As he stood there, momentarily stunned, a shout came from the nearby woods.
"Stop!"
A moment later, two figures, one old and one young, rushed out from the direction the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent had come from.
They were Snake Granny Chao Tianxiang and her granddaughter, Meng Yiran.
Seeing the two of them, Xia Ran, perched on the tree trunk, quietly curled his lips into a smile.
"Rongrong, give Tang San two support effects. See if you can bring him around."
"Why? Are you suddenly feeling generous?"
Ning Rongrong, who had been enjoying the show, looked puzzled. She'd been pleased to see Tang San and Dai Mubai knocked unconscious.
"Just do as I say. You won't regret it!"
"Tch, keeping me in suspense again!"
Ning Rongrong shot Xia Ran an annoyed glance and summoned her Martial Soul.
[Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda! First: Strength] [Second: Speed]
The two beams of light struck Tang San, and they did have some effect.
Beneath the tree, Tang San's fingers twitched slightly. He seemed to be on the verge of waking.
Seeing this, Xia Ran called down to the others.
"Xiao Ao, give Tang San and Dai Mubai a sausage each!"
At his shout, Meng Yiran and her grandmother noticed the three people above them.
Chao Tianxiang frowned slightly but said nothing.
Only then did Oscar, startled by the reminder, remember that Tang San and Dai Mubai were still unconscious.
Although the newcomers clearly meant trouble, he knew he couldn't handle them himself.
He left things to Zhao Wuji and went to look after Tang San and the others.
Zhao Wuji glanced at the Snake-headed Staff in Chao Tianxiang's hand, and began to guess who she was.
Chao Tianxiang spoke first.
"This Soul Beast was chased here by this old woman. It happened to enter your attack range."
"Please do me a favor and hand it over. My granddaughter needs its Soul Ring."
Without the youngsters beside him to speak on his behalf, Zhao Wuji got straight to the point.
"I'm afraid I can't. One of our children needs this Soul Ring too. Since I was the one who finally brought the Soul Beast down, why not do me a favor and let the youngsters settle this?"
His words left no room for compromise.
Seeing how forceful the other side was, Chao Tianxiang's face flickered with murderous intent.
Dragon Duke Meng Shu was nearby. Zhao Wuji was just a Soul Saint, yet he dared to be so brazen in front of them. Once Meng Shu arrived, the two of them would be more than a match for everyone present.
None of them would escape.
So she decided to stall for time.
"I am Chao Tianxiang. May I ask your name, sir?"
How could Zhao Wuji fail to see what she was up to? After living for most of his life, he could read her intentions from a single glance.
Chao Tianxiang was the only one here right now. If he attacked, his Soul Saint strength would let him easily overpower a mere Soul Emperor.
But the Gaishi Longshe never traveled alone. What worried him most was Meng Shu coming to help.
So he, too, was unsure what to do...
"Would you two mind hearing a suggestion from someone younger?"
Just as the tension reached its peak, Xia Ran spoke from the tree.
In a flash, he was down on the ground alone, bowing politely to Chao Tianxiang.
"This junior is Xia Ran. Greetings, Senior Snake Granny!"
They said you couldn't hit someone who greeted you with a smile. Seeing how respectfully the young man behaved, Chao Tianxiang's expression softened a little.
Meng Yiran, standing beside her, saw Xia Ran's white robes and refined bearing. He was calm and composed in every gesture, and so well-mannered that she couldn't help feeling a little fond of him.
"Are you trying to persuade this old woman to give up the Soul Beast?"
"Senior, you misunderstand. Both sides contributed here. Without your wounding the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent, we wouldn't have captured it so easily. It might even have escaped."
Zhao Wuji looked at him in disbelief. Which side was this kid on? Why was he helping the other side?
At Xia Ran's words, Chao Tianxiang and Meng Yiran both smiled.
They were thinking the same thing: At least this boy knows what he's talking about.
"Hmph! At least one of you understands."
Meng Yiran lifted her chin and gave a little huff as she spoke.
Then Xia Ran changed tack.
"But without our help, there's no guarantee you two could have caught the Soul Beast either. Am I wrong?"
"What do you mean? My grandmother is a Soul Emperor. You think she couldn't catch a thousand-year Soul Beast?"
In truth, Chao Tianxiang felt a little uneasy. The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent was famous for its speed. If she could have handled it easily, she wouldn't have chased it for so long only for Zhao Wuji to snatch it from her.
Zhao Wuji had the Gravity Domain, which completely countered speed-based Soul Beasts. And Ma Hongjun's Martial Soul happened to suppress it. Without those advantages, even a clumsy bear-type Soul Master like him would most likely have let it get away.
That was why both sides believed the Soul Beast belonged to them, yet neither felt entirely confident.
Xia Ran's lips curved slightly as he addressed Snake Granny.
"Soul Masters have their own rules. Now that the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent has been captured, we can't release it just to catch it all over again."
"But we can decide who gets it through a contest."
"A contest?"
Chao Tianxiang was surprised. She hadn't expected the young man to suggest that.
There was an unwritten rule in the Soul Master World: if both sides contributed to hunting the same Soul Beast, they could decide who claimed it through a contest.
"Exactly. A contest!"
"This young lady can challenge someone on our side in whatever way she excels at most."
"Whoever wins gets the Soul Beast."
As he said this, Xia Ran deliberately emphasized the words "excels at most."
Sure enough, Meng Yiran heard him and smiled smugly.
"Fine! Since we found the Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent first, I get to choose the contest. Agreed?"
"Of course!"
"Excellent! You're a smooth-talking young man."
Xia Ran merely smiled at Chao Tianxiang's praise, then glanced back at Tang San, who was sitting against the tree trunk.
Meng Yiran stepped forward. A faint gleam shone from the white jade bracelet on her slender wrist. With a flash of light, a long cloth pouch appeared in her hand.
A number of short blades, all the same size and design, hung from the cloth. They were the flying knives she'd been so proud of in the original story.
"I have thirty-six Po Hun Dao. You and I will each take eighteen..."
"Sorry to interrupt! I'm not the one competing with you."
"There's too big a gap between our strengths. I'll find someone here who's closer to you in strength."
Xia Ran cut her off, turned to the people behind him, and called out.
"Tang San! Get over here!"
Tang San, who had only just woken up, tensed and reluctantly walked over to the group.
Meng Yiran frowned slightly at his disheveled appearance.
She'd agreed to the contest because Xia Ran was handsome, well-spoken, and refined. But in the end, he was making her compete against this ordinary-looking guy!
She was unhappy about it, but she had already agreed, so she could only grit her teeth and continue explaining the rules.
After hearing Meng Yiran's explanation, Tang San looked at Xia Ran with suspicion.
"You want me to compete with her in throwing knives?"
He'd played with Hidden Weapons since childhood. Even Blue Silver Grass wasn't the ability he relied on most right now. And Meng Yiran wanted to challenge him to a knife-throwing contest?
"What? Too confident to think the stakes are high enough?"
"Xiao Ao! Come here!"
"Your third brother is fighting for this Soul Beast for you, but he thinks the stakes aren't high enough. What do you say we should do?"
Xia Ran didn't give Tang San a chance to explain. Instead, he deliberately called Oscar over to put in his two cents.
The timing was a little early, but given these people's personalities, Oscar would definitely suggest that bet.
He'd been paying close attention. This was about his Soul Ring, after all, and he cared more than anyone.
"Me? I mean, we were the ones who caught the Soul Beast in the first place. If we win, we're only taking back what belongs to us. But if we lose, we have to hand over a Soul Beast we worked so hard to catch."
"How about this? If third brother wins, Miss Meng has to kiss him!"
At his words, Xia Ran smiled in satisfaction.
In all these days, that was the most pleasing thing Oscar had said.
But Xiao Wu, standing behind them, frowned slightly. Before she could step forward and object, Meng Yiran gave a dismissive laugh.
"I don't mind. You're going to lose anyway!"
"Let's get started. That Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent doesn't look like it can hold out much longer."
Before you continue