Solve It with Games, Not Fists

Shrek Academy, Outer Court.

Morning sunlight filtered through the mist over Sea God Lake and fell across the teaching buildings.

As one of the continent's renowned soul master academies, its mornings were always filled with fluctuations of soul power.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya walked side by side along the tree-lined path back to the dormitories.

They had played until very late last night and should have been exhausted, yet strangely, they were both full of energy now, even feeling as though their entire bodies were brimming with strength.

Especially Bei Bei.

This normally gentle student had undergone a subtle change in temperament.

His steps had become lighter, a footwork pattern he had practiced in Monster Hunter to dodge charging dragons. His right hand occasionally clenched in midair, as though gripping a blade.

"Bei Bei, are you still thinking about that game?" Tang Ya leaned closer and poked his arm. "Your eyes have been off all the way here. You look really murderous."

Bei Bei came back to himself and smiled. A flicker of lightning flashed through his eyes. "Xiao Ya, I think Boss Lu was right. I used to waste the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon martial soul far too much."

He raised his right hand and flexed his fingers.

"I used to only know how to bombard things with lightning, chasing broad-area destruction. But after losing my soul power last night, I learned something while trying to cut through Anjanath's thick hide."

Sizzle, sizzle!

A thin blue-violet arc of electricity danced over his fingertips.

Rather than exploding as usual, the arc flowed rapidly along Bei Bei's skin, coating his palm in lightning.

"Concentration," Bei Bei said softly. "Concentrate your strength at one point, find the weakness, then erupt!"

That was the technique he had comprehended while using dual blades in Monster Hunter. It was somewhat like Demon Mode in the game.

Although there was no system assistance in reality, he could stimulate his muscles and nerves with lightning to imitate that state of extreme reaction speed.

Just as they were discussing when they could scrape together enough money to return to the internet cafe and challenge Anjanath again, a burst of shouting came from Shrek Square ahead.

"Xu Sanshi! Have you no shame? I've already told you I don't like you! Stop following me!"

A cool voice filled with anger rang out.

Tang Ya's ears perked up, and she immediately became alert. "Huh? That's Nannan's voice! That stinking turtle is harassing Nannan again! Bei Bei, hurry! There's something to watch!"

The two hurried around the corner.

In the center of the square, a tall, dark-skinned youth shamelessly blocked the path of a beautiful girl.

The girl had long golden hair and long legs. She was Jiang Nannan, one of the famous beauties of the Outer Court.

The youth blocking her way was Xu Sanshi, one of the Outer Court's Twin Stars alongside Bei Bei.

"Nannan, just accept this grilled fish. I waited in line forever to buy it. It may be cold now, but it represents my burning heart..." Xu Sanshi said ingratiatingly, holding up a grilled fish he had bought last night that had already gone stiff as a board.

Jiang Nannan's face flushed red with anger. She turned to leave, but Xu Sanshi used his nimble movement technique to block her again.

"Xu Sanshi."

A calm voice cut in.

Xu Sanshi turned and saw Bei Bei. He immediately rolled his eyes and hid the grilled fish behind his back. "Oh, isn't this Young Master Bei? What, here to meddle again?"

Although the two got along well in private, they were also rivals and always traded barbs whenever they met.

"Nannan said she doesn't want to deal with you. Move aside," Bei Bei said flatly, with a trace more sharpness in his tone.

"Heh, what if I don't?" Xu Sanshi had already been in a bad mood today, and his temper flared. "Perfect timing. My soul power has improved recently, and I've mastered a new use for Xuan Ming Replacement. Want to spar?"

The surrounding students instantly formed a circle to watch.

"Look, the Twin Stars are fighting again!"

"They fought for half a shichen last time without a winner. Who's going to win this time?"

"I doubt Bei Bei can do it. Xu Sanshi's defense is too strong. Bei Bei's lightning will have a hard time breaking through."

Xu Sanshi chuckled, stamped his foot, and dark soul power surged forth as three soul rings rose beneath him.

A massive black tortoise-shell shield appeared out of thin air, radiating a heavy, oppressive presence.

"Come on, Bei Bei. Let me see whether your Thunderclaw has improved enough to break my turtle shell!" Xu Sanshi confidently slammed the shield against the ground with a dull boom.

Before yesterday, Bei Bei would definitely have released his martial soul, activated his third soul skill, [Thunderclap's Fury], and bombarded him with violent lightning, only to fall into a long stalemate.

But today...

Bei Bei stood where he was and looked at the heavy shield.

In his eyes, the shield resembled a monster part with exceptionally tough flesh.

"The shield is hard, but what about your joints?" Bei Bei muttered.

The [Spirit Detection Sharing] Huo Yuhao had activated in his mind was already gone, but the way of thinking it had given him—finding weaknesses—remained.

"What did you say?" Xu Sanshi did not hear him clearly.

"I said—"

A flash of red light flickered deep within Bei Bei's pupils.

"Your movements are too slow!"

Boom!

Bei Bei did not even release his martial soul. He merely transformed his right arm into a dragon arm in an instant.

But this time, the originally blue-violet lightning carried a hint of red.

It was an overload phenomenon caused by highly compressed lightning stimulating cellular activity.

Whoosh!

Xu Sanshi only saw a blur before his eyes.

Bei Bei vanished.

So fast! Xu Sanshi was startled and instinctively raised his shield to protect his front.

But in the next instant, a fierce gust came from behind and to his side.

Bei Bei appeared in Xu Sanshi's blind spot. Rather than using Thunderclaw to clash head-on with the shield, his right hand became two sharp lightning blades that precisely slashed toward the wrist joint holding the shield.

"Despicable! You're actually not attacking from the front!"

Xu Sanshi shouted and tried to turn around, but Bei Bei was far faster.

If he had never experienced the life-and-death pressure of facing Anjanath, Bei Bei might have hesitated.

But now, every one of his attacks carried the decisiveness of a hunter.

Slash, slash, slash, slash, slash!

Lightning flickered rapidly.

Bei Bei did not use any powerful soul skills. He simply relied on his speed and the sharpness of his dragon claws to relentlessly attack Xu Sanshi's unshielded thighs, wrists, and waist.

Every strike avoided the hard tortoise shell and targeted only soft flesh.

"Ow! It hurts, it hurts!"

"Damn it, Bei Bei, are you insane? That's my groin!"

"Don't hit my face! Don't hit my face!"

An unimaginable scene unfolded in the square.

Xu Sanshi, famous for his defense, was being beaten around by Bei Bei like a clumsy punching bag.

His prized Xuan Ming Shield could not keep up with Bei Bei's rhythm at all. Whenever he tried to defend, Bei Bei had already slipped to another direction.

"Th-this... what kind of movement technique is that?" Tang Ya stared in shock from the side. "That doesn't look like Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Why does it look like... that dumb dog doing its spinning attack in the game?"

Just ten seconds later.

Bang!

Bei Bei kicked Xu Sanshi behind the knee. Xu Sanshi lost his balance and dropped to one knee.

A dragon claw flashing with lightning stopped steadily at his throat.

The entire square fell silent.

Everyone stood with their mouths agape.

"An... an instant defeat?"

"Xu Sanshi was subdued before he could even use a soul skill?"

"When did Senior Bei Bei become this fierce? What was that move just now? It was so fast!"

Xu Sanshi stared blankly at Bei Bei as his shield clattered to the ground.

"Y-you... what kind of move was that?" Xu Sanshi could not believe it. "Your soul power clearly hasn't changed much, so why are you so much faster? And... why did you keep targeting my joints?"

Bei Bei withdrew his dragon claw and let out a long breath.

His muscles ached all over, but he felt immensely satisfied.

Whenever he had sparred with Xu Sanshi in the past, that turtle shell had disgusted him beyond belief.

Today, he had finally vented his frustration.

Bei Bei straightened his clothes, returned to his usual smile, and looked at Xu Sanshi. "Want to know?"

Xu Sanshi nodded frantically.

As a defense-type soul master, what he feared most were techniques with such high agility and penetrating power.

If he could learn the principles behind it...

Bei Bei leaned close to Xu Sanshi's ear, lowered his voice, and whispered, "Because I went somewhere yesterday. There... ordinary people can comprehend the true essence of battle!"

"Where? A master's special training in the Inner Court?" Xu Sanshi asked urgently.

"No!" Bei Bei held up two fingers. "At the edge of the Star Dou Great Forest, Origin Internet Cafe! Bring money and come with me this afternoon. Remember to bring plenty of gold soul coins. It isn't cheap there."

With that, Bei Bei straightened up, grabbed the still-dazed Tang Ya, and turned to leave.

Xu Sanshi was left kneeling where he was, staring at Bei Bei's retreating back as the confusion in his eyes gradually turned into excitement.

"Origin Internet Cafe... ordinary people..."

Xu Sanshi gritted his teeth, picked up the grilled fish from the ground, and took a savage bite.

"I'm going. I have to go! I'm learning that move too. Next time, I'll definitely pin that pretty boy to the ground and grind him into the dirt!"

Elsewhere.

Huo Yuhao stood beneath the freshman dormitory building, holding his worn bedding.

He had just finished registering.

Although he had gone through a strange adventure yesterday, life still had to go on.

"Brother Tianmeng, can we still go to that internet cafe in the future?" Huo Yuhao asked in his mind.

"Go? Of course we're going!" Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's voice trembled with excitement. "Yuhao, haven't you noticed? In that game yesterday, my spiritual power could actually be trained through supporting my teammates. It's more useful than sleeping for tens of thousands of years."

"And..." Tianmeng Ice Silkworm's tone became somewhat lecherous, "that boss named Lu Yuan is unfathomable. If we stick with him, our chances of becoming gods will increase by at least eighty percent! Oh, right, remember to sell grilled fish again tonight. We need to save up for internet fees."

Huo Yuhao touched his flat coin pouch and nodded firmly.

"Mm. Sell grilled fish, earn money, go online."

Who could have imagined that the future God of Emotions, the master of the Spirit Pagoda, would have his first small goal in life be saving up two gold soul coins to go online at an internet cafe?

At that moment, a handsome youth who looked about the same age as him walked over and looked at Huo Yuhao arrogantly. "Hey, you're the new one? Move aside. A good dog doesn't block the road!"

Huo Yuhao raised his head and saw a pair of beautiful pink-blue eyes.

Wang Dong.

According to the original script, what should have followed was a dormitory brawl.

But this time...

Huo Yuhao looked at Wang Dong's rude attitude, and for some reason, Anjanath—the one whose head he had blown apart countless times in the game yesterday—appeared in his mind.

"This guy's stance..." Huo Yuhao instinctively activated his Spirit Eyes. "He's full of openings. His left foot is unsteady, and his neck is completely unguarded..."

If I had a light bowgun, I could send him back to the respawn point right now.

Huo Yuhao shook his head and sighed.

To Wang Dong, that look immediately became a provocation.

"What kind of look was that? Looking down on me?" Wang Dong became angry. "Come outside. I want to duel you!"

Huo Yuhao had no choice but to put down his bedding.

"Um... classmate, do we have to pay compensation for fighting? If we do... could we settle this another way?"

"What other way?" Wang Dong froze.

Huo Yuhao thought of what Boss Lu Yuan had said—if you can solve it with a game, don't use your fists—and asked tentatively:

"How about... we go to the internet cafe and duel?"