Xu Heng Releases His Grip

Three days later, the North Hunting Forest training ground.

Most of the bruising on Lu Yuan's shoulder had faded, and new scabs had formed over the wounds in the web of his hand. Shao Ping carefully inspected them, confirming the injuries were fully healed and would not hinder his soul power circulation or explosive force, before leading him back to the North Field.

At the edge of the field, Xu Heng was casually loosening his wrists. Having not seen him for several months, his appearance remained largely unchanged; his frame was tall, sturdy, and upright, with arms noticeably longer than those of an ordinary person. Seeing Lu Yuan walk over, he first cast a sideways glance at Shao Ping, then let his gaze fall upon Lu Yuan.

"Got your second spirit ring?"

"Mm."

"What's the age?"

"Seven hundred and twenty."

Xu Heng's wrist-loosening motion suddenly hitched. He had anticipated that the Elder Hall would select a reasonably high-aged spirit ring for Lu Yuan, but upon hearing the number, he still gave Lu Yuan a couple of extra looks.

"You absorbed it rather quickly."

"Good luck. The spirit beast was located early."

Lu Yuan raised a hand to summon his spear. A cold flash later, the Piercing Spear settled firmly into his palm.

Xu Heng gave a low chuckle, stepping forward into the combat arena: "Impatient to go another round?"

"We didn't decide a winner last time."

"Fine." Xu Heng readily agreed.

The two required no superfluous instructions, standing apart in the arena. Shao Ping habitually retreated to the sidelines to observe. Having crossed swords many times, they had long since grasped each other's boundaries, knowing the limits of offense and defense without needing additional rules.

Xu Heng took the lead in releasing his Martial Soul. Dark brown coarse hair spread from his arms up to his shoulders, and two yellow spirit rings rose sequentially. Level 22 soul power burst outward, and the aura surrounding him instantly turned heavy and solid.

Lu Yuan raised his spear in sync, two gleaming yellow spirit rings looping around the spear shaft, his presence steady and sharp.

Xu Heng's gaze lingered briefly on his newly acquired second spirit ring, and he said in a deep voice: "Make your move."

Before his words faded, Lu Yuan had already seized the offensive. The Piercing Spear thrust straight at his front. Without activating Piercing Edge, his thrusting speed was still noticeably sharper than it had been three days ago. After breaking through to level 21, his foundation in soul power, physical strength, and overall footwork had all undergone a comprehensive enhancement.

Xu Heng sidestepped the spear point. Just as he was narrowly dodging, Lu Yuan abruptly twisted his wrist, the spear shaft sweeping out horizontally to target the other man's waist. Xu Heng raised an arm to block it head-on. Spear and arm collided with a muffled sound, and both men retreated half a step.

"Your strength has gone up quite a bit." Xu Heng's brows raised slightly.

Lu Yuan did not reply; the tail of the spear immediately swung back from the other side, his offensive continuous and unbroken. After a few exchanges of pure physical strength, Xu Heng quickly adapted to his current level of strength, still employing his most practiced fighting style—avoiding direct clashes with the spear point, relying on his long-arm advantage and flexible footwork to press in step by step, closing the distance to restrict him.

As long as he forced his way within two paces, Lu Yuan's spear paths would be severely restricted, making it hard to unleash his attacks. Xu Heng had used this suppressing strategy to great effect countless times, and Lu Yuan was even more familiar with it.

This time, Lu Yuan went with the flow. The spear point feinted a left thrust. After Xu Heng avoided it by tilting his head, Lu Yuan did not rush to pull the spear back; instead, he deliberately overextended the thrust by half a foot, leaving an opening.

True to form, Xu Heng reached out, his five fingers firmly clamping onto the spear shaft, intending to use the same old trick to lock down his spear momentum.

The very instant his palm touched the spear body, the second spirit ring beneath Lu Yuan's feet flared brightly.

Shock Edge!

A short, sharp shock force instantly exploded at the point of contact between the spear shaft and the palm. Xu Heng's expression shifted slightly, and the five fingers gripping the spear shaft loosened uncontrollably.

There was only a split second of opening, but it was enough.

This was precisely the opportunity Lu Yuan had been waiting for. The suppressed Piercing Spear violently pulled back, the tail of the spear lifting upward to point straight at Xu Heng's jaw. Xu Heng reacted with extreme speed, tilting his head to evade while hastily stepping back half a foot. The spear tail grazed past the side of his face, the force of the wind striking him in the face.

Regaining his footing, Xu Heng lowered his head to look at his slightly tingling palm, finally understanding: "Is this your second soul skill?"

"Yes."

Xu Heng clenched his hand, the fighting intent in the depths of his eyes growing stronger: "No wonder you were in such a rush to find me right after breaking through."

Lu Yuan gave a light smile: "Don't you love grabbing my spear shaft?"

"That depends on whether you can keep generating that shock continuously."

The first spirit ring at Xu Heng's feet lit up. The dark brown coarse hair on his arms grew even denser and tougher, and with a bound of his body, he pressed in close again. Having learned from his previous mistake, he no longer recklessly grabbed the spear with bare hands, switching instead to blocking the spear point with his forearms.

Lu Yuan thrust out with a spear, which was steadily deflected by Xu Heng's forearms. Taking advantage of the shifted spear momentum and the narrowed gap, Xu Heng's other hand lunged straight for Lu Yuan's shoulder, intending to lock down his body and suppress him.

Lu Yuan stepped back half a foot, rapidly pulling the spear shaft back from beneath his armpit to block horizontally between them. Xu Heng's palm pressed down fiercely, and the spear shaft instantly plunged toward Lu Yuan's chest, as if the old scenario were playing out once more.

The next instant, his second spirit ring flashed faintly.

Shock Edge erupted once again!

The spear body trembled, and the counter-shock force surged straight into the palm. Xu Heng's hand paused noticeably, yet it did not loosen again; he had already prepared and braced for it in advance.

"The same move won't work a second time."

Before his voice faded, Lu Yuan's first spirit ring suddenly lit up.

Piercing Edge!

Piercing Edge had no fixed distance restrictions. Even with the spear body pinned against his chest, it could still instantly unleash extreme propulsive force. Relying on the momentum of the exploding soul power, Lu Yuan charged forward fiercely, man and spear as one.

Left with no choice, Xu Heng was forced to withdraw his strength and let go.

The Piercing Spear brushed past his waist, directly slicing through his clothing. Xu Heng spun with the momentum, his right arm smashing horizontally to target Lu Yuan's shoulder, only to be blocked head-on by the spear shaft Lu Yuan had already braced upright in advance.

With a loud bang, both men borrowed the impact force to leap apart.

Xu Heng lowered his head to look at the torn clothing at his waist, understanding in his heart. In past sparring sessions, even if Lu Yuan could manage a stalemate to this point, it was utterly impossible for him to wrest the spear momentum back from his close-quarters suppression and proactively break the deadlock.

The lethality of Shock Edge might be limited, but it completely crippled his core fighting style. As long as his hands touched the spear shaft, he had to divert soul power to resist the sudden shock, making it impossible to willfully suppress, lock, or continuously crowd the opponent.

The relaxed smile on Xu Heng's face completely vanished, his expression growing increasingly stern. The second spirit ring at his feet lit up, the muscles in his arms suddenly swelling, his shoulders and back sinking, and his entire aura sharply escalating as his physique seemed to grow a fraction heavier.

This was his second soul skill, and also the most inescapable method he had previously used to suppress Lu Yuan.

In the past, Lu Yuan would only have passively defended, controlled at every step. But at this moment, he proactively raised his spear and met him head-on.

The spear point thrust straight for his face. Xu Heng raised an arm to bat the spearhead aside, taking advantage of the opening to close in with a sudden dash. Yet the moment his arm touched the spear body, Lu Yuan instantly triggered Shock Edge.

The short shock force burst out, Xu Heng's arm grew slightly numb, and his surging advance slowed by half a beat.

With just this half-gap, victory and defeat were decided.

Lu Yuan pivoted on his foot, the tail of the spear sweeping horizontally to target the other man's lower abdomen. Xu Heng forcibly twisted his body to evade, just wanting to regain control of the field and grab the spear, when the revolving spear point had already forced its way back in front of him.

The rhythm of offense and defense in the arena grew faster and faster. Xu Heng still held an absolute strength advantage, and under his forceful suppression he could still drive Lu Yuan back, yet he could no longer replicate that inescapable situation of close-quarters locking and chain-suppression from before.

Every single time he touched the spear shaft, he had to divide his focus to guard against the shocks; every single hesitation or pause allowed Lu Yuan's spear momentum to naturally unfold and regain control of the rhythm.

After a grueling battle of over a dozen rounds, fine beads of sweat seeped from Xu Heng's forehead. Lu Yuan's stamina was likewise depleted; although the soul power consumed by a single use of Shock Edge was far lower than Piercing Edge, using it repeatedly at high frequencies still caused his soul power to drop rapidly.

Neither of them stopped, their fighting intent growing increasingly fierce. Xu Heng closed the distance once more, his right hand feinting to lure the enemy. Abandoning his spear-grabbing routine, he lunged straight toward Lu Yuan's chest.

Lu Yuan had long since anticipated this. With a thought, the Piercing Spear abruptly dismissed its Martial Soul.

Xu Heng's full-strength charge missed, his balance momentarily wavering. In the blink of an eye, the Piercing Spear materialized once again in Lu Yuan's palm, the distance between them reduced to a single step. A close-quarters finishing move was now fully formed.

The first spirit ring lit up!

Piercing Edge maximum burst!

Xu Heng hastily raised his arm to block, forcibly unloading the majority of the propulsive force to barely defend against the spear's thrust. The exact moment he prepared to regain control and lock the spear, Lu Yuan's second spirit ring flashed instantly, and Shock Edge burst forth.

Numbness surged through his arm, leaving a blank in Xu Heng's defense.

Lu Yuan seized the sole opening and smoothly sent the spear forward.

The tip of the spear steadily froze half a foot away from Xu Heng's chest. At the exact same time, Xu Heng's left hand also managed to halt at Lu Yuan's shoulder, the two of them mutually holding each other in check as they both froze in place.

The entire arena suddenly grew quiet.

Shao Ping slowly walked into the arena: "Stop."

Lu Yuan retracted his spear, letting it hang down, while Xu Heng slowly lowered his arm as well. He looked down at the shadow of the spear inches from his chest, then raised his arm to loosen his still-tingling right arm, speaking frankly: "This round, you were faster."

Lu Yuan shook his head slightly: "You're still using your old habitual fighting style."

Hearing this, Xu Heng actually laughed out loud: "A loss is a loss, you don't need to patch things up for me." He stretched his shoulders and back, the fighting intent in his eyes still unquenched: "Next time I won't touch your spear shaft at all, and we'll see how you use that Shock Edge of yours."

"I look forward to it." Lu Yuan withdrew his Martial Soul, his expression bright and clear.

From first entering the North Field, where he was locked down by Xu Heng's close-range spear control with no room to fight back, to fighting to a reluctant standstill at level 19, and finally to breaking through himself today to decisively defeat his opponent—this cross-day sparring endurance match had finally drawn a brand-new period.

As the two walked off the field, Shao Ping closed the record book in his hand and spoke indifferently: "You won't need to come to the North Field for daily sparring anymore."

Lu Yuan's footsteps paused, and he looked over sideways.

"The fundamentals you need to practice, actual combat, and close-quarters breakthrough—you've practiced them all thoroughly. Continuing to spar with Xu Heng yields limited improvement." Shao Ping tucked the record book under his arm and added, "Someone from the Elder Hall just came by. The Grand Pontiff is calling for you to go over."

"Looking for me?"

"Mm."