Wang Sheng's Surging Battle Intent

Nuoding Academy, back mountain.

It turned out Wen Jun was now a sixth-year student. When Wang Sheng had been in his first year, Wen Jun had been in his second. Back then, Wang Sheng and the others had been work-study students and freshmen, poor and without any background, so they had often been bullied by Wen Jun and his group. That only stopped after Tang San and Xiao Wu arrived.

So now, someone he had once bullied stood before Wen Jun. How could he possibly think highly of him?

This was the perfect chance to wash away his humiliation!

That was what Wang Sheng thought.

Wen Jun's expression suddenly darkened. His whole body shot forward, and a long staff as tall as a man appeared in his hand. He swung it down at Wang Sheng's head.

Yet Wang Sheng did not dodge. Soul Power light flared from his body as a tiger's roar echoed through the air. Without retreating, he crossed his slightly thick arms and directly blocked his opponent's staff.

A dull thud rang out. Wang Sheng grunted in pain, but instead of backing away, he advanced and actually grabbed hold of the opponent's staff with both hands.

"Humph, kid, do you think this is a toy?"

Wen Jun spoke disdainfully. His Soul Power flashed, yanking the staff back before he thrust it forward with force, striking Wang Sheng squarely in the chest and abdomen. Wang Sheng failed to block it and staggered back several steps before regaining his footing.

Wang Sheng had his own thoughts. He was not the kind of softhearted person who could forget being wronged. Wen Jun was no good person either. Wang Sheng wanted to defeat him without using his Martial Soul or Soul Rings and completely crush his will to fight.

But he had clearly underestimated his opponent. At the academy, they did not merely cultivate Soul Power; they also learned knowledge about Soul Masters and soul beasts. According to the books, among Soul Masters of similar levels, Beast Martial Soul masters generally had slightly greater strength and defense than Tool Martial Soul masters. Perhaps Wang Sheng wanted to prove that.

But Wen Jun's attack power seemed even higher than he had imagined.

Naturally, Wang Sheng would not give up. He sprang into the air and lunged at his opponent, but Wen Jun seized the moment and swung his staff backhandedly at him once more.

Wang Sheng was, after all, a Beast Martial Soul master. He was tough and could take a beating. Although he was at a disadvantage right now, defeating him so easily was not as simple as it seemed. Before Tang San and Xiao Wu had come to the academy, he had been the boss of Dormitory Seven. Without some real ability, he probably would not have had any standing there.

Any Soul Master with even a little understanding could see that Wang Sheng's Beast Martial Soul was currently suited for close-range attacks, yet his opponent insisted on fighting him from mid-to-long range. That left Wang Sheng unable to gain much of an advantage.

Just as Wang Sheng and his opponent were nearly deadlocked, Xiao Wu finally arrived.

Her speed was naturally incomparable to Ye Buqun's. Ye Buqun had already been watching the match from the shadows for quite some time, while she had only now hurried over.

"X-Xiao Wu? Why are you here?" Tang San could not help asking when he saw her.

Xiao Wu complained, "Just how long were you planning to keep this from me? You were actually going to handle something like this without telling me?"

"Little Sister Xiao Wu, you're here. You seem even prettier than before!" Lei Dalang said from across the way when he saw her.

Xiao Wu looked at him with some anger. "Who's your little sister? Are we even close?"

Seeing her lovely appearance, Lei Dalang did not lose his temper. Instead, he smiled. "Little Sister Xiao Wu, don't you know what this duel is for? If you lose, you'll belong to me!"

Even Tang San, who was always calm, grew somewhat angry upon hearing that. "What are you talking about? I already said that I would never use Xiao Wu as a wager. This duel is only to make you give up completely!"

In Tang San's eyes, this was a match he was bound to win.

"If one day, many people wanted to kill me, but they were all people you couldn't defeat, what would you do?"

"Then ask them to step over my corpse first!"

Seeing Tang San's resolute expression, Xiao Wu remembered what he had said five years ago.

Her heart was once again touched.

Compared to an outsider, Xiao Wu naturally trusted her Third Brother more.

"That really is touching." At that moment, Ye Buqun sat atop a lush tree in the distance. He was not looking directly at the arena, but lay on the branch and activated Eye of Mirror, clearly observing the distant scene.

Wang Sheng was still fighting fiercely against his opponent. Several bruises had already been struck onto his body by the staff, but his fighting spirit had not diminished in the slightest.

"Looks like I underestimated you. I can't hold back anymore." Wang Sheng muttered as he finally used Martial Soul Possession. At the same time, two yellow Soul Rings rose beneath his feet. A phantom of a Battle Tiger appeared behind him, the muscles across his body swelling, while his claws extended with chilling glints.

Compared to Wang Sheng, Wen Jun's Soul Rings were somewhat inferior. His configuration was one white and one yellow.

They were both already eleven or twelve years old and had reached the rank of Soul Grandmaster, though both were only a little above level twenty. Wang Sheng was level twenty-one, while Wen Jun was level twenty-two, but that was still considered decent talent. At their age, more than half the students at Nuoding Academy had yet to exceed level twenty.

"You think releasing your little kitty will make me afraid of you?" Wen Jun said, though he was secretly a little surprised. This fellow's aura really was different from when he had bullied him before.

"Today, I'll let you see how powerful I am!" Wang Sheng seemed to have wanted to shout those words for a long time, and he finally had the chance.

First Soul Skill: Tiger's Might!

Second Soul Skill: Tiger's Assault!

Wang Sheng charged forward as his first and second Soul Rings lit up at the same time. The glow of Soul Power around his body intensified, and the Battle Tiger phantom grew larger as well.

Wang Sheng's First Soul Skill, Tiger's Might, was a state-enhancing soul skill that could instantly increase his attack and defense by twenty percent.

Faced with the menacing opponent rushing toward him, Wen Jun actually felt pressure. He gripped his Martial Soul, the Eyebrow-Level Staff, with both hands. His second Soul Ring spun rapidly and rose onto the long staff as he hastily brought it smashing down.

Second Soul Skill: Overhead Staff Strike!

As the Eyebrow-Level Staff descended, it grew over three meters long and as thick as an arm.

This time, Wang Sheng still did not dodge. His powerful tiger claw knocked aside the thick staff, and when he closed in, before his opponent could react, his other tiger claw slapped directly onto his head. His opponent's entire body was sent spinning through the air, and Wang Sheng quickly stepped forward and rammed his solid shoulder into the opponent's chest.

Wen Jun crashed to the ground and passed out.

A Tool Soul Master's defense was far inferior to that of a Tool Soul Master, especially in close combat, where Tool Soul Masters could gain even less of an advantage—