Abyssal Dragon

Late night.

Kyoto No.1 Martial Arts University.

Weapon Academy, the exclusive underground training hall of the Spear Division.

The hall was located a hundred meters beneath the ground, its walls forged entirely from sound-absorbing alloys capable of withstanding strikes from high-tier alien beasts.

At this moment.

The vast training hall was completely empty.

Only one burly figure stood silently in the center of the arena, bare-chested.

Chu Kuang.

The man who earlier that day had nearly thrown fists by Weiming Lake over a prospective recruit—the director of the Spear Division—now had all trace of his usual wildness and mercenary air wiped clean from his face.

In its place was an expression of pure, almost monk-like concentration.

In his hands, he held no gleaming silver spear.

Instead, he gripped an ordinary, slightly warped white ash staff.

It didn't even have a spearhead.

Whoosh—

A faint gust of underground circulated air blew past.

A withered yellow leaf, drifting from nowhere, spiraled down slowly before Chu Kuang's eyes.

The instant the leaf fell to the level of his gaze—

Chu Kuang moved!

He activated not a single drop of qi or blood.

He triggered no ear-splitting sonic boom.

He simply lifted the white ash staff.

Thrust!

Shhhh shhhh shhhh shhhh shhhh!

In the air, no afterimage of the staff could even be seen.

Only a rapid, dense series of tearing sounds—subtle, like ripping silk—could be heard.

In less than a tenth of a second.

Chu Kuang unleashed eighteen consecutive thrusts!

He withdrew the staff.

The white ash rod remained steady in his grip, not even a tremor.

The withered yellow leaf, meanwhile, continued its original path, fluttering down unhurriedly.

It finally landed softly on the hard alloy floor.

Perfectly intact.

Not even a single crack.

But if you looked under a high-powered microscope.

You would be horrified to find.

At the very center of that fragile leaf, there was a tiny hole—its edges smooth as a mirror.

Eighteen thrusts.

In a tenth of a second, he had pierced the exact same spot on the leaf with flawless precision!

Not an ounce of force leaked outward.

The leaf's overall structure remained untouched.

This was the ultimate manifestation of control over both strength and will!

"Hah..."

Chu Kuang let out a long breath of turbid air, stared at the leaf on the ground, and a smug grin finally crept across his weathered face.

"The Subtle Realm."

"After all these years, my spear intent at the Subtle level is finally perfected."

Chu Kuang tossed the white ash staff aside casually.

In his mind, he involuntarily recalled the stunning finger strike Su Yu had delivered by Weiming Lake earlier that day.

Soul-Pinning Spear Intent.

Truly domineering and unmatched.

But Chu Kuang knew well that Su Yu was only eighteen, and had only achieved enlightenment yesterday.

No matter how monstrous the talent, a freshly awakened spear intent would definitely be wild, unrestrained, and hard to contain.

Like a reckless brute who'd just picked up a giant hammer—all brute force, no finesse.

"Kid."

"I admit you have heaven-defying talent, a once-in-a-century monster."

"But martial will isn't something you master in a single day just by relying on talent."

Chu Kuang stroked the stubble on his chin, grinning like an old fox who'd gotten into the henhouse.

"Tomorrow, when you come to process your special freshman paperwork, I'll find a chance to show you the Subtle Realm's spear intent control up close!"

"Then you'll know what 'there's always a higher mountain, and a taller sky' really means!"

"Once I've got you stunned..."

"Then you little monster will have no choice but to come crawling to my Spear Division and call me master, right?"

The more Chu Kuang thought about it, the more solid the plan seemed.

So what if the kid had a thousand points of qi and blood?

So what if he was a special freshman?

In front of his veteran, steel-forged "Subtle" spear intent, the kid was bound to be crushed!

Chu Kuang laughed heartily twice, then turned and headed for the bathhouse.

His mood was soaring.

He couldn't wait to see the look of awe—like a country bumpkin seeing the city for the first time—spread across that calm, deep-eyed face of Su Yu's tomorrow.

...

The next day.

Early morning.

Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling windows, spilling across the living room of the penthouse apartment.

Ding-dong.

The doorbell rang right on time.

Su Yu opened his eyes and sat up in bed.

Just a few hours of sleep had cleared away the spiritual fatigue from ten million years of simulation.

He washed up, opened the door, and was ready to head out for registration.

Outside the door.

Lin Xiaoxiao stood in a crisp, clean white Kyotu school uniform, her high ponytail swinging with youthful energy.

However, faint dark circles lingered beneath her clear, pretty eyes—the telltale sign of a sleepless night.

"Morning," Su Yu greeted.

"Morning, my foot! Get over here and help me!"

Lin Xiaoxiao shot him an exasperated glare.

Both her hands were struggling to drag a massive metal case—over two meters long, a dull gold in color.

THUD!

She dropped the case heavily onto the floor of the entryway.

Letting out an exceptionally dull, heavy boom.

Even the entire floor of the building vibrated slightly.

This thing was HEAVY!

Definitely over five hundred pounds!

Su Yu raised an eyebrow.

"What's this?"

"A gift for you—your back-to-school present!"

Lin Xiaoxiao dusted off her hands, her chin lifting just a touch with the well-bred pride of a top-tier aristocratic heiress.

She crouched down.

Her fair fingers quickly tapped a string of commands into the case's password lock.

Click.

The air valve released with a hiss.

The metal case slowly split open from the middle.

Whoosh—

A burst of freezing air—charged with heavy, piercing bloodlust—rushed straight into the room!

Su Yu's pupils constricted almost imperceptibly.

Inside the case.

Lay a spear.

Jet-black from shaft to tip, its body covered in dark-gold patterns resembling dragon scales.

The spearhead was elongated, bearing an eerie dark-red hue, as if it had just been yanked from the heart of a high-tier alien beast.

Just lying there, it exuded a soul-shuddering pressure.

"This spear is called 'Abyssal Dragon.'"

Lin Xiaoxiao pointed at the weapon, a hint of showing off creeping into her voice.

"The shaft is forged from the spine bone of an Tier-8 Alien Beast—the Deep Sea Abyssal Dragon—mixed with meteoric iron."

"The spearhead is laced with a full three taels of starlight essence gold."

"This is a genuine Martial Sovereign–grade weapon!"

"Even after you break through to Martial Lord or Martial Sovereign realms in the future, this spear will still be more than enough for you."

Lin Xiaoxiao stood up, looking straight at Su Yu.

"I heard from my dad yesterday that you awakened the Soul-Pinning Spear Intent by Weiming Lake."

"Since you're planning to practice spearmanship, you need a weapon worthy of you."

"Regular alloy scrap can't even begin to contain the ferocity of your Soul-Pinning Spear Intent."

"This Abyssal Dragon—it barely qualifies to match you."

Su Yu stared at the spear lying quietly inside the case.

Deep within his eyes, a flicker of complex emotion stirred.

A Martial Sovereign–grade weapon.

Its worth couldn't even be measured in money.

On the open market, this was an irreplaceable treasure—price tags meaningless, only blood-price.

Any one of these could drive grandmasters and great grandmasters to beggar themselves fighting over it.

And Lin Xiaoxiao had just casually dragged it to his doorstep.

Calling it "barely qualifying."

"This is too valuable," Su Yu said, shaking his head. He didn't reach for it.

"I already accepted the black card with a hundred million on it. This spear—I can't take it."

"Are you out of your mind?"

Lin Xiaoxiao immediately grew anxious, like a cat whose tail had been stepped on.

"Since when has this young lady ever taken back something she's given away?"

"Besides, you're now a top-tier new student at Jingwu, with countless eyes watching you!"

"You don't even have a decent weapon. Are you planning to walk into the ring empty-handed against those clan prodigies?"

Lin Xiaoxiao stepped forward, grabbed Su Yu's arm with total bossiness, and tugged him toward the metal box.

"Just take it!"

"Oh, right — you just comprehended your spear intent yesterday. How’s the control coming along?"

Lin Xiaoxiao blinked, her tone laced with curiosity.

"Spear intent is extremely hard to control. When you first grasp it, it’s easy to hurt yourself."

"Want this young lady to teach you a few basic techniques for reining it in?"

"I don't practice the spear myself, but my Lin family’s vault has plenty of manuals on willpower control."

"Take this spear, and let me see your spear intent right now!"

Su Yu was dragged over to the metal box.

Looking at Lin Xiaoxiao’s proud yet earnest expression.

He let out a helpless sigh.

"Control... it's passable, I guess."

Su Yu replied casually.

He didn't reach for the Martial Emperor–grade spear in the box.

Instead, he naturally raised his right hand.

Fingers spread slightly.

Hum—

With Su Yu's raised hand, the air in the living room twisted violently out of nowhere!

A pure, brutal, yet tightly compressed dark-red light instantly converged in Su Yu's palm!