Vacation

The battle finally came to an end when Hu Liena conceded.

No one had expected Duan Fan to claim the ultimate victory.

The Soul Fighting Platform fell silent for a few seconds, then erupted in excited cheers.

"Duan Fan is way too strong! He actually beat an upperclassman!"

"Did I see that right? A Soul Master beat a Soul Elder? Duan Fan really is a monster!"

"Duan Fan! Duan Fan! Duan Fan!"

Li Ruolan beamed. "Duan Fan, you did very well today."

"Liena, you were impressive too. If you hadn't held back, Duan Fan probably would've lost long ago."

Hu Liena straightened up and said tiredly, "Teacher Li, I wasn't holding back against Junior Duan Fan."

"Junior Duan Fan beat me through his own strength."

Hu Liena walked over to the fourth Dream-Weaving Spider Duan Fan had drawn and reached out to touch its carapace. Then she looked at Duan Fan with a smile. "Junior Duan Fan, how many more spiders like this can you summon?"

Duan Fan said, "This fourth one is my limit."

A look of regret crossed Hu Liena's face. "What?"

"If I'd known, I would've held on a little longer. I thought there'd be no end to those spiders."

Duan Fan said, "I knew you were holding back, Senior Sister. You conceded on purpose."

Hu Liena waved a hand lightly and headed down from the Soul Fighting Platform. "I didn't concede on purpose. I really was tired of fighting. Your spiders were too annoying."

With a thought, Duan Fan dismissed the fourth Dream-Weaving Spider, which dissolved into silver specks of light. He, too, headed down from the platform.

Li Ruolan asked, "It's rare for the seniors from the Advanced Class to come over and give us pointers. Do you want to head to the Mimicry Cultivation Area a little later today? Stay and watch the other two seniors fight. You might learn something."

Duan Fan nodded. "Sure, I'll watch for a while."

Actually, Duan Fan would rather have kept fighting, but the Soul Power in his body was nearly depleted.

Sparring with Xie Yue and Yan in this state would be pointless. He'd only be asking for a beating.

Even if he trained now to recover, there wasn't enough time to get back to peak condition.

Duan Fan doubted his classmates could keep Xie Yue and Yan occupied for long. They'd probably last just over ten seconds each. Anyone who held out for half a minute would be doing exceptionally well.

Hu Liena's combat ability alone made it clear that students in the Advanced Class were far beyond those in their Junior Class when it came to fighting.

Add to that the overwhelming gap in strength, and it was a complete rout.

Winning was out of the question.

As for Hu Liena's defeat, that had been a fluke.

Hu Liena excelled at mental control and mental attacks, and Duan Fan's creations happened to be immune to both.

Unable to use her strengths, Hu Liena had no choice but to fight at close range.

In the end, after facing wave upon wave of Dream-Weaving Spiders and Giant Spiders, she gave up the fight herself.

If Hu Liena had held on a little longer, Duan Fan would have been the one to lose.

Throughout the battle, Duan Fan had never managed to overwhelm her with sheer numbers.

It wasn't that he hadn't wanted to summon all his spiders and have them swarm Hu Liena, just as he had when fighting Li Ruolan.

Hu Liena simply hadn't given him the chance.

Her attacks were fierce and relentless, putting enormous pressure on Duan Fan.

If he hadn't had the Eye of Insight to anticipate Hu Liena's movements, he would probably have lost long ago.

Even so, being able to summon spiders one after another under the pressure of Hu Liena's attacks was already impressive.

The reason he'd been able to summon so many spiders while fighting Li Ruolan was that she'd been training him and letting him show what he could do.

Hu Liena's attacks came much faster.

Duan Fan had to calculate every second precisely. Otherwise, he couldn't keep drawing the Dream-Weaving Spiders in quick succession.

Even the Dream-Weaving Spider's webbing together a Giant Spider required perfect timing. Otherwise, Hu Liena could easily interrupt it.

Looks like I'll have to train even harder. Only by raising my Soul Power Level can I draw faster and make more spiders—and the spiders will grow stronger too.

Duan Fan had realized long ago that his first Soul Skill could grow stronger as his own strength increased.

Once he reached a certain level, he would be able to draw a Dream-Weaving Spider in an instant.

He would also be able to draw them in vast numbers, and their combat power would become astonishing.

"Once I get more spirit rings, I'll be able to unleash even more of the Fantasy Pen's power."

"My goal for the future is to draw anything I can imagine."

Duan Fan thought to himself as he turned his gaze toward the Soul Fighting Platform.

Xie Yue was the second to step onto the platform.

Just as Duan Fan had expected, none of his classmates could last ten seconds against Xie Yue.

Not even Wen Xiyue.

In the face of an overwhelming difference in strength, any skill seemed feeble and useless.

Duan Fan had to admit that he'd probably meet the same fate if he fought Xie Yue.

With Xie Yue's strength and speed, he wouldn't give Duan Fan a chance to draw a second Dream-Weaving Spider.

After Xie Yue had fought several matches, Yan took his turn.

Xie Yue hadn't used much Soul Power at all. He could've kept fighting without a problem.

But the three of them had come together, so they couldn't deny Yan his chance to take the stage.

Once Yan stepped onto the platform, the fights went much the same as they had with Xie Yue.

Each battle ended in about ten seconds. It was a pure, one-sided rout.

In less than ten minutes, every student in Junior Class Ten had taken a turn.

It only took that long because Li Ruolan had been giving the students pointers throughout. Otherwise, the matches would have ended even sooner.

Of everyone in Junior Class Ten, Duan Fan had lasted the longest—and he'd even won, thanks to a bit of luck.

As soon as the practical lesson ended, Duan Fan headed straight for the Mimicry Cultivation Area.

In the blink of an eye, another ten days passed.

Over those ten days, Duan Fan successfully raised his Soul Power Level to eighteen and was already making progress toward level nineteen.

During that time, Li Yi, a teacher who specialized in studying martial souls, sought Duan Fan out to learn about the changes to his Soul Skill after his Soul Power Level increased, along with other related details.

Aside from that, Duan Fan spent most of his days in class and training.

As for the three members of the Golden Generation, they hadn't shown up again since their last visit to give guidance.

Duan Fan hadn't seen any of them around the academy, either.

During one practical lesson, Li Ruolan happened to mention the three of them.

They'd gone off on a mission.

Duan Fan later learned that once a student at Spirit Hall Academy reached the Soul Elder level, the Spirit Hall would send them out on missions.

They would grow through completing those missions and receive generous rewards.

At the entrance to Spirit Hall Academy,

Duan Fan walked out at an unhurried pace and headed toward the Spirit City Blacksmith Shop.

The academy was on break today.

Duan Fan was going to inspect the last few components of his gun.