This Time She Didn't Yield

The next day, just as Lu Yuan walked into the training ground, he saw the Six-Winged Angel behind Qian Renxue.

The golden phantom hovered in the morning light, and two yellow spirit rings slowly rose, encircling her. The final sentence from yesterday—"Tomorrow, I'll use it"—obviously wasn't spoken casually.

Lu Yuan stopped at the edge of the field and watched for a couple of seconds.

"For real?"

Qian Renxue had already walked to the center of the field.

"Didn't you ask yesterday?"

"I thought you'd at least wait until after we started."

"Is there a difference?"

"The pressure looks a little smaller."

The corner of Qian Renxue's mouth twitched.

"Then you don't have to look."

Lu Yuan walked into the field holding the Piercing Spear. Instructor Yan was still standing nearby, and today he couldn't even be bothered to restate the rules.

"Fight normally. I'll call stop, and then you stop."

After speaking, he glanced at Lu Yuan again.

"Don't think about winning today; figure out how to last a little longer first."

Lu Yuan didn't retort.

Yesterday, Qian Renxue hadn't summoned her martial soul, and he had only managed to force her to get serious by relying on that final move. Today, the Six-Winged Angel was released right from the start, and the gap between the two of them would only be greater.

Qian Renxue raised her hand slightly.

"Ready?"

"Come."

The moment Lu Yuan's voice fell, she moved.

The golden light on the Six-Winged Angel behind her flashed, and Qian Renxue's speed suddenly increased by a notch. Lu Yuan didn't even have time to fully raise the Piercing Spear before she was already right in front of him.

He instinctively crossed his spear.

Bang!

Her palm struck the shaft of the spear, and a force far exceeding yesterday's slammed over along his arms. Lu Yuan retreated three steps in a row, and the moment his heels steadied, Qian Renxue followed up again.

The advantage of the spear's length barely had time to come into play in front of her. Lu Yuan changed directions twice in succession, and while the Piercing Spear was always jammed between the two of them, it could only barely make her hesitate to get right up against him. She didn't touch the spearhead at all; every attack landed on the middle and rear sections of the shaft, forcing Lu Yuan to constantly adjust his grip.

After just a dozen breaths, his breathing had already noticeably quickened.

Hu Liena stood on the other side and watched for a while.

"Was it like this yesterday?"

Wei Cheng shook his head.

"Yesterday the Young Lord didn't open her martial soul."

"The difference is this big?"

"You thought the Six-Winged Angel was put out for looks?"

Hu Liena didn't speak again.

Another muffled sound echoed across the field.

Lu Yuan had just swung the spearhead back around when Qian Renxue batted the shaft aside from the side, her palm immediately landing on his shoulder. He was pushed back half a zhang, sliding until he kicked his right foot against the ground to barely steady himself, a burning pain immediately flaring up across his shoulder.

Yesterday, when Qian Renxue attacked, she still carried somewhat of a sparring intent, but today she had clearly gotten much more serious.

Qian Renxue didn't pursue.

"Still coming?"

Lu Yuan stretched his aching shoulder.

"How long has it even been?"

"You didn't say that yesterday."

"Yesterday you still had time to talk to me."

That statement was impossible to refute.

Lu Yuan let out a breath, raised his spear again, and didn't wait for her to move first.

The yellow spirit ring lit up.

Piercing Edge!

The Piercing Spear thrust forward abruptly, and the dark gold edge line on the spearhead flashed past. Qian Renxue was well-prepared, dodging the front by stepping sideways, her palm already pressing toward the spear shaft. Yet before she could touch the spear body, Lu Yuan actively discharged the forward momentum, crossed his left foot out to the side, and twisted his body along with the long spear, turning a direct thrust into a horizontal sweep.

Qian Renxue dodged backward, and Lu Yuan finally clawed back half a step of distance.

He didn't rush to launch another Piercing Edge, instead using the spearhead to press continuously against both sides of Qian Renxue. The Piercing Spear was sharp enough that even with ordinary attacks, she wouldn't take them with her bare body, which for a moment allowed Lu Yuan to stabilize his rhythm.

Yet this situation only lasted for a few breaths.

Qian Renxue seized the opening when he retracted his spear, suddenly moving forward against the spearhead. The spear tip was still two feet away from her when she stepped aside, her right hand dropping down to brush against the spear shaft, directly locking onto the position near the middle section.

Lu Yuan immediately pulled back.

It didn't budge.

After the Six-Winged Angel possessed her, her strength was likewise unlike anything from yesterday.

Qian Renxue held the spear shaft with her right hand, and her left hand had already been raised. Lu Yuan simply let go with one hand, and the yellow spirit ring beneath his feet lit up once more.

The power of Piercing Edge erupted from under his feet.

Instead of fighting to pull the spear back, he charged forward fiercely in the direction Qian Renxue had used to grab the shaft, the distance between the two of them instantly shrinking.

Qian Renxue clearly hadn't expected him to pull this; just as her left hand was about to descend, Lu Yuan collided right up close, his shoulder slamming directly into the arm she was using to hold the spear.

Bang!

The two of them staggered at the same time.

Lu Yuan had the worse of it, his shoulder feeling as though it had smashed into hardwood, the pain numbing half his arm. Even so, Qian Renxue's grip on the spear shaft loosened for a split second because of it.

The Piercing Spear returned to his hands.

Relying on the unspent momentum of the Piercing Edge, Lu Yuan brushed past her flank, and the moment his feet hit the ground, he forcefully spun around, the butt of the spear sweeping toward her lower back.

Qian Renxue didn't look back; the golden light of the Six-Winged Angel behind her shook, and the radiating spirit power directly deflected the spear shaft off course. The webbing between Lu Yuan's thumb and forefinger went numb, and by the time he regained his footing, Qian Renxue had already turned around.

"That move just now was not bad."

"Still didn't hit you."

"So it was merely not bad."

Lu Yuan glanced at her.

"You're talking more and more like Instructor Yan lately."

Instructor Yan, standing outside the arena, twitched an eyebrow.

Qian Renxue actually thought about it for a moment.

"Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Then hit me first and we'll talk."

She moved again.

For the next fraction of a quarter-hour, Lu Yuan was suppressed and beaten almost the entire time. Qian Renxue didn't use any spirit skills, but she fully utilized the speed, strength, and spirit power advantages brought by the Six-Winged Angel. The Piercing Spear could make her wary, but it couldn't alter the inherent gap between the two of them.

Lu Yuan's shoulder, arm, and back took hits in succession, and the heaviest palm strike landed squarely on his chest. Even though Qian Renxue had pulled her strength back in time, he still let out a muffled grunt, retreating several steps before stabilizing his body.

Instructor Yan still didn't call a halt.

Lu Yuan lowered his head and panted a few times, the hand holding the spear already beginning to ache with soreness.

Qian Renxue stood a few zhang away.

"Still fighting?"

"Fighting."

Lu Yuan raised his spear once more.

Having exchanged blows for this long, he had also figured out a bit of a pattern. As long as he used Piercing Edge to charge straight ahead, Qian Renxue would more often than not dodge to the right.

Enough to try once.

The spirit ring beneath Lu Yuan's feet lit up again.

Seeing the familiar starting posture, Qian Renxue's body indeed shifted to the right side.

The Piercing Spear thrust straight through empty air.

This time, Lu Yuan didn't force the spear to turn. Instead, the moment the Piercing Edge activated, he let go with his right hand. The long spear kept driving forward, and he leveraged the momentum to hurl his body sharply toward the left, his left hand gripping the butt of the spear to forcefully drag the entire Piercing Spear out in an oblique arc.

The spearhead didn't chase Qian Renxue, but the horizontal spear shaft swept across from the other side.

The moment Qian Renxue's footsteps landed, she found herself caught squarely between Lu Yuan and the Piercing Spear.

In front was Lu Yuan, and behind was the horizontally sweeping spear shaft.

It was already too late for her to continue right, and Lu Yuan didn't stop either, lowering his body to press directly against her left side, blocking off the last direction where she could easily evade.

Qian Renxue took half a step backward.

The Piercing Spear had arrived.

Hu Liena's eyes lit up slightly outside the arena.

Yet Instructor Yan still didn't make a sound.

Watching the spear shaft closing in on her flank, the first yellow spirit ring at Qian Renxue's feet finally lit up.

Golden light instantly converged onto her right hand.

Lu Yuan's expression shifted slightly.

The next moment, that palm covered in golden light landed squarely on the Piercing Spear.

Bang!

The spear shaft vibrated violently.

Lu Yuan felt as though his hands had been struck by a heavy hammer; the Piercing Spear nearly flew out of his grip directly, and his entire body was knocked backward through the air. After rolling once upon hitting the ground, he propped himself up with the spear to stand back up, both arms still numb.

The sidelines fell quiet for a moment.

Wei Cheng looked at the yellow spirit ring that hadn't entirely faded away yet at Qian Renxue's feet, and suddenly chuckled.

"How come this scene feels a bit familiar to me?"

Zhou Qi turned his head.

"What?"

Wei Cheng pointed at himself.

"Yesterday I was the one being forced by him to use my second spirit skill like that."

Zhou Qi looked at him, then glanced at Lu Yuan in the center of the field.

"You think you're the same as the Young Lord?"

The smile on Wei Cheng's face vanished instantly.

"If you don't know how to speak, you can shut your mouth."

Hu Liena couldn't help laughing out loud from the side.

Lu Yuan rubbed his numb wrists.

"So what does this count as?"

Qian Renxue walked over toward him.

"It counts as you losing."

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment.

"You don't need to say that."

The corners of Qian Renxue's mouth lifted slightly.

"But for that final move, if I hadn't used a spirit skill, I really would have been hit by you."

Only then did Lu Yuan nod.

"I'll accept that line."

Instructor Yan also walked into the arena at that moment.

"That's it for today."

Lu Yuan glanced at the sky.

"Still fighting her tomorrow?"

"Not fighting anymore."

The answer came too quickly, causing Lu Yuan to freeze for a moment, and Hu Liena and the others nearby also turned to look over.

Instructor Yan retrieved a wooden plaque from his tunic and casually tossed it onto a nearby table.

"Stage assessments tomorrow."

"The eight of you, together."

Zhou Qi's eyes instantly lit up.

Yet Lu Yuan quickly discovered that the gazes of the several people around him had landed on him almost simultaneously, even including Hu Liena.

He looked around at them.

"What are you all looking at me for?"

Hu Liena propped a training wooden staff onto her shoulder.

"Nothing."

She glanced once more at the Piercing Spear in Lu Yuan's hand.

"Just feel that starting tomorrow, it's best to get the most troublesome one out first."