Decisive Battle in the Back Mountain

3:00 PM, Nuoding Academy back mountain.

Sunlight filtered through the dense broad-leaf forest, casting mottled shadows across the dry ground. The occasional crisp chirping of birds in the woods was quickly swallowed by a chilling aura of slaughter. This was the old spot where official students and work-study students of Nuoding Academy settled their grudges, and today, the atmosphere was heavier than ever before.

Though called the academy's back mountain, it was actually located on a small hill north of the school grounds. Once outside the academy's perimeter, the teachers turned a blind eye to the students' behavior; as long as no one died, it was considered a trivial matter.

In the center of the clearing, two groups of people stood in distinct, opposing lines.

On the left were the official students led by Xiao Chenyu, numbering over twenty. They wore high-quality uniforms and mostly carried themselves with arrogance. Xiao Chenyu, their leader, kept cracking his knuckles, the sound echoing sharply. His pale green eyes were filled with disdain for the impoverished work-study students.

On the right were the work-study students led by Wang Sheng. Though fewer in number, mostly dressed in rags and bearing old injuries, a fire burned in each of their eyes. They knew that standing behind them today was a youth capable of making the official students tremble.

Gu Tian stood at the very front, hands in his pockets, his demeanor calm and composed. Gu Yue and Na'er stood to his left and right behind him; even just standing there, the cold, holy aura radiating from these two stunning girls made the official students across from them feel a sense of trepidation. Xiao Wu stood a bit further away, her ruby-like eyes filled with unease and conflict.

"The rules are simple," Xiao Chenyu sneered, breaking the deathly silence. "Each side sends three people, taking turns. The winner stays on. The losing side must not only admit defeat but also kneel and call the other 'Grandpa' whenever they meet in the academy! Do you hear me, you work-study bastards?"

"Too much talk," Tang San said, digging his ear without even glancing at him. "Let's start."

The first match was between the work-study student Wang Sheng and the official student Xiao Chenyu.

Wang Sheng did not retreat; he stepped into the arena, his heavy footsteps echoing through the woods. He ripped off his coarse cloth shirt, revealing a body of solid muscle.

"Roar—!"

With a fierce roar, Wang Sheng's body suddenly expanded, and the phantom of a fierce tiger flashed behind him. Although he had yet to obtain a spirit ring, six years of rough-and-tumble life at the academy had given him physical strength far exceeding his peers.

He kicked off the ground, his body turning into a black bolt of lightning, charging at Xiao Chenyu with a gust of wind. The pounce was unstoppable, his palms turning into claws, aiming straight for his opponent's face.

Xiao Chenyu snorted coldly, shifting his body slightly to easily dodge the savage strike.

"War Wolf Martial Soul Possession!"

Cyan spirit power erupted from Xiao Chenyu. His eyes turned completely pale green, three-inch-long sharp claws popped from his fingers, and a layer of cyan fur faintly covered his skin.

A white ten-year spirit ring rose slowly from beneath his feet.

"First Spirit Skill, Wolf Rush!"

Xiao Chenyu's speed reached its limit in an instant. His body left an afterimage in place; Wang Sheng only felt a blur before his chest was struck by a searing, intense pain.

"Bang!"

Xiao Chenyu's figure performed an incredibly agile mid-air turn, precisely dodging Wang Sheng's counter-attack. Immediately after, he stuck to Wang Sheng's back like a leech, striking with a backhand claw that left three deep, bone-reaching gashes on Wang Sheng's back. Blood instantly splattered onto the fallen leaves.

Wang Sheng let out a miserable cry, but he was fearless, throwing a heavy punch as he turned. However, Xiao Chenyu was as cunning as a wolf; he refused to clash head-on, instead using the speed boost from his spirit ring to continuously inflict wounds on Wang Sheng.

"It's over, idiot."

Xiao Chenyu seized the moment, taking advantage of Wang Sheng's exhaustion to leap into the air. He performed a 360-degree flip, using the momentum of his descent to drive his right knee heavily into Wang Sheng's abdomen.

The massive impact caused Wang Sheng to spit out a mouthful of blood, sending him flying like a kite with a broken string. He crashed through two small trees before slamming into the ground, falling completely unconscious.

"Trash will always be trash," Xiao Chenyu said, dusting off his hands with contempt.

Although Wang Sheng's Martial Soul was the War Tiger, known as the king of beasts, he lost because he lacked the enhancement of a spirit ring. Even if the difference in power attributes was only a few dozen points, in terms of percentage, that was a ten percent gap!

"Who's next?" Xiao Chenyu's gaze swept toward Tang San. "You, the one surnamed Tang, are you going to avenge your roommate, or do you plan to kneel now?"

Tang San walked into the arena with a gloomy expression. Every movement he made seemed incredibly slow, as if he were accumulating some kind of explosive emotion.

"Tang San, first-year work-study student, Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass, level ten, one-ring Tool Spirit Master."

Tang San announced his name, then slowly raised his right hand.

A pale white spirit ring rose from beneath his feet. Against the backdrop of the Blue Silver Grass, which looked somewhat withered from absorbing the Lone Bamboo, this ten-year spirit ring looked incredibly cheap, even carrying a pathetic quality that invited laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

The official students behind Xiao Chenyu couldn't stop laughing.

"Did I hear that right? Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass, and he actually absorbed a white piece of trash?"

"This is the Grandmaster's personal disciple? This is the so-called once-in-a-century genius? It's hilarious! That white ring really matches his ragged clothes!"

Xiao Chenyu laughed until tears came to his eyes. "Tang San, if you kneel and kowtow to me three times, I'll pretend I never saw that embarrassing spirit ring of yours. How about it?"

Tang San gritted his teeth, his nails digging deep into his palms. He turned to look at Xiao Wu, only to find her looking at Gu Tian with a worried expression, not even sparing him a glance. The pain of being ignored by the one he loved and having his dignity trampled by the crowd made his eyes grow increasingly vicious.

"Less talk, are we fighting or not?"

Tang San initiated the attack, his feet moving in a strange, erratic pattern. This was the Tang Sect's ultimate technique—Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Xiao Chenyu's eyes sharpened; he hadn't expected the boy's footwork to be so bizarre. He roared and activated his first spirit skill, Wolf Rush, again, attempting to suppress Tang San with speed.

But Tang San didn't give him a chance to get close. His hands had turned a lustrous, jade-like color—this was the Mysterious Jade Hand.

The two traded blows frantically in the woods. Every time Xiao Chenyu's wolf claws struck Tang San's hands, they produced a dull, metallic clanging sound, failing to inflict even the slightest injury.

"First Spirit Skill, Bind!"

Seizing the moment Xiao Chenyu landed unsteadily, Tang San activated his cheap white spirit ring. Over a dozen barbed Blue Silver Grass vines erupted from beneath Xiao Chenyu's feet.

Although they were only ten years old, under the precise control of Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill, these vines locked onto Xiao Chenyu's joints with pinpoint accuracy. Xiao Chenyu roared and exerted force; though the Blue Silver Grass kept snapping, Tang San used this brief pause to close the distance, slamming a heavy palm onto Xiao Chenyu's chest.

"Using strength against strength, overcoming hardness with softness—that is the way to use Blue Silver Grass," Tang San smirked.

"Bang!"

Xiao Chenyu spat out a breath of stale air, stumbling back a dozen steps before finding his footing.

"That's enough, Xiao Chenyu."

Gu Tian, who had been watching from the sidelines, suddenly spoke up. "Step down; you are no match for him. From here on, I will end this farce."