Increasing Soul Bone Age, First Battle Defeated

Han Yu flicked his sword into a flourish, his eyes flashing with disdain.

This defensive soul skill is so fragile. His first soul skill is clearly attack-oriented, yet he chose a defensive one for his second.

Unexpectedly, the man in black shifted his footwork rapidly, closing the distance to Han Yu as a seven-foot pitch-black spear appeared in his hands and thrust straight upward.

The moment their weapons clashed, several golden arcs of electricity surged from the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword, attempting to crawl up the spearhead. The man in black gave his wrist a sharp twist, using the momentum to spring the spearhead upward. He unleashed a flurry of strikes, nimbly parrying the sword blade before thrusting toward Han Yu's face.

Forced into a corner, Han Yu was compelled to use his first soul skill again, dissolving into a phantom to retreat.

The man in black paused in place, his ears twitching. He gave a slight nod, slid the spear behind his back, and dragged it along as he closed in once more.

The spear is the king of weapons. That saying wasn't just empty talk; after all, every weapon style had a technique specifically designed to break the spear.

Han Yu did not act recklessly this time. He first activated his soul bone skill, Godspeed, and stood his ground to quietly observe his opponent's opening stance. As the spearhead lunged forward, he retreated half a step, held the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword horizontally before him, and used his amplified strength to forcefully sweep the spear shaft aside.

Whoosh.

A purple blade of light appeared once more. Han Yu's eyes glowed with golden light as he shifted his body to the right. The man in black seized the opportunity, gripping the spear further forward to instantly shorten the shaft by three inches. The spearhead traced a tiny arc, bypassing the sword and stabbing toward Han Yu's throat.

Han Yu's pupils constricted.

What a thorny opponent. His moves are seasoned—this is clearly a master toying with a child.

Without hesitation, Han Yu's purple soul ring flared to life.

"First soul skill: Thunder Flash!"

The phantom dissipated, leaving only faint specks of light. Han Yu's figure reappeared behind the man in black, his body shrouded in a layer of golden radiance. He unleashed the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder at full power, turning it into electric serpents that crawled all over the Green Bamboo Bee Cloud Sword.

Han Yu's footwork shifted sharply, and using the remaining momentum, he slashed horizontally at the man's neck, whipping up a fierce gale.

A Rock Armor Shield suddenly appeared, only to shatter with a boom just as it had before.

A nameless ripple swept over Han Yu instantly. The next moment, he felt a massive force strike his arm, sending his body flying backward. Even more bizarrely, a mass of Evil-Warding Divine Thunder followed him closely, slamming into him mid-air.

"Damn it!" Blood trickled from the corner of Han Yu's mouth. Remembering his earlier disdain, he offered a bitter smile.

The true function of the man in black's second soul skill was to reflect damage; the fragile shield had merely been a smokescreen. The first time Han Yu had shattered it, he had inadvertently created distance using his first soul skill, but this time, he had taken the full brunt of his own strongest attack.

Han Yu rolled across the ground, his body trembling uncontrollably. The foreign golden arcs of electricity rampaged through his system, colliding with his own Evil-Warding Divine Thunder and inflicting severe internal injuries.

He shook his head, feeling dizzy from the repeated use of his soul bone skill, but seeing the man in black slowly approaching, he had no choice but to activate it again.

This is... so that's how it is! Han Yu's mouth parted slightly, his gaze clearing as a surge of joy appeared on his face.

As Han Yu controlled the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder within him to counterattack, he had happened to divert a portion to protect his brain. He hadn't expected the Thunder Tiger head soul bone to actually absorb the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder.

He recalled the seemingly useless ability of this soul bone: to absorb the power of heavenly thunder to increase its age. Since heavenly thunder and the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder shared the same origin, couldn't the Evil-Warding Divine Thunder be used to increase the age of the Thunder Tiger head soul bone?

Han Yu's mood brightened. He wiped the blood from his mouth, hid his left hand behind his back to summon the Mystic Array Disk martial soul, and his eyes turned sharp.

His current swordsmanship was insufficient to deal with the man in black's masterful spear skills, and he had been heavily injured by that bizarre soul skill. He had no choice but to use his trump card: a martial soul fusion skill.

A formation glowing with cyan light suddenly formed with Han Yu at its center, moving in sync with his flickering figure. Countless cyan sword shadows hovered behind him, scrambling to fly from every direction toward the man in black, who appeared to be stunned.

"That's enough, Han Yu. It's your teacher." Gu Rong's voice suddenly rang out.

All the cyan sword shadows seemed to freeze in time before dissipating into nothingness under a terrifying pressure.

Gu Rong and Chen Xin descended from the sky, and the man in black removed his hood to bow respectfully.

Han Yu halted his movements. Seeing this, he realized the man in black had been a test set by his teachers.

"This disciple greets both teachers," Han Yu said, panting.

Gu Rong nodded and came before Han Yu to check his injuries.

The two of them had been watching the battle for a long time. They had meticulously planned this assassination to test Han Yu, deliberately choosing a soul master whose second soul skill wasn't overly powerful. They hadn't expected that because Han Yu's own soul skills were too strong, he would end up severely injuring himself.

This left both Gu Rong and Chen Xin feeling rather sullen.

"Han Yu, your strength is great; this test should not have been a problem for you," Chen Xin said, pointing at the man in black while looking at Han Yu with a stern expression. "But your performance was truly poor. I am marking this as a failure."

Observe, determine, execute.

This was the mantra Chen Xin had taught Han Yu.

Yet, Han Yu hadn't even finished the first step, or rather, he had merely gone through the motions perfunctorily. He hadn't calmed his heart to understand the enemy's intentions, falling into the enemy's trap and being severely injured by his own attack.

This test hadn't served much purpose other than to teach Han Yu to be cautious, to think thrice before acting, and never to treat any enemy as a fool in the future.

"Teacher, this disciple knows he was wrong," Han Yu said, scratching his head awkwardly. He stood obediently to the side and answered earnestly.

"For those who practice the sword, it is not about right or wrong, but whether you have learned anything from the battle." Chen Xin gently pulled away Gu Rong's hand, which had been reaching for him, his tone stern.

Han Yu did not rush to answer. He calmed his mind, replaying the battle in his head over and over again.

The man in black's second skill was clearly passive, and his first soul skill was easily dodged by creating distance.

His true means of combat were those terrifying spear skills; once he got close, one would be entangled and unable to escape until a flaw was found and a fatal blow delivered.

And he himself, relying on his speed, had foolishly engaged in close-quarters combat. Despite his swordsmanship not yet being mastered, he had insisted on fighting at close range.

He had even nearly suffered a crushing defeat due to his contempt for the enemy.

If he hadn't possessed a martial soul fusion skill, he would have had no way to defeat his opponent.

Han Yu's path had been too smooth—so smooth that he had subconsciously begun to treat others as mere obstacles on the side of the road.

"This disciple was too reckless; I should have planned before acting." Han Yu replied unhurriedly, showing not a hint of discouragement.

Chen Xin turned around, his back to Han Yu, and nodded silently.

"The heroes of this world are as numerous as crucian carp crossing a river, yet those who can achieve the title of Titled Douluo are few and far between. Han Yu, you must always maintain a heart of reverence and never underestimate any enemy.

If you wish to go further on the path of the sword, you must first ensure that you can survive countless battles. Only those who remain alive are qualified to speak of the future." Chen Xin spoke slowly, enunciating every word.

"Starting tomorrow, I will be your sparring partner. You are forbidden from using your martial soul fusion skill until you comprehend sword intent." With that, Chen Xin walked away without looking back.