Can We Really Be Friends

The morning breeze on the field carried a slight chill as sunlight filtered through the banyan branches, scattering across the sparring grounds like flecks of gold.

As the two advanced division students steadily approached, the absurdity in Lin Xun's heart grew stronger.

"Ouyang Zixin, Martial Soul: Crimson Flame Thorn. Level thirty-two Assault-Type Battle Soul Master."

"Liu Yuxin, Martial Soul: Wind Spirit Sparrow. Level thirty-three Agility-Type Battle Soul Master."

After announcing their Martial Souls and levels, Teacher Li retreated to the edge of the field. Wu Changkong stood on the other side, dressed in white and straight as a pine.

Liu Yuxin stood beside her, the phantom of a Wind Spirit Sparrow circling her shoulder. She glanced at Ouyang Zixin and lowered her voice. "Zixin, are you okay?"

"I'm fine." Ouyang Zixin's voice was utterly flat.

Xie Xie nudged Lin Xun with his elbow and whispered, "Brother Xun, your ex-girlfriend's Martial Soul is a fire-attribute plant type. It's pretty good-looking, too. But why won't she look at you?"

"Get lost." Lin Xun shot him a glare.

Wu Changkong raised a hand, and both sides took their positions.

Xie Xie and Tang Wulin stood in front, with Gu Yue and Lin Xun behind them. Across from them, Ouyang Zixin stood at the very front while Liu Yuxin roamed behind and to her side.

It was four against two, but the advanced division students had a clear age advantage after all.

"Begin."

Before the words had even faded, the first person to charge out was unexpectedly Gu Yue.

Rather than opening by creating distance as elemental Soul Masters usually did, she pressed forward directly. Her speed was abnormally fast, with faint currents of wind element swirling beneath her feet. She became an afterimage, crossing the halfway line before anyone could react.

"What the hell?" Xie Xie was so shocked that his Lightshadow Dragon Dagger nearly fell from his hand. "Why is an elemental Soul Master rushing in that far?"

Gu Yue ignored him. With a lift of her right hand, three fireballs shot straight at Ouyang Zixin's face. At the same time, she slapped her left hand against the ground, and an ice spike silently burst from beneath Ouyang Zixin's feet.

Her target was unmistakable: Ouyang Zixin.

Lin Xun felt like his head had doubled in size. What even was this?

An ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-girlfriend fighting an ex-ex-ex-ex-ex-girlfriend.

Ice and fire elements struck simultaneously, sealing off both high and low routes.

Then Gu Yue's figure flashed. She bypassed Ouyang Zixin's frontal defense as wind element exploded beneath her feet in a swirling gust. Using the force to shift sideways, she flung another ice spear from the flank.

Four attacks from three directions arrived at once.

Ouyang Zixin's pupils contracted slightly. Crimson Flame Thorns instantly coiled into a vine shield before her, taking the three frontal fireballs head-on.

The flames exploded, scattering sparks across the ground.

The ice spike beneath her feet was shattered by a thorn lance formed from her flaming vines, but it was too late to block the ice spear from the side. She twisted aside to avoid a vital hit, and the ice spear scraped past her shoulder, tearing open her uniform.

"Zixin!" Liu Yuxin flapped the Wind Spirit Sparrow's wings, intending to cut in from the side and support her.

But Gu Yue did not even look at her. With a backward flick of her left hand, a curtain of water rose out of nowhere, blocking Liu Yuxin's advance path perfectly. The Wind Spirit Sparrow crashed into the water curtain, its speed sharply reduced.

In just five seconds, Gu Yue alone had forced Ouyang Zixin back six or seven steps while casually sealing off Liu Yuxin's route of support.

She was suppressing two advanced division students by herself.

Who would have believed Gu Yue was only a middle division student?

"Why does Gu Yue seem so fierce today?" Xie Xie turned to look at Lin Xun. "Brother Xun, she's never been this proactive in training. Why does she look like she's been pumped full of stimulants today?"

"Quit talking. Are we just going to let her fight alone?" Lin Xun moved swiftly, the Ex-Girlfriend Sword falling into his hand as he took the initiative to attack.

The oppressive force on the field grew heavier and heavier.

Ouyang Zixin's chest rose and fell slightly as her breathing became increasingly rushed.

Gu Yue's elemental suppression came down in layer after layer, forcing her back step by step. With every step she retreated, her Soul Power was ground away a little more.

If she retreated even half a step further, her back would crash straight into the Soul Guidance energy pillar at the edge of the field. Her movement would be completely locked down, leaving her no room to turn things around.

Forced into a desperate corner, she had nowhere left to retreat.

Ouyang Zixin gritted her teeth fiercely. The second Soul Ring beneath her feet suddenly lit up, and dazzling red light exploded outward.

"Second Soul Skill, Thorn Prison!"

A faint rumbling tremor spread from the ground.

Dense Crimson Flame Thorns grew wildly from beneath her feet, their scarlet vines radiating scorching heat.

One after another, they rose and intertwined.

She did not use the thorns to launch a direct attack on Gu Yue. Instead, she spread them in every direction.

In the blink of an eye, an impenetrable wall of thorns rose between them, forcibly cutting off all of Gu Yue's elemental attacks.

Scalding red light flowed across the surface of the vines. Spikes stood densely packed, and its defensive power was fully unleashed.

The ice spears Gu Yue formed struck the wall one after another, shattering across the ground with a series of crackles.

For every two or three vines she shattered, new thorns would immediately burst from underground to fill the gaps, giving her no chance to break through.

Gu Yue's brows knit faintly as she prepared to switch elements, use wind element to bypass the thorn wall, and launch a flanking assault.

But just as she was about to move, her ankle abruptly tightened.

An extremely thin scarlet vine silently drilled out of the ground and wrapped tightly around her ankle.

Before she could break free, a second and third vine burst from the earth in succession.

The vines coiled, drew together, and tightened, layer upon layer.

In an instant, a small yet sturdy thorn cage trapped Gu Yue in place, completely restricting her movement.

On the other side, after successfully using the prison to hold Gu Yue back, Ouyang Zixin had no intention of turning around to continue tangling with her.

Using the thorn wall's perfect cover, she suddenly spun around.

Soul Power frantically gathered in her right arm as Crimson Flame Thorns rapidly condensed around her body.

A short spear completely engulfed in blazing flames appeared steadily in her hand. Its spearhead was sharp and dazzling, and the heat it emitted was overwhelming.

They had been fighting for nearly three whole minutes.

This was the first time Ouyang Zixin had truly looked Lin Xun straight in the eye.

Her gaze locked onto him without evasion or retreat, leaving only the sharpness forced out by desperation.

At almost the same moment—

The situation on the field shifted in an instant.

Liu Yuxin, who had been defending passively all this time, precisely seized the one opening created when Gu Yue was trapped by the Thorn Prison.

She stopped holding back, unleashing all her Soul Power in a thunderous surge.

The phantom of the Wind Spirit Sparrow above her head abruptly expanded. A three-meter-wide shadow of cyan wings enveloped her body, and fierce gales instantly swept through the entire field.

"Third Soul Skill, Wind Spirit Rends the Sky!"

Dense cyan Soul Power burst outward, abandoning her earlier scattered attacks.

Dozens of fragmented wind blades instantly converged and condensed, eventually forming three half-human-height crescent-shaped blade auras.

Solid as refined steel, the blade auras spun at high speed and tore through the air with piercing whistles, slashing simultaneously toward Xie Xie and Tang Wulin.

"Damn it!"

Xie Xie cursed under his breath. He had no time to think and immediately gripped the Lightshadow Dragon Daggers with both hands, crossing them before his chest.

The next second, the first heavy wind blade crashed into him.

An ear-splitting metallic screech exploded through the air.

The immense impact pushed Xie Xie back several steps in a row, leaving his arms unbearably sore.

Seeing this, Tang Wulin immediately stepped forward to stand in front of him. A thick layer of golden light covered her skin as she crossed her arms tightly, forcibly enduring the bombardment of the remaining two wind blades.

The gale dispersed, and the attack came to an end.

But Liu Yuxin had no intention of stopping.

Continuously using her third Soul Skill consumed a terrifying amount of Soul Power. The Wind Spirit Sparrow phantom above her head visibly dimmed, and more than half her Soul Power had already been drained.

Yet her eyes shone astonishingly bright. The remaining Soul Power in her palm gathered once more, and a fourth, even more condensed wind blade slowly took shape.

She looked up at the four across from her, her clear voice carrying the advanced division's final pride.

"Don't underestimate the advanced division!"

As her shout fell, the condensed wind blade flew from her hand, charging forward once more with the last of her strength.

At the same time, Xie Xie charged out as well, Lightshadow Dragon Daggers appearing in his hands.

"Light Dragon Storm!"

He spun at high speed on the spot. The wind blade descending from above collided with the small golden-and-silver spinning top he had become, somehow achieving a delicate balance.

At the same time, Lin Xun and Ouyang Zixin collided head-on.

The flaming thorn spear carried tremendous force.

Its tip slammed viciously against his sword edge.

With a boom, light exploded.

The intense crimson flames of the Crimson Flame Thorn collided with the flamboyant, blinding pink radiance along Lin Xun's blade.

Two utterly opposing colors erupted between them, dazzling everyone's eyes.

The thorn barbs winding around the shaft of Ouyang Zixin's flaming short spear stood on end one by one, scorching fire continuously spilling from the vines.

Across from her, Lin Xun held his sword in only one hand.

The blade lay flat in a horizontal block, firmly catching the exact center of the spear tip without moving an inch.

They were absurdly close.

Close enough to clearly see their own reflections in each other's pupils, close enough for the warmth of their breaths to land precisely on each other's faces.

Spear tip and sword edge remained locked in a brief stalemate.

After a long while, Ouyang Zixin's lips moved slightly.

The girl's voice was very soft, mostly drowned out by the crackling flames around them. Yet Lin Xun heard every single word clearly.

"If I beat you, we'll get back together. Okay?"

Lin Xun froze on the spot. After two seconds of silence, he nodded lightly.

"Okay."

In an instant, a glimmer of light suddenly lit up in Ouyang Zixin's eyes.

Like a dying ember abruptly reignited.

But the next second, Lin Xun stepped back.

The taut, locked sword edge slid away, completely breaking free from the spear tip's restraint.

He did not take the opportunity to counterattack.

He merely raised a hand, pressed a fingertip down, and inserted it into the slot on the sword hilt.

The light of his second Soul Ring suddenly shattered.

Ma Xiaotao's Martial Soul Capsule activated instantly and dropped into the Sword Ascension Device.

The dark-red phantom of an Evil Fire Phoenix burst from the blade, and heavy dark-red flames surged wildly along the sword.

The surrounding temperature instantly skyrocketed, while visible heat waves distorted the light.

Between the two flames, the difference in power was immediately clear.

The instant the fire waves collided—

The scarlet spikes on Ouyang Zixin's vines began melting first, while the petals of the flaming flowers around her body blackened one by one.

The dense thorn barbs along the spear shaft were burned apart by the evil fire, one after another.

Then the spear, formed from condensed flames, could no longer withstand the evil fire's corrosion.

A thin crack split open in the middle of the shaft.

It quickly spread, covering the entire fire spear in moments.

With a crisp crack—

The flames shattered.

The Crimson Flame Spear completely dispersed.

The thorny vines around her body instantly lost their Soul Power support and drooped limply.

The last few burning sparks fell onto the grass and went out in an instant.

Even the highly fire-resistant Crimson Flame Thorn had been completely overwhelmed by this evil fire.

The next moment, the fiery-red blade swept toward her.

Ouyang Zixin's pupils shrank sharply as her remaining Soul Power frantically surged into her palms. The last few Crimson Flame Thorns burst from the ground beside her feet. Their vines were thin, and the red light on their spikes had dimmed like dying candles in the wind.

They barely wrapped around her arms, weaving one final vine net before her.

The vine net turned to ash instantly, skipping even the process of burning. Thorn fragments exploded in every direction amid sparks.

Ouyang Zixin only felt a scorching wave of air slam into her face, sending her staggering back several steps.

The exhausted Soul Power within her was completely drained.

She staggered back two more steps. Her knees buckled, and she could no longer hold on. She fell heavily to one knee on the grass, her ample chest heaving violently.

The final hint of scarlet flame at her fingertips flickered, then fell completely to zero.

Lin Xun had directly shattered Ouyang Zixin's fantasies about all this through the most brutal method possible.

Forceful and direct.

That was Lin Xun's usual style. As the greatest scumbag across several eras of Douluo Continent, cutting things off when it was time to cut them off and refusing to get entangled was the principle he ought to uphold most.

Ouyang Zixin bit her pale lips as she looked at the resolute boy before her, bitterness rising in her eyes.

It was an extreme sense of helplessness.

On the other side.

The final wind blade Liu Yuxin had thrown with all her Soul Power was shattered head-on by Tang Wulin's punch.

Golden light exploded, and the fierce wind blade instantly collapsed into cyan fragments that filled the sky.

The Wind Spirit Sparrow phantom above her head completely dimmed.

All strength left Liu Yuxin's body, and she swayed twice.

Then she simply dropped onto the ground on her butt and panted heavily.

She looked up at the exhausted Xie Xie across from her, waved a hand, and completely gave up.

"I'm not fighting anymore."

"I'm out of mana. I've got no strength left at all."

"You win."

Xie Xie was exhausted too. He dropped onto the ground on his butt, his chest heaving wildly as he panted even harder than the person who had lost.

The entire arena fell completely silent.

Wu Changkong stood at the front of the platform in white, raising a hand as his cool voice rang through the venue.

"The match is over."

"Class Five of Year One wins."

Ouyang Zixin rose to her feet. Her eyes were moist as she stared blankly and asked, "Lin Xun, tell me honestly, what was the real reason we broke up?"

Lin Xun answered sincerely, "You're in the Advanced Division, and I'm in the Intermediate Division. I really couldn't accept a long-distance relationship. Sorry."

Ouyang Zixin: "..."

Gu Yue watched everything with a cool expression. For some reason, much of the emotion that had been surging in her eyes had receded.

She did not know why either, but looking at Lin Xun's famously rumored ex-girlfriend from Eastsea Academy, she inexplicably felt a flare of anger in her heart.

This feeling was kind of sour...

Ouyang Zixin took a deep breath and eased most of her emotions before speaking again.

"Then after breaking up, can we still be normal friends?"

"Of course." Lin Xun nodded slightly.

"We can still be friends after breaking up."

"..."

After the credit match ended, Lin Xun returned to the dorm with Xie Xie.

Along the way, Xie Xie rubbed his wrist and complained, "Brother Xun, my speed is fast, sure, but it feels like every time I attack from the flank, I miss."

"It's simple. Just add invisibility." Lin Xun chuckled.

"That's just dreaming." Xie Xie spread his hands helplessly, then said, "But if I really had invisibility, I wouldn't use it for sneak attacks in a fight."

"Then what would you use it for?"

"I'd secretly sneak into a goddess's home and use her soul communicator to send me a message herself:

'Are you there?'"

Lin Xun: "..."