Facing Xiao Wu's challenge, Han Xing answered perfunctorily:
"Is that so... Since that's the case, let's talk after class."
There wouldn't be many chances to beat up Xiao Wu, so naturally, he wanted to put it off for a while.
If he beat her this time but didn't get any screen time, then he'd have even fewer chances next time.
"Remember, don't leave after school."
Xiao Wu glared fiercely at Han Xing, then returned to her seat.
Time passed quickly, and the end of the school day arrived.
Han Xing didn't leave the classroom right away. Instead, he opened the bullet-screen panel first.
After seeing that the comments had confirmed Tang San had returned to Notting Academy, he got up and headed for the training grounds.
Xiao Wu saw this and hurried after him, impatient to get going.
Once Xiao Wu stepped onto the sparring platform, she released her Martial Soul. The Hundred-Year Soul Ring around her drew gasps from the other students at the academy.
Hearing them, a smug smile appeared on Xiao Wu's face.
"Come on up! Sister Xiao Wu will give you a good beating!"
By now, a crowd of onlookers had gathered around the platform. The place was bustling with excitement.
Clearly,
before school let out, Xiao Wu had deliberately sent the work-study students to spread the word.
Otherwise, a private challenge between just two people wouldn't have drawn such a crowd.
"But it doesn't matter. The more people who show up, the better my chances of getting screen time."
Han Xing climbed onto the platform and loosened up before turning to Xiao Wu.
"Come on. Let's see how much you've improved."
The moment Han Xing finished speaking, the tone of the bullet-screen comments changed.
[Whoa, Tang San just went to the Soul Hunting Forest, and Han Xing and Xiao Wu are fighting again?]
[Xiao Wu seems to have broken through. She's got a yellow Hundred-Year Soul Ring around her, too.]
[This Han Xing keeps fighting Xiao Wu. I'm starting to wonder if she's really the female lead.]
[What female lead picks fights with another guy every day? Shouldn't she be picking fights with Tang San?]
[How could she not be the female lead? They even slept together, though they're too young for anything to have happened.]
[A revenge match, then? Or a chance for Tang San to show off.]
[After all, Tang San's gotten a Soul Ring now, hasn't he? He ought to get a chance to show it off, right?]
Reading the comments, Han Xing felt a little helpless.
Tang San was still the protagonist, after all. Sure enough, whenever a conflict broke out,
even if Xiao Wu had started it, most people would instinctively take their side.
Han Xing felt a little annoyed.
As he looked at Xiao Wu, her Martial Soul possessing her, his gaze gradually turned hostile.
"This time, if you still can't beat me, there won't be a next time," Han Xing said coldly.
"Beating you is easy, but having a fly buzzing around my ears every day is annoying."
"What did you say?" Hearing Han Xing call her a fly, Xiao Wu's expression immediately turned fierce.
"You're the fly! And you're not going to win this time."
"You only won last time because your Soul Power Level was higher. You took advantage of me when I was at a disadvantage."
Han Xing ignored Xiao Wu's unreasonable excuses.
"Enough talk. Let's fight and get this over with."
"Han Xing, a Level 14, one-ring Power Attack System Soul Master! Martial Soul: Three-Legged Golden Crow!"
Han Xing barked, and as the Golden Crow possessed him, golden Sun True Fire immediately rose from his body.
[Holy crap, what a sigma male!]
[I have to say, I'm really loving Han Xing's performance.]
[By the way, Han Xing's Martial Soul is a Three-Legged Golden Crow? That's insanely impressive.]
[The Three-Legged Golden Crow is a Divine Beast representing the incarnation of the sun. No wonder he's so damn strong.]
[Now that you mention it, Tang San's Martial Soul is grass, and Xiao Wu's is a rabbit. Compared to him, they've already lost on sheer presence.]
[Hey, don't forget Tang San also has the Clear Sky Hammer. Anything named Clear Sky has to be just as impressive as the Three-Legged Golden Crow.]
[True. If you look closely, Tang San has the Clear Sky Hammer and Twin Martial Souls. His presence is still greater than Han Xing's.]
[It's just that Tang San hasn't used his Second Martial Soul yet. He mainly fights with his First Spirit, so you can't tell.]
As the audience discussed the fight, Han Xing and Xiao Wu clashed.
"First Soul Skill: Dawn Light Fire Feather!"
Han Xing was the first to use his Soul Skill, forming a pair of golden, flaming wings behind him.
Knowing that Xiao Wu's first Soul Skill was Waist Bow, Han Xing naturally wasn't foolish enough to rush up close.
As Xiao Wu charged straight at him, Han Xing swept his wings. Two Flame Feathers shot out.
Han Xing had deliberately tested them before. At most, his wings could launch fourteen Flame Feathers at once.
That number was exactly equal to his Soul Power Level.
So in battle, he made sure to control how many Flame Feathers he used.
As long as he didn't immediately drain all the Soul Power from his wings, he could slowly replenish them, keeping the wings from disappearing.
"Again!"
Seeing Han Xing attack from a distance just like last time, Xiao Wu gritted her teeth and kicked at the two incoming feathers.
But the Flame Feathers were far more powerful than the fireballs Han Xing had made from flames last time.
The moment Xiao Wu's leg struck a feather, a huge hole burned through her pants.
The Sun True Fire clung to her body and spread upward toward her torso.
"Damn it, these flames are so much stronger than last time!"
Xiao Wu hurriedly dodged, then tried rolling on the ground to put out the fire.
But it was no use.
If the Sun True Fire could be put out so easily, it wouldn't be called the Sun True Fire.
Fortunately, at that crucial moment,
Xiao Wu suddenly grabbed her pant leg and yanked hard, tearing off the burning fabric.
"Ow, that hurts!"
Looking at the burn scars on her calf, Xiao Wu couldn't help gritting her teeth.
Seeing Xiao Wu grimacing in pain, Han Xing wasn't about to let her rest.
She wasn't his friend, after all. There was no need to hold back in a fight.
Two more Flame Feathers shot out, heading straight for Xiao Wu before she could move.
"You think you can use that move again?"
Xiao Wu quickly rolled aside, dodging Han Xing's attack.
Her gaze swept over the area as she thought of a way to close the distance.
She darted back and forth across the platform, dodging the attacks while gradually making her way toward Han Xing.
"You're trying to get close so you can use Waist Bow?" Han Xing sneered inwardly.
Before, he hadn't wanted to fight Xiao Wu at close range, but now her legs had already been burned.
At this point, she might not have the advantage in close combat.
Han Xing kept up his foolish act of standing still and attacking, letting Xiao Wu close in.
Once the distance between them was less than two meters, Han Xing finally began to move.
"First Soul Skill: Waist Bow!"
Xiao Wu shouted, bracing both hands on the ground and locking her legs around Han Xing's neck.
But just then, Han Xing's hands snapped into claws and seized Xiao Wu's calves.
With Dawn Fire Claw Lock Tendon Seal Pulse, the Sun True Fire seeped into her wounds, sealing the flow of her Soul Power.