It all happened in the blink of an eye.
The diners in the restaurant could hardly believe what they were seeing — five students from Canghui Academy had rushed forward, only to have two of them cleanly thrown to the ground in an instant… by a single, pretty-looking young girl.
Even the Canghui instructor was momentarily stunned by Xiao Wu's fluid takedowns. Shock quickly turned to anger as he barked, "Idiots, use your martial souls!"
Off to the side, Oscar rubbed at his eyes and muttered, "Damn… that fierce? Thank goodness I've never pissed off your Xiao Wu."
Tang San only smiled faintly, while Dai Mubai rose from his seat and said in a low voice, "Xiao Wu, come back. With the men here, there's no need for you girls to step in."
His figure blurred, and Dai Mubai was suddenly at her side. Xiao Wu glanced back at Tang San, who nodded slightly. She withdrew without a trace of worry, sauntering back to her seat.
Fatty Ma Hongjun stuffed two huge bites into his mouth, chewed, and reluctantly rose to stand beside Dai Mubai, cracking his knuckles with loud pops. Tang San stepped forward to switch places with Xiao Wu, taking up position on Dai's other side.
Three young men facing off against five older youths — on numbers alone, the Canghui side seemed to have the advantage. But numbers weren't everything.
Since Xiao Wu hadn't used her martial soul earlier, the two she'd thrown were rattled but not seriously injured. Regrouping with their teammates, all five Canghui students were seething. Barely pausing for breath, they unleashed their martial souls.
They simply couldn't accept that, as students of an advanced soul master academy, they could be bested by these younger kids.
Light flared as five spirits emerged. Each wore one white and one yellow soul ring — a ten-year and a hundred-year ring. All without exception were battle-type soul masters: two wielding weapon spirits — a spear and a trident — and three beast spirits in the shapes of a deer, a goat, and a horse. None were especially formidable spirits in themselves.
Dai Mubai's narrowed "evil eyes" glinted with deeper disdain. "These are supposed to be disciples of an advanced academy? And some of you still have ten-year rings? Brothers — show them what real soul rings look like."
The Evil-Eyed White Tiger had never been the type to reason with anyone — Tang San had known that since their first meeting. Unless you proved yourself in strength, Dai Mubai's arrogance wouldn't change.
"White Tiger, Body Enhancement!"
A fierce white light burst from his body. Muscles swelled with cracking pops as his frame bulked up, clothes stretching tight over newly defined muscle. The air around him grew taut and aggressive. Golden hair turned white streaked with black, and across his brow appeared the faint tracery of three horizontal and one vertical stripe — together forming the king's character "王."
His hands changed most of all — doubling in size, covered in white fur, fingers tipped with short, dagger-like claws eight inches long that slid in and out with a deadly gleam. His posture lowered, blue light burning in his eyes, a cold killing aura radiating outwards.
Under his feet, three soul rings rose one after another — two yellow, one purple. The thousand-year purple ring's glow made the pressure rolling off him crash like a wave. Whether by instinct or elemental suppression, the three Canghui beast spirit users all shuddered and instinctively stepped back at the sight of the predator before them.
Deer, goat, and horse — why wouldn't they fear a tiger?
As Dai Mubai's full strength manifested, Tang San and Ma Hongjun released theirs as well.
"Phoenix, Possession!"
Violet-red flames roared from Fatty's body. His short hair lengthened and pulled into a mohawk. Two yellow rings rose at his feet as feathers sprouted along his thick arms and his hands curled into talons. The heat radiating from him shimmered the air, and with Dai's white tiger aura beside him, the pressure on the five Canghui students was suffocating.
Only Tang San's martial soul remained calm, two yellow rings like Fatty's rising as Blue Silver Grass spread in a subtle weave around him.
They didn't need to attack — just Dai Mubai's three rings were enough to knock the fight out of the five Canghui youths. The difference of a single soul ring was huge — and when that extra ring was a thousand-year one, it was an unbridgeable chasm.
What galled the Canghui students most was that these three were clearly younger than they were — yet already stronger.
"Enough," their teacher finally ordered, waving the five back.
The Canghui instructor's own mind was reeling. Three boys — one perhaps seventeen at most, the other two barely in their teens — and yet geniuses among geniuses. That central one with the purple ring was a Soul Elder already; the thousand-year ring was like a brand in his eyes.
He'd had no intention of letting the fight go on — even if his students could somehow win, these were not opponents to trifle with.
"I'm Ye Zhiqiu, External Affairs Director of Canghui Academy. Which sect are you disciples of?"
Before Dai could reply, Fatty puffed out his chest and said smugly, "We're from Shrek Academy." He leered openly at Canghui's only female student as he spoke.
Ye Zhiqiu frowned, clearly never having heard of them. "Shrek Academy? Sounds unfamiliar."
"That's your ignorance," Dai Mubai snorted.
Relieved they weren't heirs of some great sect, Ye Zhiqiu still felt an unpleasant twist in his gut. Canghui's students were good, but these brats put them to shame. Still, backing down here would be an embarrassment in front of so many onlookers.
His eyes flashed. "Xuan Turtle — Possession!"
Black ripples surged out, pressing back Tang San, Dai, and Fatty in an instant. His limbs shrank, his back arched into a massive shell, and five soul rings rose — white, yellow, yellow, purple, purple. Ye Zhiqiu was a Soul King.
The restaurant buzzed in shock — a Soul King was a rare powerhouse on the continent. In some smaller kingdoms, such strength could earn a viscount's or even an earl's title.
Dai Mubai's expression shifted slightly. He glanced at Tang San, who met his eyes and nodded, fingers brushing the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist — readying hidden weapons. Against someone of this rank, only a decisive strike would do.
Ye Zhiqiu rumbled, "You kids don't know your place. Call your teachers out."
Fatty let out a mocking laugh. "An old turtle like you wants to see our teacher? The three of us are enough to deal with you."
The shopkeeper all but wrung his hands in the doorway. "Honored soul masters, please… not inside! Small business, small business…"
The word "turtle" was a curse Ye Zhiqiu despised. He'd intended to just scare them — he didn't want to be seen bullying children, and who knew what kind of power lay behind them?
But that insult snapped the last of his restraint. He smiled coldly. "Very well. I'll educate you on your teacher's behalf. Outside."
Watching from concealment, Yun Chuan murmured to himself, "Good. Let these lawless brats feel the sting of the real world for once."
He had no intention of stepping in like Zhao Wuji had in the original events. This time, Tang San and the rest were going to get exactly what they provoked — a proper beating from society.
(End of Chapter)