Sparring with Liu Erlong

Yuan Ling's defeat—and the fact that he had been beaten badly—could not be kept under wraps. There had simply been too many people present, and Zhao Yuan went around telling everyone like a loudspeaker.

In less than a day, everyone in the academy knew about it.

The students who had not gone to watch were shocked. Yuan Ling had actually lost, and lost badly at that, to Grand Duke Qingyang, whom he had regarded as a puppet. The Work-Study Students celebrated as if it were New Year's.

"Have you heard? Yuan Ling was defeated by the Grand Duke."

"Of course. The whole academy knows by now."

"Wow, the Grand Duke is incredible. He defeated Level 17 Yuan Ling while only at Level 12."

"Do you think the Yuan Family will make a move against the Grand Duke?"

"Probably not. This is still the academy. Trying to harm the Grand Duke here would be asking for trouble."

As the students discussed it heatedly, Zhao Yuan began to worry after his initial excitement faded.

It left him unable to focus in class.

"What's wrong? You seem troubled." Huangfu Ji looked at him with a smile.

Zhao Yuan lowered his voice. "Grand Duke, you beat Yuan Ling so badly yesterday. Do you think Yuan Hao will come after you?"

Liu Erlong leaned closer as well, concern evident in her eyes.

Huangfu Ji smiled confidently. "Don't worry. Yuan Hao won't do anything. At least, not yet."

If Yuan Hao had wanted to make a move against him, he would not have waited until now. He had had opportunities before school began, and he had also had opportunities when they hunted Soul Beasts in the Soul Beast Forest.

Now, the academy was full of people. Even if he wanted to kill Huangfu Ji or cripple him, he would have to wait until there was no one around.

Seeing Huangfu Ji's confidence, Zhao Yuan was reassured.

Yuan Ling did not go back on their agreement, so they naturally no longer had to do those jobs. They had much more time to devote to cultivation.

At the same time, because Huangfu Ji had defeated Yuan Ling, the Work-Study Students all began to look to him as their leader. He was now the strongest among the academy's three hundred students. With his protection, those Noble Students no longer dared to bully them.

After learning that his son had been brutally beaten by Huangfu Ji, Yuan Hao surprisingly took no action. He merely had Yuan Ling's injuries treated, leaving Cheng Yao and the others baffled.

However, since Yuan Hao had made no move, they could not rashly do anything either. They simply let things take their course.

Ever since Huangfu Ji enrolled, Yuan Hao had acted far more discreetly. He did not suppress them, but neither did he allow them to expand their influence unchecked.

Even the nobles who had already pledged themselves to Yuan Hao were puzzled. Anyone who was not blind could see that Huangfu Ji would become a tremendous threat in the future, so why had Yuan Hao done nothing?

Yuan Hao naturally understood that Huangfu Ji was a tremendous threat. But he could not make a move against him within the Duchy, especially not cripple him outright in the academy. Originally, he had hoped his son could cripple Huangfu Ji during their spar.

Yet he had never expected his son to be so useless. Not only had he failed to cripple Huangfu Ji, he had been beaten senseless himself. Rather than achieving his goal, he had instead built Huangfu Ji's reputation within the academy.

Without realizing it, Huangfu Ji had won over some of the students.

A few students were not frightening. What was frightening was that if they grew alongside Huangfu Ji, they would inevitably stand by his side. A puppet Grand Duke was still a Grand Duke. Once they followed Huangfu Ji in reclaiming power, the word "puppet" could be discarded.

Yuan Hao could sense that Huangfu Ji had already slipped beyond his control. Even though Huangfu Ji remained in Qingyang City under his surveillance, as time passed, Yuan Hao would gradually become powerless to stop him.

A genius with Innate Full Soul Power was not someone who could be easily subdued.

Keeping him locked in the Duke's Mansion had been his only option, but even that option was no longer useful.

However, Huangfu Ji was not what he needed to deal with now. What mattered was the Empire.

Huangfu Ji was still underage, so Yuan Hao could use the excuse of acting as regent. But once Huangfu Ji grew up more than a decade later, he would have to return power. Yet that was obviously impossible. He had betrayed Huangfu Yunhe and killed so many people precisely to seize Qingyang Duchy.

How could he possibly hand power back to Huangfu Ji?

Thus, he had already sent people to Heaven Dou City to contact its ministers and nobles. He had also sent people to the Four Great Kingdoms to contact them in the same way, hoping that they would speak for him in the future.

Naturally, he would have to offer tremendous benefits. Words alone would not be enough.

At the same time, he was secretly contacting Spirit Hall, hoping it could assist him in this matter.

Spirit Hall was more than willing. The Huangfu Family was not close to Spirit Hall, while the Yuan Family was. If Yuan Hao became the ruler of the Duchy, Spirit Hall's influence would expand greatly.

Moreover, Huangfu Ji possessed Innate Full Soul Power, which was unfavorable to them.

If he were merely a Free Soul Master, it would not be so bad. But he was, in name, the ruler of a nation.

Nothing much happened in the academy over the following days. However, more and more people gathered around Huangfu Ji, and Yuan Ling did not cause trouble again.

Every day, Huangfu Ji cultivated and studied. Perhaps influenced by him, Liu Erlong also worked extremely hard. By the end of the year, she had broken through to Level 10 and obtained her First Soul Ring.

After obtaining her First Soul Ring, she returned and immediately sought out Huangfu Ji.

"Huangfu, I've obtained my First Soul Ring. Let's spar."

Under a thick tree on the training grounds, Liu Erlong eagerly challenged Huangfu Ji. After knowing him for several months, she had always called him Huangfu. She felt that it made them seem closer.

She did not want to call him Grand Duke like everyone else did.

Huangfu Ji, who had been reading, closed his book and looked up at the expectant Liu Erlong.

"Forget it. I'm already Level 14. If we spar, people will say I'm bullying you."

He had cultivated diligently during this period, and his Soul Power Level had increased rapidly. He had advanced two levels, so he felt that Liu Erlong was no match for him now.

Liu Erlong did not care in the slightest.

"What's there to be afraid of? A mere three-level gap is nothing to me, Liu Erlong."

"Come on. Even if I can't beat you, let me see just how large the gap between us is, so I know what I need to catch up to."

Grabbing Huangfu Ji's hand, Liu Erlong pulled him to his feet.

Huangfu Ji shook his head helplessly and could only accompany her for a match. If necessary, he would go easy on her.

The weather was cold now, and there was practically no one on the training grounds.

The two stood ten meters apart.

Knowing that Huangfu Ji was stronger than her, Liu Erlong still chose to strike first. With Martial Soul Possession, a layer of dragon scales covered her body and face, while a yellow First Soul Ring rose beneath her feet.

"First Soul Skill: Rampage Dragon Avatar!"

A dragon's roar echoed through the air as the dragon scales on Liu Erlong's body formed armor. Her strength, defense, attack power, and speed all increased greatly.

However, the armor formed from dragon scales did not cover her entire body. It only covered her arms.

Then Liu Erlong attacked, charging toward Huangfu Ji.

Huangfu Ji took the palm strike head-on and was immediately forced back several meters, surprise appearing in his eyes.