The Power of a Single Punch

After leaving the blacksmith shop, Jiang Wu walked toward the academy along a narrow street in the south of the city, with Wang Dong'er beside him.

Dusk was falling, and the food stalls along the street had opened again. The aroma of cooking oil mingled with the smoky bustle and washed over them.

"Xiao Wu, are you coming again tomorrow?"

"Mm."

"Then I'll come again tomorrow too."

Jiang Wu glanced at her. "Don't you need to cultivate?"

"I cultivate really fast." Wang Dong'er spoke with complete confidence. "My first daddy says I'm talented. A little casual practice is worth half a year of someone else's cultivation."

Jiang Wu smiled and said nothing.

He knew perfectly well that even if Wang Dong'er spent every day eating, drinking, and having fun, Tang San could find a way to make her a god.

If Tang San really did that, Jiang Wu wouldn't react.

He thought it was perfectly normal. If it were him and his child spent every day eating, drinking, and having fun, he would find a way to make his child a god too.

Jiang Wu knew exactly what kind of person he was. He loved good food and beautiful women and was a little greedy for money. He wasn't some internet saint.

There was only one circumstance in which he would do a good deed: when it wouldn't affect him much.

The two bought a pair of baked flatbreads and ate as they walked. By the time they returned to the dormitory, the other work-study students were already there.

"Boss, the people from Dormitory Two beat us up." A boy of seven or eight ran over and told Jiang Wu.

Seven or eight boys followed behind him, their clothes grimy.

The boy's name was Meng Yan. He was from Stone Village, his Martial Soul was a stone, and his Innate Soul Power was rank two.

Jiang Wu frowned and asked, "What happened?"

He naturally knew about the people from Dormitory Two.

Dormitory Two was generally where the children of wealthy city families lived. They looked down on the people in the other dormitories, or so his older sister had told him.

Meng Yan said, "Zhang Yu from Dormitory Two became a Soul Master yesterday and came to show off in front of us today. We ignored him, and he felt like he'd lost face, so they beat us up."

Jiang Wu said helplessly, "I know. I'll go find them tomorrow. Hurry and take a bath now. You're all filthy."

Meng Yan and the others quickly nodded and left the dormitory for the bathhouse.

Early the next morning, Jiang Wu woke up under Wang Dong'er's weight as usual.

He couldn't be bothered to struggle anymore and let the girl lie on top of him for another quarter of an hour. Only when the others in the dormitory began getting up and washing did Wang Dong'er reluctantly crawl out of bed, her messy hair sticking up like a cat that had just woken.

"Xiao Wu, what are we having for breakfast?"

"Whatever the cafeteria has."

"I want meat buns."

"Then we'll have meat buns."

Wang Dong'er nodded in satisfaction and ran off to wash her face.

Jiang Wu sat up and loosened his shoulder, which had gone numb under her weight. His gaze swept over the work-study students in the dormitory.

Meng Yan stood by the door, his face still bruised from yesterday's beating and one corner of his mouth swollen.

Jiang Wu said nothing, but he kept it in mind.

After breakfast, Jiang Wu told Wang Dong'er to go to the classroom first and took Meng Yan to Dormitory Two.

Meng Yan followed behind, a little nervous. "Boss, Zhang Yu has a lot of people with him."

"It's fine."

Dormitory Two was on the east side of the academy, a small blue-brick building. Compared with the wooden house that was Dormitory Seven, the difference was as vast as heaven and earth.

There was even a small flowerbed in front, planted with a few flowers and plants Jiang Wu didn't recognize.

Jiang Wu had just reached the building when he saw a boy in a short silk jacket come out the door, followed by three or four other boys dressed just as smartly.

The boy looked about eight or nine. His chin was raised slightly, and he strode along as if the wind were at his heels. He was the Zhang Yu Meng Yan had spoken of.

Meng Yan whispered, "That's Zhang Yu."

Jiang Wu walked straight over.

Zhang Yu saw them too. His gaze swept over Jiang Wu's face before settling on Meng Yan, who had his neck drawn in behind him. The corners of Zhang Yu's mouth curled upward.

"Well, if it isn't the paupers from Dormitory Seven. What, you got beaten up yesterday and brought help today?"

The boys around him burst into laughter.

Jiang Wu stopped in front of him, his voice calm. "Were you the one who beat Meng Yan yesterday?"

An amused smile played on Zhang Yu's face. "I did. What about it? Not happy?"

"Let's spar," Jiang Wu said. "If you win, we'll let this go. If you lose, apologize to them and leave Dormitory Seven alone from now on."

Zhang Yu froze for a moment, then laughed out loud.

"You want to spar with me?" Zhang Yu looked Jiang Wu up and down, undisguised contempt in his eyes. "What's your Martial Soul? What rank is your Soul Power? I just got my First Soul Ring yesterday. I'm a rank-eleven Power Attack System Soul Master. Are you sure?"

Jiang Wu didn't answer. He simply stepped back twice, clearing an open space.

Zhang Yu's smile slowly faded. He stared at Jiang Wu for two seconds, then suddenly sneered. "Fine. If you're looking for death, I won't stop you. But let me make this clear first: fists and feet have no eyes. If you get hurt, don't go crying to the academic affairs office."

He flexed his wrists, and a yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet.

Martial Soul Possession. His arms visibly thickened, and a layer of yellowish-brown keratin appeared on his skin. When he clenched his fists, his knuckles cracked.

"Rhinoceros Martial Soul, strength type," Meng Yan whispered from behind Jiang Wu.

Jiang Wu nodded and stood where he was without moving.

Zhang Yu attacked first.

He pushed off with his right foot and charged like a small tank, his right fist whistling through the air straight at Jiang Wu's face.

The punch carried tremendous force, setting the air humming. Several students nearby instinctively stepped back.

Jiang Wu turned sideways.

The edge of the fist brushed past his ear, whipping up a fierce gust.

Zhang Yu's punch missed, and his momentum carried him half a step forward. But his reactions were quick, and his left fist swept across immediately after.

Jiang Wu drew his left foot back half a step and lowered his waist slightly. With his right fist drawn back at his waist, he met the blow with a straight punch, without the slightest flourish.

The two fists collided in midair.

A contemptuous smile still hung on Zhang Yu's face. He had absolute confidence in the strength of his Rhinoceros Martial Soul. How good could a pauper from Dormitory Seven's Martial Soul possibly be?

Even against another Soul Master, a strength-type Martial Soul shouldn't lose to...

Before he could finish the thought, a force capable of toppling mountains and overturning seas surged through the point where their fists met.

Zhang Yu's smile froze on his face.

He felt as though he had struck a city wall. No, he had struck a mountain.

The force was impossibly heavy, nothing like what a human could deliver.

A teeth-grating crack came from the bones of his right fist, followed by his wrist, forearm, and shoulder. The force traveled up through his bones, and his entire right arm felt as though it had taken a direct blow from a sledgehammer.

Zhang Yu's pupils abruptly widened.

He went flying.

Zhang Yu's body traced an arc through the air, sailing over the flowerbed and snapping a young tree as thick as an arm at its edge. Then he slammed into the stone steps in front of the blue-brick building and rolled twice before coming to a stop.

Not a crow or sparrow made a sound.