Big Black Ox was in so much pain that he kept bouncing around, but he still didn't stop. He charged straight in front of the Sword Bamboo King and used his body to block its next attack.
Tang San followed close behind.
"Watch this!"
He flung both hands out, firing his Sleeve Arrows!
"Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh—!"
A dozen or so Sleeve Arrows cut through the air, precisely knocking away the leaves hurled by the Sword Bamboo King.
Tang San's heart settled.
An honest man had nothing to hide.
Since he wasn't attacking from the shadows, it didn't count as a Hidden Weapon!
This was self-defense!
Xiao Wu darted in from the side, nimble as a rabbit, her legs striking like blades.
"Thud, thud, thud!"
She kicked several little Sword Bamboos this way and that, exposing the Sword Bamboo King in their midst.
The Sword Bamboo King finally took this band of uninvited guests seriously.
Its bamboo stalk shuddered, and countless leaves poured down like a torrential rain!
At the same time, the ground suddenly split open. Bamboo shoots burst out one after another, stabbing toward everyone like sharp swords!
Tang San's expression changed.
Xiao Wu nimbly dodged them.
Big Black Ox took several hits head-on, groaning in pain.
Su Mo moved.
Golden light surged!
His bones cracked!
Two meters twenty!
He stepped forward and reached out with his right hand—
Grabbing Tang San by the scruff of his neck, he lifted him up.
Tang San: "???"
Su Mo didn't explain. He swung his arm and used Tang San as a sword, hurling him straight at the Sword Bamboo King!
Tang San was dumbfounded.
But he quickly reacted.
Mysterious Jade Hand!
His hands instantly hardened like jade.
Master's... using me as a sword?
Works for me!
He gritted his teeth and, with the force of Su Mo's swing, brought his hands down hard on the Sword Bamboo King!
"Bang—!"
Tang San's hands split a crack in the Sword Bamboo King's stalk.
His own hands went numb from the impact.
But they didn't stop.
Su Mo kept swinging.
Once, twice, three times!
Tang San flew back and forth through the air, yelling "Aaaaaah!" as his hands struck the Sword Bamboo King again and again.
The sight was utterly bizarre.
A two-meter-twenty musclebound giant was holding a bald six-year-old boy and wielding him like a sword.
The bald boy was doing his best to cooperate midair, struggling to hold the pose of a "sword."
Xiao Wu stared, stunned.
Big Black Ox was just as stunned, forgetting even the pain in his backside.
Ma Hongjun's mouth hung open so wide his jaw nearly hit the ground.
He'd seen people use swords.
He'd never seen anyone use a person.
What the hell...
Was this what they meant by becoming one with the sword?
"Bang—!"
The final blow.
The Sword Bamboo King's stalk finally couldn't take it anymore and snapped with a crash.
It let out a mournful cry and slowly fell.
A purple Soul Ring slowly rose from its body.
Su Mo set Tang San down. His feet touched the ground, and he staggered three times, nearly falling over.
His hands were still trembling, and his face was full of excitement.
"Master! We did it! I did it!"
As Su Mo watched the Soul Ring rise, he suddenly remembered a widely discussed paradox from his previous life about obtaining Soul Rings.
If you used a person as a weapon to kill a Soul Beast, whose Soul Ring would it be?
They were about to find out.
"Tang San, can you absorb this Soul Ring?"
"Yes!"
Su Mo nodded and patted his bald head. "Go ahead."
Tang San sat cross-legged and began absorbing the Soul Ring.
The little Sword Bamboos around them froze for three seconds.
Then—
"Rustle!"
They scattered in every direction.
They hopped away even faster than rabbits.
In the blink of an eye, the clearing was left with nothing but a mess—and the pudgy little boy standing there, dumbstruck.
Ma Hongjun stood frozen, staring at Su Mo, then at Tang San absorbing the Soul Ring, then at Big Black Ox with bamboo leaves stuck in his backside, and finally at the two-meter-twenty musclebound giant.
He opened his mouth, wanting to ask something.
But when the words reached his lips, all he managed was:
"You... are you even human?"
Su Mo looked down at him.
That six-year-old's baby face paired with a two-meter-twenty body made for a striking sight.
Ma Hongjun's legs went a little weak.
Su Mo suddenly smiled, wearing a meaningful expression.
The Sword Bamboo King had fallen.
A yellow Soul Ring floated in midair, glowing faintly.
Tang San sat cross-legged, ready to absorb it.
Su Mo nodded. "Seven hundred and forty-six years. That's a little high for a first Soul Ring."
Tang San looked up, his gaze resolute. "Master, I can do it!"
Su Mo looked at him but said nothing.
The kid was chuunibyou, sure, but he really did have a lot of grit.
He reached into his robes and took out a small bundle. Inside were the recovery medicines he'd bought before setting out: Pulse-Restoring Powder, Bone-Mending Paste, Heart-Protecting Pills—the best goods they could get in Notting City.
"Go ahead and absorb it," Su Mo said. "If you can't hold on, speak up."
Tang San nodded and closed his eyes.
The Soul Ring slowly descended and merged into his body.
Just then, a strange sound came from behind them.
"Haah... haah..."
Heavy, ragged breathing.
Su Mo turned around—
Ma Hongjun stood not far away, trembling all over, his face flushed and his eyes unfocused.
His lower body...
Something was bulging there, tenting his clothes in a way that no six-year-old child's should.
Su Mo frowned.
Xiao Wu looked over curiously. "What's wrong with him?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Ma Hongjun suddenly moved.
He lunged at Xiao Wu!
He wasn't moving quickly, stumbling along like a drunk.
But his eyes were fixed on Xiao Wu, and he mumbled incoherently:
"Pretty... so pretty... let me... hurry, let me..."
Xiao Wu froze for a moment.
Then Ma Hongjun felt it.
Two terrifying pressures suddenly descended from deep within the forest!
They locked onto him, radiating a fierce warning!
His movements slowed at once.
It was as if some invisible force had pinned him down; every step became unbearably difficult.
But he kept inching forward, driven by Evil Fire and heedless of everything.
Xiao Wu blinked.
Then she lifted her leg.
She began with a textbook Waist Bow stance, her leg whipping out like a lash—
"Thud!"
Bull's-eye.
The bulge became flat.
"Crack."
A crisp sound, as if something had shattered.
Ma Hongjun's expression froze.
His eyes flew wide, his mouth forming an "O." His face turned from red to white, from white to green, and finally settled on an indescribable shade of purplish blue.
It seemed his QQ had been uninstalled...
Then he fell straight backward.
"Thud."
A cloud of dust rose.
Dead silence fell over the clearing.
Tang San forgot all about absorbing his Soul Ring and stared blankly at the scene.
Big Black Ox silently clamped his hind legs together.
Even the two crushing pressures froze for an instant before slowly withdrawing.
You could say the pain had been shared among the males.
Su Mo fell silent for three seconds.
He looked at Xiao Wu.
She stood there looking completely innocent, still holding her kicking pose.
"Master," she asked, tilting her head, "what happened to him?"
Su Mo opened his mouth, wanting to ask, before or after?
But when the words reached his lips, all he said was:
"...Let me check."
He walked over, crouched down, and checked Ma Hongjun's breathing.
He was still alive.
Just unconscious.
His face was still purplish blue, cold sweat streamed down his forehead, and his whole body was curled into a ball.
When Su Mo lifted his eyelids, big tears poured out.
Just like a cat that had been neutered.
Friendly reminder: if you want to be neutered, go to a proper clinic. Don't forcibly uninstall your QQ...