Who'd Drop Whom?

So it was theoretically possible...

Time to put it into practice!

Xie Xie took a deep breath. Golden Soul Power quietly surged through his body, coursing along his meridians and gathering in his palm.

Using his own pure Soul Power as a foundation, he would recreate the Rasengan's extreme rotation and compression.

At first, his Soul Power scattered like sand, darting wildly around his palm. The moment it began to rotate, it instantly fell apart.

Xie Xie furrowed his brows slightly, but didn't get impatient. He calmed his mind and repeatedly practiced controlling his Soul Power, centering it on his palm and making it begin its first revolution.

After more failures than he could count, a golden glow finally began to flicker faintly in his palm.

Xie Xie's eyes lit up, and he increased his Soul Power output.

As his Soul Power flowed faster and faster, the golden glow gradually took shape in his palm.

It began as a blurry cloud of light, then steadily contracted inward and compressed as it spun at high speed.

The Soul Power rubbed against itself, producing a faint hum. The cloud of light gradually condensed into a fist-sized sphere, its edges traced with swirling streaks of light.

The golden Soul Power vortex spun rapidly in his palm. The airflow whirled around it into a visible spiral, ruffling the hair on his forehead.

Xie Xie could clearly feel the pull in his palm: the centripetal force generated by the rapidly spinning Soul Power.

He gritted his teeth and kept feeding in Soul Power to stabilize the rotation, repeatedly pressing the loose energy toward the core as he tried to make the Soul Power Rasengan hold its shape completely.

Xie Xie stared intently at the rapidly spinning golden vortex in his palm, tiny beads of sweat already forming at his temples.

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

But this was his first time recreating a Rasengan with Soul Power, and his control over the energy was far from perfect.

Inside the seemingly stable golden orb, the flow of Soul Power suddenly became slightly disordered. The rhythm of its rotation lurched to a halt.

The next second, the compressed Soul Power burst apart with a roar!

A violent surge of Soul Power erupted from his palm. The powerful shock wave flung Xie Xie's arm sharply backward, and the force sent him stumbling several steps back, nearly knocking him to the ground.

The Rasengan in his palm completely collapsed, scattering into motes of Soul Power that vanished into the air.

Only a fierce aftershock of Soul Power swept through the surroundings, kicking up fine dust from the ground.

Xie Xie shook out his numb wrist. His palm was slightly hot, but he couldn't help feeling excited.

The experiment had proved that his idea was entirely feasible!

However, recreating a Rasengan demanded precise control over Soul Power and a large reserve of it. Otherwise, it could easily blow up like it just had—or drain him until he was nothing but skin and bones.

Xie Xie wasn't discouraged. He continued practicing in the Spirit Sea.

The next morning, the first light of dawn was just breaking.

"Xie Xie, get up!"

"Huh? Ahh!"

Xie Xie shot upright from his bed, a trace of dried drool still at the corner of his mouth. His eyes were vacant and dull, and he looked as if his soul had been sucked right out of him.

He had spent all last night practicing like crazy in the Spirit Sea, trying to form a Rasengan.

In the end, he'd drained himself until he was nothing but skin and bones. He couldn't even remember how he'd eventually passed out.

Seeing how utterly exhausted he looked, Tang Wulin hurried over. "Xie Xie, are you okay?"

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

Xie Xie managed to rub his aching temples.

His arms trembled slightly as he weakly grabbed the bed rail, struggling to turn over and get down.

But the moment he tried to move, his legs gave way. All strength instantly left them, and his body pitched uncontrollably toward the floor.

Tang Wulin reacted quickly. Without thinking, he stepped forward and caught Xie Xie by the waist and legs, holding him securely in a bridal carry.

Under normal circumstances, Xie Xie would have been so embarrassed he'd bristle like a cat.

But he was genuinely drained now. He didn't have the energy to care about that.

Tang Wulin carefully helped him into a chair.

Xie Xie immediately sat cross-legged and closed his eyes to meditate. It took about ten minutes for his scattered Soul Power to return to its proper place and fill his body again.

"Ah—so good!!"

He jumped to his feet, brimming with energy, stretched his body, and let out a huge, blissful yawn. A string of crisp pops and cracks came from his bones.

Grrr...

As soon as he finished stretching, Xie Xie's stomach rumbled at the worst possible moment.

He froze, instinctively clutching his stomach. Only then did the fierce hunger hit him.

He'd eaten so much last night. Why was he hungry again? Well, it seemed his appetite really had grown.

Xie Xie grabbed Tang Wulin by the wrist. "Come on, come on! Let's go eat!"

Tang Wulin replied helplessly, "You haven't even washed up yet."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Xie snatched the towel hanging on the bed and dashed into the bathroom.

Tang Wulin stood where he was, lost in thought. After a while, he suddenly said, "Xie Xie, I want to ask you something."

Hearing Tang Wulin call out, Xie Xie leaned backward while brushing his teeth and poked his head out through the doorway.

"Hmm? What's up?"

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

Xie Xie spat out the foam in his mouth and rinsed with clean water before answering, "Of course. They're pretty ordinary spirit fruits, aren't they? You can buy them at the mall."

Hearing that, Tang Wulin was delighted.

"I just wanted to learn a bit about them," Tang Wulin hurriedly said. "So, are those two spirit fruits expensive?"

"They're okay. About ten or twenty thousand Federal Coins apiece."

Hearing the price, Tang Wulin relaxed and took a sip from his cup. "That's good. I can afford that much."

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

"About... a few million each?"

Tang, if I don't put a little pressure on you, how are you supposed to explode with potential at the critical moment?

"Pfft—!"

The water Tang Wulin had just swallowed sprayed straight out of his mouth.

Xie Xie dodged quickly, but a little still splashed onto his cheek.

"Damn it, Tang Wulin! Watch where you're spraying!" Xie Xie promptly punched him on the head.

"Ow!"

Tang Wulin clutched his head and looked at Xie Xie with a wounded expression.

Xie Xie said irritably, "All right, all right. Spirit fruits that are over a hundred years old are only available at auctions. If you're really interested, I'll take you to have a look this weekend."

Hearing that, Tang Wulin instantly stopped looking wounded. His eyes lit up.

"Really? Really?"

Xie Xie held out his index finger and pushed Tang Wulin's head away. "Would I lie to you? You're my brother, after all."

More than a brother, really. He was practically a brother who'd get dragged into every mess.

Tang Wulin's eyes flickered, but he didn't argue. He simply followed behind Xie Xie with a smile.

As soon as they stepped out of the dormitory, Xie Xie felt someone grip his wrist.

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

Tang Wulin thought he'd grabbed too tightly and made Xie Xie uncomfortable. His grip instinctively loosened a little, but then he tightened it again.

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

Good lord, man—

In the future, you and Gu Yuena would leave the entire world behind. What kind of nerve would I have to leave you behind?

"...Suit yourself."

Xie Xie rolled his eyes.