William readied himself to receive Han Xinya’s attack with Soul Armor. It wasn’t a particularly complicated technique, just a way to cover the outside of his soul in a protective barrier. That didn’t make it weak, however. Though it was simplistic, it didn’t need to be particularly complicated to do its job. Han Xinya struck out with a palm, carrying with it the true attack. William recognized it as the main attack he had used, the one that felt like flowing waves. The attack swept up and around the outside of William’s soul, flowing over William’s Soul Armor. Upon contact, William felt the great momentum that was actually behind it, and that it was slightly reduced. However, William’s defenses didn’t even feel slightly strained. Then, when the attack had flowed around the entirety of his soul, it suddenly squeezed inwards as it continued to flow around. However, this pressure didn’t bother William at all… Until he noticed something. Though his defenses seemed perfect, a small amount of energy got through, poking him all over like needles. William knew that it could have actually done worse, but he still didn’t like it. He immediately clamped down on all the weaknesses that were revealed, and the attack quickly lost momentum and faded.

William breathed out slowly. William knew his defenses were actually quite good. The flaws should have only been very small, but yet they were quickly found. Against a weak opponent, it wouldn’t have mattered. They still wouldn’t have been able to do anything. However, Han Xinya wasn’t weak. In a real combat, it wouldn’t there wouldn’t be ‘turns’ but this was a spar, and now was William’s chance to attack. Although he hadn’t held back with his first attack, he also hadn’t used the entirety of his strength. That is, he had used an attack he felt could cause real damage, and that was sustainable. However, since that hadn’t worked, he had to put more into this attack. He wanted to break or at least noticeably weaken Han Xinya’s defenses. He struck out again. This time, his hammerlike blow had more power behind it. However, it also faced stronger defenses. Once again, the attack was deflected… However William was ready for that, and was already controlling the energy to swing back around. This weakened the energy behind the attack, but it wasn’t all wasted. He also made it move as quickly as he could, to give minimal time to attack. This time, Han Xinya couldn’t deflect the attack, and had to actually block it. He still didn’t meet the full force of the attack, but even with that William felt the shield slightly weaken. Unfortunately, that collision consumed the rest of the energy in William’s attack.

Han Xinya responded in the same manner as before, but with more power behind his attack. This time it felt much more like a storm than some gentle waves. Of course, William also responded with a bit stronger defenses. His defenses hadn’t been broken through directly before, so just adding more energy wasn’t the answer. Instead, he tried to shore up the weaknesses that had been revealed before, and even found a few extra. As the storm of energy met William’s defenses, he revealed another trick, suddenly expanding his Soul Armor to meet the attack, actually intentionally colliding with the energy. This helped reduce some of the power behind it, though Han Xinya quickly responded after the initial moment. As the attack continued, William tried to continually reduce its energy while Han Xinya searched for the weakest points in his armor. In the end, Han Xinya concentrated his attacks into fewer points, and actually managed to pierce a few weaknesses, causing some more jabbing pain. William quickly managed to reinforce those points, while not skimping on the rest of his defenses. William let out another deep breath. “I surrender.”

Han Xinya laughed softly. “Good, good. I must say, if I had to fight you head on, I would run out of energy long before you, if I wasn’t at a higher cultivation level. You have impressive strength, and I don’t doubt you’ll refine the technique given time.” He stroked his chin briefly. “Your cultivation technique is interesting. It reminds me of something… perhaps it’s Rotational Soul Pressure.”

William nodded. “Impressive perception. How did you know?”

“Well, besides being a specialist in soul techniques… there aren’t many techniques that don’t have breakthroughs. I don’t feel the resonant traces of such from you, but you still have sufficient ki that you cannot be before any major breakthrough. I practice that one myself, from time to time.”

“From time to time?” William tilted his head in interest. “Have you not reached your limits yet?”

Han Xinya shook his head. “That’s not it. In fact, the limits of how far that can help increase with time. Age seems to be a direct factor, though it’s hard to say exactly what else is involved. Thus, occasional practice of that method, after there is room for growth, is quite beneficial.”

“Interesting. That’s not written in the description… but I suppose it’s not exactly common knowledge either. I was lucky to find this technique.”

“Cultivation could advance much further if there were less secrets about. Of course, even though I say that I don’t most people to make proper use of their power, and I keep secrets too. As for you being lucky to find it… there are enough similar methods around. The basic tenants stand. It will increase power up to a point, but if you try to push beyond it results in crippling or death. Then, after some time or other kinds of growth, there is more room for improvement. Most people don’t bother to go back to an old method after they feel they’ve surpassed its usefulness.”

“I have to admit, I might have done the same. If this should be a secret, why tell me? We’ve only just met.”

“Well, I have to tell someone. Besides, you seem like you would have probably figured it out on your own… and it’s not that important anyway.”

William smiled. “So, you have better secrets? Want to tell them to me?”

“Normally, I’d just say ‘no’. However, if I said that now, there would have been little purpose in my coming here. Tell me, what is your relation to Yu Huan?”

“She’s my sister. Well, half-sister technically.”

“Would you describe your relationship as good, neutral, or poor?”

“Good, mostly.”

“Excellent. I could use a few good students.”