Chapter 458: Chapter 455: Ming Xin Yan’s Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact

"Of course I’m excited! Elder Jiang and Elder Yin are the founding heroes of our Thief God Hall. They were personally appointed as Honored Elders by the Thief God Ancestor," Ming Xin Yan said, her eyes filled with admiration.

"Founding heroes?" Feng Hao paused, stunned. "You’re saying those two Elders are from the same era as the Ancestor?"

"Yeah. You didn’t know?" Ming Xin Yan asked, looking at Feng Hao in confusion.

Feng Hao looked embarrassed. To be honest, he really hadn’t known.

’But on second thought, it makes sense,’ Feng Hao considered. ’The Thief God Hall was founded less than ten thousand years ago, so it’s not strange for some of the first generation to still be alive. After all, as a Mage’s strength increases, so does their lifespan. Even though the two Honored Elders are stuck at level ninety-nine, living for tens of thousands of years is no problem for them.’

’The only thing that confuses me is the Thief God Ancestor. If Elder Jiang and Elder Yin are still around, why did the Thief God Ancestor fall?’

’Looks like I’ll have to learn more about the Thief God Hall’s history,’ Feng Hao thought. ’Otherwise, it’ll be embarrassing if I become one of their top disciples and don’t even know the Hall’s history.’

Meanwhile, Jing Lou had already risen from his seat in the spectator section. After a few brief words, he announced the start of the competition.

"This competition will follow the old rules. The six candidates will come on stage to draw lots and face off in pairs." Jing Lou didn’t waste any words. After the announcement, he waved his hand, sending six orbs of light whistling through the air to hover above the battle stage.

At that, Wu Qing, Diaron, and Chen Yanlin were the first to rush onto the battle stage and draw their orbs.

Seeing this, Ming Xin Yan and Fang Jie followed suit. Feng Hao wasn’t in any hurry. By the time he went up, only the last orb of light remained. He casually grabbed it, swept it with his Divine Sense, and a number appeared before him: Two.

There were three numbers in the draw, one for each pair. This meant Feng Hao’s opponent was the other person who had drawn number two.

"Who has number one?" Diaron was the first to reveal his number, his brow furrowed as he scanned the others.

Ming Xin Yan’s brow twitched. With a grave expression, she stepped forward. "I do."

Seeing that the first matchup was set, Feng Hao didn’t hesitate to shout, "What about number two? Which one of you guys is number two?"

Just then, Fang Jie stepped forward with a scoff. "Your opponent is me."

"Damn, my luck is that good? I drew the weakest one right off the bat?" Feng Hao said with a disappointed pout.

Hearing this, Fang Jie gritted his teeth in anger. "Don’t get cocky! It’s not decided who’s going to win or lose yet!"

"Oh," Feng Hao said with a dismissive smile, completely ignoring Fang Jie. He turned to Ming Xin Yan. "Go get ’em, big sis! I’m rooting for you!"

Ming Xin Yan shot Feng Hao an exasperated glare, took a deep breath, and remained on the battle stage.

With the first-round opponents decided, the others had no reason to stay. They all leaped off the stage, leaving it to Ming Xin Yan and Diaron.

In an instant, accompanied by a wave of thunderous cheers, only the two combatants remained on the stage.

"Ming Xin Yan, right? I know you. Third place in the preliminaries, a Magic Injury Magic Master who possesses a special enhancement-type Secret Technique." Diaron’s eyes were mocking. "It’s just a shame you ran into me right at the start. You should be well aware of how a Gang Qi Mage counters the Magic Injury type, right?"

Ming Xin Yan’s brow furrowed instinctively. She clenched her teeth. "Cut the crap and let’s fight!"

"Heh, you seem pretty confident!" Diaron chuckled, but his eyes instantly turned cold. "In that case, don’t mind if I do!"

Diaron was the first to strike. The moment he swung his greatsword, layer upon layer of Gang Qi surged forth, coalescing into the phantom of a greatsword’s upper half that came crashing down on Ming Xin Yan.

Ming Xin Yan, of course, wasn’t just going to stand there and take it. She tossed her Magical Artifact, the Three Treasures Bell, into the air. A shower of golden light rained down, and she instantly took on a golden form.

BOOM!

The phantom greatsword smashed against the golden bell, unleashing a deafening chime. The battle had begun.

After only a brief exchange, the crowd below was already going wild, especially Ming Xin Yan’s supporters, who were all screaming her name to cheer her on.

But in the waiting area, Feng Hao couldn’t help but frown. ’Damn, the power of that Gang Qi is scary! He’s a seeded contestant, all right!’

It was common knowledge that after a Defense Mage raised their [Sinew and Bone System] to 300 base points, they could evolve the [Gang Qi Damage] ability and become a Gang Qi Mage.

Although Gang Qi Mages developed more slowly, their strength lay in being skilled at both offense and defense. Their combat power was not to be underestimated.

Furthermore, Gang Qi was inherently a defensive attribute that countered magical injuries. Therefore, it gave Diaron a powerful innate advantage against a Mage like Ming Xin Yan, who specialized in exactly that.

Of course, Ming Xin Yan was no traditional Magic-type Mage either. In her Golden Body state, she was formidable at any range and possessed astonishing defense!

With a Gang Qi Mage on one side and a warrior in a Golden Body state on the other, both were built for direct confrontation. Thus, less than a few minutes after it began, the battle had already reached a fever pitch.

A rain of gold fell from the sky as Ming Xin Yan, like a close-quarters Female Arhat, frantically bombarded Diaron.

In response, Diaron summoned his Gang Qi, forming a massive bear shadow around his body. While resisting the corrosive golden rain, he charged at Ming Xin Yan like a savage beast. Every swing of his greatsword was accompanied by a burst of energy like a bear’s tearing bite, looking as if it could rip a person to shreds in an instant.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The woman and the bear clashed wildly on the stage, drawing wave after wave of shouts and gasps from the crowd.

Feng Hao clicked his tongue in amazement as he watched from below. The faint light of his Crystal Eye flickered as he carefully monitored the changes in their Qi Blood.

’That savage bear of Diaron’s must be a Secret Technique that involves refining a bear-type magical soul,’ Feng Hao analyzed with a frown. ’Even Ming Xin Yan’s Golden Body protection is struggling against it. Its destructive power is not to be underestimated.’

Just then, Fang Jie, who was standing beside him, suddenly frowned. "Her Qi Blood is more than halfway gone. I’m afraid Ming Xin Yan is going to lose."

"Is that so? I don’t think so," Feng Hao said meaningfully. Based on how confident Ming Xin Yan had been over the last couple of days, he was sure she still had an ace up her sleeve.

As it turned out, Feng Hao’s guess was correct. The words had barely left his mouth when the tide of battle on stage turned.

Diaron was suddenly sent flying backward. The savage bear Gang Qi surrounding his body collapsed, and his Qi Blood plummeted by more than 20,000.

The sudden turn of events stunned the entire audience. All eyes focused on Ming Xin Yan, and the sharp-eyed members of the hall quickly noticed something unusual about the bell above her head.

"Everyone, look! There’s another layer of golden light within the light coming from the Three Treasures Bell!"

"Holy crap, it’s a Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact! No wonder she’s so strong!"

At this, gasps of astonishment erupted across the crowd. No one had expected Ming Xin Yan to possess a Divine Soul Spiritual Artifact.

In the waiting area, Feng Hao was also taken aback. After all, Divine Souls were incredibly rare. Take him, for example; if it hadn’t been for Yao Girl’s heaven-defying luck rubbing off on him, he would never have encountered one.

As for Fang Jie, he was already dumbstruck. After a long moment, a helpless, bitter smile appeared on his face.

The only reason he’d been able to defeat Ming Xin Yan before was the advantage his Divine Soul Weapon gave him. Now, it seemed that advantage was completely gone. What left him even more speechless was that, by some unknown method, Ming Xin Yan had inexplicably shot up to level fifty-eight.

What did level fifty-eight even mean?

He trained day and night, forgetting to eat or sleep, working himself to the bone just to reach level fifty-two, but she was already at fifty-eight. How was he supposed to fight that?

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.