Battle's End, Her Breakthrough to the Second Ring

Tang Wulin's fists grew increasingly fierce, each one seeming to carry the force of a thousand pounds.

Luo Qing showed no intention of backing down. He met her head-on with his fists.

The two exchanged blow after blow, leaving everyone below the stage dumbfounded.

An upperclassman subconsciously closed his gaping mouth before saying in disbelief, "Isn't this battle already more outrageous than anything we third-years can manage?"

"These two are nine?"

The remaining homeroom teachers all looked at Wu Zhangkong, their eyes filled with envy and jealousy.

Why? Why did it have to be him?

How had all these outstanding talents ended up in Wu Zhangkong's hands?

Wu Zhangkong remained expressionless, though he felt a trace of satisfaction inside.

Long Hengxu, the dean of studies, was also stunned. In truth, he had never thought highly of that little girl with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul.

Yet it was precisely this seemingly fragile girl who had served as the main force throughout the class promotion matches, even facing Luo Qing, whom he had considered unbeatable.

Their clash continued. Luo Qing had the soul power enhancement from his True Light soul skill.

His body, his heart, was like a water pump, continuously drawing soul power from the atmosphere.

That soul power became fresh fuel for this intense battle. Although Tang Wulin had vaguely grasped a new kind of fist technique during the fight,

her stamina had its limits in the end. Her body had not fully developed yet.

Even with the Golden Dragon King's bloodline and divine core working together, her body could not withstand such high-intensity combat.

In the end, Tang Wulin's attacks gradually slowed, and beads of sweat began dripping from her forehead.

"What? Can't hold on anymore?"

Luo Qing could naturally see that Tang Wulin was already running out of strength.

"If you don't think you can keep going, then surrender. You've already done very well..."

"I won't surrender—"

Tang Wulin's eyes were full of stubborn determination. As though she had wrung another burst of strength from her body, her fist shot out once more.

"I want to prove myself. I don't want to always be someone who can only ask Big Brother for help whenever danger comes—"

"So I'll keep fighting until one of us falls!"

Luo Qing looked at the stubborn Tang Wulin before him, his face breaking into a delighted smile.

"Good girl. As expected of Luo Qing's little sister—"

"I acknowledge your fighting spirit!"

"But I won't go easy on you—"

As he spoke, Luo Qing's aura rose another level.

He easily crossed the peak of Rank 28 and directly reached Rank 29.

This was the greatest respect Luo Qing had decided to give his opponent!

Tang Wulin also gritted her teeth and held on, just as she had when she first began forging. Her hands, feet, and body ached everywhere...

But she had to endure!

Metal had to undergo countless hammerings and refinements to become excellent material. She, too, had to go through all kinds of trials to become a powerful soul master.

Then let the so-called storm rage even harder!

The bottleneck around Tang Wulin began to loosen as well. Her soul power, which had remained stuck at Rank 19 for so long, began rising again.

Her second soul ring gradually appeared. Thousand-Tree Vine's second trait as a soul spirit—tenacious vitality—manifested at that moment.

Faint vitality flowed from the ground, from the Blue Silver Grass, and from the roots of the surrounding plants.

It gathered from every direction, most of it coming from green belts, deep mountains, and even potted plants around the campus.

Yet when this faint soul power and vitality came together, it formed a scene like countless rivers flowing into the sea.

That power gathered, and her second soul ring formed.

The soreness and exhaustion in Tang Wulin's body gradually vanished, replaced by a warm sensation.

"It seems you've become stronger under pressure!"

Luo Qing threw another punch, and Tang Wulin raised a hand to block it.

"Of course. Facing you, Big Brother, is a mountain of pressure!"

Feeling power surge through her body once again, Tang Wulin returned a punch. Their fists and kicks collided, the sounds of flesh striking flesh echoing endlessly through the center of the arena.

The gusts from their attacks sent sand and stones flying across the arena. Spectators standing nearby were nearly blinded by the dust.

At last, Luo Qing seemed to catch an opening.

Even though Tang Wulin's second soul skill restored her stamina, the injuries and pain in her body had merely been delayed.

The price would have to be paid eventually. Luo Qing had been waiting for precisely that moment.

Sure enough, after fighting for a while, Tang Wulin's arm began cramping involuntarily, while all kinds of pain surfaced throughout her body.

That pain disrupted her judgment, allowing Luo Qing to seize the chance and drive his fist toward Tang Wulin's face.

Tang Wulin instinctively stepped back, only to realize that she had already stepped outside the arena.

Luo Qing's fist stopped at her forehead. Then he extended a finger and flicked her hard.

"You idiot! Don't you know your body is already at its limit?"

Luo Qing caught Tang Wulin as she was about to collapse, speaking in exasperation.

"Hehe, I just really wanted to defeat you, Big Brother... I was thinking that, according to some tradition, the winner can do anything to the loser!"

Luo Qing was full of question marks. "Which race has that kind of tradition?"

"I'm not sure. So I still couldn't defeat you, Big Brother..."

"What are you thinking about?"

Luo Qing flicked the disappointed Tang Wulin again, making her cover her forehead instinctively.

"I'm your big brother. Isn't it perfectly normal that you can't beat me?"

"And you're already very strong. Your second soul skill has formed, but you haven't had the chance to use it proficiently. You don't even know what it's called yet.

How could you possibly defeat me when I've already gone through countless simulated battles?"

"So lift your chest proudly. You were the one who stood until the end—"

Tang Wulin revealed a tired smile as well.

"I was... the last one standing?"

"That's right. You were the one who held on until the end!"

The moment he finished speaking, Tang Wulin seemed to lose all support again and swiftly fainted in Luo Qing's arms.

"This silly girl fell asleep again. Fine, let's take her to the infirmary first..."

This thrilling match came to an end. The homeroom teachers returned to their classes and immediately began putting pressure on their students.

"Look at yourselves. Someone with one ring managed to break through to two rings in the middle of fighting a monster like that, while you two-ringers couldn't even last a single exchange against her..."

Amid their students' pained expressions, the teachers raised their training intensity by another level.

Meanwhile, in the infirmary, a healing-system soul master used instruments to examine Tang Wulin's injuries.

She found that Tang Wulin's body was surprisingly healthy.

"You're saying she not only has almost no injuries, but her physical strength, vitality, and activity levels are more than four times those of an ordinary nine-year-old?"

The female teacher in the infirmary, herself a healing-system soul master, nodded and took out a report produced by the instruments.

"Look here. Her heart activity and blood oxygen activity are two to three times those of an ordinary soul master."

"And her self-healing ability is more than twice that of a normal assault-type battle soul master!"

"It's practically as though she has been blessed by the Life Goddess..."