Raziel lowered his body as he sprinted, nearly skimming the ground. A yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet, and a crystal-like golden dagger, about thirty-five centimeters long, appeared in his right hand. As he accelerated, a faint dragon's roar accompanied his movement.

Ray reacted at once. His Silverfalls Vine burst forth, and the small golden grass snake coiled around his wrist, its eyes glinting faintly. Vines shot outward in all directions.

Silverfalls Vine excelled at area control. In moments, the vines spread wide, weaving into a net that rushed toward Raziel Phoenix.

Still the same trick? Raziel Phoenix sneered inwardly and increased his speed again.

His straight-line charge suddenly turned illusory. In the blink of an eye, his figure blurred and split, leaving Ray unable to pinpoint his true position.

Raziel Phoenix slipped through the gaps between the vines effortlessly, closing the distance without slowing.

This is bad!

Ray reacted instantly. If Bind couldn't restrain his opponent, then Silverfalls Vine alone wouldn't be enough. He recalled an idea that had come to him during meditation the previous night.

The vines withdrew and condensed in front of him, layering over one another to form a dense barrier. The tighter the vines, the greater their defensive strength.

By now, Raziel Phoenix was already within ten meters.

Instead of slowing down, his arm moved faster.

The Light Dragon Dagger erupted with brilliance, bursting into a shower of golden rays that slashed precisely toward the Silverfalls Vine barrier.

Only then did Ray truly feel the difference between them.

Every strand of Silverfalls Vine was struck. Though not severed outright, the vines were forced aside with ease.

The sharpness of the Light Dragon Dagger drained Ray's soul power at an alarming rate.

In just a breath, more than ten percent of his soul power vanished.

If Raziel Phoenix fully understood the limitations of Ray's soul power, he wouldn't even need such a fierce attack. A sustained assault like this would empty Ray completely.

The vine barrier collapsed.

In the next instant, Raziel Phoenix was already right in front of him.

With no defense left, Ray clenched both fists and launched them forward, explosive force roaring from his arms. At the same time, he withdrew all his Silverfalls Vine, trying to trigger Bind at close range.

This was his only chance.

In theory, a Control System martial soul like Silverfalls Vine should have an advantage over an Agility System opponent.

In reality, the gap in experience and skill was simply too large.

Raziel Phoenix tilted his body slightly, slipping past Ray's fists with minimal movement. In a flash, he was already at Ray's side.

If this were a real battlefield, Ray would already be dead.

But Raziel Phoenix hesitated.

He didn't want to kill. He only wanted to win.

With a sharp flick of his wrist, he redirected the dagger toward Ray's cheek.

I'll return what you did to my face.

In that split second, Ray suddenly lowered his head, smashing the back of his skull toward the dagger's hilt.

Raziel Phoenix reacted instantly. This was the hallmark of an Agility System Battle Soul Master. His wrist twisted with lightning speed, altering the angle of the blade.

The Light Dragon Dagger plunged into Ray's shoulder blade.

The Light Dragon Dagger pierced Ray's shoulder.

Raziel Phoenix had deliberately held back. If he had used his full strength, Ray's entire arm might have been severed. They bore no deep hatred toward one another. Teaching him a painful lesson should have been more than enough.

Yet the instant the blade sank in, Raziel Phoenix's pupils shrank.

Ray's flesh was terrifyingly tough. Even with a hundred-year soul skill backing it, the Light Dragon Dagger only managed to cut about an inch deep.

That result was absurd.

Fresh blood welled out, bright red against Ray's skin. The sudden pain caused his concentration to shatter, and the Silverfalls Vine he was controlling went limp, collapsing uselessly onto the ground.

The dagger pressed down.

Ray staggered and dropped to one knee before forcing himself upright again. He twisted, trying to counterattack, but Raziel Phoenix had already spun behind him. The dagger twisted inside his shoulder.

Agony exploded through Ray's body.

Worse still, a strange energy surged from the wound, suppressing his soul power as if it were being weighed down by something far heavier.

"Admit defeat!" Raziel Phoenix shouted, pride ringing in his voice. Yesterday's humiliation was finally being repaid.

Ray clenched his teeth. The stubbornness in his bones refused to let him yield.

Then the pain changed.

It was no longer just pain.

A scorching heat ignited from his shoulder, racing through his veins like molten metal. His entire body burned from the inside out. He tried to speak, but no sound would come.

"I asked you, do you admit defeat?!" Raziel Phoenix barked again, pressing the dagger down harder.

"No!" Ray snarled hoarsely, defiance tearing from his throat.

Raziel Phoenix froze.

Something was wrong.

Ray's voice sounded distorted, as if it were scraping out of a furnace. Instinctively, Raziel Phoenix felt an urge to withdraw his weapon.

That was when it happened.

The Light Dragon Dagger let out a shrill dragon's roar.

The sound pierced straight into Raziel Phoenix's soul, sending a wave of terror crashing through him. It felt as though he had provoked something ancient and dreadful.

The blood at Ray's wound suddenly stopped flowing.

Golden light spilled out instead.

Bathed in that radiance, the Light Dragon Dagger was slowly forced outward, as though Ray's body itself was rejecting it.

Raziel Phoenix's first instinct was to retreat.

But horror seized him when he realized he couldn't.

The dagger felt as if it were glued to Ray's body. No matter how hard he pulled, it refused to come free.

"AAAAAHHH—!"

Ray let out a thunderous roar.

Golden light erupted from the wound, violently blasting the Light Dragon Dagger free.

In the next instant, a mass of golden radiance surged toward Raziel Phoenix.

He felt weightless.

As if he had been struck by a high-speed soul train.

Everything went black.

Bang!

Raziel Phoenix smashed into a massive tree in the distance and slid limply down its trunk, unconscious.

Ray collapsed to one knee.

His eyes burned crimson. His entire body trembled violently. It felt as though he had been thrown into a blazing furnace, every bone and vein being refined by fire.

Yet his consciousness remained clear.

When he had struck Raziel Phoenix just now, he had instinctively restrained himself at the last moment. Otherwise… Raziel Phoenix might not have survived.

Panting heavily, Ray lowered his head.

What he saw made his breath catch.

Golden scales covered his right hand.

They were rhombus-shaped, sharp-edged, overlapping like armor. His fingernails had transformed into narrow, claw-like points that gleamed faintly.

The little grass snake, Gold, coiled around his wrist, was glowing as well. Its body had grown noticeably longer, and its once-gentle eyes now burned red, like tiny rubies.

"Is it you?" Ray murmured, stunned. "Is this power because of you?"

He tore off his shirt and froze.

The scales weren't limited to his hand.

From the wound on his shoulder, golden scales spread across his entire right arm, all the way down to his palm. His arm pulsed with an indescribable strength, as if it could shatter steel with ease.

Almost instinctively, he threw a punch.

Boom!

A golden sphere burst from his fist, forming the vague outline of a dragon's head before dissipating a meter away. The terrifying force contained within that strike made his heart pound.

Then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the power began to fade.

Gold's enlarged body shrank back to its original size. The golden scales receded, dissolving into his skin. Within a few breaths, everything returned to normal.

What remained was exhaustion.

Overwhelming exhaustion.

Ray's vision darkened, and his consciousness slipped away.

As he collapsed, faint golden lines flared briefly across his bare body. The luminous patterns along his spine were especially brilliant before they, too, vanished.

*

Raziel Phoenix jolted awake.

His head buzzed, his thoughts sluggish. When he lifted his gaze, an all-too-familiar sight came into view.

The gates of West Ocean Academy.

Night had already fallen, and the illuminated words "West Ocean Academy" glowed clearly against the darkness.

"Wulu… wulu…" Raziel Phoenix tried to speak, only to realize that his mouth refused to cooperate.

Ray frowned slightly. "What did you say?"

"Wu… wu…" The sounds were still garbled.

As his mind gradually cleared, Raziel Phoenix finally realized what was happening.

He was on Ray's back.

His face throbbed. When he touched it, he nearly screamed. It was swollen like a loaf of bread, numb and aching all at once.

Memories flooded back in fragments.

West OceanPark.

The fight.

The golden light.

And then, his own words echoed mockingly in his head.

"There aren't many people there, so you can be at ease. I'll find someone to treat your injuries."

Now look at this.

He had spent twenty-four thousand federation coins…

Just to get beaten senseless.

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