After finishing all this, Du Busi's figure flickered, and he vanished from the spot once more.
Lu Xiao turned to look at Xiao Wu, who had fallen into despair, and said calmly, "I assume you understand your current situation."
Xiao Wu nodded timidly.
Lu Xiao smiled faintly. "You have only two choices before you."
"First, my master keeps you 'captive' until I become a Soul Sage, then kills you!"
Xiao Wu's whole body trembled violently at those words, her face instantly turning pale as paper.
"Then... what's the second choice?"
Xiao Wu bit her lip hard, a trace of hope for survival appearing in her dim eyes.
Lu Xiao looked at Xiao Wu calmly and said, "The second choice is to duel me."
The moment those words were spoken, Xiao Wu abruptly raised her head and stared at Lu Xiao in stunned disbelief.
"You... you want to fight me?" Xiao Wu asked blankly, utterly confused.
"That's right."
Lu Xiao remained composed. "We'll duel fairly. No Martial Souls, no Soul Power—just a pure battle of our bodies."
"If you win, I'll ask my master to let you leave. I won't stop you. Of course, I also won't reveal your true identity to anyone else!"
Xiao Wu's pupils contracted slightly, and a gleam instantly lit up in her eyes.
Freedom was what she desired most at this moment.
But in the next second, Lu Xiao's tone abruptly shifted as he slowly said, "But if you lose..."
"From then on, you'll be my, Lu Xiao's, personal maid."
Xiao Wu instinctively pressed her lips together, a flicker of conflict passing through her eyes.
She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit. Though she had only reached a hundred thousand years of cultivation under Da Ming and Er Ming's protection, she still possessed the pride of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast deep in her bones...
Looking at the little girl, Lu Xiao raised his brows and deliberately teased, "Don't tell me you're scared?"
Xiao Wu snorted coldly and replied proudly, "Of course not! I agree!"
"Just don't cry when you lose later!"
Lu Xiao smiled faintly. This was the Xiao Wu he remembered—one little provocation, and she immediately took the bait.
"The rules of the duel: stop at the proper point. Falling down, admitting defeat, or losing the ability to resist all count as defeat."
Lu Xiao stood tall on the grass. Though he only had the body of a six-year-old child, he carried a steadiness and confidence far beyond his age.
Lu Xiao raised a hand slightly, signaling the start of the duel. "Come."
The instant his words fell, Xiao Wu flashed forward. Light as a swallow, she closed in on Lu Xiao in an instant, then bent her knee and snapped her foot out, kicking straight for his chest.
This strike was incredibly fast!
An ordinary six-year-old who had only just awakened a Martial Soul would not even be able to see Xiao Wu's movements, much less block the attack.
The corners of Lu Xiao's mouth rose slightly. A flash of Bronze Treasure Light flickered in his eyes, and Xiao Wu's movements seemed to slow down, appearing clearly in his mind.
He casually reached out with his right hand and firmly caught Xiao Wu's slender ankle, then suddenly exerted force and flung her into the distance.
"Ah!"
Xiao Wu cried out in alarm. An overwhelming force, fierce and tyrannical beyond anything she had imagined, surged from her ankle. Her light body instantly spun out of control and was hurled into the air.
She was utterly shocked, her face full of disbelief.
At that critical moment, Xiao Wu twisted her waist sharply, forcibly turning herself around in midair. She planted both hands on the ground, trying to disperse the force and land steadily.
But Lu Xiao had already predicted her move!
After opening all his meridians, undergoing Marrow Cleansing and Meridian Tempering, and completing the awakening of his Body Martial Soul, Bronze, Lu Xiao utterly surpassed Xiao Wu in reaction speed, explosive power, and dynamic vision.
And the most terrifying aspect of a Body Martial Soul was that these direct enhancements would continue to grow along with Lu Xiao's cultivation!
Before Xiao Wu's hands could touch the ground, Lu Xiao flashed forward. His steps were steady and swift as he instantly closed in. His left hand shot out like lightning, precisely grabbing Xiao Wu's slender wrist, while his right hand pressed against her back.
Xiao Wu's expression changed drastically. If Lu Xiao locked her down, she would be completely helpless!
At the last possible instant, she flung her head sharply. Her scorpion braid turned into a black shadow and lashed toward Lu Xiao's neck, while Xiao Wu's left hand swung at him.
The glint in Lu Xiao's eyes did not change. As he released Xiao Wu with his left hand, he sidestepped backward and opened a safe distance.
Having regained her freedom, Xiao Wu did not pause for even a moment. Her right hand swung toward Lu Xiao.
Lu Xiao instinctively raised his hand to block.
But in the next second, Xiao Wu's arm twisted in a strange manner. It not only Entangled his palm, but instantly stretched out and wrapped around his arm!
As expected of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soft Bone Rabbit!
Lu Xiao inwardly marveled. Xiao Wu had truly brought the word "soft" to its ultimate extreme!
Lu Xiao firmly withstood Xiao Wu's twisting hold. No matter how she wrapped and pulled, his arm remained as steady as a rock, utterly unmoving.
Seeing the faint smile at the corner of Lu Xiao's lips, Xiao Wu immediately changed tactics. Her arm suddenly recoiled, and she leaped into the air using the force of the pull.
In midair, she stretched her waist and raised both legs in succession, aiming to lock onto Lu Xiao's shoulders!
This was her most skilled close-range Soft Technique finishing move.
The moment she drew close to Lu Xiao, Xiao Wu draped her right leg over his shoulder, then lifted her left leg and smoothly hooked it over his other shoulder.
Xiao Wu planted both palms on the ground. Her soft legs were like springs, trying to fling Lu Xiao away.
A faint smile remained on Lu Xiao's lips. He did not take Xiao Wu's finishing strike seriously at all.
Before Xiao Wu could exert force and spring her body up, Lu Xiao abruptly raised both arms and precisely grabbed behind her knees, his palms steady and tyrannical.
"What?!"
Xiao Wu's pupils shrank sharply, her face filled with astonishment.
She desperately tightened her legs, trying to forcibly lock and crush Lu Xiao, but his body and bones were incomparably tough, completely unafraid of her constriction and pressure.
In the next second, Lu Xiao suddenly exerted force with his wrists, pressing downward and flipping forward!
Using her force against her!
Xiao Wu's slender body was instantly overturned. Her center of gravity completely collapsed, and she crashed heavily toward the grass behind her.
Thump!
A soft, muffled sound rang out, and the grass caved in slightly.
Lu Xiao followed close behind, pressing down. His knees firmly pinned both sides of Xiao Wu's body, cutting off every possibility of rolling or dodging, while his hands tightly restrained her wrists against the grass.
In an instant, Xiao Wu was completely and firmly pinned beneath him, unable to move.
Xiao Wu's body stiffened. The soft grass pressed against her back, while above her was the boy's face, close enough to touch. His warm breath lightly brushed across her forehead.
Suddenly, a faint fragrance entered Xiao Wu's nose.
It was neither the fresh scent of flowers and grass nor the artificial smell of perfume. It was a clean, crisp fragrance that stirred the heart.
And that faint scent was coming from Lu Xiao.
The color instantly drained from Xiao Wu's pink little face, only for a deep blush to rapidly spread across it, from her cheeks all the way to her ears and neck.
"Mmph... let me go! Let me go already!"
Xiao Wu's heart pounded wildly as she twisted her body in panic.
But no matter how she kicked, twisted, or struggled, Lu Xiao's strength remained as immovable as a mountain.
"I... I admit defeat..."
She had completely conceded.
Whether it was speed or strength, she had been comprehensively crushed by the human boy before her. No matter how she resisted, it would only be futile.
Lu Xiao smiled faintly, then stood up. "Don't forget: from now on, you're my maid!"
Xiao Wu's heart trembled slightly. For some reason, most of her initial resistance had already faded away.
She gently nodded her little head and softly said, "I know..."
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