Fierce Battle with the Light Dragon

"Uncle Li, I'll have five more orders of Braised Beef Pot. It's just too delicious."

Tang Wulin stuffed the last piece of beef into his mouth and called out to Uncle Li, still craving more.

"Alright, alright! Coming right up."

But just as Uncle Li turned to light the stove:

"Smack!"

A large palm slammed across Uncle Li's face.

The immense force knocked Uncle Li straight to the ground, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

"Uncle Li!"

Xie Xie was the first to react to the sound, immediately rushing to Uncle Li's side to help him up.

"Uncle Li, are you alright?"

But Uncle Li was already quite elderly, and after suffering such a blow, he had already lost consciousness.

"Who the hell are you!"

Consumed by rage, a yellow soul ring immediately rose beneath Xie Xie's feet. Gripping his Light Dragon Dagger, he instantly charged at the tall figure outside the shop.

No one knew that Xie Xie and the owner of this roadside stall had known each other since he was a child; it could be said that Uncle Li had watched Xie Xie grow up, and the bond between them went without saying.

"Xie Xie!"

Seeing Xie Xie act so impulsively, Tang Wulin also immediately ran out.

But before Tang Wulin could even clear the shop entrance, Xie Xie's figure was sent flying back, and Tang Wulin immediately opened his arms to catch him.

"I never thought this old thing would have a little soul master brat protecting him."

Just then, a man standing two meters tall, with dark skin and a body covered in thick muscle, slowly walked into the shop.

A trace of blood also spilled from the corner of Xie Xie's mouth; he had been knocked back by a single punch from this man just moments ago.

"Little brat, what's your relationship with this guy named Li?"

"Pah!" Xie Xie spat in the man's direction. "None of your damn business. Who the hell are you? Why are you bullying Uncle Li?"

"I am Guang Long. This Snack Street is under my jurisdiction. This old man hasn't paid his stall fees for months, and I figured it was time to teach him a lesson," Guang Long said with a gloomy look in his eyes.

"Don't give me that crap. The stall fees here are paid to the Federation. Uncle Li pays on time every month, so what does that have to do with you?"

Xie Xie's eyes were fierce; Tang Wulin had never seen him this angry before.

"A one-ring soul master, huh? If you pay the stall fees for this old man, I might consider letting him go."

In truth, Guang Long still had some reservations about Xie Xie, because a one-ring soul master like him was nine times out of ten a student at a soul master academy. If he injured him, it might be difficult to deal with the aftermath.

"You're not worthy!"

Xie Xie stood up from Tang Wulin's arms, his soul ring lit up, and he instantly condensed a Light Dragon Slash, charging toward Guang Long.

"You're courting death!"

Guang Long's eyes darkened as one white and one yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet.

"A two-ring Great Soul Master!" Tang Wulin didn't hesitate and immediately charged forward. He knew that Xie Xie alone couldn't possibly defeat a two-ring soul master.

Xie Xie's Light Dragon Dagger did indeed strike Guang Long, but for some reason, it couldn't pierce through, as if it had struck some kind of rare metal, emitting a teeth-gritting, metallic screech.

"Is that all the strength a little brat has?" Guang Long's eyes narrowed. He grabbed Xie Xie's arm, his other hand already balled into a fist, and smashed it toward Xie Xie.

"Bang!"

Fortunately, Tang Wulin's fist arrived in time, colliding with Guang Long's.

"Good kid, you've got some strength!"

Guang Long simply let go of Xie Xie and turned to engage Tang Wulin in combat.

"Wulin!"

Xie Xie hadn't intended to drag Tang Wulin into this fight, but since things had reached this point, Xie Xie could only tighten his grip on his Light Dragon Dagger and charge in once more.

"Bang! Bang, bang!"

The battle between Tang Wulin and Guang Long was almost purely a contest of fist against fist. Tang Wulin knew that his Blue Silver Grass control abilities were almost useless when facing a two-ring Great Soul Master head-on.

Meanwhile, Xie Xie kept circling, launching attacks at Guang Long from time to time.

But this guy was not only strong, his defense was also astonishing. Several times, Xie Xie found an opportunity to strike his vitals, but he only managed to scratch the surface of his skin.

Guang Long was, after all, a two-ring Great Soul Master, a full realm higher than Tang Wulin, and he was a power-type soul master to boot.

Soon, Tang Wulin began to falter; his strength was ultimately inferior to Guang Long's.

"Bang!"

With one punch, Tang Wulin was sent reeling back several steps before he could stop himself.

"The little brat has a lot of strength, but that's all there is to it." Guang Long roared, his white soul ring lighting up; he was clearly gathering a soul skill.

But just then, a fireball shot from out of nowhere and slammed into Guang Long, forcing him to interrupt his soul skill and shatter the fireball with a single punch.

A flash of silver light, and Gu Yue appeared before Tang Wulin.

"Gu Yue! You..."

"What about me? We're a team now, aren't we? Did you expect me to just watch you get bullied?" Gu Yue said, hands on her hips.

"So there's another brat? Fine, I'll just finish you both off together and save myself the trouble later!"

In an instant, the century-old spirit ring beneath Light Dragon's feet lit up as he unleashed his second spirit skill.

In the blink of an eye, Light Dragon's skin turned bronze, and his entire frame expanded by a full size; this was clearly a potent augmentation-type spirit skill.

"Tang Wulin, go!"

Green light flashed from Gu Yue's palms, and a gust of wind appeared beneath Tang Wulin's feet, hoisting him a full ten meters into the air.

The wind vanished, and Tang Wulin, looking down from above, threw a punch as his thousand-year spirit ring flared beside him.

A mass of Blue Silver Grass erupted beneath Light Dragon's feet, attempting to entangle his ankles.

Light Dragon reacted quickly; the moment he saw the Blue Silver Grass, he prepared to leap away, but he clearly underestimated Gu Yue's abilities.

A patch of mire appeared beneath Light Dragon's feet, followed immediately by ice element manipulation. The two elements combined, restricting Light Dragon almost instantaneously.

This allowed the Blue Silver Grass's control to take effect, and even if Light Dragon wanted to break free from these two restraints, it would take him some time.

But in that very window of time, Tang Wulin's fist had already smashed down toward the top of his head.

The force of a punch delivered from such a height was significantly stronger than one of Tang Wulin's normal strikes.

With no other choice, Light Dragon had to take the blow.

Xie Xie, standing to the side, hadn't been idle either. The moment he saw Tang Wulin and Gu Yue restrain Light Dragon, a pitch-black dagger appeared in his left hand. Paired with the Light Dragon Dagger in his right, both his speed and power received a boost.

Xie Xie's target was clear: he aimed straight for Light Dragon's eyes, refusing to believe they possessed such formidable defense.

Both attacks struck toward Light Dragon at nearly the same time.

Left with no alternative, Light Dragon had to use his left hand to catch Xie Xie's attack and his right hand to intercept Tang Wulin's fist.

However, Xie Xie's attack was simply too fast. By the time he raised his left hand, he only had enough time to shield one eye, and his left eye was still struck by the Shadow Dragon Dagger.

"Ah!"

Light Dragon let out a cry of pain. Although his eye wasn't blinded—his second spirit skill provided a massive boost, including defense for his eyes—Xie Xie's full-force strike still left his left eye temporarily unable to open.

At the same time, Tang Wulin's fist crashed down. Fortunately, it wasn't as fast as Xie Xie's, and Light Dragon managed to catch it with his right fist.

But the moment Light Dragon caught the punch, he realized the force behind it was several times greater than before.

Even with the advantage of height, how could the power have increased this much?

Light Dragon, of course, had no way of knowing that several Golden Scales had emerged beneath the sleeve of Tang Wulin's right arm. Tang Wulin had tapped into a sliver of the Golden Dragon King's power to augment himself; though he hadn't used it fully, the strength it provided was already immense.

Yet, just then, as Xie Xie retreated after finishing his combo, he felt an inexplicable sense of excitement.

The source of this feeling seemed to be... Tang Wulin?