Data's Counterattack and the Sword's Invitation

The air seemed to freeze.

The confident smile on Huo Yuhao's face had long vanished, replaced by unprecedented gravity. He felt like a naked man standing before an omniscient judge, with every secret and every trump card laid bare.

"What... what nonsense are you spouting?!" Wang Dong was the first to react. His handsome face flushed red, half with anger and half with guilt. He stepped forward, powerful Spiritual Power bursting from his golden eyes as he tried to pressure Ji Juechen.

Ji Juechen did not slow in the slightest, as though that Spiritual Power were merely a breeze brushing past his clothes.

System, analyze the Spiritual Power attack pattern of target 'Wang Dong'.

[Analyzing... Attack pattern: indiscriminate Spiritual Power suppression. Simple structure, severely emotion-driven. Flaw: the pressure lacks a central focus; like shotgun pellets, it cannot penetrate 'Thunderclap Guardian.' Conclusion: no threat.]

Huo Yuhao was far calmer than Wang Dong. He grabbed Wang Dong and said in a low voice, "Don't act rashly!"

He stared fixedly at Ji Juechen's back, his mind racing. Seven nodes? Less than three percent? Those figures were far too precise to be wild guesses!

He drew a deep breath and quietly activated the Eye of Fate. An invisible Soul Impact, like a venomous stinger, silently stabbed toward the back of Ji Juechen's head. This was one of his most concealed and lethal attack methods!

Yet Ji Juechen still did not turn around.

Here it comes. Sixth Soul Skill, 'Soul Impact.' It really is much more refined than that 'Little Sun's' attack earlier. System, analyze it.

[High-frequency spiritual penetration attack detected. 'Thunderclap Guardian' automatically activated. Consumed 1,000 Sword Intent Points; purification complete. Analysis complete. This skill highly condenses Spiritual Power to attack a single target. Flaw: the condensation process requires 0.3 seconds, and after activation, the user's spiritual defense will briefly be left open.]

At the instant Huo Yuhao launched his attack, Ji Juechen's eyelid merely twitched almost imperceptibly. The attack, enough to cause an ordinary Soul Ancestor's mind to collapse, was silently annihilated by a golden web of lightning just an inch before it reached him.

Huo Yuhao's heart shook violently!

His Soul Impact felt as though it had slammed into an insurmountable divine mountain. Not only had it done no damage, but the backlash from the other party's power sent a sharp pain through his Sea of Consciousness.

"How... how did he do that?" Wang Dong had also sensed the clash of Spiritual Power, his face full of disbelief.

"I don't know." Huo Yuhao's voice was somewhat hoarse. "But his strength is far beyond anything we imagined. He wasn't provoking us. He was... stating facts."

Just then, Ji Juechen, who had already walked some distance away, suddenly stopped.

He slowly turned around, and those Ancient Well-still eyes looked at Huo Yuhao once more.

"Your 'Soul Impact' takes too long to condense. Its flaw is obvious."

That single sentence made Huo Yuhao feel as though he had fallen into an ice pit.

He could even see through his sneak attack just now?!

Ji Juechen seemed utterly uninterested in their shock. Still speaking in the tone of someone stating facts, he continued, "Your fighting style relies too heavily on external aids. Sky Dream Ice Silkworm's spiritual origin, Ice Empress's Extreme Ice..."

He paused there, seemingly recalling something.

System, what was that third spiritual origin detected earlier? The data seems somewhat blurred, as though it is wrapped in an even stronger power.

[Warning: A Sealed Energy Source has been detected within the target. Current permissions are insufficient for analysis. Data temporarily stored as 'Unknown High-Level Energy.']

Ji Juechen's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly. This was the first thing he had encountered that he could not analyze.

"...And another one—an 'Unknown High-Level Energy' sealed deep within your Sea of Consciousness." In the end, he voiced the vague description given by the system.

The impact of those words was greater than everything before combined!

Even the power that Huo Yuhao himself did not know about, sealed by Electrolux's divine sense, had been sensed by the other party?!

Wang Dong was completely speechless. He could only instinctively shield Huo Yuhao more tightly.

Ji Juechen's gaze finally moved away from Huo Yuhao and settled on the sword hilt at his waist.

The data collection is nearly complete. But data is ultimately just data. Only actual combat can test the limits of the Eye of Insight. This 'mobile treasure vault' must become my exclusive 'tester.'

"Tomorrow, at sunset. The third training ground behind the mountain." Ji Juechen issued an invitation—no, it was more like a notification.

"I challenge you."

Before Huo Yuhao could answer, Jing Ziyan returned. Looking at the pale-faced Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, she said to Ji Juechen with some helplessness, "Juechen, you scared them."

She turned to Huo Yuhao and smiled apologetically. "Sorry. He's always been like this. Ever since his breakthrough, the way he speaks has become... even more direct. He means no harm."

"No harm?" Huo Yuhao gave a bitter laugh. "This isn't harm anymore. This is a 'Dimensional Strike.'"

"No." Ji Juechen cut him off. "I need a sufficiently complex 'lock' to test my 'sword.' You are that lock."

Having said that, he gave Huo Yuhao no chance to refuse and turned to leave.

Leaving behind only Huo Yuhao and Wang Dong, and hearts whose understanding of the world had been utterly overturned.

After a long while, Wang Dong finally asked in a trembling voice, "Yuhao, that guy... what kind of monster is he?"

Huo Yuhao fell silent. He looked down at his hands, and for the first time, he doubted the many fortuitous encounters he had always taken pride in.

Before absolute "insight," every trump card seemed to lose its meaning.

But the resilience in his bones quickly pulled him from his shock.

After the fear came an unprecedented Fighting Spirit!

"A monster... perhaps." Huo Yuhao raised his head, a dangerous light gleaming in his eyes. "But Wang Dong, have you ever thought about it... if we can defeat even a monster like him, how strong will we become?"

Wang Dong froze.

"He isn't humiliating us." Huo Yuhao's voice became firm and powerful. "He's giving us... an unprecedented opportunity!"

"Tomorrow, I'll accept his challenge!"

A challenge sparked by "data" was about to officially unfold behind Shrek Academy. And the outcome of this battle would completely alter the destinies of two young geniuses.