A crowd had already gathered around to watch the scene unfold, finding it quite entertaining.
"Senior, I've just enrolled and don't have much cultivation. If you insist on picking a fight with me, won't that be overkill?" Shi Yu said calmly.
"How about this—we make a three-move agreement. If you can defeat me within three moves, I'll stay away from Nannan. I won't speak to her again, and I'll take a detour whenever I see her."
"But if you can't even touch me within three moves, then you lose."
"In that case, you're not allowed to give me trouble in the future, nor interfere in my relationship with Nannan. How does that sound?" Shi Yu proposed.
He could tell the other guy had a bit of a temper. If he didn't make such an offer first, he might've really ended up being chased around and beaten. That would be humiliating—and absolutely unacceptable.
Also, this might not be the only trouble he'd face going forward, so it was best to preemptively deal with it.
"He's a Soul Elder, and you're just a Spirit Master. The gap is huge. He could probably take you down with a single move," Jiang Nannan said, slightly shaking her head, hoping Shi Yu wouldn't do anything reckless.
"Don't worry," Shi Yu replied with a reassuring smile, then turned his gaze back to Xu Sanshi, waiting for his response.
"Three moves it is," Xu Sanshi agreed. "But I want to add something—if I win, you have to come over every day and let me beat you up. And I decide how hard."
He didn't plan to kill the guy, but he didn't want to just let this go either. He wanted the right to give him a daily beating.
Shi Yu put on a conflicted expression, hesitated for a while, then gritted his teeth and said, "Then I want to add one more thing too. If I win, you're not allowed to harass Nannan anymore."
This time, it was Xu Sanshi's turn to hesitate. What if he really lost?
"What? Are you scared?" Shi Yu asked, testing him.
"Of course not! Let's do it your way!" Xu Sanshi couldn't bear the provocation and his voice rose several decibels.
"Come with me now—I can't wait to beat you up!" he urged.
"No, I still have work to do. Wait until I'm done," Shi Yu deliberately brushed him off.
"Right now. Immediately!" Xu Sanshi clearly couldn't wait another second.
"But what about my job?" Shi Yu turned to look at the cafeteria supervisor. The commotion had attracted quite a crowd, and even the supervisor had come over.
"Go on—but be careful," the supervisor said helplessly. He could only offer a bit of sympathy, wondering what Shi Yu had done to offend Xu Sanshi so badly.
"Alright then," Shi Yu agreed and got ready to leave.
"Are you okay?" Jiang Nannan grabbed his hand, clearly worried—after all, this whole situation had started because of her.
"Even if I'm not okay, I have to go through with it. I don't want to get beaten up every day," Shi Yu said jokingly, trying to lighten the mood as he walked off.
The two of them soon arrived at an open space outside the cafeteria, which was wide enough to serve as a dueling ground.
"Let's fight here," Xu Sanshi said.
"Fine by me," Shi Yu replied and stood opposite him, maintaining a distance of over twenty meters.
"Are they really gonna fight?" Many students rushed over to watch.
"Who is Xu Sanshi fighting this time?" Beibei arrived with two others in tow.
"Big Brother, do you know him?" the skinny boy beside him asked curiously.
"I know him too—Xu Sanshi. He's a good friend of your big brother," said Tang Ya, the girl on the other side of Beibei.
"He's a brother, not just a friend," Beibei clarified.
Huo Yuhao nodded as if he understood and silently rooted for his big brother's friend.
"Brother, what's going on?" Beibei asked someone nearby.
The student quickly explained the situation.
"So it's because Xu Sanshi got jealous over Jiang Nannan," Beibei said, suddenly understanding.
No wonder Xu Sanshi looked so furious—the guy was being that close with Jiang Nannan, of course Xu Sanshi would explode.
This spot wasn't far from the dorm area. In fact, the cafeteria and dorms were adjacent, and from the campus gate, you could see the open space.
At that moment, Moon was lying on a rocking chair at the gate, watching with interest. Though he was blocked by other onlookers and couldn't really see what was happening, he stared intently as if enjoying the whole scene.
Shi Yu stood opposite Xu Sanshi, feeling the pressure—but it wasn't overwhelming.
After all, when he'd traveled back ten thousand years, he was chased by none other than Soul Saint Zhao Wuji. He had successfully evaded multiple attacks from a Soul Saint.
If I could escape from a Soul Saint, how could I not dodge three attacks from a Soul Elder?
Moreover, Xu Sanshi was a defense-type soul master. He lacked explosive attack power, which made things easier.
Xu Sanshi glared at Shi Yu. His Xuanming Turtle Shield appeared before him, solid and heavy, with tortoise-shell patterns all over it. It looked like a Xuanming Turtle lay dormant within.
Before his martial soul evolved, it was known as the Xuanming Turtle Shield. If given the right opportunity, it could one day evolve into the legendary Xuanwu Turtle Shell Shield.
One after another, three soul rings appeared: yellow, yellow, purple—proving that he was a Soul Elder.
After Xu Sanshi released his martial soul, everyone turned their attention to Shi Yu, curious to see what kind of martial soul dared face off against a Soul Elder.
Shi Yu calmly released his martial soul. A silver vortex materialized behind him, drawing curious murmurs from the crowd.
A single yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet.
Everyone waited… and waited… but no second ring appeared. Only one.
"So he's just a Level 10 Spirit Master? What's the point in fighting?" Many onlookers were disappointed and lost interest.
"That's all? A Level 10 against a Soul Elder? There's no suspense at all."
"What kind of martial soul is that?" Beibei frowned—he didn't recognize it.
Tang Ya shook her head too. Huo Yuhao didn't know either, but something told him there was something odd about that soul ring.
"I'm going to attack now," Xu Sanshi warned loudly. He wanted everyone to know that he was giving his opponent a fair chance, not ambushing a weaker soul master.
With that, he charged forward, the massive Xuanming Turtle Shield in hand, his movements heavy and swift.
From Shi Yu's position, it felt like pressure was coming from all directions—like water enveloping his entire body, slowing everything down.
But Shi Yu didn't move. He neither activated a skill nor attempted to dodge.
Many spectators were puzzled. What was he doing?
Xu Sanshi was enraged, thinking Shi Yu was mocking him. He increased his strength, charging in with full force.
Though he was a defense-type soul master, getting hit by him would feel like being rammed by a bull—definitely not something a Level 10 soul master could handle.
Still, Shi Yu didn't move, even as Xu Sanshi closed to within two meters.
"He's probably frozen from fear," someone muttered, shaking their head. The ending seemed obvious now.
"Dodge!" Jiang Nannan shouted in panic. She couldn't bear the thought of seeing Shi Yu's bones broken.
Beibei frowned. Something felt off. Shi Yu didn't look like someone paralyzed by fear.
Just as Xu Sanshi's shield was about to collide with him—Shi Yu vanished.
There was no sound, no impact. Xu Sanshi's shield hit empty air.
His expression shifted—Where did he go?
"Where is he?" gasps and exclamations came from the crowd.
Then, to everyone's shock, Shi Yu reappeared—standing in the exact spot where Xu Sanshi had started earlier, as if they had swapped places.
Xu Sanshi stumbled forward a few more steps before managing to stop. He turned and stared at Shi Yu, clearly irritated. He felt like he'd just been played.
Shi Yu raised one finger, smiling calmly."One move."