Will You Come with Me?

Situ Xuan had not yet regained his footing when the air in the Training Room suddenly turned viscous. A dark red halo spread around Long Xiuyuan, fine scales emerging around the joints of his limbs as though he were submerged in a blood-colored mist.

This was the Dragon Horn Ant martial soul's Third Soul Skill—Ant Rage Boiling.

The boy's pupils contracted sharply, and his breathing rhythm changed in an instant. The soft, yin internal force of the Fist of the North Star surged through his meridians, while dim golden Secret Acupoints flickered beneath his skin like stars.

Long Xiuyuan vanished from where he stood.

Situ Xuan did not even have time to take a defensive stance before piercing pain tore through his abdomen. He saw only a blurred red afterimage flash past, and his whole body was sent flying backward with his waist bent.

"Bang!"

His back slammed into the reinforced alloy wall, and Situ Xuan spat out a stream of blood.

But even more terrifying was the vibrating force that passed through his skin and struck directly at his organs, making his insides shudder violently.

The floor of the Training Room suddenly cracked.

Long Xiuyuan's right foot stomped out a web of fractures. The shockwave triggered by his Second Soul Skill, Thousand-Jun Heavy Stomp, caused Situ Xuan's body to stall.

Less than half a second of delay was enough.

A dragon-scaled fist rapidly enlarged in his vision. Situ Xuan barely turned his head, but his right cheekbone was still grazed.

He clearly heard the crisp crack of his facial bones breaking, and warm blood immediately blurred his right eye.

"Hokuto Cross Slash!"

Just as Long Xiuyuan withdrew his fist, the blood-covered boy suddenly sprang up.

His hands crossed into an X, his fingertips glowing with a faint blue light as they precisely struck the Secret Acupoints Yangchi and Daling on his opponent's wrist.

Long Xiuyuan was surprised to discover that the flow of Soul Power in his right arm had become sluggish.

But with a slight circulation of a Soul King's immense Soul Power, he broke through the acupoint seal.

He sneered and threw a left punch, only to suddenly change moves just before it landed—the dragon-scaled knee slammed viciously into Situ Xuan's stomach.

"Urgh—"

Situ Xuan dropped to his knees, stomach fluid mixed with blood spraying out.

His vision abruptly went black. Only after he began circulating his breathing technique did he recover.

"Admit defeat."

Long Xiuyuan looked down at him. "I'm leaving. How about coming to the military with me?"

He quietly watched the student he favored most, who was also the most troublesome student he had ever encountered. "There, you'll receive the best training. There, you'll have countless opponents to temper yourself through battle."

"In this society, in this era, aside from the military, a fighting style like yours is completely useless."

As the person in the entire academy who understood Situ Xuan best, Long Xiuyuan knew that unless Situ Xuan was made to yield, he would never leave with him.

Seeing his beloved student injured before him, Long Xiuyuan felt somewhat reluctant.

But he also knew that for Soul Masters like them, who craved battle and yearned for battle, the military was their only possible destination.

In this era filled with soul-guide technology, what did it matter how strong one was in close combat?

Kill people?

Or establish a school and found a sect like in the ancient days?

It was meaningless now!

"Cough, cough!"

Clutching his stomach, Situ Xuan stood up with some difficulty and glared at Long Xiuyuan irritably. "Lao Long, you thick-browed bastard, you actually came at me for real?!"

Situ Xuan slowly straightened up, but a strange smile suddenly tugged at his lips. "You could've just said you wanted to recruit me. Were you really trying to beat me to death?!"

Situ Xuan could tell that Long Xiuyuan had not truly gone all out. All the injuries merely felt painful and would not cause any serious trauma.

"Oh?"

Unmoved, Long Xiuyuan looked at Situ Xuan with a serious expression. "Then let me ask you. I'm leaving. Are you coming to the military with me or not?"

Eastsea Academy could not properly cultivate Situ Xuan. If not for the fact that his secret mission this time required him to lie low at Eastsea Academy, he would never have found such an excellent prospect. And if Situ Xuan had not been such an excellent prospect, he would not have wrapped up his mission so quickly.

Delaying the mission's completion and taking paid leave was certainly nice, but he did not want someone with such talent to truly waste away at Eastsea Academy.

"Lao Long,"

Situ Xuan grinned. "I don't think I ever told you that besides being decent with my fists, I've also learned a palm technique!"

Situ Xuan suddenly grinned, the blood at the corner of his mouth looking especially glaring under the lights. He ran his tongue across his lips, making Long Xiuyuan frown slightly—it was like a beast tasting the scent of its own blood.

"Black Tiger Steals Heart!"

The boy let out a low roar, and his body abruptly vanished.

Long Xiuyuan's pupils shrank. He clearly saw Situ Xuan's five right fingers curl into a claw, while strange black Malevolent Qi surfaced from his palm.

This was absolutely not the Fist of the North Star style he had felt before!

"Bang!"

The black tiger claw struck Long Xiuyuan squarely in the chest. Even a Soul King's defenses were knocked slightly inward by that palm strike.

Even more terrifying was the icy palm force that penetrated his body, causing Long Xiuyuan's heart to stop for half a second.

"Good lad!"

Rather than getting angry, Long Xiuyuan laughed. His knotted muscles suddenly tensed as he forcibly expelled that icy palm force from his body. "So you had this up your sleeve too!"

But Situ Xuan had already borrowed the force to retreat, his hands drawing an arcane trajectory before his chest.

The aura around him suddenly changed, shifting from the sharp ferocity of the Fist of the North Star to the sinister venom of the Black Heart Evil Palm. Two completely different martial arts had fused perfectly within him.

"Black Shadow Looming!"

Seven afterimages of Situ Xuan suddenly appeared in the Training Room, each assuming a different attacking stance.

Long Xiuyuan narrowed his eyes and opened his Soul Power perception to its fullest, only to find that every afterimage carried a genuine aura fluctuation.

"Smack!"

The third afterimage on the left suddenly lunged, its right hand striking toward Long Xiuyuan's throat like a venomous snake.

The Soul King instinctively blocked, only to see that afterimage twist and dissipate strangely. The true killing move came from behind—Situ Xuan's left palm, shrouded in black qi, struck directly at his back!

"Boom!"

Dark golden light suddenly erupted from Long Xiuyuan's body as his Fifth Soul Skill, Dragon Ant Tyrant Body, activated instantly.

Situ Xuan's palm force crashed against that layer of scales, producing the clang of metal.

The two separated at the first touch. Situ Xuan's entire left arm trembled slightly, his knuckles whitening from the recoil; Long Xiuyuan, meanwhile, rubbed the numb patch of scales on his back, a sharp gleam flashing in his eyes.

"Good! Good! Good!"

Long Xiuyuan suddenly laughed three times, battle intent boiling throughout his body. "Now that's more like it!"

He violently tore off his already tattered training uniform, revealing a muscular upper body covered in scars.

At some point, the cartoon bandage had fallen off, revealing a fresh claw mark beneath it—one Situ Xuan had just left behind.

Situ Xuan shook his numb arm and suddenly laughed as well. "What? Not going to persuade me to join the military anymore?"

"Persuade my ass!"

Long Xiuyuan grinned, baring his stark white teeth. "With that Black Heart Palm of yours, I'm damn well going to beat you into submission today!"

Before his words had even faded, he had already transformed into a streak of golden lightning.