Chapter 84: with translation of chapter title

The first ray of morning sunlight streamed through the window of the academy dormitory, gently falling on Qian Renxue's face as she leisurely awoke from her cultivation, her waterfall-like golden hair shimmering with a soft glow in the sunlight's tender caress.

She slightly opened her bewitching violet eyes, which still held a trace of clarity and profundity from her cultivation.

Qian Renxue lightly parted her vermilion lips and exhaled a turbid breath, the aura seeming to carry an enchanting aftertone.

A gentle breeze lightly stirred the curtains, bringing in fresh air.

Qian Renxue rose, walked to the window, and gazed at the lively figures of the students outside, the corners of her mouth slightly turning up—how am I going to fool those two blockheads today? Last night's sword training, Qian Renxue gained a lot; Golden Phoenix watched blankly, the swordsmanship was really good, the Flame Phoenix Sword Technique was both cool and strong.

Sure enough, Xiao Yuan is too useless; he can't even wield such a powerful sword, and his super martial soul actually traded blows evenly with Yan's top-tier martial soul—also pretty interesting.

Last night, studying under a swordmaster, her Flame Phoenix Sword Technique had already entered the basics; the sword moves had been readjusted by Golden Phoenix, all that remained was painstaking practice, and the next step was to figure out how to cultivate sword intent and unleash true Flame Phoenix Sword Qi.

Flame Phoenix Sword Qi is not the sword aura Xiao Yuan unleashes when using Phoenix Transformation; the sword aura he emits is like Qian Renxue's Angelic Holy Sword's soul-power light pillar—both are merely accumulations of soul power, devoid of any will, relying purely on brute force to blast things apart.

Flame Phoenix Sword Qi does not rely on soul power but on sword intent—where the intent goes, the sword follows, burning everything; this method of using sword intent to drive sword qi can be said to be unheard of on the Douluo Continent, completely reversing ordinary cultivation methods.

Most sword-wielding soul masters whose martial soul quality reaches the advanced level or higher rely on soul power to emit sword qi, then employ their strong sword martial soul to imbue that sword qi with the martial soul's inherent sword intent.

Just like Sword Douluo, he uses soul power to drive sword qi, then integrates the Seven Slaughter Sword Intent of his Seven Slaughter Sword martial soul into the sword qi, pursuing the unity of man and sword—it is the soul master adapting to the sword, not the sword adapting to the soul master.

For soul masters with ordinary-quality sword martial souls, their martial souls lack strong inherent sword intent, so they seek to attach powerful soul rings, imbuing their sword martial soul with the spirit will of a soul beast to possibly attain sword intent; and only soul power that possesses will can be called sword qi when unleashed.

Otherwise, a pure soul-power light pillar cannot kill a person, unless it is like Qian Renxue's, whose total soul power is absurdly large.

Moreover, the two soul-power light pillars Qian Renxue let loose never killed anyone on their own; it was only after the Hell Douluo fired a second shot to finish the job that the victim died, and although Bibi Dong looked terrible, she wasn't vaporized by a single blast—precisely because a pure soul-power light pillar has too low lethality.

Once Qian Renxue truly possesses her own sword intent, then firing a light cannon will be the genuine EX curry stick, giving the Douluo Continent a simple middle part.

Ordinary sword martial soul masters seek the sword intent of their martial soul, but what Golden Phoenix teaches Qian Renxue is how to condense her own sword intent! It doesn't have to be a Flame Phoenix Sword Intent; even though Golden Phoenix is teaching, each person's will and thinking differ, so even if Qian Renxue studies the Flame Phoenix Heart Method, what she condenses may not necessarily be a Flame Phoenix Sword Intent.

The heart must be like a blazing fire, burning away all worldly fear; the intent must be like a gentle breeze, agile in governing myriad calamities.

Qian Renxue constantly recited the mantra Golden Phoenix taught her; sword intent is actually a soul master's mental will, and the next stage of her sword training is to use her vast mental power to condense her own Flame Phoenix Sword Intent.

Qian Renxue recited it several more times, yet still found herself without a clue; she understood the meaning of the mantra—nothing more than needing to advance fearlessly when drawing her sword, yet not act recklessly, flexibly changing her Flame Phoenix sword moves to ward off damage.

But merely understanding the meaning is useless; this sword intent thing is too mysterious—being able to emit sword qi without using soul power, relying solely on will, and how to condense it with mental power still eludes her.

Golden Phoenix said sword intent relies on personal realization; with sufficient mental power, once the insight comes, it will naturally form, letting Qian Renxue recite the mantra when idle—someday she will have an epiphany, and being told by others would instead hinder the cultivation of her own sword intent.

Outside, the sky had already grown bright; Qian Renxue shook her head, washed up, then went downstairs to meet the others.

The six of them went to the cafeteria for breakfast; worth mentioning is that today Jun martial soul and Xiao Yuan desperately shoved food onto Qian Renxue's plate, fearing she wouldn't eat enough, which made Hu Liena angry enough to break down on the spot—feeding Xuanzheng Ling isn't that her privilege? How did Xiao Yuan and Jun martial soul start competing with her over it?

Damn, even this can be sucked up? Hu Liena silently cursed those two dead sycophants.

Usually the Spirit Hall Academy does not require students to attend theoretical classes in the classroom, but today is the academy examination; every student must go to the classroom to check in, line up, and participate in the academy examination.

Therefore, today the six did not go to the simulated environment training hall; when the six arrived at the teaching building, they happened to hear the bell ring.

Jun martial soul led the five toward the first classroom on the left side of the first floor, which bore a sign for Class One; this was Qian Renxue's first time entering her own class.

At that moment, the spacious classroom was already filled with people.

As soon as Qian Renxue stepped through the door, she noticed the entire classroom's gaze fixed on her, and she muttered to herself, 'What's going on? Haven't they seen a new student before?'

"It's him! Xuanzheng Ling! Possessor of a nineteenth-level Divine Angel martial soul!"

"Holy crap, I've never seen an Angel martial soul master before, and he's really good-looking."

"I really want to be friends with him! But he's a member of the class monitor's squad, so he probably wouldn't look down on us."

Hu Liena, asserting her dominance, clung to Qian Renxue's arm and glared at the students who wanted to approach.

Because Qian Renxue's group of six arrived last, the classroom's empty seats were scarce and mostly scattered; Qian Renxue thought they'd have to sit separately, but Jun martial soul went straight to the back row and slapped the desk.

Jun martial soul coldly stared at those few students and commanded, 'You all move to the front; I'm taking these six seats.'

Those few were quite savvy, sycophantically making way: 'Sure thing, class monitor, take a seat!'

"Come on, come on, come on! Don't spoil the class monitor's mood—we're still waiting for him to lead us in thrashing those sixth-year bastards!"

Jun martial soul walked to the center and pulled Qian Renxue to sit beside him.

Qian Renxue didn't expect Jun martial soul to have such prestige in this class; he's a chuunibyo, aloof and disdainful of the weak, yet he somehow has so many admirers—indeed, on the Douluo Continent, the strong are revered.

Hu Liena was about to move to sit on Qian Renxue's right when she discovered the spot had been snatched by Xiao Yuan, making her furious.

"Hey! What's going on with you two? What about me?"

"Alright, alright, the teacher's coming soon; Nana, just make do and sit down—after all, we're in the same row, so there's no difference."

Without Jun martial soul's reminder, Xie Yue expertly began to groom, letting Hu Liena feel more at ease.

In front of the teacher, Hu Liena acted like a good girl; now she couldn't lose her temper, so she could only sit with her arms crossed, fuming, beside Jun martial soul.

Yan immediately sycophantically sat on Hu Liena's other side.

After everyone sat down, Qian Renxue finally had a chance to observe her surroundings.

There were probably only twenty-plus students in her class, with just three classes per grade, barely enough to muster over sixty; in this era, soul masters are too few—even though the Spirit Hall freely helps civilians awaken martial souls, the number of soul masters still fails to increase each year.

Most of the students here have powerful backing; the few commoners are those with exceptional talent, like Jun martial soul and his group.

Perhaps because even the lowest martial soul here is advanced, the students in Class One are all decent-looking, but none have that striking appearance that makes you unforgettable at a glance; likely there are no soul masters possessing top-tier martial souls.

Just then, a middle-aged man with a fair complexion entered through the classroom door, his attire immaculate, appearing quite strict.

He looked not young, yet his back was ramrod straight; after a few steps he reached the podium—undoubtedly he was the teacher of Grade One, Class One.

Upon seeing the teacher enter, the previously noisy discussion among the classmates about Xuanzheng Ling instantly quieted, and their gazes all turned to the podium.

The middle-aged man's gaze calmly swept over the class; only when he saw Jun martial soul's group of six did a faint smile appear on his face.

Then his gaze softened as he looked at Xuanzheng Ling—this is the Divine Angel soul master the principal spoke of.

"Today a new student has joined our class, so let me reintroduce myself: my name is Fu Fang, the homeroom teacher of Class One; Xuanzheng Ling, if you have any questions, feel free to ask me directly."

Fu Fang saw Qian Renxue nod, then continued speaking:

"Students, today is the academy's examination; this examination has some changes, differing from the entrance exam—this time not every student will get to participate."

"This is not an examination for ordinary people; it is the Spirit Hall's selection of geniuses."

"Each grade selects its seven strongest students, then they engage in an inter-grade team battle."

"Our Class One is the strongest class, so the seven nominees naturally all come from our class; I have already selected six of them: Jun martial soul, Xuanzheng Ling, Xiao Yuan, Yan, Hu Liena, and Xie Yue."

As for the seventh spot, if any classmate wants to sign up, they can do so now.

Of course, if other classmates want to show themselves, they can also challenge the six players I selected.

Fufang looked at Jun martial soul's six people; this examination was actually specially prepared for this team, as someone in the upper echelons of the Spirit Hall wanted to see their progress.

Upon hearing Fufang's words, the originally quiet classroom became noisy again, but not because anyone was eager to sign up; instead, the students were recommending other classmates to compete.

We don't even have our first soul ring; going up there would just be getting beaten, right?

We might as well rely on the class monitor; we just need to lie back and watch. If the monitor wins, our class wins, and if our class wins, we win!

But what about the last spot? Who would volunteer to go up and get beaten?

Fufang helplessly rubbed his forehead; these kids had all been scared witless by Jun martial soul. He could guess that no one wanting to challenge would show up today, but he didn't expect that not even a single person would sign up for the match.

This opportunity is really rare; Classes Two and Three don't even have a chance to participate. Taking part in the match is equivalent to entering the sight of the Spirit Hall's upper echelons. Sometimes a single glance can lead to vastly different outcomes, and performing even slightly better afterward can lead to smooth sailing.

Jun martial soul saw Fufang hesitating over the seventh pick, arms crossed, and said, 'Teacher Fufang, my team doesn't need weaklings; it's just a small academy competition—six of us are enough.' Hearing this, a petite figure quickly lowered the hand they had half-raised.

Xiao Yuan glared at Jun martial soul with dissatisfaction. He had taken two pills last night and was only rank seven now; he could no longer beat a great soul master, yet Jun martial soul still wanted to show off. He couldn't be more steady—having more people on stage to help absorb damage would be good.

Fufang looked at Xu Yu, whose face was red like a quail. This kid had just mustered the courage to sign up, but Jun martial soul's comment embarrassed him; his skin was too thin, so Fufang needed to give him a push.

In Xu Yu's delighted gaze, Fufang proposed to Jun martial soul: 'martial soul, how about letting Xu Yu take the seventh spot? Your six-person team has only Hu Liena as a control type, with the rest being pure assault types; adding another assault wouldn't mean much. Xu Yu's soul power is rank seven, and his auxiliary Golden Scepter might give you a decent boost. What do you think?'

Jun martial soul raised his eyebrows, thinking the proposal was rather ordinary. For someone like him, a transmigrator pursuing personal strength, auxiliary types are the most useless soul masters. He doesn't even think highly of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tower, let alone Xu Yu, who lacks even a soul ring; the enhancement would be pitifully small, and going on stage would serve no purpose beyond showing his face.

Jun martial soul coldly said, 'Teacher Fufang, this examination is prepared for geniuses. Our team will face three rank-six great soul masters. A soul master without a soul ring in an auxiliary role is meaningless; better to fight six against seven, which could also raise our evaluation in the Spirit Hall's upper echelons.'

Xu Yu gritted his teeth and clenched his fists; he wanted to prove himself to Jun martial soul, but he also shrank back a little out of fear.

Fufang's gaze also held some regret; he too wanted his students to have a better future, but Jun martial soul was acting for himself and his teammates. He saw no need to force a weak auxiliary member, nor did he want to divert resources to outsiders; Xu Yu wasn't someone he acknowledged as a teammate.

Fufang looked at Xu Yu, head down and silent, and sighed. If Xu Yu himself didn't strive for it, even as a teacher there was nothing he could do.

If that's the case, then our class will go into battle.

'Please wait a moment.' Xu Yu trembled as he stood up, first bowing gratefully to Teacher Fufang, then taking a deep breath, turning to the last row where Jun martial soul sat, and saying, 'Monitor, could you hear me out for a few sentences?'

'You may speak, but I don't think you can convince me.'

Xu Yu clenched his fists: 'Monitor, I watched your battle against the sixth-year Ling Kuang and Tuoba Chen; with just one soul ring you suppressed two top-tier beast martial soul great soul masters. That was the first time I saw a true peerless genius, and I want to follow you!'

'Even when your soul power was exhausted and you were defeated by Qian Feng Hua, you struggled not to fall; that aloof pride makes me yearn for you, so... so... please give me a chance, let me join you! Please!'

Yan wore an expression of seeing a kindred spirit; although Xu Yu is rather weak, his vision is still not bad, after all—Jun martial soul is the strongest!

Qian Renxue gave Jun martial soul a strange glance; it turned out the three great soul masters of the Martial Soul Academy are all descendants of the three Grandmasters, whom Qian Renxue has known since childhood, especially Qian Feng Hua, whose recent relationship with her is close—yet she hadn't expected Jun martial soul to have lost to him before.

Jun martial soul felt secretly pleased, but his expression remained icy and unmoved: 'You're too weak; even if I accepted you, you couldn't keep up with our pace—why make things hard for yourself?'

Xiao Yuan oddly looked at Jun martial soul: 'This pretentiousness is off; normally Jun martial soul would boast that longing is the farthest distance from understanding, right? Why would he pass up such a perfect chance to show off?'

Xiao Yuan's face darkened; 'This damn show-off won't just have been pleased by flattery, right? He truly wants to take him as a little brother.'

'Even so! By then, you can discard me however you like—I just want to follow you! I want to stand beside you!'

Xu Yu's face was flushed with excitement; every auxiliary soul master harbors a desire for close combat, and Jun martial soul is his ideal self—he wants to see just how far Jun martial soul can go.

Jun martial soul snorted contemptuously: 'Hmph, the only one qualified to stand beside me is Yue Zheng Ling.'

'I'm sorry.' Xu Yu lowered his head, feeling dejected; yeah, he doesn't even have a first soul ring.

Xiao Yuan, face dark, spoke softly:

'When Yan fought me earlier, he used his bloodline power, but he hasn't recovered yet; he only has one ring, his physique isn't like yours, he lacks such strong recuperation—at least a week before he can use his bloodline power again.'

'Are you sure about six versus seven? I'm only rank seven in soul power now, and Yan and the other two only have the strength of one-ring soul masters; the three of them can barely hold off three one-ring opponents, maybe not even that. I'm just going to lose badly, so by then you and Ling'er will have to at least hold off two against four as a minimum.'

Xiao Yuan specifically reminded Jun martial soul: 'Don't let your showing off backfire—your Phoenix Flame Sword is gone, you currently have no combat strength, and Yan now counts only as an ordinary one-ring soul master.'

Jun martial soul gave Xiao Yuan a disdainful cold snort, using soul power to force sound into a line.

'In that case, adding an auxiliary would be even less meaningful; I and Ling'er would have to waste effort protecting him—this match only needs me and Ling'er to be enough.'

Jun martial soul coldly looked at Xu Yu and said:

'Since you're my admirer, just know your place—the spectator seats are where you belong.'

Xu Yu sat down, spiritless, still having been rejected.

Although Jun martial soul enjoys the feeling of being admired, weakness is weakness—does being his admirer obligate him to help them?

Fufang looked at Xu Yu with some regret; after all, he just wasn't that lucky.

The examination area of the Martial Soul Academy is behind the teaching building, adjacent to the dormitory zone.

Compared to the dormitory area, the examination zone is much larger; for the Martial Soul Academy's students, this is a paradise where outstanding pupils can display themselves. Lower-cultivation students don't even qualify to step onto the stage, and most of the academy's examinations take place here.

The examination area is oval-shaped, a flat expanse like a soul-dueling arena.

Around it is a low wall, while inside it is divided into sections by partitions that can be dismantled at any time to change the size of the areas.

In past years, the entrance examinations were held when the examination area was divided into the most sections—not only because there were many new students, but also because newcomers' destructive power and attack range are limited, so a large area isn't needed for them to demonstrate their abilities.

This examination featured only six teams competing, so the partitions were all removed, and a massive group battle soul-dueling platform was erected in the middle; this dueling platform is about four hundred square meters.

Fufang led his class's students to the examination area, pointing out the waiting zone for competitors to Qian Renxue and her six teammates, telling them where to wait for notice, while he took the other students to the spectator seats to watch.

Likewise, the other-year students who came to compete here have already arrived; some look apprehensive, others clench their fists. The oldest sixth-graders are only eleven or twelve years old, unable to hide anything in their hearts, and when they glance at each other, hostility is clearly evident.

'All year representatives, please pay attention, all year representatives please pay attention: enter the examination area immediately to prepare for the group battle. There are still ten minutes to enter; after that, latecomers will be treated as having forfeited this examination.'

Xiao Yuan unconsciously clenched his fists; he was the one with the least confidence—his soul power is only rank seven, and he has no soul rings left; what does he have to fight with?

Qian Renxue placed her left hand on Xiao Yuan's shoulder: 'Don't worry, I'll protect you.'

Jun martial soul likewise nodded at Xiao Yuan: 'Stay calm; in this examination you should stay back a bit. Lacking strength is just being powerless—two months have passed, don't you get it yet? When you train later, work harder, and don't make decisions you'll regret.'

Hu Liena and her two companions oddly looked at the three of them, feeling that Xiao Yuan had changed a lot—he was actually nervous, and he didn't arrogantly claim he could take on three opponents; it was truly strange.

……

Among the sixth-year team.

Ling Kuang oddly looked at his close brother beside him and asked, 'What's wrong? Feng Hua, why are you absent-minded?'

The handsome youth gazed somewhat blankly at the golden figure beside Jun martial soul; that silhouette inexplicably reminded him of Xiao Xue.

He pursed his lips, then asked: "Who is the person beside Jun martial soul? Does anyone know him?"

Tuoba Chen moved his body, emitting a crackling sound of bones colliding, while complaining about Qian Gu Feng Hua and tilting his head to look where Qian Gu Feng Hua was staring.

"Geez, today we have to fight Jun martial soul again; that kid is a monster, Feng Hua, you're our main force, be reliable—can't let a first-year look down on us."

"Huh? This kid looks a bit familiar; he feels a bit like Xiao Xue."

Tuoba Chen strangely rubbed his eyes, doubting his own sight.

Ling Kuang suddenly burst out laughing: "You damn simp, you think everyone looks like Xiao Xue; back when you confessed to Xiao Xue and got rejected on the spot, you're still hung up on her."

Apparently feeling the sharp gaze of his companion, Ling Kuang's tone wavered:

"Xiao Xue didn't say we'd use her to practice the tea ceremony, did she? You insisted on taking it seriously, but it's really just you wanting to be a clown—I couldn't stop you."

"What? What do you mean clown? Don't just pick up a few words from Xiao Xue and start using them randomly!"

Tuoba Chen gave Ling Kuang the husky-eye signal on the spot, indicating that this big oaf shouldn't bring up that topic! Xiao Xue's guy is also something—he refused so cleanly and decisively! Hahaha, well, actually he doesn't even like Qian Renxue that much; she's not that pretty, and she's kinda petty and pretentious.

Once he achieves cultivation, he'll definitely have to fight her when he returns to the Offering Hall—Tuoba Chen thought, gritting his teeth.

Qian Gu Feng Hua gave Qian Renxue a deep look, slowly turning the jade-colored thumb ring on his left hand, and said:

"This kid, go easy on him during the team battle later—don't hurt him."

"Yeah!"

Tuoba Chen snapped out of his past black history and immediately declared boldly.

"Feng Hua, don't worry! He's just a first-year kid—it's not like everyone's Jun martial soul; I can let him use one hand!"

Ling Kuang scoffed with a spit: "You're good at bragging, but when things go wrong you still rely on Feng Hua to cover for you—last time whoever got beaten by Jun martial soul like a dog, and that White Armored Earth Dragon genius who appears once a century, truly shameless."

Tuoba Chen couldn't be bothered with him, just focusing on adjusting his state—this time he'll definitely get his revenge! 6400, am I fierce or not? I only rushed out after getting home past seven at night, brothers, please vote for tickets! (End of chapter)