Friends!

"Brother Luo, you really hit hard this time. You knocked him out cold!"

Tang Wulin strolled leisurely over to Luo Ze, unable to help feeling a little sorry for Xie Xie.

Luo Ze's soul skills leaned more toward control, but the power he could unleash was no weaker than Tang Wulin's—perhaps even stronger!

Xie Xie was an agility-type Soul Master. His physical constitution was already weak, and the influence of the Qilin bloodline further limited his strength. After taking that punch, he probably would not be able to get out of bed for two days.

"Don't talk nonsense. My control was on point. I just knocked him out for a while so he wouldn't come looking for another duel."

As he spoke, Luo Ze crouched down and motioned for Tang Wulin to place Xie Xie on his back. After all, he was the one who had knocked him out, so he had to take responsibility and carry him back.

"But Xie Xie passed out, so doesn't that mean you have to pay for the battle area?" Tang Wulin said casually.

The moment those words came out, the air fell silent...

Damn it. I was so focused on getting rid of him that I never considered that!

"Hello, the total is twenty thousand Federal currency. Would you like to transfer it or pay in cash?" the Staff Member asked respectfully when they reached the payment counter.

"I'll... transfer it!" Luo Ze gritted his teeth and slapped twenty thousand Federal currency onto the table before storming off.

"Was that really necessary?! He was only paying a bill!" The Staff Members trembled as they collected the Federal currency from the table.

On the way back, Luo Ze grew angrier the more he thought about it, and the more he thought about it, the more cheated he felt. Xie Xie had been the one to challenge him, so why was he the one paying in the end?!

No. Once that brat wakes up, I have to squeeze a good sum out of him!

"What the hell happened?!"

In Dorm 205, Zhou Changxi was so startled by the sight of Xie Xie on Luo Ze's back that he spat out all the water he had just swallowed.

When did the relationship between these three get so good? Wouldn't that send my standing in the dorm plummeting?!

"Zhou Changxi, please step outside for a moment." Luo Ze looked at him coldly, his tone leaving no room for refusal.

"Okay! Okay! Boss, I'll listen to you!" Zhou Changxi blurted out instinctively, then hurriedly ran out of the dorm.

Once he had gone far enough, Tang Wulin closed the dorm door behind him.

"Brother Luo, are you really going to use your soul bone skill on him again?" Tang Wulin tried to dissuade him.

"Yeah. We were the ones who injured him, so we have to take responsibility."

Besides, if he wakes up and refuses to acknowledge the debt, how am I supposed to get my money? I have to strike while the iron is hot!

As he spoke, Luo Ze slowly stepped forward and placed his hand on Xie Xie's chest. At that moment, the soul bone in his right arm began to shine again.

He had obtained this soul bone rather suddenly. When his Soul Power broke through rank fifteen, he had suddenly discovered that he could use it.

According to Grandfather, it was a soul bone automatically bestowed upon its master by his Qilin Martial Soul. Once his Soul Power reached a certain level, it would reveal itself and become usable on its own.

The ability of Luo Ze's right-arm soul bone was Damage Transfer. It could transfer injuries suffered by himself or his teammates onto another target, with a range limit of one hundred meters.

The reason Xie Xie's cheek injury had healed was precisely because Luo Ze had used the soul bone skill Damage Transfer, returning the damage he had suffered to the ground.

Under the effect of the soul bone skill, the pain in Xie Xie's body weakened until it vanished. In less than a minute, he woke up.

"You guys are...?" Xie Xie was still rather dazed when he woke up. Although the pain had disappeared, the dizziness in his head remained.

"You're awake? Is there anywhere else on your body that still feels uncomfortable?" Luo Ze dropped to one knee so that he could meet Xie Xie's gaze at eye level.

"No. My head is still a little dizzy, but it'll be fine soon. Thanks for your soul bone skill," Xie Xie said.

Tang Wulin was somewhat surprised by those words and immediately asked, "How did you know?"

"I'm not blind. How else do you think the injury on my right cheek healed?" Xie Xie shot Tang Wulin a speechless look.

In this world, aside from experts above the rank of Soul Sage, only soul bone skills possessed such powerful instant recovery abilities.

To possess a soul bone at such a young age... his background is far from simple...

"By the way, why didn't you use your soul skill during the match? Were you trying to save me some face?" Xie Xie suddenly asked.

"If I used my soul skill, it wouldn't be a match anymore," Luo Ze said.

Xie Xie was utterly baffled by that unclear statement. "What do you mean, if you use your soul skill, it's not a match? Can you speak like a normal person?"

Luo Ze hesitated for a moment. After thinking it over, he decided to tell him. They would be in the same class and the same dorm from now on, and he would find out sooner or later anyway.

So, he explained the "control" characteristic of his Qilin Martial Soul.

Xie Xie was no less shocked by this than he had been upon seeing Luo Ze possess a soul bone. In fact, he was even more stunned.

This was the first time in his life he had heard of a Beast Martial Soul possessing control-type soul skills. Could this be some kind of Mutated Martial Soul?!

But mutations generally only made a Martial Soul stronger or weaker. They should not alter its fundamental attributes, should they?!

"Don't be so surprised. That's just what my Martial Soul is like. You'll get used to it," Luo Ze said calmly, as though he had long since grown accustomed to it.

"But that's no reason for you to go easy on me!" Xie Xie pressed.

"I wasn't going easy on you. My First Soul Skill, Kirin Pressure, is a weakening and control skill. Add the suppression my bloodline has over yours, and that's a double weakening effect. How much combat strength do you think you'd have left?" Luo Ze explained helplessly.

It was not that he wanted to go easy on Xie Xie. It was just that after being weakened, Xie Xie truly would not have much fighting power left. At that point, it would no longer be a fair duel.

"Are you saying I'm weak?!"

Xie Xie caught the implication in Luo Ze's words. He angrily waved his Light Dragon Dagger and tried to rush forward for another duel with Luo Ze, but Tang Wulin thankfully stopped him.

"I didn't say that, I don't mean that, don't put words in my mouth! A match is a match, not a fight to the death!"

"We're classmates and dormmates. In the future, we might even become partners who fight together. Tell me, could I really strike my partner with lethal force?" Luo Ze explained as if it were only natural.

He had no intention of looking down on Xie Xie. Grandfather had taught him from a young age that when dealing with enemies, one had to strike mercilessly and never give them any chance to catch their breath.

But with partners, what they needed more was to improve and grow together!

When Xie Xie heard the word "partner," he froze for a moment. He had not expected to be so important in Luo Ze's eyes!

"Partner? Who's your partner? You may have beaten me, but I haven't acknowledged you!" Xie Xie shouted, his face red.

"But—"

Just as Luo Ze was about to continue, he discovered that Xie Xie had already put on his shoes and dashed out of the dorm. From the side, his face was as red as an apple.

"Huh? His face is so red. Could my Damage Transfer have failed?" Luo Ze looked at Tang Wulin in confusion.

"I don't know. He really is a strange guy."