First Battle with Xie Yue

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The dagger and longsword collided, their metallic clangs ringing without end. In less than ten seconds, the two figures separated, and Si Xiaowu's face was filled with astonishment.

Qian Yuxi shook his dagger and stared coldly at the boy.

This boy was slightly stronger than Gou Tangsan from before, but not enough to make him use his martial soul. An opponent of this level could be dealt with as long as he took things a little more seriously.

"Qian Yuxi, you're very strong." Si Xiaowu's face was pale as he gripped his longsword tightly. "But I won't admit defeat so easily."

"Then let's continue," Qian Yuxi replied blandly.

"Fine!" Si Xiaowu assumed his stance once more. His second soul ring flashed, and a white sword aura roughly five meters long extended from his blade.

"White Blade Break!"

The longer the weapon, the greater the advantage. The power of a five-meter sword aura could not be underestimated.

Qian Yuxi dodged left and right. With a flick of his dagger, he seized an opening and viciously thrust at the sword's edge. A humming recoil traveled up Si Xiaowu's arm, throwing his longsword off balance and nearly knocking it from his grip.

Pushing off with his feet again, Qian Yuxi kept his eyes fixed on the speed of his opponent's sword swings. His dagger slashed out repeatedly, every strike carrying a trace of rebounding force.

Si Xiaowu did not dare let his guard down. He continuously swung his longsword to defend against Qian Yuxi's dagger. The dagger's advantage over a greatsword lay in its agility and speed, while Si Xiaowu was still young. His swordsmanship could not exactly be called orderly; he was practically just swinging wildly.

Qian Yuxi waited. Once Si Xiaowu's stamina and Soul Power could no longer hold out, it would be time to counterattack.

"Damn it, if you've got the guts, stop dodging!" After more than a dozen consecutive swings missed, Si Xiaowu could not help cursing.

Qian Yuxi's lips curled upward. "What, should I just take your hits head-on if I don't dodge? This is a gauntlet battle. Shouldn't I conserve my Soul Power?"

Clang!

"First Soul Skill, Sky-Shattering Slash!"

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—!

Silver-white blades of light slashed out one after another. Si Xiaowu had already grown desperate, while Qian Yuxi retreated rapidly. The grassland was soon riddled with curved-blade craters.

Slash—!

A strand of silver hair beside his earlobe was cut away. Qian Yuxi's heart skipped a beat, and his gaze turned icy. Blood had to be shed in this fight.

Whoosh—!

A tiny black shadow tore through the air and shot straight at Si Xiaowu. Having just mobilized so much Soul Power in succession, he had not even recovered from the aftereffects. How could he possibly react in time? The dagger Qian Yuxi threw sliced through the skin of his left arm, and crimson liquid slowly flowed out.

"Urgh..." Si Xiaowu's eyes widened. His left hand loosened, and his silver sword martial soul fell to the ground. His eyes were full of fear. Why had he lost to a boy three years younger than himself, one who had not even used his martial soul?

"That's the second one." Instructor Long recorded the result, his eyes full of praise for Qian Yuxi. This child truly had enormous potential. His future was limitless.

Qian Yuxi looked at Si Xiaowu with a frost-cold gaze and walked toward him step by step.

As Si Xiaowu watched the situation worsen, his body began trembling uncontrollably, cold sweat beading across his forehead. The skin of his left arm had already begun to rot into an inky green color.

"Don't move. There's venom from your good brother's martial soul on that."

Qian Yuxi had him sit properly, then took out a medicinal herb, crushed it, and applied it to Si Xiaowu's wound before wrapping it in gauze.

"It'll be healed by tomorrow." Leaving behind those six words, Qian Yuxi turned and walked away. He picked up the dagger he had thrown onto the grass earlier and used a tissue to wipe off the mixture of blood and venom on it.

Better not use this thing again for now. Some things only happened once—or countless times. He was not one of those 882s or GZZs who detoxified people while taking the chance to screw them over.

This boy was terrifying.

That was the first impression Qian Yuxi left on all the children. He had yet to reveal his martial soul, so they had no idea that he was the kind big brother who had used arrows to point them in the right direction during the first trial.

Si Xiaowu stood there dumbfounded. After a long while, he finally struggled to climb up from the ground. Clutching his wound, he staggered toward his resting tent to circulate his Soul Power and expel the poison.

"Qian Yuxi, five consecutive victories!"

Amid waves of astonished exclamations, Qian Yuxi climbed up from the ground, shook the dirt from his head, and took out his water flask to drink deeply. Fighting five Soul Grand Masters in a row was already the limit of what he could manage without using his martial soul. He could not keep pretending from here on.

The sixth opponent stepped forward. He was a boy around Qian Yuxi's age, but Qian Yuxi had remembered him from roll call.

"Xie Yue."

"Qian Yuxi."

Their martial souls appeared, accompanied by two yellow soul rings. However, Xie Yue's Soul Power aura was only at level twenty-one.

"You really are strong. But if you still refuse to show your true skill, be careful not to capsize in a gutter." Xie Yue had never believed he could defeat Qian Yuxi, but even so, he still wanted to try.

Qian Yuxi put away his dagger, a faint smile touching his lips. "As you wish."

Clang!

He clenched his right hand in empty air. Golden light spread through the void, gathering in his palm and condensing into a golden longbow.

Then, one yellow and two purple soul rings slowly rose around him. Seeing Qian Yuxi's utterly abnormal soul ring configuration, Xie Yue was stunned. The watching children and instructors were also left speechless. What kind of freak was this?

"This little one..." Jiang Xiruan also stopped writing and watched the duel without blinking.

Golden light condensed into an arrow. Qian Yuxi nocked it, drew the bowstring, and aimed at Xie Yue before speaking calmly. "Let's begin."

"Ah—!"

Xie Yue let out a low roar and immediately lit up his first soul ring. Blood-red light flickered over his two crescent blades, which gleamed with icy coldness as he charged beneath the moonlight.

Qian Yuxi decided to test him first. He fired three arrows in succession while retreating a short distance, preventing Xie Yue from closing in on him.

Swish! Swish! Swish!

The three arrows tore through the night sky. In the darkness, the blood-red glow on the crescent blades was exceptionally conspicuous. Xie Yue narrowed his eyes. With a flash of blood-red light, he split the arrows apart directly.

Qian Yuxi continued firing. He knew Xie Yue was tense and surely highly alert, but the iron law for an excellent ranged archer was never to let an enemy get close. That rule had to be engraved in one's bones!

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh...

Qian Yuxi's hands sped up. In three seconds, he loosed five arrows, which pierced the air and left streaking afterimages in the night sky as they flew straight toward Xie Yue.

"Crescent Moon Consecutive Slash!"

Bang! Bang! Bang...

Xie Yue shifted positions repeatedly, narrowly dodging three arrows. He then used his two crescent blades to knock away another two, one with each blade, before throwing one of them toward Qian Yuxi.

Qian Yuxi tapped off the ground with his toes and leaped into the air. After a backflip, he landed on a tree branch.

Crack—!

He had not expected the crescent blade to curve back. The large tree beneath his feet snapped in response, forcing Qian Yuxi to jump down. Yet Xie Yue immediately pursued him.

Clang!

His second soul ring lit up. A cold glint flashed through Qian Yuxi's eyes as five threadlike streams of golden light gathered at his arrowhead. Squinting, he drew his bow and released the arrow!

"Crescent Moon Chaotic Dance!" Facing the second soul skill of a level thirty-six Soul Elder, Xie Yue likewise activated his second soul skill. He exerted force with both arms, his speed suddenly soaring as he slashed out!

Bang!

But this time, he struck nothing. A second before his crescent blade touched the arrow, it split into five arrows right in front of him. Four of them grazed his limbs without missing, instantly tearing four bloody wounds across them. The deadliest one swept across his bangs, turning his hairstyle into a bald patch.

With a thud, Xie Yue fell to the ground. His crescent blades dissipated as his pupils contracted sharply. A burning sensation spread through his limbs, hurting him so badly that cold sweat poured down his face.

The sight shocked everyone so much that they forgot to applaud.

"You lost."

Qian Yuxi looked down at him from above and calmly spoke those three words. If he had wished it, those five arrows would not have merely grazed Xie Yue's limbs and given him a free haircut.