At the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's training grounds, Jun Yi appeared in a fresh set of clothes. His eyes were bright, and he was brimming with vigor-a clear sign of the improvements the Soul Ring had brought to his physique and spiritual power.
"You're here, Jun Yi. How is Rongrong?" The voice reached Jun Yi's ears alongside a flash of sword light, and then Sword Douluo appeared before him.
"Rongrong is being looked after. I never expected her to work so hard after adding her Soul Ring," Jun Yi said with feeling.
"So you need to work hard too, and treat her even better."
"I will." Jun Yi nodded.
With that, Jun Yi summoned his Soul Ring and looked at Sword Douluo. "Grandpa Sword, look at my Soul Ring. Doesn't it look cool?"
"Huh? Didn't Old Bones say he hadn't taken you to add a Soul Ring today? Where did this first Soul Ring of yours come from?" Sword Douluo asked curiously. He could clearly sense that Jun Yi's first Soul Ring was no young one.
Jun Yi chuckled. "Ha! My Martial Soul condensed this Soul Ring itself. What do you think, Grandpa Sword? Isn't your big brother Yi amazing?"
Sword Douluo froze, then instantly appeared beside Jun Yi, preparing to give his head a "gentle" smack. "You little brat, showing no respect for your elders. Asking for a beating, are you?"
Jun Yi hurriedly dodged, grinning. "Sorry, Grandpa Sword. It just slipped out."
Sword Douluo rolled his eyes at Jun Yi and continued asking, "You condensed this Soul Ring yourself?"
Jun Yi nodded and explained Ning Fengzhi's conjecture to Sword Douluo. Hearing it, Sword Douluo was repeatedly astonished as well.
"Boy, could you really be a god reincarnated? Why do such unbelievable things keep happening to you?"
Jun Yi puffed out his chest smugly and grinned. "Exactly, Grandpa Sword. I'm a god reincarnated. Send me 50 Gold Soul Coins, and I'll give you a divine seat and help you become a god."
Sword Douluo naturally knew Jun Yi was clowning around again. He shot him an exasperated glare. "You little brat, always running your mouth." After a pause, he added, "That said, your Martial Soul's abilities really are rather unusual. If you have no Soul Skills, create your own. I'll offer you some guidance from my experience."
"Thank you, Grandpa Sword." Jun Yi respectfully cupped his fist. Although Sword Douluo was usually very strict with him, his instruction was incredibly meticulous, so Jun Yi always maintained his respect for Sword Douluo.
Jun Yi had long since decided how to cultivate his Soul Skills. After all, Luo had already developed the Op-Op Fruit's abilities almost completely. Jun Yi only needed to copy the gourd by following its outline; creating his own Soul Skills would not be difficult.
"Since you've already added a Soul Ring, this is a good chance for me to test your strength and the results of your recent training."
With that, Sword Douluo closed his five fingers together, drawing the slender wooden strip into his palm.
"Boy, take this."
Sword Douluo abruptly flicked his wrist. In an instant, a vast, powerful surge of sharp Sword Qi swept across the entire grounds. Jun Yi turned his palm downward, a whirlwind swept past, and a transparent hemispherical space instantly expanded outward.
With Jun Yi reaching level 14, the radius of his ROOM space had also reached twenty-four meters, enough to encompass both him and Sword Douluo.
Holding the wooden strip, Sword Douluo swept it toward him, swift as an autumn wind sweeping away fallen leaves. Even without using Soul Power, the presence of a Titled Douluo remained incomparably formidable.
Bang!
A deafening crash rang out, and Jun Yi was sent flying backward. Just as Sword Douluo's strike was about to knock him out of the blue space, Jun Yi raised the fingers of his left hand.
"ROOM."
Jun Yi directly swapped places with a stone on the ground, preventing Sword Douluo from knocking him straight out of the ROOM space.
Although Jun Yi had exchanged places with the pebble, the force of the impact had not dissipated. He drove the blade in his hand into the ground to reduce the force, then steadied himself. A faint black coating also covered his blade-wielding right hand-this was precisely the Armament Haki Jun Yi had been cultivating.
"Heh, boy, I didn't expect you to know how to use a blade too."
Sword Douluo spoke as he looked at Jun Yi holding the long blade. When he had swung the willow switch just now, he had seen Jun Yi take a slender katana out of his Soul Tool Ring to meet his attack head-on. This piqued Sword Douluo's interest as a master swordsman.
"Is that blade of yours a Soul Tool too?" Sword Douluo asked.
"Yes." Jun Yi nodded in reply. The blade in his hand was a peak rank-one Soul Tool modeled on the cursed blade Kikoku and specially crafted to suit Jun Yi's current height.
After all, Kikoku was far too long. Jun Yi could not use it at all; he could not even draw it. He had no choice but to make himself a substitute to get accustomed to Kikoku in advance.
"Then let me see just what is special about this Soul Tool of yours."
Sword Douluo stood in place and swung the branch in his hand a few times, weaving dazzling sword flourishes. The sharp gusts sent the surrounding leaves fluttering down.
Jun Yi looked at Sword Douluo, who radiated a formidable presence, without the slightest panic. He pulled his long blade out of the ground, then ran his hand over the blade and poured his Soul Power into it. The originally pure-white blade was instantly coated in blue Soul Power.
Then Jun Yi abruptly swung his blade, sending three pure-blue slashes of light shooting toward Sword Douluo. At that moment, a hint of gratification appeared on Sword Douluo's face.
He raised the branch in his right hand to block, instantly releasing three streaks of Sword Qi that shattered the blade light. Then he waited for Jun Yi to attack again.
"ROOM."
A rush of air sounded as Jun Yi raised his left hand and swapped places with a pebble behind Sword Douluo. The long blade in his hand once again shone with brilliant blue light.
"Slash!"
Jun Yi's blade traced a dazzling arc, sending a crescent-shaped blade light slashing toward Sword Douluo.
Sword Douluo did not turn around. He raised his right arm, and the branch in his hands instantly flew free, spinning rapidly through the air. In a flash, the sword light closed in.
Clang!
The blade light vanished, while Sword Douluo's branch remained unscathed and returned to his hand.
"Perhaps you don't need any Soul Skills. If you can use your spatial transfer ability to its utmost, it can fully make up for this shortcoming," Sword Douluo said with a smile.
Jun Yi murmured inwardly, I've still developed far too little of the Op-Op Fruit's potential. I remember one of its abilities can cut through any substance, but today I couldn't even cut through the branch in Sword Douluo's hand. I still need to practice.
Jun Yi looked at Sword Douluo and smiled. "You're right, Grandpa Sword. I really should practice more."
With that, Jun Yi slightly raised his fingers and instantly vanished from where he stood. A second later, he was already standing before Sword Douluo, and the long blade in his hand instantly unleashed a blue slash of light straight at him.
Sword Douluo was just about to block with the branch when Jun Yi grinned and moved his fingers. The branch in Sword Douluo's hand instantly disappeared, replaced by a tiny pebble.
As the blade light was about to strike his body, Sword Douluo remained calm and composed. Using his fingers as a sword, he swept them before him, conjuring a sharp streak of sword light. The blade light collided with the sword light, unleashing a violent impact.
The blade light abruptly stalled in midair. Jun Yi lightly pressed down with his toes and leaped into the air. His wrist turned, and another streak of blade light cleaved out...
(End of chapter)