"Interesting little guys. Keep going!"
Zhao Wuji's booming voice rang out.
Meteor Human Hammer!
Nether Hundred Claws!
The three attacks came one after another. Zhao Wuji's first Soul Ring flashed, and golden light shone from his body.
"Roar!"
Tang San's alarm bells went off. He immediately yanked Xiao Wu back, but Dai Mubai remained unmoved, just like in the original. At this rate, Zhu Zhuqing was sure to be sent flying.
Just then, Ning Rongrong sprang into action. She cast her second Soul Skill on herself, ran to Zhu Zhuqing, and pulled her behind her. As Zhu Zhuqing stared at her in astonishment, Ning Rongrong smiled, then turned to take the blow.
The shockwave still sent Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing flying, while Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was shredded strand by strand.
"Zhuqing!"
Dai Mubai moved and caught Zhu Zhuqing.
Zhu Zhuqing grunted, her body twitching.
The shockwave had sent her flying, but she hadn't dislocated anything. She tried to go forward and see how the girl in the white dress was—
"Rong... Rong..."
Ning Rongrong's name suddenly surfaced in Zhu Zhuqing's mind. She focused and looked ahead.
There was a pool of blood in front of her.
It hurts so much.
Ning Rongrong thought that she was the most astonished one of all.
Support Soul Masters generally didn't go onto the battlefield, so it was normal for them to be in worse physical shape.
That last blow had made her feel as if her bones were about to break.
Did this person not feel pain?
Ning Rongrong was extremely displeased.
The second most astonished person present was Zhao Wuji.
His first Soul Skill, the century-old Immovable Wisdom King Body, was both offensive and defensive, and he'd used it to counter the three attacks. Being both offensive and defensive meant it could attack, too. Even though he'd deliberately held back, that was only relative to the three of them.
He'd never imagined that Ning Rongrong would rush forward so quickly and take the blow meant for Zhu Zhuqing.
If there was anyone he'd been concerned about during this exam, it was Ning Rongrong.
Zhao Wuji was clumsy, not stupid. He knew exactly who Ning Rongrong was.
His first attack had clearly been aimed at Ning Rongrong, but he hadn't used his full strength. That way, it would be easier to explain afterward.
But this time, he hadn't had time to hold back.
Seeing blood spill from the girl's mouth, he panicked.
He could only ease the pressure by fighting. He charged at Tang San and unleashed his second Soul Skill, slapping at him with a palm two and a half times its usual size.
Xiao Wu's Charm had no effect on Zhao Wuji. Instead, the backlash knocked her unconscious, blood spilling from her mouth and nose.
With no time to recover, Tang San naturally couldn't escape the attack's range either.
Fortunately, Zhao Wuji regained his senses. The giant palm stopped just as it was about to hit Tang San, though the shockwave still pressed him slightly flat.
Zhao Wuji stood still, making no further move to attack. Seeing blood on Tang San as well, he felt a vague sense of unease.
Could this kid have someone powerful backing him?
He wondered.
Wait, hadn't he just made an even bigger mistake?
He turned his head and saw that Ning Rongrong was still standing over there, her bleeding not yet stopped.
Looking again, her expression seemed a little off.
Oh no. As soon as the thought crossed Zhao Wuji's mind, he turned and rushed toward Ning Rongrong, only to be ambushed by Tang San.
Tang San flung all kinds of Hidden Weapons at Zhao Wuji, embedding them in his body.
But Zhao Wuji's concern for Ning Rongrong drove him onward. Then he saw—
The corner of Ning Rongrong's mouth suddenly curl upward.
Lu Ma hadn't stepped in to play the hero and save the beauty. He'd only pulled Zhu Zhuqing aside because it was convenient. Of course, turning around with a smile was just to look cool.
And Ning Rongrong had taken the blow only because Lu Ma wanted to test the power of the Reversal Soul Skill.
That last hit had nearly emptied Ning Rongrong's health, but it had also given Lu Ma confidence that he could hurt the other guy.
Seeing Zhao Wuji charge at her again, then glancing at the number 2 beside the status bar, Ning Rongrong clenched her right fist and swung it hard, smashing it into Zhao Wuji's big face.
"Boom—"
The punch alone had made a faint ripping sound as it cut through the air. When it smashed into Zhao Wuji's face, his Shield Bar dropped by more than half. With Tang San's Hidden Weapons backing her up, it kept falling.
"That punch packs a—ugh!"
After one Sand-Shooting Shadow, Zhao Wuji's Shield Bar vanished completely.
Zhao Wuji was utterly shocked. The little guy attacking him from behind was playing dirty, and the damage was minor. He could understand that. But how could Ning Rongrong, a support-type Soul Master, hurt him?
More importantly, Zhao Wuji sensed that this power was closely connected to his own.
Using his strength against him?
Zhao Wuji froze.
And in the brief moment he was stunned, Ning Rongrong's second punch was ready.
Everyone knew that breaking a shield affected its owner. Here, it was roughly like applying a damage-taken debuff.
So that punch took nearly a quarter of Zhao Wuji's health.
"You little brats!"
Zhao Wuji's anger flared again. Soul Power gathered around him. He glanced at Ning Rongrong, who was panting in front of him, then decisively turned around.
"Gravity Squeeze!"
He unleashed his fifth Soul Skill and struck Tang San hard. A flash of light appeared in Tang San's hand, and a pitch-black hammer materialized, swinging toward Zhao Wuji's face!
Thud!
Zhao Wuji stopped Tang San's hammer with his palm.
His palm didn't continue forward, either.
Even so, the shockwave sent Tang San flying, and he let out a muffled groan.
Fortunately, Dai Mubai caught him. Otherwise, Tang San would probably have needed another few months to recover.
"Oscar, get over here! You've got customers!"
Zhao Wuji stood still, looking at the people around him, some unconscious and some injured. A strange unease gripped him.
When had his strength started fluctuating so wildly?
Zhao Wuji asked himself, and found the answer.
It was all because Ning Rongrong had unexpectedly taken the attack meant for the three of them.
Right. Ning Rongrong!
Zhao Wuji fixed his gaze on her and saw that Ning Rongrong was—
Drinking several bottles of red liquid she'd pulled out from who knew where?
Oscar had only just arrived, so the red liquid definitely wasn't his doing. Besides... if it really had been Oscar's doing, Zhao Wuji would've been even happier.
Never mind. The important thing was that she was all right.
Damn, that hurts.
"Oscar, one sausage and one cured sausage."
"Who are you? What are you doing at our school?"
"I'm Zhao Wuji. Do you want to get punished?"
Zhu Zhuqing walked over to Ning Rongrong and helped her up.
After Ning Rongrong had protected her, Zhu Zhuqing could no longer ignore the girl. Of everyone there, if she had to say who she trusted most right now, it was undoubtedly Ning Rongrong.
"Rongrong, are you all right?"
"I'm fine! I've still got Health Potions. Want some?"
"Health Potions?"
Zhu Zhuqing watched Ning Rongrong wave the red bottle in her hand and guessed what it was.
So it was something she'd brought along to heal injuries. Something like that must be precious.
Four bottles of this...
"Never mind. My injuries aren't serious."
Actually, there were still dozens of these Health Potions in his inventory. Once he opened the Suotuo City chest, he could even have more than a hundred.
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing refuse, Ning Rongrong didn't push. After drinking the fourth bottle and making sure her health was full, she tossed the empty bottles into the trash.
He'd seen the power of the Reversal Soul Skill now. It was pretty impressive.
The downside was that after using the Reversal Soul Skill, he couldn't use the corresponding skill in its unreversed state.
He couldn't use Strength Amplification to boost Trapped Beast like that.
Ning Rongrong looked up at Tang San, who was apologizing to Zhao Wuji, and couldn't help smiling.
Just thinking about what was going to happen tonight made her want to laugh.
"Wait, how advanced has this language module gotten? Did it access my camera?"
Lu Ma sat at his computer desk, feeling puzzled. He'd noticed that Ning Rongrong's movements seemed to be in sync with his own. But since speaking really was much more convenient, he didn't add changing that feature to his list of suggestions.
Before you continue