"You did very well!"

"Then I'm coming."

Before her words had even faded, Wu Zhangkong vanished from where she stood.

The First Soul Ring and Second Soul Ring beneath her feet activated at the same time.

The next moment,

she appeared to Lu Chuan's left,

her long sword slashing down at an oblique angle,

its trajectory tricky,

its speed astonishing.

On top of that,

Frost Mark and Frost Mist were restricting Lu Chuan,

and his situation instantly became extremely dangerous.

"Frost Mark slows me down and freezes me—plus the predictive freeze. Frost Mist deals freeze damage and reduces my attack speed and agility. Teacher Wu, you're really ruthless!"

Feeling the debuffs on his Bloodline Aura,

Lu Chuan couldn't help sighing,

Teacher Wu's combination of attacks,

paired with this world-shaking sword strike coming straight at him,

would be enough to leave an ordinary Five-Ring Soul King floundering!

If his Second Soul Skill didn't come with immunity to control,

he would probably have been pinned in place, forced to take the beating.

Since he hadn't been controlled,

Lu Chuan naturally wouldn't take the beating passively.

He pushed off the ground with both legs,

rushing forward to meet her,

as Dragon Scales surged across his right arm,

and like a reckless brute,

he punched toward the edge of the Heavenly Frost Sword!

Bang!

Fist met sword,

ringing out with a crisp clang like clashing metal.

Wu Zhangkong felt the long sword in her hand shudder,

as a terrifying force traveled along the blade,

numbing the web between her thumb and forefinger.

Lu Chuan, by contrast,

had taken several of her sword strikes,

yet remained completely unharmed.

The few minor wounds he sustained

had completely healed

within the few breaths after the battle ended!

"What kind of monster is he? How can his body be so strong?"

Wu Zhangkong was secretly shocked.

Having come from Shrek, she had seen countless geniuses,

but she had never seen anyone

with a body like Lu Chuan's.

In this situation,

unless she used her Fourth or Fifth Soul Skill,

she simply couldn't break through Lu Chuan's defenses.

But picking on someone far below her level

was something Wu Zhangkong couldn't bring herself to do!

"I can't believe I've been forced to use Sword Intent against a Soul Elder!"

Wu Zhangkong sighed inwardly,

then took half a step back,

twisting her wrist

as her long sword transformed into a sky full of sword images,

pouring down like a blizzard.

Lu Chuan looked up at the countless sword images,

and for a brief moment,

he wondered if he was still on Douluo Continent,

or if he'd somehow been transported to an immortal cultivation world overrun with unruly disciples defying their masters.

But it lasted only a moment,

because

Wu Zhangkong's Sword Intent was too weak,

utterly lacking that sharpness that could cut down everything in its path!

Against Sword Intent like this,

he still only needed his fists!

Lu Chuan's gaze sharpened,

his feet shifted slightly,

and his figure blurred in place like Gui Mei,

as he soared into the air, facing the sword glints.

A golden glow circulated around him,

raising his physical strength once more.

Both fists shot out,

his punches flying in a flurry,

and those sword images were nothing but rotten tofu before him.

Break through his defenses?

That was even more absurd!

Amid the flying ice shards,

his figure darted through them,

like a swimming dragon,

without a single shard touching him—

nimble,

and utterly domineering!

For a moment,

even Wu Zhangkong was stunned.

So much so that

as the fight continued, she had no choice but to gradually unleash her full strength.

As fist and sword collided,

her attacks grew faster and faster,

and her Sword Intent grew ever sharper.

She went from using fifty percent of her strength to seventy,

then from seventy percent to ninety.

Yet Lu Chuan kept meeting her attacks head-on,

and though he was occasionally forced back a few steps by the sword energy,

he never once revealed a genuine opening!

In fact, a few times,

Lu Chuan's attacks broke through her Sword Intent,

and slammed into her chest,

without holding back in the slightest!

Wu Zhangkong was so embarrassed and angry that time,

she nearly lost her temper on the spot,

and used Soul Power beyond the Soul Elder realm.

But as soon as she unleashed a little more strength,

Lu Chuan's power rose right along with hers,

and he fought more fiercely with every exchange!

From that moment on,

she understood—

this brat Lu Chuan had been pretending to be a pig to eat the tiger!

And the fights that followed

confirmed it!

Without realizing it,

she gradually sensed

an extremely terrifying power slumbering within Lu Chuan,

a power he hadn't used.

At times, a trace of its aura leaked out with Lu Chuan's movements,

and although it vanished in the blink of an eye,

she still managed to catch it.

The most terrifying part was,

her Martial Soul instinctively trembled at that power.

That was the kind of reaction that only occurred

when a superior suppressed an inferior!

But Lu Chuan was clearly only a Soul Elder...

"That's enough."

After being thwarted in yet another clash,

Wu Zhangkong hesitated for a moment, then lowered her sword and stood still!

She bit her lip, unwilling to accept it.

But she had already used her First, Second, and Third Soul Skills, as well as Sword Intent, and still hadn't beaten Lu Chuan.

There was no point in continuing.

Unless she used her Sixth Soul Skill to lock him down, then followed up with her Fifth Soul Skill to break his defenses...

But what if even that didn't take him down?

As a teacher,

she had her dignity to protect!

When Lu Chuan heard Wu Zhangkong call a halt,

he stopped as well.

This time,

he'd had a truly satisfying fight.

If it had been Xiao Wuyue,

she probably would've passed out from his heavy punches long ago.

As his Bloodline Power settled,

the Dragon Scales covering his body slowly faded,

the golden light receded,

and he turned back into the ordinary-looking boy he appeared to be.

"Teacher, how did I do?"

Lu Chuan walked up to Wu Zhangkong and grinned.

That picture-perfect smile—

before this fight,

Wu Zhangkong might have thought Lu Chuan was a sunny, cheerful boy.

But now,

it was just a monster's disguise!

Wu Zhangkong really didn't want to speak to Lu Chuan,

not because she disliked him, exactly,

It was the frustration of a genius encountering a monster!

But Lu Chuan wore such an expectant expression, as if he wanted her opinion,

that she had no choice but to respond.

"You did very well!"

Wu Zhangkong gritted her teeth and said softly.

That was actually a very conservative assessment.

In fact,

Lu Chuan had done far more than just well.

She had almost been unable to take it!

The lessons officially began on the second day,

and Lu Chuan finished class early.

First, he went to the girls' dormitory to look for Tang Wuyue,

but the young girl had gone to the cafeteria to eat,

so he didn't see her.

So,

Lu Chuan left the academy and headed straight to the Forging Stone Association, where he took on several forging commissions.

They were all small Spirit Forging jobs,

with an average reward of eight million Federation Coins.

Back when Lu Chuan had only just started learning forging,

he wouldn't even have dared dream of earning that much.

But after successfully advancing to a Level Six Blacksmith,

everything seemed so easy.

After accepting the commissions,

Lu Chuan immediately headed to Mang Tian's workshop in Eastsea City to forge.

By the time he finished,

several hours had passed.

Thinking of the tens of millions of Federation Coins he'd just earned,

Lu Chuan felt a surge of delight.

He was just about to spend some money and treat himself,

when, passing East Sea Park,

he sensed Tang Wuyue and Jinyu nearby,

along with the fluctuations of released Martial Souls!

"That little girl—don't tell me some boy confessed to her again on the first day of school!"

As he spoke, Lu Chuan followed their auras and hurried toward them.

Of course, he wasn't worried that Tang Wuyue might fall for someone else.

He was completely confident about that.

He was worried about the person fighting the young girl.

With Jinyu by her side,

Tang Wuyue's combat power had soared to its limits.

Water Element plus Blue Silver Grass—

not only could she cover Jinyu in Wood Vine Armor that made her immune to fire,

she could also use Water Element to nourish the Blue Silver Grass, combine it with her first Soul Skill, Entangle, and create a Blue Silver Forest.

It offered powerful control,

and could also conceal Jinyu's presence.

As long as she had enough Soul Power,

the young girl could easily beat up several Soul Grandmasters.

"I need to hurry. Why did they have to build East Sea Park so big?"

"What if some old man or old lady gets caught in the crossfire while taking a stroll?"

Lu Chuan grumbled as he hurried along,

his figure darting past one century-old tree after another.

At last,

at the far edge of his vision,

he saw Tang Wuyue and Jinyu.