"Uncle Li, I'll have five more Braised Beef Pots. They're just too delicious."
Tang Wulin stuffed the last piece of beef into his mouth and called to Uncle Li, still craving more.
"All right, all right! Coming right up."
But just as Uncle Li turned around to light the stove—
"Smack!"
A broad palm slapped across Uncle Li's face.
The tremendous force knocked Uncle Li straight to the ground, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Uncle Li!"
Xie Xie reacted first at the sound and immediately rushed to Uncle Li's side to help him up.
"Uncle Li, are you all right?"
But Uncle Li was already quite old. After taking such a blow, he had fallen unconscious.
"Who the hell are you?!"
Furious, Xie Xie immediately summoned a yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet. Gripping the Light Dragon Dagger tightly, he charged toward the tall figure outside the shop.
No one knew that Xie Xie had known this street-stall owner since childhood. Uncle Li had practically watched him grow up, and the bond between them spoke for itself.
"Xie Xie!"
Seeing how impulsively Xie Xie had charged off, Tang Wulin immediately ran outside too.
But before Tang Wulin could make it out the door, Xie Xie came flying back. Tang Wulin quickly spread his arms and caught him.
"Didn't expect this old geezer to have a Soul Master brat protecting him."
Just then, a man nearly two meters tall, with dark skin and muscles all over his body, slowly walked into the shop.
A trace of blood also welled at the corner of Xie Xie's mouth. The man had just punched him back.
"Kid, what's your relationship with this guy named Li?"
"Ptooey!" Xie Xie spat toward the man. "None of your damn business. Who the hell are you, anyway? Why are you picking on Uncle Li?"
"I'm Light Dragon. I run this whole Snack Street. This old geezer hasn't paid his stall fees in months. I figured it was time to teach him a lesson," Light Dragon said darkly.
"Cut the crap. The stall fees here go to the Federation. Uncle Li pays on time every month. What's that got to do with you?"
Xie Xie looked absolutely furious. Tang Wulin had never seen him this angry before.
"So you're a One-Ring Soul Master? If you pay this old geezer's stall fees for him, I might consider letting him off."
Light Dragon did have some reservations about Xie Xie. A One-Ring Soul Master like him was probably a student at a Soul Master Academy, and if Light Dragon injured him, there could be trouble later.
"You think you're worthy?"
Xie Xie rose from Tang Wulin's arms. The Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, and Light Dragon Slash instantly took shape as he charged at Light Dragon.
"You're asking for it!"
Light Dragon's eyes darkened, and one white and one yellow Soul Ring rose beneath his feet.
"Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster!" Tang Wulin charged without hesitation. He knew Xie Xie alone had no chance of beating a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster.
Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger did stab into Light Dragon, but for some reason it wouldn't pierce him. It was as if the dagger had struck some rare metal, producing a grating series of clacks.
"That all the strength you've got, brat?" Light Dragon's eyes narrowed. He seized Xie Xie's arm, while his other hand was already balled into a fist and swinging toward him.
"Bang!"
Fortunately, Tang Wulin's fist arrived in time, meeting Light Dragon's punch.
"Not bad, kid. You've got some strength!"
Light Dragon simply let go of Xie Xie and turned to fight Tang Wulin.
"Wulin!"
Xie Xie hadn't meant to drag Tang Wulin into the fight, but now that things had come to this, all he could do was tighten his grip on the Light Dragon Dagger and charge back in.
"Bang! Bang-bang!"
The fight between Tang Wulin and Light Dragon was almost nothing but punch after punch. Tang Wulin knew that his Blue Silver Grass control abilities were nearly useless against a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster in a direct fight.
Xie Xie also kept circling nearby, attacking Light Dragon whenever he got the chance.
But the man was not only powerful; his defense was astonishing too. Several times, Xie Xie had found an opening and struck at a vital spot, yet all he managed was to scrape the skin and draw a little blood.
Light Dragon was a Two-Ring Soul Grandmaster, after all, a full realm above Tang Wulin. He was also a strength-type Soul Master.
Soon, Tang Wulin began to lose ground. In the end, he simply wasn't as strong as Light Dragon.
"Bang!"
Tang Wulin threw a punch, but the force shook him back several steps before he could steady himself.
"You've got plenty of strength, brat, but that's all you've got!" Light Dragon roared. The white Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up; he was clearly channeling a Soul Skill.
But just then, a fireball shot out from somewhere and slammed toward Light Dragon, forcing him to interrupt his Soul Skill and smash the fireball apart with a punch.
A flash of silver, and Gu Yue appeared in front of Tang Wulin.
"Gu Yue! You..."
"What about me? We're a team now. Was I supposed to just stand by and watch you get bullied?" Gu Yue said, hands on her hips.
"So there's another brat. Good. I'll deal with you both at once and save myself trouble later!"
In an instant, the Century Soul Ring beneath Light Dragon's feet lit up, and he used his second Soul Skill.
Light Dragon's skin turned bronze in the blink of an eye, and his whole body grew a full size larger. It was clearly a powerful enhancement-type Soul Skill.
"Tang Wulin, go!"
Green light flashed in Gu Yue's palm, and a breeze sprang up beneath Tang Wulin's feet, lifting him a full ten meters into the air.
Then the breeze vanished. Tang Wulin came down from above with a punch, while a Thousand-Year Soul Ring lit up beside him.
Blue Silver Grass sprang up all around Light Dragon's feet, trying to coil around his ankles.
Light Dragon reacted quickly. The instant he saw the Blue Silver Grass, he tried to leap away, but he clearly didn't know what Gu Yue could do.
A patch of mud appeared beneath Light Dragon's feet, and ice-element control came into play at the same time. The two elements worked together, restraining him in an instant.
That let the Blue Silver Grass's control take effect. Even if Light Dragon wanted to break free of both restraints, it would take him a little time.
But that was all the time Tang Wulin needed. His fist was already crashing down toward Light Dragon's head.
A punch from above carried far more force than one of Tang Wulin's ordinary punches.
There was no other choice. Light Dragon could only take the hit.
But Xie Xie hadn't been idle either. The instant he saw Tang Wulin and Gu Yue restrain Light Dragon, a dark dagger appeared in his left hand. Paired with the Light Dragon Dagger in his right, it gave him a boost in both speed and strength.
Xie Xie's target was clear: Light Dragon's eyes. Surely even his eyes couldn't be that well-defended.
The two attacks struck Light Dragon at almost the same time.
With no other option, Light Dragon used his left hand to block Xie Xie's attack and his right to block Tang Wulin's punch.
But Xie Xie's attack was simply too fast. By the time Light Dragon raised his left hand, he could only cover one eye. The Shadow Dragon Dagger still struck his left eye.
"Ah!"
Light Dragon let out a cry of pain. His eye wasn't blinded, and his second Soul Skill had greatly boosted his defenses, including the defenses around his eyes. But Xie Xie's full-strength strike still left him unable to open his left eye for the moment.
At the same time, Tang Wulin's fist came crashing down. Fortunately, it wasn't as fast as Xie Xie's, and Light Dragon barely managed to catch it with his right fist.
But when Light Dragon blocked Tang Wulin's punch, he realized it was several times stronger than before.
How could a blow from above carry that much more force?
Of course, Light Dragon didn't know that beneath the sleeve of Tang Wulin's right hand, a few golden scales had appeared. Tang Wulin had drawn on a little of the Golden Dragon King's power to enhance himself. He hadn't used it fully, but even this much was already formidable.
Just then, as Xie Xie retreated after completing his series of attacks, a strange sense of excitement welled up inside him.
The source of that feeling seemed to be... Tang Wulin?
Before you continue