Xiao Wu Unleashes Her Power

"Awwooo—"

A piercing wolf howl suddenly tore through the night sky, followed by howls rising and falling from every direction. Pairs of ghostly green eyes lit up in the darkness, densely packed like countless will-o'-wisps drifting through the forest.

Grandmaster's expression darkened as two yellow soul rings beneath his feet lit up at once.

Luo Sanpao's chubby body appeared ahead of them, letting out a low, wary growl.

"Netherworld Wolves, pack-dwelling soul beasts. Judging by their numbers, there are at least ten of them."

Grandmaster swept his gaze over the green eyes steadily closing in through the dark, his voice calm and composed. "A pack of level-ten trash dares to harass me? Sanpao!"

Luo Sanpao growled, and his fat body swelled by another size.

"A fart like thunder, earth-shattering Luo Sanpao!"

Grandmaster raised a hand, and one of the yellow soul rings on his body flew out and settled around Luo Sanpao.

Luo Sanpao's clear blue eyes lit up abruptly. His round body sprang into the air and twisted midair. Then, with a thunderous boom, an explosion erupted.

A yellow barrier burst forth with the force of thunder, enveloping the five or six Netherworld Wolves charging at the front.

Those wolves were flung away like torn sacks, crashing into tree trunks with dull thuds. They whimpered miserably and could no longer rise.

Seeing this, the remaining Netherworld Wolves tucked their tails and fled. In the blink of an eye, they vanished into the depths of the forest.

Grandmaster deftly took out a short blade and slit the throats of the Netherworld Wolves that had not yet died, then scattered realgar powder to conceal the scent of blood. As he worked, he did not forget to instruct Tang San. "A wolf's body is very similar to a dog's—its head is hard as copper, its bones are tough as iron, but its waist is soft as tofu. The waist is their weakest vital point. Look, the soul rings are about to appear."

Sure enough, faint white rings gradually rose from the bodies of the dead Netherworld Wolves, wavering ethereally in the air.

However, at that moment, Xiao Wu, who had been squatting nearby in boredom, suddenly stood up. Her delicate nostrils twitched slightly, and her brows furrowed.

Besides the pungent smell of realgar powder and the bloodstink of the Netherworld Wolves, a faint, elusive scent of sickly sweetness drifted through the air. It was extremely subtle, yet it carried an unsettling chill.

"Teacher. Something is coming. It's very powerful."

Almost at the same time, Tang San also sensed that something was wrong.

His Purple Demon Eye caught a dark green shadow flashing through the depths of the forest, moving at an astonishing speed.

Rustle—rustle—

The sound drew closer and closer, and even the air seemed to tremble faintly.

Grandmaster's face instantly turned exceedingly grave.

He grabbed Tang San's wrist sharply, his voice low and urgent. "That aura... it isn't an ordinary soul beast. Run!"

But it was already too late.

A bolt of dark green lightning shot from the darkness and lunged straight at the three of them.

Illuminated by the glow of Luo Sanpao's two hundred-year soul rings, the creature's form was finally revealed.

It had a triangular snake head, tiny ruby-like eyes glinting with cold light, and a body covered in dark green scales. A dark red fleshy crest grew from its head.

What was most frightening was its size. The snake was over three meters long and as thick as an adult's arm, radiating a suffocating pressure from its entire body.

"Datura Snake!" Grandmaster sucked in a breath, a flicker of despair passing through his eyes. "It's nearly four meters long, with cultivation of at least four hundred years! How could a soul beast of this level appear on the outskirts of the Hunting Soul Forest?"

He had no time to think further. Decisively, he placed both soul rings around Luo Sanpao and shouted, "A fart like thunder, earth-shattering Luo Sanpao!"

Luo Sanpao sprang into the air again. A thunderous explosion burst forth, and the yellow barrier slammed fiercely into the Datura Snake.

However, the Datura Snake reacted with astonishing speed.

Its long body twisted nimbly through the air, forcibly shifting half a meter to the side. The impact of the Thunder Shock Fart only grazed its tail.

The massive snake body was knocked off course, but after merely rolling over once, it landed firmly on the ground without a scratch.

Croak, croak—

The Datura Snake let out a shrill, strange cry, while its ruby-like eyes remained locked on the group.

Grandmaster's expression turned even uglier.

"A fart like mist, sleep-inducing Luo Sanpao!" Grandmaster ordered again. Luo Sanpao circled through the air, and a cloud of yellow gas sprayed from his rear, spreading through the air.

Yet the Datura Snake passed straight through the yellow mist, its speed slowing for only an instant. As one of the finest poison-attribute soul beasts, its resistance to toxins and hypnosis far surpassed that of ordinary soul beasts.

After Sanpao finished, Luo Sanpao's body visibly shrank by a size.

Grandmaster withdrew both soul rings into himself, grabbed Tang San, and turned to run. He moved swiftly, racing forward with star-like steps, but the Datura Snake was even faster.

Each time the beast touched the ground, its body shot forward like a spring. Its dark green form rapidly closed in through the forest, shrinking the distance between them.

"Sanpao, hold it back!"

At Grandmaster's command, Luo Sanpao flipped around and rammed his plump body toward the Datura Snake. But the snake reacted quickly, swaying aside to evade the impact before biting down on Luo Sanpao's body.

"Lolo—" Luo Sanpao screamed miserably, his body turning into a streak of purple light that merged back into Grandmaster's body.

Just then, Tang San moved.

His left hand swept over Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist, and a thick white radish shot out, striking the Datura Snake squarely on the head.

The snake's body stalled slightly, opening up a small distance between them.

Surprise flashed through Grandmaster's eyes, followed by shock and delight. Tang San's left hand repeatedly swept across his waist and flung outward. One white radish after another shot forth like a chain of arrows, each one precisely striking the Datura Snake's path of advance and forcibly slowing the beast's pursuit by a fraction.

"Xiao San, this technique of yours..." The master watched the scene before him in disbelief.

Tang San did not answer. His mind was already wholly immersed in the battle. Judging positions by sound, predicting trajectories, firing with a flick of the wrist—these were merely the most basic concealed weapon techniques in the Tang Sect, yet at this moment, they had become the key to survival.

But the white radishes were limited after all. Before long, the supplies in the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges had been completely depleted.

The Datura Snake closed in again, its blood-filled maw reeking of stench already right before them.

At that critical moment, Tang San raised his left hand, and a black glint shot forth soundlessly like lightning.

It was the sleeve arrow he had painstakingly crafted, aimed straight for the Datura Snake's left eye.

However, the snake reacted even faster than Tang San had anticipated. Its head suddenly dipped, and the sleeve arrow grazed past the corner of its eye before embedding itself in the scales on its head. It rang out with a crisp metallic clash, scattering sparks.

The Datura Snake was thoroughly enraged.

It let out an even more shrill, unnatural cry. A faint yellow glow lit up across the scales covering its body, and its speed suddenly surged. In almost an instant, it had lunged before Tang San.

Tang San's pupils abruptly constricted.

Too fast. So fast that he did not even have time to use the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

Just as he gritted his teeth and prepared to take the blow head-on—

A pink figure suddenly flashed out from the side, swift as lightning.

Xiao Wu!

At some point, she had already circled to the Datura Snake's flank. Her body traced a graceful arc through the air, her right hand formed into a palm, a cluster of pearly white light gathering within it as she fiercely struck at the snake's vital point.

That light was not soul power, but spiritual power.

The spiritual power cultivated through the Moon Palace Jade Rabbit Medicine-Pounding Heart Sutra had only been developed for three short months, yet it had already granted her speed and strength far beyond those of her peers.

More importantly, her innate martial soul was the Soft-Boned Rabbit, giving her a naturally keen insight into snake-type soul beasts. With a single glance, she found this Datura Snake's weakest point.

Smack—

Her palm landed with flawless precision on the Datura Snake's vital point.

The Datura Snake let out a pained hiss, its massive body convulsing violently as its pursuit was interrupted. But it was, after all, a soul beast with more than four hundred years of cultivation. Though Xiao Wu's palm strike was fierce, it was not enough to inflict a fatal wound.

It abruptly turned its head, its ruby-like eyes fixed firmly on Xiao Wu. Fury blazed within its vertical pupils. Its tail swept out like a steel whip, lashing toward Xiao Wu's waist with a piercing whistle through the air.

Yet Xiao Wu advanced instead of retreating.

Under the moonlight, her body traced an arc so light it was almost illusory. With a gentle tap of her toe against the side of the snake's tail, she borrowed the force to soar into the air. She performed a beautiful somersault midair and landed steadily beyond the Datura Snake's range of attack.

"That's it?" Xiao Wu patted nonexistent dust from her skirt, her little face full of disdain. "For something with four hundred years of cultivation, I've seen things ten times faster than you."

That was no boast. She had grown up in the Star Dou Forest, playing hide-and-seek with ten-thousand-year soul beasts since childhood. Roughhousing with her two uncles—Er Ming and the Titan Giant Ape—was even more commonplace.

A mere four-hundred-year Datura Snake, no matter how fast it was, was nothing more than a slightly more slippery loach in her eyes.

The Datura Snake was thoroughly enraged.

It let out an even more shrill, unnatural cry. A faint yellow glow lit up across the scales covering its body, and its speed suddenly surged. Its head shot toward Xiao Wu once more like an arrow loosed from a bowstring.

"Coming again?"

Xiao Wu curled her lips, a glint of eager excitement flashing through her eyes.

Over these past three months, she had been cultivating the Moon Palace Jade Rabbit Medicine-Pounding Heart Sutra taught to her by Tang Ling. Her spiritual power had grown considerably, but this was her first true battle.

Beating up Xiao San before could only count as a warm-up. The big snake before her barely qualified as a suitable sparring partner.

She kicked off the ground and advanced rather than retreating, actively charging toward the Datura Snake like a swallow flying back to its nest.

Just as the snake's jaws were about to close, her body bent backward at an unbelievable angle. Her scorpion braid nearly brushed across the ground as she silently slid beneath the snake's head.

At the same time, a ball of pearly white spiritual light condensed in her right palm, and she viciously blasted it into the weakest part beneath the snake's jaw.

Bang!

With a muffled, thunderous impact, the Datura Snake's head was blasted forcibly upward. The scales beneath its jaw shattered and scattered, while dark green blood sprayed from the wound.

But it was not over yet.

Using the recoil from her palm strike, Xiao Wu twisted in midair. Her left leg whipped out like a lash, her heel striking the Datura Snake's vital point with perfect precision.

Infused with spiritual power, the force of that kick was immense.

Crack—

A crisp sound of bones breaking rang out.

The Datura Snake's massive body convulsed violently. Three sections of its spine at the vital point had been shattered by Xiao Wu's kick.

Its once extraordinarily agile body instantly lost most of its mobility. The rear half writhed weakly on the ground, while the front half thrashed frantically from side to side, trying to throw off the little fiend standing atop it.

But Xiao Wu seemed nailed to its body, completely unmoving.

With her hands on her hips, she looked down from above at the large snake struggling on the verge of death beneath her feet and snorted.

"Just four hundred years of cultivation, and you dared come bite us? I'll show you what happens when you bite people!!!"

She raised her right foot and gave the snake's head another kick.

The Datura Snake's head was stomped viciously into the dirt. The ferocity in its ruby-like eyes had already vanished, leaving behind only a dazed emptiness.

"Xiao San!" Xiao Wu shouted without looking back. "Get over here!"

Tang San and the master could only stare in stunned disbelief.

From the moment the Datura Snake pounced at Xiao Wu to the moment she pinned it beneath her foot, only a dozen breaths had passed.

The "hard-fought battle" and "danger" they had imagined had not even had time to unfold before the Datura Snake that had chased them into such a miserable state was trampled like a dead loach.

"What are you standing around for?" Seeing that Tang San had not moved, Xiao Wu turned back and shot him an annoyed glare. "I've already beaten this beast half to death for you. Aren't you going to finish it off? Didn't that teacher of yours say you have to kill it yourself to absorb the spirit ring? Hurry up, it's not completely dead yet."

Only then did Tang San come back to his senses.

Clutching his short sword, he quickly stepped forward and looked down at the Datura Snake pinned beneath Xiao Wu's foot.

There had once been a time when this snake had seemed like an invincible monster to him.

Its speed, strength, and venom all far surpassed those of a child who had only just turned six.

Even with the combat experience from his previous life and the Tang Sect's secret arts, facing this beast would have required him to give it everything he had. One careless mistake could have cost him his life.

Yet now, it lay dying at his feet, its vital spot shattered and its jaw mangled beyond recognition, unable even to lift its head. And the one standing on it was a little girl about his own height.

The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched, but he quickly regained his composure.

He crouched down, pressed the Datura Snake's head with his left hand, gripped the short sword tightly in his right, and aimed its tip at the snake's fatal point.

Pfft—

The short sword pierced through its open upper jaw and drove straight through its head, the tip emerging from the crown. The strike was so precise it was almost ruthless, no less skilled than the battle-hardened experts of the Tang Sect from his previous life.

The Datura Snake's body instantly stiffened. The last trace of light in its ruby-like eyes went completely out.

Boom—

The four-meter-long snake body crashed to the ground. This time, it did not struggle again; only its tail gave faint, reflexive twitches.

"Not bad." Xiao Wu hopped down from the snake's head, clapped her hands, and tilted her head as she examined Tang San. "You looked pretty miserable earlier, but that final strike was quite accurate. Looks like you didn't take all those beatings for nothing these past few months. Your reactions are much faster than before."

Tang San collapsed onto the ground, gasping for breath. That strike had looked simple, but in truth, it had drained the last of his inner strength.

"Alright, alright, stop panting. The big snake's already dead. With me around, how could I let anything happen to you?"

Tang San managed a weak smile.

"What are you smiling for?" Xiao Wu lightly smacked the top of his head. This time, though, she was so gentle that she did not even disturb his hair. "Don't try to act tough next time you run into something like this. Hide behind me first. In a fight, whoever's stronger should be the one fighting. What good does it do for a little rookie like you to rush to the front? You're just getting in the way."

"Understood..." Tang San nodded with a bitter smile.

"That's more like it." Xiao Wu stood up in satisfaction and patted the dirt from her skirt.

The master watched the entire scene, and the expression on his face changed again and again.

He had seen Xiao Wu's combat strength, far beyond that of children her age.

No, this was no longer simply a matter of being "far beyond her peers."

Someone capable of crushing a four-hundred-year Datura Snake would not have a second equal among all the students of Notting Academy.

He had also seen the precision and calmness of Tang San's final strike.

These two children were anything but ordinary.