Battle spirit

Hearing Lu Yin's words, Xiyue glared at him angrily. "You lecher! What do you mean flat board? They're clearly big…ugh, what am I thinking?" She turned away, sulking silently.

Lu Yin realized he might have gone too far, but shrugged it off. He didn't care about this woman anyway. She seemed overly self-satisfied. Compared to Bai Xue, she wasn't as beautiful; compared to Michelle, she lacked elegance; compared to Mira, she wasn't as seductive; and compared to Coco, she wasn't as pure. Where did her confidence come from? But her singing was good—it was his first encounter with a combat technique based on music.

Xiyue checked her personal terminal, which seemed to have been damaged in the fall. She wanted to distance herself from the lecher, but without him, she couldn't withstand the gales. How infuriating! As the esteemed young mistress of the Lingmeng clan, she had to rely on someone else. She looked at Lu Yin. "When's the next gale?"

"In a minute," Lu Yin replied casually.

Xiyue frowned. "I'm not joking."

"Neither am I," Lu Yin repeated.

Xiyue was furious. She took a ring from her void ring, which transformed into armor—a ring armor at the Melder level.

Lu Yin wondered if external aids would be effective here.

Before he could think more, the gale hit.

Xiyue didn't expect Lu Yin to help. She thought her Melder-level armor would protect her, but she was quickly disillusioned. The gale shattered the armor and her outer clothing, exposing her fair skin. Lu Yin immediately pulled her into his arms, shielding her from the gale.

"Don't look down," Xiyue snapped.

"Then handle it yourself."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"I…I'll pay you."

Lu Yin's eyes lit up at the mention of payment. He held her tighter, almost choking her. When the gale passed, Xiyue quickly changed into new clothes and glared at Lu Yin. Seeing that he wasn't looking, she sighed in relief.

"You dressed?" Lu Yin asked.

Xiyue nodded.

Lu Yin smiled. "Get ready, another gale is coming."

Xiyue's eyes were determined as she faced the dark desert floor. The gale's mental pressure nearly broke her, but she endured. Looking at Lu Yin, she saw faint threads of energy around him. "Is that…battle qi?"

They had been there for twelve hours, enduring 144 gales. Lu Yin had been awake the entire time, forming visible strands of battle qi.

"Battle qi?" Lu Yin followed her gaze. He then noticed the faint gas covering his body. This was battle qi?

Lu Yin hadn't expected to unintentionally cultivate battle qi, a top-tier power in the Innerverse. He had hoped to use the Sand Sea to develop it, but not so quickly.

Xiyue was stunned. Battle qi was a high-level combat power, rare even in the Innerverse. The Eighth Institute had fewer than ten known battle qi experts. In the universe's knowledge, battle qi was considered on par with innate gifts and another powerful force. Yet, this lecher had mastered it.

Lu Yin excitedly struck the sand. A faint stream of energy circled his hand.

Battle qi gave him a sense of control. Previously, he would hold back some power in his strikes to prevent self-damage. With battle qi, he could exert more force while still maintaining control. It enhanced both his offense and defense, and had great penetrative power.

"So this is battle qi. Good stuff," Lu Yin praised, exhilarated.

Xiyue was incredulous and a bit embarrassed. What she couldn't achieve, this lecher had. How humiliating.

"Can you use battle qi?" Lu Yin asked curiously.

Xiyue huffed and turned away from his annoying face.

Lu Yin was puzzled. What's wrong now? This woman is impossible.

Above the desert, the Sand Sea Mentor was surprised. "He mastered battle qi in just twelve hours. Guan Yu was right; this kid's sealed physical talent is extraordinary. Is he from a powerful race in the Innerverse? Or somewhere else?"

At the boundary entrance, Xiuzi emerged from the teleportation stone area, looking grim. Despite his progress, his performance in the Boundary War hadn't improved much. He was even defeated by an Explorer-level cultivator.

Thinking of Explorers, Xiuzi remembered Lu Yin, who had joined the academy with him. How was he doing?

"Senior Cannon, who has the best Boundary War record in the academy now?" Xiuzi asked.

Cannon thought for a moment. "Lu Yin, I suppose."

Xiuzi was shocked. "Lu Yin? But he's an Explorer."

Cannon laughed. "He broke through. But even as an Explorer, he had the best record with three consecutive wins. Now, he has six consecutive wins, totaling 31 wins and 46 losses."

Xiuzi was stunned. Almost an even record? How was that possible? His own record was four wins and 76 losses, a nearly 20-to-1 loss ratio. How did Lu Yin achieve such a high win rate? Was his combat power that terrifying?

Those who hadn't experienced the Boundary War couldn't imagine its brutality. The opponents were top young experts from the Innerverse. Xiuzi, strong in the Outerverse, was nothing compared to them. Now, Lu Yin had surpassed him, leaving him with mixed feelings.

In the underground desert, Xiyue hid behind Lu Yin in embarrassment. Her body couldn't withstand the gales, so she had to rely on him.

"Don't forget the agreed payment," Lu Yin said, making Xiyue angry. "Here."

Lu Yin was thrilled. He only had 10,000 cubic crystals from completing the Explorer-level highest mission. Compared to the cost of rolling a six on the die, 10,000 crystals were just the beginning. He needed to make more money, and this woman looked wealthy.

Xiyue handed Lu Yin a Mebius Bank crystal card. "It has 2,000 cubic star energy crystals."

Lu Yin was delighted. "Thanks. You're quite generous."

Xiyue was disdainful. "Protect me through," but before she could finish, another gale hit, cutting her off and subjecting her to immense pressure.

Lu Yin, now used to it, had his body covered in battle qi, greatly reducing the pressure.

The gale passed quickly. Xiyue panted heavily, looking at Lu Yin, who seemed unaffected. Her anger flared. "If you help me master battle qi, I'll pay you another 20,000 cubic star energy crystals."

Lu Yin was surprised. "20,000? You're rich. A trust-fund baby?"

Xiyue huffed without answering. She didn't need family money. As the Innerverse's brightest star, her albums sold for astronomical prices. She had so much money that she had lost track of it. She even had a purple crystal card from Mebius Bank. But she wouldn't tell this bumpkin, to avoid being exploited.

"Well, do you agree or not?" Xiyue asked coldly.

Lu Yin thought for a moment, his eyes gleaming.

Xiyue frowned. "30,000 cubic."

"Deal," Lu Yin agreed decisively. Thirty thousand cubic! Even dismantling scrap machinery non-stop for two days only netted him over 3,000 cubic. This woman offered 30,000 for merely shielding her from gales. With battle qi, the gales didn't affect him anymore.

With the deal made, Xiyue didn't bother talking to Lu Yin anymore. She told him to turn around and silently act as a wall while she sat down to endure the pressure.

With Lu Yin's protection, the physical gales no longer threatened Xiyue. She only needed to withstand the mental pressure.

Time flew by, and another twenty hours passed. During this time, Lu Yin's battle qi increased slightly, but Xiyue still showed no signs of mastering it.

"Why haven't you mastered it yet? You're too slow," Lu Yin urged impatiently.

Xiyue was furious. "Do you think battle qi is easy to master? If it were, everyone in the Innerverse would be a battle qi expert."

"Why did I master it so quickly?" Lu Yin glanced at her.

Xiyue was speechless. This idiot really had no tact. No matter what, she was a great beauty. This bumpkin didn't even know who she was.

"I'll give you ten more hours. If you can't master it, I'm leaving," Lu Yin said.

Xiyue snorted. "I'll pay you an additional 20,000 cubic star energy crystals."

"You can take your time. I'm not in a hurry," Lu Yin replied earnestly.

Xiyue scoffed. "Just be a wall and don't look at me."

Lu Yin rolled his eyes and turned his back to her.

After a while, Lu Yin asked, "Who are you, anyway? Why are you at the Tenth Institute?"

"I'm a student of the Eighth Institute, here for training," Xiyue replied. She refused to tell this idiot her name, feeling it would be an insult.

"The Eighth Institute? Innerverse? Don't you have places to master battle qi? Why come all the way here?" Lu Yin was curious.

"None of your business," Xiyue frowned.

Lu Yin laughed. "Were you ostracized? Makes sense, with your terrible personality."

Xiyue gritted her teeth and huffed, refusing to answer.

"By the way, how do you strengthen battle qi?" Lu Yin asked, curious. He hadn't studied it specifically before.

X

iyue pondered. "No more talking. In return, I'll tell you some basics about battle qi."

"Alright, go ahead. I won't say anything," Lu Yin agreed reluctantly.

Xiyue licked her dry lips, took a drink from her void ring, and thought. "Battle qi originates from within, from the core of a person. Generally, the greater the pressure a person endures, the stronger their battle qi. It's like a spring—either it breaks or it fights back. Combat is the best way to enhance battle qi. You've just awakened it, known as initial battle qi. Battle qi is graded by patterns, with the highest known being nine-pattern battle qi. The lowest is your initial battle qi."

Lu Yin's eyes gleamed. Nine-pattern battle qi? Rumor had it that the pinnacle of battle qi could crush the heavens. Was that nine-pattern battle qi?