That girl's words fell.
The wind by the stands seemed to pause for half a beat.
She walked out of the crowd in a black fitted outfit that clung to her figure. The slender spear in her hand dragged along the ground, its tip scraping across the bluestone with a string of rough, grating sounds.
Xiao Wu had just won and hadn't even caught her breath. Sweat still clung to her forehead.
She looked at the girl, then turned to Su Chen.
"Is she here for you?"
Su Chen gave a quiet hum.
"I can tell."
Shen Zhi's expression changed.
"How did she get drawn out too?"
Xiao Wu raised an eyebrow.
"You know her?"
Shen Zhi lowered his voice.
"She's the toughest one among this batch of specially recruited students in Suotuo City."
"Lu Qingci, level twenty-nine, an Artifact Martial Soul—the Wind-Splitting Spear."
"She's nothing like Zhou Ling."
"She's steady, precise, and ruthless."
Xiao Wu furrowed her brows, then stepped forward.
"Level twenty-nine is level twenty-nine."
"I can still—"
"Go down and rest."
Su Chen cut her off.
Xiao Wu froze.
"You're going up yourself?"
"Of course."
Su Chen watched the girl in black approach one step at a time.
"She called me out."
Xiao Wu pressed her lips together.
She wanted to keep fighting.
But the last match had taken a lot out of her, and her thighs were still aching.
If she pushed herself, it might not end well.
She watched Su Chen for two seconds, then stepped aside.
"Fine."
"Just don't take too long."
"I just won. If you make a worse showing than I did, I'll laugh at you."
Su Chen glanced at her.
"Don't worry. I'll save you the trouble."
By then, the girl in black had reached the edge of the ring.
She planted a hand on the edge and vaulted straight up, landing lightly. Her spear remained perfectly steady, without a tremor.
She didn't look at the Chief Instructor first.
Nor did she look at the people from Suotuo City.
She only stared at Su Chen.
"Zhou Ling was nothing special."
"You. Come fight me."
Her words stirred a commotion all around them.
The people from Suotuo City had still been brooding over Zhou Ling's defeat, but now their spirits were lifted again.
"Lu Qingci's entered the ring."
"Now this'll be interesting."
"She's not the type to just charge in headfirst like Zhou Ling."
"If this Holy Son actually dares to fight, today's going to get lively."
The Chief Instructor stood at the side of the ring, clearly taken aback.
"Th-this match wasn't supposed to—"
"It is now."
Lu Qingci didn't even turn her head.
"If Nuoding City can send out a second fighter, Suotuo City can switch fighters too."
As she finished speaking, she thumped the butt of her spear against the ground.
Thud.
Even the layer of sand trembled.
Shen Zhi raised a hand and rubbed between his brows.
"The moment she opened her mouth, this stopped being just a special recruitment match."
Xiao Wu folded her arms and watched the ring.
"What do you mean?"
"She wants to help Suotuo City save face."
Shen Zhi's voice was low.
"Zhou Ling lost to you, and Suotuo City already lost face."
"If she can overpower Su Chen now, they'll get to save some of it."
Hearing that, Xiao Wu immediately sneered.
"Dream on."
Su Chen was already walking toward the ring.
His pace was unhurried.
The hem of his black outer robe fluttered slightly in the wind.
As he climbed the steps, the voices around the ring gradually quieted.
Many people were seeing him up close for the first time.
He was young.
Yet he had a presence that could command the whole ring.
He didn't put on airs or flaunt himself.
Somehow, that made him even harder to read.
Su Chen stepped onto the ring and stopped opposite Lu Qingci.
Seven or eight paces separated them.
Lu Qingci finally spoke again.
"Everyone says you're strong."
"I don't like listening to what other people say."
"I like finding out for myself."
Su Chen looked at the spear in her hand.
Its shaft was long and slender, jet-black, while the spearhead gleamed with a cold, bluish-green light.
It bore the marks of years of sharpening.
She wasn't holding a spear just for show.
She had truly trained with it.
"Then try."
Su Chen's tone was even.
"I'll give you the chance."
Lu Qingci's gaze turned cold.
She clearly disliked his even more indifferent tone.
"You're not using your Martial Soul?"
"Let's see if you're worth it."
The moment he said this, the people from Suotuo City erupted.
"How arrogant."
"Lu Qingci's in the ring, and he still won't use his Martial Soul?"
"Isn't he taking it too far?"
"Does he really think he can casually overpower someone at level twenty-nine?"
Xiao Wu had had enough. She turned and glared at them.
"Shut up."
"Keep making noise and I'll come down there and throw you around myself."
A few people on that side scowled, but they really did stop shouting.
The Chief Instructor swallowed and hurriedly raised a hand.
"Both sides, get ready."
"Stop at the first clean hit. No malicious—"
"Begin."
The final word had barely left his mouth.
Lu Qingci moved first.
She didn't charge straight in like Zhou Ling.
Nor did she close in like Xiao Wu.
She took three quick steps, her whole body shooting forward like an arrow skimming the ground. Her first thrust didn't aim for the center; instead, she angled it toward Su Chen's right shoulder.
The spear's path was narrow.
Fast.
And tricky.
The stands fell silent.
Anyone with an eye for it could tell that there was nothing flashy about that thrust.
It was simply meant to test his reflexes.
Su Chen didn't retreat.
The instant the spearhead reached his shoulder, he raised his right hand and brought two fingers together.
Clink.
He caught the spearhead between them.
The sound rang out, sharp as a strike against a metal plate.
Lu Qingci's pupils contracted.
She hadn't expected her first thrust to miss even his clothes, let alone for him to stop it like that.
With two fingers.
He'd caught the spearhead between them.
She immediately twisted her wrist, shaking the spear free, and swept it sideways in a second strike aimed straight at his waist.
Fast.
So fast it left only a dark arc.
This time, Su Chen moved.
He shifted his footing and slid half a step back. The spearhead skimmed past his robe, stirring up a wisp of wind.
Lu Qingci didn't pull back.
Her real strength had never been in the first thrust.
It was in the combination that followed a miss.
Tap, shake, snap, thrust.
Four moves flowed together almost seamlessly.
Spear shadows spread in an instant.
Like a dense curtain of rain, they pressed straight toward Su Chen's chest.
Gasps rang out all around them.
"She's got him on the back foot."
"Lu Qingci's spear momentum is building."
"If he can't handle this sequence, he'll have to keep retreating."
Xiao Wu watched the ring intently too.
When she fought Zhou Ling, she'd been the one setting the pace.
But now, watching Lu Qingci's spear, she realized they were nothing alike.
Zhou Ling relied on force.
Lu Qingci relied on density.
Her attacks came so thick and fast that it was hard to catch a breath.
But Su Chen still didn't retreat.
He just stood there, shifting his feet twice. His shoulders lowered, and each time, he moved only a little.
A little was enough.
Every thrust grazed past him.
Every thrust missed.
By the seventh thrust, Lu Qingci's breathing had changed.
It wasn't ragged.
But it had grown tight.
She'd realized that even though she had seized control of the rhythm, she still couldn't touch him.
Su Chen seemed to know where each thrust would come from a step ahead.
When she went left, he was already waiting there.
When she shifted to the middle, his body had already moved aside.
What bothered her most was that he still hadn't truly made a move.
He only dodged.
He only watched.
As if weighing just how much this spear of hers was worth.
"That all?"
Su Chen finally spoke.
His voice wasn't loud.
Yet it was like a needle stabbing straight into the rhythm.
Lu Qingci's gaze sharpened. She stamped down hard, and her First Soul Ring lit up at once.
The Yellow Soul Ring shuddered.
A low whistle came from her Wind-Splitting Spear.
A layer of green wind patterns appeared around the shaft, tearing at the air.
"That's enough."
As soon as the words left her mouth, she was already charging in.
This time, she didn't unleash a flurry of thrusts.
She drove a straight thrust right down the center.
It was perfectly straight.
And vicious.
Before the spear even arrived, the fine sand at the center of the ring had already been dragged into a straight line by the wind patterns.
Shen Zhi's expression darkened.
"The Wind-Splitting Spear's First Soul Skill, Piercing Wind."
"This isn't a test anymore."
"She really means to overpower him."
Xiao Wu took an unconscious step forward.
She could tell, too. This thrust was heavier than all the ones before it.
The surrounding voices fell away.
Everyone fixed their eyes on that spearpoint.
And just as the spear reached him—
Su Chen finally moved.
He didn't summon his Martial Soul.
He didn't light up a Soul Ring.
He simply reached out with his right hand, spread his fingers, and clamped them around the middle of the shaft.
The force behind the spear suddenly sank.
The wind patterns driving forward seemed to hit a wall and shattered on the spot.
Lu Qingci felt the weight in her hands surge. The whole spear suddenly seemed to weigh a thousand catties.
Her wrist went numb, and even her forward momentum was forcibly halted.
"Your spear's straight enough,"
Su Chen said, gripping the shaft and raising his eyes to her.
"Too bad you aren't steady enough."
As he spoke, his arm jolted.
He wasn't trying to snatch the spear.
He was using it to transmit force.
With a muffled thud,
the web of Lu Qingci's hand split open. Her palm burned, and the Wind-Splitting Spear nearly slipped from her grasp.
She reacted swiftly, loosening her grip halfway and using the force to retreat.
But Su Chen had already followed.
It was a simple step.
Yet he moved so fast that it was as if he'd crashed straight into her from where he stood.
Lu Qingci had no time to raise her spear. She could only block with her arm.
Su Chen didn't throw a heavy punch.
He merely curled a finger and rapped the back of it against her wrist.
Smack.
The sound was faint.
The Wind-Splitting Spear flew from her hand, spinning through the air before lodging in a crack in the Black Stone at the edge of the ring.
Its butt end was still trembling.
The entire arena fell silent.
Lu Qingci stood rooted to the spot, her right hand empty.
Half her arm was numb.
She stared at the spear stuck in the distance, her chest rising and falling more heavily.
Su Chen stood in front of her, two paces away. He didn't pursue her further.
"Are we still fighting?"
Lu Qingci slowly raised her head.
There was no panic in her eyes, only a spark of anger forced out of her.
"We are."
Her Second Soul Ring lit up.
A flash of yellow light.
Her figure blurred. Instead of going for her spear, she used her Soul Skill to gain speed and rushed in barehanded.
Few people knew that after the Wind-Splitting Spear left her hands, she was actually most dangerous at close range.
Elbow strikes, knee thrusts, and close-quarters grappling.
These were all things she usually kept hidden.
Someone in the stands cried out first.
"She was hiding this move, too?"
"Isn't she a spear fighter?"
"That's called having a lot of tricks."
Xiao Wu kept her eyes on the ring, and her gaze shifted.
She could understand.
The path Lu Qingci was trying to take now was a little like hers.
Only harder.
And straighter.
But Su Chen still didn't let her get close.
When her elbow struck toward his face, he raised a palm to block it.
When her knee thrust upward, he lifted his leg and pressed it down.
They were so close they were almost touching.
Yet each time, Lu Qingci was the one shaken back by half an inch.
Half an inch wasn't much.
But each time, it was enough to break her next attack.
By the third time she was pushed back, Lu Qingci's breathing had grown completely labored.
She suddenly understood.
Su Chen wasn't holding back his strength.
He was applying just the right amount each time.
Just enough to disrupt her rhythm.
Just enough to stop her from following through with her next move.
This style of fighting was even more miserable than smashing her head-on.
Because it made the gap between them impossible to ignore.
It wasn't a little.
It was an entire level.
Lu Qingci gritted her teeth and moved in again.
But Su Chen raised his hand first and rested it on her shoulder.
It wasn't heavy.
And it didn't hurt her.
But that single touch pinned her in place.
"That's enough."
Su Chen looked at her.
"Your spear's good, and you're better than Zhou Ling."
"If we keep going, you'll lose even more badly."
The wind swept past the edge of the ring.
Lu Qingci stood there, her shoulders rising and falling slightly.
She didn't retreat at once.
And she didn't admit defeat at once, either.
After a few breaths, she slowly exhaled.
"I lost."
Only when those three words left her mouth did the spectators burst into an uproar.
"She really admitted it?"
"Even Lu Qingci admitted defeat?"
"He didn't even summon his Martial Soul!"
"Is he even human?"
The students from Suotuo City all wore stiff expressions.
They could still say Zhou Ling had lost because he'd underestimated his opponent.
But Lu Qingci had lost, too.
And she'd lost in the area where she was most steady.
They couldn't brush that aside by calling it underestimating him.
Only then did the Chief Instructor snap back to his senses and hurry onto the platform.
"Second match, Su Chen wins!"
As the announcement rang out,
the people from Nuoding City erupted first.
Wang Sheng and the others shouted until their voices cracked.
"Boss!"
"Boss won!"
"He won without summoning his Martial Soul!"
Xiao Wu stood below the platform, her eyes shining.
She'd meant to hold back.
In the end, she couldn't help shouting toward the platform.
"Su Chen, you're so cool!"
As soon as she shouted it, she froze.
Everyone around her froze, too.
Xiao Wu's ears immediately burned red. She quickly set her face and pretended nothing had happened.
Su Chen stood on the platform and glanced her way.
The corner of his mouth lifted ever so slightly.
At that moment, Lu Qingci walked over to where the Wind-Splitting Spear was stuck and pulled it free.
She didn't look at anyone else. She simply walked up to Su Chen and spoke in a low voice.
"I didn't come up here today just for Zhou Ling."
"I know."
Su Chen said.
"Who else did you come for?"
Lu Qingci gripped her spear and fell silent for a moment.
"Someone at the Suotuo Branch Hall isn't convinced by you."
"He can't come down openly, so he wants to use our hands to test you first."
Shen Zhi heard this from below the stage, and his expression darkened on the spot.
Su Chen, however, wasn't surprised.
"Who?"
Lu Qingci looked up.
"Vice Hall Master Han Su."
"Zhou Ling is one of his people."
"I'm not."
She paused, then added,
"So if I lose, I'll accept it."
Su Chen looked at her.
"You went out of your way to tell me this. What do you want in return?"
Lu Qingci tightened her grip on the spear.
"One chance."
"What chance?"
"To fight again another day."
Su Chen smiled.
"Fine."
"Come back when you've trained enough to make me use my Martial Soul."
Lu Qingci's eyes widened.
She said nothing.
She only tightened her grip on the spear a little more, then turned and walked off the stage.
Xiao Wu had already come up by then.
As soon as she arrived, she gave Su Chen a couple of scrutinizing looks.
"Were you showing off on purpose just now?"
"No."
"Liar."
Xiao Wu huffed.
"You could've knocked her spear flying right from the start, but you dragged the fight out for so long."
"That was for you."
Su Chen looked at her.
"So you'd know that when you run into a spear fighter like her, you shouldn't charge in close. Break her rhythm first."
Xiao Wu froze.
The little temper that had just started to flare up vanished at once.
She blinked, but still kept up her defiant tone.
"You're pretty good at slipping in a lesson."
"What else?"
"So I should thank you, then?"
"Just a verbal thank-you will do."
At those words, Xiao Wu immediately remembered their earlier agreement about a reward.
She was just about to speak when an even bigger commotion suddenly broke out on the other side of the Training Ground.
Below the high platform on the Suotuo City Branch Hall's side, several Deacons hurriedly made way.
A middle-aged man in a gray-and-gold robe emerged at an unhurried pace.
His face was gaunt, his eye sockets deep-set. He walked slowly, but the cuffs of his sleeves were impeccably neat.
The moment he appeared, even the Chief Instructor immediately bowed in greeting.
Shen Zhi's expression changed completely.
"Han Su is here."
Before you continue