At the entrance to the Heaven Dou Great Spirit Arena—
Although few people knew Ye Yu by appearance, his distinctive attire made him hard to miss: a fully enclosed helmet that concealed his face, revealing only a pair of deep black eyes. The unusual outfit immediately drew attention.
Soon enough, Feng Xiaotian's lackeys spotted him.
"Boss, that helmeted guy must be An Lan!"
At their call, Feng Xiaotian strode forward with great arrogance and flair. Clad in the cyan school uniform of Godwind Academy, his short silver hair ruffled in the wind, and a confident smirk played on his handsome face.
"You're An Lan?"
"I'm Feng Xiaotian. The girl you beat last time in the Great Spirit Arena—Huo Wu—she's my future girlfriend!"
"Her brother, Huo Wushuang, will be my future brother-in-law!"
"I'm here today to avenge them!"
"So tell me—are you prepared to die?"
Future girlfriend? Future brother-in-law?
Ye Yu's mouth twitched under his helmet. He couldn't help but feel speechless.
"Future girlfriend? Future brother-in-law? Is that something you can even preface with 'future'?"
"Have you two been engaged?"
"Engaged? Well… no," Feng Xiaotian scratched his head but still spoke with conviction.
"But I believe that with my sincerity and devotion, Huo Wu will be moved by my love!"
Bootlicker.
Ye Yu shook his head, unable to hide his disdain.
"You wear that title on your sleeve like it's already true. I'm guessing Huo Wu doesn't even know you're here trying to pick a fight for her."
"You think you're winning her over with sincerity?"
"All you're doing is digging your own grave."
"If a woman doesn't like you, no matter how much you do for her, it only breeds resentment."
"My advice? Work on the way she sees you—before dreaming about being her man."
Ye Yu's words hit a sore spot, making Feng Xiaotian flush with anger.
"What do you know?! My love for Huo Wu is pure and unwavering. One day, she'll be touched!"
"You think you're some kind of love expert?!"
"Come on, brat—take this!"
"You dared to lay hands on Huo Wu and my future brother-in-law. Watch how I teach you a lesson!"
"Swift Wind Twin-Headed Wolf, Spirit Possession!"
With a furious roar, Feng Xiaotian summoned his martial soul: a massive wolf-like beast, entirely cyan in color, built like a muscular calf, its body cloaked in wind and topped with two snarling wolf heads.
As spirit possession completed, Feng Xiaotian's body surged in size, muscles bulging beneath his uniform. His hands transformed into razor-sharp wolf claws, his eyes glowing an eerie green. On his shoulder, the phantom head of the Swift Wind Wolf loomed, howling violently.
Three soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple—rose beneath his feet and rotated rhythmically.
Since Feng Xiaotian had announced this fight as retribution for his "goddess" and "future brother-in-law," his lackeys had already cleared the plaza to prevent interference.
Naturally, when people realized a battle was about to break out right here in the open plaza, they were even more intrigued than by the fights inside the Arena.
Some even recognized them.
—Two of the Spirit Arena's most popular rising stars.
Before long, betting stalls popped up. Wagers flew on who would win: Feng Xiaotian, the Heaven Dou's No.1 youth prodigy—or An Lan, the mysterious helmeted newcomer with a silver soul badge.
"Third Soul Skill: Gale Wings!"
Feng Xiaotian roared, activating his third soul ring. A pair of wind-forged wings burst from his back with a sharp gust. With a flap, he soared into the air.
As the recognized top genius of Heaven Dou City's younger generation, Feng Xiaotian was already 15 years old, a full six years older than Tang San.
While he could've advanced to Soul Ancestor (rank 41–50) by now, he had devoted himself to mastering a self-created technique ever since acquiring Gale Wings as his third skill at age 12.
He secluded himself in the Gale Valley, where he honed his skill for two years.
From this came the foundation: Gale Demon Wolf 24-Slash, later refined through real combat into Gale Demon Wolf 36-Slash, a relentless airborne blade-dance akin to the Clear Sky School's Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.
With it, Feng Xiaotian had gone undefeated in the Arena and earned the rare Gold Spirit Badge, the youngest to do so.
It was this feat that cemented him as Heaven Dou City's top youth talent.
And he was proud—very proud—of it.
"Prepare yourself!"
"Gale Demon Wolf—Thirty-Six Slash!"
With wings fused to his arms, he rocketed downward like a meteor, raising his gleaming wing like a blade to slash An Lan.
In response, Ye Yu smirked coldly.
With a wave of his hand, Blue Silver Domain quietly activated. He summoned his external spirit bone—Thunderclap Infernal Spear—and braced it in both hands.
"A longer weapon controls the distance."
His spear was over two meters long. Feng Xiaotian's wing-span? Barely equal. As the strike approached, Feng Xiaotian was forced to twist his attack—his wing no longer aiming at Ye Yu, but instead trying to parry the spear itself.
But Ye Yu was already smirking.
A sudden burst of silver-violet lightning exploded from the spear's shaft, arcing straight into Feng Xiaotian's body.
A scream echoed.
The arena's pride, Heaven Dou's golden genius, was electrocuted mid-air, his hair charred, eyes rolling.
Then—BAM!
The Thunderclap Infernal Spear struck like a whip, flinging him like a broken doll. He spun through the air in a jagged arc before crashing to the plaza ground, twitching and smoking.
He lay there, unconscious. His eyes rolled white.
"W-What?! That's Feng Xiaotian, the Arena's Gold Spirit Fighter! How... how could he go down so fast?!"
Gasps and chaos erupted among the crowd. Most who'd bet on Feng Xiaotian were utterly dumbfounded.
"Boss! Boss!"
His lackeys rushed to him, shaking his body in a panic—but Feng Xiaotian, freshly roasted by Ye Yu's Thunder Devour, wasn't waking up any time soon.
Meanwhile, Ye Yu was unimpressed.
Whether it was to avenge Huo Wu or due to sheer arrogance, Feng Xiaotian had wasted his advantage.
As a wind-type Soul Master, he had full aerial control—yet charged in blindly without even testing Ye Yu's strength.
Thunder Devour, the Lightning Devouring effect of Ye Yu's Thunderclap Infernal Spear, was built exactly for this moment.
With that one strike, the self-styled genius had been crushed.
And from that day on—
The name An Lan echoed through the soul master circles of Heaven Dou City.
No longer just a rising Silver Spirit Fighter, he had defeated Heaven Dou's #1 youth prodigy in a single move.
His fame was sealed.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin