Young Lord Speaks

As Lu Yuan grabbed the white tablet, the sound of rushing wind had already reached him from behind. He didn't look back; his right hand loosened, and the Dark Iron Spear naturally swept backward horizontally. Clang! The shaft of the spear struck an arm covered in cyan scales. The newcomer clearly hadn't expected him to react so quickly, and his wrist was jarred off-target. Relying on the momentum of his turn, Lu Yuan retreated two steps, only then managing to clearly see his opponent. It was a boy of eight or nine, his right arm covered in fine cyan scales, with a circle of a Yellow Spirit Ring at his feet as well. A black tablet was also hung at his waist. He had a tablet yet still came to snatch others. Lu Yuan's gaze fell upon that tablet. The opponent noticed as well, grinning as he said, "What are you looking at? An extra one is just another point." "Makes sense." The Spirit Ring at Lu Yuan's feet lit up. Piercing Edge! The Dark Iron Spear thrust forward abruptly. The cyan-scaled boy immediately raised his arm to block, but his body instinctively stepped back a single pace. It was precisely this step. Lu Yuan's spear tip swerved, not continuing to stab toward the boy's body, but instead sweeping along the outer side of his arm. Snap! The black tablet hanging at his waist was sent directly flying into the air. The two of them raised their heads at the same time. The black tablet tumbled twice in mid-air. Lu Yuan was closer; he withdrew his spear, reached out, and grabbed it in a single motion. The cyan-scaled boy's expression shifted. "Give it back to me!" "Didn't you say that an extra one is just another point?" Lu Yuan turned and walked away. The opponent chased for two steps, but ultimately stopped. That was because someone nearby had already set their sights on the other tablet he had just snatched. The training ground descended into utter chaos. Some people hid in corners the moment they got their tablets, while others gathered in groups of three or four, specifically targeting those who were isolated. Lu Yuan didn't rush to continue snatching. With two tablets in hand, one guaranteed qualification, while the extra one counted as a point for the next round. Yet just as he skirted around to the edge of the field, the gray text within his vision floated up once more.

[Qian Renxue]
[Important Fate Node: Nine years old]

There was still content below, but it seemed to be separated by a layer of fog, revealing only blurred strokes. Lu Yuan's footsteps didn't halt. Qian Renxue was still standing there by the wall. She hadn't participated in the assessment; she was merely watching. Just now, when he used Piercing Edge to flick away the black tablet, those pale-golden eyes had lingered on him for an extra moment. "That brat has two tablets!" Someone shouted not far away. Lu Yuan immediately withdrew his attention. Two older children had already blocked his path from left to right. One gripped a Short Knife, while the other had hands covered in grayish-white stone armor. "Hand one over," the Short Knife boy said. "You'll still pass if you keep one." Lu Yuan looked the two of them over. "Then why aren't you two snatching from each other?" Neither of them answered. Clearly, they had just temporarily teamed up. Lu Yuan retreated. The stone-armored boy immediately closed in, trying to pin him into the corner of the wall. The Short Knife boy circled around to the other side, clearly not intending to give the Dark Iron Spear room to extend. With a long spear, close quarters proved troublesome instead. Lu Yuan kept retreating until he was less than three steps away from the wall before stopping. The Short Knife boy's eyes lit up. "There's nowhere left to go!" He charged up first. Yet Lu Yuan suddenly tossed the black tablet in his hand toward the right. Clink. The black tablet landed on the ground. The stone-armored boy turned his head almost instinctively. The Short Knife boy's pace also paused by half a beat. This exact opening was what Lu Yuan had been waiting for. Using the butt of the spear to brace against the ground, he slipped sideways through the gap between the two of them. "The tablet!" The stone-armored boy snatched up the black tablet. The Short Knife boy whipped his head around. "We agreed one each!" "Who's to blame if you couldn't hold onto yours?" The two fellows who had been blocking him together a moment ago immediately collided. Lu Yuan had already walked far away. One less tablet meant one less point. Yet it was still better than being sandwiched in the corner of a wall by two people. There was less than a quarter-hour left before the half-hour duration ended. Lu Yuan swept his gaze across the training ground, quickly locking onto a tall boy. The opponent clutched three tablets in his hand, and two people had already fallen beside him; he was clearly one of the most troublesome figures in the arena to mess with. If his only goal was to pass, it would be enough for Lu Yuan to find a place right now and guard his white tablet. However, accumulated points needed to be carried into the next round. In that case, he couldn't simply seek to scrape by. Lu Yuan gripped the Dark Iron Spear tightly and walked toward that direction. The tall boy quickly spotted him. "Even a six-year-old is coming to snatch from me?" Lu Yuan glanced at the tablets in the boy's hand. "You've taken too many." "Come and get them if you've got the ability." The opponent grinned, and the Yellow Spirit Ring at his feet lit up directly. Lu Yuan didn't charge head-on. The first time, the opponent threw a punch, and he sidestepped to let it pass. The second time, he retreated again. The tall boy chased for a few steps, clearly growing somewhat impatient. "Are you going to fight or not!" Lu Yuan didn't answer. His gaze remained fixed on the opponent's left hand, which was holding the tablets. Three copper tablets were wedged tightly in the palm, clinking loudly with every pursuit. The third time, the tall boy lunged forward once more. The Yellow Spirit Ring at Lu Yuan's feet suddenly flared. Piercing Edge! The person who had still been retreating abruptly surged forward. The tall boy instinctively raised his arm to protect his chest. Yet the Dark Iron Spear didn't head toward his body at all. The spear shaft pressed hard against the wrist and viciously flicked upward. Snap! All three copper tablets flew out together. The tall boy turned and lunged for the nearest one. Lu Yuan didn't contend with him for it. The other two had already landed on the opposite side. One red, one white. He reached out to scoop them up, turned, and left. "Stop right there!" The tall boy had barely chased for a step before a few people nearby who had been waiting for an opportunity already pounced on the remaining tablet. He cursed and had no choice but to turn back to snatch it. Lu Yuan ran a dozen paces before stopping. The tablets in his hand had returned to a count of three. Two points. This time, he didn't continue plunging into the crowd of people. If he took any more, the ones attracted wouldn't just be two or three individuals. In the final few minutes, the training ground grew even more chaotic than when it had started. It wasn't until the short-haired man shouted a "Stop" that everyone slowly reined in their hands. The North Gate opened. Those with tablets stepped forward in order to register. Two recorders stood beside the short-haired man. "Zhou Qi, two tablets, one point." "Han Song, three tablets, two points." "Xu Ang, one tablet, zero points." It was Lu Yuan's turn. He placed the three copper tablets on the table. The recorder lowered his head and wrote a few strokes. The short-haired man glanced over the numbers ahead. "Lu Yuan, three tablets, two points, tied for first place." Several gazes in the surroundings immediately fell upon him. Lu Yuan didn't say anything; he merely put away the Dark Iron Spear and prepared to walk toward the North Gate Exterior. "Wait." A girl's voice suddenly came from behind. The voice wasn't loud, yet the vicinity quickly grew somewhat quiet. Lu Yuan looked back. Qian Renxue had already walked over from the side of the wall. Up close, those pale-golden eyes appeared even more crystalline. There was no superfluous expression on her face, but she looked at people with intense focus, making it hard for anyone to simply brush her off casually. The short-haired man bowed slightly toward her. "Young Lord." The expressions of the surrounding children shifted abruptly. Yet Lu Yuan saw that the layer of blurred gray text above her head had finally grown a fraction clearer.

[Important Fate Node: Nine years old, leaving Spirit City]

Qian Renxue stopped in front of him. "You looked at me several times just now." It wasn't an inquiry, but rather resembled confirming something she had already ascertained. Lu Yuan looked at her. "Because everyone else was snatching tablets." "And so?" "Only you weren't snatching." A very faint trace of a smile surfaced in the depths of Qian Renxue's eyes. "Just because of this?"

"And everyone was yielding to you."

Lu Yuan glanced around nearby. "Even the instructor didn't kick you out."

The short-haired man beside him twitched the corner of his mouth.

Qian Renxue also followed his line of sight and looked around.

"So you guessed I didn't come here for the assessment."

"Pretty much."

She nodded gently.

"Lu Yuan."

Lu Yuan looked at her.

"Don't go out too early in the second round."

With that, Qian Renxue turned and walked toward North Gate Exterior.

She did not offer a single extra word of explanation.

Lu Yuan's gaze fell back upon that line of Gray Text.

[Nine years old, leaving Spirit City]

This was clearly not an insignificant node.

It was just that Eye of Destiny had not yet given him the subsequent content.

At North Gate Exterior, the short-haired man had already raised his hand to signal the remaining people to assemble.

"First round is over."

"Line up according to your points."

"Second round, begin now."