Xiao Wu's Challenge, an Old Man Teasing a Child

Dorm Seven!

Xiao Wu strode into the dorm with a swagger.

Wang Sheng was surprised to see this. "Sister Xiao Wu, you're back from leave?"

"But what are you trying to do here?"

Xiao Wu glanced at Wang Sheng, then at the other dormmates looking over, and raised her chin slightly.

"I've already absorbed my first spirit ring!"

Wang Sheng was taken aback.

"So fast?"

Xiao Wu put her hands on her hips. "Let me open your eyes!"

As soon as she finished speaking, a faint red glow lit up around her body, and her martial soul possessed her in an instant.

A yellow spirit ring abruptly rose beneath her feet!

The surrounding dormmates cried out in surprise.

"It's a hundred-year spirit ring!"

"I never thought Sister Xiao Wu would absorb a hundred-year spirit ring too!"

A trace of surprise flashed across Wang Sheng's face, but he was not overly shocked.

After all, his first spirit ring was also a hundred-year spirit ring.

Still, he knew there were differences even among spirit masters.

Before Xiao Wu had absorbed a spirit ring, he had already been no match for her.

Now that she had absorbed one, he was naturally even less of a match.

But surely she wasn't planning to challenge the boss now?

Thinking of the personality Xiao Wu had displayed over the past few days, Wang Sheng felt that it was entirely possible.

Sure enough.

Xiao Wu immediately said to Wang Sheng, "Wang Sheng, I want to challenge your boss. Go ask him whether he'll accept!"

Wang Sheng's expression turned strange. "Sister Xiao Wu, are you sure?"

Xiao Wu was brimming with confidence.

"Of course. Do you think Sister Xiao Wu is joking with you?"

Wang Sheng said meaningfully, "I'll pass along the message, but whether the boss accepts your challenge is another matter."

"Also, you should prepare yourself for defeat in advance."

Xiao Wu giggled, paying no heed to Wang Sheng's words.

She had already asked around. Qi Dao was at most level fifteen or sixteen, while she was level twelve—not that far behind him.

Although others had made his swordsmanship sound practically divine, she had her soft skills.

How many years had he even practiced swordsmanship? How could he possibly surpass her soft skills?

Seeing Xiao Wu's confident look, Wang Sheng immediately went to find Qi Dao.

"Xiao Wu wants to challenge me?"

"Didn't you tell her about my strength?"

Upon learning why Wang Sheng had come, Qi Dao raised an eyebrow.

Wang Sheng scratched his head. "I told her, but she doesn't seem to believe it."

Qi Dao shook his head at that.

Xiao Wu's stubborn, headstrong personality was indeed just like in the original story.

And he couldn't refuse her, either. Otherwise, she would keep pestering him!

Qi Dao narrowed his eyes and said solemnly, "Go back and tell her: this is the only time!"

"Alright!" Wang Sheng answered, thinking, Xiao Wu is probably in for a hard time now.

The academy's rear mountain, the woods!

When word spread that someone was challenging Qi Dao again after several years, students from every grade who wanted to watch the excitement immediately swarmed over.

"Tsk, tsk. I never thought I'd get to see someone challenge the boss before I graduate!"

"Come to think of it, this scene is so similar to back then."

"Except the one who challenged the boss last time was sixth-year Xiao Haijie."

"Now the boss is a sixth-year student himself, yet another first-year wants to challenge him. A newborn calf truly fears no tiger!"

"Is this little girl from Dorm Seven?"

"I heard she has innate full soul power. Even Wang Sheng wasn't a match for her."

"But if she thinks defeating Wang Sheng qualifies her to challenge the boss, then she's seriously underestimating him!"

The crowd of spectators buzzed with discussion.

The sixth-year students in particular had personally witnessed how the boss, as a level-one Soul Master, had defeated the level-thirteen Xiao Haijie in an instant.

In the open space at the center of the crowd, Xiao Wu stood opposite Qi Dao, with roughly seven or eight meters between them.

She could hear the discussions behind her and thought, So many people are speaking up for him. Looks like this guy really has something to him!

But... I won't admit defeat so easily!

Xiao Wu's little face grew more serious.

Elsewhere, Tang San had just returned to the academy when he heard that Xiao Wu had challenged Qi Dao on the back mountain. His brows immediately furrowed.

Unlike Xiao Wu's blind confidence, Tang San was far more meticulous.

From the way Wang Sheng and the others treated Qi Dao, he had guessed that the latter's strength was anything but ordinary.

At the very least, he had to be far stronger than Wang Sheng.

Therefore, he did not think Xiao Wu could be Qi Dao's match.

With that thought, Tang San immediately sprinted toward the back mountain.

He arrived just in time—the match had not yet begun.

At the center of the crowd, Xiao Wu, unfamiliar with the rules of sparring between Soul Masters, directly summoned her martial soul.

A yellow soul ring rose from beneath her feet.

Aside from the people from Dorm Seven, the watching crowd immediately erupted in cries of surprise.

A trace of astonishment also appeared on Tang San's face.

He had not expected that Xiao Wu, besides himself, had also absorbed her first soul ring.

And it was a hundred-year soul ring at that!

No wonder she dared to challenge Qi Dao.

With this, even if she lost, she probably would not lose too badly.

Tang San then turned his gaze toward Qi Dao.

He had heard that Qi Dao's martial soul was the sword hanging at his waist.

When he had first heard that news, Tang San had been extremely surprised.

After all, once a martial soul was summoned, soul power would be continuously consumed.

Yet Qi Dao had chosen to do things differently.

Qi Dao did not draw his sword. Instead, he removed it from his waist together with its scabbard.

Tang San instantly saw Qi Dao's intention and thought, He's not even drawing his sword. Is that confidence, or arrogance?

Xiao Wu also understood Qi Dao's intentions and said angrily, "Why haven't you drawn your sword? Are you looking down on me?"

Qi Dao replied flatly, "The scabbard alone is enough."

"What an arrogant bastard. Just watch how Sister Xiao Wu beats you until you're crawling around looking for your teeth!"

Xiao Wu snorted, kicked off the ground with both feet, and her petite body shot toward Qi Dao like an arrow leaving the bowstring.

When she was only two or three meters away from him, she leaped high into the air and chopped down with a fierce kick, the wind from her leg slicing through the air.

Yet Qi Dao remained where he was. He merely raised Peerless, easily blocking the kick. He stood like a massive boulder rooted to the ground, utterly unmoved.

Xiao Wu's expression changed slightly. She immediately switched moves, using the force to leap backward and land before sweeping her leg at Qi Dao's lower body.

But as though he had foreseen it, Qi Dao flicked his wrist the instant she leaped back, twirling the sword before snapping the tip of the scabbard out in a backhand strike. He intercepted Xiao Wu's attack midway and struck her ankle with the scabbard.

"Ah!" Xiao Wu grunted in pain, but she did not retreat in the slightest. She quickly pulled back her leg, rose, and launched several punches in rapid succession.

Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!

Qi Dao's expression remained calm and undisturbed. Holding the sword in his right hand, he blocked left and right. His feet seemed rooted to the ground; no matter how Xiao Wu attacked, she could not make him budge an inch.

Anyone with a discerning eye could tell that Qi Dao had not used his full strength at all.

Seeing this, Xiao Chenyu and the others could not help but say, "The boss is getting stronger and stronger. This is practically an old master playing with a child!"

As soon as the words fell, Qi Dao suddenly made his move. With a twist of his wrist, he thrust the scabbard forward at a tricky angle, striking Xiao Wu directly in the chest.

Though he was using the scabbard, Xiao Wu still felt a piercing pain. A tremendous force sent her stumbling back seven or eight steps in a row, her little face twisted in pain.

"Now you know the gap between us, right?"

"Go back and train for a few more years," Qi Dao said indifferently.

Xiao Wu shouted when she saw this.

"Don't look down on me!"

"I haven't even gone all out yet!"

As soon as she finished speaking, her century-old soul ring suddenly lit up.

First Soul Skill, Waist Bow!

Her waist strength increased by one hundred percent, and her flexibility by fifty percent.

Then, she lunged at Qi Dao again.

The increase in waist strength instantly raised her explosive power to a whole new level.

Amid the crowd, a faint purple glint flashed through Tang San's eyes.

"What incredible explosive power. So this is Xiao Wu's first soul skill?"

"Teacher said that after beast spirit masters possess their martial spirits, their physiques are greatly enhanced. That's why weapon spirit masters are often no match for beast spirit masters in the early stages."

"With Xiao Wu's current explosive power, as long as she seized the right opportunity, she might not be unable to turn the tables!"