Clear Sky Hammer! Expelliarmus

When the crowd saw that Lu Yi's Martial Soul was nothing but a little wooden stick with no apparent power to hurt anyone, disappointment swept through them.

As his opponent, Wang Dong made no effort to hide the disdain on her face.

Winning against the Martial Soul in Lu Yi's hand would hardly feel respectable. Everyone else would think she was bullying someone weaker.

She would have to end this quickly.

"Watch out!"

The moment she spoke, Wang Dong shot toward Lu Yi like a cannonball.

Too fast!

Huo Yuhao watched from the sidelines, his eyes locked on Wang Dong in astonishment.

If she had fought him like this earlier, he could never have won.

But halfway there, Wang Dong abruptly slowed.

She had no idea what Lu Yi had done. He had merely waved the wooden stick where he stood, yet she could barely move forward, as though the air around her had thickened into mud.

Wang Dong abandoned her charge. When Lu Yi waved his stick again, she sprang upward and turned gracefully, dodging an incoming white speck of light.

But Lu Yi's attacks came as though they cost him nothing. Dense clusters of white specks kept flying toward her.

Wang Dong could only dodge in haste. Then she caught sight of the undisguised mockery in Lu Yi's eyes.

A speck finally struck her arm—and nothing happened.

It simply clung to her skin, giving off a soft white glow.

Wang Dong understood at once. Lu Yi had been bluffing her the whole time, making her scramble to avoid something harmless.

"Damn it! How dare you toy with me!" Anger surged through Wang Dong. She stopped dodging and dove straight at Lu Yi.

A speck flew directly at her. This time she showed no fear, but in the next instant, something slammed into her shoulder like a hard punch. More specks followed. She hurriedly wrapped herself in her wings and blocked them.

Wang Dong did not wait helplessly. As she broke free of the barrage, she took aim at Lu Yi and swept her butterfly wings forward.

"First Soul Skill: Wing Guillotine!"

The edges of the butterfly wings on her back turned into sharp blades. Golden light rose along them as they slashed toward Lu Yi like a guillotine.

At the same time, a blood-red blade of air swept toward her.

The moment the two attacks were launched, Mu En raised an eyebrow. Despite all the commotion so far, he had remained motionless in his reclining chair.

Clang!

An ear-piercing collision rang out. The blades crossed, stirring up a wave of air, yet neither had spent its force.

Lu Yi rolled to the side, while Wang Dong beat her wings and dodged upward.

Slash!

The Wing Guillotine struck the ground, carving a deep gouge.

The red blade of air struck a branch, sending leaves and branches rustling down in a shower.

The two attacks had proved evenly matched.

Wang Dong hovered in midair, her butterfly wings flickering behind her, and turned to look at the severed branch.

Its smooth, even cut looked as though it had been polished—proof of just how sharp that attack had been.

Only now did she truly realize that Lu Yi's Martial Soul was nowhere near as feeble as it looked.

But she could not understand how a wooden stick could produce so many different abilities. Lu Yi had only one Hundred-Year Soul Ring!

What kind of Martial Soul is that stick?

Wang Dong was not the only one baffled. The spectators were stunned too.

When they had first seen Lu Yi pull out nothing but a wooden stick before the fight, they had been bitterly disappointed.

One fighter seemed like a silver-coated pewter spearhead: impressive to look at, useless in a fight.

The other seemed worse. He did not even look impressive.

They had expected nothing more than two novices pecking at each other, with little worth watching. It might even have ended in an ugly scuffle.

Instead, both had displayed formidable strength in a matter of moments and given them a thrilling fight.

No one was in a hurry to get breakfast now.

Missing a meal was no great loss, but a spectacle like this did not come along every day!

"Those two... If I'm not mistaken, they're both new students this year, right?"

"This year's newcomers are something else!"

"Good hit! That's it!"

The spectators' whispers had no effect on either fighter. Wang Dong's expression had turned serious as she looked down at Lu Yi from above. Lu Yi held his ground as well.

The next second, Wang Dong accelerated again. She did not head straight for Lu Yi, but midway through her flight, she suddenly launched an attack from a distance.

"Second Soul Skill: Butterfly God's Light!"

A brilliant orb shot from her butterfly wings and hurtled toward Lu Yi.

The attack was not only fast but unexpected. In an instant, it was right in front of him.

"Protego!"

A faint lensing effect appeared around Lu Yi's body, bending the surrounding light so slightly that no one would notice without looking closely.

But when Butterfly God's Light struck a point a foot from Lu Yi, the light there warped violently. A ripple spread through the air from that point until it surrounded his entire body.

A translucent barrier flashed into view, then vanished as the orb rebounded into the sky and exploded.

[Perfect defensive timing and awareness]

[Protego Lv. 2 (2/2) → Protego Lv. 3 (0/4)]

[Shield Charm can be upgraded, +1 credit]

The notification that his spell had leveled up appeared, but Lu Yi had no attention to spare for it.

He was about to counterattack when a familiar request for a mental connection entered his mind.

Old Huo was requesting a connection.

Lu Yi ignored the request and focused on keeping Wang Dong from getting close.

His clash with Wang Dong today had been unexpected, but it was also a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity.

He could use this sparring match to gauge where his own strength stood among Soul Masters.

And Wang Dong, it now seemed, was an ideal opponent for that test.

As for the spells he had revealed during the fight, perhaps he could explain them by saying he could control wind.

The fight appeared evenly matched, with neither side gaining the upper hand. In truth, Lu Yi had far less room for error.

He knew perfectly well that he was a fragile mage. Apart from a slight advantage in the variety of his methods, he was at a disadvantage in every respect.

Though Wang Dong was a girl, she was a monster of raw ability. Her mobility, speed, physical defenses, and attack power were all serious threats.

All she had to do was try to approach, and he had to cast spells to stop her. With his Soul Power Level already lower than hers, that was a slow death.

But if he failed to stop her, the fight would end the moment she got close. By the same token, Wang Dong did not dare take his attacks head-on.

Wang Dong could not understand why her luck had been so terrible today. First she had lost to Huo Yuhao, who had only one Ten-Year Soul Ring.

Then, hoping to recover some pride, she had picked Lu Yi—only to find him even more troublesome. After fighting for so long, she still could not get close.

But she was gradually figuring out how Lu Yi fought. Every attack he used against her took the form of energy.

She could not gain an advantage by trading energy attacks, and she desperately wanted to win this sparring match. She could no longer afford to hide her true strength.

"In that case, let's see if you can block this!"

Wang Dong finally landed, and the butterfly wings on her back withdrew into her body.

At the same time, she raised her right hand. Black light flashed and vanished.

Under the crowd's astonished gaze, a pitch-black hammer appeared in her hand.

"Twin... Twin Martial Souls!" someone in the crowd cried out.

"Does anyone know what that hammer is?"

"Interesting. Is the Clear Sky Sect about to emerge into the world again?" The students were not the only ones shocked. Even Mu En slowly opened his eyes, an unreadable expression crossing his face.

"Lu Yi!" Wang Dong raised the Clear Sky Hammer and pointed it proudly at him. "You're stronger than I thought. But this ends now!"

With that, she charged straight at Lu Yi, hammer in hand.

Unless something unexpected happened, Lu Yi would use that slowing move again. That was exactly what she wanted.

If she threw the Clear Sky Hammer the moment Lu Yi raised his wooden stick, he would have no chance to counterattack.

Just as Wang Dong gathered all her strength to hurl the Clear Sky Hammer, Lu Yi raised his Wand again.

This time, the Yellow Soul Ring circling beneath his feet shifted onto the Wand, and red light flared at its tip.

"First Soul Skill: Fury—Expelliarmus!"

[Perfect disarming timing and resolve]