Academy Tournament, Xiao Wu Shows Her Might

"The roster's up. You and I are both in the first round!"

Xiao Wu pushed open the door, clutching a copied sheet she had torn down from beside the bulletin board, her face brimming with barely contained excitement.

Tang San had just finished his medicine and was still holding onto the edge of the bed. Hearing that, he frowned first. "In my condition, the first round?"

Xiao Wu slapped the paper down in front of him. "Stop pretending to be weak. It's written clearly on the list: Seventh Dormitory's Xiao Wu, Seventh Dormitory's Tang San, both of you."

Wang Sheng poked his head out from the side. "Sister Xiao Wu is in the first match. Boss is in the third."

Tang San looked at the names on the paper, his finger stopping on his own line. "Why did the academy arrange this so quickly?"

Wang Sheng grinned. "The end-of-term tournament is like this every year. You two just happened to catch it."

Xiao Wu snatched the paper back. "Quit overthinking. Just fight."

Tang San looked up at her. "Who are you facing in the first match?"

Wang Sheng's expression changed slightly. "Zhao Hu from sixth grade. A strength-type Battle Soul Master. His Martial Soul is the Ironback Bear. He used to rank near the top among the upperclassmen."

Not only was Xiao Wu unafraid, she straightened her waist. "A bear? Perfect. It'll make a nice loud thud when I throw it."

Tang San reminded her, "Don't be careless."

Xiao Wu snorted. "You should worry about yourself first. The person who coughed up blood last night has no right to lecture me."

Ji Yuan hid within the compartment beneath the sole of a shoe. The spores he had just released were already crawling toward the training field along the cracks in the floor.

He did not care whether Xiao Wu won or lost.

He only cared about the Soft Bone Rabbit's method of exerting force.

This second blood bag, Xiao Wu, usually hopped about and looked like she was merely strong and quick. But the close-combat instincts of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast after taking human form could never be simple.

The tournament stage would be just the thing to force out her true foundation.

The training field was already packed with people.

Teachers stood beside the wooden platform, calling names from the roster. Noble students stood on one side, work-study students on the other, separated by an invisible line.

Xiao Chenyu was there too.

He had changed into clean clothes, and yesterday's bedraggled state had been washed away. But when he looked toward Seventh Dormitory, his teeth clenched tight.

Liu Qiang leaned close and said quietly, "Boss Xiao, Tang San's face is still pale. Should we today..."

Xiao Chenyu raised a hand and cut him off. "Don't cause trouble here."

Liu Qiang let out a breath of relief.

But Xiao Chenyu looked toward another upperclassman. "Zhou Ming, you're up in the third match."

The boy was not tall, with slender fingers and a leather pouch hanging from his waist. "I already asked. Tang San's opponent isn't me."

Xiao Chenyu said coldly, "Switch."

Zhou Ming glanced toward the teachers. "The academy roster isn't easy to change."

Xiao Chenyu slipped several silver soul coins from his sleeve. "You only need to get on that stage. Leave the rest to me."

Zhou Ming took the money and said nothing more.

One of Ji Yuan's dust spores landed on Zhou Ming's cuff. The toxin remained dormant, only recording his scent and Soul Power.

There was a metallic smell on him, along with a faint herbal scent.

This was not something meant for an ordinary spar.

At the other end of the training field, the teacher had already called the first match.

"Xiao Wu versus Zhao Hu."

Xiao Wu flicked her scorpion braid behind her. With a tap of her toes, she had already leaped onto the stage.

Zhao Hu stood opposite her, more than half a body taller, with broad shoulders and thick arms.

He looked at Xiao Wu and frowned. "Little girl, I don't want to bully you. Admit defeat yourself."

Xiao Wu raised her chin. "Say that after you hit the ground."

Someone below the stage laughed.

Zhao Hu could not save face. A soul ring lit beneath his feet, and after Martial Soul Possession with his Ironback Bear, the muscles on his back bulged as he crossed his arms before his chest.

The instant the teacher called for the match to begin, Zhao Hu charged forward.

"Don't take him head-on!" Tang San called from below the stage.

Xiao Wu did not listen at all.

Instead of retreating, she advanced. Her body slipped around the force of Zhao Hu's punch to reach his side. Her scorpion braid swung over her shoulder, her toes hooked behind Zhao Hu's knee, and her waist twisted.

Ji Yuan's senses clung to the roots of her hair, breaking down every movement.

Force borrowed through the ankle, a rotation through the waist and abdomen, springing strength from the spine. Her arms did not pull hard, but followed her opponent's forward momentum and guided him off balance.

Zhao Hu lost his footing and was lifted from the side by Xiao Wu before being smashed against the edge of the stage.

First throw.

A wave of startled cries rose from below the stage.

Zhao Hu climbed back up, his face already red. "Again!"

Xiao Wu clapped her hands. "You're too slow."

Zhao Hu roared and pounced again. This time, he guarded his chest with both arms, refusing to let Xiao Wu get close.

The excitement in Xiao Wu's eyes only deepened. She circled behind him, wrapped both legs around Zhao Hu's neck, and exerted force through her waist, flipping Zhao Hu's upper body backward.

Second throw.

Third throw.

The Ironback Bear's defenses were not bad, but Zhao Hu could not touch Xiao Wu.

Every time Xiao Wu closed in, it was brief and vicious. Elbows, the backs of knees, shoulders, neck, waist, abdomen—everything became a point from which she borrowed force.

Within the sole of the shoe, Ji Yuan spread thin vines, contracting them in rhythm with every twist and constriction of her waist.

So that was it.

The Soft Bone Rabbit's strength was not merely flexibility.

Flexibility was only the entry point. What truly killed was continuous control.

Make the opponent lose balance, then use one's own joints to lock down their points of exertion, before borrowing the force of their struggle to complete the next throw.

This technique suited the Demon Vine perfectly.

Vines did not need joints.

Which meant they did not have the limits human joints could endure.

By the time the fourth throw landed, Zhao Hu could barely stand.

For the fifth throw, Xiao Wu seized his wrist, spun herself into the air, slammed her heel into his shoulder, and used the momentum to fling him away.

The sixth throw made the wooden stage let out a dull boom.

By the seventh throw, Zhao Hu's Martial Soul Possession was already beginning to disperse.

The teacher stepped forward. "Zhao Hu, do you admit defeat?"

Zhao Hu lay prone on the ground, still trying to push himself up.

Xiao Wu landed behind him, her voice crisp and bright. "There's one more."

Tang San's expression changed. "Xiao Wu, enough."

Xiao Wu pursed her lips, but she ultimately held back. She only flicked her toes, sending Zhao Hu tumbling off the stage.

Zhao Hu did not get back up for a long while after hitting the ground.

The teacher immediately announced, "First match, Xiao Wu wins."

Cheers erupted from Seventh Dormitory's side.

Wang Sheng shouted until his face turned red. "Sister Xiao Wu is mighty!"

Xiao Wu stood on the stage with both hands on her hips. "Who else?"

Tang San let out a breath of relief, though surprise still showed in his eyes as he looked at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu jumped off the stage and walked up to him. "Well?"

Tang San nodded. "Your close-combat techniques are even stronger than I expected."

Xiao Wu said smugly, "Of course. I'm the boss of Seventh Dormitory."

Ji Yuan pressed the force trajectories he had just stolen into his main body.

He had already stripped away more than half of the Eight-Stage Throw's core.

Tang San was happy for Xiao Wu, Xiao Wu was proud of herself, and the students below the stage saw only a beautiful victory.

No one knew that the Soft Bone Rabbit's trump card had just been dismantled into nourishment by the Demon Vine beneath a shoe sole.

Xiao Chenyu stared at Xiao Wu, his expression growing even uglier.

Liu Qiang said quietly, "Boss Xiao, this girl isn't easy to deal with either."

Xiao Chenyu did not look at him. He only stared at Tang San. "That's exactly why we need to cripple one first."

Zhou Ming had already been switched into the third match.

The teacher responsible for registration had accepted the silver soul coins. Considering Xiao Chenyu's status as well, he pretended not to notice the change to the roster.

The second match ended quickly.

For the third match, the teacher called, "Tang San versus Zhou Ming."

Wang Sheng froze. "That's not right. Wasn't Boss supposed to face Li Cheng?"

Xiao Wu frowned as well. "Why was the opponent changed?"

Tang San rose to his feet. His body was still weak, but his gaze darkened. "Someone tampered with it."

Xiao Wu immediately looked toward Xiao Chenyu.

Across the crowd, Xiao Chenyu smiled at her, the smile full of provocation.

Xiao Wu lifted a foot as if to head over.

Tang San pressed a hand onto her shoulder. "I'll handle it."

Xiao Wu gritted her teeth. "You're still weak."

Tang San said, "It's only a spar."

Ji Yuan sneered.

A spar?

The thing in Zhou Ming's sleeve was not for sparring.

Tang San walked onto the stage. Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm, and a yellow soul ring lit up.

Zhou Ming did not immediately release his Martial Soul. He merely kept his right hand lowered within his sleeve.

The teacher reminded them, "Both sides, prepare."

Zhou Ming suddenly spoke. "Tang San, weren't you quite capable yesterday? Your face is so pale today, and you still dare step onto the stage?"

Tang San looked at him. "Did Xiao Chenyu arrange you?"

Zhou Ming curled his lips. "I merely want to see how capable Blue Silver Grass with Innate Full Soul Power really is."

Xiao Chenyu called out coldly from below the stage, "Zhou Ming, don't disgrace the upperclassmen."

The teacher frowned. "Quiet."

"Begin!"

As the words fell, Zhou Ming slid sideways. Wind-attribute Soul Power propelled his body, and his wrist flipped out from his sleeve.

Not a fist.

Three thin, cold arrows.

Their arrowheads glimmered dark green as they shot straight for the blind spot beneath Tang San's ribs.

Tang San's expression changed. Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track immediately unfolded as he darted sideways. But Ji Yuan had drained ninety percent of his newly cultivated inner strength the night before, making him a fraction slower than usual.

The cold arrows slipped through the gaps in the Blue Silver Grass bindings.

Xiao Wu's face turned pale beneath the stage. "Tang San!"

Tang San's right hand had already reached for the mechanism of his sleeve arrow.

Ji Yuan's roots extended from beneath the shoe sole into the cracks in the stage. Dark purple barbs spread open beneath the ground.

Those three poisoned cold arrows had already closed in on Tang San's waist.