On the western side of Spirit City sat a massive academy.
Its gatehouse appeared nearly as large as the city gates of Spirit City itself, though it was somewhat slenderer in construction. The entrance of that gatehouse reached dozens of meters in height; though the white jade carvings could not be called gaudy, they were immensely imposing.
Upon the gatehouse were four large, gold-embossed characters: Spirit Hall Academy.
The roads within the academy were extremely wide, entirely paved with bluestone, and signposts could be seen every hundred meters or so. Walking fifteen minutes inward from the main gate, one would find a massive rectangular plaza with a sign nearby labeled "Spirit Plaza."
Despite its size, the plaza did not feel deserted.
Students and teachers passed by frequently, each radiating a potent fluctuation of soul power. Behind the plaza stood rows of tall teaching buildings, colored differently—primarily in white, yellow, and purple.
Spirit Hall Academy did not divide its students entirely by age, but rather by strength.
If a student's strength was below Rank 30, they attended classes in the yellow teaching buildings. Once their strength reached the three-ring level, they would be promoted to the purple teaching buildings for their lessons.
However, students who came to study at Spirit Hall Academy possessed an innate soul power of at least Rank 6. Under normal circumstances, as long as they worked hard, they would not encounter a situation where they could not cultivate to the level of a Soul Ancestor.
Although the academy divided grades by soul power cultivation, those with an innate soul power of Rank 9 or above were extremely rare, so the age gap between classmates was never very large.
As for the white teaching buildings, they were the locations for cultural studies. After all, a Soul Master was not an existence that relied solely on brute force; they also needed to be literate and educated.
For children who had just awakened their Martial Souls at age six, most of their time over the next six years—aside from their usual cultivation—was spent on cultural lessons.
Actual courses regarding Soul Master Content were fewer. Only after reaching twelve years of age would the proportion of cultural classes decrease, allowing Soul Master Courses to take the dominant position.
Surrounding these teaching buildings were many specialized areas, such as the dormitory district, the faculty office area, and the competitive arena district. The girls' teaching building where Hu Liena resided was located on the far western side of the academy.
Behind the teaching buildings, on a vast open space, dozens of massive arenas had been constructed. The platforms were built entirely of hard bluestone, square in shape, about one meter high, and covering an area of at least two hundred square meters.
On one of these arenas, a battle was about to unfold.
A youth with short silver hair stood on one side.
His gaze was resolute, his build slender, and he wore a simple white martial outfit. He held two curved, narrow, silver-white blades.
A sharp, piercing aura radiated from them, accompanied by a distinct fluctuation of soul power. Clearly, these silver-white blades were this youth's Tool Martial Soul.
On the other side stood a youth with fiery red hair, dressed in dark red noble attire.
He was tall and his eyes seemed filled with fire as he stared at the silver-haired youth, his gaze brimming with battle intent.
"Martial Soul, reveal yourself—Flame Lord!"
A low roar erupted from the red-haired youth.
As the words fell, a burst of dark red light suddenly erupted around him.
A massive, dark red humanoid phantom appeared behind him, standing roughly twice his height. Enveloped in the dark red halo, one could see that the body of this humanoid Martial Soul was dark brown, resembling mountain rock.
Although it possessed a face similar to a human's, four horns grew from its head, with two more extending downward from the sides of its face like inverted bull horns. Its entire body was wreathed in burning, dark red flames.
It was an awe-inspiring sight; the Martial Soul as a whole exuded a powerful and terrifying sensation. These two were Xie Yue and Yan, the other two members of Spirit Hall's future "Golden Generation."
Feeling the intense power fluctuations radiating from the Flame Lord Martial Soul, Xie Yue's eyes flickered. His grip on his Moon Blades gradually tightened. Among the younger generation at Spirit Hall Academy close to his age, only Yan could give him such immense pressure.
"Xie Yue, this time, I will definitely defeat you!"
After releasing his Martial Soul, Yan slammed his fists together in front of his chest, producing a dull thud. At the same time, he shouted sharply: "Martial Soul Possession!"
The moment he spoke, the dark red phantom behind him surged forward, merging completely into Yan's body.
Instantly, Yan was enveloped by the Flame Lord.
The size of the Martial Soul shrank from its initial two-meter height to match Yan's own stature, wrapping him within it. Through the semi-transparent Martial Soul, one could faintly discern Yan's body and facial features.
Now, through Martial Soul Possession, Yan's physical attributes were massively increased. Wrapped within the Martial Soul, his body possessed rock-like defense, and his surface burned with high-temperature flames.
Kicking off the ground with force, Yan immediately charged toward Xie Yue, throwing a punch carrying scorching heat. Facing Yan's fierce attack, Xie Yue did not dodge.
Instead, he met it head-on.
With a slight flick of his wrists, the two Moon Blades let out a series of soft hums that vibrated the soul. Taking a step forward, Xie Yue's entire body erupted with a powerful surge of soul power.
Both Moon Blades slashed out simultaneously; besides being coated in soul power, the silver-white blades were entwined with streaks of red airflow.
BOOM!
The two Moon Blades accurately struck Yan's right fist, which was protected by his Martial Soul. Silver-white and dark red soul power fluctuations clashed violently, radiating a startling power that left many onlookers around the arena in awe.
Among them was Hu Liena, who had only recently entered Spirit Hall Academy. After Ling Xiao was taken to hunt for a soul ring a few days ago, she had been sent here by Bibi Dong's subordinates. Seeing her brother and Yan sparring now, she couldn't help but feel a bit worried.
Xie Yue gritted his teeth.
Even with the empowerment of his soul power, he felt a wave of scorching heat rushing at his face. Yan's Martial Soul was a dual-attribute Fire and Earth soul; known as the Flame Lord, few souls could rival or surpass it in terms of fire power.
Yan was also not having an easy time.
The Flame Lord possessed not only powerful fire energy but also the strength of the earth attribute, making it outstanding in both power and defense. However, even so, the Martial Soul defense on the surface of his fist was nearly breached by Xie Yue's Moon Blades.
He had still underestimated the sharpness of those blades.
"Hah!"
Yan gave a loud shout, funneling all his soul power into his right arm.
The flames grew three points stronger than before. He retracted his right fist slightly and struck again. Xie Yue felt the flames before him suddenly expand, a wave of fire rushing toward him followed by an even greater force. He could no longer hold his ground.
His soul power surged, and as it poured into the Moon Blades, their light became increasingly dazzling. Xie Yue forced his arms downward, the two blades carrying a brilliant silver light that finally sliced through the wave of fire.
However, under Yan's immense strength, he couldn't help but retreat several steps. Several spots on his clothing were scorched; clearly, under Yan's intense heat, relying solely on soul power to protect himself was somewhat forced.
Despite pushing Xie Yue back, Yan did not feel much joy.
Xie Yue's Moon Blades had extreme attack power, but his fighting style was not purely Power-Attack based; he was flexible and versatile, not specializing in head-on collisions. It was only natural for Xie Yue to be inferior in terms of raw strength.
What Yan truly wanted was to defeat Xie Yue fair and square.