The Overbearing Xuan Zi

"This time, it was all thanks to you."

After stepping down from the stage, Ning Tian thanked Jiang Bai.

They had won so easily mainly because of Jiang Bai. The cold aura had restricted the Lan Sisters' Soul Power circulation.

Otherwise, faced with their overwhelming hair-based assault, even if Ning Tian fully supported Wu Feng, they might not have had an easy time. One careless mistake, and they would have lost.

"It's nothing. You could've beaten them with someone else too."

Jiang Bai answered. With Ning Tian's support and Wu Feng's flames, even the agility-attack Soul Master from the original story could have easily bypassed Huang Chutian at the front and tried to take out the Lan Sisters.

"Not necessarily."

Ning Tian shook her head. She could have won without Jiang Bai, but she didn't think replacing him with someone else would have made it such an easy victory, unless they had replaced him with a battle-type Soul Elder.

"Why didn't you use your weapon during our sparring sessions before? Were you looking down on me?"

An annoyed voice came from beside him. Jiang Bai looked over at Wu Feng, who was walking toward him with a few superficial injuries.

They had sparred before, but he had never once taken out his weapon.

Wu Feng glared at Jiang Bai angrily.

Was he looking down on her?

Fire-type Soul Masters always had such bad tempers.

Jiang Bai shrugged indifferently.

"Didn't need it."

Against a simple-minded, physically capable Soul Master like Wu Feng, Jiang Bai could stab her four times and leave eight holes in her body in the instant she blinked.

"You!"

Seeing Jiang Bai's unconcerned expression, Wu Feng wanted to flare up again, but Ning Tian pressed down the hand she had just raised.

"Enough. There's another match this afternoon. Recover properly."

The elimination rounds had one match in the morning and one in the afternoon.

The afternoon battle was also resolved easily, though Jiang Bai's strength was forced out into the open.

Just as Ning Tian had expected, after releasing one yellow and one purple Soul Ring, Wu Feng and Jiang Bai defeated their opponents the instant they hesitated.

That was how the day's matches ended.

That night, Xiao Xiao went with Jiang Bai to return some books.

Jiang Bai had finished reading the soul beast guide he had borrowed earlier and planned to pick out another one.

"Wang Dong and Yuhao have suddenly gotten really close for no reason." Xiao Xiao walked ahead, looking at the moon in the sky as she let out a sigh.

"Isn't that a good thing?"

Jiang Bai replied. After gaining a Martial Soul Fusion Skill, wasn't it only natural for their relationship to improve?

"They've excluded me."

Xiao Xiao said indignantly. The two of them were getting closer and closer, but her relationship with them seemed not to have changed at all.

Their relationship was getting better and better, but her relationship with them seemed unchanged. The three of them used to act together, but now those two had become a unit of their own, while she seemed like an unnecessary extra.

Whenever the three of them were together, Xiao Xiao felt like she was glowing.

Jiang Bai, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped. Xiao Xiao didn't notice and crashed straight into his back.

"What are you doing? Why'd you suddenly stop?"

Rubbing her slightly sore forehead, Xiao Xiao looked at Jiang Bai and found that he had become very serious.

In the open space before the library stood a slovenly old man. He wore a dusty gray robe covered in grease stains and holes. His hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and his face was covered in unkempt stubble.

He held a half-eaten chicken leg in one hand and a wine gourd in the other. His cloudy eyes were unusually bright in the night, staring directly at the two of them.

Or rather, staring at Jiang Bai.

Jiang Bai could feel that gaze fixed squarely on him.

"Kid, release your soul skill."

The slovenly old man ordered him. His tone was filled with command, without the slightest trace of emotion.

Xuan Zi.

Jiang Bai recognized him at once. He was the madman of Shrek Academy, the Taotie Douluo, a rank ninety-eight Super Douluo.

His temperament was strange and his conduct domineering. He could swagger through the academy, and no one dared stop him.

"Senior, may I ask who you are?"

Jiang Bai asked despite knowing the answer. Xuan Zi's reply did not surprise him.

"You are not qualified to know my name. Release your Soul Rings. Don't make me repeat myself."

Hearing that, Jiang Bai felt a little anger rise within him.

Should I find a chance to have Ye Guyi kill this vicious beast Douluo? I wonder whether he counts as an evil Soul Master. Either way, according to the rules of The Unrivaled Tang Clan, Taotie is definitely an evil Martial Soul.

"Yes, Senior."

When Jiang Bai released his two Soul Rings, Xuan Zi merely nodded.

"Do not rely on external objects. Only your own strength is true strength. Cultivate properly."

After saying that, Xuan Zi left. A Detached Martial Soul was nothing impressive, even with a thousand-year Soul Ring.

"Who was that? Why was he so fierce?!"

Xiao Xiao said angrily. Just now, she had been so pressured that she had not dared speak, immediately hiding behind Jiang Bai.

This was the second time. The first had been Old Gong, but Xiao Xiao knew that Old Gong was a good person. He had been polite to them afterward, at least not using his status to bully others.

But that old man just now was nothing more than a thug, wasn't he?

"I don't know, but he was very strong."

Jiang Bai naturally did not know Xuan Zi's identity right now.

"Don't worry. I'll definitely avenge you in the future."

Cultivating a Detached Martial Soul was difficult. Xiao Xiao had learned that from the dormitory supervisor, but it didn't matter. Once she became strong in the future, she would avenge Jiang Bai.

"Work hard."

Seeing Xiao Xiao's righteous expression, Jiang Bai could only encourage her.

Xuan Zi was rank ninety-eight now. Without Huo Yuhao's help, he would never reach the Limit Douluo realm in this lifetime.

Xiao Xiao's Twin Martial Souls... reaching the limit would be difficult, but reaching rank ninety-eight should not be a problem.

Although the quality of her Martial Souls would not be much higher than Taotie, Xiao Xiao had two of them. If the two fought, it should not be difficult for her to win.

After returning the books, the two headed back to their dormitory.

"Senior, do you know someone in the academy who looks like a beggar?"

Xiao Xiao immediately ran to complain to the senior downstairs.

"Why are you looking for him?"

Upon hearing Xiao Xiao's description, the old man immediately knew she was talking about Xuan Zi.

Thinking of Xuan Zi's temperament, the old man felt helpless as well.

"He was too much!!"

She told the old man about what had just happened. Though she embellished it a little, it was mostly accurate.

"Mm... he is indeed rather muddleheaded."

Thinking of some of Xuan Zi's past actions gave the old man a headache, especially that incident last time. If Zhang Lexuan had not been lucky, then...

And now Xuan Zi was once again using his power to bully others, oppressing the weak with strength...

It was time someone taught him a lesson.

"Are you confident you can take first place in this tournament?"

"Uh... sigh, without a Soul Elder, it'll be difficult."

At the mention of the tournament, Xiao Xiao became dejected.

"You don't know, Senior. Today, I saw two Soul Elders. One of them even defeated a defense-type Soul Elder. If that defense-type Soul Elder hadn't been weak offensively, I might have already lost."

One of them was Xie Huanyue, and the other was Ning Tian.

"How is that Jiang boy doing?"

The old man asked curiously. Jiang Bai was rather unusual. He could sense that Jiang Bai had been suppressing his strength the whole time. If he erupted with everything he had, he might even be able to fight someone at the Soul Elder level.

"Him? He's incredibly strong. Holding that weapon of his up there, with one yellow and one purple Soul Ring, he held the line alone against ten thousand. A control-type Soul Master who could fight even better than some assault-type Soul Masters."

Mentioning this, Xiao Xiao could not help praising him. Jiang Bai had not continued hiding his abilities that afternoon, and even the spectators had been shocked.

"Your physique has improved very quickly recently. It isn't only because of Red Jade, is it?"

"Hm? There's also this."

Understanding what the old man meant, Xiao Xiao took out a piece of Cold Marrow. The Cold Marrow that had once been the size of a fist was now only as large as a pinky finger.

"Mm, this is quite useful."

This Cold Marrow was rather pure, but its quality was insufficient. Otherwise, it could have helped Xiaotao...

Thinking of Ma Xiaotao, the old man felt another wave of disappointment. If she could elevate her Martial Soul into Ultimate Flame, Shrek could enjoy another three hundred years of glory.

Unfortunately, it was far too difficult.

Now, he could only wait and see how this little girl named Xiao Xiao would develop in the future.

A rank ninety-eight Super Douluo with Twin Martial Souls—under his guidance, she should be strong enough in the future to contend with a Limit Douluo.

"Who knows who I'll fight tomorrow. Xiao Xiao, you have to work hard!"

Xiao Xiao cultivated diligently on her bed, working hard for tomorrow's battle.

"Hehe, so you're up against our class after all. You don't even have a single three-ring Soul Master. Zhou Yi, it looks like you're doomed to lose this time."

In Examination Area Eight, on the spectator platform, Stone looked at the six people below.

Stone looked provocatively at Zhou Yi. In his eyes, victory was already assured.