At the Central Arena in Shrek City, on the competition platform.
Luo Yang watched Ye Xinglan approach slowly, a trace of solemnity flashing in his eyes.
This girl was different from all his previous opponents.
She hadn't released her Martial Soul or revealed her Soul Rings. She hadn't even made any unnecessary movements. She simply stood there quietly, yet Luo Yang felt an almost imperceptible edge trained on him.
It wasn't hostility, but something more fundamental.
Sword intent.
Luo Yang's gaze flickered slightly as information about the girl swiftly passed through his mind.
Ye Xinglan... Stargod Sword... Shrek Seven Devils...
Sure enough, she was the gifted girl from the original story who had entered the Dao through the sword and would one day become a core fighter of the Shrek Seven Devils.
"Shrek Academy, Ye Xinglan." Ye Xinglan spoke, her voice cold as ice and devoid of emotion. "Martial Soul: Stargod Sword."
As her voice fell, a long sword of deep blue, as if forged from the stars, slowly materialized beside her.
Starlight flowed across its blade, making it as beautiful as a work of art. Its edge was thin as a cicada's wing, yet it radiated a faintly heart-stopping sharpness.
But Luo Yang knew that this sword's edge was deadlier than any work of art.
The Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor growled low, its massive body stepping in front of Luo Yang as its golden beast eyes warily fixed on Ye Xinglan.
Instinctively, it sensed that this girl... was dangerous.
Luo Yang gently patted its head, signaling it to stay calm.
Then, before the shocked eyes of a hundred thousand spectators—
He recalled the Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff Emperor.
Its golden light faded, and the imposing golden beast vanished. Only Luo Yang remained on the competition platform, standing alone opposite Ye Xinglan.
The stands erupted in an uproar!
"Has he lost his mind?! He recalled his Soul Spirit?!"
"That's Soul King-level fighting strength—the very thing that beat Xiao Yan!"
"Isn't he crippling himself? What the hell is he trying to do?!"
Ye Xinglan also paused in surprise, a trace of confusion flashing through her cool eyes.
"Why did you recall it?" she asked. Her tone remained icy, but now held a note of curiosity.
She truly didn't understand.
That being—whether a Soul Spirit or a Soul Beast—had possessed at least Soul King-level fighting strength, something she absolutely couldn't stand against head-on at her current level. If Luo Yang kept fighting with it, she'd have less than a thirty percent chance of winning.
But she didn't think that was unfair. A Soul Spirit was part of a Soul Master's strength. If someone had the ability to summon one, then that was their ability.
Yet now, Luo Yang had actually recalled it of his own accord.
Luo Yang smiled slightly. Under the sunlight, his smile seemed especially sincere.
"Because you're strong. Your swordsmanship deserves respect. So I'll fight you myself."
Because you're strong, I'll fight you myself.
Down below, Xiao Yan glared at Luo Yang with a face ashen with fury.
What did that mean?
Was he saying he didn't want to fight me because I'm too weak?
Now that he was facing Ye Xinglan, he recalled his Soul Spirit instead. Who the hell was he trying to humiliate?!
Ye Xinglan's eyes shifted slightly, but quickly returned to their calm. She looked at the boy in front of her, who was more than a head shorter than she was, and the corner of her mouth curled into a cold smile.
"Then don't regret losing the match."
The instant her words fell—
Ye Xinglan moved!
The referee hadn't even had time to announce the start of the match!
A streak of deep-blue sword light, like a meteor crossing the sky, closed in on Luo Yang in an instant!
Fast!
Blindingly fast!
A wave of cries erupted from the stands! That speed, that sword momentum—nothing about it seemed like it belonged to a Soul Grandmaster!
Luo Yang's pupils contracted. His feet shifted rapidly, and he narrowly dodged the strike!
The sword's edge skimmed his clothes, slicing off a few scraps of fabric that drifted slowly through the air.
Ye Xinglan's brows furrowed slightly.
He dodged?
Her strike had been a test, but it had already reached seventy percent of her full strength. Only a handful of opponents at the same level could dodge it. Yet this boy had avoided it with such ease?
"Interesting," she said coldly, and her second strike followed right behind!
This strike was faster! Harsher! More vicious!
Sword light poured down like a torrential rain, each strike aimed at a vital point, each carrying the intent to kill!
And yet—
Luo Yang's footwork was astonishingly bizarre.
He seemed able to predict where every one of Ye Xinglan's strikes would land, always avoiding the deadliest attacks by the smallest margin just before the blade reached him.
Ten moves.
Twenty moves.
Thirty moves.
Ye Xinglan's expression grew more and more solemn.
She was giving it everything she had, pushing her swordsmanship to its absolute limit, yet she still couldn't touch even a corner of Luo Yang's clothes!
How was this possible?!
Her swordsmanship was the Star God Sword Technique, passed down through generations of the Ye Family and renowned for its speed, precision, and ruthlessness. She had never encountered an equal-level opponent she couldn't defeat!
Yet this boy before her clearly had no strong fluctuations of Soul Power. How could he dodge so effortlessly?!
"Are you only capable of cowering like a turtle?" Ye Xinglan finally snapped, a trace of anger in her voice. "You keep dodging around. What kind of skill is that?!"
Luo Yang didn't answer.
He simply continued dodging, his gaze fixed on Ye Xinglan's sword as if he were observing something.
Finally, after Ye Xinglan's fiftieth strike missed—
Luo Yang moved.
This time, he didn't dodge.
He reached forward with his right hand, palm open. A long, deathly white sword, seemingly pieced together from countless bones, slowly took shape in his grasp!
Faint blue light shimmered across the blade, and a blood-red gem set in the hilt gave off a faint aura of deathly stillness.
The Undead Bone Sword!
Luo Yang swung his sword!
"Clang—!"
The swords clashed, sparks flying everywhere!
Ye Xinglan felt a strange force travel through her sword. It wasn't strong, but it carried a chill that made her heart quail, as if it could erode her very soul.
Her body stiffened slightly, and her attack was interrupted in an instant.
Luo Yang lowered his sword and stood calmly, looking at her.
Then he spoke.
His very first words made Ye Xinglan's pupils contract:
"Your sword is too heavy."
"What?!" Ye Xinglan could hardly believe she'd heard him correctly.
"I said your sword is too heavy." Luo Yang repeated himself, his tone devoid of mockery, simply stating a fact. "Not just the sword itself—your sword intent is too heavy, too. Anything that weighs too much is bound to be slow."
A layer of frost settled over Ye Xinglan's beautiful face.
She had practiced swordsmanship since childhood. She knew by heart the sword manuals of every one of the Ye Family's forebears, and she was thoroughly versed in the essence of the Ye Family's sword techniques.
Now, some kid who had come out of nowhere dared to stand here in front of everyone and call her swordsmanship trash?!
"Don't take offense at my bluntness," Luo Yang continued, seeming not to notice her expression. "But your swordsmanship really is terrible. You have sharpness without spirit, technique without a soul. You're only imitating, not creating."
"Shut up!!!"
Ye Xinglan was completely enraged!
In all her life, when had she ever endured such humiliation?!
She gripped her sword with both hands. Starlight flared across the Stargod Sword! Her third Soul Ring suddenly lit up!
Third Soul Skill: Starfall Like Rain!
In an instant, countless streaks of sword light poured down like a meteor shower. Each one could pierce steel; any opponent at the same level would be killed on the spot!
This was her strongest attack!
And yet—
Luo Yang remained unruffled.
He didn't even use a single Soul Skill. He merely stepped through the dense sword rain with his bizarre footwork, slipping between strikes where there was almost no space to spare. Whenever a streak of sword light couldn't be avoided, he gently deflected it with the Undead Bone Sword, guiding it elsewhere.
He moved as if strolling through a courtyard.
Ye Xinglan's heart sank, little by little, to the bottom of an abyss.
At last, the sword rain stopped.
Luo Yang stood where he was, without a scratch. He looked at Ye Xinglan, who was panting heavily, and spoke slowly:
"You're too fixated on 'speed' and 'ruthlessness.' But you've forgotten that the root of the sword is the 'heart.'"
He paused, as if searching for the right words.
"What do you swing your sword for?"
Ye Xinglan froze.
What did she swing her sword for?
She had started practicing swordsmanship as soon as she could remember. Her father said she had to become the strongest swordswoman; her family said she had to carry on the Ye Family's glory; her teacher said she had to fight for Shrek.
But no one had ever asked her: What did she want?