Guang Ling Douluo's Personal Test: Do Not Retreat Before Arrows

Before the Azure Stone Sub-Hall, cold air slowly spread along the stone steps.

Steward Ma stood in place with several sub-hall Soul Masters, all of them unconsciously softening their breathing.

The Fifth Consecration of the Consecration Hall, Guang Ling Douluo.

Such a figure, standing at the very pinnacle of the Soul Master world, usually existed only in Spirit Hall's internal records and rumors. Not to mention a remote little town like Bluestone Town—even the master of a city sub-hall one level above might not be qualified to meet him in person.

Steward Ma hurriedly bowed.

"Greetings, Fifth Consecration."

"Chu Jin is currently at the town smithy. I'll send someone to invite him over at once."

Guang Ling raised a hand to interrupt him.

"No need to make it so troublesome."

"Lead the way."

He looked very young, with long ice-blue hair hanging loosely down his back. His left eye was covered by a layer of frost-crystal-like markings, while his right held a hint of casual indifference.

Steward Ma did not dare say more and immediately led the way.

The group crossed Bluestone Town's main street and soon arrived outside the smithy.

Before they even entered, clear hammering sounds rang out from the yard.

Clang!

Clang!

The interval between every strike was almost exactly the same.

Guang Ling paused.

He did not release his spiritual power to investigate and simply pushed open the half-closed courtyard gate.

Under the furnace shed, Chu Jin gripped a forging hammer and continuously struck a red-hot iron billet. Xiao Jin lay atop a crate of ore nearby, happily chewing on a small piece of Starshine Iron.

Chu Lie was the first to notice them.

He set down his tongs and looked at Steward Ma, then at Guang Ling, who stood at the front.

"Steward Ma, this is?"

Steward Ma had just been about to introduce him when Guang Ling stepped past him and fixed his gaze directly on Chu Jin.

"You're Chu Jin?"

Chu Jin stopped hammering.

Even without activating his Double Pupils, he could still sense an exceptionally sharp aura from the other man. It felt as though he had been targeted by an arrow hidden in ice and snow. Any slight movement, and the arrowhead would instantly pierce his body.

Chu Jin set down the forging hammer and wiped his hands.

"I am."

Guang Ling looked him over, then turned his gaze toward Xiao Jin atop the crate.

Xiao Jin still had Starshine Iron in its mouth.

Sensing the unfamiliar gaze, it swiftly stuffed all the remaining ore into its mouth, puffing out both cheeks, then covered its mouth with its paws.

As if swallowing quickly enough would keep others from stealing its food.

Guang Ling slightly raised an eyebrow.

"This is the external beast martial soul from the report that can eat metal?"

Chu Jin nodded.

"Xiao Jin."

"It only eats materials containing special energy. It has no interest in ordinary metal."

Xiao Jin swallowed the Starshine Iron with effort, raised its head, and let out a cry.

Guang Ling stared at it for two breaths.

Judging by its appearance, the little thing truly had little intimidation factor.

Its golden wings were incomplete, its limbs were short, and its round body resembled a golden ball of flesh. Aside from the fairly pure light aura on its body, it was difficult to associate it with a top-tier dragon-type martial soul.

Yet the report received by the Consecration Hall rated this martial soul extremely highly.

It devoured special materials.

It strengthened itself.

It fed back to the Soul Master's body.

It could gnaw through released soul power.

More importantly, after three months, this martial soul had indeed grown.

Guang Ling did not ask any more theoretical questions.

He had always acted directly.

"Take your heavy halberd and come outside with me."

Chu Lie's expression changed slightly.

"May I ask, Senior, are you planning to..."

"A test."

Guang Ling glanced at him, his tone calm.

"The Consecration Hall will not decide how to train someone based on a single report. Since I'm here, I naturally have to see for myself."

Chu Lie wanted to say more.

But Chu Jin had already walked over to the weapon rack and picked up the three-hundred-pound training heavy halberd.

"Uncle, I'll be back soon."

Xiao Jin jumped down from the ore crate and chased after him on its four short legs.

There was an open area not far from the smithy.

The town's hunters usually sorted their goods there, and the ground had been trampled firm.

Once news spread, nearby townspeople quickly gathered. Steward Ma arranged for the sub-hall Soul Masters to keep everyone at a distance so they would not affect the test.

Guang Ling walked to the center of the clearing.

"I heard you can see the movement of soul power?"

"I can see part of it."

"Can you see arrows?"

Chu Jin gripped the halberd shaft with both hands.

"I can try."

A faint smile appeared at the corner of Guang Ling's mouth.

"Then watch carefully."

As soon as he spoke, he did not even release his martial soul. He merely raised his right hand.

A wisp of ice-blue soul power rapidly condensed at his fingertips, forming an ice arrow half a foot long.

Cold air spread outward.

A thin layer of frost extended across the ground.

Steward Ma and the others instinctively tensed.

Although Guang Ling had suppressed his power to an extremely low level, a Titled Douluo's control over soul power was far beyond that of an ordinary Soul Master. In his hands, an ice arrow formed from the same amount of soul power was at least several times stronger than one made by an ordinary Soul Master.

A dark golden glint flashed in Chu Jin's eyes.

The Double Pupils activated.

The ice arrow rapidly changed within his vision.

Cold air on the outer layer.

Soul power patterns inside.

The arrowhead was the most condensed, the middle of the shaft came next, and the soul power at the tail was the weakest.

Even when Guang Ling's fingers exerted force, the possible trajectory of the ice arrow's shot was captured in advance by the Double Pupils.

Whoosh!

There was no countdown.

The ice arrow left his fingertips and shot straight for Chu Jin's left shoulder.

It was so fast that the surrounding townspeople could not see it clearly at all.

Yet at the instant the ice arrow was released, Chu Jin turned to the right and shouted in a low voice.

"Xiao Jin!"

Xiao Jin had long been prepared.

It kicked hard against the ground with all four paws, its golden body slamming diagonally into the ice arrow.

Bang!

Xiao Jin did not strike the arrowhead. Its body hit the middle of the ice arrow with perfect accuracy.

The arrow's trajectory shifted.

The heavy halberd in Chu Jin's hand followed immediately, its shaft smashing heavily into the side of the ice arrow from below.

Crack!

The ice arrow grazed Chu Jin's shoulder and flew past, embedding itself in a stone behind him.

Cold air erupted.

Half the stone swiftly froze over with a layer of frost.

Xiao Jin rolled twice across the ground, quickly flipped itself upright, and shook the ice fragments from its body.

Guang Ling's right eye narrowed slightly.

"You saw it clearly?"

"I saw part of it."

"Again."

This time, three ice arrows formed before him at once.

The one on the left was slightly slower.

The one in the middle was the fastest.

The ice arrow on the right flew in a clearly curved trajectory.

The moment the three arrows formed, Chu Jin held the heavy halberd horizontally before him.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The sounds of tearing air nearly merged into one.

Chu Jin did not retreat.

His Double Pupils locked onto the fastest ice arrow in the middle. He thrust the halberd tip forward, striking the arrowhead dead on.

A powerful force traveled down the halberd shaft.

His arms sank slightly, and sharp pain immediately shot through the web between his thumb and forefinger.

The middle ice arrow was knocked toward the left.

It collided directly with the second ice arrow, which had originally been slightly slower.

Both arrows shattered at once.

A mass of ice shards exploded before Chu Jin.

The third curved ice arrow went around the heavy halberd and shot toward his ribs from the right.

Chu Jin had no time to fully withdraw the halberd.

He simply released his right hand, gripped the halberd shaft with his left to maintain balance, and reached directly for the ice arrow's tail with his free hand.

Steward Ma's pupils contracted.

"Don't touch it!"

The moment his warning left his mouth, Chu Jin's five fingers had already clamped around the tail of the ice arrow.

Icy cold spread upward from his palm.

Frost swiftly formed across the surface of Chu Jin's right hand.

Yet he did not let go.

The Double Pupils allowed him to clearly see that the arrow's main power was concentrated in its head and middle. Most of the soul power at its tail had already dissipated during flight.

As long as he avoided the sharp edge, it was not as dangerous as it looked.

Following the ice arrow's direction, Chu Jin spun half a circle backward and redirected the remaining force into the ground.

The ice arrow struggled in his hand a few times before finally turning into fine ice crystals.

The entire clearing fell silent.

Chu Jin shook his numb right hand.

Xiao Jin hurried over, hugged his wrist, and blew several breaths onto the remaining frost.

Guang Ling did not praise him.

He merely asked, "Why did you dare grab it?"

"The soul power at the arrow's tail had already dispersed by more than half."

"What if your judgment had been wrong?"

"At most, I would lose the use of one hand."

Chu Jin's tone was calm.

"If the arrow hit my ribs, the injury would be worse."

Guang Ling looked at him for a while.

"You're quite willing to pay the price."

"In battle, you always have to choose the method with the smaller cost."

This time, the smile on Guang Ling's face became more obvious.

Combat talent, situational judgment, martial soul coordination—these could all improve through training.

The ability to remain calm in danger was the truly rare quality.

"You've watched the arrows."

"Now let's see just how tough your bones are."

Guang Ling raised a hand.

For the first time, the aura of a Titled Douluo erupted from within him.

He did not summon his soul rings, yet the pressure still descended like an iceberg falling from the sky.

The ground beneath Chu Jin's feet let out a faint cracking sound.

The three-hundred-jin heavy halberd crashed to the ground, its butt end sinking into the dirt.

The surrounding townspeople turned pale and retreated one after another.

Guang Ling's pressure was aimed only at Chu Jin, but they were still affected by some of the aftershock.

Chu Jin stood where he was, both hands gripping the halberd shaft tightly.

At first, the pressure was only equivalent to that of a one-ring Soul Master.

It quickly rose to the level of a Grand Soul Master.

His bones began to creak faintly, and his breathing gradually grew heavier.

Xiao Jin did not return to Chu Jin's body.

It lay on Chu Jin's shoulder, struggling to spread its damaged golden wings as it endured the pressure alongside its master.

Guang Ling continued to increase it.

Soul Elder.

Soul Ancestor.

Chu Jin's legs bent slightly, and the soles of his shoes had already sunk into the dirt. Soul power circulated through his body on its own, while the dark golden light deep within his Double Pupils grew brighter and brighter.

Blurred scenes flashed before his eyes.

Corpses and bones.

A setting sun.

Soldiers standing in formation.

A battlefield littered with broken arrows.

The majesty hidden deep within his Double Pupils was stirred by the external pressure, and the Overlord Army also sent out a faint ripple.

Guang Ling keenly sensed that the pressure he had released was being met with a weak resistance.

This power was far from enough to truly contend with a Titled Douluo, yet it possessed an exceptionally unusual quality.

When faced with the pressure of the strong, an ordinary person's first reaction was fear.

But the power within Chu Jin was like a wild beast being provoked.

The stronger the pressure became, the more obvious its resistance was.

Guang Ling did not continue increasing it.

Chu Jin was only level ten, after all. No matter how strong his body was, it still had its limits.

The pressure abruptly vanished.

Chu Jin's body swayed. He used the heavy halberd to brace himself against the ground and did not fall to his knees.

Xiao Jin slid from his shoulder and sprawled on the ground on all fours, so exhausted that its tongue hung out.

Chu Lie hurried forward to examine him.

Only after confirming that Chu Jin had merely overexerted himself did he finally breathe a sigh of relief.

Guang Ling turned to look at Steward Ma.

"The report was not exaggerated."

Steward Ma secretly let out a breath of relief.

Guang Ling looked at Chu Jin again.

"The Consecration Hall is prepared to take you to Spirit City."

"There, you can obtain better meditation methods, training grounds, and spirit materials. Someone will also choose your first soul ring for you."

"Are you willing to go?"

Chu Jin did not answer immediately.

He turned to look at Chu Lie.

Chu Lie's lips moved. His eyes were clearly filled with reluctance, yet he still nodded heavily.

"Go."

"If you stay in Bluestone Town, there isn't much help I can give you. Spirit City is where a Soul Master should go."

Chu Jin withdrew his gaze.

"I'll go."

"Uncle is coming too."

Guang Ling did not refuse.

"Spirit City does not lack room for a blacksmith shop."

"Give yourselves two days to pack."

After saying that, he prepared to leave.

As he passed the entrance of the blacksmith shop, his peripheral vision suddenly caught sight of several thick notebooks beneath the furnace shed.

Guang Ling casually picked one up.

Inside were densely packed records of the changes Xiao Jin underwent after consuming various materials.

The time, quantity, effects, and recovery speed were all written down clearly.

Further back were records of Chu Jin's daily training duration, changes in strength, and adjustments to the heavy halberd's weight.

Guang Ling flipped through the pages one by one, and the casualness on his face gradually faded.

Talent could only determine whether a person was capable of reaching greater heights.

But these notebooks before him could determine whether he truly made it there.

Guang Ling closed the records.

"Take all of these with you."

"When you arrive in Spirit City, someone will continue supplying you with materials."

The moment Xiao Jin heard the word "materials," it immediately lifted its head from the ground.

It had been so exhausted just moments ago that its tongue was hanging out, but now its eyes were already shining.