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Su Wen followed Lin Tian to a secluded area beside the academy's training grounds.
"Hahahaha!"
"Bastard! Let go of Xiaopang!"
"Wang Sheng, I've always found you work-study trash annoying—now you dare come cause trouble on your own?"
…
Things were noisy and chaotic.
Even from a distance, Su Wen could hear the shouts from both Liu Long's group and the work-study students.
Pushing through the small crowd to the inner ring, he finally saw Xiaopang.
Right now, Xiaopang was lying on the ground, bruised and swollen. His teeth were clenched, tears welling in his eyes.
A tall upperclassman stood over him, a long staff in hand, one foot pressing down on Xiaopang.
"Hey, fatty! You dare refuse me, Liu Long? Hmph! Today you're gonna learn your lesson!"
As he spoke, Liu Long lifted his foot, ready to stomp down hard.
"Stop!"
"Who's that?"
Liu Long looked up and saw Su Wen, immediately grinning. "Looks like my name doesn't ring loud enough. Even second-years dare challenge me now?"
"Wen-ge…"
Xiaopang's voice trembled with held-back sobs when he saw Su Wen.
I didn't provoke anyone…
Not yet eight years old, Xiaopang felt deeply wronged.
He'd just been practicing staff techniques normally when this Liu Long showed up and beat him.
The more people gathered, the heavier Liu Long's blows became.
Sun Xiaopang was furious and helpless.
This Liu Long even wanted to take his staff techniques from him.
But Xiaopang didn't have any inherited moves—his staff training was something Su Wen had taught him personally.
"You, kid—also a work-study student?"
Liu Long glanced at the badge on Su Wen's chest, his eyes narrowing.
Second-year work-study students were getting too bold.
Just by observing, he could tell this fatty didn't look to Wang Sheng as his main support—Su Wen was clearly the backbone here.
Liu Long kicked Xiaopang toward Su Wen.
"Xiaopang."
Su Wen caught him and helped him to his feet, asking about the situation.
"Su Wen," Wang Sheng stepped forward, standing in front of them with a serious face, "Liu Long obviously won't let this go today. We'll hold off Xiao-laoda's side, but Liu Long… he's yours."
From Xiaopang's explanation, Su Wen understood what had happened. He stepped past Wang Sheng and stood before Liu Long.
"So you're Liu Long?"
"What, looking for a beating?"
Su Wen's lips curved up, but the look in his eyes was anything but friendly. "Fight?"
"Come on!"
Liu Long gripped his wooden staff and squared off with Su Wen.
"It's about to start!"
"What's with this second-year? Is he dumb or suicidal?"
"He's only second-year and dares challenge Liu Long?"
"Liu Long's in sixth year now—he's eleven—with soul power at rank eight."
"That kid's done for."
Even the work-study students were nervous.
Though Su Wen rarely hung around with them, they all slept in the same dorm and were part of the same group.
Su Wen summoned his martial soul.
"A book?"
The surrounding students stared blankly.
"You've got to be kidding—that's his martial soul?"
"Hahahaha! What's he going to do, smack Liu Long with literature?"
"Maybe he'll read Liu Long a bedtime story and knock him out?"
"PUHAHAHAHA!"
Laughter exploded around them.
They thought Su Wen had come to make a fool of himself.
Liu Long, however, didn't laugh.
Instinctively—he felt pressure.
He was just about to mock the book martial soul—
—but Su Wen moved first.
Pages tore free from the Heavenly Tome, folding and rolling into the shape of a paper staff.
"Haha! One has a wooden staff, the other a paper one. Are you clowns performing?"
The jab came from behind Xiao-laoda's faction.
Su Wen didn't care.
He was already using his soul power to reinforce the pages' structure.
He was only rank ten—and already burned through over seventy percent of his soul power.
He dashed forward, swinging!
A gust of force swept out—Liu Long's expression shifted and he retreated.
Aside from guiding Xiaopang, Su Wen himself had solid staff skills.
Each swing sent whooshing wind through the air.
BANG!
Su Wen's momentum completely suppressed Liu Long, blow after blow. Liu Long couldn't keep up and took a hard strike.
His eyes reddened from pain.
Tch—this is paper!? Did he hide metal in there!?
Su Wen pressed his advantage, smacking Liu Long again and again.
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Finally, he kicked Liu Long away.
Liu Long felt pain everywhere.
The watching students were stunned.
They didn't know how hard a paper staff could hit—but the fact that Liu Long lost said enough.
A second-year student with a book martial soul had beaten Liu Long, a sixth-year?
Heaven and earth must be overturned.
Even the work-study students viewed Su Wen with newfound awe.
"He beat Liu Long? That means Su Wen's even stronger than our boss!"
"Shut it—at best he's as strong as boss."
"… "
"You dared bully my people?" Xiao-laoda pushed forward, ordering his cronies to pick Liu Long up. He stared at Su Wen with arrogant aggression.
"You'll fight me too. If you lose, don't bother me again. I hate trouble."
Since he'd already fought, Su Wen planned to end the problem at the source.
If he got tangled with Xiao-laoda, he'd be dragged into conflict every few days—how was he supposed to cultivate?
So he might as well beat Xiao-laoda into submission.
"Hmph. You used up plenty of soul power just now, and you still want to fight me?" Xiao Chenyu sneered, feeling as though Su Wen was underestimating him.
But Su Wen ran his soul power using the techniques he'd recently developed, drawing original soul power from his martial soul space and swiftly recovering.
The paper staff unfurled into loose pages again and gathered around him.
"Su Wen—martial soul: Heavenly Tome. Rank ten Soul Warrior!"
"Rank ten!?"
"He's already rank ten?"
"So he just needs one soul ring to become a Soul Master?"
"Heavens, a second-year about to reach soul master level!?"
Even Xiao Chenyu was shaken.
However, he didn't back down.
"So your soul power reached rank ten—that explains how you beat Liu Long. But today, you'll learn your place."
"Xiao Chenyu, martial soul: Wolf! Rank eleven, one-ring Battle Soul Master!"
With a shout, green light flared over his body. His muscles swelled, his eyes turned pale green, and his hands grew sharp and claw-like.
"Today, you'll learn the difference between a soul master with a ring… and one without!"
A white soul ring appeared under his feet, shining brightly.
He pounced instantly.
But Su Wen remained calm.
He and Xiao Chenyu weren't standing too close at the start.
As Xiao Chenyu lunged, Su Wen stepped back.
The three pages circling him folded quickly, forming paper swords that shot forward.
Su Wen could control them at close range, but it consumed a lot of soul power. The farther they flew, the faster his soul power burned.
Right now, he was only giving them an initial thrust.
Afterward, they simply flew on momentum.
Honestly, calling them flying swords was generous—they were closer to throwing darts.
After launching one, another page tore from his Heavenly Tome, folding into a new paper sword.
Even with conservation in mind, the technique burned soul power like crazy.
A typical rank-ten Soul Scholar wouldn't be able to sustain it.
"But I have a backup hidden energy source!"
Firing paper swords to disrupt Xiao Chenyu's charge, Su Wen moved while simultaneously drawing original soul power from his martial soul space to replenish what he burned.
(End of Chapter)