The Soul Battle Has Only Just Begun

Run away?

The onlookers stared blankly as Jiang Naruto fled.

Such behavior was rare for a six-year-old child. After all, at this age, most brats would dare to jump off a second-story building just for the sake of their pride.

Tang San was also stunned for a moment, but after a brief hesitation, he immediately bit down on Naruto's heels, pursuing him relentlessly.

If I don't run, should I go head-to-head with Tang San?

Naruto cursed inwardly. No sooner had the thought crossed his mind than the sound of a fist breaking the air rang out behind him—Tang San, utilizing the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, had already caught up!

Turning back to block with a simple bent-arm guard, Naruto felt a bang as Tang San's fist landed on his arm. Having taken the heavy iron fist, Jiang Naruto's figure exploded backward. He had no intention of engaging, continuing to retreat, fighting while falling back!

The gap in strength between the two sides was far too obvious.

There was a six-level difference in soul power alone, not to mention the vast chasm in physical fitness and experience.

One had to remember, Tang San had been training since he was two or three, an Innate Iron-Forging Saint Body who could carry a hammer to forge iron at six! He was a pure beast!

Jiang Naruto had only transmigrated half a year ago, and his formal training added up to barely two weeks. Even with the [No Regrets Youth] and [Ninja Academy Student] tags equipped, the gap wasn't so easily bridged.

Then there was the experience.

Tang San's past life was spent learning killing techniques, while Naruto's past life was spent learning how to build socialism—how could the two even be mentioned in the same breath?

After dozens of exchanges, Naruto was already being chased and struggling to hold on.

Taking another punch, Naruto plowed two furrows into the ground with his feet, his arms aching and trembling slightly. With no time to think, he raised his hand and the Chains of Heaven shot out!

Tang San's figure flickered again. The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, practiced for years, was truly no different from a ghost in Naruto's eyes! The Chains of Heaven only struck an afterimage; Tang San had already lowered his body and closed the distance!

Rotate!

Naruto leaned back, pulling hard on the martial soul in his hand. The chains that had missed their mark hissed as they turned, carving a graceful arc through the air toward Tang San's back!

Something's wrong?

In an instant, Naruto's pupils constricted. He saw the Chains of Heaven behind Tang San turn again, but they were darting about like a headless fly.

Rolling his eyes, he saw Tang San's palm pressing against his own right wrist in a strange posture. With a slight exertion of force, the strength in his hand fell into chaos.

Crane-Controlling Dragon-Capturing?

Damn it!

Cursing in his heart, Naruto only had time to raise his left hand to block his chest.

Bang!

With a loud crash, Naruto flew backward several meters. Using a roll to dissipate the force, he was just about to stand up when the martial soul in his hand suddenly pulled back on him.

Lifting his gaze, he saw Tang San gripping the Chains of Heaven tightly with both hands!

Naruto's eyes turned cold.

Why didn't the soul power dampening effect of the Chains of Heaven work?

Poison?

Noticing the sluggish flow of soul power in his arm, Tang San subconsciously assumed it was poison. Still, he didn't care in the slightest; the muscles in his arms bulged as he yanked Naruto's martial soul toward him with a heavy pull!

Naruto, already unsteady on his feet, lost his balance again! He flew toward Tang San!

Only now, at such close range, did Naruto clearly see the faint sparks at the webbing of Tang San's thumb and his jade-colored fingers.

Mysterious Jade Hand?

Understanding the crux of the matter, Naruto stopped forcing it and decisively retracted his martial soul. The Chains of Heaven in his hand vanished directly into specks of soul power.

Without the drag of the chains, Naruto's speed plummeted. Just as he was about to brace for impact, a massive shadow suddenly appeared in the reflection of his pupils—it was Tang San stepping forward, his fist, wrapped in a fierce wind, rapidly enlarging.

Bang!

The two crossed paths!

Jiang Naruto landed on his butt, sliding a distance across the yellow gravel of the Soul Fighting Arena. He flipped over, retracted the Chains of Heaven he had driven into the ground, and panted heavily. Only the tip of his nose, which had grazed the wind of the fist, was slightly red.

If he hadn't dodged that punch just now, he would have been seriously injured, right?

There was enough evidence.

It was time to stop!

"Alright! Alright! The soul fight is over! It was just to demonstrate soul skills, don't let it get heated!" Before Naruto could speak, seeing the two of them getting increasingly ruthless, Principal Fuqi shouted loudly. Naturally, the soul fight ended with Naruto's defeat.

Principal Fuqi announced the result loudly with a face full of joy, and the onlookers beside him were no different.

The combat level of the two far exceeded expectations. Whether from the perspective of a teacher's appreciation or a classmate's envy, this was a fine soul fight, especially considering their current ages, which forced everyone to sigh in their hearts.

Having already turned to prepare for a pursuit, Tang San heard Principal Fuqi declare the end of the fight. A look of disappointment flashed in his eyes; he retracted his fist and walked forward slowly.

Naruto let out a long sigh of relief and simply lay flat on the ground, limbs splayed, completely lacking any image.

Tang San stopped in front of Naruto and squatted down.

In the eyes of those around them, Tang San should reach out to pull Naruto up now. They would become friends through conflict, chat happily, and eventually cherish each other—that was how it always went in street-corner storybooks.

Unfortunately, that was not the case.

Tang San leaned down, lowering his voice until it was audible only to the two of them.

"The things you said in the office the other day—you did that on purpose!"

Lying on the ground, Naruto narrowed his eyes. He couldn't clearly see Tang San standing in the sunlight, only the chilling, purple-glowing gaze and the certainty in his words.

Since the other party was already certain, Naruto dropped his facade, deciding there was no need to continue playing dumb. He lifted his eyes to meet Tang San's gaze directly and chuckled softly.

"And was I wrong about anything I said?"

Tang San glared at Naruto, his knuckles cracking as he clenched his fists. "A teacher for a day is a father for life. Insulting my teacher is the same as insulting me, Tang San. If there is a next time, I won't let you off as easily as I have today!"

"You allow your teacher to look down on everyone else, but when the same thing happens to you, you can't take it?" Naruto, truly incited by Tang San's shameless words, raised his voice to mock him back.

His voice was loud and clear, cutting through the whispers and noise of the surrounding crowd to reach everyone's ears.

Tang San's eyes widened slightly.

In an instant, he reached out to cover Naruto's mouth.

"If you can't keep your mouth shut, I can finish you right here!" Tang San's expression was ferocious, his voice strained with suppressed rage and killing intent. The Silent Sleeve Arrow on his right wrist was aimed directly at Naruto's throat.

Click.

The bolt was chambered.

The crisp sound of the metal latch rang out in their ears like a funeral bell.

Now is not the time to kill him! With so many people watching, there's no way to hide the Silent Sleeve Arrow from their eyes! Tang San scanned the faces of the onlookers, his mind racing as he forced down the urge to take a life.

For some reason, Tang San had expected the person beneath him to struggle violently or spew more insults about his teacher, but Naruto had gone quiet, remaining completely still.

At least he knows when to yield!

Before he could dwell on it, Principal Fuqi called out from nearby, his brow furrowed.

"San! What are you two talking about?"

Giving his defeated opponent one last threatening look, Tang San withdrew his hand. Seeing that Naruto didn't move, he slowly stood up and turned to explain to the portly principal.

"It's nothing. I was just asking how to control this whip-shaped martial soul."

Tang San's tone was calm, accompanied by a warm smile. For a moment, the crowd was truly fooled, looking on in confusion.

Tang San breathed a secret sigh of relief.

He was just about to open his mouth to continue brushing off the bastard's nonsense when he noticed the expressions on the crowd's faces suddenly freeze.

What happened?

Bang!

The thought had barely formed when a sharp, explosive pain struck him. Tang San saw stars, his footsteps staggered, blood spilled from the corner of his mouth, and a bright red fist print appeared on his face out of nowhere!

In the corner of his eye, he saw Naruto standing there, having just finished his punch.

When did he stand up?

Why was there no sound?

Tang San, who had extreme confidence in his own senses, fell into self-doubt. But that doubt lasted only a few seconds; since he was standing, he would just keep fighting!

Staggering, Tang San didn't try to steady himself. Instead, he used his momentum to twist his waist, rotating his body and swinging his arm in a circle, channeling all his strength into his palm!

Tang San's arm whipped through the air with a whistling sound. This was the art of borrowing force to strike, achieved through Crane-Controlling Dragon-Capturing, far beyond anything Naruto's Bar Dance Tai Chi could compare to.

The hand blade moved so fast that Naruto had no time to block or react!

Bang!

Tang San's palm passed straight through Naruto, leaving only wisps of smoke behind. The attack had missed... Tang San's eyes widened in confusion, then his pupils shrank to pinpricks, because behind the Naruto that had exploded into smoke, another Naruto had appeared!

Naruto exhaled softly. His fist, wrapped in his martial soul, had been waiting for a long time. He twisted his waist and threw the punch!

Boom!

Off-balance, Tang San had nowhere to dodge. The fist landed heavily on the bridge of his nose. His entire face rippled like the surface of a lake, followed by a spray of blood as he was sent flying like a ragdoll!

"Don't mistake my patience for weakness! I was going easy on you, and you actually thought you were something special?"