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Ye Xinglan's sword had touched the threshold of sword intent.
Though she hadn't yet condensed a true prototype of sword intent, it was a beginning.
It could also be said that her sword at this moment resonated with the innate talent of her Star God Sword martial soul.
Sword intent and spear intent—these were techniques that required years of cultivation to condense. In the hands of soul masters on the Douluo Continent, they were manifestations of martial soul talent. Powerful martial souls naturally carried sword or spear intent, and when a soul master's will aligned with their martial soul's essence, even at a young age, they could grasp the rudiments of such intent.
Even if the martial soul itself wasn't inherently strong, as long as it was a spear or sword-type martial soul, a soul master devoted to their martial soul would find the threshold for grasping spear or sword intent somewhat lower.
Still, for someone to touch the realm of sword intent at just seven years old was quite extraordinary.
As for Xu Yuan, he was an exception—his Five-Element Spear Spirit was simply too unique.
After this battle, recalling his earlier state of mind, Ye Xinglan would gradually explore and eventually condense the prototype of sword intent, perhaps even achieving true sword intent.
Xu Lizhi watched as Ye Xinglan, despite her resolve, was about to be struck by her projection's palm attack. His eyes reddened with emotion, and with a loud shout, he charged forward.
First, Ye Xinglan's projection unleashed a burst of sword intent, a streak of sword light slashing toward Xu Yuan's right arm.
Then, Ye Xinglan's real body released a surge of sword energy, piercing into her projection's torso.
BANG!
Xu Lizhi's projection delivered a full-force palm strike to Ye Xinglan's abdomen, sending her flying.
Xu Lizhi's real body screamed as he rushed forward, attempting to grab the projection and execute a shoulder throw.
Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
Controlling Crane.
In front of a projection with proficient close-combat skills, Xu Lizhi was nothing more than easy prey.
Xu Yuan sighed helplessly. He tossed his Tianyuan Brush from his left hand, landing it near the two little fatso projections. A burst of five-element energy formed a cage around them.
With his right hand, he released the Five-Element Spear Spirit, allowing it to merge back into his body, letting Ye Xinglan's projection's sword energy slash down upon his right arm.
Though it didn't sever his arm completely, it rendered his right arm immobile.
What followed was excruciating pain.
Dream Realm!
The second soul ring on Xu Yuan's body shone brightly as he expanded his senses infinitely.
Within the Dream Realm, everything changed rapidly because it was a purely spirit-constructed world where time flowed much faster.
A single moment in the outside world equated to several minutes within.
During these few minutes, Xu Yuan endured the pain and quickly devised a response, which was then reflected in his real body.
Though the pain was prolonged, forcing him to endure it longer and more vividly, it allowed him to maintain his composure and ensure his actions wouldn't falter!
Xu Yuan's projection unleashed its full power.
This spear, on an intangible level, affected Xu Yuan's bloodline energy and spirit, successfully sealing his bloodline power for a brief moment.
"But I have countermeasures too. This shouldn't be the fully developed spear intent from that individual—it should still be possible to counter," Xu Yuan thought.
Ahead of time, Xu Yuan had instructed his Dream Fiend spirit soul to mobilize a portion of his spiritual power, preparing a Dream Realm soul skill.
He adjusted his body's posture, causing the projection's spear to pierce slightly off-target, avoiding his heart and instead grazing his chest while embedding itself in the inner side of his left arm.
It no longer mattered.
"This battle is over."
The Five-Element Spear Spirit emerged from Xu Yuan's forehead.
At this moment, his consciousness merged completely with the Five-Element Spear Spirit.
Pierce.
A spear thrust through the projection.
Following Xu Yuan's prearranged instructions, the Dream Fiend mobilized his recovered spiritual power to activate both the first and second soul skills once again.
Flying spear technique—not flying sword—the will of Xu Yuan and the Five-Element Spear Spirit fused together, arcing through the air and striking toward Ye Xinglan's heavily injured projection.
Unburdened by a physical body, the pure Five-Element Spear Spirit moved at incredible speed. With a swift whoosh, the spear pierced through Ye Xinglan and surged toward the final projection of Xu Lizhi.
The battle ended.
Rising from the equipment pod, Xu Yuan's face twitched slightly as the pain transmitted through his will continued to persist.
Had his body been fully involved, he would have screamed aloud by now.
"Brother Yuan, you're ruthless," Xu Lizhi's voice trembled.
Just moments ago, it had truly been a life-or-death struggle.
"Little Fatty, in the future, practice more real combat with me. You might not fully grasp how terrifying soul masters can insta-kill food-based soul masters."
Survival was the most basic skill for food-based soul masters.
If Xu Lizhi hadn't charged in just now, Xu Yuan could have continued dragging out the fight.
"I'm sorry, Brother Yuan. I lost my cool just now."
"Indeed, Xu Lizhi. You made a fatal mistake just now. So, in the future, you'll need to get beaten up a few more times to gain a clearer understanding," Shen Yi agreed with Xu Yuan's assessment.
They needed to beat it into him.
At the same time, it would help him better grasp the Tang Sect's ultimate techniques he'd be learning later.
"In this battle, Xu Yuan, your performance was excellent!" Shen Yi praised him highly.
She hadn't expected Xu Yuan's willpower to be so strong, enduring the pain of nearly losing function in both his right and left arms to launch a final counterattack.
"Xu Yuan, you achieved perfect scores in both assessments. The academy will issue your rewards three days from now," Shen Yi said, looking at Xu Yuan with approval.
She turned to Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi.
"If you achieve perfect scores in future assessments, there will be rewards."
Clearly, though Ye Xinglan and Xu Lizhi had performed decently, they hadn't shown anything particularly remarkable, so they didn't receive perfect scores.
Without his body's "cooperation," Xu Yuan repeatedly employed the Dream Realm to swiftly alleviate the pain of his will.
His actions and thoughts remained unaffected, and he continued to exchange ideas at the Mecha Association.
Over the course of half a month, he gained considerable insights.
Aside from blacksmithing, Xu Yuan's other three secondary professions all received inspiration. He accepted ten tasks each from the Mecha Association.
Within a month, after completing the tasks and gathering materials, he pushed forward with full force, advancing all three mecha-related secondary professions to level three.
Upon hearing this, Zhenhua was shocked and immediately initiated a video call with Xu Yuan to provide remote guidance in forging.
After three months of continuously taking on level-two forging tasks and practicing daily in private, Xu Yuan successfully completed his first Thousand Refinement.
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Time passed
Two and a half years had elapsed since the first assessment.
Xu Yuan was now ten years old.
After two and a half years of growth, Xu Yuan's body had largely matured.
Standing at around 175 cm tall, his physique was well-proportioned yet exuded a sense of strength. The pride and sharpness in his gaze were unmistakable.
Youthful vigor radiated from him, his talent and ambition evident.
"Brother Yuan, Teacher Shen said we're going to participate in some grand competition at the Tianhai Alliance and insisted on bringing the three of us along," Xu Lizhi panted, delivering the latest itinerary update.
"The Tianhai Alliance?"
Xu Yuan frowned.
After three years of training at the academy, he was well aware that the academy often held exhibition matches during regional competitions across the continent. Outer court students with potential to enter the inner court were sent to various locations for these performances.
But they were already inner court disciples—they weren't part of that group.
Why, then, was Shen Yi insisting on sending the three of them to participate in this exhibition match?
And why specifically the Tianhai Alliance?
"Beep beep—"
A soul-guided communication alert sounded. Xu Yuan glanced at the caller ID—it was his uncle's number.
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