Sparring with Yan Again

As soon as the words left his mouth, his gaze swept across the room and landed on Hu Liena.

Yan's expression instantly froze.

His eyes darted back and forth between Hu Liena and Yang Jian.

His face immediately darkened.

"Nana? Why are you here?"

Hu Liena rose to her feet, staring at Yan's still-bruised face as she frowned. "Why can't I be here?"

Yan looked at Hu Liena, then at Yang Jian. Who knew what scene he had imagined, but his expression suddenly sank.

"You two, a man and a woman alone together—what kind of behavior is that!"

"Yan!" Hu Liena's face instantly flushed red, both angry and embarrassed. "What nonsense are you talking about?!"

Xie Yue walked in through the courtyard gate, holding his forehead with one hand. He stood off to the side with a helpless look, clearly displeased with Yan's behavior as well.

"It's none of your business! Get lost!" Hu Liena pointed at the courtyard gate, her tone utterly impolite.

After being snapped at like that, Yan's expression turned even uglier.

Ignoring Hu Liena's order to leave, he instead turned to Yang Jian and pointed a finger right at his nose.

"Yang Jian, if you're a man, accept my challenge!"

"This time, we can both use our martial souls. I'll suppress my strength to the Soul Master level and won't use my second or third soul skills, so it won't count as bullying you!"

"Sure." Yang Jian agreed without a second thought.

Since Yan had come looking to be humiliated, Yang Jian naturally had no reason to refuse. Besides, he had been annoyed by the guy anyway.

"Uh..."

Yan froze for a moment, clearly not expecting Yang Jian to agree so readily.

Then delight appeared on his face. His fists cracked as he clenched them, already imagining his heroic performance in the arena later.

Hu Liena opened her mouth, instinctively wanting to stop them, but swallowed her words before they came out.

She remembered how pathetic she had looked just now, unable even to lift the Three-Point Double-Edged Saber. Then she remembered Yang Jian's ten-thousand-year soul ring, and suddenly felt that... perhaps it was not her junior brother she needed to worry about.

Standing at the courtyard gate, Xie Yue's gaze shifted from Yan to Hu Liena's face. Suddenly, he felt that the way his sister looked at Yang Jian was a little off.

It was not the concern one showed a junior brother, nor was it admiration for a genius.

His brows furrowed slightly as he sank into thought.

"I should warn you." Yan rolled his wrists, his tone brimming with confidence. "I'll control my strength. I won't beat you badly, but you definitely won't escape with an unbruised face. But since we can use our martial souls, we can't fight here."

He turned and headed outside, then looked back and jerked his chin at Yang Jian. "Keep up. We're going to the training grounds."

After saying that, he deliberately glanced at Hu Liena, puffed out his chest, and flashed what he considered a heroic, extraordinary smile.

When Hu Liena met his gaze, there was not the slightest hint of anticipation in her eyes.

Instead, a trace of undisguised disgust flashed through them.

What a loser.

She had never particularly liked Yan before.

But at least they were fellow disciples.

They could still maintain appearances.

But now, this guy kept coming around every few days to fawn over her. He spoke and acted without thinking, and now he had even come to Yang Jian's courtyard to cause trouble... He was becoming more and more repulsive.

Hu Liena turned her face away, too lazy to spare him even a glance.

Yan had been thoroughly rebuffed. He awkwardly rubbed his nose, but quickly adjusted his mood.

"Hurry up!"

He shouted at Yang Jian.

Then he strode toward the training grounds.

As long as he could beat Yang Jian until he knelt and begged for mercy,

he believed Hu Liena would definitely see him in a new light.

Maybe she would even accept his pursuit.

Spirit Hall's training grounds covered an enormous area. The bluestone arena alone spanned tens of thousands of square meters, surrounded by tiered spectator stands that could hold thousands of people at once.

It was now evening, just after training had ended.

Quite a few young Spirit Hall students were still sparring on the training grounds.

When Yang Jian and the others arrived,

every student's attention was drawn to them.

"Is that... Yan from the Golden Generation?"

"The ones beside him should be Xie Yue and Hu Liena, right?"

"Why are they here?"

"I heard Yan recently broke through to level thirty-two. His strength has risen by quite a bit again."

The students whispered among themselves, their gazes full of admiration.

The Golden Generation's status among Spirit Hall's younger generation was as unreachable as the stars in the sky.

Soon, someone noticed the small, thin figure at the back of the group.

"Who's that kid?"

"Why is he walking with them?"

"Never seen him before. He looks unfamiliar."

"Could he be some higher-up's relative?"

The discussions rose and fell.

But no one took the child, who looked only six or seven years old, seriously.

Yan took three steps in two and leaped onto the arena. With a forceful stomp, he made the bluestone platform hum faintly.

He turned around and looked down at Yang Jian, pointing at him. "Get up here!"

Yang Jian shrugged and slowly walked onto the arena.

He stood opposite Yan.

The contrast between them was stark.

One was broad and muscular.

The other was small and slender.

Only then did the students below understand that they were going to fight.

"Yan's going to fight that kid? Isn't that a bit too much bullying?"

"That kid is probably only around level ten or so, while Yan is a level thirty-two Soul Elder..."

"Even if it's just a spar, the gap is way too big."

Everyone shook their heads, feeling that Yan was bullying a child.

At that moment, a middle-aged man wearing the robes of a Spirit Hall instructor walked over from beside the stands.

He wore a short beard, had steady eyes, and radiated the aura of a Soul King.

"What's going on?"

The middle-aged man glanced at the two on the arena, his brows slightly furrowed.

Yan folded his arms over his chest and said carelessly, "Instructor Wang, we're just sparring."

"Don't worry. I'll suppress my strength to the Soul Master level."

"And I won't use my second or third soul skills."

"I'm not bullying him."

Instructor Wang considered it for a moment, then nodded in the end.

Soul power level was certainly important.

But combat experience was what truly mattered.

"Since it's a spar, I'll act as the referee. Remember to stop before things go too far."

After glancing at Yang Jian, Instructor Wang made up his mind that if Yan failed to hold back later, he would step in and protect the boy.

After all, a child at around level ten facing Yan, who possessed the strength of a Soul Elder—even with Yan suppressing his strength—the gap was obvious. There was no way he could win.

"Begin," Steward Wang said as he retreated to the edge of the arena.

The moment his words fell,

Yan exerted force beneath his feet. Two yellow and one purple soul rings rose around him as his body suddenly grew taller, and a layer of dark-red rocky patterns emerged across his skin.

Behind him, the phantom of a rock giant wreathed in flames faintly appeared.

Flame Lord, possess!

Scorching heat spread in every direction, and the temperature atop the arena abruptly rose by several degrees.

Yan clenched his fists, feeling the surging power within his body. A proud smile curled across his lips.

He held up three fingers at Yang Jian. "I'll give you three moves first, so no one can say I'm bullying a child."