Tacit Understanding

Dust stirred faintly across the Training Ground. Flender adjusted his glasses, his gaze behind the lenses carrying a hint of amusement. Master remained expressionless, while Luo San Pao at his side let out uneasy "luoluo" cries.

The pressure was real. Even with two Soul Saint-level powerhouses suppressing their Soul Power to the level of Soul Elders, their understanding of battle, their grasp of timing, and the foundations inherent in their martial souls were far beyond those of ordinary Soul Elders.

Tang San took a deep breath. The faint soreness in his left arm reminded him that his injury had not yet healed. He glanced sideways at Xiao Xiaoxiao. Her face was still somewhat pale, but her eyes shone brightly with a resolute determination to give it everything. He gave the slightest nod.

Without a word, Xiao Xiaoxiao understood. The Phantom Moon Fox silently appeared on her shoulder, moonlight swirling within its eyes.

"Well, well, the little monsters have quite the understanding." Flender chuckled. His figure suddenly blurred as he launched the first attack like a ghost, targeting the seemingly weakest Xiao Xiaoxiao! He moved so fast that only an afterimage remained!

"First Soul Skill, Entangling!" Tang San shouted almost simultaneously. The Blue Silver Grass that had long been lying in ambush beneath the ground abruptly shot up, but rather than stopping Flender, it precisely coiled around Master's feet beside him, where he appeared not to have moved at all! Attack what the enemy must defend!

Master shifted his footing slightly and easily shook off the Blue Silver Grass, but his movement was still delayed for an instant. And that instant was enough!

"Mental Interference!" Xiao Xiaoxiao did not target the swift Flender, but Master, whose movements had just been hindered! An invisible ripple struck with precision!

Master's body stiffened slightly, surprise flashing through his eyes. Luo San Pao's reaction lagged by a beat.

"Clever calculation!" Flender praised, but his attack did not slow. His five fingers, like eagle claws, had already reached Xiao Xiaoxiao's face!

"Move!" Tang San's command was short and forceful.

Without even thinking, Xiao Xiaoxiao instinctively used the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and darted sharply to the left! She had not practiced the footwork for long and was nowhere near as proficient as Tang San. Her steps were even somewhat unsteady, yet she narrowly avoided Flender's certain strike.

Flender's grab missed. Just as he was about to change tactics, his feet suddenly tightened! Several gleaming green Blue Silver Grass vines had somehow already wrapped around them. Their thorns tried to pierce through his Soul Power defense. Though the paralyzing toxin could not take effect immediately, it successfully slowed his movements.

"Little Sanzi, you tricked me!" Flender cried out strangely, bursting forth with Soul Power and shaking off the Blue Silver Grass.

The instant he was briefly trapped, Tang San moved! He did not attack Flender. Instead, he lunged directly at Master, who had just recovered from the interference! More than ten cold flashes shot from his hand like meteors, sealing every possible angle of Master's evasion and forcing him to take them head-on!

Master's eyes narrowed. Luo San Pao suddenly inhaled, its chest swelling—

"Disrupt its breathing!" Tang San shouted.

Xiao Xiaoxiao's Mental Interference descended once more, this time aimed directly at Luo San Pao! Luo San Pao's inhalation abruptly faltered, and the attack it had been preparing was immediately interrupted!

"Good!" Dai Mubai could not help cheering from outside the field. The coordination between those two was too devious! They specifically struck at the crucial moments when their opponents exerted force!

Master frowned slightly, seemingly not expecting the two to coordinate so seamlessly. He no longer held back. His footwork shifted, and with a strange rhythm, he easily dodged most of the Hidden Weapons while striking his palm toward the approaching Tang San.

Tang San neither dodged nor retreated. He met it with his Mysterious Jade Hand!

Bang! Soul Power Collision! Tang San grunted and was sent stumbling back several steps. His blood and qi churned, pain stabbed through the wound on his left arm, and his face turned even paler. But he had achieved his goal!

At the instant Master dealt with Tang San, Xiao Xiaoxiao endured the needle-like pain in her head caused by repeatedly using her Soul Skills. Her third soul ring suddenly lit up!

"Moonlight Illusion!"

It was not aimed at an individual. Instead, she poured all her remaining Soul Power into it, enveloping a small area around Master and Flender!

The scene warped slightly, and the light became hazy. Both Flender and Master showed an exceedingly subtle moment of hesitation and misjudgment! Flender's hand, reaching for Tang San's follow-up attack, veered half an inch off course, while the force behind Master's palm strike at Tang San weakened by thirty percent!

Now!

A violet-gold light flashed in Tang San's eyes. He pushed the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to its limit and barely slipped through the gap between their attacks. At the same time, his final pebble shot out soundlessly. Its target was not the two academy heads, but—

Crack!

A wooden stake in the distance, used for hanging clothes, snapped in response.

The scene instantly froze.

The illusion dissipated. Flender and Master looked at the broken stake, stunned for a moment before realizing what had happened.

Tang San pulled the nearly exhausted Xiao Xiaoxiao back several steps, breathing slightly heavily. "Headmaster, Teacher, thank you for going easy on us."

According to the rules they had agreed upon earlier, touching a corner of clothing or a designated object counted as a win. Tang San had casually planted that wooden stake that morning, never expecting it to be used here.

Flender removed his glasses and wiped them, his expression strange. "You brat... making a feint in the east while attacking in the west, sneaking across the warehouse in the dark—you even plotted against us!"

Master looked at the two supporting each other. Their faces were pale, but their eyes shone brightly. His gaze especially lingered on Xiao Xiaoxiao, who was nearly unable to stand from Soul Power exhaustion but was still trying to maintain her composure. A rare, faint smile appeared on his stern face. "Your use of tactics was good. Your understanding... was also very good."

He looked at Tang San. "Your control has become more precise, and your grasp of timing has improved considerably. Your coordination between Hidden Weapons and your martial soul has also become more skillful." Then he looked at Xiao Xiaoxiao. "Your interference is deadly. Especially that final illusion—though rough, its timing was perfect. You have overdrawn your Spiritual Power. Go back and continue nurturing it."

"Yes, Teacher!" the two answered in unison.

Xiao Wu and Oscar rushed into the field with cheers.

"You were amazing! You two actually defeated the Headmaster and Master!" Xiao Wu excitedly patted Tang San's shoulder, then carefully supported the swaying Xiao Xiaoxiao.

Oscar hurriedly handed over Recovery Big Sausages. "Come on, come on, our heroes need to replenish themselves!"

Dai Mubai walked over and punched Tang San hard in the chest, avoiding his injury. "Not bad, Tang San! That was beautifully played!" Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong also cast approving looks their way.

Flender and Master exchanged smiles. These little monsters were even more outstanding than they had imagined.

Over the following days, training became even more intense. With the experience from this success, Tang San and Xiao Xiaoxiao's coordination grew bolder and more refined. Tang San could always appear where he was most needed, blocking fatal physical attacks for Xiao Xiaoxiao, while Xiao Xiaoxiao's Mental Interference and illusions became increasingly tricky, always creating opportunities for Tang San or breaking apart the enemy's offense at critical moments.

The two were almost inseparable. They were either training or discussing tactics. Occasionally, they would argue until their faces turned red over a detail in their coordination, but it usually ended with Tang San's silence and Xiao Xiaoxiao saying, "Fine, I'll listen to you." Yet in the next actual battle, Xiao Xiaoxiao would always pull off something that made even Tang San's eyes light up.

The understanding between them seemed innate. A glance, a subtle movement, and the other would immediately understand. Sometimes, they did not even need to communicate to execute a dazzling string of coordinated moves.

Several times, Dai Mubai stroked his chin, his evil eyes shifting back and forth between the two as he smiled meaningfully. Xiao Wu, meanwhile, would always pull Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing aside to whisper, then secretly laugh while watching Tang San and Xiao Xiaoxiao.

Tang San was still sparing with words, but whenever he looked at Xiao Xiaoxiao, the ice in his eyes seemed to melt a little. He silently remembered the dishes she liked, though the academy food was always terrible. He would hand her a cup of warm water whenever she overexerted herself in Spiritual Power training. When the wind blew open her window at night, he would silently come over and close it for her.

Xiao Xiaoxiao buried those fluttering feelings deep in her heart and cultivated even harder. She knew that only by becoming stronger could she keep pace with him, truly stand beside him, and not become a burden to him.

That day, Master gathered everyone once more.

"The preliminaries are about to begin. You need a real battle with no holding back to test the results of this period of training." Master's gaze swept over the seven of them. "Your opponents will be the Imperial Dou Team."

"The Imperial Dou Team?" Oscar cried out. "The trump card team of Heaven Dou Royal Academy? I heard their captain, Yu Tianheng, is already a level thirty-nine Assault System Battle Soul Master, and their vice-captain Dugu Yan's Bile Poison Snake Venom is impossible to guard against!"

"Scared?" Flender glanced sideways at him.

"Who's scared!" Battle intent blazed in Dai Mubai's evil eyes. "Perfect. We'll use them to test our blades!"

Master nodded. "The Imperial Dou Team is powerful and coordinated. They will be your best whetstone before the preliminaries. Three days from now, at the Suo Tuo Great Soul Arena, Central Main Soul Arena District, you will fight to determine the victor."

When the news spread, all of Suotuo City was stirred into an uproar. The mysteriously rising Shrek Seven Devils against the renowned Imperial Dou Team! The betting houses were abuzz, and nearly everyone favored the Imperial Dou Team.

The pressure weighed on every member of the Shrek Seven Devils like a mountain, but even more than that, their fighting spirit boiled.

On the night before the match, Xiao Xiaoxiao came alone to the edge of the Training Ground. Looking at the stars filling the sky, she felt both nervous and expectant.

Footsteps sounded behind her. She knew who it was without turning around.

"Nervous?" Tang San's voice remained calm.

"A little," Xiao Xiaoxiao admitted honestly. "I heard Dugu Yan is very skilled with poison..."

"I'm here." Tang San walked to her side. His tone was flat, yet it carried a reassuring strength. "Your Spiritual Power is the key to countering her."

Xiao Xiaoxiao turned to look at him. Moonlight outlined his handsome profile, and his eyes were firm and deep.

"Mm." She nodded heavily. The unease in her heart strangely vanished. "We'll win together."

Tang San did not look at her. His gaze remained fixed on the distant lights of Suotuo City, but the corner of his lips curved almost imperceptibly.

"Alright."

The night wind blew past, carrying a trace of chill, but it could not scatter the silent yet steadfast understanding between them.

A great battle was about to begin.