Figures in the Spotlight, Soul Pressure Test

News of Ye Xunhuan's victory over Zhao Lie spread through the entire academy in less than two days.

A level-seventeen, one-ring freshman had effortlessly defeated the former top student of the Genius Class, a level-twenty-five student with two Spirit Rings.

Those four words, "effortlessly defeated," had been added by other people.

Ye Xunhuan himself knew how narrowly he had won. Zhao Lie had simply been too foolish to drag things out. Otherwise, Ye Xunhuan, who had been maintaining his Berserk Blood Battle Physique, would have run out of soul power first.

But outsiders did not know that. They only saw Ye Xunhuan standing at the end while Zhao Lie lay on the ground.

As the story spread, it became increasingly distorted.

Some said he had been hiding his true strength. Others said he had more than just those two tricks up his sleeve.

Ye Xunhuan: I never even used my right arm bone. Whether it was activated or not, you know perfectly well.

Over the following days, people talked about Ye Xunhuan wherever he went.

When he got food in the cafeteria, people at nearby tables would sneak looks at him, so distracted that they did not even notice food falling from their chopsticks back onto their plates.

When he walked down the corridors, people approaching from the other direction slowed down to strike up a conversation, forcing Ye Xunhuan to quicken his pace.

Even when he went to the restroom, people waited outside to cozy up to him. They asked nonsense like, "Student Ye, would you like to join our team?" and "Student Ye, do you have a girlfriend?"

Whenever that happened, Xu Qingqing would take the initiative to stand beside him and declare her claim.

Her excuse was: "You helped me get rid of Zhao Lie, so this young lady will reluctantly serve as your shield for a while."

Quite a few teams took the opportunity to extend invitations to both him and Xu Qingqing.

The captain of the Elite Class's third team personally came to see him, thumping his chest and declaring that if Ye Xunhuan joined, the vice-captain's position would be his.

Then there was the captain of some team called Wind Blade Team, who laid out the entire team's cultivation resource list for Ye Xunhuan to see. The implication was that if he joined, all those resources would be his to allocate.

Even members of Zhao Lie's old Blazing Team came to test the waters while Zhao Lie was still lying in the infirmary, asking whether Ye Xunhuan was willing to take over.

Ye Xunhuan politely turned them down one by one.

Xu Qingqing was somewhat puzzled. "Why not give it some thought? Once you join a team, both your training resources and your standing will rise by a level."

Leaning back in his chair and biting into an apple, Ye Xunhuan said, "Joining a team means listening to the captain. I haven't even sorted out my own rhythm yet. Why would I join one?"

"So you plan to stay on your own forever?"

"I'll decide once I've figured things out."

Xu Qingqing curled her lips. "You just want to be the boss."

Ye Xunhuan did not deny it.

The attention was simply too overwhelming, and Ye Xunhuan was thoroughly fed up with it.

In the end, Sun Bai helped him pull some strings.

He no longer needed to attend theory classes. He could study on his own, as long as he did not fail the exams.

Ye Xunhuan felt immensely relieved. He could finally catch his breath.

The next month passed in leisure.

In the mornings, he cultivated the Primordial Unity Art in the dormitory while Xu Qingqing attended theory classes. When she returned, she would even bring him lunch.

In the afternoons, he attended practical combat classes with Pang Dahai. Pang Dahai still slacked off, but what he taught became increasingly substantial, progressing from "encountering a teacher" to "lasting three minutes under a teacher's hands."

Later, he began teaching footwork, positioning, and techniques for exerting force in actual combat.

He broke every movement down in painstaking detail—where to exert strength, where to redirect force, when to close in, and when to widen the distance. His explanations were clearer than any textbook.

Without people watching him or trying to ingratiate themselves with him, his soul power rose steadily.

The Primordial Unity Art ran without fail every day, and the soul power in his meridians pushed upward bit by bit like a rising tide.

After a month, he had reached the middle of level eighteen.

There was still some distance to go before level twenty and becoming a Great Spirit Master, but it was no longer far away.

That afternoon during practical combat class, Pang Dahai was unusually not eating sunflower seeds.

The moment Ye Xunhuan arrived at the training ground, he sensed that something was off.

Pang Dahai stood in the middle of the field. He was not leaning against the railing or clasping his hands behind his back; both arms hung at his sides, and he stood perfectly straight.

Even his ever-squinted eyes had opened into narrow slits.

"Today, we're changing things up." Pang Dahai smiled as usual, but there was an extra hint of seriousness in that smile. "We'll test how much soul pressure you can withstand."

"Pressure resistance?"

"It means I'll use soul power pressure from someone of a higher level to suppress you and see how many levels you can endure." Pang Dahai rolled his neck, and his joints cracked loudly.

"Let me explain the standards. For an ordinary assault-type Battle Soul Master, enduring pressure equal to two-thirds of their own soul power is considered passable. Enduring pressure at the same level means you're a genius. Enduring pressure above your own soul power... that makes you a monster. Any soul master who can reach that level would be cultivated as a core asset by any soul master faction."

Ye Xunhuan stepped into the middle of the field and rolled his wrists.

"Tell me when you're ready."

"I'm ready."

Pang Dahai's squinted eyes opened into narrow slits. An invisible pressure poured out from him, like a mountain falling from the sky and landing directly on Ye Xunhuan's shoulders.

Ye Xunhuan's knees buckled, and he nearly dropped to his knees.

But he gritted his teeth, straightened his back, and held on by force.

The clothes on his back were pressed tightly against his skin, and his bones let out faint creaks.

Pressure equivalent to level eighteen soul power.

"This is nothing." Pang Dahai increased it slightly.

Level twenty.

Ye Xunhuan's feet sank an inch into the ground, and a ring of spiderweb-like cracks spread across the stone floor beneath him. But he did not fall.

Pang Dahai raised his brows and increased the pressure again.

Level twenty-five. Ye Xunhuan's breathing grew heavier, and his External Spirit Bone sprang out on its own to support his body.

Level thirty. His Behemoth Martial Soul roared as it possessed him of its own accord.

At level thirty-five, dark golden light glimmered across his body. The Behemoth's bloodline automatically protected its master, and as his blood and vitality surged, it formed a thin defensive membrane around his body.

When the pressure of level forty descended, Ye Xunhuan finally could not hold on any longer.

Both hands braced desperately against the ground, his fingers dug into the dirt, and his entire body shook violently.

Every bone in his body creaked. It felt as though someone had seized his throat, and every breath came in with a rasp.

"Enough."

Pang Dahai withdrew his soul power, and the pressure vanished instantly.

Ye Xunhuan rolled over and sprawled to one side like a salted fish lying flat.

Sweat had soaked through his clothes, plastering them to his back. He looked as though he had just been pulled from the water.

"You really are no ordinary monster." Pang Dahai stood up, squinting his eyes again as he resumed that Maitreya-like smile. "What's the difference between this physical talent and a humanoid beast?"

Ye Xunhuan lay there for a while before slowly recovering.

His limbs were weak. As he braced himself on the ground to rise, he suddenly felt heat in his dantian, and his soul power surged fiercely through his body.

It was as if something in his meridians had been blasted open.

The barrier that had held him back for half a month loosened under the stimulation of that intense pressure.

Soul power rushed through it, and with a boom, it shattered.

Late level eighteen.

No, level nineteen.

Ye Xunhuan froze for a moment, then broke into a wide grin.

Pang Dahai laughed as well. "Not bad, kid. You gained a level after getting crushed."

Ye Xunhuan climbed to his feet, dusted off the dirt, and rolled his eyes. "My bones nearly broke."

Pang Dahai said with a secretive smile, "Go on, go on. Your little girlfriend has been waiting impatiently."

Ye Xunhuan did not refute him and turned to leave.

Xu Qingqing had already been waiting by the entrance for a long time. When she saw Ye Xunhuan approaching, she hurriedly supported him and handed him a towel.

"Why did you hold on for so long? If you felt uncomfortable, you could have just told Teacher Pang to stop. Now I have to carry you back. What a hassle."

Xu Qingqing muttered quietly, but the corners of her lips, raised high in delight, would not come down.