Chapter Thirty: Battle Against the Nascent Soul

The elder in the gray robe was named Yuan Chenglu, Yuan He’s uncle and the elder brother of Yuan Chengtian, the master of Starpoint Manor. At that moment, Yuan Chenglu glared at Shi Qi, his face seething with murderous intent. “Was it you who nearly cost my He’er his life?”

Shi Qi stood with his hands behind his back, his voice calm. “He was outmatched, yet rather than show gratitude, he bites back—such is the way of Starpoint Manor.”

Yuan Chenglu’s expression changed. In a blink, he vanished, leaving only a fading shadow behind as his true form lunged directly at Shi Qi.

To his surprise, Shi Qi was even faster. He drew his hand from behind his back and unleashed a Water Spirit Orb. Yuan Chenglu raised his arm to block.

A thunderous boom echoed—the Water Spirit Orb struck Yuan Chenglu’s arm with immense force, forcing him back two steps. The orb’s true energy erupted, enveloping Yuan Chenglu in a surge of power.

Shi Qi had anticipated trouble when Yuan Chenglu landed, suspecting Yuan He would surely call this helper to deal with him. So he had quietly prepared, gathering his true energy behind his back to form the Water Spirit Orb, waiting for Yuan Chenglu’s attack to catch him off guard.

Yuan Chenglu hadn’t expected this young adversary to react so swiftly and strike first. He suffered a hidden loss in the exchange.

Yet Yuan Chenglu was a formidable Nascent Soul cultivator, protected by defensive treasures. A flash of golden light enveloped him, instantly dispelling the spiritual energy from the Water Spirit Orb’s explosion.

“So he truly is a Nascent Soul master,” Shi Qi murmured.

Shi Qi made no move to flee. He was curious to gauge the gap between himself and a Nascent Soul expert. Since gaining the power of extreme cold, his meridians had grown thicker, hinting at a breakthrough. Though he hadn’t yet reached the mid-stage of the Orange Demon Core realm, he felt his combat power had increased significantly. Now, faced with a Nascent Soul master, Shi Qi wanted to test his limits. Even if he couldn’t win, he still had cards up his sleeve and was confident he could escape unharmed.

Yuan Chenglu waved his hand, conjuring a long spear out of thin air. He tapped its shaft, flooding the weapon with golden light.

“Metal element techniques?” Shi Qi remarked, not idle himself. He waved his hand, summoning an ice spear that glimmered with blue light.

“Ice?” Yuan Chenglu was briefly astonished. Ice techniques were virtually unseen in the Twelve Provinces, and this piqued his curiosity about the youth before him.

Yuan Chenglu pressed the spear tip to the ground and vanished in an instant.

“So fast!” Shi Qi activated his Heavenly Eye, tracking Yuan Chenglu’s movements.

A metallic clang burst forth—Yuan Chenglu struck from Shi Qi’s right front, slashing with his spear. Shi Qi blocked with his own, the golden and ice spears clashing for the first time.

Shi Qi felt a tremendous force surge through his weapon, numbing his grip. Ice particles whirled in the air, revealing the ice spear’s hardness was inferior to the golden spear, empowered by metal techniques.

Shi Qi leapt back, spinning his spear to stab at Yuan Chenglu.

Yuan Chenglu sidestepped, returning the same move in kind. Shi Qi tapped the ground with his spear tip, leaping skyward to evade, then swung his weapon down at Yuan Chenglu.

Yuan Chenglu withdrew his spear and blocked horizontally.

The two spears collided again.

A sharp crack sounded—the ice spear in Shi Qi’s hands snapped in two.

Yuan Chenglu narrowed his eyes, seizing the moment when Shi Qi was airborne and unable to adjust. He shifted the spear from right to left, bent his body, twirling the weapon behind him like a dancer, and thrust its tip at Shi Qi from a strange angle.

Shi Qi, not daring to be careless, brandished the half spear forward.

The golden spear’s tip struck the broken shaft—gold pierced ice, shattering Shi Qi’s weapon into fragments, but the attack’s momentum was also diminished.

Shi Qi used the force to flip backward in mid-air, evading the spear and landing steadily.

Their first exchange left Shi Qi at a disadvantage.

Among cold weapons, the spear is king. In their brief bout, Yuan Chenglu showcased the spear’s full potential in blocking, wielding, and thrusting; the shaft moved like a dragon—flexible and agile—while the tip shot forth like an arrow, swift and fierce, its power crackling like thunder and lightning.

Despite benefiting from superior true energy and metal techniques, Shi Qi knew that even at equal levels, this elder would best him in close combat.

Yuan Chenglu spun his spear and planted it in the ground, addressing Shi Qi, “Boy, what sect are you from?”

Shi Qi looked at him and replied slowly, “I am... launching a surprise attack!”

Shi Qi raised his hand, unleashing another Water Spirit Orb at Yuan Chenglu. With a loud boom, Yuan Chenglu had no time to grab his spear, crossing his arms before his chest and taking the blow head-on, forced back two meters.

Yuan Chenglu was caught off guard by the boy’s disregard for martial etiquette. Normally, after a round of combat, opponents would engage in some banter, exchanging boasts. Instead, this boy struck again with a second ambush!

He summoned his defensive treasure once more, golden light shielding him from the orb’s true energy.

After a few breaths, the energy dissipated. Yuan Chenglu stepped forward to retrieve his spear—only to grasp empty air.

“Hm? Where’s my spear?” Yuan Chenglu looked to his right, but the long spear he’d planted in the ground was nowhere to be seen.

It turned out that, at the very moment Shi Qi launched the Water Spirit Orb, he had dashed forward. After the orb struck Yuan Chenglu and forced him back, Shi Qi seized the opportunity to snatch up the spear and toss it behind him.

Nearby, Su Xiaomu grabbed the airborne spear and sprinted away at full speed—by now, she was nowhere to be seen.

“That girl... she’s quick!” Shi Qi exclaimed.

Having been ambushed and disarmed, Yuan Chenglu’s anger surged.

He soared into the air, forming seals with his hands, and pointed a finger at Shi Qi!

A streak of golden true energy shot from his fingertip, swirling through the air and transforming into myriad weapons—blades, spears, swords, halberds, axes, hooks, forks, maces, cudgels, rods, whips, hammers, claws, meteor hammers—the full array of eighteen martial arms, all striking at Shi Qi together!

Advanced metal technique—Ten Thousand Radiant Golden Arms!

Sensing the surging true energy within, Shi Qi dared not be careless; he raised his hand and summoned three layers of ice walls before him.

Then he slapped the ground with one hand.

Command Seal—Enclosure of Ice!

A massive sphere of ice rose from the earth, encasing Shi Qi within.

A cacophony rang out—three ice walls were shattered instantly, and the golden arms battered the ice sphere.

The clamor was relentless—inside, Shi Qi watched cracks spider across the ice, muttering, “No wonder this is a Nascent Soul-level attack—it’s truly fierce!”

The ice sphere’s fractures widened. Yuan Chenglu laughed, “Let’s see where you run now, you little thief!”

Yuan He cheered from the side, “Uncle, finish him off!”

With a resounding crash, the ice sphere finally succumbed, breaking into shards and revealing Shi Qi’s true form.

“Go!” Yuan Chenglu jabbed his finger forward, directing the golden arms to assault Shi Qi.

Yet Shi Qi remained unhurried, drawing a Cloud Jade Umbrella from behind his back and opening it slowly—much like a scholar sensing the first patter of rain, gently unfurling his oil-paper umbrella to ward off the drizzle...