First Battle, Water Surface Slash

Lin Xiu moved fast.

His Ironback Wolf Martial Soul possessed him. Gray-black fur covered his arms, and markings like iron armor appeared across his back.

Two yellow Spirit Rings rose.

His first Spirit Ring lit up.

Wolf Claw.

He did not aim for Yuan Yu's vitals.

His claws swept toward Yuan Yu's shoulder. He was clearly holding back.

Yuan Yu saw it.

But he said nothing.

In a fight, whether an opponent held back was the opponent's choice.

Taking advantage of it was his own skill.

Lin Xiu lunged into range.

Yuan Yu pivoted.

He did not retreat.

He slid diagonally aside.

A little water gathered beneath his feet, forming a thin film.

The wolf claws brushed past his white clothes.

Yuan Yu's scabbard caught Lin Xiu's wrist and guided it onward.

Lin Xiu's force veered off course, carrying him half a step forward.

His expression changed.

At the edge of the field, Hu Liena's eyes lit up.

"That was smooth."

Yan frowned.

"He dodged quickly, I'll give him that."

Xie Yue said, "He didn't just dodge. He redirected the force."

Lin Xiu turned around, his gaze much more serious.

"I underestimated you."

Yuan Yu smiled.

"There's still time to take this seriously."

Lin Xiu's second Spirit Ring lit up.

Ironback Charge!

The iron markings on his back darkened. He charged at Yuan Yu like a wolf-shaped block of iron.

His feet gouged two shallow tracks in the ground.

This time, he held back very little.

Yuan Yu's gaze sharpened too.

He could not block it head-on.

No matter how talented he was, a six-year-old had no business matching strength with a twelve-year-old, two-ring assault-type Soul Master.

Ling Yuan had told him before.

Win with restraint.

Control mattered.

Yuan Yu held his blade across his body.

His first Spirit Ring lit up.

Watery blue light wound around the blade, drawing moisture from the air to its edge.

He slowed his breathing.

Lin Xiu was already upon him.

At the edge of the field, Yan instinctively stepped forward.

"He's not dodging?"

Hu Liena's smile faded too.

Xie Yue watched Yuan Yu's blade.

"He's waiting."

Waiting for the briefest instant before impact.

Waiting until Lin Xiu's charge reached its greatest force, when changing direction would be hardest.

Yuan Yu moved.

His blade swept across.

"Water Breathing: First Form."

"Water Surface Slash!"

He used only half the form.

A line of water cut across the ground.

It was not aimed at Lin Xiu.

It cut through the momentum of his charge.

The water line split that force in two.

One half swept past Yuan Yu's left side.

The other was guided to his right.

Yuan Yu stood between them, his white clothes billowing in the rush of air.

He had not retreated a step.

In the next instant, he lightly touched Lin Xiu's chest with the back of his blade.

The touch was not heavy.

But it struck the exact point where Lin Xiu's force had nowhere to go.

Lin Xiu stiffened.

His charge stopped.

The field fell silent.

Lin Xiu looked down at his chest.

The back of the blade rested there.

If Yuan Yu had used its edge, he would have lost.

No.

He had already lost.

Lin Xiu stepped back and withdrew his Martial Soul.

"I lost."

Yuan Yu sheathed his blade and cupped his hands.

"Thank you for the match."

He said it with such solemnity that, paired with his still-childish face, the people at the edge of the field took a moment to react.

Hu Liena blinked.

"He really won?"

Yan frowned.

"Lin Xiu held back."

Xie Yue looked at him.

"Not the second time."

Yan fell silent.

He had seen it clearly.

Lin Xiu had been serious during that second charge.

Yuan Yu had not relied on brute force.

He had taken the charge apart.

Yes.

Taken it apart.

Like a punch gently diverted midway through its swing.

Yan felt annoyed.

A child so much younger than them had awakened only a month ago, yet he had beaten a two-ring Soul Grandmaster.

Even more annoying, Yuan Yu glanced at him after winning.

"Yan, let's put that score you're keeping on hold."

Yan sneered.

"Scared?"

"No." Yuan Yu looked perfectly serious. "I'm afraid if you beat me up now, it'll look like you're picking on a little kid."

Hu Liena's eyes crinkled with laughter.

Xie Yue lowered his head and chuckled too.

Yan was so angry he was nearly breathing fire.

"When you turn twelve, I'm definitely beating you up."

Yuan Yu nodded.

"Then I have six years to prepare."

Ling Yuan walked over and looked at Lin Xiu first.

"Are you hurt?"

Lin Xiu shook his head.

"No. He held back."

Ling Yuan nodded.

Then she turned to Yuan Yu.

"That half-form at the end wasn't bad."

Yuan Yu's eyes brightened.

"Only 'wasn't bad'?"

Ling Yuan said evenly, "It would be better if you kept your mouth shut."

Yuan Yu promptly shut his mouth.

From above, Azure Luan had watched the entire match, his expression calm.

"His control was better than expected."

Chrysanthemum Douluo smiled. "His mouth was worse than expected too."

Ghost Douluo said, "That wasn't unexpected. It's a fact."

In the shadows farther away, Bibi Dong did not reveal herself.

She watched Yuan Yu on the field, her gaze resting on the hand that held his blade.

That strike had shown good control, judgment, and restraint.

More importantly, he had not hurt anyone.

For a child who had only just gained power, that mattered more than winning.

Bibi Dong turned to leave.

"Keep watching him."

Chrysanthemum Douluo answered quietly, "Yes."

After that match, Yuan Yu became thoroughly famous at Spirit Hall Academy.

Six years old.

One ring.

He had beaten a twelve-year-old with two rings.

And he had used only half a blade technique.

Word spread fast.

The children at the academy talked about it all day.

Some called him the little monster from the Worship Hall.

Some said the color of his first Spirit Ring was strange.

Others said he should not even count as a one-ring Soul Master.

Yuan Yu paid it little mind.

He cared more about something else.

Could he have an extra bowl at dinner?

Because that fight had left him genuinely hungry.

That evening.

In a side courtyard of the Worship Hall.

Yuan Yu sprawled over the table, eating while fingering the Black Jade Wine Gourd at his waist.

Ling Yuan sat beside him, watching him closely.

"I told you, you can't drink it."

Yuan Yu sighed.

"I can't even touch it?"

"Last time you said you'd just touch it. Then the jar was empty."

"That was an accident."

"You have too many accidents."

Yuan Yu had no answer.

Azure Luan walked in from the courtyard with a training booklet in his hand.

The moment Yuan Yu saw it, his face fell.

"Grandpa Azure Luan, I just won a match today."

"That's why you're getting extra training."

"Why do I have to train more after winning?"

"Because you can handle more."

Yuan Yu looked at Ling Yuan.

Ling Yuan spread her hands.

"Don't look at me. I agree with him."

Yuan Yu lowered his head and shoveled rice into his mouth.

"Spirit City has no heart."

Azure Luan said, "Starting tomorrow, one hundred Water Surface Slashes every day."

Yuan Yu's hand stopped.

"One hundred?"

"Every waterline must be straight. The deviation can't exceed half an inch."

Ling Yuan added, "And if you damage the floor tiles, you clean them yourself."

Yuan Yu fell silent.

Suddenly, he missed the Water God's Illusion a little.

At least no one there made him scrub the floor.

Late that night, Yuan Yu returned to his room.

He set the Black Jade Wine Gourd beside his pillow.

The Sun Wheel Blade turned into a faint shimmer of light and hovered at his side.

The Water Pattern had stabilized.

His first Spirit Ring lay quiet within him, too.

Yuan Yu closed his eyes, intending to sleep.

But just as he was drifting off, the second mark on the blade suddenly lit up.

Golden-red flames leaped from the blade.

A little black hole burned through the edge of his quilt.

Yuan Yu shot upright.

"Uh-oh."

The room grew hotter.

The second Flame Pattern on the Sun Wheel Blade glowed brighter and brighter.

A searing Divine Sense rang out in his mind.

"The second of the Ten Thousand Manifestations Nine Trials."

"Flame Mark Burning Heart."

Yuan Yu stared at the charred corner of his quilt, his face twisting.

"You've got to be kidding."

"I only just learned to control water, and now you want me to play with fire?"