The camaraderie forged fighting side-by-side amidst the roars of Star Beasts and clashes of Energy developed far more quickly than it would have during ordinary campus life.

Unbeknownst to them, the relationships between the squad members had grown much closer.

Beyond their coordination during missions, they began to interact more in their private time. The most common way was by sparring with one another.

Tana was undoubtedly the happiest among them.

This girl from the West Desert Royal Family had a straightforward personality and loved head-on battles.

Among all the freshmen at Star Martial University, she found that only Xu Wuyi was a rival who could truly stand against her in a direct confrontation and engage in a satisfying, all-out exchange.

Luo Liang specialized in defense. Li Hao favored hit-and-run tactics. Qin Rui’s Swordsmanship was sharp, but it lacked pure, head-on clashes of power, which always left her feeling unsatisfied.

Previously, the two had belonged to different courtyards and didn’t interact much, so she felt too awkward to just show up at his door and challenge him.

Now that they were teammates, she had no such reservations. Every few days, she would challenge him to a match on the Battle Network, sometimes even running to Villa 7 in the Hidden Dragon Garden for a live spar.

"Xu Wuyi! Come out and fight!"

Whenever he heard this full-throated cry, Xu Wuyi would rarely refuse. He also needed such an opponent to hone his own skills.

Today was another scheduled match on the Battle Network. Since there was no fear of death, they could always fight with more abandon. To create the right atmosphere, they simulated a subterranean Cultivation Room.

Tana’s Heavy Hammer was powerful and heavy. When she swung it, a vicious wind howled, carrying the brutal aura of a bloody battlefield.

Her Martial Arts were extremely refined. Her Hammer Technique looked simple and unadorned, but it was actually deceptively sophisticated, with her strikes coming from tricky angles.

Moreover, she seemed to possess a natural, keen intuition for combat, always able to predict some of her opponent’s responses and launch the most effective attacks.

Xu Wuyi even considered Tana to be one of the most skilled martial artists of his age. If he hadn’t met Chu Shanhe, the so-called "Little Eight Extremes," he might have even dropped the "one of."

Xu Wuyi, for his part, relied on the formidable Qi and Blood forged by his Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace and his Eight-direction Soul Suppressing Spear, which had reached the Minor Success Realm, to contend with her.

His Spear Technique combined both power and spiritual pressure. His Body Technique was agile, allowing him to clash head-on at times and skirmish at others, fully displaying everything he had learned. 𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Their battles were often exceptionally fierce. Bursts of Qi and Blood flared as the clang of metal on metal echoed throughout the sealed Cultivation Room.

Tana’s Divine Elephant Demon Suppression Body Refining Technique was also clearly of a very high grade—not an ordinary B-level technique. It was on par with Xu Wuyi’s Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace, which had been improved by a Grandmaster.

It was a meeting of equals, a perfect match.

After several spars, they had traded wins and losses. Neither could definitively overpower the other.

These evenly matched battles were immensely beneficial to both of their progress.

After one intense spar, both of them were drenched in sweat, steam rising from their vigorous Qi and Blood.

Tana wiped the sweat from her brow, a satisfied grin on her face. "Awesome! Fighting you is still the most thrilling!"

She didn’t let the Battle Network reset her body, seeming to enjoy the feeling of physical exhaustion after a fight.

Xu Wuyi smiled, and the two began chatting about their other team members.

Back during the inter-courtyard competition, everyone had been on the same level, with only occasional differences in strength or tactical counters.

It was much the same now. In fact, the others had even closed the gap a bit with Xu Wuyi, who had been the strongest, because he was currently in a period of accumulation.

He would have to wait until his Hundred Refinements Melting Furnace reached Minor Achievement and his Heart Fire completed its Nine-Turn cycle before he would hit his next growth spurt. Xu Wuyi’s goal was to accomplish this before May.

"Speaking of which." Tana seemed to recall something. She sat cross-legged, propped her chin on her hand, and looked at Xu Wuyi.

"Our squad is pretty interesting. Zhao Qingwei, needless to say, is the treasure of the North Courtyard’s Zhao Family. Luo Liang’s family background is good too. And Li Hao, well, you know he took money from the Qin Family. But Ding Haichuan..."

She paused, lowering her voice with the air of someone sharing a secret. "He might seem quiet and withdrawn, but his family’s circumstances were originally quite ordinary—just a normal family from Yuntai City."

"He only started improving by leaps and bounds and caught up after getting sponsored at the beginning of the year. And he’s a rare Archer... care to guess which family is sponsoring him?"

Tana left him in suspense. Amused, Xu Wuyi said, "It couldn’t be your family, could it?"

Tana was from the Ximo Royal Family. When it came to sheer wealth, not even the Qin Family of the Central Province could compare to her.

"No way. My family doesn’t do that kind of thing," Tana said, annoyed. "It’s Zhao Qingwei’s family that’s sponsoring him."

Hearing this, Xu Wuyi’s expression flickered, but he wasn’t too surprised.

The Zhao Family of Xingjing was also a major clan. They just might not have paid much attention to Star Martial University before, perhaps only taking notice because of Zhao Qingwei.

And Ding Haichuan’s talent, especially his gift for Archery, must have been the reason he was chosen.

"Each gets what they need," Xu Wuyi said calmly.

"Yeah, each gets what they need." Tana nodded. Then, changing the subject, she fixed her big, bright eyes on Xu Wuyi.

"So, Xu Wuyi, are you really not going to consider getting a sponsor? If the Qin Family isn’t a good fit, you can always find another one."

"With your potential and the strength you’ve already shown, if you decided to look, the offers would definitely be better than before."

She was again reminded of how Xu Wuyi had rejected the Qin Family.

Xu Wuyi shook his head, his tone still calm. "I have no plans for that at the moment. The university’s point system is currently sufficient for my cultivation needs."

In fact, it was more than sufficient. This was mainly because Xu Wuyi didn’t need to "pay for knowledge," as he was greatly indebted to his teacher, Han Mo.

Seeing his resolute attitude, Tana blinked, and a sly smile suddenly appeared on her face.

She leaned in closer and said in Federation standard with a slight West Desert accent, "If you don’t like the sponsorship model and feel it’s too restrictive, you could always try another way..."

"For example, how about joining our Royal Family?"

"Huh?" Xu Wuyi was taken aback by her leap in logic.

But Tana grew animated, counting on her fingers as she spoke, "I have a younger sister! She’s three years younger than you, way prettier than me, and has a gentle personality!"

"She just doesn’t like practicing Martial Arts. She’ll have to get married sooner or later, so why not just marry you?"

"If you’re willing, I can make the introduction! Once you become a prince consort of our Royal Family, you won’t have to worry about resources at all. Besides, we West Desert people don’t play so many complicated games. We definitely won’t let you be mistreated!"

She spoke with great excitement, as if she were genuinely serious about pitching her sister to him.

Looking at Tana’s earnest expression, Xu Wuyi didn’t know whether to laugh or cry.

He shook his head helplessly. "Tana, is this the West Desert way of sponsoring someone?"

"This isn’t sponsorship. We’d all be family, so why distinguish between you and me?" Tana pouted. "Just think about it! It’s better than struggling to earn points all by yourself, right?"

"If you’re not interested in my sister, then... I also have a younger brother."

"Cough, cough..."

"For now, earning points is simpler." Xu Wuyi quickly stood up to end the conversation. "Rested enough? Care for another round?"

Tana’s attention was immediately diverted. She jumped up excitedly. "Let’s go! I’ll definitely hammer you to the ground this time!"

The roar of colliding Qi and Blood once again echoed through the Cultivation Room.