Five Join Forces, the Immovable King

The incense stick had burned through a third of its length, and the last wisp of green smoke spiraled away in the morning breeze.

Zhao Wuji had already walked to the center of the training ground, standing there with his hands on his hips like a cast-iron pillar.

He had not released his soul rings or assumed any fighting stance. He simply stood there brazenly, yet everyone present could feel the oppressive aura emanating from his short, stout body. The Immovable King, a seven-ring Soul Sage—he had not earned that title for nothing.

"Come on." Zhao Wuji crooked a finger at the five of them, baring his stark white teeth in a grin. "Let me see what you little monsters can do."

The five spread out.

Yun Tian stood at the very front, directly facing Zhao Wuji.

Tang San quietly moved toward the left flank. Vines of Blue Silver Grass silently burrowed into the soil like a nest of lurking snakes waiting for the right moment to strike.

Xiao Wu lowered her body on the right flank. Her Soft-Boned Rabbit martial soul had already possessed her, and two purple soul rings slowly revolved beneath her feet. Her entire body was like a cheetah poised to pounce.

Zhu Zhuqing seemed to melt into the air itself. The black figure of her Nether Spirit Cat flickered in and out of the shadows at the edge of the training ground, her cat eyes locked onto Zhao Wuji's back.

Ning Rongrong retreated beside an old tree at the edge of the training ground and raised her right hand. An exquisite seven-story pagoda rose from her palm—the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, the number one support-type martial soul in the world.

Two yellow soul rings quietly revolved around the pagoda, radiating a soft, warm glow.

"First Soul Skill, Seven Treasure Is Famous, Strength!" Ning Rongrong called out sharply. A warm beam of light descended from the sky and landed on Yun Tian.

He felt the bones and muscles throughout his body grow faintly warm. His strength had increased by at least ten percent.

"Second Soul Skill, Seven Treasure Is Famous, Speed!" The second beam followed at once, landing on Tang San.

Tang San's legs instantly felt lighter, and the opening motion of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was half a beat faster than usual.

Zhao Wuji raised an eyebrow and glanced at the girl in the pale yellow dress in the distance. Surprise flashed through his eyes. "Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda? Are you from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

Ning Rongrong snorted. "My name is Ning Rongrong! What business is it of yours where I'm from? The test has already begun!"

Zhao Wuji burst into laughter, his thick arms shaking fiercely. "Fine! Then let this old man see what tricks you can pull!"

He moved.

If he did not strike, so be it. Once he did, it was with the force of thunder.

Zhao Wuji's massive body charged straight ahead like a bulldozer, his right arm swinging wide as he slammed a palm toward Yun Tian at the front.

The palm wind carried the violent soul power of the Great Strength Vajra Bear, blasting dirt and shattered stones into the air along its path.

The force of that palm was enough to send a century-old soul beast flying.

Yet Yun Tian did not retreat.

Earth Tiger Armor had already fused with him the instant Zhao Wuji charged. Its brown metallic sheen flowed beneath the morning sunlight.

He stepped forward, crossed his palms before his chest, and met Zhao Wuji's fan-sized hand head-on.

Bang.

A muffled explosion erupted at the point where they collided.

A shockwave spread outward from the impact, sweeping up sand and dust from the ground in rippling rings.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass rustled violently in the blast, while Xiao Wu's long braid snapped backward in the wind.

Yun Tian's feet plowed two deep trenches into the ground. He slid back three or four steps before completely bleeding off the impact.

A layer of earthy yellow light flared across the armor's breastplate. It was the earth's power operating madly, dissolving the force and replenishing its defense.

Zhao Wuji's pupils contracted slightly.

He had not used his full strength in that strike, but it still carried sixty to seventy percent of his power. Yet that twelve-year-old brat had taken it head-on and merely retreated a few steps. It did not even count as a serious injury.

The defense of that brown armor was even more absurd than Dai Mubai had described. Its material was one thing, but more importantly, it seemed capable of drawing energy from the ground to replenish its expenditure. Nearly thirty percent of the force striking it had been diverted into the earth beneath his feet.

As long as this brat stood on the ground, he was a mountain.

"Interesting!" Rather than being startled, Zhao Wuji was delighted. He grinned and closed in again. "Again!"

His second palm came chopping down immediately after the first, carrying even greater force.

But just as his right palm shot out, the ground on the left flank suddenly exploded.

Four dark green vines as thick as arms shot out of the soil, wrapping around Zhao Wuji's left leg, waist, and abdomen.

The vines gleamed with a metallic chill, their barbs sharp as nails. After six years of evolution, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was no longer the weak little plant it had once been. The force of its current entanglement was enough to crush the bones of an ordinary Soul Elder.

By the time Zhao Wuji threw his right palm, three layers of vines had already wrapped around his left leg.

He frowned and violently strained with his left leg. Two of the vines wrapped around it snapped apart, but the third was exceptionally tough and stubbornly withstood his attempt to break free.

In that brief pause, a pink-and-white figure was already charging in from the right flank.

Xiao Wu leaped to the height of Zhao Wuji's shoulders, her legs scissoring toward the back of his neck.

The Soft-Boned Rabbit martial soul gave her the ability to change direction bizarrely in midair. The angle of this aerial scissor kick was as tricky as could be.

Zhao Wuji tilted his head aside to avoid the vital point, but Xiao Wu's legs still locked around his left shoulder. A tremendous twisting force came from his shoulder joint, pulling his upper body slightly off balance.

At the same moment, a cold gleam stabbed out from the shadows at the edge of the training ground.

Zhu Zhuqing's Nether Spirit Cat claw blades silently slashed toward Zhao Wuji's waist.

She had chosen to strike at the instant Xiao Wu shifted Zhao Wuji's center of gravity and Tang San's vines held back his left leg. Her timing was vicious and precise.

Clang—!

The claw blades struck the thick muscles at Zhao Wuji's waist with a crisp sound like metal clashing against iron.

The defense of Zhao Wuji's body far exceeded her expectations. The blades only cut in half an inch before being clamped tight by his muscles.

But a trace of dark blue soul power toxin seeped through the cut, and Zhao Wuji's brow finally furrowed more deeply.

"You little brats! Your coordination isn't bad!"

Zhao Wuji let out a fierce roar, and the soul power around his body erupted outward like a volcano.

The last Blue Silver Grass vine wrapped around his left leg shattered at once. Xiao Wu was sent flying backward by the burst of soul power, flipping several times through the air before landing steadily on her feet.

Zhu Zhuqing used the force to retreat, a flash of regret passing through her cat eyes. That strike had been just a little short of drawing blood.

But the results of the five's first coordinated attack had already been secured.

Zhao Wuji lowered his head to look at the shallow bloodstain on his waist, then glanced at the broken fragments of vine around his left leg. He grinned, but the condescension in his eyes had finally vanished completely.

These little monsters coordinated far better than he had expected. Yun Tian stood firm under frontal pressure like a boulder, Tang San's vines controlled the field with precise timing, Xiao Wu exploited openings with aerial assaults, Zhu Zhuqing cut in from the side with ruthless decisiveness, and Ning Rongrong steadily provided boosts to speed and strength from the rear.

A complete offensive and defensive system.

But...