Xu Heng Let Go

Three days later, at the training grounds of North Hunting Forest.

The bruises on Lu Yuan's shoulder had mostly faded, and the wound on his palm had formed fresh scabs. Only after Shao Ping carefully examined him and confirmed that his injuries would not affect his Soul Power circulation or exertion did he bring him back to North Field.

By the edge of the field, Xu Heng was calmly rolling his wrists. Several months had passed since they last met, yet he had changed little. He was tall and powerfully built, with arms noticeably longer than those of an ordinary person. Seeing Lu Yuan approach, he first glanced sideways at Shao Ping before turning his gaze to Lu Yuan.

"You got your Second Spirit Ring?"

"Yeah."

"How many years?"

"Seven hundred and twenty."

Xu Heng's wrist-rolling motion abruptly halted. He had expected the Worship Hall to select a Spirit Ring with a high age for Lu Yuan, but hearing that number, he still gave Lu Yuan another look.

"You absorbed it pretty fast."

"I got lucky. We located the Spirit Beast early."

Lu Yuan raised a hand and summoned his spear. A flash of cold light flickered, and the Piercing Spear settled steadily into his palm.

Xu Heng chuckled and strode into the sparring field. "Can't wait to fight again?"

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

"Fine." Xu Heng agreed readily.

Neither needed further instruction. They took their positions on opposite sides of the field. Shao Ping habitually stepped back to watch from the sidelines. They had fought several times already and understood each other's limits, their offensive and defensive boundaries, so no additional rules were needed.

Xu Heng was the first to release his Martial Soul. Coarse black-brown fur spread from both arms to his shoulders, and two Yellow Spirit Rings rose in succession. Level 22 Soul Power burst outward, instantly making his presence heavy and imposing.

Lu Yuan raised his spear at the same time. Two glowing yellow Spirit Rings circled the shaft, his aura steady and sharp.

Xu Heng's gaze briefly lingered on Lu Yuan's newly acquired Second Spirit Ring before he said in a low voice, "Make your move."

Before the words had even faded, Lu Yuan had already lunged forward. The Piercing Spear thrust straight ahead. He had not activated Piercing Edge, but his attack was noticeably faster than it had been three days ago. After breaking through level 21, his Soul Power reserves, physical strength, and overall movement had all improved across the board.

Xu Heng twisted aside to evade the spearpoint. Just as he narrowly dodged it, Lu Yuan sharply turned his wrist and swept the spear shaft sideways, driving toward Xu Heng's waist. Xu Heng raised an arm to block it head-on. Spear and arm collided with a dull thud, and both men retreated half a step.

"Your strength has increased quite a bit." Xu Heng raised his brows slightly.

Lu Yuan did not answer. The butt of his spear immediately swung back from the other side, his attacks unceasing. After several exchanges of pure force, Xu Heng quickly adapted to Lu Yuan's current strength. He still used the fighting style he excelled at most—avoiding direct clashes with the spearpoint while relying on his long arms and nimble footwork to press closer step by step, compressing the distance.

As long as he forced Lu Yuan within two steps, Lu Yuan's spear techniques would be greatly restricted, and his attacks would be difficult to fully unfold. Xu Heng had used this suppressive style to great success time and again, and Lu Yuan was more familiar with it than anyone.

This time, Lu Yuan went along with it. He feinted with a thrust to the left. After Xu Heng tilted his head aside to avoid it, Lu Yuan did not immediately withdraw his spear. Instead, he deliberately sent it forward another half foot, exposing an opening.

As expected, Xu Heng reached out with his hand, his five fingers firmly gripping the spear shaft. He intended to repeat his old trick and lock down Lu Yuan's spear.

The instant his palm touched the shaft, Lu Yuan's Second Spirit Ring beneath his feet suddenly lit up.

Shock Edge!

A brief, fierce shockwave exploded at the point where the spear shaft met Xu Heng's palm. Xu Heng's expression shifted slightly, and the fingers gripping the spear loosened involuntarily.

There was only an instant of opening, but it was enough.

This was precisely the chance Lu Yuan had been waiting for. The suppressed Piercing Spear suddenly snapped back, its butt rising with the motion and pointing straight at Xu Heng's jaw. Xu Heng reacted quickly, tilting his head aside while retreating half a step. The spear butt swept past his cheek, the gust of force striking his face.

After steadying himself, Xu Heng lowered his head to look at his slightly numb palm, finally understanding. "So this is your Second Soul Skill?"

"Yes."

Xu Heng clenched his hand, the fighting spirit in his eyes growing stronger. "No wonder you rushed to find me right after breaking through."

Lu Yuan smiled faintly. "Don't you love grabbing my spear shaft?"

"That depends on whether you can keep releasing those shocks."

Xu Heng's First Spirit Ring lit up. The coarse black-brown fur on his arms became denser and harder. He sprang forward and closed in again. Having learned from before, he no longer rashly grabbed the spear barehanded, instead using his forearms to block it.

Lu Yuan thrust his spear, but Xu Heng's forearm knocked the point steadily aside. Taking advantage of the shifted spear and the narrowed gap, Xu Heng's other hand shot toward Lu Yuan's shoulder, intending to lock him down and suppress him.

Lu Yuan stepped back half a pace, swiftly drawing the spear shaft back from beneath his arm and holding it horizontally between them. Xu Heng's palm slammed down, and the shaft instantly sank toward Lu Yuan's chest. It was as though the old situation had played out again.

The next instant, his Second Spirit Ring flickered.

Shock Edge erupted again!

The spear trembled, and the recoil surged directly into Xu Heng's palm. Xu Heng's hand visibly paused, but he did not loosen his grip this time. He had already gathered strength in preparation.

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

Before his words finished, Lu Yuan's First Spirit Ring suddenly lit up.

Piercing Edge!

Piercing Edge had never been limited by a fixed distance. Even with the spear pressed against his chest, it could still unleash an extreme burst of force in an instant. Borrowing the momentum of his Soul Power eruption, Lu Yuan charged forward with both man and spear.

Left with no choice, Xu Heng could only withdraw his strength and let go.

The Piercing Spear skimmed past his waist, slicing open his clothes. Xu Heng spun with the motion, his right arm smashing sideways toward Lu Yuan's shoulder, only for Lu Yuan to block it with the spear shaft he had already raised firmly in place.

With a thunderous bang, both men borrowed the impact to retreat.

Xu Heng looked down at the tear in his clothing by his waist and understood. In their previous sparring matches, even when Lu Yuan could hold out to this point, he had never been able to wrest control of the spear away from Xu Heng's close-range suppression and actively break the deadlock.

Shock Edge's offensive power might have been limited, but it had completely crippled Xu Heng's core fighting style. As long as his hands touched the spear shaft, he had to devote Soul Power to resisting the sudden shocks. He could no longer freely press down the spear, lock it in place, and maintain relentless close-range suppression.

The easy smile on Xu Heng's face vanished entirely, his expression becoming increasingly grave. His Second Spirit Ring lit up beneath his feet. The muscles in his arms suddenly swelled, his shoulders and back sank, and his entire presence surged. His body seemed several degrees heavier.

This was his Second Soul Skill, and it had once been his most unstoppable means of suppressing Lu Yuan.

In the past, Lu Yuan would have had no choice but to defend passively, restrained at every step. But now, he took the initiative and raised his spear to meet him.

The spearpoint shot toward Xu Heng's face. Xu Heng lifted an arm and slapped it aside, then pressed in with the momentum. But the instant his arm touched the spear shaft, Lu Yuan instantly unleashed Shock Edge.

The brief shockwave burst out, numbing Xu Heng's arm slightly and slowing his advance by half a beat.

That tiny opening alone decided the match.

Lu Yuan pivoted, sweeping the butt of his spear toward Xu Heng's lower abdomen. Xu Heng forcibly twisted aside to evade it. Just as he tried to regain control and seize the spear, the returning spearpoint was already bearing down on him once more.

The rhythm of offense and defense grew faster and faster. Xu Heng still held an absolute advantage in strength and could force Lu Yuan back through sheer suppression, but he could no longer recreate the unbeatable situation from before, where he locked Lu Yuan down at close range and suppressed him in continuous succession.

Every time he touched the spear shaft, he had to spare attention to guard against the shocks. Every time he hesitated or paused, Lu Yuan's spear technique would smoothly unfold, reclaiming control of the rhythm.

After more than ten rounds of fierce fighting, fine beads of sweat appeared on Xu Heng's forehead. Lu Yuan was also beginning to tire. Although Shock Edge consumed far less power per use than Piercing Edge, repeatedly using it at high frequency still caused his Soul Power to drop quickly.

Neither stopped. Their fighting spirit only intensified. Xu Heng closed the distance again, feinting with his right hand to lure Lu Yuan in. Abandoning his usual spear-grabbing tactics, he charged straight at Lu Yuan's chest.

Lu Yuan had anticipated it. With a thought, the Piercing Spear suddenly dispersed back into his Martial Soul.

Xu Heng's full-force charge struck nothing, throwing his balance slightly off. In the blink of an eye, the Piercing Spear condensed again in Lu Yuan's palm. Only a single step remained between them, and a close-range killing strike had taken shape.

His First Spirit Ring lit up!

Piercing Edge erupted at full force!

Xu Heng hastily raised an arm to block, forcibly dispersing most of the charge and barely stopping the spearpoint from piercing through. Just as he prepared to suppress and lock the spear again, Lu Yuan's Second Spirit Ring flashed, and Shock Edge suddenly erupted.

Numbness surged through his arm, and Xu Heng's defense instantly opened up.

Lu Yuan seized the only opening and drove his spear forward.

The spearpoint stopped steadily half a foot before Xu Heng's chest. At the same moment, Xu Heng's left hand also halted just short of Lu Yuan's shoulder. The two restrained each other, both frozen in place.

The entire field suddenly fell silent.

Shao Ping slowly walked onto the field. "Stop."

Lu Yuan lowered his spear, and Xu Heng slowly lowered his arm as well. He looked down at the spear shadow so close to his chest, then raised and moved his still-numb right arm. He spoke frankly. "You were faster this round."

Lu Yuan shook his head slightly. "You were still fighting with old habits."

Xu Heng laughed instead. "A loss is a loss. You don't need to make excuses for me." He rolled his shoulders, the fighting spirit in his eyes still undiminished. "Next time, I won't touch your spear shaft at all. Let's see how you use Shock Edge then."

"I'll be waiting." Lu Yuan withdrew his Martial Soul, his eyes bright.

From the time he had first entered North Field and been locked down by Xu Heng at close range without any ability to fight back, to barely drawing with him at Level 19, and then to surpassing himself today and decisively defeating his opponent, this tug-of-war training match that had stretched across many days had finally reached a brand-new conclusion.

After the two stepped off the field, Shao Ping closed the record book in his hand and said blandly, "You won't need to come to North Field for daily sparring anymore."

Lu Yuan paused and looked sideways at him.

"You've mastered the fundamentals, practical combat, and breaking close-range deadlocks that you needed to train. Continuing to spar with Xu Heng will offer limited improvement." Shao Ping tucked the record book beneath his arm and added, "Someone from the Worship Hall came just now. The Grand Pontiff has summoned you."

"Me?"

"Yeah."