'Elder Ye, is that person really a girl?' Huo Yuhao couldn't help but ask in his mind.
'You think I'm wrong about something this basic?'
Elder Ye replied irritably, "Everyone carries a unique aura, and there are fundamental differences between men and women. That kid is practically radiating yin energy—definitely a girl, no doubt about it. As for why she's disguising herself as a boy… she probably has her own reasons."
'You can tell just from that?' Huo Yuhao was amazed. It felt like his worldview had just expanded.
Just then, the cross-dressing girl had already turned and left the room.
Not wanting to fall behind, Huo Yuhao quickly followed.
The space outside the dormitory was quite large, enough for a proper sparring session.
"Wang Dong."
"Huo Yuhao."
They exchanged names.
Then, Wang Dong stood where she was, beckoning at Huo Yuhao with a finger, her expression full of disdain. She might as well have written "beneath me" on her forehead.
Seeing her smug look, Huo Yuhao found her increasingly irritating. Originally, after learning from Elder Ye that she was a girl, he'd felt a bit more understanding—figuring she must have had a good reason to disguise herself as a boy. Maybe she had no choice. He'd even thought about giving her a little leeway.
But now, with that punchable expression of hers, Huo Yuhao couldn't help but revise his judgment. She was probably just some pampered noble's daughter out to "experience life," someone completely disconnected from reality. Absolutely infuriating.
He made up his mind. No matter the outcome, he was going to teach this arrogant girl a lesson.
At that moment, Elder Ye's voice rang in his mind: "Yuhao, your soul power and hers are worlds apart. If you fight head-on, you'll lose for sure. But… you've got an advantage. Listen carefully, and do exactly as I say…"
Meanwhile, the old man lounging at the dormitory entrance raised his head slightly. A flicker of curiosity sparked in his dull eyes as he watched the two with growing interest.
A faint golden light flashed in Huo Yuhao's eyes as a white soul ring rose beneath his feet. His Spirit Eyes martial soul was activated, and soul power surged within him—ready to strike with a single thought.
Seeing his "ten-year soul ring," Wang Dong laughed lightly. "I'm curious how someone like you even got into this school. With skills like that, you think you can take me on? I don't even need to use my martial soul."
As she spoke, Wang Dong tapped her left foot against the ground and shot toward Huo Yuhao like an arrow. Her movements were lightning-fast and impressively agile. In the blink of an eye, she was right in front of him, lifting her right leg to kick him straight in the chest.
At that critical moment, Huo Yuhao suddenly lifted his head sharply. The exaggerated motion instinctively drew Wang Dong's gaze to his face—and to his glowing, golden eyes.
In the next instant, she felt as if someone had taken a steel nail and hammered it directly into the crown of her head.
An overwhelming, blinding pain exploded in her mind.
"Ahhh!!"
She let out a pained scream. Her body lost all coordination, her lifted leg twisting awkwardly as she collapsed and tumbled several times across the ground.
By the time she came to a stop, her eyes were rolled back, foam dribbled from her lips, and she looked… completely broken.
The sight startled Huo Yuhao. He hadn't meant to actually hurt her that badly!
Panicked, he cried out in his mind, "Elder Ye, is she okay?! Why was she so easy to defeat?"
'Calm down, Yuhao.'
Elder Ye replied leisurely, 'Though your soul power is lower, your spiritual power far surpasses hers. That's all thanks to the sacrifice of that little worm. Even though most of its power is sealed, the residual effects significantly enhanced your spirit. You're now far stronger than other soul masters at your level.'
'In your era, soul masters can't train their spiritual power directly. It only improves through leveling up or gaining specific soul rings. That's your edge.'
'Given that she had no defense—and not even the ability to defend against a spiritual attack—it's completely normal that she got wrecked by a single strike,' Elder Ye added.
'So that's how it is…'
The explanation clicked for Huo Yuhao. Then he asked curiously, "Elder Ye, the technique you taught me just now—was that a self-created soul skill? It felt incredibly powerful."
What he had done was far more than just unleashing raw spiritual pressure. Under Elder Ye's guidance, he had condensed his spiritual power into a formless nail and drove it straight into his opponent's mind!
'A self-created soul skill? I suppose you could call it that,' Elder Ye replied.
'You've got immense spiritual potential, but you don't know the first thing about using it. You're completely reliant on those four rigid soul skills granted by that bloated bug's ring. This isn't just your problem—it's a common issue among all soul masters these days. Frankly, your generation of soul masters is utterly backward.'
'A true soul master shouldn't rely solely on skills gifted by soul rings. You should be developing techniques based on your martial soul's characteristics. In other words, creating your own. That's what a real, creative soul master does!'
'And honestly, those four "abilities" granted by Iceworm's soul ring? They're nothing more than basic applications of spiritual power. If you want, I can teach you how to replicate each of them manually—no soul ring required.'
'Like the move I just showed you—it was just a simple technique to condense spiritual energy for better efficiency. Nothing complicated,' he said with a hint of disdain.
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao was deeply inspired.
Tianmeng Iceworm had granted him four skills: Spiritual Detection, Spiritual Sharing, Spiritual Interference, and Spiritual Shock.
The names alone said everything about their effects.
Spiritual Detection? Just extending spiritual power to perceive the environment.
Spiritual Sharing? Linking his spiritual awareness with another person to share perspectives.
Spiritual Interference? Using spiritual power to disrupt someone's senses.
Spiritual Shock? Using it to attack the opponent's mind, causing dizziness, unconsciousness, and so on.
Were any of these truly hard to replicate?
The only real difference between soul ring skills and self-developed techniques was convenience. The soul ring gave them ready-made—you didn't need to understand how they worked or train to use them. Just activate, and done.
But once the ring was gone, so were the skills.
By contrast, if he mastered them on his own, then even if the soul ring vanished, the abilities would still be his.
So in a sense, gaining soul skills from rings was a shortcut—a form of cheating. And like all shortcuts, it made people lazy, dulled their creativity, and left the art of cultivation stagnant.
Ten thousand years had passed, and soul masters were still doing things the same way.
No progress at all.
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