Xiao Wu's First Battle Was a Huge Win, Zhou Ling Was Crippled on the Spot

The moment the cheering cut off, Zhou Ling's expression shifted.

He had committed fully to that last step, and his left leg had already locked down the angle.

According to his expectations, Xiao Wu should have been forced all the way to the edge by that retreat.

But now, not only had Xiao Wu not retreated, she had slipped past his right side instead.

Too close.

Too light and fast.

Zhou Ling could even smell the faint scent of soap in her hair.

"Trying to run?"

He let out a low shout, his waist twisting violently as his right arm swept across.

The strike carried immense weight.

The air itself let out a dull thud.

Xiao Wu didn't get greedy.

With a tap of her toes, she drifted half a foot backward, narrowly avoiding the blow.

Zhou Ling missed, but he pressed forward immediately.

Right foot stomping into the sand.

Left shoulder driving in.

His rhythm remained perfectly intact.

The voices in the stands of Suotuo City erupted once more.

"Zhou Ling hasn't lost his rhythm!"

"She dodged one, but she won't dodge the second!"

"The power gap is too wide; she's finished the moment she gets touched!"

Xiao Wu didn't even glance at the crowd.

Her eyes were fixed solely on Zhou Ling's shoulders and feet.

Su Chen had said it back off the stage.

Don't watch the fists.

Watch the shoulders.

As long as the shoulder line moves first, the force behind it cannot be hidden.

Zhou Ling pressed another step forward.

Xiao Wu suddenly cut diagonally to the right.

Zhou Ling sneered, his left leg immediately moving to intercept.

But the moment he shifted his position, Xiao Wu twisted her feet again.

She folded back as if she were glued to the sandy surface.

A feint.

A second layer.

Zhou Ling's eyes darkened.

This time, he had truly been shaken.

Half of his center of gravity was already committed, and he couldn't pull it back cleanly.

Taking advantage of that half-beat, Xiao Wu cut directly into his inner line.

Zhou Ling's heart tightened.

Close quarters.

He hated opponents who were fast at close range and refused to trade blows head-on.

"Get lost!"

Zhou Ling roared, raising his elbow to smash downward.

Xiao Wu didn't take it head-on.

She hunched her shoulder, sliding under his elbow, and with a flick of her right hand along his forearm, her left foot was already planted between his legs.

Borrowing force.

Clinging to his waist.

Twisting her body.

She had practiced this sequence countless times in the training grounds.

Bang.

Zhou Ling's tall frame lurched to the side.

But he didn't fall.

He was, after all, a level 28 soul master; the foundation was there.

With a heavy stomp, he forcibly withstood that first blow.

The stands of Suotuo City immediately erupted.

"I told you she couldn't throw him!"

"The gap in strength is just too big!"

"Once Zhou Ling finds his footing, she's finished!"

Below the stage.

Shen Zhi stared at the arena, his breathing visibly tightened.

"The first strike didn't land."

"She has to retreat."

Su Chen watched Xiao Wu on the stage, offering no reply.

However, his fingertips tapped lightly against the railing.

On the arena.

It was as if Xiao Wu had instinctively heard that rhythm.

She didn't linger.

The moment the first throw failed, she was already pulling back.

A fierce glint flashed in Zhou Ling's eyes.

"Thinking of leaving now?"

He finally caught his opening, and his second soul ring suddenly flared.

A thick, earthy-yellow light instantly enveloped his right arm, shoulder, and back.

He surged forward like a true beast breaking through a barrier, charging straight at Xiao Wu.

This wasn't a probe.

This was an attempt to crush her in one go.

His speed was faster than before.

His power was heavier, too.

The black stones at the edge of the arena groaned under his heavy footsteps.

Xiao Wu's breath hitched.

She could feel that she couldn't afford to be touched by this blow.

One touch, and her rhythm would be shattered.

She shifted her feet, sliding her body horizontally to the side.

Zhou Ling followed closely.

Pressing in.

Forcing her back.

Step by step.

It was clear he intended to pin her against the edge.

The cheers from the stands grew louder.

"That's it, keep the pressure on!"

"Don't let her circle around!"

"Just ram her right off!"

Xiao Wu had already retreated to within three steps of the arena's edge.

Any further back, and she would be out of bounds.

A smirk finally tugged at the corner of Zhou Ling's mouth.

"End of the line."

He dropped his right shoulder and slammed into her with everything he had.

And at that very instant.

Xiao Wu's eyes suddenly changed.

She stopped retreating.

Instead, she took half a step forward, pressing right into Zhou Ling.

The stands were stunned into silence.

Even Zhou Ling himself was taken aback.

He had not expected Xiao Wu to counter-advance from this position.

This step was too risky.

And too bizarre.

Yet, precisely because it was bizarre, his shoulder alignment faltered.

That was the exact moment Xiao Wu had been waiting for.

She dropped her body low, her entire frame snapping like a taut, flexible whip, sliding along the trajectory of Zhou Ling's charge to instantly coil around his waist.

Her left leg hooked behind his knee.

Her right shoulder rammed into his hip.

Her hands pulled and twisted in one fluid motion.

"Get down!"

Her voice was not loud.

But the movement was fierce.

Zhou Ling's forward momentum was already heavy, and she had borrowed every ounce of it.

Bang!

His entire body was lifted half an inch off the ground.

The next second, Zhou Ling's large frame was sent crashing sideways.

Gravel exploded.

The crowd erupted.

Zhou Ling rolled twice, sliding all the way to the edge of the ring, bracing himself with his right hand to barely keep his balance.

But Xiao Wu gave him no chance.

She was already upon him.

Fast.

Too fast.

Her Scorpion Braid whipped through the air behind her in a sharp arc.

Just as Zhou Ling looked up, Xiao Wu had already stomped down on his bracing wrist.

His hand went numb.

His stance instantly collapsed.

Using that point of leverage, Xiao Wu vaulted into the air, her legs locking directly around his neck and shoulders.

Soft Technique, Lock.

Zhou Ling's expression finally changed.

"Get off!"

He roared, reaching out to tear at her legs.

But Xiao Wu gave him no room to exert his strength; she bent at the waist, her legs snapping shut with sudden force, her whole body acting like a tightening shackle.

Twist.

Pull.

Throw!

Boom!

Zhou Ling was violently dragged from the edge of the ring.

The moment his body slammed into the ground below, the entire arena fell silent.

One breath.

Two breaths.

The presiding instructor snapped back to reality, rushing to the edge of the stage to check Zhou Ling's landing spot before looking back at Xiao Wu, who stood firmly on the platform.

"Zhou Ling is out of bounds!"

"First match, Xiao Wu wins!"

As the words fell.

The entire Soul Fighting Training Ground felt as if it had been pierced through by something sudden.

On the side of Suotuo City, there was first a deathly silence.

Immediately after, the few students who had followed from Nuoding Academy screamed at the top of their lungs.

"We won!"

"Big Sister Xiao Wu won!"

"He was thrown out! She actually threw him right out!"

Wang Sheng, standing at the back of the crowd, was so excited his face turned red, his hands clapping loudly.

"I told you Big Sister Xiao Wu could do it!"

Shen Zhi stood where he was, staring at Xiao Wu on the stage, silent for a long time.

This match had been won too cleanly.

It wasn't luck.

It wasn't a mistake.

She had dismantled Zhou Ling's strongest rhythm head-on, then tossed him off the stage in front of everyone.

On the stage.

Xiao Wu was panting heavily.

Her chest rose and fell rapidly.

Loose strands of hair clung to the sides of her face, and beads of sweat slid down her jawline.

Yet, her eyes were startlingly bright.

She first glanced at the presiding instructor to confirm she had truly won, then whipped her head around to look off-stage.

She found Su Chen in an instant.

Su Chen was standing at the very front.

He wasn't clapping.

He wasn't shouting either.

He simply looked at her and gave a slight nod of his chin.

The movement was small.

But it was as if Xiao Wu had been set ablaze.

She couldn't suppress the corners of her mouth from curling upward.

She won.

She had actually won.

And in front of so many people, she had ruthlessly taken down that foul-mouthed Zhou Ling.

Zhou Ling climbed up from the ground at this moment.

His hair was disheveled, the corner of his mouth was scraped, and his face looked as dark as the bottom of a pot.

He glared fixedly at Xiao Wu on the stage.

"I haven't lost yet."

The presiding instructor frowned.

"You have already stepped out of bounds."

"That was because she chea—"

"You had better think carefully before you speak."

Su Chen finally spoke.

Standing off-stage, his voice wasn't loud, but it cut Zhou Ling's words off completely.

Zhou Ling snapped his gaze toward him.

Su Chen's eyes were calm.

"You set the rules for the ring yourself."

"You were the one who agreed that stepping out of bounds meant a loss."

"Now that you've lost, you want to welch?"

Many of the Suotuo City students in the stands looked uncomfortable.

Because they had watched this match in its entirety.

How Xiao Wu approached, how she baited him, how she used his own momentum, and how she carried Zhou Ling out of the ring—it was all crystal clear.

There was nothing dirty about it.

And not a drop of water in the victory.

Zhou Ling's chest heaved even more violently.

It wasn't that he couldn't afford to lose.

He never imagined that he would lose to a work-study student from Nuoding City.

And to be thrown out of the ring in the most pathetic way possible, right in front of so many people.

Xiao Wu stood on the stage, looking down at him.

"Backstage just now, you were quite the talker, weren't you?"

"Why aren't you saying anything now?"

The muscles on Zhou Ling's face tightened.

Xiao Wu wiped the sweat from her forehead and added another jab.

"Right, what was it you said earlier?"

"That you were going to give me a dignified exit?"

She let out a soft huff.

"It seems you didn't leave much dignity for yourself, either."

As soon as those words left her lips.

The Nuoding Academy side burst into laughter.

The Suotuo City side's expressions turned even darker.

Zhou Ling clenched his fists so hard his knuckles turned white, clearly wanting to get back on stage.

But the presiding instructor had already raised a hand to stop him.

"Step down."

"You have already lost."

Zhou Ling stared at Xiao Wu on the stage, taking a long moment to force that breath of anger back down.

He turned and walked away.

But after taking only two steps, he stopped.

"Xiao Wu."

He didn't turn back, his voice heavy.

"This match isn't the end of it."

Xiao Wu retorted immediately.

"If you're not convinced, go back and practice your trash talk some more."

"Or practice how not to get thrown out of the ring."

Zhou Ling's shoulders tensed, but in the end, he strode away.

Watching him leave the arena, Xiao Wu finally felt the tension in her chest ease.

Only then did she jump down from the ring.

Her legs felt a bit weak upon landing.

The combination of high-intensity changes in direction and two bursts of Soft Technique had drained her more than she expected.

She swayed on her feet.

Su Chen had already reached out to steady her.

Not a hug.

Just a firm support under her elbow to help her regain her balance.

"Not bad, Sister Xiao Wu."

Su Chen looked at her.

"You really won."

Xiao Wu was still panting, but upon hearing this, her eyes immediately curved into crescents.

"Of course."

"I told you, I would beat him myself."

After she finished, as if suddenly remembering something, she looked up.

"You promised me earlier, you aren't going to go back on your word, are you?"

Su Chen looked at her sweat-dampened bangs.

"I won't."

"Have you decided yet?"

Xiao Wu opened her mouth.

The words that had been filling her mind suddenly got stuck at the tip of her tongue.

She really had thought of several things earlier.

For instance, having Su Chen bring her delicious food every day from now on.

For instance, having Su Chen continue to train her alone.

For instance...

The tips of her ears slowly began to heat up.

In the end, she only managed to squeeze out one sentence.

"I still need to think about it."

Su Chen smiled.

"Fine."

"We'll put it on the tab for now."

Xiao Wu let out a huff, but the corners of her mouth curled up even higher.

Shen Zhi walked over at this moment.

He first glanced at Xiao Wu, then looked toward Su Chen.

"Regarding this match, Suotuo City has no way to deny it."

"However, precisely because the victory was so brilliant, things won't be easy moving forward."

Su Chen raised his eyes.

"What do you mean?"

Before Shen Zhi could speak.

A much larger commotion suddenly erupted from the other side of the spectator stands.

The crowd voluntarily parted to clear a path.

A tall young woman dressed in black athletic gear walked out from the end of the passage.

Her hair was tied up high, and she carried a slender iron spear in her hand. Her pace was not fast, yet the tip of the spear dragged along the ground, creating a series of harsh, grating sounds.

She did not look at anyone else.

She only looked at Su Chen.

"Zhou Ling is crippled."

"So for the next match, I'm coming."