Lost in a Wheel Battle?

Yun Jingheng stood by the lake, the Moonlight Sword hanging casually at his side, its tip touching the ground.

His tone was calm, and so was his expression.

Yet the five students watching him wore different looks in their eyes.

The oldest was eleven or twelve, broad-built, with arms a full size thicker than normal. One glance was enough to tell that his martial soul specialized in strength.

He glanced at Yun Jingheng, tugged at the corner of his mouth, and said nothing.

Beside him stood a girl with a ponytail. She looked one or two years older than Yun Jingheng, her gaze sharp. Her hand was loosely clenched, as though she habitually held some sort of weapon.

The other three included a tall, skinny boy with his hands in his pockets, looking utterly unconcerned.

A short, chubby boy who was staring intensely at the sword in Yun Jingheng's hand.

And one more—

The youngest one.

Around eight years old, about the same age as Yun Jingheng.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, delicate features, and a chill between her brows that did not suit her age.

Her gaze fell on Yun Jingheng and swept over him from head to toe, finally stopping on the crescent mark between his brows.

Then she gave a "hmph."

Not a cold snort, but a genuine "hmph," the kind that came from the nose and carried utter disdain.

Yun Jingheng looked at her. "What's your name?"

The girl did not answer.

She hmphed again and turned her head away.

Yun Jingheng: "..."

Yun Jingheng looked at the blonde girl and suddenly felt like laughing.

That expression, that attitude of I don't want to talk to you, but I want you to know how amazing I am...

No matter how he looked at it, she resembled one of those tsundere heroines from the school novels of his previous life.

"Fine."

He said, "Then which of you will go first—"

Before he could finish, a sharp sword gleam had already slashed toward him.

The blonde girl moved.

At some point, a sword had appeared in her hand. Its blade was long and bright yellow throughout, glittering with starlike points beneath the sunlight.

The Stargod Sword.

She thrust directly for Yun Jingheng's throat.

There was no pointless chatter, no greeting, no warning of "I'm attacking."

She simply attacked.

Yun Jingheng frowned slightly.

Not because the strike was particularly powerful.

But because it was too straightforward.

So straightforward that... it did not feel like a spar. It felt like a sneak attack.

His feet shifted slightly as he turned aside from the blade, while his right hand flicked casually.

Crescent Slash.

A silver-white, crescent-shaped Moon Blade flew from the sword tip. It was neither fast nor powerful, and its angle was not particularly tricky.

It was just a casual swing, like swatting away a fly.

A trace of contempt flashed through the blonde girl's eyes.

She flicked her sword tip, sending a pale golden sword aura shooting forward to meet the Moon Blade.

Bang—

The two streams of sword aura collided, and silver light and golden radiance exploded at once.

The corner of the blonde girl's lips lifted slightly.

That was all?

Just as she was about to press her attack, she suddenly realized—

Yun Jingheng had vanished.

The next instant, her vision blurred.

That calm face appeared in front of her, less than a foot away.

The Moonlight Sword had already risen, its edge aimed directly at her throat.

The blonde girl's pupils contracted sharply.

By instinct, she raised her sword to block.

Clang—

The Stargod Sword collided with the Moonlight Sword, sending sparks flying.

Then she felt an unusual force travel through the other sword's blade.

It was not brute force, nor was it an impact of Soul Power, but a kind of... pull?

Like moonlight falling upon water—gentle in appearance, yet capable of shattering the reflection on its surface.

Her Stargod Sword flew from her hand.

It traced an arc through the air before plunging into the grass thirty feet away with a soft thud.

The blade trembled lightly, its glow dimmed.

The entire area fell silent.

Yun Jingheng froze for a moment. After a long silence, Xiao Jiu finally forced out a sentence. "That's... it? Then what was she acting so proud about?"

The blonde girl stood rooted in place, still holding the posture of blocking with her sword, except her hand was empty.

She looked down at her hand, then up at Yun Jingheng, then down at her hand again.

Her expression shifted from confusion to disbelief, then—

Humiliation and fury.

"You—"

Her face reddened. She wanted to say something, but no words came out.

Yun Jingheng withdrew his sword and took a step back.

"You lost."

He said it calmly, as though stating a fact.

The blonde girl glared at him, her eyes slightly red.

"I..."

"You're not my opponent yet."

Yun Jingheng cut her off. "Next."

The blonde girl stood where she was, completely motionless.

She had never lost before, not from childhood until now.

At home, she was a genius.

Within her family, she was treasured.

In the Genius Class, she was among the best of her peers.

She had thought she was strong.

Very, very strong.

Yet some guy she had never even heard of had knocked her martial soul away with one sword strike.

And she had not even seen how that strike had come.

She bit her lip and turned to leave.

After taking two steps, she stopped again.

"What's your name?"

She did not turn around, and her voice was muffled.

Yun Jingheng paused. "I didn't call out."

Yun Ming, standing beside the tree, raised an eyebrow, looking both amused and exasperated.

"I'm asking what your name is!"

Yun Jingheng realized that he had said something stupid as well.

"...Shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

"Ye Xinglan!"

"Yun Jingheng."

After saying that, she strode away without looking back.

The ponytailed girl watched her retreating figure, then looked at Yun Jingheng, her eyes complicated.

"She's not usually like this."

She said, "You just stunned her with that beating today."

Yun Jingheng nodded. "I understand."

He looked toward the remaining four.

"Who's next?"

The broad-built boy stepped forward.

"I'll do it."

He walked into the center of the field and shook his arms. Both arms instantly expanded by a full size, and a layer of pale golden light surfaced across his skin.

"Vajra Arm martial soul, strength type."

He said, "My name is Guo Zhen. I'm eleven."

Yun Jingheng nodded. "Yun Jingheng, eight."

Guo Zhen grinned. "I know you're eight. Fighting you counts as bullying a kid. Teacher Lan told me to come, though."

He paused, clenched his fists, and golden light flickered across them.

"Be careful."

As his words fell, he stepped forward. The ground trembled slightly, and he shot toward Yun Jingheng like a cannonball.

His punch howled through the air.

Yun Jingheng did not take it head-on.

His figure flashed aside, avoiding the punch as he swung the Moonlight Sword horizontally.

Crescent Slash.

Guo Zhen twisted aside to avoid it. Golden light surged around his fist as he launched another punch.

Yun Jingheng dodged again.

Then swung his sword again.

Then dodged again.

Then swung his sword again.

Only thirty seconds had passed since the battle began, yet Guo Zhen had already thrown more than a dozen punches. Each was heavier and faster than the last.

But Yun Jingheng was like a patch of moonlight, elusive and unpredictable. Every sword strike landed with precision, yet every one was knocked aside by the force of Guo Zhen's fists.

"Are you only capable of dodging?" Guo Zhen roared.

Yun Jingheng said nothing.

Within the Sea of Spirit, Xiao Jiu yawned.

"New Moon has ten seconds left," it said.

Yun Jingheng's thoughts stirred.

Indeed, ever since the battle began, he had only been using the most basic Crescent Slash to probe his opponent. He had not actively triggered any lunar phase changes.

But the moon within his body was already slowly turning.

In the New Moon state, his spiritual power increased by thirty percent, and his attacks carried spiritual interference.

He could clearly sense the path, force, and angle of every punch Guo Zhen threw. He could even predict where Guo Zhen's next punch would land.

That was the power of the New Moon.

Another punch came crashing toward him.

This time, Yun Jingheng did not dodge.

He met the fist head-on and swung his sword.

At the instant the blade collided with the fist, Guo Zhen suddenly felt dazed.

His mind went blank for 0.5 seconds.

It was brief, so brief that it was almost impossible to notice.

But for Yun Jingheng, it was enough.

He turned aside from the fist and lightly tapped Guo Zhen's waist with the Moonlight Sword.

"Smack."

Guo Zhen froze and lowered his head to look at the spot that had been struck.

It did not hurt.

But in that instant, he knew that if Yun Jingheng had wanted to kill him, that sword could have pierced straight through his waist and abdomen.

"You..."

His mouth opened, but he did not know what to say.

Yun Jingheng took a step back.

"You lost."

Guo Zhen fell silent for three seconds, then grinned.

"Fine. I lost."

He turned to leave, then looked back after taking two steps.

"What was that just now? How did I suddenly lose focus?"

Yun Jingheng thought for a moment. "Maybe the moonlight was too bright."

Guo Zhen looked up at the sky.

The sun was blazing. Where was there any moonlight?

He scratched his head, asked no further questions, and returned to the group.

"Who's next?"

"Next."

"Coming?"

Lan Muzi stood not far away, watching the entire gauntlet match.

Five people.

The five most outstanding students in the Genius Class.

All of them had lost.

"So, I'd like to know where your arrogance comes from. The five of you couldn't even beat a single one-ring Soul Master in a gauntlet match?"

Lan Muzi said.

The five lowered their heads. Not one of them dared to argue.

"Get rid of that habit of looking down on others! Go back and reflect on yourselves properly!"

He took two steps, then turned back and winked at Yun Jingheng.

Then he led the five students away.

The shore of Sea God Lake returned to silence.

Yun Jingheng stood where he was, watching their retreating figures.

In the Sea of Spirit, Xiao Jiu turned over.

"Xiao Jiu."

"Mm?"

"Do you think I'll be able to touch Blood Moon when I'm twelve?"

Xiao Jiu fell silent for a moment.

"I don't know."

It said, "But no matter when, I'll be by your side."

Yun Jingheng froze for a moment, then smiled.

"Okay."

In the distance, Yun Ming stood beneath a tree, quietly watching the scene.

At some point, Ya Li had come to his side.

"Finished?"

"Finished."

"How did it go?"

Yun Ming was silent for a moment, then suddenly smiled.

"Five people," he said. "A gauntlet match."

"They lost?"

"They all lost."

Ya Li smiled as well.

"My son is amazing..."

She did not continue. She merely looked at the figure by the lake, her eyes full of tenderness.