Two Against One, the Advantage Is Ours

Hearing Xiao Wu's sweet voice, Tang San emerged from meditation and slowly opened his eyes.

He saw Xiao Wu hopping into the room with a bag of meal boxes in hand.

"If you walk like that, the food's going to spill everywhere. How is anyone supposed to eat it?"

Jiang Chen's helpless voice came from behind her.

Xiao Wu turned back and made a face at him, then set the meal box on Tang San's bed. "Here, we brought this for you! It's still hot!"

Tang San froze for a moment, then looked toward Jiang Chen, who was following behind her.

Jiang Chen shrugged. "Master was treating us. Might as well eat."

"Master?" Tang San was somewhat surprised.

"That Yu Xiaogang guy. We ran into him at the cafeteria." Jiang Chen yawned and flopped onto his own bed. "Hurry up and eat. It won't taste as good once it gets cold."

Tang San felt a warmth in his heart as he opened the meal box.

Inside was a whole roast chicken, two steamed white buns, and a bowl of fragrant meat soup.

To him, this was practically a luxurious dinner.

In the blink of an eye, two and a half years quietly passed.

Jiang Chen, Tang San, and Xiao Wu's Soul Power all steadily increased.

With the support of the Creation Green Lotus Art and his deep foundation, Jiang Chen's cultivation speed remained far ahead of the others.

He had reached level twenty half a year ago and spent a considerable amount of time consolidating it, leaving his foundation astonishingly solid.

Tang San and Xiao Wu followed closely behind. They had both reached level twenty over the past few days, and all three now needed to obtain their second Soul Rings.

Early one morning, in an open area at Notting College.

Jiang Chen stood in the middle of the clearing, looking at the eager Tang San and Xiao Wu before him. He gave an impatient yawn.

"You two sure you want to fight? Let me make this clear first—don't go back on your word if you lose."

"You're the one who goes back on his word."

Sure enough, Xiao Wu immediately took the bait.

Over the past two and a half years, every time Xiao Wu and Tang San made progress, they would challenge Jiang Chen to a spar.

But every time, Jiang Chen beat them so badly they could barely tell north from south. They had not even managed to force out Jiang Chen's Martial Soul.

At first, it was fine, since they knew there was a gap between them.

But as time passed, the two discovered that no matter how much they improved, they still felt just as powerless against Jiang Chen. As fellow geniuses, Xiao Wu and Tang San found it deeply frustrating.

They all possessed Innate Full Soul Power, so why was the gap so enormous?

What they feared was not failure, but being unable to see even a sliver of hope for success.

That was why the two had decided to join forces today, to see whether they could force Jiang Chen to reveal his limits.

"Get started. I need to catch up on sleep after this."

Jiang Chen lazily waved his hand, still having no intention of releasing his Martial Soul.

Seeing his attitude, Tang San reminded him, "Brother Chen, I advise you to take this seriously."

For Soul Masters, teamwork was everything.

With proper coordination, one plus one could produce far more than two.

Tang San and Xiao Wu were naturally well suited to each other—one control-type, one assault-type.

Moreover, after sparring for so many years, they had developed at least some mutual understanding.

"Oh? Got one extra person and suddenly you're acting arrogant."

Jiang Chen raised an eyebrow and crooked a finger at them. "Come on. Let me see whether the two of you together can force out my Martial Soul."

"Brother Chen, watch out!"

A violet glint flashed through Tang San's eyes. With a flick of his wrist, several stones silently shot toward Jiang Chen's lower body.

At the same time, Xiao Wu instantly completed Martial Soul Possession, and the first Soul Ring beneath her feet lit up.

Her body shot forward like a pink bolt of lightning. In an instant, she appeared behind Jiang Chen and swung her right leg down at his back.

One in front, one behind; one high, one low—they nearly sealed off every route of retreat.

"Not bad teamwork."

Jiang Chen chuckled. Without moving his body, he merely shifted his left foot half a step to the side, and the stones skimmed past his trouser leg.

Just as Xiao Wu's side kick was about to strike his back, Jiang Chen suddenly leaned forward as though he had eyes on the back of his head.

Smack!

Xiao Wu's kick missed, and momentum sent her pitching forward.

But she reacted quickly. Twisting her waist, she steadied herself in midair with a backflip.

"Little San!"

Receiving the signal, Tang San sharply flung out his right hand. Several Blue Silver Grass vines gathered beneath Xiao Wu's feet, forming a small platform.

Xiao Wu pushed off the Blue Silver Grass platform with her toes, borrowing its force to leap into the air again. Her hands formed claws as she lunged for Jiang Chen's shoulders.

Jiang Chen anticipated the timing of the attack and instinctively raised his hands to counter it, only to discover that they had somehow been wrapped in loops of Blue Silver Grass, restricting his movements.

"Hehe, got you!"

Xiao Wu seized that opening, hooked her hands around Jiang Chen's shoulders, and planted both feet on the ground.

This was a standard shoulder throw stance from the Soft Technique. Using the waist as an axis and the body as a lever, then borrowing the impact of landing, it could lift an object many times heavier than one's own body.

"Xiao Wu, with your strength, even if I stood here without moving, you still couldn't lift me."

Jiang Chen did not intend to resist either, allowing Xiao Wu to lock him down tightly.

"Hehe, of course I know that."

A sly glint flashed through Xiao Wu's eyes as she suddenly exerted force.

The instant she did, the ground beneath Jiang Chen's feet collapsed with a boom. The powerful sensation of weightlessness instantly threw him off balance.

He was flung directly through the air by Xiao Wu, crashing heavily onto the ground and kicking up a cloud of dust.

"Success!"

Xiao Wu cheered instinctively.

After fighting Jiang Chen so many times, this was the first time she had successfully used the Soft Technique on him.

Tang San behind her also broke into a smile.

From the very beginning, Tang San had secretly used Blue Silver Grass to hollow out the ground beneath Jiang Chen's feet.

Every bit of setup before this had been for this very moment!

"Little San, do you think we hit him too hard?"

Xiao Wu was a little worried. In that instant just now, Jiang Chen had not had time to use any defense at all.

"Probably not."

Tang San frowned slightly. He knew just how powerful Jiang Chen's physical constitution was.

One shoulder throw should not have caused any problems.

"Looks like all those beatings you took over the years weren't for nothing."

Just then, a magnetic voice suddenly rang out from within the dust.

Jiang Chen emerged from the collapsed pit completely unscathed.

A bright Golden Halo enveloped him, outlining his entire figure in a tall, lean silhouette.

Seeing that familiar glow, every muscle in Tang San's body tensed. "That golden light—it's Brother Chen's Martial Soul ability!"

Two years ago, when Brother Chen had only been level ten, he had used this very ability to kill the nearly eight-hundred-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Vine despite the difference in levels.

Seeing Jiang Chen bathed in golden light, Xiao Wu's cheeks grew slightly hot.

Seriously, why was this pretty boy so handsome?

"Your coordination is good. Unfortunately..." A faint smile appeared on Jiang Chen's face. "Your opponent is me."

"Tch, what are you showing off for? I haven't even gotten serious yet."

Xiao Wu and Tang San exchanged a glance, then burst into motion at the same time to launch their second round of attacks.

"Again!"

Xiao Wu flashed forward and unleashed the Waist Bow once more, her pink figure leaving an afterimage in the air.

Tang San's hands blurred as dozens of Blue Silver Grass vines burst from the ground, coiling around Jiang Chen's legs like nimble snakes.

One high and one low, the two coordinated flawlessly, sealing off the space around Jiang Chen so tightly that not even water could pass through.

The golden light around Jiang Chen rippled faintly. With nothing more than a simple sidestep, he passed through the gaps in the Blue Silver Grass.

Xiao Wu's side kick grazed the edge of his clothes, stirring a light breeze.