Ye Guyi's Challenge Request

After explaining her soul skills to her grandfather and Meng Hongchen, Ye Guyi successfully absorbed the Sky Dragon Horse's soul ring, raising her soul power to level forty-two.

Her fourth soul skill was named Radiant Holy Body, an extremely powerful self-buffing ability. Under this skill, the power of her light-attribute attacks and her physical strength were increased by one hundred percent, while her soul power recovery speed was also significantly accelerated.

The first thing she did upon waking up was, surprisingly, to challenge Xiao Hongchen.

"Let's settle this, Xiao Hongchen!"

The golden-haired girl was brimming with fighting spirit, two rare flickers of flame burning in her blue eyes.

"You still remember that?" Xiao Hongchen scratched his head.

"It's only been a few days! Even if I were forgetful, I couldn't have forgotten this!"

"Fight, fight!"

Meng Hongchen danced about, fanning the flames from the sidelines.

"Bring it on." Xiao Hongchen flexed his wrists. "Guyi, you'd better start thinking about your exit line."

He had the same intention; it was the perfect opportunity to check on Ye Guyi's development... no, to check if her strength was normal.

Both sides released their Martial Souls simultaneously.

Xiao Hongchen did not use his soul tool cannon array or Metal Control; instead, he strode directly toward Ye Guyi.

He intended to test his close-quarters combat ability during this sparring session.

Ye Guyi frowned. She hadn't expected Xiao Hongchen to engage her in melee combat. Although there was a seven-level gap between them, this was still too condescending. She knew that not only was she a possessor of the Holy Angel Martial Soul, but once her cultivation reached this level, she was also a level-four melee soul master.

She met Xiao Hongchen head-on, a soul tool longsword thrusting straight at his vitals.

Under the coverage of spiritual power that far exceeded Ye Guyi's, Xiao Hongchen easily predicted the trajectory of the blade.

He tilted his head slightly, golden metal elements condensing directly onto his right fist. This was his first attempt at imitating Reign Over the World by fusing his soul power with his spiritual power, and he aimed it straight at Ye Guyi's abdomen.

Instead of dodging, Ye Guyi swung her longsword toward Xiao Hongchen's neck, attacking where he was forced to defend.

Both attacks landed at the same time. Xiao Hongchen felt as if he had punched a solid boulder, the recoil making his palm ache.

Ye Guyi indeed had a backup plan. Her third soul ring lit up—Holy Hymn. Her angel wings unfurled, and a wall of light appeared out of thin air; Xiao Hongchen's punch struck the barrier, failing to cause any damage at all.

However, Ye Guyi's longsword didn't draw blood either. Xiao Hongchen had already condensed a layer of flexible metal around his neck; when the blade struck, the force was evenly dispersed, and he was able to easily withstand the impact.

"Not bad." Xiao Hongchen stepped back. "Give it a little more effort."

Ye Guyi's light barrier remained. Since Xiao Hongchen couldn't break it with mere fists and kicks without using his true skills, he planned to drag it out until the barrier dissipated before attacking again.

But Ye Guyi wouldn't let this opportunity slip. Releasing her first and fourth soul skills simultaneously, her aura surged violently. Her holy wings fully expanded behind her, emitting a soft, golden radiance.

What a powerful Holy Light!

Xiao Hongchen felt a secret sense of awe. The holy aura radiating from Ye Guyi made him feel as if he were bathed in warmth, yet this warmth was insidiously invading his body, causing his own soul power to constantly dissipate.

Ye Guyi pointed her longsword forward, and instantly, countless sword beams shot toward Xiao Hongchen.

Facing Ye Guyi at full strength, Xiao Hongchen didn't dare to be careless. He released his first and third soul skills simultaneously to enhance his Metal Control.

His body twisted continuously to avoid the sword beams, and even those he couldn't dodge were blocked by the metal swirling around him.

On the surface, Ye Guyi held the upper hand, her offensive like a tidal wave. But momentum fades after the first surge, wanes at the second, and is exhausted at the third. Having failed to break through after a long assault, her aura was no longer as steady as before, while Xiao Hongchen remained at ease, occasionally offering critiques.

"The angle of that sword was off."

"You exerted force too early on that one."

Cold light flared in Ye Guyi's eyes.

"This move will decide the winner! Take this, Holy Spirit Slash!"

She gripped the Seven Star Longsword with both hands, held it high above her head, and her second soul ring lit up.

Xiao Hongchen showed no signs of dodging or defending; he simply stood in place, smiling as he watched Ye Guyi charge her attack.

"Don't underestimate me."

Ye Guyi poured her soul power into the soul tool longsword in her hands and, aided by her second soul skill, swung it down at Xiao Hongchen with all her might.

The massive sword beam that should have been unleashed remained silent. She looked down, only to realize that the core array of the soul tool longsword had been destroyed. The soul power she had just injected had already dissipated, and naturally, it couldn't fire a sword wave.

"When..."

Ye Guyi naturally understood this wasn't a natural malfunction; it was definitely Xiao Hongchen's doing.

"I definitely won't tell you that every time your sword was blocked by my metal, I controlled a portion of metal dust to attach itself to it, and I certainly won't tell you that I made that dust find a small opening to crawl inside and destroy the core array."

Xiao Hongchen finished in one breath.

Ye Guyi held the ruined soul tool longsword, her pale blue eyes fixed on him. The light barrier slowly dissipated around her; the duration of Holy Hymn had ended.

She remained silent for a long while before suddenly speaking.

"You were dismantling my sword from the very beginning."

"Not from the very beginning, maybe... around the third strike?"

"Compensate me."

Ye Guyi put the ruined longsword back into her storage soul tool and held out her hand, her expression calm, as if she were stating something perfectly natural.

Xiao Hongchen's mouth twitched.

"...You challenged me, lost, and now you want me to compensate you with a sword?"

"You were the one who broke it."

There was no refuting that.

"Fine," he sighed, "I'll build you one when we get back."

"And I want a Level 5 Soul Tool sword that I can use. With a holy attribute." She paused. "You're such a genius, surely you can do that?"

"No problem. Don't you know who I am?"

"Gold hilt, white scabbard."

Xiao Hongchen paused, said nothing, nodded, and turned to continue walking forward.

Behind him, Meng Hongchen quietly linked her arm with Ye Guyi's and lowered her voice:

"Sister Guyi, my brother never cares about color schemes when he makes Soul Tools. Last time he made me a dagger, I asked for ice blue, but he made it silver-gray, claiming that was the only material available." She gestured with her chin toward him.

Ye Guyi didn't respond, only watching the silver-haired figure ahead in silence.

"Sister Guyi, do you think he is—"

Ye Guyi gently squeezed her palm.

The pressure was light, like a cat's paw tapping her.

Meng Hongchen obediently shut her mouth, but the corners of her lips curled up, impossible to suppress.

Catching a glimpse of her sly grin in his peripheral vision, Xiao Hongchen decisively turned to Jing Hongchen:

"Grandfather, let's go."

"Mm, let's go."

Jing Hongchen patted Xiao Hongchen on the shoulder.

"A man needs to be proactive."

Jing Hongchen seemed to be calculating something obvious—he was counting on Ye Guyi's Holy Angel Martial Soul being passed down, which would give the Hongchen Family a third great inherited Martial Soul, and one likely stronger than the previous two.

Xiao Hongchen knew exactly what kind of scheme the old man was cooking up.

But that didn't stop him from having his own ideas.

Proactive?

He turned the word over in his mind.

He had already transmigrated and possessed such a face; if he were to chase after someone else, wouldn't that be beneath him?

Besides, the one who speaks first in a relationship is the loser; that was an axiom.

Ye Guyi, you just behave yourself, and on some sunset evening, you'll blush to the tips of your ears and confess to me.

By then, he would cooperatively set aside his usual devil-may-care attitude, lower his head slightly, and say in just the right tone, neither too light nor too heavy:

"You want to be with me that much? I suppose I have no choice."

Then he would take the opportunity to agree, and finally add:

"How cute~"

Thinking of that scene, Xiao Hongchen's facial expression control was on the verge of collapse.

Can't laugh yet... hold it in a little longer...

"Brother is acting up again. I have a feeling he's about to start cackling any second now."

Meng Hongchen couldn't bear to look, covering half her face with her hand.