Zhang Lexuan

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Chapter 10: Zhang Lexuan

Ye Xixuan swept the Shadow Long Spear diagonally downward in front of him, guiding the flickering blue-violet lightning across his body into the spear. Within just a few breaths, its glow had faded completely.

Lightning inherently possessed traits of the light attribute, so his ultimate darkness attribute naturally suppressed it.

"Senior Brother Bei, watch out." Ye Xixuan held the Shadow Long Spear behind his back, his entire body instantly tensing. Then his spear shot forth like a dragon, its dark, keen tip stabbing toward Bei Bei's face in a furious storm.

Earlier, the extremely short broadsword and Darkness Shield he had created with his first Soul Skill, Condensed Shadow, had demonstrated the characteristics of an Agility Attack System Battle Spirit Master and a Defense System Battle Spirit Master respectively. This time, it was assault!

Bei Bei had seemed passive earlier because Ye Xixuan had caught him off guard and seized the initiative. Now, he grew serious, treating Ye Xixuan as an opponent on his own level.

Having been personally trained by Mu En since childhood, how could he possibly be mediocre?

A deep rumble suddenly erupted from Bei Bei. Intense blue-violet lightning surged all over his body before rapidly gathering in his palms.

He activated his first Soul Skill, Thunder Dragon Claw, repeatedly, but held it back rather than releasing it, condensing and compressing it several times over. Blue-violet lightning curled around his hands, which seemed to transform into genuine thunder dragon claws. Their powerful energy fluctuations were entirely contained within the claws, creating an oppressive, heart-pounding sensation.

This was a more advanced way of using a Soul Skill, requiring exceptional control over one's own skills.

Bei Bei's hands transformed into blue lightning dragon claws, already possessing a trace of Dragon Transformation's might. In a flash, he actually lunged toward Ye Xixuan of his own accord.

This was Ye Xixuan's first real battle, after all, and he lacked experience. The spear's broad, sweeping attacks were certainly devastating, but their weakness was equally obvious: they lacked subtle variations. When there was a gap between the two opponents' cultivation, openings were often easy to exploit.

Bei Bei twisted sideways to avoid the Shadow Long Spear's tip while clamping his left claw tightly around its shaft. The Thunder Dragon Claw on his right hand slammed fearlessly toward Ye Xixuan's chest.

"It's over."

Hearing Bei Bei's confident declaration, Ye Xixuan's gaze steadied, and he willingly abandoned the Shadow Long Spear in his right hand. A deep, dark radiance swirled around it, instantly solidifying into a pitch-black dragon claw. Its joints were thick, its black dragon scales sharply defined, extending all the way to his right wrist.

Although Ye Xixuan had clearly constructed this dragon claw using his first Soul Skill, Condensed Shadow, it looked even more like genuine Dragon Transformation than Bei Bei's did.

Just as Xuan Zi and Zhang Lexuan marveled at Ye Xixuan's ability to adapt and learn, the black and blue-violet dragon claws collided.

Boom!

Blue-violet lightning spilled through the wide gaps between the dark dragon claw's digits, illuminating Ye Xixuan's impassive face.

Only after obtaining his first Soul Skill had he begun to appreciate more deeply the powerful enhancement provided by his innate ability, the Mind Demon Mark. It enhanced not only his speed, strength, and defense, but also the attributes of his Martial Soul. The most obvious manifestation was the increased power of his Soul Skills.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Bei Bei's body was also surrounded by an icy, deathly still aura of darkness.

Light and shadow overlapped and mingled, like two suns, one black and one blue-violet, crushing against each other as they fell to the ground.

Even with Mu En's composure, the sight brought a momentary haze to his dim eyes. He and Long Xiaoyao had once faced off just like this at that year's Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Soul Fighting Tournament.

The two-colored radiance dissipated in the sky. Bei Bei steadied himself where he stood, the lightning fading from his body. He still had strength left to fight.

Ye Xixuan, however, staggered back more than ten steps, panting with a pale face. He had exhausted all the Soul Power in his body, so he simply and candidly conceded.

"Senior Brother Bei, I lost."

"When I was your age, I was nowhere near as good as you." Bei Bei withdrew his Martial Soul and stepped forward with a smile, extending his right hand to Ye Xixuan as he spoke with heartfelt admiration. He was not narrow-minded, and Ye Xixuan had already earned his respect through his talent and strength.

"With you on Sea God Island from now on, I probably won't be bored anymore. Oh, when we get the chance, I'll introduce you to that damned turtle. And I absolutely have to make him have a Soul Fighting match like this with you, too, just to see the wonderful expression on his face."

"Turtle?" Ye Xixuan paused slightly and reached out to shake Bei Bei's hand. Then he immediately realized that Bei Bei meant Xu Sanshi, the wielder of the Xuanming Shield Martial Soul.

Bei Bei smiled mischievously. "That's his Martial Soul. Still, he's pretty strong-at least as strong as I am."

"Bei Bei, you little brat, you're up to mischief again." Xuan Zi stood up, brushed off his backside, and shot Bei Bei an exasperated look.

Wearing a sanctimonious expression, Bei Bei declared with righteous conviction, "Elder Xuan, this is called letting the rain and dew fall on everyone equally. How can that count as mischief? I gained a lot from my fight with Xixuan. Whenever there's something good, I always think of that fellow Xu Sanshi."

"Then you three little brats can go share your rain and dew." Xuan Zi snorted. It was unclear whether he had failed to notice the ambiguity in his words or had said it deliberately.

"I won't be joining you."

The next instant, Xuan Zi vanished from where he stood.

And Ye Xixuan, too,

instinctively let go of his hand and moved away from Bei Bei with an odd expression.

Bei Bei shrugged helplessly. Just as he was about to offer an explanation, Mu En's gentle voice suddenly rang out.

"Xixuan, Bei Bei, both of you come here."

"Yes," Ye Xixuan and Bei Bei answered in unison.

Mu En introduced Zhang Lexuan to Ye Xixuan.

"Xixuan, her name is Zhang Lexuan. She is the inner court's eldest senior sister. From now on, she'll guide your regular cultivation. Her Martial Soul is the moon, which should be quite compatible with your Martial Soul's attributes."

"Just call me Eldest Senior Sister, like Bei Bei and the others do." Zhang Lexuan smiled gently, crouching down to stroke Ye Xixuan's head with a pang of sympathy.

While Ye Xixuan and Bei Bei were fighting, Mu En had told her about Ye Xixuan's background. Their experiences overlapped to a remarkable degree. No one could understand what Ye Xixuan felt in his heart better than she could.

"Eldest Senior Sister." Ye Xixuan bowed politely to Zhang Lexuan.

The smile on Zhang Lexuan's face grew even gentler, but Bei Bei found it somewhat dazzling. Once upon a time, that smile had been his alone. Still, remembering that Eldest Senior Sister treated every inner court student with the same tenderness, he let it go.

Besides, he now considered himself no longer a child, so he certainly would not display such childish jealousy.

Every boy seemed to develop some degree of this awkward self-consciousness at that age.

Ye Xixuan had never forgotten Tang Ya. He immediately asked Mu En for permission. "Elder Mu, I'd like to go to the outer court's east gate first."

"Then let Bei Bei take you there. You can familiarize yourself with the academy along the way." Mu En was very accommodating.

(End of chapter)