Probing

Xu Yuan genuinely considered himself the strongest of his generation. After all, setting actual strength aside and looking strictly at track records, who among his peers could possibly stand shoulder to shoulder with him? Presenting the severed head of Chi Feng, the Barbarian King, alone was enough to make him peerless. Who else in his generation could slay a Saint? Su Jinxuan? Or Tianyan? Ah, no—Tianyan was six years older than him, so she didn't count as part of the same generation. And once Tianyan was excluded, among the prodigies of the various sects, the Big Block of Ice was already the peak, yet she was still a little dummy who hadn't even broken through to the Origin Realm. In fact, never mind his own generation—even Xu Changge, that supreme pretentious posturer, paled into insignificance before him. His eldest brother's greatest achievement was merely fighting that Semi-Saint, Luo Bingli, to mutual destruction—and even that had only been achieved after Xu Yuan and Lou Ji took turns wearing down Luo Bingli's strength first. Therefore, he, Xu Yuan, truly was the strongest. Yet to Xu Yuan's sincere answer, Orenli couldn't help bursting into laughter, giggling so hard she trembled like a blossoming branch: "Pfft... Fufufufu..." Once she had laughed her fill, Orenli tapped her cheek lightly with a finger, her tone taking on a touch of solemnity: "Though I harbor deep doubts about Young Master Changtian's claim, out of respect for your brother, I shall still grant you adequate esteem." "Tsk, don't believe me then." Xu Yuan let out a soft sigh, and his figure vanished instantly from before Orenli's eyes. Orenli seemed to have anticipated this. Her slender index finger waved gently like a conductor's baton, and an intricately patterned, deep blue magic ring behind her instantly sank into her body, while an imperceptible arc of lightning began to dance across another, purple-black magic ring. Yet before the lightning arc could brighten from faint to fierce, the purple-black magic ring suddenly dimmed. Her spell had been interrupted. A glint of amusement surfaced in Orenli's beautiful eyes as she looked toward empty space a hundred meters away. There, the figure of Xu Yuan, which had vanished, reappeared. A silent exchange of gazes. Orenli let out a soft snort through her delicate nose, her gaze showing a touch of boredom as she said, "It seems that you, the 'strongest of your generation,' cannot hold a candle to your brother. If it were him, he would likely have closed the distance immediately and crushed me head-on with that near-godlike mastery of his." Xu Yuan stared at the various array-inscribed magic rings hovering around Orenli, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Xu Changge may be strong, but he isn't brainless. Earlier, he only wanted to show me that even in desperation, one must possess the resolve to fight to the death." With that, Xu Yuan pointed toward the array-inscribed magic rings circling her body: "Those things are the medium for you to cast your spells, aren't they? The black one is a spatial magic ring, while the one that just sank into your body is likely some detection-type magic ring. In that case, it will be quite difficult for my Void-Stepping Slash to work on you." Orenli instantly understood that he was using her reactions to probe the nature of her spells. Raising a fair, bare arm to point at Xu Yuan, she let out a gentle, clear laugh: "Why don't you test that for yourself, Young Master Changtian?" As the words fell, The magic ring behind her that radiated a faint crimson light suddenly blazed, becoming as dazzling as the rising sun. Xu Yuan showed no reaction at the sight, standing silently in place. This was hardly a fair fight. During her time in Di'an City as an envoy, Orenli had likely gathered plenty of information regarding Great Yan's cultivation system, whereas he, Xu Yuan, knew nothing at all about the Kingdom of Sien's so-called magic rings. And this fundamental difference in systems made it impossible for Xu Yuan to judge the Sien princess's strength by conventional standards. After all, so far as his senses were concerned, Orenli's physical body was no different from an ordinary mortal's. Yet precisely because of this, he needed to test her out so that he could capture her in a single decisive strike. In the silence, a gigantic, explosive fireball abruptly coalesced and shot toward Xu Yuan like a cannonball. Watching the flaming mass rapidly expand in his vision as it drew near, Xu Yuan's eyes flickered with an ambiguous smile. A classic opening Fireball to show respect. As expected of a traditional mage. Still, since the opponent was a spellcaster, he might as well use a spellcaster's methods to probe her first. The thought flashed through his mind as the Blood Yuan Heart Calamity Art surged into motion. In the span of a breath, a blood-marrow bone drill nearly half a meter long condensed at his side. Striking second yet arriving first, the blood-marrow bone drill thrust straight toward the incoming explosive fireball! Under the perception of Xu Yuan's spiritual vision, the power contained within this magic-ring-forged fireball was formidable; if it hit, it would blast a massive crater into the earth at the very least. However, the fireball's lack of physical substance was an unavoidable weakness. His blood-marrow bone drill would pierce right through the fireball and fly straight at Orenli herself, though by the same token, the fiery mass would continue charging at him. Thus, as the blood-marrow bone drill shot forth, translucent crimson mirror panes began coalescing around Xu Yuan's body, preparing to intercept the fireball once the drill weakened it. Events unfolded exactly as Xu Yuan anticipated. Though melted somewhat by the searing flames, the blood-marrow bone drill still pierced through the fireball as though plunging into tofu! The spiraling gale churning around it even bored an open channel straight through the fireball. And just as the drill completely penetrated the fireball and continued hurtling toward Orenli with undiminished momentum, the fireball containing that terrifying power abruptly exploded. "Boom!!!" A scorching tempest swallowed the blood-marrow bone drill, throwing it off its flight path as hairline fractures appeared across its surface and rapidly spread. More crucially, the shockwave generated by the blast severed the Source Qi channel he used to control the drill. Deprived of guidance, the blood-marrow bone drill veered wildly into the flooded field nearby, finally shattering into a spray of starlight that dissolved without a trace. Seeing the outcome of their first true clash, Xu Yuan slowly narrowed his eyes. It appeared to be an even exchange, yet he had caught on to an intriguing detail. Orenli did not seem to possess a cultivator's intent-soul or qi control to perceive her surroundings with an "omniscient perspective." When the blood-marrow bone drill condensed, Orenli had not reacted; when the drill collided with the fireball, she had not reacted; when the drill was about to punch entirely through the fireball, she still had not reacted. Only when the bone drill entered her field of view did she suddenly detonate the fireball. She was bound by the blind spots of human vision. And... Xu Yuan's blood-red eyes, flecked with gold, inconspicuously glanced toward an intricate, pale green magic ring behind Orenli. This woman seemingly could not manipulate spells that had already been cast. The explosive fireball just now had not detonated on its own command; it had been triggered by an imperceptible sliver of occult energy fired from that pale green magic ring. Realizing this, Xu Yuan drew a deep breath and chuckled softly: "Princess, I believe I've figured out how you fight."