Requesting Leave

"I'm not entirely sure either, but I can destroy a warship."

Hearing that, Ye Zhiqiu feigned surprise. He knew how powerful Nana was; what truly surprised him was the ability of his own soul skill.

It suddenly struck him that even a god-level powerhouse would have to become an ordinary person for half a second.

That was downright diabolical, but he liked it.

After all, when he reached two rings, his first soul skill's severance effect on Dong Qianqiu had increased from three seconds to four. Now, Dong Qianqiu absolutely refused to let him use his first soul skill.

Fortunately, Absolute Blade's cutting edge was extraordinarily sharp. Even saying it sliced through iron like mud would be selling it short. Still, he often restrained its sharpness; otherwise, if he sliced Dong Qianqiu's Ice Spear in two right at the start, how were they supposed to keep fighting?

Dong Qianqiu also walked over from a distance, staring blankly at Ye Zhiqiu and Nana. Wait, are you saying Ye Zhiqiu's first soul skill even works on Teacher Nana, whose strength is such a mystery?

Does it have to be that heaven-defying? Looks like I can't let this idiot keep using it! At least, not on me!

It's downright diabolical! And far too overpowered!

"Your first soul skill works on Teacher too?"

Before Ye Zhiqiu could answer, Nana spoke first.

"It does, for about half a second. That soul skill of his severed my control over my own power."

At those words, Dong Qianqiu's lips parted slightly. As she looked at Ye Zhiqiu, her gaze gradually grew strange.

Why did such a cheating soul skill end up on this narcissist? I want it too!

Ye Zhiqiu sensed Dong Qianqiu's gaze and turned to look at her. Spreading his hands, he said, "I only just found out myself. I'd never used it on Teacher before."

Nana nodded slightly, then looked at him and asked, "What is this soul skill of yours called?"

"Concept Severance." Ye Zhiqiu made no attempt to hide it. He had already demonstrated it during this lesson, so there was little point in keeping it secret now. He continued, "It's Absolute Blade's first soul skill. Its effect is to sever the connection between a target and certain things, such as the connection between a soul master and their martial soul, or between a soul master and their soul power. There's also... the connection between the body and the exertion of force. Of course, there are other possibilities I haven't figured out yet."

Nana listened quietly until he finished, then fell silent for a few seconds.

"Concept Severance... this soul skill of yours is quite extraordinary."

Beside them, Dong Qianqiu muttered under her breath, "Forget extraordinary. It's practically cheating..."

Ye Zhiqiu turned to look at her and smiled. "Jealous?"

"Who's jealous?" Dong Qianqiu rolled her eyes at him. "I simply disdain using such cheap tricks."

"Last time we fought, weren't you the one who asked me not to use my first soul skill?"

Dong Qianqiu choked on her words. She opened her mouth, wanting to retort, but could not find anything suitable to say. Finally, she turned her face away, puffed out her cheeks slightly, and said:

"That was so we could have a fair fight!"

Even she blushed a little after saying that. After all, what fairness was there when she refused to let him use his first soul skill?

Ye Zhiqiu could not help chuckling at that.

Standing beside them, Nana watched the two children bicker, and the corners of her lips twitched slightly.

Seeing these two children every day reminded her of Lan Xuanyu. So much time had passed; she wondered how the girl was doing. She sighed inwardly.

"What is the longest your soul skill can last at present?" Nana asked.

Ye Zhiqiu thought for a moment and answered honestly, "Against Dong Qianqiu, about four seconds. Against you, Teacher... half a second."

Nana nodded at that and did not press him further.

But she knew exactly what that half second had meant for her.

Her body's connection to its own power had indeed been severed. Although it had lasted only half a second, during that half second, she had felt as though she had become an ordinary person, able to move using only her body's basic physical strength.

It was something she had never experienced since awakening.

She lowered her head to look at her right hand, recalling the state she had been in during that half second.

If this soul skill developed to a higher level, its effects would likely become even more terrifying.

"Every soul skill has an upper limit. Challenging opponents above your level is only a temporary advantage. What matters is understanding where the boundaries of your abilities lie."

"However..." She paused, her purple eyes fixed on Ye Zhiqiu, and said:

"This soul skill of yours has enormous potential. Develop it properly, and it will help you in the future."

Ye Zhiqiu nodded at her words and said solemnly, "Thank you, Teacher. I will."

Dong Qianqiu stood beside them and listened, her thoughts unreadable. After a while, she suddenly asked:

"Teacher, you said just now that you could destroy a warship... exactly what level are you?"

Nana glanced at her and shook her head. "I'm not entirely sure of my exact level either. I'll probably know once I've fully recovered."

"Now it's your turn, Qianqiu."

Hearing that, Dong Qianqiu took two steps forward and came to a stop in the center of the training area.

She took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled, loosened her wrists and shoulders, and tightened the deep-blue ponytail behind her head.

Ye Zhiqiu retreated to the sidelines and leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets.

He watched from the side. He had just finished fighting, after all, and now it was his turn to watch Dong Qianqiu.

"Use your martial soul too," Nana said gently.

Dong Qianqiu nodded, then extended her right hand. An ice-blue spear condensed in her palm. Its shaft was slender, its tip glinted with an ice-crystal sharpness, and a thin layer of white frost coated its surface.

At the same time, a Yellow Soul Ring and a Purple Soul Ring slowly rose from beneath her feet and revolved behind her.

At the sidelines, Ye Zhiqiu grew a little more attentive.

He could not have been more familiar with Dong Qianqiu's fighting style: fast, precise, and ruthless. Her Ice Spear combined offense and defense, and her physical abilities surpassed those of her peers by a considerable margin. Both her explosive power and reaction speed were excellent.

But both he and Dong Qianqiu knew how powerful Nana was.

Without any hesitation, Dong Qianqiu's first soul ring flashed.

Ice Element Control.

She stepped forward with her right foot, angled her spear tip downward, and thrust it forward. A surge of ice-blue cold poured from the tip, spreading rapidly along the ground and laying a thin sheet of ice beneath Nana's feet.

The purpose of this move was to restrict Nana's movement while creating a terrain advantage.

But Nana merely lifted her foot slightly, then set it down on the thin ice without slipping.

She kept her center of gravity very low, applying precisely the right amount of force as her foot came down to maintain a subtle degree of friction between her sole and the ice.

Dong Qianqiu did not stop. The instant the ice spread, she charged forward with her Ice Spear in hand.

She was considerably faster than usual. In the blink of an eye, she was already before Nana, sweeping the spear tip upward straight toward Nana's abdomen.

Nana turned sideways to evade it, moving just enough for the spear tip to skim past her waist. Then her right hand swept up from below, striking toward Dong Qianqiu's spear-wielding wrist.

Dong Qianqiu rolled her wrist, changing the Ice Spear's direction in midair. The rising thrust became a horizontal sweep, its shaft wrapped in a sheen of cold light as it swung toward Nana's waist.

Nana retreated a short half step, moving beyond the sweep's reach. Then her left hand reached in from the side, her fingertip tapping toward the middle of Dong Qianqiu's spear shaft.

Dong Qianqiu felt a force travel through the shaft. It was not powerful, but its angle was cunning, catching her precisely in the gap between exertions and diverting her spear's trajectory by half an inch.

She immediately adjusted her center of gravity, using that guiding force to slide half a step diagonally forward. Then she drew the spear tip back and reset her stance.

Watching clearly from the sidelines, Ye Zhiqiu instinctively raised an eyebrow.

Throughout that sequence of responses, Dong Qianqiu's movements had been several notches smoother than they were two months ago, and her reactions had become considerably faster as well.

Had this been two or three months earlier, after Nana diverted that thrust, she would have needed at least two or three breaths to readjust her balance and spear position.

But now, she had taken less than a single breath.

It seemed these past few weeks of intensive training had indeed produced remarkable results.

Nana did not follow up with an attack either. She waited until Dong Qianqiu had steadied herself again before saying, "Good. There's clear improvement. Your center of gravity was steadier on that thrust than last time."

Dong Qianqiu froze for a moment at those words, then almost failed to suppress the smile tugging at her lips.

Receiving even a single word of praise from Teacher Nana was a truly rare thing!

"Again!"