Who Loses Whom?

The theory exists, so...

Practice begins!

Xie Xie took a deep breath, his golden soul power surging quietly throughout his body and flowing through his meridians toward his palm.

Using his own pure soul power as the foundation, he aimed to replicate the ultimate rotation and compression.

At first, the soul power scattered in his palm like loose sand, dissipating the moment a faint rotational momentum began to form.

Xie Xie frowned slightly, but he did not grow impatient. He settled his mind and began to practice his control over his soul power over and over, letting it circle his palm as the center.

After failing more times than he could count, a golden halo finally began to flicker in his palm.

Xie Xie's eyes lit up instantly, and he increased his soul power output.

As the speed of the soul power flow accelerated, the golden halo gradually took shape in his palm.

It started as a blurry ball of light, then continuously contracted and compressed inward amidst the high-speed rotation.

The friction between the layers of soul power produced a faint "humming" sound, and the light gradually condensed into a fist-sized spherical outline with swirling light along its edges.

The golden soul power vortex spun at high speed in his palm, dragging the airflow into a visible cyclone that ruffled the hair on his forehead.

Xie Xie could clearly feel the pulling force coming from his palm—the centripetal force generated by the high-speed rotation of soul power.

He gritted his teeth, continuously injecting soul power to reinforce the stability of the rotation, pressing the loose energy toward the core again and again, attempting to make this Rasengan made of soul power completely stable.

Xie Xie stared fixedly at the high-speed golden soul power vortex in his palm, fine beads of sweat already seeping from his temples.

He focused all his attention on maintaining the balance between rotation and compression.

But after all, this was his first time replicating a Rasengan with soul power; his control over the energy was far from perfect.

Inside the seemingly stable golden ball of light, the flow of soul power suddenly suffered a slight disorder, and the rhythm of the rotation stalled abruptly.

The next second, the unbalanced, compressed soul power exploded!

A violent blast of soul power erupted from his palm, and the powerful shockwave instantly jerked Xie Xie's arm backward, sending him stumbling back several steps until he nearly collapsed to the floor.

The Rasengan in his palm disintegrated completely, turning into scattered specks of soul power that dissipated into the air.

Only a violent ripple of soul power remained, sweeping through the surroundings and kicking up fine dust from the ground.

Xie Xie shook his numb wrist; his palm felt slightly hot, but he couldn't help but feel excited.

Because the experiment just now proved that his idea was highly feasible!

However, replicating a Rasengan required high precision in soul power control and a large reserve of soul power; otherwise, it would be easy to have a "misfire" like that or be drained dry.

Xie Xie was not discouraged and began practicing again in his spiritual sea.

The next day, at the first light of dawn.

"Xie Xie, wake, up!"

"Huh? Ahhh!"

Xie Xie bolted upright from his bed, a trail of dried drool still on the corner of his mouth. His eyes were hollow and dull, as if his soul had been sucked out of him.

Last night, he had been frantically training in his spiritual sea, attempting to condense the Rasengan.

As a result, he had literally drained himself dry, and he couldn't even remember how he had finally fallen asleep.

Seeing his exhausted state, Tang Wulin stepped forward quickly: "Xie Xie, are you alright?"

"Ah... I'm fine, I'm fine."

Xie Xie rubbed his throbbing temples with effort.

His arms trembled slightly as he gripped the bed rail, struggling to climb down.

But the moment he exerted force, his legs went weak, losing their strength instantly, and his body tipped uncontrollably toward the floor.

Tang Wulin was quick-witted; he instinctively stepped forward, his arms firmly supporting Xie Xie's waist and the back of his knees, catching him in a bridal carry.

If this had happened before, Xie Xie would have been so embarrassed he would have bristled.

But now, he was truly drained and had no energy to care about such things.

Tang Wulin carefully helped him to a chair and sat him down.

Xie Xie immediately crossed his legs and closed his eyes to meditate. About ten minutes later, his scattered soul power finally returned to its place, filling his body once more.

"Ah—refreshing!"

He stood up abruptly, stretching his body with vigor and letting out a long, satisfying yawn, his bones popping with a series of crisp "crackles."

Gurgle~

Just as he finished stretching, Xie Xie's stomach let out an untimely sound.

Xie Xie froze for a moment, instinctively covering his stomach, only then realizing that a wave of intense hunger was sweeping over him.

He had eaten so much last night, so why was he hungry again? Hmm, it seemed his appetite really had increased.

Xie Xie grabbed Tang Wulin's wrist: "Let's go, let's go, time to eat!"

Tang Wulin said helplessly: "You haven't even washed up yet."

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xie Xie snatched the towel hanging by his bed and bolted into the bathroom.

Tang Wulin stood where he was, lost in thought for a long moment before suddenly saying, "Xie Xie, let me ask you something."

Xie Xie, who was in the middle of brushing his teeth, leaned back and poked his head out from the doorway.

"Hmm? Wha' is it?"

"Have you ever heard of two things called Ice Crystal Fruit and Red Flame Fruit?" Tang Wulin asked.

Xie Xie spat out the foam, rinsed his mouth with water, and replied, "Of course I have. Aren't those just common spirit fruits? They sell them in every mall."

Hearing this, Tang Wulin was instantly delighted.

"I just wanted to know," Tang Wulin quickly added, "so, are these two types of spirit fruits expensive?"

"They're alright, probably ten or twenty thousand Federal Coins each."

Hearing this price, Tang Wulin breathed a sigh of relief and picked up his cup to take a sip of water. "That's good, I can afford that price."

Xie Xie glanced at Tang Wulin. "But the ones over a hundred years old are a bit more expensive."

"About... a few million each?"

Oh Tang, if I don't put a little pressure on you, how are you going to have a sudden burst of power in the heat of the moment?

"Pfft—!"

The water Tang Wulin had just swallowed was sprayed out in one go.

Although Xie Xie dodged quickly, some still landed on his cheek.

"Damn it, Tang Wulin, watch where you're aiming!" Xie Xie immediately landed a punch on Tang Wulin's head.

"Ow!"

Tang Wulin clutched his head, looking at Xie Xie with a wronged expression.

Xie Xie said irritably, "Alright, alright. Spirit fruits over a hundred years old are only found at auctions. If you're really interested, I'll take you to see one this weekend."

Hearing this, Tang Wulin was no longer aggrieved, his eyes shining brightly.

"Really? Really?"

Xie Xie extended his index finger and pushed Tang Wulin's face away. "Would I lie to you? Who else is your brother if not me?"

More than just a brother, you're a sucker of a brother.

Tang Wulin's eyes flickered, but he didn't refute it, merely following behind Xie Xie with a beaming smile.

Just as they stepped out of the dormitory, Xie Xie felt his wrist being grabbed.

"What are you doing?" Xie Xie asked crossly.

Tang Wulin thought he had been gripping too hard and making him uncomfortable, so he subconsciously loosened his hold, but then tightened it again.

A smile lingered in Tang Wulin's eyes. "Nothing, just... making sure you don't leave me behind."

Oh my god, big brother—

In the future, you and Gu Yuena are the ones who end up leaving the entire world behind; where would I get the guts to leave you?

"...Whatever you say."

Xie Xie rolled his eyes.