At the Soul Dueling Platform in the plaza, Gai Yue stepped up without hesitation, and Oscar closely followed.
Standing on the platform, Gai Yue's icy voice rang out once again:
"I promised Brother Fu that if you pass my trial, I'll stay at Shrek for five years as your swordsmanship instructor."
Oscar bowed respectfully:
"Junior thanks Senior in advance. Please administer any trial as you see fit. I, Oscar, will give it my all."
Gai Yue looked at the polite and confident boy before him. For the first time, he felt that this decision to leave seclusion might actually be the right one.
But whether Oscar was truly the prodigy Flender claimed only the trial would tell.
At a nearby corner, a few heads peeked out. Ma Hongjun asked Flender:
"Teacher, how come I've never heard of this Senior Gai Yue before? Can he really teach Oscar bro swordsmanship?"
Flender flicked Ma Hongjun on the head:
"When I met him, you hadn't even been born yet. Of course you don't know him."
Zhao Wuji chuckled and added:
"We met Brother Gai Yue when the Academy was broke and the two of us took on soul beast hunting missions. At the time, Gai Yue had just broken through to Rank 60. He was younger than us, but reached Soul Emperor before we did. Still, despite his talent, he always acted alone."
Ma Hongjun guessed correctly:
"So back then, Gai Yue was solo hunting his sixth soul ring? And you two just happened to find him?"
Flender nodded:
"Exactly. He was being besieged by three ten thousand year soul beasts. One of them was over 30,000 years old. Even if Zhao and I had fought together, we might not have been able to win."
"When we found him, he was heavily wounded. At first, we didn't want to get involved it was too dangerous."
Ma Hongjun asked,
"So why did you help?"
Flender's face turned slightly red. Zhao Wuji laughed:
"He offered us 50,000 gold soul coins to save him. The Academy was dead broke, and this guy here couldn't resist the money."
Ma Hongjun gave Flender a look that screamed "That tracks."
Zhao Wuji continued:
"We'd just helped a Soul King obtain their fifth ring, and were about to leave, but with that kind of money on the table, we teamed up with our employer and stepped in."
"Turned out, two of the three soul beasts were already injured. The 30,000year one was relatively healthy, but with two Soul Emperors and one Soul King jumping in, it backed down."
Ma Hongjun and Shao Xin stared at Gai Yue on the platform, shocked.
He was strong enough to survive that battle alone at just Rank 60?
Zhao Wuji added:
"After the fight, we took care of him while he recovered. Later, when he needed help obtaining his sixth ring, he asked us again. We grew close during those months. The boss even tried recruiting him to Shrek, but he refused he was obsessed with growing stronger and revenge."
"Still, he contacted us when he needed help again with his seventh ring, and we've remained close since. I really didn't expect he'd come out of seclusion."
Flender smirked:
"Well, who do you think I am? I asked personally. But whether he stays or not depends on Little Ao."
Back on the dueling platform, Gai Yue turned serious:
"The most important thing in swordsmanship is the heart. So my trial is simple."
Oscar nodded slightly. This alone told him that Gai Yue was no ordinary figure.
Gai Yue continued:
"But even with a good heart, I need to see your strength. Attack me with full force. Show me what you've got."
Oscar didn't hesitate. As Gai Yue finished speaking, Oscar raised his left hand. A cyan glow burst forth, and a 1.2meter jade sword materialized in his grasp.
Gai Yue's eyes gleamed slightly. He had already been informed by Flender:
Oscar doesn't have a sword martial soul. His weapon is formed by an external soul bone that lets him condense a sword equivalent to those wielded by weapon type soul masters.
A rare and highly versatile ability.
Oscar sprang forward, sword flashing toward Gai Yue's face.
Despite only two months of training, Oscar had already internalized some foundational sword techniques and even created some of his own.
Gai Yue didn't summon his martial soul. He merely brought his index and middle finger together, forming a one meter long icy blue sword aura.
"Two Fingers as Sword."
Oscar's eyes widened slightly.
To form such an aura with just fingers this man is a true swordsman.
Thrust, flick, spin, slash… Oscar attacked relentlessly. Gai Yue didn't counterattack. He simply fed Oscar moves, allowing him to demonstrate his skills.
What shocked Gai Yue was Oscar's offensive power.
Despite not using soul skills, Oscar's attacks were much stronger than those of average weapon type soul masters at the same level.
This was thanks to the Sky Cyan Spirit Jade Sword which passively boosted attack and strength by 50% when wielded. It also had innate slicing capabilities. Even without offensive soul techniques, Oscar's weapon gave him a massive edge.
After thirty exchanges, Oscar knew Gai Yue had seen enough. He feinted a final slash, then used the impact to leap back ten meters.
Then he gently tossed his jade sword into the air where it split into ten cyan sword lights, each a meter long.
"Go!"
The ten swords shot toward Gai Yue, targeting his head, chest, and limbs. Pure soul power fueled the technique not simple sword energy.
Gai Yue's eyes lit up.
At just Rank 23, and he can already launch a ranged multitarget sword barrage?
But this posed no threat to Gai Yue. His sword fingers swept outward, releasing a frigid wave of sword energy that instantly destroyed all ten swords, scattering them into crystalline fragments.
Gai Yue finally spoke:
"You lack a sword martial soul, and your techniques are basic. But your foundation is solid. Strength, coordination far above average. Among soul masters of your level, especially those with weapon martial souls, you'd have the upper hand."
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