Try It?

Yan's words were half teasing and half probing. He felt a sense of rivalry towards this kid who had suddenly appeared and seemed to be getting a lot of attention from Hu Liena.

Chen Li smiled faintly. The Heart of Illusory Thunder necklace around his neck grew slightly warm, ensuring that the Yellow Soul Ring behind him was flawless. He looked at Yan and said calmly, "No need to worry. I already have some ideas. Perhaps soon I'll need to go out for training and seek opportunities."

Upon hearing this, Xie Yue's crimson eyes flashed, and he spoke, "Go out for training? Do you have a destination? Do you need..." He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.

As core disciples, especially one like Chen Li who received special attention, they would often have powerful individuals accompany them or form a team when going out to hunt for Soul Rings.

"Thank you for the offer, but it ultimately depends on the arrangements of Master Lor Diarra from the research institute and the directives from Your Majesty the Pope." Chen Li steered the conversation towards official procedures, neither refusing nor confirming.

He had his own plans. The materials needed to acquire his second Soul Ring would likely require a wider hunting ground.

Hu Liena's eyes lit up. "Go out for training? That sounds fun! Brother, we haven't had any real combat practice in a while either!" She was clearly tired of the monotonous daily training.

Yan also perked up. "Hmph, if you're going, don't drag us down." He said this to Chen Li.

Xie Yue didn't immediately respond to his sister but instead gave Chen Li a deep look.

This young man, several years their junior yet impossibly composed, always carried an air of mystery that even he couldn't fathom.

He was level twenty now. What would his second ring look like? Xie Yue had a vague premonition that this Chen Li might bring some unexpected impact to the Golden Generation.

"Let's finish today's training regimen first." Xie Yue withdrew his gaze, resuming his stern leadership demeanor. "Chen Li, since you've reached level twenty, you can join the sparring practice today. Try to experience the pressure of higher-intensity combat. It might help you clarify your future direction."

Chen Li's eyes narrowed slightly, and he nodded. "Alright."

Sparring practice with the Golden Generation? Perfect. He also wanted to personally gauge how much of a gap still existed between him, a Soul Grand Master at level twenty with a foundation built on a Thousand-year Soul Ring, and these true geniuses. And... how effective his Lightning Strike · Lawbreaker would be in actual combat.

"Don't get completely crushed by me!"

Yan watched Chen Li, who had already stepped towards the training grounds. The suppressed smile on his lips finally bloomed unrestrainedly, carrying a hint of excitement and provocation ready to be unleashed.

He had admired Hu Liena for a long time; this feeling was an open secret within the Golden Generation. However, Hu Liena had never shown him any special regard beyond that of a teammate. Her alluring eyes would calmly skim over him, focusing on tactics and training.

But this newcomer, Chen Li, this six-year-old kid who had only joined the Martial Soul Hall less than three months ago, Hu Liena was clearly different towards him.

That attention, that smile, that patience and curiosity far exceeding what she showed her teammates... Yan saw it all clearly.

He had been harboring a fire in his heart for a long time. Today, under the guise of sparring, he would make this kid understand that the core circle of the Martial Soul Hall wasn't a place one could stand firm in through luck and strange Martial Souls.

"I'll try." Chen Li offered no extra words, merely nodding as he walked steadily towards the center of the training grounds.

His posture was upright, his expression calm, as if he were not about to face a battle with a significant disparity in Soul Power, but merely an ordinary task.

Xie Yue crossed his arms, his silver short hair swaying slightly in the morning breeze, the crimson butterfly pattern at the corner of his eye growing more alluring. His voice was steady, carrying the unquestionable authority of a leader. "Chen Li, you'll spar with Yan. Yan, hold back a bit. Your Soul Power is six levels higher than his, and you have an extra Soul Ring."

He paused, the light in his crimson eyes receding. "Stop when it's enough."

Xie Yue also wanted to see what substance this six-year-old child, who was being specially watched by both the Pope and Elder Ju and was exceptionally admitted into the core circle, possessed. After all, words were one thing, but experiencing it firsthand was another.

"Don't worry, Brother Xie Yue." Yan licked his slightly dry lips, his dark red eyes flickering with excited flames. "I'll let him know what... respect... is."

He deliberately emphasized the last two words.

In fact, the news of Chen Li breaking through to level twenty today had stirred waves of varying degrees in the hearts of all three of them.

They each recalled their own ages when they broke through to level twenty. Yan was eight, Xie Yue was seven and a half, and Hu Liena was also seven and a half.

Chen Li, however, was six years and six months old. This meant his cultivation speed was nearly a full year faster than the Martial Soul Hall's top geniuses.

A full year, during the golden period of Soul Master cultivation, was enough to create an insurmountable gap.

This pressure felt like an invisible thorn, piercing Yan's heart.

He needed to secure a swift and decisive victory to confirm his position and to tell everyone that talent was one thing, and strength was another.

"Chen Li, do your best." Hu Liena spoke softly, a faint smile flickering in her beautiful eyes.

She leaned against a stone pillar at the edge of the training grounds, a few strands of her long black hair lifted by the morning breeze, her posture languid but her gaze intense.

Her special attention towards Chen Li was not the romantic affection Yan imagined. As Bibi Dong's only direct disciple and the future Saintess of the Martial Soul Hall, she knew more than Xie Yue and Yan, much more.

She knew the origin and purpose of the Heart of Illusory Thunder necklace around Chen Li's neck.

She knew that the seemingly ordinary Yellow Hundred Year Soul Ring, which outsiders saw, was actually a deep purple Thousand-year Soul Ring in reality.

She knew even more that after absorbing his first Soul Ring, Chen Li's Soul Power had directly surged from level ten to eighteen.

Level eighteen.

Hu Liena clearly remembered that after she absorbed her first Soul Ring, her Soul Power had only risen from level ten to fourteen. This four-level difference represented a fundamental disparity in Soul Ring quality, Martial Soul potential, and even future growth ceiling.

Your Majesty the Pope had taught her: true powerhouses must learn to identify, before anyone else, those who are worth following or worth enlisting.

This wasn't about opportunism; it was the wisdom of survival, the initiative to control the game. Chen Li was clearly a potential stock that could grow into a king's piece in the future.

Therefore, she needed to observe, to pay attention, and to establish appropriate contact at the right time. That was all, at least for now.

As for this match?

Hu Liena didn't believe Chen Li could win.

Yan's experience, Soul Power level, and the extra Soul Ring were all tangible advantages that could not be easily overcome by any technique or Martial Soul effect.

She simply wanted to see what kind of answer this six-year-old child would deliver under such a significant disadvantage.