Hearing Tang San's words, Ma Hongjun snorted disdainfully, "What are you? How dare you meddle in my business. Are you looking for trouble?"
Tang San's expression darkened, "Who are you calling 'my father'?"
Ma Hongjun's rat-like whiskers twitched, "Whoever meddles in my business, I'm their father."
Tang San moved. Even with his good temper, he couldn't tolerate such insults. Using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he kicked towards the Fatty's chest. The power in his kick was held back, controlled with extreme subtlety. If the Fatty were just an ordinary person, he would at most be knocked over.
If he had some special ability, then the power in Tang San's kick could be unleashed at any moment.
Just as Tang San expected, the Fatty was not simple. Seeing Tang San's kick coming, he met it without hesitation, crossing his fists in front of him to block Tang San's foot. A faint purple light shimmered on his body, clearly a spirit power fluctuation.
Tang San's kicking foot suddenly paused in mid-air, changing from a kick to a stomp, aiming for the Fatty's lower abdomen. Ma Hongjun's reaction speed was also very quick; his crossed fists simultaneously swung downwards, smashing towards Tang San's foot.
With a muffled thud, Tang San retracted his foot and retreated, and Ma Hongjun was also kicked back a few steps. The two were evenly matched; the Fatty's spirit power seemed only slightly weaker than Tang San's.
Ma Hongjun was stunned for a moment, "So you're a Spirit Master too. No wonder you dared to meddle in my business. Let me show you what strength is."
As he spoke, Ma Hongjun let out a low roar, "Phoenix Possession."
Hearing the word 'Phoenix,' Tang San and Xiao Wu's hearts simultaneously tensed. Among Beast Spirits, there were several particularly powerful ones, and Phoenix was one of them.
The Phoenix, also known as the Seven-Colored Bird, not only grants its host the ability to fly but also bestows powerful fire-attribute attack power. It is a top-tier battle-type Spirit!
Purple-red light surged out from Ma Hongjun's body. His short hair suddenly grew longer and gathered towards the center, forming a Mohawk-style hairstyle. Wings didn't appear, but as soon as the purple-red light emanated from his body, it immediately released intense heat. Two yellow spirit rings simultaneously rose from beneath his feet, and long feathers extended from his exposed, muscular arms. His hands also transformed into claw-like shapes.
Looking at him, Xiao Wu burst out laughing, "Is there such a fat Phoenix? No matter how I look at him, he seems like a common chicken."
Ma Hongjun's appearance at this moment indeed looked somewhat comical. His round body, arms with long purple-red feathers, and spiky hair—if one claimed he was a Phoenix, probably no one would believe it; he looked more like a plump hen.
Ma Hongjun seemed to have had his reverse scale touched, becoming enraged, "Who are you calling a common chicken?" He raised both hands, and his first spirit ring instantly lit up. He suddenly opened his mouth, and a thin stream of purple-red flame shot towards Xiao Wu's direction.
The high heat distorted the air. The purple flame didn't look violent; it sprayed out in the air like an extending fire line.
"Be careful."
Tang San waved his right hand, and a blue long vine gracefully wrapped around Xiao Wu's soft, slender waist, pulling her sideways to his side, dodging the fire stream spewed by Ma Hongjun.
But Ma Hongjun clearly had no intention of letting them off so easily. The flame from his mouth maintained a burning length of five meters without extinguishing, sweeping horizontally, chasing Xiao Wu's body, like a five-meter-long flame weapon.
Tang San held Xiao Wu's hand and rapidly retreated, while several Blue Silver Grass vines quickly extended along the ground. Through brief observation, he had already discovered that Ma Hongjun's flame temperature must be very high, but it had one drawback: its attack range was only five meters. As long as his movements were restricted, dealing with him wouldn't be difficult.
Indeed, just as Ma Hongjun was about to pursue, he felt his feet stiffen. His legs were tightly bound by Blue Silver Grass, and a strong stinging sensation came from his leg skin, followed by a feeling of numbness.
Ma Hongjun was startled, looking down just in time to see the coiling Blue Silver Grass. He immediately and unhesitatingly activated his second Spirit Ability.
With a puff, intense purple flames suddenly ignited on his body. Ma Hongjun's plump body instantly erupted from within, spreading outwards. The Blue Silver Grass wrapped around him, upon contact with the purple flames, immediately burned fiercely, turning to ash in the blink of an eye.
Seeing this, Tang San couldn't help but be startled. He clearly felt that Ma Hongjun's Spirit seemed to be the bane of his own Spirit.
Although Blue Silver Grass had become extremely tough under the influence of two spirit rings, as a plant, at least for now, it was still extremely afraid of fire.
Ma Hongjun, with purple flames burning all over him, looked much more imposing. Fiery anger erupted in his eyes as he strode towards Tang San and Xiao Wu, spitting flames from his mouth, looking somewhat terrifying.
"I'll go."
Tang San couldn't grab her, and Xiao Wu had already darted out. Her fluffy rabbit ears trembled slightly with her rapid movements, her whole body glowing red, her spirit power fully unleashed.
Tang San's ten fingers subtly twitched, and several Hidden Weapons were already clutched in his hand. His eyes flashed purple; once he saw Xiao Wu in danger, he would immediately strike without hesitation. Although this Fatty's Spirit was strong, Tang San knew from their previous contact that his spirit power was still slightly weaker than his own. It was impossible for him to block his Hidden Weapons like Teacher Tang could.
Ma Hongjun saw Xiao Wu rushing towards him, which was exactly what he wanted. He unceremoniously spat a Phoenix Fire Wire, which drew a circle in the air, blocking all paths Xiao Wu could take to advance.
Ma Hongjun thought to himself, 'You little brat, daring to call me a common chicken. If I don't show you what I'm made of, then I'm not called Evil Fire Phoenix. But she's quite pretty, so it's better not to burn her too badly.'
As he thought this, the flames he spewed also weakened a bit, enough to injure but not to kill.
The temperature of the purple flames dropped, and Xiao Wu naturally felt it. Was this Fatty holding back? Good, then I'll be gentle with you too.
Just as Ma Hongjun thought Xiao Wu would be injured by his first Spirit Ability, Phoenix Fire Wire, suddenly, Xiao Wu's body in mid-air instantly curled up. At the same time, she lightly twisted in the air, her flexible body seeming to have surpassed the limits of the human body, forcing her way through the gap in the fire line he spewed. When her body stretched out again, she was already beside Ma Hongjun.
What was Xiao Wu's strength?
Without using Hidden Weapons, Tang San could at most maintain a draw with her, and he couldn't let her get close. Although Ma Hongjun's second Spirit Ability, Phoenix Fire, was an all-around defensive skill that also carried an attack, Xiao Wu had already unleashed her spirit power, so resisting it for a short time was absolutely no problem.
When Tang San saw Xiao Wu arrive next to Ma Hongjun, he had already put his Hidden Weapons back into Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges. There was no suspense left in this battle.
Indeed, Xiao Wu didn't give Ma Hongjun any chance to react. With a turn of her body, she was already behind him, hands braced on the ground, and her feet instantly swung up, clamping directly onto Ma Hongjun's neck. Her first Spirit Ability, Waist Bow, activated.
Xiao Wu's entire body became like an arc-shaped bow, the light of her first spirit ring instantly covering her whole body. Immediately after, her body was like a full moon bow suddenly exerting force, abruptly flinging Ma Hongjun's body outwards.
The Spirit Ability effect of Waist Bow: Instantly increases one's waist strength by one hundred percent, and body flexibility by fifty percent. After ten Spirit ranks, for every additional rank, the amplification effect when using Waist Bow increases by one percent. This means that now, after Xiao Wu activates Waist Bow, she can increase her waist strength by one hundred nineteen percent. The instantaneous burst of elasticity is enough to throw any non-strength type opponent below Spirit Master Rank fifty.
Of course, while Waist Bow is good, the prerequisite is that one must get close to the enemy to exert its effect. Otherwise, mere waist strength is useless. It's hard to imagine that Xiao Wu's slender waist, which was not even as thick as Ma Hongjun's thigh, could produce such enormous elastic force.
Given that Ma Hongjun had reined in his flames, Xiao Wu also showed mercy and did not directly smash Ma Hongjun's body to the ground, but rather flung him into the air, giving him time to control his body.
However, she clearly overestimated Ma Hongjun's control over his own body. The Fatty flailed his limbs and tumbled a few times in the air, finally landing on his backside, dazed and disoriented.
"Don't fight, stop fighting!" The young woman Cuihua on the side suddenly spoke, quickly running towards Ma Hongjun.
The flames on Ma Hongjun's body seemed to have been extinguished by the fall. He, dizzy and disoriented, struggled to get up from the ground.
Cuihua helped Ma Hongjun brush off the dirt from his body, "Are you alright?"
Ma Hongjun snorted and said, "I'm not dead yet. Little rabbit, again."
Xiao Wu suddenly jumped on the spot, and with two swishes, her shoes flew off her feet. Although her spirit power had blocked most of the effects of Ma Hongjun's second Spirit Ability, Phoenix Fire, the shoes on her feet that had clamped Ma Hongjun's neck had still been tainted by the purple flames.
What surprised Xiao Wu was that the purple flames actually had a sticky feeling; once they adhered, they didn't extinguish. Left with no choice, she could only fling her shoes away, standing barefoot with a pair of fair, tender feet.
"Miss Cuihua, what is this?" Xiao Wu looked at Cuihua's concerned expression towards Ma Hongjun, feeling a bit confused. Wasn't this Fatty bullying her just now? How come now…
Cuihua pleaded, "Please stop fighting. Actually, Hongjun is a good person, it's just that we're not suitable for each other. So I can only break up with him. You two should go, I'll just explain things clearly to him."
Ma Hongjun angrily said, "Don't meddle in my business, get out of the way!" Saying that, he pushed Cuihua aside and was about to rush towards Xiao Wu again, but out of concern for not hurting Cuihua, he didn't use his second Spirit Ability again.
Just then, a surprised voice rang out, "Tang San, Fatty, what are you two doing?"
Tang San and Ma Hongjun simultaneously looked in the direction of the voice, only to see Dai Mubai, whose hair was meticulously combed, walking towards them.