, Luo Chen actually managed to block Yao Haoxuan's attack in a head-on clash. Although Yao Haoxuan was only a support-type Soul Master, his strength was undeniable.

Even the senior students in the inner court who were also five-ring Soul Kings did not dare to confront him head-on in terms of physical strength, let alone Luo Chen, who was only a three-ring Soul Venerable. This was truly unbelievable!

"He actually managed to block it?"

"No, that's not right. That guy not only successfully blocked Yao Haoxuan's attack, but he even subtly suppressed his opponent in terms of strength. But... how is that possible?"

"Could it be that Yao Haoxuan deliberately held back his power because that guy was too young? Otherwise, it doesn't make sense. How could Yao Haoxuan's terrifying power, comparable to a six-ring Soul Emperor, be blocked by a first-year Soul Venerable?"

The students present were all top geniuses who had spent years honing their skills at Shrek Academy; otherwise, they wouldn't have been able to enter Shrek Academy's inner courtyard.

Seeing the clash between Luo Chen and Yao Haoxuan, many people noticed something amiss and began to comment.

"You're wrong. It's not a question of whether that guy could block it or not; it's that the power Yao Haoxuan unleashed... was completely absorbed!"

Just as the group was speculating, Zhang Lexuan spoke up to explain the situation. With her sharp eyesight, she could see more clearly than the others.

At this moment, she also noticed something was wrong, because after Luo Chen and Yao Haoxuan's duel, Luo Chen had not reacted at all, but Yao Haoxuan had a look of surprise on his face.

From this, she could tell that Yao Haoxuan had definitely used his full strength in this attack, but she did not expect that Luo Chen in front of her would actually take the attack, and so easily at that!

This is what truly made Yao Haoxuan feel incredulous.

And indeed, just as Zhang Lexuan had guessed, when Yao Haoxuan exerted all his strength and clashed with Luo Chen physically, he clearly felt that his power seemed to have sunk into the sea.

The punch felt as if it hadn't landed on Luo Chen's palm, but rather sank into a thick layer of cotton. The force couldn't be truly delivered. Moreover, Yao Haoxuan's fist was enveloped by Luo Chen's palm, and when he tried to pull away...

However, he discovered that no matter how much power he used, he could not budge Luo Chen even slightly!

Sensing this strange situation, Yao Haoxuan couldn't help but frown. He was extremely confident in his strength. Since he awakened his martial soul, no one of his age could withstand a punch from him, let alone go head-to-head with him in terms of physical strength.

Moreover, he could also tell from Luo Chen's aura that while the other party's physical attributes might be strong, they were definitely not strong enough to render him unable to move!

"Could it be... that you used some kind of technique?"

Seeing that he couldn't pull himself out of Luo Chen's grasp, Yao Haoxuan wasn't in a hurry. Instead, he asked Luo Chen a question.

In his opinion, Luo Chen must have used some kind of power technique to be able to do this. The reason why he did not guess that it was a martial soul or a soul skill was because Yao Haoxuan did not feel any soul power used by Luo Chen from beginning to end!

As for creating one's own soul skill, that's impossible too, because Luo Chen in front of him was obviously only using his physical strength, and there was no way he could have created a soul skill that could increase his strength so much.

Furthermore, Luo Chen is still too young. How could he create his own soul skill at the age of a first-year student in the outer academy?

Even learning techniques that others have already mastered and applying them in battle takes a long time!

Upon hearing Yao Haoxuan's words, Luo Chen nodded slightly and offered an explanation:

"Yes, it is indeed a series of techniques, but these techniques are only suitable for close combat based on pure strength. If you, Senior Yao, use your martial soul or soul skill, then this move of mine will not work."

Luo Chen did not hide anything from Yao Haoxuan's doubts.

After all, his battle with Yao Haoxuan was not only to test their respective strengths, but also to make up for each other's shortcomings and grow in the process. That was the purpose of their sparring.

As for the outcome?

Neither of them intended to truly determine a winner; otherwise, they would have used their martial souls and soul rings immediately.

"I see. Your technique is truly remarkable. I've studied in the inner academy for so long, and this is the first time I've encountered someone who could forcefully suppress my power in a head-on physical confrontation..."

"Junior Luo, you are really strong. If I had encountered a monster like you in my class, I would probably have been completely crushed."

Upon hearing Luo Chen's explanation, Yao Haoxuan raised an eyebrow. He hadn't expected that Luo Chen would actually offer an explanation for him after he had just made a casual remark. After all, in his opinion, this move was a person's trump card!

How could Yao Haoxuan not be surprised that Luo Chen was willing to reveal such a trump card to him directly? In an instant, Yao Haoxuan's opinion of Luo Chen changed considerably.

"Senior Yao, you're too modest. My move was just borrowing the power you exerted and using that power to fight back. If it were a real contest of physical strength, I really wouldn't be a match for you, Senior Yao."

Faced with Yao Haoxuan's praise, Luo Chen smiled. Not only Yao Haoxuan thought so, but he thought so too. He originally thought that with his extraordinary talent, it would be easy for him to dominate this era.

But unexpectedly, even with his extraordinary talent, there were still many monsters who could rival him. Both Yao Haoxuan in front of him and Zhang Lexuan beside him were absolute monsters!

On his very first day on Poseidon Island, meeting a group of inner court students, he already felt immense pressure from them, but at this moment, his eyes were filled with nothing but excitement.

Pressure is the driving force. Although he is not yet a match for Yao Haoxuan in terms of physical fitness, he can kill him instantly in terms of hard power and real combat strength. After all, Yao Haoxuan is just a support-type soul master with a beast spirit!

No matter how monstrous their physical abilities were, they were still destined to be slaughtered like pigs under Luo Chen's unreasonable soul skills!

Not only Yao Haoxuan, but also the other red-robed inner court students beside him felt the same way. Luo Chen did not sense any pressure from them. After all, his current combat power was enough to easily kill a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast. And how many people in the outer court could kill a ten-thousand-year-old soul beast on their own?

In other words, at this moment, in this inner courtyard training ground, the only people Luo Chen could truly see were his senior sister Zhang Lexuan and Yao Haoxuan, who was standing in front of him.

However, with his current strength, he is far from being able to contend with Zhang Lexuan. After all, Zhang Lexuan is an eight-ring Soul Douluo, and she has a 100,000-year Soul Ring. Her combat power is even more terrifying than that of an ordinary Title Douluo!

As Luo Chen predicted, if he launched a surprise attack on Zhang Lexuan before she could react, the most likely outcome would be that he would forcibly subdue her, and then, unable to break through her defenses, be slapped to death by her...

The difference between the two is so great at this moment. After all, Zhang Lexuan has exceptional talent and was personally trained by Elder Mu. Her talent can be described as unparalleled on this continent!

Shrek Academy's greatest genius in a thousand years—this is no joke!

However, Luo Chen wasn't foolish enough to spar with him. After all, with his current strength, even if he were to advance another realm, he would still be defeated in one or two moves, making a duel pointless unless he wanted to cause trouble.

"Haha, I didn't expect you to be so polite, Junior Luo. I like that. Since I said I'd let you win without using your martial soul or soul skills, I can't go back on my word. Consider this a win for you, but I'll find a chance to get my revenge later!"

Seeing that Luo Chen was giving him face, Yao Haoxuan smiled and said.

As he spoke, his figure rapidly shrank back to the initial size of about 1.6 meters, resembling a child.

"Then thank you for going easy on me, senior."

Although Luo Chen hadn't grasped anything from this sparring match, he wasn't in a hurry. After all, it was only his first day on Seagod Island, and there would be plenty of opportunities in the future. There was no need to rush.

Moreover, this battle wasn't entirely without its gains. At least he had proven his strength in front of many inner court students, leaving a very deep impression on them.

For this reason alone, this sparring session wasn't a waste of time. After all, if he wants to continue training here with the other inner court students, he'll need the support of the inner court seniors, since he's currently just a first-year student in the outer court.

Although he is already a core disciple of the Martial Soul Department and has left the category of "new student", there is still a big difference between him and the inner court students.

The fact that he can stay here and train with the inner court students is already a privilege granted by the academy. Even a regular outer court student, a core disciple of the sixth year, or even the top student in the grade, would not receive such treatment.

After Luo Chen and Yao Haoxuan withdrew their soul power, they both turned their attention to the few inner court students watching from the side.

However, at this moment, all the inner court students looked stunned, their eyes filled with surprise as they stared at Luo Chen.

However, it's understandable that they were stunned, as even Zhang Lexuan was dumbfounded by the various abilities Luo Chen displayed.

The fact that Yao Haoxuan was able to voluntarily admit defeat and give the victory to Luo Chen is enough to demonstrate his talent and strength. Even someone as gifted as Yao Haoxuan has acknowledged Luo Chen's talent, so what else do they have to question?

When they were first-year students in the outer academy, many of them hadn't even broken through to the Soul Master level, let alone possess such formidable physical attributes and terrifying abilities.

"Senior Sister, Junior Brother Luo's strength is truly extraordinary. Although he hasn't used his Martial Soul or Soul Power in this sparring match, his combat skills and mentality are already better than many of the senior students."

"If it were a true all-out sparring match with him, I estimate that even a five-ring Soul King would have to go all out, otherwise a single misstep would result in a crushing defeat!"

After stepping off the sparring arena, Yao Haoxuan said these words to Zhang Lexuan in front of him, but everyone present could tell that he was also speaking to them.

"No way, Haoxuan, is this little...brother really that strong? Even we're no match for him?"

Upon hearing these words, Zhang Lexuan hadn't said anything yet, but many people around her were getting anxious because they were the "Five-Ring Soul King" she was talking about.

They didn't possess Yao Haoxuan's terrifying physical attributes, and their soul skills were only average within the inner academy. Their combat strength wasn't particularly outstanding; they were only able to enter the inner academy because their talent was stronger compared to ordinary students.

But at this moment, Yao Haoxuan actually said that even a five-ring Soul King level expert could not guarantee that he could defeat this first-year student in front of him, which made them somewhat dazed.

They weren't unaware of the strength Luo Chen had displayed earlier; they simply refused to believe that they couldn't even defeat a first-year student.

No matter what, they are all veterans who have been struggling in the inner academy for a long time. Although they do not have Yao Haoxuan's terrifying talent or Zhang Lexuan's strong strength, they are still inner academy students!

The inner courtyard and the outer courtyard are completely different levels!

However, Luo Chen suddenly spoke at this moment:

"Senior Yao is actually right. If I really went all out, I might actually scare you guys. That's why I wasn't serious. But if any of you seniors don't believe me, you're welcome to spar with me. I think I'll give you a satisfactory answer..."

(End of this chapter)