Ye Xian quickly rushed toward Rainer, who was struggling to get up. He helped him to his feet and asked with concern, "Are you seriously injured? I heard a bone crack."
Rainer winced but shook his head. "No, it's nothing serious. Just my hand feels a bit numb—I can't feel it properly right now."
When Luke Lament heard this, he began to laugh.
"You do have courage, I'll give you that. I think you'll recover on your own eventually, but since you showed some bravery..." He reached into his spatial ring and pulled out a pill, tossing it toward Rainer.
Rainer caught it with his uninjured hand as Luke Lament explained, "You people seem to think I'm completely arrogant and heartless, but I'm not that bad. This is a healing pill. Take it, and your pain will quickly subside while your hand heals faster."
Hearing this unexpected kindness from the arrogant sect disciple, the academy students' opinion of Luke improved slightly.
But they followed his flickering gaze toward the beauty in the moon-embroidered robe of the Moonlight Sect, and clicked their tongues in appreciation.
The woman had brown skin with almond-shaped hazel eyes, a prominent nose and full lips. Her white robe clung to her figure, accentuating her curves. Despite her age, she was well-developed and possessed the charms of a woman that were hard to ignore. She had a cold, emotionless face that contrasted sharply with her seductive figure. Looking at her, the boys couldn't help but swallow their saliva instinctively.
Luke Lament looked at Ye Xian. Having seen his sword thrust, he said, "Your swordplay was impressive. I'd like to spar with you if you're interested?"
Ye Xian thought for a moment, considering the opportunity. After a brief pause, he drew his sword and pointed it toward Luke Lament, who also unsheathed his saber. Both fighters took their stances.
"I'm Ye Xian from Earth Class," he announced clearly.
Luke Lament nodded and introduced himself before signaling Ye Xian to begin the attack. Ye Xian accepted the challenge and advanced toward his opponent.
Ye Xian's sword movements were fast and precise, without any wasted motion. His blade was accurate, aimed directly at vital points.
Luke raised his own weapon to block, immediately noticing that Ye Xian's power was greater than it appeared.
Luke extended his spiritual perception outward to better assess his opponent.
When he examined Ye Xian's aura, he discovered something interesting—while Ye Xian's cultivation appeared to be at the Ki Refining third stage, his raw power was approximately at the fourth stage of the Ki Refining realm.
This discovery surprised Luke slightly, though not greatly. He knew that some cultivators with exceptionally strong foundations would take their time advancing, focusing intensively on building their base rather than rushing breakthroughs.
Such cultivators often possessed raw power that exceeded their apparent cultivation level.
As both swords clashed against each other, sparks flew and the sound of metal on metal echoed throughout the training ground.
Ye Xian wasn't using his full force—he was controlling his strength, using approximately the power level of Ki Refining fourth stage. In reality, his cultivation was in the Ki Warrior Realm, and he was significantly holding back his true capabilities while disguising his aura to the 3rd stage of the Ki Refining realm.
Luke Lament observed that Ye Xian's sword style was excellent. When he was about to end the match, he noticed that Ye Xian's sword strikes had increased in strength, forcing him into a defensive position. He had to counter using his saber, and he could see that with every passing moment, Ye Xian's swordplay was improving—his accuracy and sword technique becoming sharper.
When Luke Lament was about to strike again to end the match (wanting to impress his female fellow disciple), he tried to use his technique to finish the fight. However, Ye Xian's strength increased again, reaching the fifth stage of the Ki Refining realm, forcing Luke back into a defensive position due to abrupt change in Ye Xian strength and making him struggle to maintain his balance.
After a few more breaths, Ye Xian's swordplay began drawing from Adler's experience and memories, though it hadn't fully merged with his muscle memory yet.
To completely integrate this knowledge, he needed more training. Luke Lament was proving to be an excellent practice partner, allowing Ye Xian to refine his swordplay so that Adler's experience would become his own muscle memory through repetition.
That was why he chose to accept Luke Lament's invitation to spar.
As they continued sparring, Luke noticed that Ye Xian's sword was becoming faster, and his attacks from unexpected angles were causing him considerable trouble in defense.
There was even a moment when Ye Xian's sword passed dangerously close to Luke's face.
The thrust aimed straight for his chest, but Luke quickly stepped aside and blocked the sword with his saber.
Both fighters clashed again, their weapons meeting in a flurry of strikes. Luke wanted to finish this match quickly, so he unleashed a rapid series of saber attacks.
However, Ye Xian broke through his strikes and parried them skillfully.
Luke's saber came with such speed and power that when it hit Ye Xian's sword, it pushed him backward.
Ye Xian smiled and rushed forward, his sword forming a graceful arc as it swept upward from below, aimed directly at Luke's groin.
Seeing this attack targeting such a sensitive area, Luke used his saber to deflect the sword and change its path. But Ye Xian, using his body's momentum, redirected his sword back toward Luke's groin again.
When Luke saw this, he could only think, 'Are you seriously going for my groin?' Luke barely managed to deflect the sword with his saber and jumped back several steps, pointing his weapon at Ye Xian.
"I'm getting serious now," Luke announced as he moved forward. His saber struck like a fierce dragon as he declared, "Time to end this." Ye Xian positioned his sword for a thrust and lunged forward.
When both weapons collided, a sharp metallic ring echoed through the air. The impact caused a burst of wind to sweep outward, whipping their robes, as the sword was sent flying, spinning through the air before stabbing into the ground.
The spectators watched with great excitement. The Azure Sky academy students were amazed that Ye Xian had lasted so long against someone like Luke. As it was same for the disciples of Moonlight sect.
When they saw Ye Xian's sword knocked away and Luke's saber at his neck, it was clear that Luke had won.
Luke was surprised because during the fight, he could sense that Ye Xian's power had reached the seventh stage of Ki Refining realm. Luke realized that Ye Xian was hiding his true strength—his actual power was at the seventh stage, not the third stage he appeared to be.
To determine another cultivator's cultivation realm, one typically observes their profound ki, as it undergoes distinct changes with each major realm. Alternatively, one can sense their aura, which also reveals their cultivation level and is unique to each individual.
Ye Xian wasn't using his profound ki; he was relying solely on his raw strength. Therefore, to gauge his cultivation, one had to observe his aura.
However, he had employed the Shrouded Aura Triad Illusion, a technique that disguised his aura to appear as though he were only at the 3rd stage of the Ki Refining Realm.
Ye Xian was deliberately concealing his true strength. On the surface, his cultivation appeared to be at the 3rd stage of the Ki Refining Realm, thanks to the Shrouded Aura Triad Illusion.
In reality, his actual cultivation had already reached the Ki Warrior Realm. By disguising his aura in this way, he created the illusion that he was merely hiding a 7th stage Ki Refining Realm cultivation, further obscuring the fact that he had already broken through to an even higher realm.