Pfft.
The Piercing Spear was cleanly pulled from flesh and blood. Fine droplets of blood rolled down the cold spearhead, striking the yellowed fallen leaves and spreading into small crimson stains.
The prey at his feet was no longer the Iron-Backed Jackal of before, but a Crimson-Tailed Wolf with over a hundred years of cultivation. The wolf's corpse still twitched faintly as a pale Spirit Ring slowly rose from it. Lu Yuan did not immediately lower his spear. After turning to confirm that the prey was completely dead, he flicked his wrist and shook the remaining blood from the tip.
"Seventeen breaths."
More than ten zhang away, Shao Ping lowered his eyes and wrote in the record book, his handwriting crisp and decisive.
Lu Yuan looked up at him. "Faster than last time?"
"Three breaths faster." Shao Ping looked up and gave a precise assessment. "If the first strike had been another half inch heavier, you could have shortened the time further."
Lu Yuan recalled the trajectory of that strike and nodded frankly without arguing.
After rescuing Shao Ping in the North Hunting Forest and changing the point where he would have been gravely injured, Lu Yuan's trips into the forest for training became increasingly frequent. At first, Shao Ping and the two accompanying Spirit Masters had stayed within ten zhang of him at all times. Whenever he recklessly pursued an enemy too deeply, they would immediately stop him. Over time, their guard distance gradually retreated to twenty zhang. By now, as long as the Spirit Beasts he encountered did not exceed the predetermined cultivation limit, Shao Ping would observe in silence for nearly the entire battle and no longer interfere.
When he had first entered the hunting forest, Lu Yuan often deliberately met attacks head-on, testing the strength of Spirit Beasts and his own limits. After countless rounds of real combat, his fighting style had long since transformed into something steady and composed. When the Crimson-Tailed Wolf had lunged at him with savage speed, he had not rushed to activate his Spirit Ring. He first retreated with his footwork to avoid its edge, then used the opening while the wolf turned and gathered strength to press his spear down and lock its movement. After several exchanges, he forced it to expose the weakness at the side of its neck.
At the decisive instant, the Yellow Spirit Ring suddenly lit up.
Piercing Edge activated instantly, sealing its throat with a single spear strike.
Shao Ping walked over, kicked aside the wolf corpse's claws and fangs, and spoke calmly. "Continue?"
"Continue."
The two set off deeper into the forest. Autumn winds swept through the mountains and woods, and the leaves gradually withered yellow. Layer upon layer of fallen leaves covered the forest floor, soft and silent beneath their feet. Seasons changed, and the trees went through countless cycles of flourishing and decline. Shao Ping replaced one training record book after another, while the Piercing Spear in Lu Yuan's hands only grew steadier and more precise with each passing day.
His growth was visible to the naked eye. During a full day of training now, his First Spirit Ring rarely lit up. Most of the time, he could dismantle attacks and kill Spirit Beasts with nothing more than the spear techniques of lifting, pressing, thrusting, and blocking. In the past, he had blindly admired the extreme speed of Piercing Edge, seeking only to strike unexpectedly. Only after long tempering in real combat did he fully understand that Soul Skills were not better the earlier they were used. Building momentum before striking and attacking at the very peak of an opening was the deadliest move, and the hardest to counter.
Winter passed, and spring came. Fresh green returned to the plants and trees in the forest. Lu Yuan could now calmly kill Spirit Beasts with two hundred years of cultivation without needing anyone's guidance. Even against high-level Spirit Beasts around three hundred years old, he could hold his own and decide the battle alone. Shao Ping still accompanied him, but he had become a complete observer, only stepping in as a safeguard when desperate danger approached.
That day, the two stopped before a field of scattered rocks.
A Gray-Armored Beast was digging through the earth in search of food. Layers of heavy, solid gray armor covered its body, and its hulking physique radiated pressure far beyond the hundred-year Spirit Beasts Lu Yuan had killed in the past.
"Close to three hundred years of cultivation." Shao Ping stepped aside to clear the way. "Doing it yourself?"
Lu Yuan advanced with his spear, his tone firm. "Why else would I come here to train?"
Shao Ping silently retreated into the distance to watch.
The Gray-Armored Beast on the rocky shore sensed the presence of strangers and abruptly raised its head. Two streams of white vapor burst from its nostrils as it lowered its head, hunched its body, and charged straight at him beneath its heavy armor plates.
Lu Yuan remained unhurried. He merely shifted half a step aside and lightly tapped the beast's armor with his spear tip.
Clang!
The piercing sound of metal striking metal rang out. His wrist shook violently, and the spear tip failed to pierce the armor, leaving only a faint white mark.
Enraged, the Gray-Armored Beast spun around and charged again. Having learned his lesson, Lu Yuan no longer confronted its heavy frontal armor head-on. He fixed his gaze on the instant it lost balance while turning and jabbed at the joint of its front leg.
A faint crack sounded. The Gray-Armored Beast lurched in pain, completely exposing its weakness.
The moment had come.
The Yellow Spirit Ring suddenly lit up, and Piercing Edge activated instantly!
Clang!
But what blocked the strike was no longer the Gray-Armored Beast's thick shell, but a forearm covered in dark brown bristles.
The spear tip jolted violently.
Xu Heng was driven half a step back by the force of the spear, his shoe scraping a shallow mark across the sand.
The violent tremor spread through him. Xu Heng was pushed back again and again by the tremendous force of the spear, his shoes dragging a clear shallow trail across the sandy ground.
The rocky shore of the North Hunting Forest vanished, and everyone had already returned to the Northern Combat Arena.
The wooden rack and old benches at the edge of the arena remained just as before. Shao Ping stood quietly with the record book in his arms, watching with his usual steadiness.
Xu Heng lowered his eyes to look at his forearm. The protective armor formed by his Long-armed Ape Martial Soul had grown thicker and tougher, yet the spear edge of a one-ring Soul Skill had still pressed a faint white mark into it. He raised his gaze toward the youth standing opposite him with his spear in hand.
"What level are you now?"
Lu Yuan withdrew his spear half a step, the tip slightly raised, his posture steady. "Nineteen."
Xu Heng froze slightly. "Nineteen already? You were clearly only..."
Before he could finish, Lu Yuan had already thrust his spear forward again. Xu Heng immediately stopped speaking, sidestepped the spearhead, and precisely pressed his right palm onto the middle of the shaft—the move he had always used to suppress Lu Yuan.
"Fight first."
Lu Yuan knew this style all too well. When he had first entered the combat arena, Xu Heng had relied on this move to lock down his spear momentum, press in close, and give him no room to maneuver or retaliate.
But times had changed. Just as Xu Heng's palm touched the spear shaft, Lu Yuan suddenly stepped forward of his own accord. As he lowered the front end of the spear shaft, the butt end rose with the motion and shot directly toward the opening beneath Xu Heng's ribs.
Xu Heng raised his elbow to block and deflect the force. Lu Yuan used the momentum to spin, bringing the spearhead back into position and firmly locking down the center line.
A trace of surprise flashed through Xu Heng's eyes. "You learned how to counter it?"
"After being suppressed for so long, I had to improve somehow." Lu Yuan's tone was calm.
"Then let me try again."
Xu Heng's First Spirit Ring flashed brightly. The muscles in both arms instantly swelled and bulged, his shoulders and back sank, and he stomped the ground as he forcibly broke through the spear's range and closed in. His palm strikes were swift. The first knocked the spearhead aside, and the second clamped down on the shaft. Relying on his absolute advantage in level and physical strength, he pressed forward step by step.
Lu Yuan was forced back two steps. His palm tingled, and his spear momentum was on the verge of collapse. In the past, he would have already lost this fight. But now, instead of struggling to break free, he suddenly released his strength.
The Piercing Spear scattered into a streak of light, and the spear momentum instantly vanished.
Xu Heng did not panic in the slightest when his pressure struck empty air. Instead, he accelerated with the motion and pursued at close range. "Trying to use force dispersal to bait me again?"
Lu Yuan had never expected to defeat him in one move. Taking advantage of the gap at close range, the Piercing Spear condensed in his hand once more. They were too close for him to properly thrust, so he simply lowered his shoulder and steadied himself, holding the shaft crosswise to receive Xu Heng's palm strike head-on. Borrowing the impact, he spun halfway around.
The cold spearhead suddenly rose along Xu Heng's waist.
At the same time, Xu Heng's palm stopped firmly just before Lu Yuan's left shoulder.
The two froze in place, victory and defeat separated by a single line.
"Stop."
Shao Ping stepped into the arena, breaking the stalemate.
Xu Heng withdrew his palm and lowered his eyes toward the spear tip pressed beneath his ribs. "How do we count this?"
"If that palm strike landed, his left shoulder would have been crippled." Shao Ping judged fairly, then looked at Lu Yuan. "If you had not withdrawn that strike, his side would have been pierced through."
Xu Heng fell silent for two breaths before speaking openly. "A draw?"
"A draw."
The arena fell silent for a moment. Xu Heng dismissed his Martial Soul, and his arms returned to normal. His gaze rested on the Yellow Spirit Ring that had yet to fade from around Lu Yuan, his feelings complicated.
When they had first fought, he had been level 21 while Lu Yuan had been only level 11. In that match, his palm had stopped before Lu Yuan's chest, preserving the proper restraint toward a junior. Now, he was already level 22, yet Lu Yuan, with only one Spirit Ring and level 19 cultivation, could place his spear tip against his vital point.
"Level 19." Xu Heng clicked his tongue softly, filled with emotion. "Once you obtain your Second Spirit Ring, I'm afraid I won't be able to catch your spear anymore."
Lu Yuan lowered his spear, his tone certain. "You caught it today, but that doesn't mean you'll catch it next time."
Xu Heng did not argue. He turned to Shao Ping instead. "When can he reach level 20?"
Ignoring his teasing, Shao Ping opened a new record book and looked at Lu Yuan. "How long have you been stuck at Level 19?"
"For a while."
"How has cultivation felt recently?"
Lu Yuan thought for a moment before answering precisely. "My Soul Power is full. I'm close to breaking through."
Shao Ping made the decision at once. "Training in the North Hunting Forest will pause for a few days. Calm your mind, build momentum, and stabilize your condition."
Lu Yuan was slightly taken aback.
"Once you break through level 20, come with me to the Worship Hall." Shao Ping closed the record book, his tone solemn. "The Grand Pontiff has been waiting for you."
Lu Yuan lowered his eyes toward the Piercing Spear in his palm. Dark Gold Patterns faintly glimmered along the spear's body beneath the sunlight.
Indeed, the Second Spirit Ring.
It was time to obtain it.
Before you continue