At Xiao Wu's words, Lin Mo visibly froze.
She'd already obtained her first Soul Ring? That fast?
No wonder she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast reborn.
Lin Mo let Xiao Wu tug on his sleeve and pull him onto the field.
Notting Academy, the field.
"Lin Mo, are you going to spar with me or not? Say something," Xiao Wu said, hands on her hips, full of swagger.
Her voice brimmed with confidence.
During the few days Lin Mo and Tang San had been away, she had quietly gone out once herself.
She'd used the excuse that her family had come to take her to hunt for a Soul Ring.
In truth, she'd found a safe place and condensed the Soul Ring on her own.
Her First Soul Skill was still Waist Bow.
It was the core Soul Skill of her Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul, after all.
The Soft Skills she knew, like Eight-Stage Throw, all relied on the power of Waist Bow to unleash their full might.
"Are you sure you want to spar with me again?" Lin Mo raised an eyebrow.
"I've already obtained my First Soul Ring and gained my First Soul Skill!"
"What's there to be unsure about?" Xiao Wu clenched her pink fists and said indignantly.
Losing to Lin Mo last time had left her incredibly frustrated. Now that she'd mastered Waist Bow, she naturally wanted to win back her pride.
But she wasn't very confident, which was why she hadn't invited anyone else to watch.
"I don't mind."
Lin Mo nodded, his gaze settling on the top of Xiao Wu's head. A glint flashed in his eyes.
"Xiao Wu, if I remember correctly, your Martial Soul is a rabbit, right?"
"Yeah. Why?"
Xiao Wu nodded, then immediately activated Martial Soul Possession.
A pair of rabbit ears appeared right on top of her head, making her look even more playful and adorable.
A yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring appeared beneath her feet as well.
"Then how about we make a bet?"
Lin Mo's gaze remained fixed on Xiao Wu's rabbit ears as he said with a grin:
"If you win, from now on, you'll be the boss of Dorm Seven, the big sister of everyone there.
"But if you lose..."
"What are you planning?" Xiao Wu instinctively clutched the ears atop her head, eyeing Lin Mo warily.
"Nothing much."
Lin Mo waved a hand. "If I win again, I get to touch your rabbit ears!"
"What did you say?" Xiao Wu bared her teeth.
"If you don't want to, forget it."
Lin Mo shrugged and made as if to leave.
But before he could turn around, Xiao Wu seemed to steel herself. She squeezed her eyes shut and said:
"Fine, I agree!"
"But your scheme won't work. There's no way I'm losing!"
She still wanted to win back her pride.
At Xiao Wu's words, a smile spread across Lin Mo's face. Plan successful.
Soon, Lin Mo and Xiao Wu stood facing each other, a short distance between them.
Both had activated Martial Soul Possession, with a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring floating beneath each of their feet.
Lin Mo had also entered the Innate Life State once more, his black hair turning white.
Both of them were at Soul Power Level twelve.
Judging only by their Soul Power Levels and Soul Ring Configurations, the spar looked perfectly fair.
Lin Mo beckoned Xiao Wu over. She pushed off with her feet and sprang forward, reaching him in an instant.
Her slender, long legs wrapped around Lin Mo's neck like soft whips.
A flash of delight crossed Xiao Wu's face as she completed the move. Without hesitation, she lit up her Waist Bow Soul Skill.
Her waist strength instantly doubled, and her flexibility increased by fifty percent.
Relying on the sudden surge of strength, Xiao Wu instinctively tried to fling Lin Mo away.
But, much to her surprise, Lin Mo's First Soul Ring lit up at that very moment.
The skin of her calves, pressed against Lin Mo's neck, suddenly felt strange, as if a wafer-thin film had come between them.
No matter how hard Xiao Wu strained, Lin Mo stood firm, utterly unmoving.
Lin Mo had expected this.
After absorbing the Soul Ring produced by a Vajra Ape, a Soul Beast renowned for its strength, his own power had grown further.
Combined with the resistance granted by Body-Protecting Qi, Xiao Wu could hardly budge him even if he stood perfectly still.
Forget breaking through his defenses and defeating him.
As far as Lin Mo could tell, even among Two-Ring Soul Grandmasters, there were probably only a handful who could break through his defenses and truly hurt him.
Xiao Wu gritted her teeth and drove her waist into another powerful twist, her body bending through an astonishing arc in midair.
Her legs clamped tightly around Lin Mo's neck. Drawing on the doubled strength from Waist Bow, she tried to lift him clean off the ground.
Yet Lin Mo still didn't move an inch.
Xiao Wu released her legs, flipped in midair, and landed steadily several meters away.
She stared at Lin Mo for two seconds, then suddenly charged at him again.
This time, she didn't try to lock his neck. Instead, she circled behind him and whipped her right leg toward the back of his knee.
The back of the knee was a relatively vulnerable joint. Even with a protective Soul Skill, it might not be fully covered.
But the instant her instep touched the back of Lin Mo's knee, that wafer-thin shield of Qi appeared once more.
Lin Mo turned his head and looked at her, his gaze perfectly calm.
Xiao Wu drew a deep breath and pushed off again.
Her body became a blur as she raced around Lin Mo.
Fists, feet, elbows, knees!
In the span of just a few breaths, she launched more than a dozen attacks from every angle.
Each attack landed precisely on a different part of Lin Mo's body.
His neck, the back of his head, his spine, his sides, the backs of his knees—Xiao Wu pushed the Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul's speed to its very limit.
But... it was all in vain.
No matter what angle she attacked from, Lin Mo's shield of Qi blocked her completely, leaving no opening.
Xiao Wu's final palm struck Lin Mo's back. She used the recoil to leap away, and by the time she landed, her breathing had grown a little ragged.
She looked at her right hand, which had turned faintly red.
She'd actually hurt herself on the recoil from her own strength.
Before long, Xiao Wu gave up with a thoroughly dejected look.
She eyed Lin Mo with growing suspicion. Just what had he been raised on?
How was he so strong?
In terms of raw strength alone, Lin Mo was almost a match for Er Ming, who was at the same level as him.
She had tried everything, but hadn't managed to budge Lin Mo in the slightest. She hadn't even been able to break through his defenses.
At the thought, Xiao Wu glanced at her reddened right hand, feeling even more frustrated.
She really had no way to deal with Lin Mo. She'd almost resorted to biting him just now.
Just like before, Lin Mo had her completely countered.
At the same time, she grew even more curious about what kind of Martial Soul Lin Mo had.
Were there Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest that matched Lin Mo's Beast Martial Soul? If so, how had she never seen one?