Battle Through the Heavens II: Three Phases of Peerless Power, One Soul and Four Bodies

The warm light in the restaurant illuminated the faces of the four people. Luo Ranyu put down her teacup, her gaze falling on the three opposite her. Finally, unable to contain her curiosity, she asked:

"Oh, by the way, I've always been curious about where the three of you are from, and why you, like me, suddenly transferred to Zheng Tian Academy?"

Luo Jiuxiao and Hua Xier both glanced at Jin Zhongyue. Jin Zhongyue paused, lowered his head slightly, seemingly lost in thought, then looked up again and explained:

"Actually, the three of us come from a border city in the northernmost part of the Heavenly Soul Empire, and we all belong to a reclusive sect called the Three Phases Sect. A few days ago, the sect elder suddenly ordered the three of us to come to Zheng Tian Academy to study, but the elder did not explain the specific reason."

Luo Ranyu nodded, looking as if she had just realized something. No wonder Hua Xier named her martial soul "Three Phases"—there was a reason for it! But she quickly became very puzzled and asked again:

"Oh, I see! But this is so strange. Suddenly assigning you all here without explaining why, this..."

Jin Zhongyue said firmly, "The sect must have its reasons for making this arrangement. As disciples, we should just follow it."

Upon hearing this, Luo Ranyu could only nod, but she couldn't help but wonder if the sect was real. If the three of them were here on some mission, they just couldn't say it.

At this moment, Hua Xi'er's voice suddenly rang out: "Oh, who cares about the reason! I think staying at Zheng Tian Academy is much more interesting than staying in the sect. I don't have to face those boring cultivation books every day, and I can also make new friends."

Upon hearing this, Luo Jiuxiao chimed in, "That's right, that's right, we should just do whatever we want here. Eat and drink as we please, cultivate as we please, and fight as we please."

Luo Ranyu chuckled, and the atmosphere became much more relaxed. He looked at Jin Zhongyue, seemingly curious about the name "Three Phases Sect":

"You guys seem quite open-minded. But what kind of sect is the Three Phases Sect anyway?"

Jin Zhongyue explained, "The Sanxiang Sect is indeed an ancient and mysterious sect that has existed for thousands of years. The sect has passed down unique methods of body refinement and cultivation. The strength that the three of us have today is mostly due to the sect's techniques."

Moreover, the sect is benevolent and regularly awakens martial souls for commoners near the sect free of charge. If they encounter a child with outstanding talent, they will invite them to join the sect and nurture them. Jiu Xiao, Xi'er, and I were all directly selected by the sect after our martial souls were awakened back then.

Luo Ranyu listened attentively: "Hmm, in that case, it's a rare and excellent sect."

Hua Xi'er nudged Luo Ranyu with her elbow and said with a mischievous smile, "Since you think our sect is good, then Luo Ranyu, would you be interested in joining our Three Phases Sect?"

"Ah, this..."

Seeing Luo Ranyu hesitate, Hua Xi'er chuckled.

"Haha, I'll take you around our sect sometime and let the vice sect leader take a look at your aptitude. Brother Jin received guidance from the vice sect leader, which is why he's progressed so rapidly!"

Luo Ranyu felt a slight stirring in her heart, but also felt somewhat lost. The atmosphere at the table became lively, and the group chatted happily for a long time.

Before leaving, Hua Xi'er smiled and tucked a red flower bud into Ran Yu's sleeve. The flower was very full, made up of many petals, and was not yet fully open, still in a budding state.

Every time Hua Xi'er saw him, she would give him a flower. By then, his dormitory was filled with different kinds of flowers, which always attracted the boys to stop and admire them for a moment.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

A week passed quickly. The presence of Hua Xier and the other two added a touch of color to Luo Ranyu's studies and life. He cherished this friendship and spent his free time discussing martial spirits and researching body-forging methods with them.

That afternoon, Ran Yu's class 3 and class 4 held a friendly match, allowing students from different classes to learn from each other.

Luo Ranyu sat on the ground, and Hua Xier leaned closer, her face showing a hint of excitement.

"Ran Yu, we're having a friendly match against Class 4 today. You should be playing, right?"

Luo Ranyu looked at Hua Xier, "Yes, but we also need to give other classmates a chance, so we can't do it like before."

"Hmm, that seems to be true. Hey, look, there's Little Ninth Brother over there!"

Following Hua Xi'er's direction, Luo Ranyu looked at Class 4's team and saw the spirited Luo Jiuxiao leading his team onto the field.

After the homeroom teachers of the two classes took the stage to briefly introduce the competition rules, the friendly match officially began. However, the first few rounds of the battle were rather uneventful. Most of the participating students were Soul Warriors who had only recently begun to engage in actual combat, and their use of Martial Souls and Soul Skills was still rather immature, so they did not create much of a stir.

Finally, after several rounds, Luo Jiuxiao from Class 4 took the stage, and the atmosphere instantly became lively.

Luo Ranyu witnessed Luo Jiuxiao's fighting style firsthand. He could defeat several opponents without using his martial spirit, and Ranyu could tell that in addition to his strong physical attributes, his combat skills were also extremely high. She became more interested in him. Just then, another classmate was defeated. At this moment, Luo Jiuxiao's gaze turned to Luo Ranyu, his eyes burning with intense fighting spirit.

Luo Ranyu stood up, deciding to have a match with him. Seeing Luo Ranyu stand up, Hua Xier's eyes lit up, and she watched Luo Ranyu walk onto the stage, resting her chin on her hand.

Luo Ranyu didn't say or do much; she immediately assumed a posture and introduced herself, "Class Three, Luo Ranyu." The other person also clenched their fist.

"Ran Yu, it's a pleasure to fight you. I'm ready!"

The match began, and neither of them activated their martial souls or soul rings. They cautiously and slowly approached each other. Soon, they both felt the invisible aura and pressure emanating from the other's body, which gave them both a jolt.

Luo Ranyu struck first, her figure blurring as she delivered a lightning-fast, light punch aimed straight at Luo Jiuxiao's face. This seemingly insignificant punch was actually a probe, a test of her opponent's reaction ability.

Luo Jiuxiao did not rush to retaliate. He simply stood firmly in place, his arms crossed in front of him, accurately blocking the punch. His movements were simple and unadorned, yet perfectly timed, without revealing the slightest flaw.

Finally, after several defensive maneuvers, Luo Jiuxiao was no longer worried about hurting his opponent and decided to launch an attack. He roared, his momentum becoming fierce, and threw a series of punches forward. Each punch was powerful, precise, and full of martial arts spirit.

Luo Ranyu parried and deflected each attack, refusing to retreat an inch. Finally, she even managed to slip a straight punch between her opponent's arms.

boom!

With a muffled thud, Luo Jiuxiao felt a sharp pain in his chest and involuntarily staggered back four or five steps before finally regaining his balance.