Sparring

When Zhou Changxi retreated to the sidelines, his face was still flushed red.

He had activated his soul skill. He had faced his opponent head-on, the very thing he excelled at, yet Tang Wulin had still overwhelmed him with a single hammer blow, leaving him unable even to keep his footing. For a strength-type Battle Soul Master like him, losing that way hurt more than simply being knocked down.

But Wu Changkong did not spare him another glance.

"Next match." His gaze shifted as he said flatly, "Yun Xiao, Xie Xie."

Yun Xiao pushed up his glasses, looking miserable as he stood.

"Could you... go a little easy on me?"

Xie Xie had already stepped into the ring. At those words, he merely gave Yun Xiao a cold glance. He turned his right hand, and the Light Dragon Dagger slipped into his palm.

"Begin."

The moment Wu Changkong spoke, Xie Xie moved.

No probing, no hesitation.

His Yellow Soul Ring lit up, and he shot forward almost flush with the ground, faster than he had been in the dorm yesterday and sharper than he had been in Eastsea Park. The Light Dragon Dagger pointed ahead, a golden line thrusting straight toward Yun Xiao's chest. The entire motion was so clean it contained almost nothing wasted.

Several students on the sidelines held their breath at almost the same instant.

Too fast.

Even Tang Wulin's gaze tightened slightly.

Watching from the sidelines felt completely different from fighting in person. He had known yesterday that Xie Xie was fast, but only now, standing outside the ring, did he truly understand how troublesome that speed was. It was not a frantic rush. Every step followed the shortest distance and the most precise angle, so fast that his opponent had no time to think.

Yun