Spellbreaker

Ji Juechen stood with his eyes closed in a corner of the training grounds, an Iron Sword held in his arms. He had become a unique sight at the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy. Ever since that fateful exchange of glances with Huo Yuhao, the three-meter "Forbidden Zone" around him seemed to have grown even more solidified.

Yet there were always people who wanted to challenge taboos.

"Hey! You with the sword!"

A voice full of obvious dissatisfaction and arrogance shattered the clamor of the training grounds. The crowd parted like the Red Sea as Xiao Hongchen, dressed in an extravagant array of Soul Tools, strode over with his sister Meng Hongchen. His face was written with displeasure. Yesterday, Huo Yuhao had only just arrived when Hall Master Jing Hongchen personally received him. Today, this sword-hugging freak, who had received "special attention" from both Jing Ziyan and Huo Yuhao, had appeared as well. It made him, the number one genius of Sun Moon Academy, feel as though his spotlight had been stolen.

Ji Juechen did not even raise his eyelids, as though the other man were speaking to empty air.

Xiao Hongchen's anger flared at once. As Jing Hongchen's grandson and the young master of Mingde Hall, when had he ever suffered such contempt?

"I'm talking to you!" Xiao Hongchen stopped at the edge of the "Forbidden Zone," his finger nearly poking Ji Juechen in the nose. "Stop putting on airs! Let's see what gives that worthless Iron Sword of yours the right to act so high and mighty here!"

A system panel calmly appeared in Ji Juechen's mind:

[Hostile target detected.]

[Target: Xiao Hongchen. Emotional analysis: arrogance (95%), jealousy (80%), boredom (60%).]

[Flaw analysis: His outward behavior highly aligns with his inner thoughts, making him a low-complexity target. Recommendation: end the battle quickly.]

Ji Juechen finally opened his eyes. Those eyes remained calm and unruffled as he gave Xiao Hongchen a faint glance.

"Move." He said only one word.

"Move?" Xiao Hongchen laughed in fury. "Fine! Beat me, and I'll take a detour whenever I see you from now on! Lose, and get out of the training grounds with that worthless sword of yours!"

The atmosphere on the training grounds instantly ignited. Sun Moon's number one genius against the mysterious Sword Fanatic! Every student crowded around in excited anticipation. Huo Yuhao and Wang Donger stood at the edge of the crowd, watching the field with solemn expressions. Huo Yuhao quietly activated Spirit Detection. He wanted to see for himself just what abilities this person, who could "see through" his detection, possessed.

Ji Juechen looked at the fighting-spirit-filled Xiao Hongchen without saying another word. He merely adjusted his grip on the sword slightly, tacitly accepting the duel.

"Hmph!" Xiao Hongchen snorted coldly as his soul rings lit up in an instant—two yellow, two purple, and one black. The five soul rings in their optimal configuration displayed the formidable strength of a Soul King. He spread his arms, and countless particles of metal appeared out of thin air. As though alive, they swiftly gathered and assembled, forming three Soul Cannon Turrets radiating dangerous auras in the blink of an eye—the perfect combination of the Metal Control martial soul and Soul Tools!

"Fall!" Xiao Hongchen shouted. Runes lit up across the three turrets, and in the next moment, dozens of blazing Soul Guidance Rays swept toward Ji Juechen like a Metal Storm, carrying destructive force! The light was blinding, the energy surging, nearly sealing off every path of escape.

The watching students cried out in alarm. Many could already envision Ji Juechen being blasted to pieces.

Yet at the very instant that barrage was about to strike him, Ji Juechen moved.

No, more precisely, his "vision" moved.

With [Weakness Insight] activated, the dazzling yet deadly Soul Guidance Rays filling the sky were no longer an irresistible torrent of energy in his eyes. Clear, faintly red Data Streams appeared in his field of vision, marking the energy intensity and trajectory of every ray, even predicting the areas they would cover in the next second.

More importantly, several minuscule points on the three seemingly flawless Soul Cannon Turrets flashed with an even more urgent dark red glow—nodes the system had marked as having the most sluggish energy flow and the most fragile structures!

All thought was completed in a flash. Ji Juechen moved.

He did not retreat. He did not block. Instead, he took a step forward into the Metal Storm!

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

His figure blurred, like a ghostly shadow swaying in a gale, slipping through the gaps between several rays by the narrowest of margins. His movements were elegant and precise, as though he were not fighting for his life but performing a carefully choreographed dance.

"What?!" Xiao Hongchen's pupils constricted sharply. Every one of his Soul Guidance Rays had missed?!

Even as he reeled from the shock, Ji Juechen had already passed through the densest web of firepower. Man and sword became a streak of black lightning, stabbing straight ahead! His target was not Xiao Hongchen himself, but the most crucial turret before him!

"Courting death!" Xiao Hongchen roared, mobilizing the turret's energy to deliver Ji Juechen a fatal blow at close range.

But it was too late.

Ji Juechen's Iron Sword struck after yet arrived first! No light of any soul skill shone from its tip, only Soul Power condensed to the limit and an intent to sever all things.

Ssh—!

A soft sound rang out. It was not an explosion, but like a red-hot iron piercing ice and snow.

The black Iron Sword struck with flawless precision upon the flashing dark red node of the core turret!

Time seemed to freeze at that moment.

The violent energy fluctuations of the Soul Cannon Turret, into which Xiao Hongchen had poured his effort and pride, abruptly ceased. Countless fine cracks spread across its body in an instant, centered on the point where the sword tip had landed. Then, amid a metallic wail that made teeth ache, the powerful Soul Tool dimmed completely as though all life had been drained from it, misfiring into silence. Only a smooth, deep sword mark remained at its core.

The entire process, from beginning to end, had taken no more than three breaths.

A deathly silence fell over the training grounds.

Everyone stared dumbfoundedly at the field. The young man holding the sword remained expressionless, as though he had merely done something insignificant. Meanwhile, the Iron Sword in his hands slowly returned to his embrace.

Xiao Hongchen stood frozen in place, all color drained from his face as he stared in disbelief at his ruined core turret. His strongest attack had actually... actually been disabled by a single casual strike from the other man?!

This was beyond his comprehension! This was not a clash of soul skills at all. This was... this was suppression at the level of rules! It was as though the other party had known from the beginning where the turret's "fatal weakness" lay!

Ji Juechen's gaze swept over the distraught Xiao Hongchen as the system prompt sounded in his mind once more:

[Target's "aesthetic" has been destroyed. Mockery energy collected: +10.]

[Post-battle follow-up mockery available. Options:]

[A: Your turret is Flashy but Impractical, just like you. (Highly provocative)]

[B: That is not how Soul Tools are used. (Highly instructive)]

Ji Juechen chose without hesitation the option closest to the system's analysis and most aligned with his current understanding. Looking at Xiao Hongchen, he relayed the system's judgment in his characteristically calm tone:

"Flashy but Impractical."

The four words echoed clearly through the silent training grounds.

"Pfft..." Someone was the first to fail to hold back a laugh. Then suppressed laughter and murmurs surged up like a tide.

Xiao Hongchen's face instantly turned liver-colored. Shame, fury, shock, and humiliation flooded his heart. He pointed at Ji Juechen and stammered for a long while, unable to utter a single word. Meng Hongchen hurried forward to support her brother, who was nearly fainting from rage, her gaze toward Ji Juechen filled with complicated emotions.

At the edge of the crowd, Huo Yuhao slowly closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Under his Spirit Detection, every detail of that sword strike had been magnified infinitely. That had not been suppression through power. It had been... the union of ultimate insight and ultimate precision!

"He... he didn't rely on brute force..." Huo Yuhao's voice was slightly hoarse. "He saw through the most fragile structural point of Xiao Hongchen's Soul Tool... One strike, just one strike and..."

Wang Donger also put away her earlier disdain, her pretty face filled with gravity. "What a terrifying sword... What terrifying eyesight."

Ji Juechen did not bother with anyone's reactions. Holding his sword, he returned to that corner and closed his eyes once more. It was as though the earthshaking strike from moments ago had nothing to do with him.

Only a line of small text quietly appeared on the system panel, recording the conclusion of the duel:

[Combat data entry complete. Host's application rating for "Weakness Insight": Excellent.]

[Warning: Spiritual Power consumption from the first combat analysis exceeded expectations. Recommendation: meditate and recover as soon as possible.]

A seemingly one-sided duel had ended in a way no one anticipated. The name of Ji Juechen, the "Sword Fanatic," spread throughout the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy like a whirlwind alongside the assessment, "Flashy but Impractical."

Everyone realized that this silent young man who held a sword was far more terrifying than they had imagined.