The Spear Moved Faster Than You

The next morning, Lu Yuan arrived at the Worship Hall on time.

The Golden-Robe Deacon who led him did not take him to the hall where he had tested his spear last time. Instead, he bypassed the front hall and entered a quiet side chamber. The room was simply furnished, with a long table, two chairs, and a half-man-tall Soul-Testing Crystal standing against the wall.

Qian Daoliu was already waiting inside.

When Lu Yuan entered, he was looking down at a report.

"You fought three matches in the north yesterday?"

"Mm."

"How many did you win?"

"None."

Qian Daoliu looked up at him.

"You sound rather justified about it."

Lu Yuan thought for a moment.

"They were all Two-Ring opponents."

Qian Daoliu chuckled and set the report back on the table.

"In the first match, you forced Xu Heng to use his Second Soul Skill. You did not hold up too badly in the next two matches either. Shao Ping's evaluation of you was that the spear was too dangerous, while the person wielding it still had a long way to go."

Lu Yuan looked at the paper.

"Did he really write that?"

"I added the latter half."

Lu Yuan immediately had nothing to say.

Qian Daoliu raised a hand toward the wall.

"Test your Soul Power first."

Lu Yuan walked over to the crystal and placed his hand on it.

Soul Power slowly flowed in through his palm, and the dim crystal soon lit up with a soft white glow. The light gradually climbed higher until it stopped just short of level twelve.

Qian Daoliu watched for a moment.

"Still level eleven."

"Mm."

"You are not far from level twelve."

"Just a little short."

Qian Daoliu returned to the table, spreading out another sheet of paper.

There were no missions and no rewards listed on it, only several things he needed to do every day: cultivation and basic training in the morning, practical combat in the north during the afternoon, circulating Soul Power on his own at night, and half a day of rest every five days.

After Lu Yuan finished reading it, he looked up and asked, "This is for me?"

"Train according to this from now on."

"Will I still go to the East Training Area?"

"Yes."

Qian Daoliu answered quickly.

"You are only six years old. Entering the Two-Ring practical combat zone does not mean you can throw away everything you learned before. Keep practicing the basics—footwork, reactions, thrusting the spear. Yan Tuo will just reduce some of the repetitive parts, leaving more time for Soul Power cultivation."

Lu Yuan pulled the sheet closer to himself.

"Why change it so suddenly?"

Qian Daoliu's gaze fell upon the Piercing Spear.

"Because your spear moved faster than you did."

Lu Yuan lowered his eyes and glanced at it as well.

"Xu Heng is level twenty-one. Yesterday, you forced him to use his Second Soul Skill, but that was not because your Soul Power was close to his."

Qian Daoliu lightly tapped the tabletop with his knuckles.

"It was because this spear was already enough to make a Two-Ring Soul Master wary. With Piercing Edge added to it, you had a chance to send the spear in front of him. But you only have level-eleven Soul Power, and your body is still that of a six-year-old. Just because the spear can pierce through does not mean you can keep up with it every time."

Lu Yuan recalled the final two matches from yesterday.

Once his opponents truly closed the distance, he could force them back with the Piercing Spear, but he could not hold on for long. Especially after using Piercing Edge several times in succession, the numb aching in his arms, shoulders, and back was much more obvious than before.

"So I need to make up for my Soul Power next?"

"Soul Power, your body, and the spear."

Qian Daoliu pushed the sheet toward him.

"Not one of them can be lacking."

As he spoke, he pointed again at the afternoon column.

"Shao Ping will record how many matches you fight each day, how many times you use Piercing Edge, and how badly you are injured. Stop when you should. Do not keep charging into the arena when you cannot even raise your arms."

Lu Yuan asked, "What if I am really injured?"

"Rest."

Qian Daoliu glanced at him.

"Practical combat is meant to teach you how to fight, not to see who can take more beatings."

Lu Yuan nodded and folded up the schedule before putting it away.

After the Piercing Spear evolved for the first time, its weight, sharpness, and Soul Power conduction had all changed. The things he had mastered before were still usable, but many details required him to adapt all over again.

He casually asked, "What about the medicinal baths from before?"

"As usual."

"The outer archive room?"

"As usual."

"The spear-testing grounds?"

Qian Daoliu finally raised his eyes.

"You are afraid I will take them back?"

"I just wanted to ask clearly."

"You received those after Qingshi Valley. They are not part of this adjustment."

Only then did Lu Yuan relax.

Qian Daoliu took a small wooden box from beneath the table and pushed it toward him.

Inside were three dark-colored medicinal pills.

"They are for recovering from injuries. There will be plenty of practical combat in the north, so you will not be taking few hits from now on. Keep the medicinal baths at the same frequency. Save these for when you are badly hurt. Once you finish them, have Shao Ping report it."

Lu Yuan tucked the wooden box into his clothes.

"Understood."

Qian Daoliu looked at him.

"Do not take them recklessly on your own."

"I am not stupid."

"Many people think that when they are six."

Lu Yuan decided not to respond to that.

Qian Daoliu picked up the report on the table again.

"For now, get past level twelve first."

Lu Yuan nodded.

"I will check again in half a year. By then, you need to be at least level fourteen."

"Level fourteen?"

"With your Innate Soul Power and your current cultivation conditions, half a year is not particularly tight."

Qian Daoliu paused.

"If you cannot even reach level fourteen, that will mean something has gone wrong with your cultivation."

Lu Yuan calculated silently.

He was already only a little short of level twelve. Gaining another two levels over half a year truly was not excessive.

"What happens once I reach level fourteen?"

"Keep training."

"Nothing else?"

"What else do you want?"

Lu Yuan lowered his eyes to the Piercing Spear.

"The spear behind the Black Gate."

Qian Daoliu fell silent for a moment.

"You have really kept thinking about it."

"Can't I enter once I reach level thirty?"

"Yes."

"Then I have to reach level fourteen first."

The corner of Qian Daoliu's mouth twitched slightly.

"That is true."

He closed the report.

"However, before level thirty, you must first pass level twenty. As for how to choose your Second Spirit Ring, we will discuss it when you are close to that point. No matter how carefully you choose now, it may not be suitable by then."

Lu Yuan did not ask anything else.

Level twenty was still far away. He would deal with it when he got there.

Qian Daoliu watched him for a while, then suddenly asked, "How have your matches with Xiao Xue gone these past two days?"

Lu Yuan glanced at him.

"Instructor Yan did not tell you?"

"He did."

Qian Daoliu's tone was casual.

"On the first day, she did not intend to use her Martial Soul, but you still forced her to bring it out. On the second day, she fought you with her Martial Soul active and used her First Soul Skill as well."

"I am asking what you think."

Lu Yuan considered it.

"I still cannot beat her."

"Where is the gap?"

"My Soul Power, speed, and strength are all inferior."

"What else?"

Lu Yuan paused for a while.

"Once she gets close, it is difficult for me to fully use the spear."

Qian Daoliu nodded.

"It is enough that you can see it."

He closed the report in his hand.

"Fight her a few more times while you still can."

Lu Yuan heard another meaning in those words.

"Why?"

"In a few days, she may not have so much time to train with you."

The hand holding the wooden box froze.

"Is she leaving?"

Qian Daoliu did not answer immediately.

After a moment, he said, "After Xiao Xue turns nine, she will leave Spirit City for a long time."

Those words were not unfamiliar to Lu Yuan.

The Eye of Destiny had long shown him fragments of information.

Nine years old.

Leaving Spirit City.

Tiangou.

Xue Qinghe.

But those words had always hung in the future. No one had ever truly mentioned them.

Lu Yuan raised his head.

"Where is she going?"

"Tiangou."

His eyes narrowed slightly.

"To do what?"

Qian Daoliu did not answer. He only looked at him.

"This is not something you should know yet."

Lu Yuan fell silent for a moment, then asked again, "When will she leave?"

"It has not been decided."

Qian Daoliu paused.

"At the very least, not now."

Lu Yuan nodded and did not continue asking.

He put away the wooden box and the training schedule, then turned to leave.

As he reached the doorway, Qian Daoliu called after him from behind.

"Lu Yuan."

He turned around.

"Get to level twelve first."

Lu Yuan gave a quiet grunt.

"Got it."

The hall doors slowly closed behind him.

The corridor was silent.

Lu Yuan took a few steps forward, but those two words still lingered in his mind.

Tiangou.

And the Eye of Destiny had once given him another name.

Xue Qinghe.

Those things that had once existed only in the Gray Text were finally beginning to enter reality.