Full Effort, No Need to Hold Back!

At the entrance of the East Courtyard's training room, Li Long sat cross-legged under the corridor.

He had just finished a cycle of his Soul Power guidance technique. His level 34 Soul Power slowly retreated into his dantian through his meridians, and the lingering warmth around his body dissipated as the morning breeze blew past.

When he opened his eyes, he saw a figure approaching from the courtyard gate.

The person's steps were unhurried, but the aura behind every footfall was steady.

The man was tall and slender, dressed in simple light-gray robes. He wore no badges on his waist, but the Soul Power fluctuations radiating from him were undisguised.

A level 60 Soul Emperor, his presence felt like a heavy, thin mist shrouding him.

Li Long stood up.

The man stopped about five paces away in the courtyard. He looked Li Long over, his gaze sweeping from head to toe before finally resting on the silver-based, gold-rimmed Saint badge at Li Long's waist. He stared for a moment, then looked up to meet his eyes.

"You are Li Long?" the man asked. His tone carried a natural ease; he lacked a condescending air, yet he was not reserved either.

"I am." Li Long nodded. "And you are?"

"Qian Yaoting, son of the current Pope, and your senior brother." The man stated his name, then gave a faint smile. "I just came down from the mountain. I heard the old man took on a disciple and even named him a Saint. I've been in seclusion for three years, and coming out to find I have a new junior brother, I had to come and take a look."

Li Long looked at the youth, who was more than half a head taller than him.

Qian Yaoting's features were somewhat similar to Qian Shengyuan's, but his demeanor was more relaxed, and his eyes held undisguised curiosity.

Level 60 Soul Power pulsed around him. Even though he had restrained most of it, the level of pressure still surged toward Li Long like a tide, faint yet persistent.

"I've seen enough," Qian Yaoting said, then flexed his wrists. "My hands are itching. Shall we spar?"

Li Long was not surprised.

A Soul Emperor who had just left seclusion coming to find a newly appointed Saint—claiming to just "take a look" while already standing in the courtyard—clearly intended to fight. He nodded. "Very well."

Qian Yaoting stepped back to clear some space and added, "Don't worry, I'll only use soul skills within my first three rings. I won't use my fourth or fifth skills; I won't bully you."

"No need."

Qian Yaoting paused.

Li Long looked at him, his tone flat. "Use your full strength. There is no need to hold back."

The courtyard went quiet for a moment.

Qian Yaoting's gaze lingered on Li Long's face for two seconds, seemingly trying to find a hint of politeness or hesitation on that calm expression, but he saw only eyes that were far more composed than those of his peers.

"Are you sure?" The corner of Qian Yaoting's mouth tightened. "I am a level 60 Soul Emperor."

"I know," Li Long said. "A gap in Soul Power is a gap in Soul Power. But whether you limit yourself to three rings or hold back two entire realms, the result is the same. If I finish the fight without knowing where my limits lie against you, it's meaningless. So don't hold back. You use your full strength, and I will use every means I have to receive it. If I can't take it, it means my level is insufficient; if I can, it means my ability has reached that point."

Qian Yaoting watched him in silence for three breaths, then the corners of his mouth curled up again, the arc deeper than before.

He said no more nonsense. The next second, his Six-Winged Angel manifested, and he floated into the air.

However, only two pairs of wings were physical; the remaining two were translucent.

One needed to be a level 70 Soul Saint to condense the second pair of physical wings to become a four-winged angel, and level 90 to condense the third pair to become a six-winged angel.

Qian Yaoting hovered in mid-air. The two physical wings shimmered with a pale golden luster in the morning light, while the two translucent shadows behind him fluttered slightly like projections of power not yet fully solidified.

He looked down at Li Long on the ground and made a grasping motion with his right hand, where golden light condensed into a sword.

"I'll state this clearly," Qian Yaoting said, his tone more serious than before. "Since you asked me to use my full strength, I will. I won't hold back my five soul skills, and I won't pull my punches. If you can't handle it, you can call for a stop at any time."

"Fine." Li Long gripped his Iron Rod.

Qian Yaoting's sword moved.

The first strike slashed down diagonally from the air, moving so fast that Li Long only had time to hold his rod horizontally to block.

The moment the sword edge slammed into the rod, the impact of the level 60 Soul Power traveled through the iron and into his arms. Li Long's feet sank half an inch into the ground.

The sound of the stone tiles cracking was crisp and sharp.

When the sword's momentum was caught by the rod, a flicker of light crossed Qian Yaoting's eyes.

A normal strike from a level 60 Soul Emperor would be enough to make an ordinary level 30 Soul Elder drop their weapon, but Li Long's feet had only sunk half an inch, and his grip on the rod remained rock-steady.

"Such powerful strength!"

"Now this is interesting!"

Before Qian Yaoting finished speaking, his first soul ring rose.

The golden sword glow surged, and as he slashed down, it carried a clear boost from his soul skill.

Li Long blocked with his rod again. This time, he was pushed back a step, plowing a shallow groove into the ground, but he did not drop his weapon.

"You caught my first soul skill."

Qian Yaoting spoke faster, flipped his body half a turn in the air, and his second soul ring lit up.

The sword glow expanded from a single point into a fan shape, nearly doubling its coverage.

Li Long stepped back and turned, swinging his rod in a full arc. Gold and purple light intertwined on the rod as his first soul skill, Mighty Vajra Staff, met the fan-shaped glow head-on.

The sound of metal clashing exploded.

The fan-shaped glow was split down the middle by the rod, and shattered golden light scattered in all directions.

Qian Yaoting was slightly stunned to see his second soul skill shattered by a single blow.

"It broke?"

His pupils constricted.

Even if his second soul skill wasn't used at full power, it was still backed by the foundation of level 60 Soul Power.

A level 30 Soul Elder shattering his skill head-on was something he would never have believed before his seclusion.

Qian Yaoting put away his final bit of hesitation.

The moment his third soul ring lit up, he shot several yards higher into the air, holding his golden longsword high above his head. The light condensing on the blade was several times denser than the previous two rounds.

"Third Soul Skill: Angel Judgment."

He slashed down, and the golden sword glow transformed into a pillar of light as thick as an arm, plummeting straight down.

The power of this strike exceeded the category of an ordinary level 30 soul skill; it was clearly infused with significantly more Soul Power.

Just before the pillar of light descended, Li Long planted his feet firmly, and his second and first soul rings lit up simultaneously.

The Iron Rod expanded to two zhang, cyan wind pressure wrapping around the golden light covering the rod as he thrust it upward with all his might.

The tip of the rod hit the front of the light pillar with precision. The moment they collided, the air was torn apart with a sharp, explosive roar.

The pillar of light split down the middle, transforming into two deflected streams of golden energy that brushed past Li Long on either side, blasting two massive holes in the courtyard wall behind him.

But the main body of the pillar had been cleaved in two by that strike.

High in the air, Qian Yaoting watched this scene, silenced for three full breaths.

His third soul skill had been shattered head-on by a level 30 Soul Elder.

The moment the technique collapsed, a shockwave exploded outward, sending all the gravel on the ground flying.

Qian Yaoting steadied himself in the air and looked down at the youth below, who was carrying a two-zhang Iron Rod, his body surging with Soul Power. The surprise in his eyes could no longer be hidden.

He slowly landed back on the ground, his wings half-retracted, his longsword re-condensing in his hand as his fourth soul ring rose.