Zhao Zilong listened to Yu Xiaogang's arrangements without saying a word from beginning to end. He walked straight to the middle of the training ground. It didn't matter who he fought. Let alone Dai Mubai-even if he faced Tang San right now, Zhao Zilong was confident he could win.
After all, Tang San, who hadn't yet reached Soul Power Level 30, was even a little weaker than Dai Mubai. And Zhao Zilong knew all of Tang San's attack methods, too. If Hidden Weapons couldn't catch someone off guard, their power would be greatly diminished.
Zhao Zilong looked at Dai Mubai and said, "Old Bai, since we're fighting anyway, how about we put something on the line?"
"Something on the line?" Dai Mubai asked, a little puzzled, but interested as well. "Sounds fun. Go on, what do you have in mind?"
"How about a hundred Gold Soul Coins? If I lose, I'll give you a hundred Gold Soul Coins, and vice versa." Zhao Zilong held up one finger.
Dai Mubai didn't take a bet of a hundred Gold Soul Coins seriously at all. He agreed at once. "All right, let's begin!" As he spoke, Dai Mubai took up a fighting stance.
Master immediately called out, "Then, let's beg-" But before he could finish, Zhao Zilong had already made his move.
"Spider Web Bind." Zhao Zilong went straight in with his Third Soul Skill.
Dai Mubai was a little surprised. He growled, "First Soul Skill: White Tiger Body Protection Barrier..." A white light immediately enveloped him.
However, the gap between the years of the First Soul Ring and the Third Soul Ring was enormous, especially since Zhao Zilong's Third Soul Skill came from a 5,100-year Soul Ring and was far more powerful than an ordinary Third Soul Skill. The Soul Power and poison on the web quickly corroded Dai Mubai's White Tiger Body Protection Barrier.
By then, the web was already above him. Countless strands fell, sealing off all the paths nearby. Even if Dai Mubai wanted to dodge, he couldn't anymore. He cursed Zhao Zilong for playing dirty, using his Third Soul Skill right out of the gate and giving him no time to prepare.
"Heartbreak Poison: Bamboo Leaf Sword Rain..." In an instant, countless bamboo-leaf swords shot toward Dai Mubai.
Seeing that Zhao Zilong had shown no mercy from the outset, Dai Mubai growled, "Third Soul Skill: White Tiger Vajra Transformation..."
Although Dai Mubai had used his Third Soul Skill, it was already too late. He held his hands in front of him to block the Bamboo Leaf Sword Rain, while the Spider Web Bind above him fell. The highly adhesive web, which carried poison, easily trapped Dai Mubai. No matter how strong he was, he couldn't break free.
"It's over." Zhao Zilong sauntered over to Dai Mubai. Looking at him, bound from head to toe by the web, Zhao Zilong gave a cheeky grin. "Are you giving up? If you aren't, I'll use Bamboo Leaf Sword Rain to slash your face. If you end up disfigured, you won't be able to charm girls anymore."
As soon as he heard Zhao Zilong was going to attack his face, Dai Mubai immediately caved. He relied on that face to get by, after all. He hurriedly said, "No, no, I give up..."
Seeing Zhao Zilong release the Spider Web Bind, the others were a little dumbfounded, too. That had been way too fast! From the start of the fight to its end, not even a minute had passed.
That really was a quick and decisive victory! And Zhao Zilong hadn't even used all his strength, yet Dai Mubai had already lost. Was Zhao Zilong too strong, or was Dai Mubai too weak?
Dai Mubai felt the tiny wounds on his body from the Bamboo Leaf Sword Rain. He also felt itchy where the Spider Web Bind had left purple poison on him. He said, "Xiao Ao, give me an Antidote Sausage."
Hearing Dai Mubai's words, Oscar came back to his senses and immediately made an Antidote Sausage.
Dai Mubai looked at the sausage, then at Zhao Zilong, his gaze a little different now. He smiled. "You really are strong! I lost this time. Here, take it." As he spoke, Dai Mubai took a pouch of Gold Soul Coins out of his Soul Tool and tossed it to Zhao Zilong.
Yu Xiaogang watched from the side, somewhat surprised. He stepped forward with an air of a master and said, "Mubai, you saw Zilong use his Third Soul Skill, yet you tried to block it with your First Soul Skill. That was a Soul Skill from a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. How could your First Soul Ring possibly stop it? If you'd chosen to dodge or counterattack directly, either would've been better than defending."
Dai Mubai was a little annoyed, but Yu Xiaogang wasn't wrong. And when he'd just lost, Dai Mubai had already figured out the problem himself. He said coolly, "I understand."
Hearing Dai Mubai's cool reply, Yu Xiaogang knew that geniuses were all proud. Having just lost, Dai Mubai was probably upset. He turned to Zhao Zilong and pointed out his mistake as well. "Zhao Zilong, you attacked first, and you used your Third Soul Skill right from the start. You did catch him off guard, and it was a reasonable choice. However, using your Third Soul Skill immediately was too impulsive. If Mubai hadn't chosen to defend, but had done his best to dodge or counterattack, your Third Soul Skill might have missed, and you would have wasted a great deal of Soul Power."
"Before I came, Flender told me you were a true genius, the youngest student at Shrek Academy, with pure Soul Power and cultivation far beyond your peers. But when facing an enemy, using your strongest Soul Skill right away may catch them off guard, yet it consumes too much Soul Power. If you fail to hit, you'll be at a disadvantage."
"Besides, I hadn't even called for the match to begin, and you'd already attacked. That counts as a bit of a sneak attack."
Zhao Zilong listened to Master and gave a faint, unconcerned smile. "But Old Bai had already taken up a fighting stance, and he called out that the match had begun. That's when I attacked. Besides, when Soul Masters fight, isn't the point to decide who wins? If a sneak attack lets you seize the initiative, doesn't that make you more likely to win?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang snorted and continued, "If this were a competition, you'd be breaking the rules."
Zhao Zilong listened to Master without answering. Yu Xiaogang sighed inwardly. Seeing the unconcerned look in Zhao Zilong's eyes, he understood at once: Zhao Zilong had probably already seen through his intentions.
When Zhao Zilong had stepped onto the field, he had completely ignored Yu Xiaogang. He had even attacked before Yu Xiaogang called for the match to begin. This had left Yu Xiaogang very unhappy, and he'd wanted to teach Zhao Zilong a lesson, to make him learn to respect his elders.
But now that Zhao Zilong had seen through his intentions, Yu Xiaogang could only sigh. He thought to himself, Sigh, it really is hard to teach geniuses! Not every genius is as obedient and sensible as Xiao San.
Back at Nuoding Academy, Yu Xiaogang had seen some geniuses. In truth, those people couldn't really be considered geniuses. Compared with the geniuses at Shrek Academy, they were far behind.
Even so, those "geniuses," whose talents were nowhere near those of Shrek Academy's students, had all been extremely proud.
But the more this was the case, the more Yu Xiaogang wanted to educate Zhao Zilong, because only educating geniuses could make Yu Xiaogang feel satisfied. He said sternly, "You're proud, complacent, and look down on everyone. You seem kind to others, but in truth, you're unruly and defiant; you seem frivolous, but in truth, you're arrogant and conceited. Although you can be kind and friendly with your companions, there's always a barrier between you and them. You treat everyone as a passerby, and face everyone with a flippant, world-weary attitude. What makes you think your future will definitely be smooth sailing?"
Yu Xiaogang knew that this group of Little Monsters were all geniuses. If he couldn't make them recognize their mistakes today, then even during the training to come, they might not listen properly.
Before you continue