Back Mountain Melee

Bang~~~

With that kick landing solidly, Xiao Chenyu was not sent flying like the person before him. Instead, he staggered back several steps, his expression ugly.

But he had no intention of admitting defeat. He charged forward again and slammed a heavy palm toward Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu had just been about to repeat her old trick, using her agility to overwhelm the cumbersome Xiao Chenyu.

However, at that moment, her feet seemed to have taken root, firmly stuck to the ground. She could not jump.

Xiao Wu's expression changed drastically, and a trace of panic appeared on her face.

Tang San, who had been watching Xiao Wu the entire time, keenly noticed something was wrong. Seeing Xiao Chenyu already rushing in front of her, he could not worry about anything else and raised his hand to pull the trigger of his sleeve dart.

A flash of cold light shot toward Xiao Chenyu's wrist, unnoticed by anyone.

But Shi An saw it. The instant Tang San raised his hand, Shi An manipulated the ground to squirm slightly, causing Xiao Chenyu's body to shift sideways in an eerie manner by half a position.

The cold light grazed past his sharp claws, sending out a spark.

Xiao Chenyu sensed something strange on his wolf claws and frowned slightly.

He lowered his head to inspect them and could clearly see an additional nick in his claws.

Xiao Chenyu was no fool. Although he did not know what that fleeting cold glint had been, anything that could leave a notch in his wolf claws was definitely not something ordinary.

"You people are shameless! You actually ambushed me!" Xiao Chenyu roared angrily, pointing at Xiao Wu as he rebuked her.

Xiao Wu could finally lift her feet. Hearing Xiao Chenyu's words, she looked utterly baffled.

Then she turned red with anger as well. Planting her hands on her hips, she snapped domineeringly, "Bullshit! If you can't beat me, you can't beat me. What excuse are you looking for!"

"Someone definitely ambushed me just now! If I hadn't dodged quickly, my wrist might have been ruined!"

Xiao Chenyu displayed the notch in his claws and shouted, "You never even touched my claws. Don't tell me you did this!"

Seeing the gap in those pale claws, Xiao Wu did not believe anyone had ambushed him at all. She said arrogantly and stubbornly:

"Who knows whether your martial soul was flawed to begin with? I stand tall and sit straight. How could I possibly use such lowly tactics as an ambush!"

"Boss, don't waste words on them. A bunch of mud-legged peasants, willing to resort to ambushes just to win!"

"They're simply the disgrace of soul masters!"

"That's right! I was wondering why those work-study students dared to provoke us today. So they were planning to use such despicable tactics!"

"Let's go together and teach these mud-legged peasants a proper lesson. Let them see what a real soul master is!"

The lackeys behind Xiao Chenyu began shouting as well. The youth Xiao Wu had kicked away earlier swung his long staff and charged at the work-study students.

The scene instantly descended into chaos, with dozens of people fighting in a tangled mess.

Xiao Chenyu did not stop them. His wrist had nearly been crippled just now, and his rage completely overwhelmed his reason. He attacked Xiao Wu with all his strength.

The spectators around them gaped at the scene as screams rang out from the crowd.

Those work-study students were inferior to Xiao Chenyu's lackeys in both martial soul quality and soul power level.

Coupled with the difference in physical strength, a large number of work-study students were soon knocked down.

Tang San was among the crowd as well. His hands turned jade-white, and he employed Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track beneath his feet, darting through the crowd like a phantom.

His hands took on grappling forms, knocking every person who attacked him to the ground.

But because the injuries on his back had not healed, Tang San would occasionally pause during his movements. Even so, he still beat Xiao Chenyu's lackeys into a miserable rout.

Shi An's lips slowly curled upward. The ground squirmed faintly, and the soil beneath Tang San's feet seemed to suddenly soften.

Before he could react, his feet sank into the earth as if he had stepped into a swamp, and his body abruptly dropped.

Tang San's heart skipped a beat as that ominous feeling surged up once more.

He tried to forcefully pull his legs free, but the ground beneath him was like a marsh. The harder he struggled, the deeper he sank.

At that moment, the shadow of a staff came crashing down toward his head.

Ignoring his steadily sinking body, Tang San turned his hands jade-white and used Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon to seize the long staff.

"Arrogant!" The youth holding the staff sneered at Tang San's movement. "You actually dare catch my staff with your bare hands? You overestimate yourself!"

Bang~~~

The long staff struck Tang San's palms with a dull thud.

The staff-wielding youth revealed an expression of disbelief—no, outright horror.

He knew exactly how much force he had used in that strike.

It might not have been enough to kill Tang San with one blow, but it could certainly have broken his bones and torn his tendons.

Tang San, who had received the blow head-on, did not feel good either. His arms were numb, and his blood and qi churned within him.

More importantly, his body was still sinking. The dirt had already reached his thighs.

If this continued, he would probably be buried alive and suffocate to death.

The movement technique he had been so proud of was utterly useless at this moment. He could only remain like a stationary target and endure others' attacks.

At that moment, someone holding a long whip launched a sneak attack from behind Tang San.

The howling force of the wind made it clear just how powerful this strike was.

Taking it head-on would definitely leave him torn and bloodied.

Tang San wanted to turn around, but the soil beneath his feet tightly restricted his movements.

Even turning his body was incredibly difficult.

Smack~~~

The long whip landed squarely across Tang San's back. A burning pain shot through him from behind, nearly making his vision go black as he fainted.

Many people gathered around him. They were all people Tang San had knocked down earlier.

Seeing Tang San half-buried in the earth, they all wore vicious grins. Fists, kicks, and legs rained down on him like raindrops.

Bang bang bang~~~

Dull impacts rang out from the crowd, accompanied by Tang San's screams. To Shi An, they sounded utterly wonderful.

"The teachers are here!"

At that moment, someone suddenly let out a shout, instantly stopping the fighting.

Everyone's faces showed panic.

To them, teachers were simply more terrifying than soul beasts.

Several figures ran over from the direction of the academy. When they saw the scene in the open clearing, all of their expressions darkened.

Especially one figure who had run over gasping for breath. Upon seeing Tang San in the crowd, beaten black and blue and swollen into a pig-headed mess, his face darkened as though water could drip from it.

It was Yu Xiaogang.

He had originally planned to take Tang San to Soul Hunting Forest in a couple of days, once his injuries had mostly healed, to obtain his first soul ring.

But now Tang San had been beaten so badly even his own mother would not recognize him. He would have to spend a long time recovering again.

"What happened?!" one of the teachers demanded with a frown. Everyone shrank their necks like quails.

Xiao Chenyu and Xiao Wu also stopped fighting. The former lowered his head slightly, wearing the posture of someone admitting his mistake.

But Xiao Wu was different. She held her head high like a victorious general, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.