This Pretty Junior Sister, Want a Sausage?

"What was that? Didn't Ning Rongrong already use two soul skills? How does she have a third one? Could she be a Soul Elder?" Dai Mubai muttered.

The instant Ning Rongrong landed, she did not stop. Her right hand continued supporting the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to maintain her buffs, while her left hand pushed toward Zhao Wuji.

A fist-sized ball of water condensed out of thin air and shot rapidly toward Zhao Wuji's face.

Immediately after, she stomped her left foot on the ground, and an earthen-yellow spike thrust up from beneath Zhao Wuji's feet, stabbing straight for his ankle.

The water ball and earth spike were negligible threats to Zhao Wuji, but their timing was impeccable. They came precisely in the gap after his fists struck the ground, when his scattered force had yet to be drawn back.

Zhao Wuji tilted his head aside to evade the water ball and shifted his feet to avoid the earth spike, but those two interruptions forcibly broke his charging rhythm for half a beat.

Half a beat was enough.

Borrowing Tang San's push, Xiao Wu shot toward Zhao Wuji like an arrow. Tang San's Blue Silver Grass lashed toward him from several directions. Zhu Zhuqing's figure silently appeared at his flank.

Zhao Wuji laughed loudly. "Interesting!"

Rather than pursuing Ning Rongrong first, he chose to face the three attacking him head-on. Xiao Wu's feet landed on his shoulders, Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his entire body, and Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Hundred Claws frantically tore at his back.

It was exactly the same as the original course of the battle.

But Ning Rongrong's presence changed the rhythm.

Whenever Zhao Wuji prepared to exert himself and break free, a curtain of water or an earthen spike would always appear at the most crucial moment at the edge of his vision. The damage was almost nonexistent, but the interference was perfectly timed.

Once, when Zhao Wuji prepared to slap Tang San, who was trapped by Blue Silver Grass, the ground beneath his feet suddenly became as slick as ice. His footing slipped, and thirty percent of the force behind that strike dispersed.

Tang San keenly seized the opportunity. Using Seize the Crane, Capture the Dragon to borrow force against force, he threw Zhao Wuji's center of gravity off balance.

Xiao Wu's soft skill activated at the same time. Her scorpion braid wrapped around Zhao Wuji's ankle, and she flipped with all her strength.

Boom!

Zhao Wuji's body was slammed toward the ground.

Though he was barely hurt at all given his strength, the series of coordinated attacks had already wiped the smile from his face.

"Enough." Zhao Wuji rose from the ground and patted the dirt from his head. His gaze swept over the four of them before finally settling on Ning Rongrong.

"You, the girl from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, your abilities aren't simple."

All seven of his soul rings lit up at once. Two yellow, two purple, and three black—the terrifying pressure poured forth.

"Then I'll deal with you first."

Zhao Wuji shot toward Ning Rongrong.

This time, he was serious. He was at least three times faster than before. Ning Rongrong's pupils contracted as she hurriedly activated Wind Empress Qimen beneath her feet with her left hand.

Her body vanished once more.

She reappeared seven meters away.

Zhao Wuji paused for an instant, changed direction, and charged again.

Ning Rongrong vanished again.

She appeared ten meters away.

But her face had already gone pale. Spatial displacement consumed far more than she had imagined. Every transfer felt as though a huge chunk of soul power had been ripped out of her body.

After the third displacement, fine beads of sweat had formed on her forehead.

Zhao Wuji noticed something was wrong. The corner of his mouth curled upward as he accelerated toward Ning Rongrong again.

This time, Ning Rongrong did not choose to displace herself. Gritting her teeth, she thrust her left hand forward. A visible current of air condensed into a translucent barrier before her.

Wind Wall.

Zhao Wuji punched it.

Bang!

The Wind Wall shattered. Ning Rongrong was pushed backward several meters by the impact, her heels carving two deep tracks into the ground. But she did not fall. Her feet were rooted in place.

Her teeth clenched tightly, her left hand braced against her knee, while her right continued maintaining the support glow of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.

"The support hasn't stopped?" Zhao Wuji was slightly stunned.

He had thought that Ning Rongrong should not have been able to maintain the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda while using all those miscellaneous abilities. Yet the enhancement glow on Tang San and the other two was clearly still there.

This girl was fighting with two sets of abilities active at once.

The expenditure was easy to imagine.

Zhao Wuji did not pursue Ning Rongrong again, because Tang San's Blue Silver Grass had already wrapped around him once more, while Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing closed in from both sides.

The battle continued.

With Ning Rongrong's Wind Empress Qimen assisting them, the four of them held out for nearly twice as long as they normally would have through their coordination. But when Zhao Wuji began using his first soul ring skill, Immovable Wisdom King Body, the gap became immediately apparent.

Golden light erupted.

Zhu Zhuqing's Netherworld Hundred Claws were blasted away. Both her arms dislocated, and she passed out on the spot.

Xiao Wu was shaken until she spat blood, while Tang San's Blue Silver Grass roots shattered.

Zhao Wuji strode forward and raised his enormous golden palm.

At that very moment, red light flared in Xiao Wu's eyes as her bewilderment soul skill struck Zhao Wuji.

Zhao Wuji's mind reeled.

The red light in Xiao Wu's eyes collided with the golden light in Zhao Wuji's. The backlash instantly overwhelmed her. Blood seeped from her mouth and nose, and she collapsed unconscious into Tang San's arms.

Tang San's eyes turned red.

He laid Xiao Wu on the ground, then turned and walked toward Zhao Wuji.

"Tang San." Ning Rongrong's voice came from behind him. Her face was pale, and sweat slid down her cheeks, but her gaze remained clear. "Calm down."

Tang San turned back to look at her.

Ning Rongrong took a deep breath and barely straightened herself. "She's fine. She only passed out from the soul power backlash. If you rush in and fight him head-on now, you'll just be throwing yourself away."

Tang San clenched his fists.

"I have hidden weapons." His voice was low. "I can hold on."

"I know." Ning Rongrong took two steps toward him, lowering her voice. "You fight your fight. I'll make space for you. If he chases you, I'll help you switch positions. Just focus on finding a chance to strike."

Tang San looked at the girl before him, drenched in sweat yet resolute, and fell silent for two seconds.

Then he nodded.

The battle that followed was a coordinated effort between Tang San and Ning Rongrong.

Tang San's hidden weapons poured forth. Bone-Piercing Nails, Willow-Leaf Knives, Flying Locust Stones, Coin Darts—the All-Heavenly Flower Rain technique was brought to its fullest potential with Ning Rongrong's Wind Empress Qimen support.

Whenever Zhao Wuji closed in on Tang San to a dangerous distance, Ning Rongrong would activate spatial displacement at the last moment, pulling Tang San out of Zhao Wuji's attack range.

The cost was that her face grew paler and paler, and even her legs began trembling.

Zhao Wuji used enhanced gravity. Tang San's speed plummeted.

Gritting her teeth, Ning Rongrong created a low-friction area beneath Tang San's feet, allowing him to keep sliding and evading despite the gravity's effects.

Zhao Wuji used tracking lock-on. His fourth soul ring encircled Tang San.

The moment Ning Rongrong saw Zhao Wuji leap up, she exhausted the last of her strength to activate one final displacement, pulling Tang San away from the landing point.

But she could no longer remain standing. Her knees buckled, and she dropped to the ground.

The support glow of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda finally went out.

Tang San knew Ning Rongrong had reached her limit.

He stopped retreating.

Parasitism activated. Sand-Spitting Shadow fired. The Tight-Backed Flower-Loaded Crossbow launched. Dragon's Whisker Needles flew.

In the end, Tang San used every method at his disposal and left Zhao Wuji covered in dust and grime. Yet Tang San himself was also sent flying by Zhao Wuji's counterattack, coughing up blood.

The incense burned out.

"Consider yourselves passed." Zhao Wuji touched his bloody nose and threw out the words irritably.

The battle ended.

Dai Mubai shouted for Oscar to come over and treat them.

Oscar came running over eagerly, recited, "I have a big sausage," and handed out recovery sausages. Though Tang San was disgusted, he still ate one. Dai Mubai carried off the unconscious Zhu Zhuqing. Xiao Wu lay on the ground, sleeping unconscious.

Holding up a sausage, Oscar moved over to Ning Rongrong.

"This pretty junior sister, want a sausage? The recovery effect is excellent."