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"Flame Feather Strike!"
"Clang! Clang! Clang!"
Bai Yan knew that her first soul skill would have no effect on Quan Yi—her goal was merely to test his reaction speed.
Sure enough, to truly end the battle, she needed to close the distance.
Soul power surged through Bai Yan's body as the flames surrounding her burned even more intensely.
Without hesitation, she charged toward Quan Yi at high speed, wreathed in fire and fearless.
"Here she comes." Quan Yi steadied himself, silently preparing.
His teacher's flight trajectory was unpredictable—she didn't move in a straight line but instead wove in and out, making her movements difficult to track.
Bai Yan's rapid maneuvers forced Quan Yi to remain cautious.
A red streak of light flickered around him, always staying just outside his attack range.
She was using her speed advantage to circle him, constantly disrupting his vision.
Yet, despite her chaotic approach, Quan Yi remained unfazed. He responded with steady composure, using only the simplest footwork to keep up.
After some probing, Bai Yan decided to stop testing.
She stepped decisively into Quan Yi's attack range.
With a strong flap of her wings, she darted toward his left side, launching a swift and direct close-range strike.
Quan Yi barely had a moment to react.
But he never took his eyes off his teacher.
With a sharp motion, he opened his left hand—fingers tense like the blade of a knife—and stabbed straight toward Bai Yan's body.
Bai Yan's sharp gaze was locked onto his gauntlet.
"Too slow."
Although Quan Yi's movements were precise, they were still too sluggish in her eyes.
With fluid agility, Bai Yan twisted her body leftward, narrowly evading his attack.
Her right claw shot toward his neck.
"It's over!" Bai Yan was certain of her victory.
"Boom!"
At that instant, with a deafening roar, a blinding white light erupted from Quan Yi's left hand.
—Distraction technique activated.
—Jian and Propulsion mode engaged simultaneously.
His soul power concentrated in his left arm, forming both a jet-like propulsion and a lethal spike at the front and back.
The sudden burst of force drove his attack forward with astonishing speed—far beyond normal reaction time.
Even Bai Yan couldn't respond in time.
Everything Quan Yi had done up to this point had been a setup for this very moment.
The immense thrust sent the Sun Gauntlet's sharp tip piercing into Bai Yan's left arm, its power breaking through her defense with ease.
First soul skill—Seal of Rhinoceros!
At this moment, Quan Yi had no intention of holding back or showing mercy.
The Seal of Rhinoceros successfully imprinted onto Bai Yan's arm.
At the same time, his right hand was already primed—flames surging at high velocity as the force of his attack propelled him backward, away from Bai Yan.
He planned to use the brief moment of her shock to escape her immediate range—
—Then detonate the Seal of Rhinoceros at once.
Quan Yi's powerful strike sent a sharp pain surging through Bai Yan's arm. But even worse—her arm had been engraved with the Seal of Rhinoceros.
Yet, Bai Yan's gaze remained unwavering.
She had already anticipated this situation.
With a powerful kick of her right foot, she propelled herself toward Quan Yi at breakneck speed. Without hesitation, she stretched out her left arm—the one marked by the Seal of Rhinoceros—and aimed straight for his head.
What?! This is mutual destruction!
Quan Yi's pupils shrank as he instantly understood his teacher's intent.
Her decisiveness sent a shiver down his spine.
Bai Yan's sharp claws slashed toward him, completely disrupting his plan.
If he detonated the seal now, his own fragile head would be caught in the blast. At the very least, he would lose consciousness.
In terms of speed, even with his flame-propelled push, he couldn't outrun his teacher. His original plan had been to use a strong strike and sudden propulsion to cause Bai Yan to panic, creating an opening for escape before the explosion.
But he had miscalculated.
No—he had underestimated Teacher Bai Yan's willpower.
Even without looking back, he could feel her rapidly closing in, sensing her movements through the Seal of Rhinoceros itself.
"Heh, I finally caught you."
Bai Yan's clawed hand grabbed the collar of Quan Yi's uniform, halting his forward momentum with ease.
At this moment, Bai Yan felt relieved and allowed herself a rare moment of playfulness. If she had hesitated even slightly against Quan Yi's strategy, he would have escaped completely—and she wouldn't have had the chance for this final counter.
Dangling from his collar, Quan Yi could only offer a helpless smile.
"Teacher, even in this situation, you can still laugh... but you won't be able to save your arm."
Quan Yi had assumed Bai Yan had some special means to counter the Seal of Rhinoceros, but he hadn't expected her method to be so—brutal.
"Haha, don't worry. I can still keep my left arm."
Unlike Quan Yi, who was tense, Bai Yan remained completely calm.
"How is that possible?" Quan Yi frowned. "The Seal of Rhinoceros is a soul skill even I can't remove. Once it's engraved, all you can do is wait for the explosion."
He knew better than anyone how powerful his first soul skill was. Even if Bai Yan's soul power surpassed his by several levels, removing it should have been impossible.
"Bai Yan, next, I'm going to teach you an important lesson."
Her expression turned serious as she reached into her chest pocket and pulled out a short dagger.
Bai Yan raised the blade, aiming it at the rhinoceros mark on her left arm.
Under Quan Yi's stunned gaze—she stabbed down, hard.
Thud.
A chunk of flesh, about half a palm in size, dropped to the ground.
The air instantly filled with the thick scent of blood.
The crimson splatter, the raw scent—it all overwhelmed Quan Yi's senses.
Before he could even react, Bai Yan flipped her right hand, summoning a flame. She burned the severed flesh on the ground. Within moments, the Seal of Rhinoceros was completely incinerated.
As the piece of flesh turned to ash, Quan Yi suddenly lost all sensation of the Seal of Rhinoceros in his mind.
Without hesitation, Bai Yan tore strips of cloth from her clothes, biting down on one end as she skillfully wrapped and tied her wounded arm with just her teeth and right hand.
"This is the weakness of the Seal of Rhinoceros—first, it can't be detonated at close range. Second, it can be removed manually."
Her expression remained unreadable, as though she hadn't just cut into her own flesh. She calmly explained the flaw in his soul skill, completely unfazed.
Quan Yi, however, was still in shock.
"Teacher… you noticed the weakness of the Seal of Rhinoceros on the first day?"
Though the scene before him was disturbing, he forced himself to suppress his emotions and ask.
"That's right." Bai Yan nodded. "Quan Yi, your talent, soul skills, and Martial Soul are among the finest on the entire continent. But every power has a weakness—even your Seal of Rhinoceros.
"Remember this well. Always stay humble and never become complacent. No power is invincible. Only when you fully understand that can you truly master your own strength."
This was Bai Yan's lesson—one she had demonstrated not with words, but through action.
She had sacrificed her own body just to teach Quan Yi this crucial truth.
Moved beyond words, Quan Yi bowed deeply to his teacher.
"I will never forget this lesson, Teacher."
"Hmph, at least you're teachable."
Bai Yan let out a small sigh of relief at Quan Yi's sincere response.
It felt as if all her efforts had finally paid off.
Yet, deep inside, she felt a slight loneliness.
This was the limit of what she could teach him.
From now on, Quan Yi no longer needed her guidance.
He would grow, with or without her.
"You and Huo Wu should go get some rest. I'll be leaving first."
Before Quan Yi could say anything else, Bai Yan swiftly turned and left the training grounds.
He watched her retreating figure.
She wasn't tall—yet in that moment, she stood taller than anyone.