Ye Zhiqiu vs. Dong Qianqiu

Time flew by. A month had already passed since enrollment.

Every morning, he got up at seven, washed up, ate breakfast, and caught a ride to school with his father.

There were three theory classes in the morning covering the basics of soul power operation, martial soul classifications, and a brief history of soul beasts, followed by two practical classes in the afternoon for releasing martial souls, getting familiar with soul power circulation, and basic physical training.

The material was certainly dull, but the Junior Academy was meant to lay the foundations. Ye Zhiqiu had never expected the teachers to teach anything profound, and most of the time, he worked things out himself.

Over the month, his soul power had risen from rank eleven to rank twelve.

That was not particularly fast, just about average.

His spiritual power was also growing slowly, rising from 169 points to 175.

Ye Zhiqiu discovered that this body's affinity for soul power was almost absurd. He could barely feel any resistance as his soul power circulated. He had not encountered even a trace of the "blocked meridians" or "stagnant soul power" described in the novels from his previous life.

Over that month, his relationship with Dong Qianqiu had changed quite a bit.

During the first few days of school, the two barely spoke. Dong Qianqiu kept to herself, and Ye Zhiqiu could not be bothered to approach her.

But their seats were too close for that to last. One sat by the window in the back row, the other right next to them. Whether they looked up or down, they were bound to see each other.

The ice first broke a week later.

That afternoon's practical class covered the basic techniques of projecting soul power outward, and most of the class was wrestling with their own martial souls.

Dong Qianqiu sat in her seat with a small ball of ice-blue soul power resting in her palm. It held together without dispersing, remaining perfectly steady even after seven or eight rotations.

A girl beside her leaned over and asked how she did it. She paused, then said, "Just calm your mind."

When the girl pressed for more, she did not know how to respond. Her mouth opened, then closed again.

Amused by the sight, Ye Zhiqiu casually said with a smile, "She means you shouldn't keep staring at that ball of soul power. Look around it instead. Projecting soul power is about guiding, not pushing."

The girl tried it, and it actually became much steadier. She thanked him and ran off.

Dong Qianqiu turned her head to glance at him. Ye Zhiqiu merely smiled at her, then lowered his head and returned to what he was doing.

After that, they occasionally exchanged a few words. Not many, just two or three sentences at a time, all about cultivation.

During the second week, at lunch one day, the cafeteria was so crowded that Dong Qianqiu walked around with her tray without finding an empty seat.

The seat across from Ye Zhiqiu happened to be free. Without even looking up, he said, "Sit here. Nobody's going to eat you."

Hearing that, Dong Qianqiu paused, then sat down.

It seemed to become a habit after that. She sat with him the next day, and the day after that too. Eventually, no invitation was needed. Whenever mealtime came, the two naturally ended up at the same table.

Sometimes they ate their own meals without exchanging a word, but it was not awkward.

Sometimes she asked him cultivation questions, and he explained them in his own way, comparing soul power circulation to flowing water and martial souls to riverbeds. She tried it after listening, and the results were good. From then on, she asked him questions more often.

After spending some time with her, Ye Zhiqiu realized she was not actually cold and aloof.

She simply did not know how to deal with people. When someone asked her a question and she did not know how to answer, she just said nothing.

When someone came close, she felt uncomfortable and simply moved away. But once you got to know her, she was actually quite willing to talk. She just could not keep going for very long, often leaving the conversation hanging after a sentence or two.

Ye Zhiqiu did not mind. They could talk when there was something to say. He was not exactly a chatterbox himself.

He discovered something else that month: Dong Qianqiu's spiritual power really was considerably stronger than that of others her age.

Once, during a break, he casually tested her by tossing a book toward her from the side without any warning. She caught it without even turning her head, her movement so natural that it seemed she had known in advance.

Her foundation as a hundred-thousand-year soul beast who had taken human form was still there. Even with her memories lost, her instinctive reaction speed and spiritual perception far surpassed those of ordinary people.

She herself might not even have realized how special she was.

And today was the monthly assessment.

On the training grounds, Xu Rang stood in front of the group holding a clipboard, while thirty-one students stood in crooked rows.

"You've been here a month. You've had plenty of theory classes and practiced your soul power. Today, we'll assess you through actual combat. I'll randomly select pairs to spar. Stop short of hurting each other. No heavy blows."

A stir ran through the students at his words. A few children nervously rubbed their hands, a few had shining eyes, and a few had already started edging backward.

Ye Zhiqiu stood among them with his hands in his pockets, his expression calm.

Xu Rang glanced down at his terminal, tapped it twice, and said, "First pair: Dong Qianqiu and Ye Zhiqiu."

As soon as Xu Rang's voice fell silent, a wave of hushed discussion rose around the training grounds.

"Dong Qianqiu and Ye Zhiqiu?"

"I wonder which of them is stronger."

"I think it's Ye Zhiqiu. His martial soul looks so scary. Just looking at it makes my eyes hurt."

"Dong Qianqiu isn't bad either. That Shark phantom is huge. It's way more intimidating than Ye Zhiqiu's blade..."

Ye Zhiqiu showed little reaction as he stepped out of the group and leisurely walked toward the center of the field.

Dong Qianqiu stepped out as well.

The two took their positions in the center, about five meters apart.

Standing at the edge of the field, Xu Rang raised a hand and said, "Get ready. Stop short of hurting each other. The match ends if either person yields or I call a halt. No heavy blows. Understood?"

"Understood," Ye Zhiqiu said with a nod.

"Mm." Dong Qianqiu nodded too.

"Begin."

Dong Qianqiu moved first.

She stepped forward with her right foot, and a dark-blue Shark phantom abruptly appeared behind her, opening its mouth to reveal serrated teeth. Chilly moisture instantly spread through the air, and the temperature dropped several degrees so noticeably that it almost seemed visible.

At the same time, the first soul ring around her waist lit up. Yellow light flashed, and an ice-blue spear materialized in her right hand.

The spear was slender and roughly two meters long. Its tip gleamed with the sharp brilliance of ice crystals, and a thin layer of white frost covered its surface.

Dong Qianqiu's steps were not fast, but she crossed the five meters in just three strides. Her spear thrust diagonally upward from below, aiming for his right shoulder.

Ye Zhiqiu turned sideways to evade it, and the spear tip skimmed past his chest.

He stepped forward and reached out with his right hand. The Absolute Blade emerged from his palm, its white edge held across his body. Rather than rushing to attack, he guarded first, deciding to test her approach.

Dong Qianqiu did not pull back her spear. With a turn of her wrist, she swept it across, trailing a spray of ice chips.

Ye Zhiqiu leaned back to dodge. The ice chips flew past his face, bitterly cold. He could feel their chill even from half a meter away.

He took a step back to create some distance, but Dong Qianqiu pressed close behind him. Her spear tip jabbed three times in succession, each strike faster than the last.

Ye Zhiqiu dodged the first two, then blocked the third with the Absolute Blade.

Blade and spear collided with a crisp, ringing clash. At the instant of contact, the edge of the Absolute Blade chipped a tiny crack into Dong Qianqiu's Ice Spear.

Dong Qianqiu's brows drew together slightly. Then she abruptly withdrew her spear and paused instead of attacking again.

Ye Zhiqiu did not hurry to pursue her either. The two exchanged a glance from three meters apart.

He grinned and said, "Pretty impressive."

Dong Qianqiu did not answer, but her grip on the spear tightened slightly.

After a moment of silence, she charged again and swept her Ice Spear across. This time, she reinforced it with soul power. A blue halo wrapped around the shaft, and it moved considerably faster than before.

Ye Zhiqiu did not meet it head-on. He slipped sideways, and his white blade cut in from the flank, striking the spear shaft.

Another crisp clang rang out. Dong Qianqiu felt the shaft shudder and the web of her hand go numb. She immediately withdrew her spear and retreated two steps, readjusting her balance.

Ye Zhiqiu remained where he was, the Absolute Blade hovering quietly in his hand. He did not pursue.

He had never intended to win this assessment quickly. Since it was an assessment, he wanted to see just how far Dong Qianqiu could go.

Over the next few minutes, the two exchanged several dozen more rounds.

Dong Qianqiu's spear technique grew increasingly practiced, and her transitions between offense and defense became smoother and smoother. In her hands, the Ice Spear thrust, swept, and flicked upward, occasionally scattering a string of ice crystals to disrupt his vision.

He evaded every attack, letting her finish each move before striking to interrupt her.

The students watching from the sidelines gradually went from excited to silent.

They fell silent because, although they could not follow the finer tactical details, they could see that Ye Zhiqiu had not retreated a single step from beginning to end. No matter how Dong Qianqiu attacked, he dodged it with a couple of shifts in place.

"That's about enough."