Now that the spirit ring had been obtained, Li Chang'an naturally had no reason to stay in the forest any longer. After resting for a night in the Heaven Soul Forest, he set out for Spirit City together with Bibi Dong.
On the journey back, Li Chang'an clearly noticed that Bibi Dong's attitude toward him had grown much warmer. The two of them got along quite well, laying a solid foundation for their future relationship. This trip could truly be considered a complete success.
Once they returned to Spirit City, Bibi Dong headed for the Hall of the Pope, while Li Chang'an made his way to the Spirit Hall Academy. After all, it was still just mid-morning, and he had just absorbed a near-millennium spirit ring—it would be a waste not to show off a little and rack up some points.
As soon as he stepped through the academy gates, Li Chang'an noticed a crowd heading toward the central training arena, with lively chatter filling the air.
"The Elephant Armored Clan is really going too far. This is nothing but bullying!"
"Exactly! They've focused all their training on defense, and now they insist on only dueling one-ring spirit Masters. How are we supposed to deal with that?"
Li Chang'an grabbed a passing student and asked, "Hey, what's going on?"
"You know how our Spirit Hall is about to start a partnership with the Elephant Armored Clan? Well, their disciples came here for a friendly exchange competition. Even their young sect master came along. The problem is... him."
"Oh? What's the issue with him?"
Li Chang'an was puzzled. The Elephant Armored Clan was just one of the four lower Clans—how could they have the gall to provoke the Spirit Hall Academy? More importantly, why did it seem like the academy students couldn't deal with him? That just didn't add up.
"You don't understand. That young master's spirit is a mammoth—massive defense power. Plus, he's been using rare herbs to temper his body since childhood. Everything about his training focuses on defense."
"He's only nine this year, but he's already huge. His spirit power has reached level 18. But the worst part? He's declared he'll only fight one-ring Spirit Masters—and the only way to win is to break through his defense. Isn't that just bullying?!"
As the student finished explaining, he quickly rushed off to the arena—the excitement was clearly growing.
Li Chang'an stroked his chin in thought. If he could show off in front of such a large crowd, would he earn enough points to advance to level 20 right on the spot?
Still, this young master from the Elephant Armored Clan was an interesting one—stacking everything on defense. If not for the fact that he had just absorbed a new spirit ring, Li Chang'an might not even be able to break through that defense.
Having made up his mind, Li Chang'an dashed toward the training arena!
Opposite him, a burly figure stood relaxed and confident. He was about 1.8 meters tall, muscles bulging, his skin seemingly coated with a dark, metallic sheen that shimmered under the light.
His nose was extended, his lips curled upward to reveal two fearsome tusks—he looked utterly domineering.
This was Huyan Li, young master of the Elephant Armored Clan, a true embodiment of defense-oriented power.
As the attacks from the Spirit Hall Academy student grew weaker, Hu Yanli gave a shake of his massive frame and flung the opponent aside with ease. Then he looked toward the crowd with open provocation.
"Who's next?!"
Xie Yue and the others down below looked incensed. If they weren't already two-ring Spirit Masters, they would've gone up to teach him a lesson.
"Just a dumb brute, and you think you can run wild here?"
All eyes turned toward the voice. The crowd instinctively parted, making way for a young boy, walking forward slowly and confidently.
"One move. That's all I need to finish this. Let me show you—Spirit Hall Academy is not to be trifled with!"
Li Chang'an ignored the murmurs around him, raised a single finger toward Huyan Li, and leapt up onto the stage.
"Heh, aren't you still drinking milk, little guy? Step aside," Huyan Li sneered. After releasing his spirit, he stood at a towering 1.8 meters. In his eyes, Li Chang'an was just a puny kid.
Li Chang'an didn't respond with anger. Instead, he calmly said, "Li Chang'an. Level 13 Battle Spirit Master. Please guide me."
As he spoke, he slowly raised one hand—and a dazzling pale purple spirit ring rose from beneath his feet, leaving everyone utterly stunned.
"A thousand-year ring? How is that even possible?!"
"This is..."
[Huyan Li. Points +1.]
[Qian Renxue. Points +2...]
The ding ding ding of notifications sounded again and again, making Li Chang'an very happy. This was exactly what he wanted. His system had made it clear—if he wanted to get stronger, he had to be high-profile!
Even though individual students didn't give many points, there were enough of them watching that he was sure to rack up over a thousand today. Whether he used it to upgrade his spirit ring to a full thousand-year or to raise his spirit power level—it should be more than enough!
"This—is—the power of Spirit Hall Academy."
Li Chang'an spoke faintly, his posturing hitting maximum effect.
The pale purple ring shone brilliantly, and in the next instant, a dark, ominous-looking axe appeared in his hand—raised high above his head!
From the Pangu Axe, a beam of purple light exploded out, moving so fast it tore through the air with a whistling boom!
Huyan Li activated his first spirit ring and braced himself for defense. This was the most terrifying strike he'd encountered today—without question.
"Haaah!"
Boom!
The purple light slammed into the living shield that was Huyan Li. A deep grunt escaped his lips as his body was flung backward more than ten steps before collapsing heavily to the ground.
"I said one move. Today, for the sake of the partnership between Spirit Hall and the Elephant Armored Clan—I'll let you off. Just this once."
Li Chang'an didn't say much. With his parting, dramatic line, he turned and walked offstage—only for another wave of notification chimes to flood his ears.
After stepping down, Li Chang'an made his way toward the elite class area, where he immediately spotted Qian Renxue just about to leave.
"Wait!" he called out, his voice slightly weak.
Though he hadn't used his full strength in that strike, he still felt a little dizzy—he needed a shoulder to lean on.
"You… you okay?" Qian Renxue asked. Though she didn't like this man much, seeing his unsteady gait still made her a bit concerned.
"N-not really…" Li Chang'an mumbled, then leaned right onto Qian Renxue's shoulder.
'Hmm… not as soft as Teacher's…'
"Hey! What do you think you're doing?!" Qian Renxue turned her head away, using her hand to try and push him off.
"That move drained me. Just let me lean on you… please…" Li Chang'an murmured as he stayed motionless against her shoulder.
Qian Renxue hesitated for a moment but ultimately resisted the urge to shove him away.
_____
T/N:
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