Huo Yuqing vs. Tang Ya!

Around Tang Ya, blue-black Blue Silver Grass stalks rose one after another like venomous snakes poised to strike.

A fishy stench permeated the air. One whiff was enough to tell that her martial soul contained poison.

The first yellow soul ring behind Tang Ya lit up, and the Blue Silver Grass lunged fiercely at Huo Yuqing like attacking serpents.

Tang Ya herself stepped into the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, her figure flickering out of sight amid the forest of vines.

Meanwhile, the sole white soul ring behind Huo Yuqing had already quietly lit up, and specks of starlike golden light surfaced in the girl's eyes.

Once Spiritual Detection activated, even time seemed to slow. Under the gaze of her Spirit Eyes, everything around her became exceptionally clear.

Within fifty meters of Huo Yuqing, she had no need to look with her eyes, much less think. A vast amount of information simply appeared in her mind.

This included every change in Tang Ya's body, how each muscle exerted force, the movements of every stalk of Blue Silver Grass, and even the circulation of Soul Power through her meridians.

Tang Ya's elusive figure slowed in Huo Yuqing's eyes. No matter how unpredictable the Tang Clan's Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was, she could easily predict where Tang Ya would land with every next step.

Guided by Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuqing dodged with ease. Before long, her own footwork even gained a trace of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track's elusive quality—Huo Yuqing was still a blank slate when it came to movement techniques and martial arts, so she had instinctively begun imitating her opponent.

Yet the fact that she could imitate it so easily still displayed the girl's terrifying comprehension.

Tang Ya, however, was immersed in jealousy and hatred and failed to notice.

Through Spiritual Detection, Huo Yuqing saw Tang Ya's second soul ring flash beneath the light and shadow. A cloud of tiny particles, nearly impossible to distinguish with the naked eye, scattered through the air. They were Blue Silver Grass seeds condensed from Soul Power.

Blue Silver Grass's second Soul Skill: Parasite.

Huo Yuqing retreated, carefully avoiding the seeds floating in the air. At the same time, she spread the hem of her coat and spun aside to evade a stalk of Blue Silver Grass wrapping toward her. The wind stirred up by her movements scattered the tiny Soul Power seeds.

Watching Huo Yuqing effortlessly evade all her attacks, the gloom in Tang Ya's eyes deepened further.

Why?

She bit her lower lip hard enough to nearly taste blood.

Huo Yuhao had only one white soul ring, yet in just one month, he had risen three levels in a row, from level thirteen to level sixteen... Why?

She thought of herself, struggling and cultivating desperately to restore the Tang Clan. How long did it take her to raise her Soul Power by three levels?

Pills. It had to be because he took pills. Tang Ya ground her teeth. Relying on pills to level up at such a young age—his future will definitely be affected. His prospects will be ruined!

A hidden scarlet hue crept into Tang Ya's eyes.

Her hand moved to the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night at her waist.

She glanced at Wang Rui, who stood nearby. Don't you look down on the Tang Clan's hidden weapons? Then let your friend experience their power!

A trace of purple quietly climbed into Tang Ya's eyes. It was the Purple Demon Eyes.

"Hmm, the technique she uses on her eyes is rather interesting," Sky Dream Ice Silkworm suddenly said. "Did you see the route of her Soul Power circulation clearly?"

"I memorized it," Huo Yuqing replied concisely.

Wang Rui had just reminded her to pay attention to Tang Ya's eye-training technique. Thus, when purple appeared in Tang Ya's eyes, Huo Yuqing naturally noticed the path of Soul Power flowing through her head.

And when she saw Tang Ya's hand move toward her Storage Soul Tool, Huo Yuqing naturally raised her vigilance to the utmost.

In the space of a breath, Tang Ya's delicate hands turned as translucent as white jade. The vine-like Blue Silver Grass continued to coil and weave, tirelessly trying to bind Huo Yuqing and force her to reveal an opening from every angle. Yet through the gaps between those vines, various hidden weapons gleaming with cold light poured forth like a swarm of bees, carrying chilling killing intent!

"Teacher!!" Jiang Nannan cried anxiously. The upperclassmen around them, dressed in purple uniforms, also showed indignation in their eyes.

However, the teacher at the registration desk seemed not to have seen anything at all and showed no reaction.

Jiang Nannan looked toward Wang Rui.

The red-haired youth stood at ease nearby, a faint smile on his refined and gentle face as though he was very pleased with Huo Yuqing's performance. But on closer inspection, his body was drawn taut, blazing energy rising around him as if even the air nearby had begun to warp. A faint crimson flame had appeared at the center of his pupils, while his pure golden eyes looked like boiling liquid gold, carrying a hint of terror.

Jiang Nannan shuddered.

Several streaks of golden light were hidden among the concealed weapons Tang Ya threw.

Wang Rui lowered his eyes... He had underestimated Tang Ya's ruthlessness. If Huo Yuqing was injured because of this, it would be his fault.

Using hidden weapons was already tantamount to breaking the rules, yet she had even used something as vicious as Dragon Beard Needles—those thin golden threads normally shrank into tiny pellets. Once infused with Soul Power, they turned into long needles. After drilling into an enemy's muscles, they would shrink again, bunching the entire muscle into a lump.

But he did not move.

This was Huo Yuqing's own battle. She had not asked for help, nor had she admitted defeat. Wang Rui chose to respect her choice.

On the field, Huo Yuqing felt the pressure mounting. Though she could evade the hidden weapons Tang Ya threw, they were far faster than the vines and much harder to dodge.

She was like a bird flying through rain, her steps light and nimble. Every movement had been calculated with precision, the simplest possible and yet absolutely perfect.

However, maintaining such intense concentration while dodging for so long inevitably left Huo Yuqing feeling a trace of fatigue.

Anger rose in the girl's heart as well.

Since Tang Ya had already used weapons beyond her martial soul first, then Huo Yuqing would not hold back either.

She fixed her attention on every movement Tang Ya made, trying to find an opening. Though Tang Ya constantly moved through the endless forest of vines, Huo Yuqing could still predict all of her actions.

She raised her right hand.

A very crude Soul Tool Sleeve Cannon was strapped to Huo Yuqing's right wrist. It had been roughly assembled using a first-level Energy Gathering Core she had engraved herself, along with parts removed from other scrapped Soul Tools. Its quality was poor; after using Soul Power to fire it twice, it would quickly overheat.

Tang Ya threw a thin golden hidden weapon. She infused it with Soul Power, causing the Soul Power around her body to fluctuate, and at that very moment, her body tilted slightly backward—an extremely difficult movement to evade effectively. Huo Yuqing aimed for that opening and fired at Tang Ya's left shoulder. Then, after making a slight adjustment to the angle, she immediately fired the Sleeve Cannon a second time.

The light from the Soul Tool's second shot brushed past a Bone-Penetrating Steel Nail and shot straight toward Tang Ya's right shoulder.

I'm not very good at writing fights, so please make do... (:з"∠)

A first- and second-ring fight can't really produce any grand spectacle, alas.

In the original work, Huo Yuhao could see Soul Power circulation too, okay? (I didn't make it up.)

Copying the other side's skills during a fight... that doesn't count as stealing, right? (sigh)