A Draw. Gu Yue
Gu Yue's attack had missed, but her composure never wavered. As Yao Xuan prepared to press his advantage, the halo of light behind her shimmered and shifted to a deep, earthy yellow.
The ground beneath Yao Xuan's feet instantly lost its solidity. The packed earth and grass softened into a viscous, grasping mire that clung to his boots, seeking to anchor him in place. The change was silent and swift, a trap sprung with terrifying precision.
'Elemental earth control? And with such fine manipulation...' Wu Zhangkong observed, his analytical mind cataloging the display. 'The control is precise enough to immobilize without causing injury. This level of finesse is rare even among Soul Venerables.'
This was precisely the kind of diamond-in-the-rough talent he lived to discover and polish.
Yao Xuan frowned, his muscles coiling as he prepared to brute-force his way out of the earthen shackles. But Gu Yue was already moving again. The halo behind her flickered once more, this time settling into a calm, aquamarine blue.
With a graceful, almost casual sweep of her arm, the moisture in the air coalesced into a sharp, glinting spike of ice. It hung in the air for a split second, humming with condensed cold, before shooting toward Yao Xuan's chest like a javelin, leaving a trail of frost in its wake.
'Water element, too? Earth, wind, fire, and now water?' Wu Zhangkong's intrigue deepened into outright astonishment. He mentally scoured his extensive knowledge of martial souls, but could place no name to an ability that commanded the fundamental elements with such innate ease.
"Yao Xuan is trapped!"
"That girl is incredible!"
"That ice spike is so fast! Can he block it?"
The watching students held their breath, their own fatigue forgotten in the face of this spectacular clash.
"It's not enough."
Yao Xuan's voice was calm. Instead of trying to dodge, he met the attack head-on. His right fist, sheathed in gleaming dragon scales, shot forward like a golden hammer. There was no fancy technique, only pure, concentrated power.
CRACK!
The sound was not a deafening explosion, but a sharp, crystalline shatter. The ice spike disintegrated into a thousand glittering shards that rained down around him, melting almost instantly on the grass. Yao Xuan shook his hand slightly, a faint patina of frost dusting his knuckles before evaporating under the heat of his bloodline. The scales beneath were unmarred.
'His physical defense is monstrous,' Gu Yue and Wu Zhangkong thought in unison. That ice spike would have pierced straight through a standard soul shield, yet it had failed to even scratch Yao Xuan's draconic armor.
With the immediate threat neutralized, Yao Xuan focused inward. He felt the spatial energy around him, the subtle fabric that his Ancestral Dragon Shattering Void Step allowed him to manipulate. With a grunt of effort that was more mental than physical, he wrenched his feet free from the clinging earth. The ground solidified once more as he broke the hold, and he surged forward again, a golden bolt aimed at Gu Yue.
A faint, determined smile touched Gu Yue's lips. 'So, he can break my hold. Impressive. But I am far from finished.'
With a cold hum, her hands became a blur. She was no longer launching single attacks, but orchestrating a symphony of elemental fury. Fireballs roared, wind blades sliced through the air with invisible keenness, and shards of ice peppered the space between them—a relentless, multi-elemental barrage designed to overwhelm.
"My god! So many!"
"She's like a human fortress!"
"I'd be done for in a second!"
A wave of awe and fear swept through the student body. The display was beyond anything they had seen from a peer.
'She's truly powerful,' Xie Xie thought, his usual cockiness humbled as he watched, the weight of his chain vest feeling heavier than ever. 'To fight Yao Xuan to a standstill... I wouldn't last a minute against her.'
"Good!" Yao Xuan's voice cut through the chaos, not loud, but filled with a fierce joy for the challenge. Gu Yue's attacks were swift and numerous, but their individual power was manageable for his fortified body. He became a whirlwind of motion, his scaled fists and forearms deflecting, shattering, and dispersing each elemental projectile. He was a fortress weathering a storm, and with every step, he advanced through the hail of fire and ice, closing the distance.
'No wonder Na'er was so drawn to him. He is a warrior,' Gu Yue acknowledged, a thread of respect weaving through her competitive drive. 'But I will not be defeated so easily.'
Her soul power flared brighter, the elemental attacks becoming denser, more intricate. A wind blade would curve around a fireball, and an ice shard would follow in its wake. The increased pressure finally showed on Yao Xuan; his uniform, though durable, now bore several scorch marks and small tears where the attacks had come too close or too fast to be perfectly deflected.
"Enough!" Wu Zhangkong's voice rang out, firm and final. He stepped between their trajectories, the temperature around him dropping several degrees as his own aura passively neutralized the lingering elemental energies. "The match is a draw. Gu Yue, you have more than proven your strength and earned your place here."
"Yes, Teacher Wu," Gu Yue replied, the elemental halo behind her vanishing as she smoothly withdrew her martial soul. Her breathing was slightly elevated, but her posture remained regally composed.
Yao Xuan also let his power recede, the golden scales fading back into his skin. He gave Gu Yue a slight, respectful nod, which she returned after a moment's hesitation.
The notification was a welcome confirmation. His points were now tantalizingly close to the next threshold.
"Teacher," Gu Yue said, turning her amethyst eyes back to Wu Zhangkong. "May I enroll now?"
"Of course. A promise is a promise," Wu Zhangkong replied, the stern lines of his face softening almost imperceptibly. "However, I need to know your background and the specifics of your martial soul for the academy records."
He then turned his gaze to the gawking students, his voice returning to its customary frost. "The spectacle is over! Return to your run! The last one to finish adds three extra laps!"
The spell broken, the students jolted back into motion, their pace noticeably quickened—whether from fear of punishment or inspiration from the battle they had witnessed.
"Alright, teacher," Gu Yue said, producing a sealed letter from a subtle spatial soul tool on her wrist. "This is my recommendation letter from the elementary academy. As for my martial soul, it is called the Elementalist."
"Elementalist?" Wu Zhangkong's brow furrowed slightly as he accepted the letter. The term was unfamiliar, even to him.
"Teacher, my martial soul allows me to perceive and command six base elements: earth, water, wind, fire, light, and space. However, my soul rings cannot be attuned to any single element. I can manipulate them, but I cannot enhance their intrinsic power through spirit rings. My first soul skill, Elemental Tide, reduces the energy cost of my manipulations and slightly refines my control over them."
Wu Zhangkong's eyes gleamed with understanding. 'So that's it. A jack-of-all-trades, master of none, in terms of raw power. But her innate control is what makes her exceptional. To hold Yao Xuan at bay using only the base forms of the elements... her talent and comprehension are staggering.'
"A remarkable martial soul," he stated. "You mentioned space element manipulation. Could you demonstrate?"
"Of course." A silver light flickered behind Gu Yue. There was no sound, no dramatic motion. She simply vanished from her current position and reappeared three meters away, as if she had taken a single, seamless step through the fabric of reality.
"Excellent. Very good," Wu Zhangkong said, a note of genuine satisfaction in his voice. "Welcome to Donghai Academy. From this moment, you are a member of Class 5, Grade 1."