Ma Hongjun's voice had barely faded.
[Activate, double speed!] Zhu Zhuqing activated the buff with a thought.
The buff lasted ten minutes, but when experts fought, ten minutes was more than enough.
Dai Mubai moved.
The White Tiger Martial Soul flared to life. His bones cracked, his muscles swelled, and the sleeves of his academy uniform stretched to their limit, revealing hints of white fur spreading beneath them. Six Soul Rings rose around him—[yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black]—shimmering one after another in the sunlight.
Dai Mubai didn't bother testing the waters. He went all out.
"Second Soul Skill, White Tiger Intense Light Wave!"
A golden-white beam of light blasted from his palm, a full meter across. It came with a scorching rush of air, and the stone slabs beneath it hummed under the pressure.
The beam shot straight toward Zhu Zhuqing.
It was fast, taking less than half a second to reach her.
The students watching instinctively took a few steps back. Those at the front squinted against the scorching wave of heat.
The beam struck the spot where Zhu Zhuqing had been standing.
Boom!
The stone slabs shattered, sending fragments flying as dust billowed more than two meters into the air.
"Did it hit?" Ma Hongjun craned his neck.
The dust cleared, revealing a crater half a meter deep. It was empty. Zhu Zhuqing was gone.
"Over there!" someone shouted.
Everyone turned to look.
Zhu Zhuqing stood on the stone steps at the far edge of the sports field, more than thirty meters from where she'd been.
Not a speck of dust marred her black leather outfit. Her breathing was steady, and even her hair was in place.
Dai Mubai's pupils contracted.
Fast. Too fast!
From the moment he fired the White Tiger Intense Light Wave to the moment it hit, there'd been only a fraction of a second to react. In that tiny window, Zhu Zhuqing hadn't merely dodged it completely—she'd moved more than thirty meters.
That speed was beyond anything a Level 62 Soul Emperor should have.
Dai Mubai's smile faded. "You've got some tricks."
Zhu Zhuqing said nothing. She jumped down from the steps.
Her movements were feather-light. Her black boots touched the stone with barely a sound.
Then she vanished. It wasn't a Martial Soul Skill. She was simply moving so fast that the naked eye couldn't keep up.
Dai Mubai saw only a black blur sweep past on his left.
He turned on instinct and swung his tiger claw. It cut through the air and hit nothing.
A gust of wind swept in behind him, followed by a heavy blow to his lower back.
Boom!
Zhu Zhuqing's right foot struck Dai Mubai squarely in the lower back.
Dai Mubai stumbled forward two steps. His Level 68 physique let him regain his balance before he fell, but the pain in his lower back was real. Her attack speed was nothing like what a Level 62 Soul Master should manage.
Dai Mubai steadied himself and whipped around.
Zhu Zhuqing had already put some distance between them. She stood fifteen meters away, her expression impassive.
"Are you really Zhu Zhuqing?" Dai Mubai muttered.
He wasn't actually questioning who she was. He was just stunned.
The Level 62 girl he'd subdued with one hand last night was now moving so fast he couldn't even make out her shadow.
Xiao Wu had gained eight levels in four hours. Ning Rongrong's Mushroom Sausage had turned to stone. And now there was Zhu Zhuqing.
Dai Mubai suddenly recalled what Tang San and Oscar had said in the dorm last night. At the time, he'd thought they were both sick.
Now it seemed Tang San and Oscar might have been telling the truth.
Something strange really had happened to these girls, but this wasn't the time to think about it.
Dai Mubai gritted his teeth, unleashing his Soul Power to its limit as he activated his third Soul Skill.
"White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
His body swelled again, growing over two meters tall. Golden-white fur covered him from head to toe, his features grew fierce, and his fangs jutted out as both hands became enormous tiger claws.
This was Dai Mubai at his strongest. His strength and defense had both increased dramatically.
Dai Mubai planted his feet and leaped, his massive tiger form hurtling toward Zhu Zhuqing with a tremendous rush of wind.
Zhu Zhuqing stood perfectly still.
Only when Dai Mubai's tiger claws were two meters away did she move.
She darted to the right, slipping past the edge of his claws. She was so close she could feel the coarse fur on his claw brush her leather sleeve.
She thrust out her left hand, fingers pressed together, and struck the inside of Dai Mubai's right arm with the edge of her palm.
Smack. A sharp crack.
Dai Mubai's right arm went numb, and most of the force behind his tiger claw vanished.
Zhu Zhuqing didn't stop. Using her momentum, she spun halfway around and whipped her right leg out like a lash, striking the back of Dai Mubai's knee.
Click. Dai Mubai's right knee buckled, and he pitched forward.
Just as he was about to hit the ground, Zhu Zhuqing vanished again.
She appeared at his left side.
An elbow slammed into his ribs.
Dai Mubai grunted and lurched sideways.
Before he could regain his footing, another kick struck him from behind.
Thud, thud, thud.
Three blows in a row, all aimed at his weak points: the backs of his knees, his ribs, and his lower back. None was especially heavy, but each was terrifyingly precise, targeting joints and soft tissue beyond his armor of muscle.
In his White Tiger Vajra Transformation, Dai Mubai's muscles were as hard as iron plates. He could take ordinary attacks head-on without trouble.
But Zhu Zhuqing never attacked him head-on.
What did a twofold difference in speed mean?
It meant that every time Dai Mubai turned around, Zhu Zhuqing could circle him twice. He was always chasing her and never caught up. Every time he figured out where she was, she'd already moved somewhere else.
The students watching could only make out a black blur flickering around Dai Mubai. Each time it flashed, a dull thud followed.
Wounds began to appear on Dai Mubai's body.
The edge of a palm had cut across his face, leaving his left eye swollen and bruised. His ribs on the right side had taken at least four or five blows, and they ached whenever he breathed. The backs of his knees had been kicked twice, and his right leg was starting to give way.
Ma Hongjun stood at the edge of the field, his mouth hanging wide open.
On the other side, Xiao Wu clapped excitedly. "That's it! Hit him!"
Ning Rongrong clutched her notebook, smiling.
Bai Chenxiang peered around from behind Ning Rongrong, her eyes wide as saucers.
Dai Mubai panted heavily. Red marks covered his tiger form, and his left eye had swollen shut.
Worst of all, he hadn't landed a single punch on Zhu Zhuqing. Not one!
Every time he thought he'd found an opening and swung his claw, she vanished. Then a heavy blow would strike him from behind or from the side.
Dai Mubai felt as if he were fighting a shadow.
His strength was draining fast. The White Tiger Vajra Transformation could only last so long. If this continued, he wouldn't even be able to stand once it wore off.
Another kick struck him in the lower back.
"Damn it! Don't blame me for this! Fourth Soul Skill: White Tiger Meteor Shower!"
Dai Mubai had already brought out his full strength. This Soul Skill was a wide-area attack, sending countless balls of light crashing toward its target.
"Hmph!" Zhu Zhuqing dodged with a few blurs of movement, as if teleporting, then circled around behind him.
Dai Mubai caught sight of a black blur. Before he could react, another blow struck him.
He stumbled forward two steps and dropped to one knee.
Zhu Zhuqing stopped five meters away. Her black leather outfit was still spotless, and her breathing was only slightly faster than before.
The sports field fell silent.
Everyone stared at Dai Mubai on one knee and Zhu Zhuqing standing opposite him.
Dai Mubai raised his head. His left eye was swollen, and his right was filled with resentment.
"You..."
"Do you surrender?" Zhu Zhuqing's voice was calm, without a trace of triumph or provocation.
She sounded as if she were asking an ordinary question.
Dai Mubai clenched his tiger claws, his knuckles scraping against the stone slabs with a harsh, grinding sound.