Intangibility? Sorry, I Counter You

How could the tall, thin man fail to see through Xu Yuan's clumsy tactics?

No matter how erratic Xu Yuan tried to make his movements seem, the distance between them had been steadily closing, and the tall, thin man could sense it clearly.

More than that, though, he had simply grown accustomed to being ambushed at close range.

His Martial Soul's defenses were far too fragile. Once an enemy got close, a single blow could be fatal.

Although his First Soul Skill enhanced the impact speed and strangling techniques of his attacks through his Soul Spirit's Soul Skill, it was still merely an ordinary Soul Skill without any special qualities.

His rise had only begun after he fortuitously obtained his Second Soul Spirit.

With the Second Soul Spirit, his Second Soul Skill, Space Transfer, could work alongside his First Soul Skill. All sorts of tactics greatly increased his strength, allowing him to enter Shrek.

However, during his first year at Shrek, he had been useless in every competition and battle. He was simply too fragile; no matter how strange his attacks were, he was always taken out.

That year had therefore honed his survival instincts tremendously.

Such instincts were incredibly valuable.

Even after obtaining his Third Soul Skill, Intangibility, which immediately became his strongest means of survival, those instincts still served their purpose at every moment.

For example, Xu Yuan's approach was entirely within his expectations. He had even planned to use this opportunity to counterkill Xu Yuan.

While intangible, the tall, thin man was certain of victory.

The moment Xu Yuan saw the tall, thin man's third Soul Ring flash, he prepared his response.

Having closed in before his opponent, he naturally needed to watch out for the opponent's survival methods. The tall, thin man's Third Soul Skill, which he had never used, was clearly the key—the core.

Seeing the tall, thin man gradually turn intangible, Xu Yuan smiled.

So your survival ability is Intangibility.

Unfortunately, I happen to counter you.

Five-colored light circulated within Xu Yuan's body, flowing down his arm and merging into the Heaven Origin Spear. The Five Elements Spear Spirit possessed him, and the embryonic Spear Will he had formed through his own unstoppable Spear Intent changed at once, becoming even sharper and more aggressive.

At that moment, space itself seemed within reach before his spear.

He could not shatter space, but this strike hit space itself, transmitting its force through space and onto the tall, thin man.

Space solidified.

Cai Yue'er's figure quietly appeared in a corner of the room. Rings of Soul Rings arranged themselves around her body, their colors utterly exaggerated—three purple, three black, and three red, a configuration completely beyond reason.

The tall, thin man looked at Xu Yuan with lingering fear.

"Junior, I lost." He gave a bitter laugh. He had never expected his plan of using himself as bait to end so abruptly, his survival ability completely countered.

This was pure suppression.

There was simply nothing he could do about it.

Luck was also a kind of strength.

Xu Yuan had picked him—the one with the highest Soul Power Level—and yet happened to be able to counter him.

Cai Yue'er looked at Xu Yuan with considerable curiosity.

"You inherited your uncle's Spear Will?" she asked in surprise.

"No, it inherited Uncle's Spear Will." Xu Yuan shook his head. The five elements flashed across the Heaven Origin Spear in his hand, and the Five Elements Spear Spirit floated beside him.

Cai Yue'er looked at the Five Elements Spear Spirit, a strange light appearing in her eyes.

Thinking back on the details of the battle, it did seem that Xu Yuan's Spear Will had only transformed into that Space-Piercing Spear Intent after the Five Elements Spear Spirit attached itself to his Martial Soul.

Still, it was only an embryonic form. It could not truly break space, but it could attack space itself—and strike the tall, thin man hiding in the gaps between space.

Cai Yue'er carefully examined Xu Yuan from head to toe.

His physical constitution was very strong, something she had not noticed in the Beast Arena earlier.

With a physique surpassing that of an ordinary Soul Grandmaster, along with a thousand-year Soul Ring as his first ring, Xu Yuan possessed the foundation of a normal Soul Grandmaster, making up for some of his weakness in Soul Power Level. Combined with his spear techniques, Spear Will, and the fortunate tactical counter, Xu Yuan had won as a Soul Master, defeating a Soul Elder who had cultivated at Shrek for three years.

Of course, by normal Soul Grandmaster, she meant the average level of Shrek Outer Courtyard students at the Soul Grandmaster stage.

In the blink of an eye, Cai Yue'er had already replayed every detail of the battle in her mind.

"This round counts as a perfect score as well."

Cai Yue'er began to feel anticipation.

Could this child really earn perfect scores in every round?

Shrek had not seen such a thing in a very long time.

The last time had been when Yun Ming enrolled.

And the greatest obstacle to a perfect overall score was clearly the seventh round. Defeating an upperclassman who had cultivated at Shrek for three years was practically hell-level difficulty.

Of course, there was still a slim chance.

In truth, after entering Shrek, a student's Soul Power Level was no longer the sole measure of excellence. Shrek's education greatly divided the students' focus and imposed extremely high demands on Battle Armor. Even geniuses who reached Soul Elder by age thirteen found it difficult to cultivate to Level 40 within their three years as first-year students. By their third year, those who could break through to Soul King were among the absolute best, and by then they were already twenty years old. There were only a handful in each class of three years.

Were there twenty-year-old Soul Kings outside Shrek?

There were, and certainly more than a single-digit number. Even twenty-year-old Soul Kings without the backing of major powers like Shrek or the Spirit Pagoda numbered more than a few.

However, twenty-year-old Soul Kings who were also One-Word Dou Armor Masters were rare.

Those who had cultivated at Shrek for three years yet remained at the Soul Elder level merely possessed extraordinarily rich combat experience.

But they were not invincible.

Luck, coincidence, and utterly monstrous talent—these were all factors that could give someone a chance to defeat an upperclassman in this round and earn a perfect score.

In fact, this was the eighth round of the entrance examination, but the Inner Courtyard assessment made it the seventh round, removing the endurance test that would normally have been the seventh round.

Instead, another endurance test had been added to the eighth round.

"Teacher, I'm a Food-Type Soul Master," Xu Lizhi reported, asking how he should fight.

"Then surrender. You can secure two points," Cai Yue'er said.

This tested actual combat, yet gave auxiliary-type Soul Masters no chance to cooperate with others.

Xu Lizhi nodded helplessly.

His score was enough already, anyway.

Unlike Xu Yuan, who was taking the exam for an Inner Courtyard assessment spot, Xu Lizhi and Ye Xinglan had been specially recruited. A top academy like Shrek always had special channels, realms that ordinary Soul Masters found difficult to even know of, much less access.

Xu Lizhi did not need eighty-five points. He only needed to pass with sixty points to enter the Inner Courtyard for cultivation.

Xu Yuan, on the other hand, needed to score eighty-five points.

Ye Xinglan earned four points.

She had failed to last ten minutes, but because her Sword Intent had forcefully driven back her opponent several times, her display of pure sword cultivator strength earned her four points.

"The eighth round is an endurance test."

Normally, the seventh round tested endurance, while the eighth tested actual combat.

However, the Inner Courtyard assessment had swapped their order: actual combat first, then endurance.

The contents of the endurance test were also vastly different.