Xie Xie felt an unstoppable force rebound from the tip of his dagger. Pain shot through the web of his thumb, and his twin blades nearly flew from his hands.
His heart tightened, but his assault didn't let up in the slightest.
His figure shifted abruptly, and the Light Dragon Blade and Shadow Dragon Dagger changed hands with effortless fluidity.
At times he attacked like a raging storm; at others, he darted about like a ghost, searching for the tiniest flaw in that impenetrable defense.
A flicker of approval passed through Wu Zhangkong's eyes.
Yet she remained as steady as a mountain, an abyss of calm. The wooden sword in her hand seemed to become an invisible barrier. No matter how Xie Xie changed his attacks, she blocked them firmly before her.
"Xie Xie, look out! I'm throwing the hammer!"
Whoosh!
A deep, heavy whistle cut through the air as the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer flew out with a mighty swing.
But Xie Xie and Wu Zhangkong were locked in combat, and neither of them even glanced this way.
The Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer sailed straight past them, then clanged onto the ground.
Tang Wulin was mortified. He'd missed.
Suddenly, a gentle breeze swept in from Xie Xie's side, making Wu Zhangkong's strike hit empty air.
That finally gave Xie Xie a moment to turn and yell, "Can you stop shouting out your moves? Fine, if she hears you, but can you at least throw straight—holy crap!"
He was only halfway through his sentence when he suddenly clutched his head and crouched.
A gleaming black hammer streaked through the space where his head had just been.
Xie Xie's hair stood on end. "Don't stand there with your ass stuck out while you throw the hammer! Why aren't you using your Soul Skill? Saving it for the New Year? What happened to your Mother's Entanglement?!"
Wu Zhangkong was at a loss, too.
Suddenly, she felt the ground beneath her feet give way, and she quickly began sinking into it.
Gu Yue struck again. Several Ice Spikes shot toward the ground beneath Wu Zhangkong's feet.
Wu Zhangkong smiled calmly and used her Soul Power to float into the air. At the same time, she flicked her wrist, and the wooden sword lightly tapped the Ice Spikes, shattering them with ease.
The Hundred-Year Soul Ring beneath Gu Yue's feet lit up again. A series of fireballs shot toward Wu Zhangkong.
Xie Xie had only just finished scolding Tang Wulin when he suddenly felt himself lifted into the air. A moment later, Wu Zhangkong's voice came from above his head.
"Xie Xie, help your teacher block this."
"...Huh?"
By the time he understood what was happening, several fireballs from Gu Yue's spell were already flying straight at his face.
"Wait! I refuse!"
It was too late for Gu Yue to pull back the fireballs. One after another, they exploded against Xie Xie, raising a cloud of dust.
When she was done using him, Wu Zhangkong casually tossed Xie Xie toward Gu Yue.
The dust had barely settled, and Gu Yue hadn't even gotten a clear look when a soot-black, frizzy-haired figure flew out of the cloud straight at her.
"X-Xie Xie?!"
"Ahhhhhh—!"
With a thud, Xie Xie crashed squarely into Gu Yue, and the two of them tumbled into a heap.
"Cough, cough... Xie Xie, are you trying to kill me?!"
Gu Yue shoved the soot-covered boy off her. Dust clung to her school uniform, and a vein throbbed at her temple.
"You've got some nerve blaming me!"
Xie Xie climbed to his feet, his hair sticking out in every direction and his face full of misery. Wisps of smoke still curled from the scorched patches on his clothes. "I got used as a shield, and you still threw fireballs right in my face!"
"You're the one who flung yourself at me!" Gu Yue gritted her teeth in anger.
"Can you two stop arguing for a second?!"
Watching Wu Zhangkong charge at him, eyes blazing red and wooden sword in hand, Tang Wulin was on the verge of tears.
Only then did the two look toward Tang Wulin.
Seeing Wu Zhangkong charging straight at him, Gu Yue and Xie Xie exchanged a glance. In that instant, they somehow understood exactly what the other was thinking.
A flash of blue light swept over Xie Xie, and he darted forward again.
Blue light curled around Gu Yue's left hand while flames surged in her right. A series of fireballs shot after Xie Xie.
But Wu Zhangkong's attack was faster. Her wooden sword was already thrusting toward Tang Wulin's chest.
Tang Wulin didn't hesitate for a moment. He entered his state of emptiness, and two gray lights flared in his hands.
He raised his right hammer to his chest to block the wooden sword, then swung his left hammer straight at Wu Zhangkong.
"Clang!"
The wooden sword struck the gray hammer in Tang Wulin's right hand with a metallic ring.
Tang Wulin felt a tremendous force hit him. The Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer slammed into his chest, driving him backward.
As if he'd sensed something, he suddenly relaxed his left hand mid-swing.
The Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer flew from his grasp straight toward Wu Zhangkong.
Wu Zhangkong casually flicked her wooden sword, preparing to sweep it aside.
But just as the sword was about to hit the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer, a strand of Blue Silver Grass suddenly caught the hammer's handle and yanked it back.
Wu Zhangkong froze for a moment. Then a dazzling light exploded before her eyes.
She closed her eyes and calmly swept her wooden sword overhead.
The fireballs that had been meant to ambush her from above all burst apart beneath the sweep.
But the fireballs didn't vanish completely when they exploded. Amid the bursting light, a golden dagger shot out like a shooting star, aimed straight at Wu Zhangkong's face.
Xie Xie appeared abruptly in the path of the Light Dragon Blade.
He gripped the hilt with both hands and poured every last bit of his Soul Power into it. The Light Dragon Blade blazed with dazzling golden light.
The Light Dragon Blade was like a miniature sun. With a shrill whistle that tore through the air, it came down at Wu Zhangkong's head again with Thunderous Might.
"Good!"
Wu Zhangkong's lips curved slightly. She neither dodged nor retreated, precisely tapping the spine of the Light Dragon Blade with her wooden sword as it met the golden blade.
"Clang—!"
A deafening ring rang out, and the shockwaves of clashing metal swept across the Martial Arts Arena.
Xie Xie felt tremendous force surge through the blade. Pain shot through the web of his thumb, and he flew backward like a kite with its string cut, tumbling through the air several times before managing to land.
The moment he steadied himself, Wu Zhangkong's wooden sword shot toward his throat like a striking snake.
Xie Xie's pupils contracted. At the last possible moment, the Shadow Dragon Dagger traced a blur before him and barely knocked the fatal strike aside.
"Not bad. You're finally showing some promise."
Wu Zhangkong's voice remained cool, but held a trace of hard-to-detect satisfaction. "But it's still not enough."
Xie Xie calmly wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and smiled.
"Is that so?"
The familiar whistling sounded in their ears again, and Tang Wulin's Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer suddenly appeared before her.
Wu Zhangkong's eyes narrowed at once, but she still swept her wooden sword sideways.
This time, however, she miscalculated.
The hammer and sword collided. Wu Zhangkong felt a powerful force strike her wooden sword and realized it was close to giving way.
Before she could channel more Soul Power into it, two more waves of force struck the sword in quick succession.
"Crack!"
The wooden sword snapped, and the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer came crashing toward her head.
Wu Zhangkong flashed aside, dodging the Thousand-Refined Heavy Silver Hammer.
At last, Xie Xie and the other two had pulled off a bit of teamwork. Their first attempt had already made Wu Zhangkong pay a small price.
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