Level 24 Is Not Enough

"You actually came."

The person beneath the eaves slowly stepped out of the shadow, still wearing Xue Qinghe's delicate and gentle face, though the tone of speech allowed Lu Yuan to rediscover a bit of familiarity. In the daytime, two carriages had brushed past each other, and the two did not even let their gazes linger for a moment longer; now, with no one else around, there was no need to pretend to be so distant.

Lu Yuan stood still in the courtyard and glanced at her current appearance: "The note was even tucked under the kettle, so I couldn't very well pretend I didn't see it."

The corners of Qian Renxue's mouth curved slightly, and she did not continue to dwell on this matter, simply asking a few questions about his journey. After confirming that no accidents had occurred along the way, she quickly shifted the topic to cultivation.

"You've already reached Level 20?"

"Level 21, the second spirit ring was just absorbed not long ago."

"How many years?"

"Seven hundred and twenty years."

A hint of surprise finally appeared in Qian Renxue's eyes. When she left Spirit City, Lu Yuan had obtained his first spirit ring not long ago; now, meeting again, not only had his soul power broken through to Level 20, but the age of his second spirit ring was also clearly higher than that of ordinary great spirit masters.

Her gaze lingered on Lu Yuan's right hand for a moment: "How is the second soul skill?"

"You should be able to see it tomorrow."

Qian Renxue understood the implication in his words, and her expression returned to normal: "It seems I don't need to remind you much. Tomorrow, the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy is holding an exchange among young spirit masters, and Spirit Hall will also send people over. You just came from Spirit City, so tagging along won't seem out of place."

Lu Yuan quickly understood her arrangement: "You're going too?"

"Xue Qinghe will go."

When Qian Renxue spoke these words, her face had already regained that gentle and composed demeanor from the daytime, "So even if we meet tomorrow, we are just meeting for the first time."

Lu Yuan nodded; this point needed no reminder from her.

The two chatted for a while longer. Qian Renxue did not rush to tell him all the layouts within the Heaven Dou Imperial Family. Lu Yuan had just arrived in Heaven Dou and had not even figured out the various relations among the factions in the city; knowing too much right now was of no use, so she only briefly instructed him on a few matters that required attention.

Before leaving, Qian Renxue reminded him once more: "Don't come casually to White Stone Alley from now on, and I won't appear here often either. If there is a real emergency, go to that teahouse on West Street, and leave a mark under the backyard windowsill; my people will notify me after seeing it."

Lu Yuan noted the location: "And then wait for you to contact me?"

"Mhm." Qian Renxue nodded, "I will arrange the time and place for meeting separately. Heaven Dou is not Spirit City; the two of us have no relationship on the surface, and the less we meet in private, the better."

Lu Yuan naturally understood the gravity of the matter and asked no more.

When Lu Yuan left White Stone Alley, the night was already deep.

On the second morning, someone from the Heaven Dou Sanctuary indeed came looking for him.

The visitor was a deacon surnamed Zhao from the Sanctuary. Upon seeing Lu Yuan, he stated the purpose of his visit: "There is an exchange of young spirit masters at the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy today, and the Sanctuary is taking a few people over. Han Lie said you just came from Spirit City and have always been training over at the Elder Hall, so he asked me to drop by and see if you're interested."

Lu Yuan naturally wouldn't refuse, and after a brief cleanup, he set off together with him.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Academy covered an extremely vast area, and its training grounds were built against the mountain. By the time the few of them arrived, more than a dozen young spirit masters had already gathered around the wide field, most of them wearing the unified attire of the Imperial Academy. Their ages ranged from eight or nine to over a dozen years old, and several Academy Teachers were seated at the edge of the field, with Xue Qinghe among them.

Deacon Zhao led the few young spirit masters from Spirit Hall over to pay their respects.

Xue Qinghe's gaze swept naturally over everyone, lingering no longer on Lu Yuan than on the others.

Deacon Zhao took the initiative to introduce him: "This child is called Lu Yuan, and he just arrived from Spirit City yesterday."

"From Spirit City?"

As if hearing the name for the first time, Xue Qinghe casually nodded: "Then take a look together."

Without continuing to ask further, Lu Yuan simply followed Deacon Zhao back to the edge of the field, showing nothing out of the ordinary from beginning to end.

The sparring on the training ground quickly resumed.

The two young spirit masters brought by Spirit Hall took the stage successively, resulting in one victory and one defeat. As the second person retreated, a lean-figured youth from the Imperial Academy noticed Lu Yuan, who had yet to make a move.

"Is he here to spar as well?"

Upon hearing this, Deacon Zhao looked at Lu Yuan: "Want to give it a try?"

"Sure."

Lu Yuan lifted his spear and walked into the field, and the youth opposite him stood up accordingly.

The two stood firm in the arena, and the lean youth spoke first: "Gu Yan, Level 24, Martial Soul Rending Claw Panther."

"Lu Yuan, Level 21, Martial Soul Piercing Spear."

Along with the release of their martial souls, two yellow spirit rings rose from beneath the feet of the two respectively. Gu Yan's hands rapidly underwent beast transformation, sharp claws extending from his fingertips. Originally, seeing that Lu Yuan was considerably younger, he had been somewhat casual, but upon hearing the words "Level 21" and seeing the two yellow spirit rings revolving around the Piercing Spear, his expression quickly turned serious.

A few gazes gathered at the edge of the field as well; stepping into the realm of a great spirit master at Lu Yuan's age was by no means ordinary, even placed within the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.

The Academy Teacher presiding over the spar raised a hand to signal, and the two moved almost simultaneously.

The first spirit ring beneath Gu Yan's feet lit up first, and his speed abruptly increased. With a few strides, he rushed right in front of Lu Yuan, his dual claws striking front and back directly at the upper body. His movements were swift and coherent, clearly no longer underestimating the opponent before him due to his youth.

Lu Yuan sidestepped to avoid the front claw, simultaneously leveling the Piercing Spear to block the second strike, pressing down at the moment the spear shaft collided with the sharp claws.

Gu Yan's body used this force to continue closing in, his right foot already stepping into a distance where the long spear could not fully unfold. His second spirit ring also lit up, and a layer of light yellow radiance rapidly surfaced across the surface of his dual claws.

His movements did not pause; his left claw pressed down on the spear shaft, while his right claw had already grabbed toward Lu Yuan's shoulder from the side.

Yet the moment they made contact once more, the second spirit ring beneath Lu Yuan's feet lit up.

Shock Edge!

A short, heavy shock force erupted fiercely along the spear shaft. Gu Yan's left hand, which was pressing down on the spear body, went abruptly numb. Although the second soul skill he had already deployed did not vanish, the coherent offensive was abruptly disrupted by this shock, and the right claw reaching for Lu Yuan's shoulder slowed by half a beat as a result.

A mere moment of hesitation was enough for Lu Yuan to regain the spear momentum.

The Piercing Spear was drawn back smoothly, the first spirit ring followed closely in lighting up, and Piercing Edge drove the entire long spear thrusting fiercely forward. Gu Yan hurriedly retracted his claws to parry, only to touch a streak of cold light flashing past his eyes. By the time he reacted, the icy spear tip was already resting three inches from his throat.

The scattered conversations at the edge of the field also stopped at this moment.

Gu Yan lowered his head to glance at the spear tip inches away, then looked up at Lu Yuan. After a moment of silence, he took the initiative to retract his martial soul.

"I lost."

Lu Yuan likewise dispersed his soul skill, pulling the Piercing Spear back to his side.

From the moment Gu Yan launched his first spirit skill to the spear tip stopping at his throat, this spar took only a few exchanges. Deacon Zhao had originally just casually let Lu Yuan go up and try, but at this moment he re-evaluated him, clearly not expecting a Level 24 great spirit master to be defeated so quickly.

Low discussions quickly sounded from the Imperial Academy side.

"Level 21?"

"Gu Yan even used his second spirit skill, yet still didn't block it."

"What soul skill was that vibration on the spear body just now?"

Lu Yuan ignored these voices and turned, preparing to retreat to Deacon Zhao's side. Xue Qinghe had remained seated in the original spot from beginning to end, only glancing over following everyone's gaze after the spar ended, then naturally shifting his gaze away without showing anything special.

However, just as Lu Yuan walked out of the field, someone behind the crowd suddenly stood up.

A tall youth pushed aside the people in front of him, his gaze bypassing the field and landing directly on the Piercing Spear in Lu Yuan's hand.

The few disciples who had been discussing Gu Yan's defeat lowered their voices considerably upon seeing the newcomer.

"Qin Yue?"

"He is at Level 28."