Quan Yi's Strategy

This time, it wasn't a Combined Soul Skill between Huo Wu and Quan Yi, but Quan Yi's own Combined Soul Skill.

Rhino's Mark combined with Quan Yi's version of Flame Bullet, and the powerful explosion instantly whipped up a gale.

However, Quan Yi kept his eyes fixed ahead, not daring to relax his vigilance.

He still hadn't seen Teacher Bai Yan's falling figure.

A moment later, a cough came from the center of the explosion.

"Cough, cough, cough."

The smoke from the explosion cleared, gradually revealing Bai Yan's figure.

Flames blazed all over Bai Yan's body, and the pressure radiating from her was astonishing. She was like a Fire Phoenix—noble and elegant.

Quan Yi guessed that this should be another one of Teacher Bai Yan's Soul Skills.

Bai Yan slowly landed, and the flames around her gradually subsided.

"Clap, clap, clap. Congratulations, you two. You passed this assessment." Bai Yan applauded them.

Only then did Quan Yi and Huo Wu let out a sigh of relief. Then, the two exchanged a smile.

Seeing that Huo Wu's body was swaying slightly, Quan Yi reached out and steadied her.

Teacher Bai Yan walked up to them, an exasperated expression on her face.

"You two really are good at creating surprises. Your strength has already surpassed the twentieth level."

Bai Yan felt that she had misjudged their strength. She had restricted her Soul Power to the twentieth level, yet she couldn't even defeat Huo Wu.

"Quan Yi, was that Flame Bullet you used at the end a Self-Created Soul Skill?"

What Bai Yan was most curious about was Quan Yi's final Flame Bullet. Although she already had a guess, such shocking news had to be confirmed.

"Yes. This is a Self-Created Soul Skill I created by imitating Huo Wu's Soul Skill." Quan Yi explained it calmly.

Bai Yan found it unbelievable that Quan Yi could still maintain such a calm state of mind.

However, she had an even more important question to confirm with Quan Yi.

Bai Yan continued asking, "How long did it take you to create this Soul Skill?"

"It took me one afternoon." Quan Yi concealed the truth somewhat, not mentioning that he had succeeded after only one attempt.

Even so, Bai Yan was still utterly stunned.

A genius. A true genius.

To create a Self-Created Soul Skill in a single day was something no ordinary Spirit Master could compare with.

A powerful Martial Soul and a higher Innate Soul Power level were important standards for judging a Spirit Master's talent. But could these factors truly represent a Spirit Master's personal ability? No. They only proved how fortunate that Spirit Master was; they could not prove whether the Spirit Master possessed true talent.

Many highly gifted Spirit Masters, because of their own incompetence, ended up squandering the gifts Heaven had granted them. Conversely, Spirit Masters with poor innate gifts could rely on their own abilities to forge a new path.

A Self-Created Soul Skill was an important factor in judging a Spirit Master's personal talent.

"I thought I had already rated your talent highly enough, but I didn't expect that I had still underestimated you." Bai Yan praised him sincerely.

"Teacher, you're flattering me." Quan Yi felt a little embarrassed by his teacher's praise, and thought that Teacher Bai Yan was exaggerating somewhat.

Quan Yi knew that his Self-Created Soul Skill relied on his Martial Soul's ability to control fire and was essentially an imitation. Strictly speaking, it wasn't a Self-Created Soul Skill.

But the freedom granted by his ability to control fire had indeed liberated Quan Yi from his fixed way of thinking.

Soul Skills could only rely on Soul Rings?

That idea was a joke in the face of Quan Yi's Blazing Sun Gauntlets.

The Blazing Sun Gauntlets possessed the ability to command flames, allowing Quan Yi to manipulate fire as he pleased.

Other Spirit Masters needed Soul Rings to release flames, but Quan Yi could release them with only his Soul Power and Martial Soul.

He could imitate Huo Wu's Flame Bullet after seeing it just once. The Blazing Sun Gauntlets could be said to be the king of all Fire-attribute Spirit Masters, while the other Fire-attribute Spirit Masters could only submit beneath Quan Yi's radiance.

Bai Yan then looked toward Huo Wu. Having exhausted her Soul Power, Huo Wu was somewhat weak and could only barely remain standing with Quan Yi's support.

"Huo Wu, your Dual Hand Control left a deep impression on me. It requires superb control. And I greatly admire your perseverance."

Although Huo Wu's radiance was not as dazzling as Quan Yi's, in Bai Yan's eyes, Huo Wu was also an outstanding Spirit Master who possessed both talent and ability.

What left the deepest impression on Bai Yan was how Huo Wu could always erupt with astonishing strength at the final moment.

That powerful mental strength was also one of the qualities Bai Yan admired most.

Moreover, Bai Yan had discovered that Quan Yi's presence stimulated Huo Wu. A goal gave one motivation, and Quan Yi was a goal for Huo Wu.

"Huo Wu, I hope you can continue to maintain this spirit of never giving up."

"All right, you two should get plenty of rest when you return. I'll see you at the same time tomorrow."

Just as she had the day before, Bai Yan briefly praised their performance. Then, without any hesitation, she instructed them to get more rest before turning around and leaving.

Bai Yan had taken into consideration that they were not in their best condition, so she had arranged the analysis and evaluation for the next day.

"Help me over there so I can rest for a while." Huo Wu pointed to the empty space nearby. Her entire body was weak now, and all she wanted was to rest.

"I can carry you back. You can rest in your dormitory." Quan Yi planned to send Huo Wu back to the dormitory as he had the previous day, then go to the Training Ground for additional practice.

At these words, Huo Wu's face suddenly flushed as she recalled the embarrassing events of yesterday.

"No, no need. I can sit and rest for a while. I don't want to trouble you." A girl's bashfulness made Huo Wu unwilling to experience yesterday's situation again.

"It's fine. Your weight is no different from a sheet of paper." Quan Yi didn't know what she was thinking and assumed that Huo Wu was worried about tiring him out.

Seeing how firm Quan Yi was, Huo Wu became deeply conflicted. In the end, she made up her mind.

"All right, then. But could you carry me on your back? That would save you some effort, too."

"No problem."

On the way back, Huo Wu noticed that there were far fewer onlookers. She secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Her stiff body relaxed, and her dangling feet began to swing back and forth.

"Xiao Yi, how did you know Teacher would move downward at the end instead of upward?" Huo Wu asked about what had been puzzling her.

Huo Wu stared at the back of Quan Yi's head, admiring his strategy.

When Quan Yi had formulated his plan, he hadn't told Huo Wu much, merely arranging for her to use all her strength.

Thus, Huo Wu had not known what Quan Yi intended. She had simply followed his instructions and unleashed the Combined Soul Skill with all her strength at the final moment.

"It was because Teacher was completely distracted by Rhino's Mark and your ranged attacks, causing her to overlook my presence.

"Under the pressure of the limited time and fierce assault, Teacher Bai Yan would definitely take a risk and bait you into using your Soul Skill.

"Teacher Bai Yan has rich combat experience, so she would most likely choose the safer method: moving closer in my direction.

"Compared with your Flame Bullet, Teacher Bai Yan felt that the stones I threw would be easier to dodge.

"However, I couldn't have forced Teacher to this point without your help. If you hadn't stayed calm and responded so steadily, Teacher wouldn't have been pushed into this situation."

This was also why Quan Yi hadn't told Huo Wu about his plan. He was afraid that once Huo Wu knew his trump card, she would slacken her offensive.

Only by giving it everything they had could they completely deceive the experienced Teacher Bai Yan.

Quan Yi praised Huo Wu's strength highly, and her combat talent was far beyond that of ordinary people.

Huo Wu was only six years old. She still had unlimited room for growth in the future.

She was a true genius, and Quan Yi fully acknowledged Huo Wu's talent.

Quan Yi himself did not actually consider himself a genius.

Everything he had now came from his parents and family's help, along with his own unremitting efforts.

If he had been born into an ordinary farming family, it would have been impossible for Quan Yi to afford Soul Beast Meat from the age of two.

Therefore, Quan Yi cultivated so desperately because he did not want to let his family's support go to waste.

This book has been signed.

Thank you all readers for your support.

I will continue working hard and keep writing.