Arriving at the square, Gai Yue stepped directly onto the Soul Battle Platform, and Oscar naturally followed right after him.
Once standing upon the platform, Gai Yue's cold, detached voice finally rang out again:
"I gave my word to Brother Fu. If you can pass my trial, then I will stay at Shrek for five years. During those five years, I will serve as your swordsmanship instructor."
Hearing this, Oscar cupped his hands respectfully and bowed:
"Junior thanks Senior in advance. Please bring forth whatever trial you wish—I, Oscar, will give it my all."
Seeing this polite yet confident child, Gai Yue faintly felt that perhaps coming out of seclusion this time was the right choice.
Still, whether this boy was truly as gifted as Flender claimed… that depended on whether he could pass the trial.
Meanwhile, at a corner some distance away, a few curious heads were peeking out.
Ma Hongjun whispered toward Flender:
"Teacher, how come I've never heard of this Senior Gai Yue before? Is he really able to teach Brother Ao swordsmanship?"
Hearing the doubt in his disciple's tone, Flender smacked the back of Ma Hongjun's head:
"When I knew him, brat, you hadn't even been born yet! How could you possibly have heard of him?"
Zhao Wuji chuckled beside them, adding an explanation:
"Back when the Academy was desperately short on money, the Boss and I took up jobs hunting soul beasts for clients. That's when we first met Brother Gai Yue."
"At the time, he had only just broken through rank sixty. He was younger than us, but advanced faster—reaching the Soul Emperor realm before either of us. Yet despite such talent, he wandered alone."
Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up. He quickly guessed:
"So that means, when he hunted his sixth ring alone, he ran into danger, and you two encountered him?"
This time, Flender nodded.
"Correct. Gai Yue's talent surpassed both mine and Old Zhao's. But back then, though he'd just stepped into the sixties, he was surrounded by three ten-thousand-year soul beasts. One of them was even over thirty thousand years old! Even if Old Zhao and I worked together, we couldn't be sure of victory."
"When we found him, he was already gravely wounded. Honestly, our first thought wasn't to intervene—the situation was far too dangerous."
Ma Hongjun pressed, "Then how did you end up getting involved?"
At that, Flender's old face reddened slightly, and Zhao Wuji let out a laugh:
"Brother Gai Yue spotted us and immediately offered fifty thousand gold soul coins for our help. Back then, the Academy was dead broke. The Boss here lost his head to money and jumped right in."
Ma Hongjun glanced at Flender, muttering inwardly: Now that makes sense. With the Teacher's personality, only money could've pushed him into such a risk.
Zhao Wuji continued:
"At the time, we were already contracted to help another soul master obtain his fifth ring. The job was done, but we couldn't resist Gai Yue's price, so we struck a deal with our employer and joined the battle."
"When we did, we realized two of the ten-thousand-year beasts had already been badly injured. The thirty-thousand-year one was mostly fine, but with us—two Soul Emperors and a Soul King—joining in, even it chose to retreat."
At this revelation, Ma Hongjun, Shao Xin, and the others all looked at Gai Yue—standing face-to-face with Oscar on the battle platform—in disbelief.
This man was that strong? Just after breaking through rank sixty, he had already managed to heavily wound two ten-thousand-year soul beasts while facing three at once? His talent and strength were undeniable.
Zhao Wuji went on:
"After that battle, we saved Brother Gai Yue, got our reward, and took care of him while he recovered from his injuries. Later, when he needed his sixth soul ring, we joined him in the hunt. Over those months, we learned about his past. The Boss even tried to bring him into Shrek, but his only thought was revenge. So we parted ways."
"Still, he came back to us again for his seventh ring, so over time, a bond was forged. But honestly, I never thought he'd step out of seclusion again."
Flender grinned knowingly, his eyes glinting with confidence:
"Hmph. That's because I personally went to ask him. You think anyone else could have brought him out? But whether he stays… that'll depend on little Ao himself."
Back on the platform, Gai Yue turned to Oscar.
"When it comes to the sword, the most important thing is the heart. Thus, my test is simple."
Oscar nodded slightly. From that one statement alone, he could tell this man was no ordinary swordsman.
"Of course, heart is crucial," Gai Yue continued, "but I also need to see your strength. Attack me with all you've got. Let me see what you're capable of."
Oscar didn't hesitate.
As soon as Gai Yue's words fell, Oscar raised his left hand. Azure light gathered, condensing into a jade-like longsword about 1.2 meters in length.
Seeing this, Gai Yue's expression shifted ever so slightly—his eyes now carried a trace of anticipation.
Flender had already explained beforehand: Oscar did not possess a sword-type martial soul. Instead, he had an external soul bone that manifested a jade sword comparable to a tool-type martial soul of his level.
Such external soul bone abilities were incredibly rare. Not only did it give Oscar combat potential beyond that of a food-type soul master, but its growth potential was immense.
With the jade sword in hand, Oscar pushed off with his legs, thrusting directly at Gai Yue's face.
In the two months since obtaining the sword, Oscar had been practicing constantly. Though only self-taught with a bit of guidance, he had pieced together some rudimentary swordplay.
Facing his strike, Gai Yue did not summon his martial soul. Instead, he merely pressed his index and middle fingers together, condensing them into a blade. A meter-long strand of icy-blue sword qi extended from his hand.
"Finger Sword."
Oscar's heart trembled. The ability to form a sword with fingers alone already spoke volumes of Gai Yue's mastery.
Still, he pressed on—stab, lift, spin, slash…
Gai Yue never struck back. He only guided and responded, clearly testing Oscar's form and intent.
To his surprise, despite not using any soul skills, Oscar's strikes carried far more force than a typical tool-type soul master at his level.
Indeed, whenever he used the Azure Spirit Jade Sword, Oscar's strength and attack power increased by fifty percent. The boost functioned like a passive ability, always present so long as the sword was summoned.
Combined with the sword's natural cutting property, even without attack-oriented soul skills, Oscar's strikes far outstripped his peers'.
After thirty exchanges, Oscar realized Gai Yue had already gauged his close-combat ability.
Thus, with his final slash, Oscar struck against Gai Yue's finger sword, then used the rebound to leap ten meters back.
With a flick of his wrist, the jade sword flew upward, splitting into ten streaks of azure light. Under Oscar's control, they became ten swords, each a meter long.
"Go!"
The ten swords locked onto Gai Yue's vital points—face, chest, limbs—and shot forth at once.
Gai Yue's eyes lit up.
So the boy had this kind of large-scale attack hidden away… impressive.
This wasn't just sword qi. It was pure soul power forged into blades.
Still, such attacks posed no threat to him. With a simple sweep of his sword, a wave of icy sword qi burst out, shattering all ten jade blades into shards of crystalline ice that scattered across the platform.
"You may lack a sword martial soul, and your swordplay is only at a foundational level," Gai Yue said calmly. "But your base is solid, and your strength is not weak. Against tool-type soul masters of the same level, your odds of victory are quite high."
Praise, freely given.
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