Sparring

Xie Xie's eyes were somewhat dazed. He pointed at himself, disbelief written across his face. "Me? I'm fighting him?"

Luo Qing stood where he was, a smile on his face. "It's fine. Don't hold back. Come at me with everything you have!"

Xie Xie could only grit his teeth as a dagger appeared in his hand.

That was his martial soul, the Light Dragon Dagger.

As an agility-type Soul Master, speed was the only thing he could rely on.

When he had faced Light Dragon before, he had seen the cultivation level of the person before him—two rings!

A nine-year-old two-ring Grand Soul Master!

Both Soul Rings were hundred-year rings, and they were even approaching the thousand-year level!

He would probably only need to enter the Ascension Platform once for both of his Soul Rings to completely turn purple as thousand-year rings!

But how troublesome would someone like that be when standing across from him?

Xie Xie had no time to think further. The moment Wu Zhangkong blew the whistle, he lunged forward.

His body was like an arrow released from its bow, shooting in front of Luo Qing with a whoosh.

Luo Qing remained where he was, merely releasing two Soul Rings behind him.

"An opening!"

Xie Xie swung his blade, and the dagger stabbed forward at high speed.

Fast—far too fast!

Most of the students did not see it clearly.

Tang Wulin instinctively wanted to step forward and block it, but Wu Zhangkong stopped her. "Trust him. He definitely has a way to handle it."

An interested glint flashed through Wu Zhangkong's eyes, and the way he looked at Luo Qing became that of someone examining an uncut jade.

"Fine, but if there's any danger, please step in immediately, Teacher!"

Tang Wulin stopped, gritting her teeth.

Gu Yue narrowed her eyes. Her powerful dynamic vision allowed her to clearly see every moment of their clash.

Xie Xie had actually sensed that something was wrong the instant he struck for the first time. His dagger seemed to have stabbed into something hard and was violently bounced away.

Sparks flew in all directions, reflecting Xie Xie's astonished expression.

"Damn it, how is this possible?"

"What's that layer of membrane? Why can't I pierce it?"

Xie Xie flipped backward and quickly pulled away, stopping several meters off as he scrutinized Luo Qing solemnly. "Those strikes didn't hurt him at all! What can I do to break through?"

As Xie Xie pondered a strategy, Luo Qing looked rather bored. "Not coming over?

Then I'll take the initiative!"

A pair of dazzling wings suddenly spread from behind Luo Qing. Wings formed from light appeared especially enormous.

As the wings unfolded, they stirred up gusts of wind all around them.

"I'm attacking now!"

Luo Qing even gave him a special warning before charging forward.

But just as Xie Xie raised his dagger to block, Luo Qing beat his wings and abruptly appeared before him. Then, like a greatsword, one wing slashed down.

Xie Xie did not react in time at all. Just as he tried to retreat, he realized—it was too late!

Watching the wing of light draw ever closer, Xie Xie instinctively shut his eyes and collapsed helplessly onto the ground. "Maybe this is for the best.

Mother, I can finally come be with you."

In the instant he closed his eyes, Xie Xie seemed to recall every little moment he had spent with his mother.

Clang—

Hearing the tremendous sound, Xie Xie abruptly opened his eyes. "I'm not dead?"

Xie Xie touched his head and found that it was still attached to his neck.

Wu Zhangkong stood before him, holding a sapphire-blue sword as he seriously blocked the attack. "Good power, excellent speed. But you're somewhat careless in battle."

Luo Qing nodded. He had indeed not gone all out as Wu Zhangkong had requested.

As Wu Zhangkong put away his sword, he commented on the other one.

He turned his head and looked at the person behind him with disdain.

Xie Xie was still frozen there, one hand on his neck, terrified that his head might fall off at any moment.

"And you—indecisive in battle, excessively hesitant, and utterly wrong in your judgment—"

"You need extra training!"

Wu Zhangkong's verdict struck Xie Xie like a heavy blow.

Xie Xie had only just snapped out of his daze when he found his homeroom teacher giving him such an assessment. "That's not right, is it? Anyone would panic when facing a monster like that!"

Wu Zhangkong said nothing and merely pressed the remote control.

The recording device he had set up earlier replayed the entire scene of their fight, showing everything clearly.

Xie Xie had rushed up with his dagger and stabbed Luo Qing several times.

After several strikes failed to break his defense, he had immediately pulled away, only to space out and nearly have his head cut off by a wing.

Most crucially, Luo Qing had even warned him before making his move.

This was no ordinary humiliation. Xie Xie practically wanted to find a mound of dirt and bury himself in it.

"Weakness is not a sin. Arrogance is the root of everything. After making your own judgment, you must humbly accept the advice of others—instead of making excuses."

After saying that, Wu Zhangkong began the next round of testing.

Luo Qing walked over to Xie Xie and pulled him up from the ground. "Sorry, I thought you would dodge..."

It would have been better if he had said nothing. The moment he spoke, Xie Xie's face turned even redder. "Extra training. I have to train extra, and train hard!

Otherwise, how could I ever face a guy who's practically a monster?"

The pride of a genius had been stirred. To prove himself, and to fulfill his mother's hopes for him.

He had to become stronger. He had to defeat the powerful enemy before him.

He had to catch up, until he surpassed the person who had defeated him so easily.

Xie Xie's competitive spirit was ignited as he stared seriously at Luo Qing.

Luo Qing looked at him in confusion, wondering why he had suddenly fired up. "What's wrong?

I didn't hit your head, did I?"

"One day, I'll defeat you! Luo Qing, I'll definitely catch up to you and beat you!"

Faced with Xie Xie's loud declaration, Luo Qing did not argue. "All right. Then I'll wait for the day you defeat me—"

Their conversation did not cause much of a stir. The other students were still immersed in the battle they had just witnessed.

The battle had ended too quickly. They could only see it clearly through the replay.

But before they could finish watching, the second sparring match arrived.

Standing in the middle of the field, Wu Zhangkong announced the next pair. "Second group: Tang Wulin versus Gu Yue."

Gu Yue calmly stepped forward, while Tang Wulin also walked out with a serious expression.

They stood facing each other, ten meters apart.

Wu Zhangkong raised his left hand high while holding the whistle in his right.

Beep—

The whistle sounded sharply, and Tang Wulin pushed off with her feet and charged forward.

The distance between them rapidly shrank.

As Tang Wulin kept closing in, Gu Yue waved one hand, sending several fireballs flying directly toward Tang Wulin's path.

The fireballs struck, and the dust kicked up by the flames prevented everyone from seeing what had happened.

Gu Yue narrowed her eyes as fireballs appeared in her hand once more.

Tang Wulin charged out of the smoke and dust, a hammer in her hand.

A little dust clung to the Heavy Silver Hammer. Tang Wulin had used it to block all those fireballs.

As Tang Wulin was about to enter close-combat range, a breeze rose around Gu Yue.

With the wind element surrounding her, Gu Yue became even nimbler and lighter.

Tang Wulin swung her hammer, but Gu Yue evaded with agile footwork.

The two entered close-quarters combat, but beads of sweat began to gather on Gu Yue's forehead.

Facing an assault like a raging storm, she could not help thinking, As expected of the Golden Dragon King!

Even after losing most of its power, its physical strength is still terrifying...

But I'm no ordinary opponent either!