Level Thirteen

Over the next few days, Lu Yuan's schedule became packed again.

He still went to the East Training Area in the mornings, except Yan Tuo cut out several repetitive drills. Weight training, footwork, and reaction training remained unchanged, while all remaining time was devoted to Soul Power cultivation.

In the afternoons, he went to the North Combat Zone.

Shao Ping had said three matches, and three matches it was. He did not reduce the number just because Lu Yuan was young. After Xu Heng, Lu Yuan faced several more opponents. One of them was Du Chuan, a level twenty-three Soul Grandmaster whose Martial Soul was the Iron-Backed Wolf. Unlike Xu Heng, who liked to close in and suppress him with his spear, Du Chuan preferred to circle around him, wearing him down and waiting for Piercing Edge's momentum to fade before rushing in.

The result was always the same.

Defeat.

But even in defeat, there was a difference after several days.

At first, once an opponent got close, he struggled even to extend the Piercing Spear again. Later, whenever that happened, he would give up half a step in advance and use the spearpoint to force his opponent to change position. Even if he was still suppressed in the end, the fight would not be over after just a few moves.

On the afternoon of the third day, Xu Heng leaned against the edge of the field and watched for a while before suddenly asking Shao Ping, "Isn't he learning a little too fast?"

Shao Ping did not even raise his head.

"If you got beaten up by two-ringers every day, you'd learn faster too."

Xu Heng froze.

"I'm a two-ringer."

"Then go find a Soul Elder."

Xu Heng immediately fell silent.

Lu Yuan had just finished his second match and was sitting beside the wooden rack, rubbing his wrist. Hearing that, he could not help laughing.

Shao Ping turned to look at him.

"You still have the strength to laugh?"

Lu Yuan immediately shut his mouth.

Only after returning to his quarters that night did he truly settle down to cultivate.

The barrier between level eleven and level twelve had become increasingly apparent over the past few days. Whenever his Soul Power circulated to that point, it slowed slightly, as though separated by an extremely thin layer. He could touch it, but he had yet to truly pass through it.

After cultivating these past few days, Lu Yuan could feel the Soul Power within his body growing ever more abundant.

On the fifth night, he sat cross-legged and meditated as usual.

Soul Power slowly circulated along its familiar path, one cycle after another.

After an unknown amount of time, the Soul Power that had nearly reached fullness suddenly underwent a subtle change.

The circulation remained the same, but the amount of Soul Power he could mobilize had clearly increased.

Lu Yuan opened his eyes.

Level twelve.

The next morning, the moment he entered the training area, Yan Tuo looked over.

"You broke through?"

Lu Yuan was slightly surprised.

"How could you tell?"

"Yesterday, you were yawning before you even walked through the door. Today, the first thing you did was look toward the Soul-Testing Crystal."

Yan Tuo pushed the small crystal beside him over.

"Test it."

Lu Yuan placed his hand on it.

White light lit up and quickly stabilized.

"Level twelve."

Yan Tuo made a note.

Zhou Qi, who was warming up nearby, immediately turned around when he heard that.

"You really reached level twelve?"

"Yeah."

"You were still level eleven when you came to Spirit City, right?"

"Right."

Zhou Qi wanted to say more, but Hu Liena spoke from nearby. "Being jealous won't help."

"Who's jealous?"

"Then why are you asking so many questions?"

Zhou Qi was instantly choked speechless.

Lu Yuan was about to begin his weight training when footsteps suddenly sounded from outside the field.

Qian Renxue walked in.

She had clearly heard what had just been said. When she approached, she first glanced at the Soul-Testing Crystal.

"You're level twelve now?"

"I broke through last night."

Qian Renxue was somewhat surprised.

"So fast?"

Lu Yuan looked at her.

"You think it's slow?"

"I thought it would take a few more days."

After saying that, her gaze fell on the Piercing Spear again.

"Still going north this afternoon?"

"Yeah."

"Then don't beat yourself up so badly that you can't lift your arms tomorrow morning."

Lu Yuan understood.

"Another fight?"

"Mm. I didn't get enough of the last one."

"Fine."

Qian Renxue nodded and turned toward the other side.

Hu Liena, who had heard them from not far away, could not help glancing over.

"You two made another appointment?"

Qian Renxue did not stop walking.

"What, you want to join us too?"

Remembering the two matches from a few days ago, Hu Liena decisively shook her head.

"Forget it. I have my own training tomorrow."

Zhou Qi muttered from the side, "You just said being jealous won't help."

Hu Liena turned around and glared at him.

"Shut up."

Yan Tuo coughed, and only then did the group disperse.

Lu Yuan did not remain standing around either.

Reaching level twelve only meant he had taken one more step than yesterday. His morning training was no less demanding. By the time he finished the weight training, he was drenched in sweat, and his right leg was aching so badly it felt taut.

At noon that day, Yan Tuo reported Lu Yuan's advancement to level twelve to Shao Ping.

Lu Yuan's opponent in the first match that afternoon happened to be Du Chuan again.

The instant they exchanged blows, he felt the changes brought by his breakthrough.

The increase was not great, but it was real.

Before, after using Piercing Edge three times in succession, his arm would already feel noticeably heavy. Today, after the third use, although his breathing had grown much more ragged, he could still hold the spearpoint steadily before him.

Du Chuan noticed it too.

"Why can you hold on better than yesterday?"

"I'm level twelve now."

"You just advanced?"

"Last night."

Du Chuan grinned.

"Then should I congratulate you first?"

Lu Yuan raised his spearpoint again.

"Talk after we fight."

Lu Yuan still lost in the end.

Du Chuan knocked aside the spear shaft from the side, stopping his palm before Lu Yuan's shoulder. But as he withdrew and left the field, he lowered his head to look at the torn sleeve on his right arm.

"You couldn't have reached me with that yesterday."

Lu Yuan flexed his numb wrist.

"I have a little more Soul Power today."

"Getting this vengeful after just one level?"

"You hit me yesterday too."

Du Chuan paused, then laughed and cursed.

Shao Ping, listening nearby, grew impatient.

"Are you done chatting? Are you fighting the next match or not?"

Lu Yuan raised his spear again.

"Yes."

After the three matches ended that day, he returned to the wooden rack and sat down. His right shoulder still hurt, and the web between his thumb and forefinger was reddened from the impacts, but at least his fingers could still grip the spear shaft steadily.

Shao Ping passed by and took a glance. "Better than a few days ago."

"Mm."

"Then don't waste it."

With that, he left without saying anything more.

The days that followed did not suddenly become easier just because Lu Yuan had reached level twelve.

He cultivated in the mornings, fought in the afternoons, and recovered his Soul Power at night. If his injuries were serious, he rested for a day. Once he recovered, he continued.

A month later, no one in the north needed Shao Ping to remind them, "Don't touch the spearpoint."

Later still, when Lu Yuan faced opponents who had only recently entered the second ring, he was no longer suppressed in a few moves as he had been at the beginning. Sometimes he still lost the match, but his opponent would always end up with another tear in their clothes, or be forced to use a Soul Skill ahead of time.

Du Chuan fought him several more times afterward. At first, he could still steadily suppress Lu Yuan, but by the second month, it was no longer so easy to wait for Piercing Edge to end and then close in directly like before. Lu Yuan would conserve his strength in advance, sometimes even deliberately stopping Piercing Edge halfway through, then following up with a second thrust when Du Chuan pressed forward.

In the blink of an eye, the end of the third month arrived.

Xu Heng stood opposite Lu Yuan once more.

This time, rather than charging forward as he had at the beginning, he first fixed his eyes on the Piercing Spear's tip and only changed position after Lu Yuan moved.

Lu Yuan noticed.

"You weren't like this before."

Xu Heng rolled his wrist.

"Before was before."

Shao Ping looked up from the sidelines.

"Are you done talking?"

The two fell silent at the same time.

"Begin."

This match lasted much longer than the first.

Xu Heng still won in the end, but he had used both of his Soul Skills. When it was over, the cuff of his right sleeve had also been torn open by the Piercing Spear. He looked down at it, his expression darkening slightly.

"Why does your spear always go for clothes?"

Lu Yuan withdrew his spear.

"I can't exactly stab you for real."

"...So I'm supposed to thank you?"

"You can."

Xu Heng stared at him for two breaths, then turned and left.

Several bursts of laughter immediately rang out from the sidelines.

Lu Yuan did not laugh along.

When he tested his Soul Power that morning, the crystal's brightness had already differed from the past few days.

He walked to the side of the field and pressed his hand onto it.

White light slowly rose.

Shao Ping took only one glance before lowering his head and adding a line to the record book.

Level thirteen.