"I remember now!"
Oslo suddenly shouted, eyes wide in shock.
"Leopard! What are you yelling for?! You scared me to death!"
Yu Feng immediately slapped him.
"Fengzi, you still don't remember?"
Oslo excitedly grabbed Yu Feng by the shoulders.
"Three years ago! The Exchange Plaza! That insanely fast dragon dog!"
Yu Feng froze for a moment, then forced himself to recall.
"Fast… dragon dog…"
Fragments of memory rapidly pieced together.
A level-11 dragon dog, overwhelming Soul Masters above level 20, faster than any of them.
"You mean…"
Yu Feng suddenly understood and snapped his head toward Bai Mu.
"That person… was him?!"
Back then, he'd been so focused on the dragon dog that he hadn't paid attention to the Soul Master controlling it.
Now that he looked carefully, the image overlapped perfectly.
"That's right!"
Oslo nodded furiously.
The information spread rapidly through the crowd.
"Level 11… defeating Soul Masters over level 20? More than ten in a row?"
Yu Xiaogang fell silent.
So Bai Mu had already visited Heaven Dou Royal Academy before even obtaining his first spirit ring—and had displayed such monstrous talent.
Compared to that, his Luo Sanpao… had struggled to defeat a four-hundred-year Mandragora Snake at level 29.
Utterly useless.
Yu Xiaogang's emotions became indescribably complicated.
Why isn't my martial soul Zygarde…
"So… it was him."
Yu Tianheng remembered now.
Back then, he'd been very interested in that boy with a detached martial soul.
He'd even planned to invite him into the next Heaven Dou team once he settled in, to learn and grow together.
He never imagined that three years later, their reunion would look like this.
He vaguely recalled Dugu Yan staring at Bai Mu back then, clearly intrigued…
So… the seeds were planted even then?
Yu Tianheng clenched his fist, nails biting deep into his palm.
He was mistaken—but that no longer mattered.
"Dean Flender, since this is an exchange, why don't we let the kids have a friendly spar?"
Qin Ming suggested.
"Only competition leads to progress."
Flender nodded.
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
But just as Qin Ming was about to arrange the match order, Yu Tianheng suddenly pointed at Bai Mu.
"I want to challenge him!"
The voice wasn't loud, but it hit like a thunderclap.
"Me?"
Bai Mu, who had been chatting with the girls, looked up in confusion.
He was just watching—why was he being dragged into this?
A second later, a playful glint flashed through his eyes.
He understood immediately.
Heartbreak. Jealousy. Looking for a place to vent it through combat.
"Uh… well…"
Flender coughed awkwardly.
"Actually, Bai Mu isn't a student here. Let's pick someone else."
He paused, then gestured to the side.
"Mu Bai, Xiao San—why don't you two spar with the genius known as the number one beast-spirit user?"
Dai Mubai was distracted and didn't respond.
Tang San, however, stepped forward immediately.
His eyes burned with fighting spirit.
Only by challenging the strong could he grow stronger.
Only by becoming stronger could he find Xiao Wu and protect those he cared about.
Tang San clasped his hands.
"Tang San. Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. Level 32 Control-type Battle Soul Master. Please give me your guidance."
"No."
Yu Tianheng shook his head, eyes locked on Bai Mu.
"I'm challenging him."
Even Zhao Wuji shook his head at the sight.
"Young man… your courage is admirable."
"Tianheng, you're no match for Master—Bai Mu."
Dugu Yan frowned, but still spoke out of past affection.
"Give it up. You can't win."
Those words were like salt ground into an open wound.
Yu Tianheng was proud—always had been.
But now, that pride was crushed by Dugu Yan herself.
Having his girlfriend taken was already humiliating enough.
Now she was publicly telling him he wasn't good enough?
"Hoo…"
Yu Tianheng took a deep breath, barely suppressing his emotions, and stared coldly at Bai Mu.
"Your name is Bai Mu, right?"
"Do you really enjoy hiding behind women?"
He paused, voice turning icy.
"I never imagined Yanzi would fall for someone like you."
"Oh?"
Bai Mu raised an eyebrow.
"Someone like me? And what kind of person would that be?"
Yu Tianheng ignored the question and pressed on.
"I remember—you were only level 11 three years ago, right?"
"Come. Fight me. Let me see how much you've improved."
"As expected of the strongest genius of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—challenging me as a Soul Master."
Bai Mu gently stroked Dugu Yan's slender neck and smiled.
"Very well. I accept."
"Perfect timing. I'm also curious—
as Yanzi's boyfriend, are you really that incapable?"
"You—!"
Yu Tianheng's chest heaved violently.
Grinding his teeth, he announced slowly:
"Yu Tianheng. Martial Soul: Blue Lightning Tyrannosaurus Rex.
Level 39 Power-Attack-Type Battle Soul Master."
Three spirit rings lit up beneath his feet—two yellow, one purple.
Bai Mu didn't release any pressure. He simply spoke calmly:
"Bai Mu. Detached Martial Soul: Zygarde.
Level 56 Power-Attack-Type Soul King."
As his words fell, five spirit rings slowly emerged—
Two yellow. Two purple. One black.
"Hiss—!"
The entire training ground sucked in a sharp breath.
"What?!"
Qin Ming's pupils shrank violently.
"S-Soul… Soul King?!"
Oslo's jaw nearly hit the ground.
"You've got to be kidding…"
Yu Feng rubbed his eyes, convinced he was hallucinating.
The Shi brothers exchanged a look, shock written clearly on both faces.
Behind her veil, Ye Lingling's lips parted slightly—and stayed that way.
Her usually lifeless eyes flickered with disbelief.
Twelve years old. Level 56.
What did that even mean?
Most Soul Masters were still struggling to reach level 20 at twelve.
Even geniuses were barely pushing toward level 30.
And yet—
Soul King. Level 56. Twelve years old.
Did that make any sense at all?
"This… this is impossible…"
The color drained from Yu Tianheng's face.
He had assumed his level 39 gave him an absolute advantage.
Instead, he was completely crushed.
"Surprised?"
Bai Mu looked at his expression and smirked.
He lowered his head, affectionately rubbing Dugu Yan's hair.
"Want to fight, little dragon?"
Yu Tianheng's face shifted from white, to red, to green.
The arrow was already on the string.
"I'll fight!"
"Of course I'll fight!"
A detached martial soul—no matter how high the level, the body must be fragile!
If I get close, I might still win!
"That confidence isn't bad."
Bai Mu smiled faintly, gently patting the girls' shoulders and signaling them to step back.
To everyone's shock, he did not summon Zygarde.
He simply stood there casually and beckoned.
"Come on, little dragon."
"Let me see what you've got."
"Where's your martial soul? Where's your dragon dog?"
Yu Tianheng demanded through clenched teeth.
Bai Mu looked at him strangely, then laughed.
"Are you serious?"
"I'm a Soul King—someone who can absorb ten-thousand-year soul rings."
He tilted his head, tone mocking.
"Do I really need to use my martial soul to beat you?"