Chapter 107: The Soul Fighting Tour Begins

"Why is the light on in the dormitory?"

Before even entering the door, Yu Feng's familiar voice drifted in.

"Xiao Quan, you finally remembered to come back?"

The dormitory door opened, and everyone immediately saw Shi Quan in the main hall.

"Haven't seen me in so long, did you miss me?" Shi Quan said with a smile.

"Who would miss a grown man like you." Yu Feng laughed, then looked at Ye Lingling to the side, "Though the others might not be so sure!"

Everyone naturally knew who Yu Feng was referring to, and their gazes fell in unison upon Ye Lingling; her complexion flushed a shade redder, though with the veil covering her face, no one noticed.

"What were you all doing out so late?"

"Where else could we go? Getting beaten up at the Spirit Arena." Yu Feng said with a bitter face, lying on the sofa.

"Went on a long trip?" Shi Quan raised an eyebrow, "It's fine, then tomorrow I'll just leave a letter at Dugu's House; we can talk about it when Dugu Bo returns."

Even if there is a gap, it is only a gap of about one level.

Yu Feng is level 36.

"Yes, everything is handled. By the way, Sister Yanzi, after the Soul Fighting ends tomorrow, take me to see Dugu Bo; I have something to ask him."

"It's you getting beaten up." Dugu Yan emphasized with a smile.

"Teacher Qin, could you have the academy help me forge a better sword based on this blueprint?" Shi Quan handed the blueprint in his hand to Qin Ming.

Dugu Yan frowned and said, "What is it? Is it urgent?"

"Then you guys keep chatting, I'll go ask first."

Ye Lingling is also level 36.

Dugu Yan's strength was indeed much stronger than in the original story; although she was also level 39, the density of her soul power was even higher than Yu Tianheng's. Barring any accidents, she would definitely be the first person in the Imperial Fighting Team to reach a Breakthrough to level 40.

"Grandpa, he came to see me specifically the day before yesterday, saying he had something to take care of and had to go on a long trip. I'm not sure exactly when he'll be back."

Currently, the strength of everyone is not much different from the original story.

"Team Match? With the seven of us here, we have absolutely nothing to fear." Yu Feng said with a chuckle.

Dugu Yan asked first, "Xiao Quan, have you finished handling your business?"

Besides exercising individual ability, the team also needs to start honing their coordination.

Qin Ming looked at the blueprint in his hand, remembered something, and then nodded, "Although your sword is a bit strange, it's not troublesome. The academy has the materials. I'll go ask the Education Committee Member; if things go smoothly, it can be done in a day."

Qin Ming said, "Since Xiao Quan is back, starting tomorrow, besides the Individual Match and the two-on-two Soul Fighting Tournament, you should start preparing for the Team Match."

Qin Ming left with the blueprint.

The strength of the two Shi brothers is both level 38.

Yu Tianheng is still level 39.

"It's fine."

There is no rush for the Immortal Herb matter these few days. If Dugu Bo is not around, and he takes the Immortal Herb for Dugu Yan and Ye Lingling to consume, it would inevitably make people suspect that he possesses Immortal Herbs, which would be troublesome for him.

The group began to chat idly.

Soon, news came from Qin Ming's side that the academy had already started preparing the sword Shi Quan needed.

Everyone had the chef prepare a feast to welcome Shi Quan back, and it wasn't until late at night that they returned to their respective rooms to rest.

The next day.

The morning training ended. Because of the Soul Fighting in the evening, the afternoon training time was halved to better prepare.

The evening Soul Fighting tournament began quickly. Without a doubt, whether it was the Individual Match, the two-on-two Soul Fighting Tournament, or the Team Match, as long as Shi Quan was present, they won the matches very easily.

After the Soul Fighting ended, Dugu Yan and Shi Quan went to Dugu Bo's house, left the letter, and then returned to the academy with the others.

After returning to the academy, the long sword that Shi Quan had asked the academy to forge was also delivered. The long sword was extremely sharp and felt cold to the touch; one look and it was clear it was forged from good iron.

With the long sword, Shi Quan's sword practice was also put on the agenda.

Just like that, a few more days passed.

Heaven Dou City Great Soul Arena.

Inside the lounge, Qin Ming sat at the table, his brows slightly furrowed, "I believe everyone has noticed that although our team has achieved consecutive victories in the Team Match recently, we have basically relied on the stable control of Xiao Quan's martial soul to gain the initiative. Setting aside this factor, the individual ability and team coordination of the other members have not been well reflected. I believe this goes against the original intention of actual combat."

"Victory is certainly important, but honing oneself through battle is even more important."

After hearing this, the main team members all showed expressions of embarrassment.

Shi Quan's Blue Silver King martial soul's control ability is indeed a bit fierce; as long as they are bound, they almost never break free, which has led to them, the main attackers, basically playing the role of reapers.

Although the winning streak is satisfying, they really didn't put in much effort to achieve victory.

"Xiao Quan, what do you think about this?" Qin Ming looked at Shi Quan.

Shi Quan also discovered this problem. The Blue Silver King's control power is powerful, and by relying on the superiority of the Spirit Ring Year Limit, the power of Shi Quan's soul skill is several times that of theirs for the same skill.

Shi Quan said, "How about this: in the upcoming matches, Sister Yanzi will replace me as the team's main controller. The Soul Fighting Tournament does not restrict the use of weapons, so I will switch to being a main attacker, using the sword to attack and not using my martial soul. Anyway, I have been practicing my Sword Technique recently."

Qin Ming nodded. Actually, this was his intention as well, because in the Soul Fighting Tournament these past few days, Shi Quan had gradually started using a long sword in the Individual Match in addition to using his martial soul. Since Shi Quan wanted to practice the sword, then he should practice it thoroughly. Without his control, the entire team could also better hone their coordination.

"We'll do as you say. Then everyone go sign up for your Individual Matches, and I'll go sign up for today's Team Match."

Everyone nodded and stood up in unison, walking toward the registration window.

Since he wanted to practice the sword, Shi Quan simply didn't even use his martial soul in the Individual Match, facing the enemy purely with the sword.

The winning streak of the past few days caused him to be matched with a level 39 Beast Spirit master, who happened to be the thick-skinned type.

Without a doubt, he lost the first match. The Nine Swords of Dugu Sword Technique is profound; even though Shi Quan's comprehension had transformed many times, it was not something he could grasp in just a few days. In the end, he was forced by this beast spirit master who pushed forward through injuries, which disrupted Shi Quan's sword technique. The opponent found a flaw and forcibly pushed him off the ring.

Although he lost, this battle also gave Shi Quan quite a harvest.

As for the team battle, the result was a narrow victory.

Without Shi Quan's stable control, the problems between the team members were quickly exposed.

The strength of both sides in this battle was equal. Because there was no stable control from Shi Quan, the team's shortcomings in experience and coordination were immediately magnified. If it weren't for Shi Quan finding a flaw and tearing a hole in the opponent's formation, this Soul Fighting match would likely have ended in a loss.

These two battles also gave Shi Quan a new understanding of the Nine Swords of Dugu.

The nine swords: Sword Breaking, Blade Breaking, Spear Breaking, Whip Breaking, Rope Breaking, Palm Breaking, Arrow Breaking, and Qi Breaking.

From beginning to end, it emphasizes the word "break."

This is the essence of the Nine Swords of Dugu: to anticipate the enemy's moves, observe the flaws in the opponent's techniques, then strike after the enemy but arrive first, exploiting the opening to win in a single move.

One must be precise when drawing the sword; if you do not strike, so be it, but once you do, it must be astonishing!

After the matches ended and everyone gathered, a summary was naturally unavoidable.

Regarding everyone's performance today, it was further decided that Shi Quan cannot use his martial soul in subsequent matches.

The next day, Shi Quan won both his Individual Match and his two-on-two Soul Fighting match, but the team lost the Team Match.

The problems between the team members were even more apparent; coordination was one, and another was that when facing unfavorable situations, the attackers were too impatient, preventing their individual abilities from being fully utilized, leading to repeated suppression and an inexplicable defeat in the end.

As for Shi Quan's performance, it remained very stable; his purpose for Soul Fighting, besides tempering the team, was more about practicing his sword technique. He did not take winning or losing very seriously.

Beyond comprehension, the Nine Swords of Dugu require even more accumulation.

Take the simple, most basic Sword Breaking Form, which includes countering long swords, soft swords, heavy swords, short swords, and various other styles of sword-type weapons.

Although it is just one sword and one form, the variations are endless; when facing all kinds of opponents, the same Sword Technique can produce many changes, and as time goes on, these many changes will merge into one, with the former and latter forms becoming thoroughly integrated, and the Nine Swords of Dugu will naturally come to fruition.

On the third day, the team lost again, and the continuous blows made everyone clearly realize their respective shortcomings.

On the fourth day, although they won, in the days that followed, the results were mixed, and their points did not drop too miserably.

However, as everyone's coordination became more tacit and their experience accumulated, their win rate slowly climbed back up.

Time flew by, and more than half a month later.

Watching them return to the academy after just finishing their battles, Qin Ming said: "The first stage of training is about here; next, I will give everyone two days of rest."

"After that, we will set off for the Soul Fighting Arenas in other major cities to challenge different opponents. Further improving team coordination, especially the ability to adapt on the spot, is the main theme of our next stage of practical training."

"Understood." Everyone nodded in unison.

"Very well, then you may rest." Qin Ming continued: "The carriage for our trip will arrive at the academy gate in two days; gather at the academy gate then."

"Got it." Everyone responded.

Shi Quan took the lead in turning his head to look at Dugu Yan and asked: "Sister Yanzi, do you know where Grandpa Dugu has gone? He hasn't returned for so long."

Dugu Yan shook her head, "I don't know, but the longest time Grandpa has been away on a long trip was two months. I think it shouldn't exceed two months; at most a month, he should be back."

Shi Quan nodded.

A few days later, on the west side of Heaven Dou City, in the Hagen-Dazs Kingdom, at the Great Soul Arena of Hagen-Dazs City.

Hagen-Dazs City, as the starting station for everyone's touring Team Match, officially kicked off.

Just like the battles in Heaven Dou City, Shi Quan maintained the use of a long sword from beginning to end and never used his martial soul; Shi Quan was also happy to see this, as it gave him more time to practice his Sword Technique.

Time passed day by day like this, until a few days later, when the team finished their training in Hagen-Dazs City and set off for Xilu City.

The cities Qin Ming chose were all carefully selected; before setting off, he would confirm in advance that there were teams in these cities worthy of the Imperial Fighting Team taking action against.