Gauntlet Martial Soul?
Xuanyuan Sheng rested his chin on his hand and thought it over from his perch in the tree.
Wasn't the little girl Xiao Xiao's Martial Souls the cauldron and the flute?
How had a Gauntlet Martial Soul appeared too? By that reckoning, didn't that make her a Three-Life Martial Soul as well?
And all three of her Soul Rings were purple.
The situation was so baffling that he couldn't make heads or tails of it. After thinking for a moment, Xuanyuan Sheng stopped caring.
It was good that Xiao Xiao was stronger. At least once she advanced, she could provide him with a little more Humanity's Luck.
Meanwhile, Xiao Xiao was excitedly watching the Soul Beasts.
She was going to show off her strength and teach her "little junior brother" what family standing meant.
She had long dreamed of fighting with nothing but her fists.
When she'd first started school and learned that the new students would be tested, she'd wanted to sign up as a Power Attack System Battle Soul Master.
Unfortunately, even though the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron could attack, the power it contained was simply too meager. It couldn't compare to that of those pure Battle Soul Masters.
So Xiao Xiao had come up with an unusual idea.
If her attack power wasn't enough to be a Battle Soul Master, she could still be a Control System Soul Master. Paired with her other Martial Soul, her future as a Control System Soul Master looked bright.
But now she had the Violent Gauntlets.
If she wasn't going to be the main carry, what, was she supposed to be a support?
Xiao Xiao channeled her Soul Power, and the gauntlets on her hands suddenly grew larger.
She twisted her slender waist and sprang up like a released spring.
Riding the force, she spun through the air.
The Steel-Toothed Pigs charging from behind had metallic tusks. The moment they struck her gauntlet, the monstrous-strength girl knocked them clean off at the roots with a single punch.
After taking that punch in the face, several pigs spun through the air and slammed into the tree trunk behind them, smashing a deep hole into its middle.
"Senior Xiaotao, that was way too easy!" Xiao Xiao said with her hands on her hips.
Ma Xiaotao sat in the tree with one leg crossed over the other, one hand propping up her head and the other pointing straight behind Xiao Xiao.
"Oh, was it? The other Hundred-Year Soul Beasts haven't come over, but take a look at what's over there."
Xiao Xiao followed the direction of Ma Xiaotao's finger.
A thousand-year Steel-Toothed Pig was rampaging through the area, smashing through every obstacle in its path.
"Well? Still easy?"
Xiao Xiao wasn't confident when she saw the thousand-year Soul Beast. She might have had a chance against one that had only just reached a thousand years, but this one was clearly an enemy beyond her level.
She looked up and stole a glance, then stubbornly said, "Easy."
Ma Xiaotao smiled faintly. "If you need help, just shout, 'Sister Xiaotao, help me!' and I'll come down."
Xiao Xiao froze for a moment.
Ma Xiaotao's words were full of amusement, but there was a hint of confidence in them too.
Xiao Xiao immediately understood what Ma Xiaotao meant.
"System, someone's trying to steal my Xiao Sheng. What do I do?"
Xiao Xiao hurriedly consulted her strategist, the Love System. It was the only one who could help her turn the tables now.
[What do you mean, yours? You haven't even gotten started, yet you're talking like it's a sure thing. You're just lusting after him, not dating him.]
The Love System was already too exhausted to complain about its hopeless host.
Aside from the influence of her Evil Fire, Ma Xiaotao genuinely thought stealing someone else's little brother would be thrilling. That was why she wanted to stay by Xuanyuan Sheng's side.
But what about you, you lecherous little girl?
You were already smitten with his looks and could barely move. All you wanted was to get into a relationship with him, but you had no idea where to start.
Could even her Love Mentor not help her at a time like this?
Xiao Xiao gritted her teeth and replied, "I don't need help."
[Martial Soul Fusion, you dummy.]
The Love System's words were like a lifeline for her to grab hold of.
"Quick, tell me how! The Steel-Toothed Pig is about to charge!" Xiao Xiao urged.
[Your boyfriend's right beside you. Use your Violent Gauntlets to perform the Martial Soul Fusion Skill.]
"But last time, didn't I use the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron? And Xiao Sheng hasn't even summoned his Martial Soul."
[Then are your gauntlets really a Martial Soul? And why are you, one of the fusion materials, asking so many questions? Do you even get a part in the fusion skill?]
Xiao Xiao had already started thinking of the Violent Gauntlets as her Martial Soul, but the Love System was right. They really weren't a Martial Soul.
Xiao Xiao hurriedly closed her eyes and searched for the same sense of resonance she'd felt last time in the little woods.
If the system said she could use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill by herself, then she definitely could.
But... boyfriend... that was so embarrassing.
She'd use the Martial Soul Fusion Skill on her own to give Xiao Sheng a fright and put Ma Xiaotao, who only wanted to toy with him, in her place. Then Ma Xiaotao would see just how deep the bond between the two of them was.
Xiao Xiao's sudden silence left everyone in the tree at a loss.
"I'll go down and bring her up," Ma Xiaotao said first.
She'd only meant to scare the little girl, who showed not the slightest respect for her as a senior sister.
She'd never intended to hurt Xiao Xiao.
But a hand pressed down on her wrist, stopping Ma Xiaotao.
Right. Why was she in such a hurry? There was a powerful expert right beside them.
It seemed her concern was unnecessary.
As for Xuanyuan Sheng, he'd never been worried in the first place.
Never mind whether Sister Lexuan liked Xiao Xiao. Given her temperament, there was no way she'd let her teammate get hurt.
And this was a trial Xiao Xiao had chosen to take on herself.
Far away from Xuanyuan Sheng and the others, two pairs of eyes watched them from the treetops.
"Fan Yu, why didn't you make an aerial reconnaissance Soul Tool? Besides Xiao Xiao, we can only see half of the people in the tree." Zhou Yi grumbled at the man beside her, peering through a Soul Tool Telescope.
Fan Yu couldn't help rolling his eyes.
They could just confiscate this sort of thing from the Sun Moon Empire and use it.
The Soul Tool Department focused on developing and researching Soul Tool weapons. Who had time to bother with something like this?
"Yi, never mind all that. What exactly did you bring me here for? Don't tell me you're just using the Soul Tool Telescope to spy— I mean, watch those kids."
Fan Yu had been sitting in the tree with Zhou Yi for quite a while, but she'd spent the entire time watching the distant children through the telescope. They were only specks in the lens.
She hadn't told him a thing.
They were teachers, for goodness' sake. How could they watch their students like a pair of thieves?
Zhou Yi said nothing. She simply tried pushing the Soul Tool Telescope as far as it would go to see if it could move farther. Once she'd confirmed that this was the best view it could manage,
she handed it to Fan Yu and pointed at the tiny figure they could see clearly.
Fan Yu took the Soul Tool Telescope from Zhou Yi and looked toward Xiao Xiao. "What's up with that child?"
Zhou Yi sighed. "That child's name is Xiao Xiao, and her Martial Soul is the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron. Watch for a while and you'll understand."
Fan Yu saw the look on Zhou Yi's face: she knew everything, but wanted him to figure it out for himself.
His expression gradually grew serious.
Before you continue