Feng Xiaotian's Challenge!

Lin Yichen hurried into the room and shut the door.

Shui Bing'er was standing there, tidying up the blankets that had been aired out after she and Hu Liena had queued together last night.

When she saw Lin Yichen enter, Shui Bing'er froze slightly before smiling.

"Back already? What do you think? Doesn't our room look nice?"

She then covered her mouth and laughed.

"You stayed here the entire afternoon?"

Lin Yichen asked incredulously. He had been out for nearly two hours.

Had Shui Bing'er really stayed in the room cleaning the whole time?

Lin Yichen even glanced to the side. The table held food along with several cups of Honey Snow Ice City.

Shui Bing'er tilted her head. "What else? I told you, I couldn't get out of bed."

Lin Yichen's gaze swept over her, and he fell into thought, especially when looking at those fair, alluring legs.

"Then what are you doing now?"

Shui Bing'er spread her hands, her voice full of helplessness.

"Cleaning up for my man. And what you call a blanket..."

She immediately revealed a mischievous smile.

It was the first time Lin Yichen had seen that expression on Shui Bing'er's face.

It frightened him enough that he quickly covered her mouth.

"It's enough that you know. Don't say it out loud..."

Hu Liena had been standing outside the door the entire time, a faint curve on her lips, but she did not enter.

Xie Yue silently walked up beside Hu Liena and patted her shoulder.

"It's so late. Aren't you going to sleep?"

Then, hearing the playful sounds from inside, he frowned.

"Our captain... honestly..."

"Brother, stop talking. I quite like Little Shui."

Hu Liena cut off Xie Yue's complaint.

Xie Yue glanced at his sister. His lips moved, but in the end, he merely sighed and turned to leave.

Before leaving, he tossed out one sentence. "As long as you know what you're doing."

Hu Liena did not respond. She remained where she was, her gaze resting on the door.

Shui Bing'er's suppressed laughter and Lin Yichen's low pleading came from within.

She listened for a while. The curve on her lips did not change, though it tightened slightly. Then she turned and left as well, merely shaking her head.

The night passed without incident.

Early the next morning, Lin Yichen woke up groggily.

There were scratch marks on his chest from when Shui Bing'er had been overcome with emotion the night before.

A note lay on the table.

"I'm heading back first! Train well, okay~"

It was signed, Little Shui.

Lin Yichen smiled and tucked it into his clothes.

The sun shone brightly outside, and he had slept until late morning.

It felt great not having to compete.

However, some things in this world always went against one's wishes.

"Captain, that Feng Xiaotian specifically asked to challenge you."

Lin Yichen had just stepped out of his room and was enjoying the warmth of the sunlight on his face when Yan, this uninvited guest, appeared.

And he always brought bad news.

"Is he sick or something? I was just about to enjoy my lovely break!"

Lin Yichen turned around and accused Yan at the top of his lungs.

Yan was dumbfounded too! He was just the messenger, so why was he getting yelled at from both sides?

But then he remembered the time Lin Yichen had "educated" him.

He forcibly swallowed the frustration in his heart.

"Captain... he specifically named you and wants you to fight him."

Lin Yichen waved impatiently.

"Alright, alright. I'll go in a bit. Tell him to wait!"

Lin Yichen let out a long, heavy breath and stood there blankly.

"Fucking crazy. We're fighting tomorrow, and he still wants to spar today. Maniac..."

By the time Lin Yichen strolled over to the training grounds, Feng Xiaotian was already there.

He stood with his arms crossed, leaning against a tree with his eyes closed.

Hearing footsteps, Feng Xiaotian opened his eyes. His gaze fell upon Lin Yichen and swept over him from head to toe before he gave a slight nod.

"I've heard much about you."

Lin Yichen yawned. "You dragged me out of bed so early just to say that?"

Feng Xiaotian straightened up from the tree.

"A young Soul Emperor from Spirit Hall, one unlike any ever recorded on the continent.

I want to see your true strength for myself. And I want to find out where my own strength stands now."

"Hm?"

Lin Yichen was immediately intrigued. Normally, if other academies had the choice, they would never choose Spirit Hall as an opponent.

Everyone wanted to participate in more matches and last a little longer, so they would try to pick weaker opponents.

Yet Feng Xiaotian had come straight for the strongest opponent. That fighting spirit piqued Lin Yichen's interest.

"Now this is interesting."

Lin Yichen immediately shed his lazy demeanor and turned serious.

"So, should I go all out or what?"

"Just fight normally. I told you, I'm here to find the gap between us."

As Feng Xiaotian spoke, he had already assumed a fighting stance. The phantom of the Gale Two-Headed Wolf unfolded behind him, and both pairs of wolf eyes locked onto Lin Yichen.

His soul rings were yellow, yellow, and purple—the standard configuration for someone above level thirty.

But the battle intent in those eyes far exceeded what his level suggested.

Lin Yichen especially liked opponents like this. He was far more interesting than those two dumb Huyan brothers Lin Yichen had fought before.

Lin Yichen had also decided that he definitely could not take him out in one move from the start.

Against an opponent like this, he had to put some pressure on him and see where his potential truly lay.

At the same time, Lin Yichen wanted to observe his self-created soul skill, Gale Demon Wolf Continuous Slash.

He wanted to see if he could discern anything from it.

"Second soul skill, Twin Wolf Possession!"

Feng Xiaotian shouted, and the silhouette of the Gale Two-Headed Wolf gradually merged with his body.

His aura surged instantly, and his attack, defense, and agility all increased by fifty percent.

Starting by stacking buffs?

Lin Yichen remained impassive. Moonshadow Step activated beneath his feet. He did not even fuse with his martial soul to boost his speed, yet he was already at Feng Xiaotian's limit.

"Will you only dodge? First soul skill, Wind Blade Formation!"

Sharp wolf claws sprang from Feng Xiaotian's palms. With a sweep of both hands, ten semi-curved azure wind blades whistled forth.

Every one of them shot precisely toward every possible route Lin Yichen could take.

"Interesting."

With a thought, Lin Yichen activated the Eye of Guanghan, striking Feng Xiaotian directly in the eyes and causing him to freeze for several seconds.

But those few seconds were already enough for Lin Yichen to make his judgment.

His martial soul instantly fused with him, and Moonshadow Step was pushed to its maximum power, allowing him to easily evade Feng Xiaotian's attack.

"Not bad! Keep going!"

Lin Yichen only suppressed his soul power to Feng Xiaotian's level. He wanted to see just what kind of strength this genius could unleash.

At the same time, a bold idea surfaced in his mind.

He and Xiao Wu both belonged to the Soft Bone Rabbit clan. Although Lin Yichen's bloodline was of inferior grade.

Their innate skill, Eight-Section Throw, was still quite good.

Xiao Wu had used it in the original story to utterly crush many opponents.

So...

How could he possibly not practice such a useful, violent close-combat skill!

Though it might not quite match his usual attire and mannerisms.

But who cared? Wasn't Xiao Wu also the girl-next-door type? Yet when she beat people up, she was fiercer than anyone else.

He was eager to give it a try~

But Xiao Wu... he should also think about how to explain Hu Liena and the others to her.

After all, Lin Yichen had experienced this girl's jealousy before.

It was so sour it pierced straight into one's heart.