Their First Victory

The shockwave from the final Flame Bullet's explosion far surpassed the ones before.

Bai Yan hastily took a defensive stance, preparing to withstand the shockwave head-on. As long as she could steady herself, this level of impact would not be much of a problem for her.

In truth, Bai Yan could not be blamed for being so cautious. The most dangerous thing in midair was losing the ability to fly and plummeting straight down.

Only, she had not expected that this fireball would actually be wrapped around a stone.

Under Huo Wu's control, the explosion of the Flame Bullet sent the stone shooting straight toward Bai Yan.

The stone flew toward Bai Yan at astonishing speed. If it were slowed down, a red Rhino Horn mark could be clearly seen on it.

It was precisely Quan Yi's Rhino's Mark.

This was a ranged weapon Quan Yi had secretly prepared, and it could also be considered an alternative application of his First Soul Skill.

On the ground, Quan Yi closed his eyes and focused with all his concentration.

Because of the dazzling light produced by Huo Wu's explosion, Quan Yi could only rely on his perception of Rhino's Mark to judge the detonation timing.

This was a path Huo Wu had opened up with all her strength. Quan Yi could not waste this opportunity.

Quan Yi sensed carefully. In his perception, the marked stone was moving away from him at astonishing speed.

What Quan Yi had to do was seize a single instant—the instant the stone struck Bai Yan.

Because only then would the stone's movement pause, and Quan Yi had to detonate it immediately in that moment.

"Now."

Quan Yi keenly felt the signal transmitted by the mark. It was the signal of a pause.

Quan Yi decisively detonated it.

Boom!

A dull explosion rang out from the sky. Quan Yi and Huo Wu stared nervously upward, wanting to see whether their attack had taken effect.

Huo Wu's Soul Power was exhausted, and her whole body was weak, but she forced herself to remain standing and did not collapse.

She wanted to personally confirm Teacher Bai Yan's condition.

The flames filling the sky slowly began to disperse, but the scene the two of them had hoped for did not appear.

Teacher Bai Yan was still hovering high in the air. A few black scorch marks stained her Snow-white Wings, but aside from that, she was not seriously hurt.

How was that possible? That had been an explosion at extremely close range! Seeing their plan fail, Huo Wu and Quan Yi inevitably felt somewhat disappointed. Huo Wu, in particular, looked utterly unwilling to accept it.

However, the two of them soon noticed something unusual.

Teacher Bai Yan was slowly descending. Then her feet touched the ground.

Bai Yan looked at Quan Yi and Huo Wu, her eyes filled with admiration.

She began clapping for the two of them.

"Impressive. That final move—if I hadn't released more than level twenty Soul Power, my wings might have already been broken. Your performance exceeded my expectations."

Quan Yi and Huo Wu looked at each other and smiled. They understood what Teacher Bai Yan meant.

"I announce that you have passed this Combat Training."

Bai Yan loudly announced the result of this battle.

After Huo Wu heard that, her heart immediately relaxed. The weakness she had been forcefully suppressing surged into her mind like a tide.

Her body uncontrollably pitched forward, and Quan Yi noticed something was wrong with her.

Quan Yi immediately caught the falling Huo Wu, lifted her in a princess carry, then said gently, "You worked hard!"

Looking at the weakened Huo Wu, Quan Yi could not let her simply fall to the ground like that.

Huo Wu's final outburst had truly startled Quan Yi as well.

As for Huo Wu's performance, Quan Yi could only describe it as stunning.

Being carried by Quan Yi like a princess, Huo Wu's face warmed. Fortunately, her pale complexion covered up her shyness.

"Mm!" Huo Wu murmured softly.

Huo Wu, who was usually open and poised, rarely revealed such a bashful side at this moment.

Bai Yan quietly watched the two of them share the joy of victory.

At the same time, she was continuously replaying the entire battle in her mind.

After all, as their teacher, she had not arranged this Combat Training for amusement. She still had to properly evaluate their performances.

"Quan Yi, based on strength alone, you can already contend with a Soul Master at the Soul Grandmaster realm. But compared to your strength, I appreciate even more that you did not abandon your teammate, and instead chose to fight side by side."

Bai Yan had faced Quan Yi directly, so she understood how terrifying his strength was. With Quan Yi there, Bai Yan could not even get close to the two of them. The speed advantage that her Agility Attack System prided itself on could not be brought into play at all.

Quan Yi had composure and strategy. Bai Yan felt that Quan Yi did not seem like a child, but more like a mature and steady adult man.

Moreover, Quan Yi clearly could have chosen to abandon Huo Wu, this "burden." Doing so would have been much easier. After all, she had not stipulated that both of them had to last fifteen minutes.

But Quan Yi had not done that. With his tall figure, he had built a high wall for Huo Wu.

"This was what I should have done, because we're a team."

Quan Yi answered very calmly. The option of abandoning his teammate had never appeared in his mind at all.

Besides, without Huo Wu, Quan Yi could not possibly have defeated Teacher Bai Yan.

"And Huo Wu, I admit I looked down on you a little before, and treated you as the greatest weakness in your team. But your performance exceeded my expectations."

"Especially that final combo. Even I was bewildered by those dazzling attacks."

Huo Wu's performance had far exceeded Bai Yan's expectations.

In Bai Yan's plan, Huo Wu had only been an appetizer. She had originally intended to use her Soul Power advantage to wear Huo Wu down, then focus on dealing with Quan Yi, the main course.

But unexpectedly, Bai Yan had fallen just like that at the hands of the "appetizer."

"No, Teacher. If not for Quan Yi, I couldn't possibly have done any of this."

Although Huo Wu's face was still pale, her expression was extremely solemn.

If this had been before, and Huo Wu had heard a teacher praise her, she would definitely have beamed with joy and very happily accepted the compliment.

But this time was different.

If Quan Yi had not created all sorts of favorable conditions for her, relying on her alone, she would not have been able to withstand Teacher Bai Yan's fierce offensive. To say nothing of the final counterattack, half of which was Quan Yi's credit.

Through this battle, Huo Wu understood the meaning and importance of unity and cooperation.

Seeing Huo Wu's solemn expression, Bai Yan felt deeply gratified.

Today, Bai Yan's main goal had not been to develop their combat ability, but rather to cultivate their ability to coordinate with each other.

But it seemed that this greatest goal had already been achieved.

After praising them at length, Bai Yan did not continue.

Because Huo Wu needed rest now. In her condition, it was not suitable to keep lecturing.

"All right, today's Combat Training ends here. Tomorrow, same time, still here. I'll be waiting for you."

After saying this, Teacher Bai Yan released her Martial Soul Possession.

Teacher Bai Yan also changed back from a tall beauty into her petite, delicate appearance.

Teacher Bai Yan acted swiftly and decisively. With a wave of her small hand, she turned and left the Training Ground.

This stark contrast also left Quan Yi a little dazed.

Quan Yi stared rather blankly as his teacher left the Training Ground.

Lying in Quan Yi's arms, Huo Wu looked up and saw his dazed expression, then patted him on the chest.

"Teacher's already gone far away. We should go too."

"Oh. Right." Quan Yi came back to himself.

Looking at Huo Wu's weak expression in his arms, Quan Yi carried her just like that toward the Dormitory.