Spirit Binding Lock

At the sight of this,

Yu Xiaogang was so excited he stamped his foot. He raised a hand and pointed at the two fighters, then turned to shout at Principal Fuqi and the others. "Our opponent has already used every trick in his book. The winner is decided!"

The few Spirit Ancestors and Spirit Kings stirred, ready to step in and end the Soul Fighting match, but they were still waiting for something, all of them.

Principal Fuqi in particular furrowed his brows when he heard Yu Xiaogang's words, then glanced at him.

Had Grandmaster lost his mind?

Honestly!

Naruto clicked his tongue, looking somewhat pained.

Blood kept seeping from both his hands. Tang San was hurtling toward him like a cannonball, and in the corner of his eye, Xiao Wu was already bouncing happily in the "stands."

But this Soul Fighting match was already over. It had been over from the very beginning.

Naruto raised his hand. Several Chains of Heaven whistled through the air, shooting toward Tang San!

Tang San didn't slow down. Like a streak of black lightning, he charged forward. Purple light shimmered in his eyes as his Purple Demon Eye spun at high speed, locking onto the black chains in an instant. His hands quickly took on a jade-green hue.

In their Soul Fighting match over half a year ago, Tang San had briefly found himself at a disadvantage. During that time, he had quietly set aside his pride, focused his mind, and carefully studied how to deal with this opponent.

But given the enormous difference in their Innate Soul Power, Tang San had never believed his opponent would catch up with him. Naturally, he hadn't prepared as well as Naruto had.

Still, his reflections had yielded some results.

The vast quantity of Blue Silver Grass he had summoned earlier was one such result. So was the special, reinforced Blue Silver Grass he had just created at the cost of a great deal of Soul Power.

At the lower Spirit Master ranks, Hidden Weapons were Tang San's strongest weapon! A flower or leaf plucked and sent flying could be a Hidden Weapon, too!

It was over!

Tang San sneered as his Mysterious Jade Hand repeatedly knocked away the Chains of Heaven interfering with his advance. That bastard, still unsteady on his feet, was right in front of him. Tang San raised his fist!

But at that moment, Tang San's pupils contracted. He froze.

There was no sign of defeat on the man's face. Instead, he wore a mocking expression, as if he had gotten exactly what he wanted!

The instant Tang San sensed something was wrong, his body's blaring alarm had already reached his brain. His eyes shifted toward his Mysterious Jade Hand, which was still batting away the black chains around him.

Among the several chains it deflected, one stood out. Its surface reflected no metallic gleam; it was black as pitch, swallowing every trace of light.

The Mysterious Jade Hand brushed against the strange chain. There was no metallic sensation. Yet the black chain was like a parasite clinging to bone: in an instant, it crawled up his Mysterious Jade Hand, forming unnerving black chains beneath his jade-colored skin.

Tang San had no time to react or stop it. The moment he pulled back his hand, the black chain spread across his whole body like a drop of ink falling into a pool, covering him in the blink of an eye!

Click!

Tang San's eyes flew wide with terror, his pupils narrowing to pinpricks. Beneath his skin, countless black chains tightened and locked into place, and that inexplicable clicking sound rang out in his mind!

As the chains snapped shut, the Soul Power inside Tang San's body ground to a complete halt. It wasn't merely struggling to move under suppression—it had stopped dead.

The purple light in his eyes faded. The jade hue drained from his fingers, returning them to normal, and his once-light body grew heavy.

Tang San was now practically no different from an ordinary person!

"Right, according to the unwritten rules, I'm supposed to call out the name of my move..." Looking at Tang San's stunned expression, Naruto calmly explained as he raised his fist.

"First Soul Skill, Spirit Binding Lock."

Once the Spirit Binding Lock made contact, it sealed and restrained all the Soul Power in the body. How long the seal lasted depended on the difference in strength between the two sides, as well as how much Soul Power the victim spent trying to break through it.

Even if Tang San gave it everything he had right now, breaking free would still take several seconds.

But—

None of that really mattered anymore. Bruce Lee could throw nine punches in a second, and Bolt could run ten meters in a second. As for Naruto beating the Tang San in front of him into the ground...

That would only take one second!

Bam!

Bam!!

Bam!!!

Countless fists whipped up gusts of wind, pounding down one after another!

The outcome of this Soul Fighting match had been decided from the start. Naruto had known all along about the various tricks Tang San possessed, while Tang San knew only a little about him, piecing together vague guesses from their previous match.

Throughout the entire Soul Fighting match, victory had never been what Naruto was concerned about. What mattered was revealing as little as possible.

Damn it!

Tang San roared inwardly as his staggering legs gave way and he crashed to the ground. His vision swam with stars, his back teeth ground together, and fists rained down on him like drops of rain.

But just then, Naruto's fist suddenly stopped.

An opening!

Take it!

Tang San drew together all the Soul Power in his body and shattered the seal in an instant.

With a crack, the black chains beneath his skin broke apart piece by piece and vanished. The Soul Power in his body began to flow again. But just as he was about to rise and counterattack, Tang San suddenly froze.

Principal Fuqi and several of his old friends were already standing between the two of them.

Principal Fuqi first glanced at Naruto, whose fist was still raised as the others held him back. Then he looked at Tang San lying on the ground and silently shook his head.

"W-wait! I... I haven't..."

The battered Tang San tried to get to his feet, desperate to prove the match wasn't over. But he had barely risen before he collapsed back to the ground in agony.

"Xiao San!"

"Third Brother!"

His teacher and Xiao Wu called out from behind him. Gritting his teeth, Tang San struggled to prop himself up. Principal Fuqi couldn't help sighing before speaking softly.

"Tang San, it's over."

Xiao Wu and his teacher hurried over and helped him up.

But Tang San couldn't hear their concerned voices. His gaze remained fixed in front of him as he stared wide-eyed at Principal Fuqi, the portly school headmaster, raising Naruto's hand and announcing to everyone:

"The winner has been decided. The victor is Jiang Naruto."

The crowd buzzed and chattered around the arena. The academy students had enjoyed quite a show, and Principal Fuqi's old friends offered their congratulations, praising the two fighters in no uncertain terms.

Sadly, Tang San heard none of it. His world seemed to have fallen silent.

Seeing Tang San standing dazed and dejected, like a puppet, Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Wu grew increasingly anxious.

"Xiao San? How are you feeling?"

"Teacher, hurry and take Third Brother for treatment!"

Just as they helped Tang San up, Naruto slowly stepped forward. At once, the puppet-like Tang San showed a human reaction: the unconcealed frustration and anger in his eyes nearly spilled over.

Ignoring the wariness in all three of their eyes, Naruto folded his arms.

"Do you know why you lost?"

Tang San froze.

He had never expected his opponent to say that.

Naruto didn't wait for a response. He scratched his head, then went on as if talking to himself. "You use your Self-Created Soul Skills better than I do. You probably have more Soul Fighting experience than I do, too. But you still lost!"

"Your Martial Soul is too weak! You need a Spirit Ring to obtain the entangling ability that comes naturally with a Long Whip Martial Soul. How many Spirit Rings would it take to make up for the difference in quality?"

"Besides, can't other Martial Souls also improve their quality through Spirit Rings? The difference in Martial Soul quality would still be there!"

"The biggest reason you lost was that Blue Silver Grass of yours!"

His words struck Tang San in the heart like a heavy hammer.

Blood spilled from Tang San's nose and mouth. He could hold on no longer; his eyes rolled back, and he fainted.

Late that night,

All of Notting Academy had fallen silent and dark, but one solitary light still burned brightly. A closer look revealed that it came from the academy's infirmary.

Tang San slowly opened his eyes on the hospital bed. At first, all he saw was an unfamiliar ceiling. When he laboriously turned his head, he spotted the kerosene lamp on the bedside table and, in its flickering light, Grandmaster watching over him.

"Teacher?"

Tang San's voice was hoarse as he forced out the words, but in the silent infirmary, they were clear enough.

Yu Xiaogang, who had been dozing, abruptly opened his eyes wide and slowly turned his head.

"Xiao San, you're awake!"

Yu Xiaogang's face lit up with delight, but then he seemed to realize something and immediately lowered his voice. Tang San looked puzzled until Grandmaster pointed toward the foot of the bed.

With Grandmaster's help, Tang San managed to prop up his upper body. He looked over and finally understood: Xiao Wu was asleep, her head resting at the foot of the bed.

"She stayed here watching over you for half the day. She only fell asleep a little while ago."

Yu Xiaogang said with a soft smile.

Tang San managed a faint smile, too, but it lasted only a moment before vanishing. He lowered his head and spoke in a muffled voice.

"I'm sorry, Teacher. I lost..."

"It's fine, it's fine. It was only a Soul Fighting match." Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San's back, trying his best to comfort him. But he wasn't good with words, so he could only repeat the same reassurance.

Tang San listened, unconsciously gripping the bedsheets in both hands. After a long silence, he raised his head, his gaze firm.

"Teacher, I want to change my Martial Soul..."