"This... is this Spirit Ring configuration even logical?"
Hu Liena swallowed nervously. She felt that the aura radiating from Chen Ming was even more overwhelming and violent than her own. It almost seemed as though Chen Ming was the one with the higher Spirit Power rank, while she was the weaker one.
But Hu Liena was still someone who had undergone extensive training. She possessed tremendous confidence in her special charm abilities. Her seductive techniques had defeated Spirit Masters of higher rank than herself more than once.
"Charm!"
Hu Liena's first and second Spirit Rings lit up simultaneously. Her enhancement ability first strengthened both her Spirit Power and spiritual strength, then her charm skill activated alongside her innate talent.
Pink light flickered on Hu Liena's body as the power of Charm struck toward Chen Ming's mind.
Yet Chen Ming did not dodge.
He did not resist.
He simply stood there and allowed Hu Liena to cast her Charm on him.
Just as Yan believed Chen Ming was remaining motionless on purpose to let Hu Liena charm him, he saw Chen Ming's eyes flash slightly with light.
The next moment, Hu Liena coughed up a mouthful of blood and staggered backward several steps. Her Spirit Power fluctuated violently, as though she had suffered a severe backlash.
"Your spiritual power is too weak."
Chen Ming shook his head, displaying an attitude toward Hu Liena's abilities that was almost complete disregard.
To put it simply, compared to Titled Douluo, Chen Ming's spiritual power was naturally far inferior. It had not yet reached the level of a Spirit Douluo either.
But at the very least, Chen Ming's current spiritual strength was already comparable to that of a Spirit Saint.
And in terms of quality and application, even spiritual-type Spirit Saints of this era might not necessarily surpass him.
Chen Ming's Martial Soul itself did not possess spiritual attributes, but Chen Ming's personal spiritual affinity and talent, by Spirit Master standards, absolutely belonged to the category of ultimate spiritual power.
Hu Liena's current level of charm ability would at most be able to restrain ordinary Spirit Kings.
Trying to charm and influence Chen Ming's mind was practically no different from trying to hunt a Tyrannosaurus Rex with a wooden stick.
If Chen Ming truly harbored killing intent, he could have even directly caused a massive backlash against Hu Liena.
Even if he didn't cripple her, he could at least have severely damaged her spiritual power and Martial Soul origin, leaving her weak for several months or even over a year, even with the help of Spirit Hall.
"Step down. Next time, remember not to casually use charm on people. Your spiritual power really isn't that impressive. You wouldn't have been able to control me even when I had just awakened my Martial Soul."
Chen Ming waved dismissively toward Hu Liena as he watched the healing-type Spirit Masters help her off the arena.
Then he looked toward Yan—whose face was already turning red with rage—and the dark-faced Xie Yue below the stage.
"So? Which one of you is coming up next?"
"I'll do it!"
Yan leapt onto the arena aggressively and summoned his Martial Soul. An overbearing wave of scorching heat erupted from his body.
Putting aside Yan's simp-like personality for the moment, there was absolutely no questioning his talent.
The Flame Lord Martial Soul was an extremely powerful Martial Soul that had existed since ancient times. It possessed overwhelming offense, defense, and elemental strength—one of the absolute top-tier Martial Souls even among top-tier Martial Souls. It was even considered a legendary Martial Soul that had long gone extinct.
Its dual fire-and-earth attributes were already incredibly powerful on their own, but together they fused into the special magma attribute.
Although it was not ultimate fire, if developed to its limit, its destructive power would not lose to Ultimate Fire in the slightest.
Moreover, as an elemental-type Martial Soul, the Flame Lord not only excelled in offense and defense but also possessed the potential for elementalization. Its endurance and sustainability had enormous room for development.
Aside from lacking speed and offering no enhancement to spiritual power, it was practically flawless.
Of course, no matter how gifted someone was, reaching that level without at least Spirit Douluo cultivation was impossible.
Only upon reaching the Titled Douluo level could the Flame Lord Martial Soul truly be considered fully matured and capable of displaying its natural-disaster-level destructive force.
If Yan had reached the level of a Spirit King, Chen Ming honestly might not have been able to defeat him without using special methods.
But a Spirit Ancestor-level Yan was the perfect whetstone.
"First Spirit Ability — Hell Magma Burst!"
Yan brought his hands together like a flower bud, and a blazing stream of magma erupted toward Chen Ming.
At the same moment, Chen Ming's second, first, and third Spirit Rings flashed in rapid succession as three Spirit Abilities simultaneously enhanced his body.
His second Spirit Ability, Dragonification, increased all his attributes by thirty percent while also strengthening his other Spirit Abilities.
His first Spirit Ability, Earth's Blessing, originally granted a fifty percent increase to defense and earth-element enhancement, but now also provided an additional fifty percent boost to metal-element power. The shield it generated became even heavier and sturdier.
Meanwhile, the black Spirit Power produced by his third Spirit Ability, Energy Devouring Shield, surged violently and layered itself over the shield created by his first Spirit Ability, forming a black barrier in front of Chen Ming.
With his shield raised, Chen Ming charged directly toward Yan.
The Spirit Power of the Hell Magma Burst was mostly neutralized. The direct damage was converted into continuous damage over time, which acted upon the Spirit Power shield rather than Chen Ming himself.
As a result, the eggshell-like shield surrounding Chen Ming did not even develop a single crack.
Before Yan could release another Spirit Ability, Chen Ming's fist—wrapped in powerful metal-element energy—slammed directly into Yan's chest.
Pure brute force combined with precise striking technique caused Chen Ming's punch to instantly shatter the protective Spirit Power around Yan and land squarely on his body.
In that instant, Yan felt several ribs break while the overwhelming impact violently shook his internal organs.
Faced with a tremendous sense of danger, Yan gritted his teeth and activated his second Spirit Ability, Granite Rock, strengthening his physical body before swinging his fists wildly at Chen Ming's barrier.
Clang! Clang! Clang!
After several punches, a tiny crack as thin as a strand of hair finally appeared on Chen Ming's barrier.
Then, under the flow of Chen Ming's Spirit Power, even that crack was completely repaired.
Chen Ming continued throwing punches relentlessly toward every part of Yan's body. The explosive force behind each strike battered the thick-skinned Yan until he continuously let out muffled groans of pain while being forced backward step by step.
"Third Spirit Ability: Hellfire!"
Flame-like Spirit Power erupted violently around Yan's body, forming blazing flames that wrapped around him completely.
Ignoring his own condition, Yan seized the opportunity and rammed directly into Chen Ming.
As the two clashed in a contest of raw strength, the flames surrounding Yan continuously burned against Chen Ming's shield.
But because Energy Devouring Shield naturally countered energy-based attacks, Yan's third Spirit Ability—despite being fueled by his fury—actually produced less effect than the punches he had thrown earlier.