"Stop! Stop! Stop!"
Hu Liena immediately called a halt, grimacing as she shook the wrist caught in the soft whip.
"I'm done, I'm done. I give up!"
Ling Xiao drew back his spear and dispelled his Soul Skill.
Ling Xi hurriedly withdrew her soft whip as well. "You were too kind, my lord."
Hu Liena rubbed her wrist and looked at the two standing before her with an utterly defeated expression.
A year ago, fighting these two little ones had been child's play.
But now, Ling Xiao's spearwork had grown more and more unpredictable, and his control-type Soul Skill was even harder to guard against.
The two worked together as if they were one person. Even with her Soul Power far higher than theirs, she simply couldn't hold out.
"You two are ganging up on me!"
Hu Liena planted her hands on her hips and glared at Ling Xiao, puffing out her cheeks as she started to throw a tantrum.
"Two against one? Using your numbers to bully me—what kind of skill is that?"
"Even if you win, it's nothing to be proud of!"
Watching her act spoiled and unreasonable, Ling Xiao couldn't help smiling.
After a year together, he had figured out what his senior sister was like.
In front of outsiders, she was a cool and aloof genius. With her own people, though, she was a lively, spoiled little girl.
Even when she lost a spar like this, she wouldn't truly get angry. She just refused to admit defeat aloud.
"Then what does Senior Sister want to do?" Ling Xiao asked, playing along.
"One-on-one!"
Hu Liena perked up at once and pointed at Ling Xiao.
"I'll fight you alone! No help from Ling Xi. Just the two of us, one-on-one!"
"I want to see just how strong you really are now!"
She had wanted to fight Ling Xiao one-on-one for a long time.
She kept telling herself she'd lost because they had teamed up.
If it really came down to one-on-one, with her Soul Power at level twenty-nine and two Soul Skills, there was no way she could lose to a Soul Master who was only level nineteen.
She also wanted to see how much this junior brother, who worked her so hard she could barely sleep, was really keeping in reserve.
At that, Ling Xiao raised an eyebrow.
He had been thinking the same thing.
Over the past year, he had trained hard in spearwork and honed his Soul Power. His strength had improved by leaps and bounds.
Most of the time, he and Ling Xi had fought together. He had never truly tested where his limits lay.
A Soul Grandmaster at level twenty-nine was just the test he needed.
"Fine."
Ling Xiao nodded and gripped the spear in his hand again.
He walked to the other end of the Martial Arts Arena and gave Hu Liena a slight nod.
"Please, Senior Sister."
When Hu Liena saw that he had agreed, a delighted smile spread across her face.
Her aura changed in an instant, sharpening.
She clenched her fists, and her two fox ears appeared once more.
Two Yellow Soul Rings slowly rose beneath her feet.
The pressure of a level-twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster swept across the entire Martial Arts Arena.
On the other side, the young man stood tall, spear in hand.
Ling Xi retreated to the edge of the Martial Arts Arena and held her breath, watching the two in the center.
On the Martial Arts Arena,
the spearpoint's cold glint faced off against the Demon Fox Martial Soul from afar.
Hu Liena looked at Ling Xiao, standing with his spear across from her, and put aside her contempt.
There was no judging this junior brother of hers by ordinary standards.
Even though her Soul Power Level was higher, the slightest carelessness could make her stumble.
"Careful, Senior Sister."
Before his words had even faded, Ling Xiao suddenly sprang into motion.
No testing the waters—his first move was already a lethal technique: Seven Forms of Breaking the Formation!
He shot forward like an arrow loosed from a bow.
The spearpoint aimed straight for Hu Liena's heart, its wind fierce and sharp.
Ling Xiao knew his disadvantage clearly.
The gulf between level nineteen and level twenty-nine—a full ten levels of Soul Power—was almost impossible to overcome.
In a prolonged fight, he would be the one to run out of Soul Power first.
If he wanted to avoid defeat, his only option was to end the fight quickly.
He had to unleash a fierce assault, disrupt Hu Liena's rhythm, and give her no chance to capitalize on her superior Soul Power.
His spear thrust out like a flood dragon surging from the sea!
"Good!"
Hu Liena's eyes lit up, and her fighting spirit only grew stronger.
Her steps shifted and changed. Boosted by her Demon Fox Martial Soul, her speed was astonishing.
She drifted backward like a ghost, narrowly evading the spearpoint's edge.
Her wrist turned, and a palm brimming with blazing Soul Power struck toward the shaft.
She meant to deflect Ling Xiao's force and seize the initiative in one smooth motion.
Ling Xiao had anticipated it. He turned his wrist, letting the spear shaft follow her force into a sweeping strike.
The wind howled around the spear. Its thrust became a horizontal sweep, forcing Hu Liena to retreat and dodge again.
One thrust followed another. Ling Xiao's assault came like a raging storm, never letting up.
Thrust, sweep, lift, parry, chop.
The spear seemed to come alive in his hands, now as fierce as Thunderous Might, now as supple as water winding around silk.
Layer upon layer of spear shadows sealed off every inch of space around Hu Liena.
For a moment, the Martial Arts Arena echoed with nothing but the continuous whistle of weapons cutting through the air.
Ling Xi watched the two clash like dragons and tigers, her heart pounding with excitement.
She knew Boss was formidable, but she hadn't expected him to put up such a fight against a level-twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster.
"Fine work, boy!"
A shout of praise came from outside the Martial Arts Arena.
Zhao Qing had appeared there at some point. As he watched Ling Xiao's spearwork, admiration filled his face.
In just one year, the boy had mastered the Seven Forms of Breaking the Formation to this degree.
His talent with the spear was simply beyond reproach.
In the arena, Hu Liena had been driven back more than a dozen steps before she finally grasped the rhythm of Ling Xiao's moves.
She gritted her teeth. She was the senior sister! If her junior brother pinned her down with a single string of attacks and she couldn't even strike back, that would be mortifying!
Just as Ling Xiao's spear thrust forward, at the instant his old force had faded and his new force had yet to build,
a flash of light crossed Hu Liena's eyes. At last, she saw her chance.
Instead of retreating, she pressed forward, channeling her Soul Power into her palm as she struck toward Ling Xiao's shoulder.
Ling Xiao reacted swiftly and immediately drew his spear back to defend.
He held the shaft upright before him, blocking Hu Liena's attack.
Clang! Her palm smacked against the shaft.
The tremendous force traveled down the spear. The flagstones beneath Ling Xiao's feet cracked, and he couldn't stop himself from stumbling backward.
Hu Liena had regained the initiative.
She pressed her advantage, sticking to him like a maggot clinging to bone.
She brought the speed and agility granted by her Demon Fox Martial Soul fully to bear.
In an instant, palm shadows filled the air and came crashing down.
Ling Xiao had no choice but to switch from attack to defense, barely managing to block her assault.
"Junior Brother, now it's my turn!"
Hu Liena called out, never slowing her hands.
She began to make full use of her advantage in Soul Power Level.
Every time her palm clashed with his spear, Ling Xiao had to withstand a tremendous burst of Soul Power. His arms went numb.
They traded blows back and forth, locked in a fierce deadlock.
Their Soul Power differed by a full ten levels, yet their fight seemed evenly matched, with neither gaining the upper hand.
In the blink of an eye, they had exchanged more than a hundred blows.
Both were breathing a little hard, fine sweat gathering at their temples.
Ling Xiao's arms were numb from the shock of Hu Liena's Soul Power, and he had already used up more than half of his own.
Hu Liena wasn't faring much better. Ling Xiao's spearwork was so unpredictable that even defending against it was exhausting.
From beginning to end, neither of them had used a Soul Skill.
It was an unspoken understanding between them.
Both their Soul Skills focused on mental control.
One had mental power far beyond that of others at the same level, while the other had the advantage in Soul Power Level.
If they used their Soul Skills, they would either restrain each other so neither could get the better of the other,
or one of them might accidentally hurt the other, defeating the purpose of the spar.
This fight was meant to hone their physical techniques and practical combat skills, not to decide life or death.
Their spear and palm clashed once more, and both used the force of the impact to spring backward.
Before you continue