All the Moves Had Been Spoiled

"Put the betting pool aside for now."

Xiao Wu casually folded the note and stuffed it into Wang Sheng's ledger.

"Let's settle the matter of the Seventh Dormitory boss first."

Tang San looked at the wooden stick in her hand.

Xiao Wu glanced down at it, then casually tossed it back onto the bed.

"Don't worry, I won't use this."

Wang Sheng sighed in relief and quickly called several students over to move the stools from the middle of the dormitory.

There had never been much furniture in the Seventh Dormitory to begin with.

Over the past few days, seventeen Tang Sans had arrived in succession. Two beds had broken, three wooden basins had been ruined, and the window had been replaced once.

After a few more fights, the Seventh Dormitory could be converted into an empty room.

"Let's make this clear first. If anything gets broken, you pay for it."

Wang Sheng reminded them while clutching his ledger.

"Especially the window. It costs twenty copper soul coins to repair each time."

"Why is the window more expensive than a bed?" Tang San asked.

"The teacher who fixes windows is bad at his job. He has to redo it every time."

The reason was rather absurd.

But Wang Sheng said it so seriously that Tang San found it hard to ask further.

Xiao Wu walked to the middle of the dormitory and beckoned Tang San with a finger.

"Come on."

Tang San did not step forward immediately.

He knew Xiao Wu was best at grappling techniques, and he also knew she liked to close in before wrapping her legs around her opponent's body.

The problem was that Xiao Wu also knew Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

Both sides had too much knowledge from the guides. Before the fight had even begun, they had already guessed most of each other's usual moves.

Xu Zhou watched for a moment before suddenly speaking up.

"You can't fight like this."

"Why not?" Xiao Wu asked.

"Because you're both waiting for the other to follow the guide and make a move."

Xu Zhou bent down, picked up a piece of charcoal, and drew a circle on the floor.

"Change the rules."

"No Soul Power, no hidden weapons, and no moves that appeared in the guides. Whoever steps outside this circle first loses."

Tang San frowned.

"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track can't be used?"

"No."

"What about Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon?"

"That can't be used either."

Xiao Wu immediately pressed on.

"My grappling techniques can't be used either?"

"Anything people can name is forbidden."

Xu Zhou dusted the black ash from his hands.

"Since both sides know the answers, change the test paper."

Xiao Wu's eyes lit up.

She had been bothered by all sorts of original-story fans and fanfiction fans for three days. She had long grown sick of those so-called iconic scenes.

Those people not only knew what she could do, they even wanted to dictate when she jumped and which foot she stepped out with first.

Now that they could not use moves from the guides, it was actually much fairer.

"I agree."

Tang San thought for a moment, then stepped into the circle as well.

Of course, the Tang Sect's secret arts were not the only things he knew.

In this life, he had spent several years following Tang Hao in ironworking—carrying ore, pulling bellows, dodging sparks. They might not have counted as techniques, but they could still be used in a fight.

"Who's the referee?" Wang Sheng asked.

"Xu Zhou."

Xiao Wu made the decision directly.

But Wang Sheng hesitated.

"Can he see clearly?"

"What do you mean?"

"You two both have Innate Full Soul Power, while he doesn't even have Soul Power. If you move too fast, he might not even know who stepped out of the circle first."

The Black Ancient Book trembled slightly.

[Wang Sheng believes the host cannot clearly observe the match.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

Soul Power quietly flowed into his body, but Xu Zhou's expression did not change.

He discovered that the Seventh Dormitory really was a good place.

The people here were not as uniform as the villagers, but there were more of them, and they dared to say anything.

Especially Wang Sheng.

It was hard to judge his cultivation talent for now, but his talent for helping Xu Zhou cultivate was definitely not bad.

"I'll do my best to watch."

Xu Zhou stepped outside the circle.

"Begin."

As soon as he spoke.

Tang San and Xiao Wu still did not move.

They stared at each other, each wanting the other to reveal an opening first.

Five breaths passed.

Ten breaths passed.

Wang Sheng finally could not hold back any longer.

"Didn't you say you can't use moves from the guides?"

"So I'm thinking up a new move," Xiao Wu said.

Tang San nodded as well.

"Me too."

"Have you thought of one yet?"

"Not yet."

"Why don't you play rock-paper-scissors?"

Tang San and Xiao Wu looked at him at the same time.

Wang Sheng immediately lowered his head, opened his ledger, and began calculating whether that wooden basin from earlier could still be repaired.

In the end, Xiao Wu was the first to lose patience.

She suddenly stepped forward. She did not jump or use any grappling techniques, but simply raised her hand and pushed at Tang San's shoulder.

It was an utterly ordinary movement.

It even looked like two children playfully shoving each other.

Yet Tang San actually stepped back.

Because he had considered all kinds of attacks Xiao Wu might use, but had never expected her to be so direct.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu immediately followed up and reached out again.

Tang San twisted aside to avoid her, then lowered his shoulder and slammed into Xiao Wu's arm.

This was not any Tang Sect technique either.

It was merely a habit he had developed from carrying ore.

Xiao Wu was knocked off balance, and her left foot nearly stepped outside the circle. She hurriedly twisted her body and pulled her center of gravity back.

"Close!"

Wang Sheng could not help shouting.

But Xiao Wu smiled.

"So you know moves like that too."

"So do you."

The moment Tang San finished speaking, Xiao Wu charged at him again.

This time, she stopped thinking about using grappling techniques and attacked only with her fists and feet. Tang San relied on the firm stance he had trained at the forge to keep dodging, occasionally using his shoulder and elbow to knock Xiao Wu aside.

Their fight was not particularly elegant.

At least, compared to those iconic scenes from the original story, it fell far short.

But precisely because there was no ready-made guide, neither of them dared let down their guard.

"Tang San is going to retreat to the right."

Xu Zhou suddenly said.

Wang Sheng glanced over.

"There's a broken wooden basin on the right. How could he possibly go that way?"

Xiao Wu suddenly swept at Tang San's left leg.

Tang San stepped half a pace to the right and landed directly inside the broken wooden basin.

The basin cracked sharply and split completely in half.

Wang Sheng's expression froze instantly.

He first looked at the wooden basin, then turned to Xu Zhou.

"How did you know?"

"Tang San protected his left leg both times before."

Xu Zhou explained.

"So Xiao Wu was definitely going to force him to the right the third time."

Wang Sheng opened his mouth.

"You guessed, didn't you?"

[Wang Sheng believes the host only guessed correctly by chance.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

More Soul Power entered his body.

Xu Zhou decided not to explain.

Explaining now would have no benefit other than affecting Wang Sheng's performance.

Inside the circle, Tang San had stepped into the broken basin, but he did not panic. He pushed off with his foot, kicking the basin backward and borrowing the force to charge forward.

Xiao Wu did not take the impact head-on. Instead, she grabbed his sleeve on her own initiative.

Tang San instinctively tried to use Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

The instant he raised his hand, Xu Zhou's voice rang out.

"Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon. Can't use it."

Tang San stiffened.

Xiao Wu seized the chance and pulled backward.

Tang San did not wrestle against her. Instead, he deliberately followed the pull of his sleeve forward, intending to force Xiao Wu out of the circle.

Just as the two were about to collide, Xiao Wu suddenly let go.

The force driving Tang San forward lost its obstruction, and his body swayed slightly.

Xiao Wu did not use any grappling techniques. Instead, she ducked beside him and planted one foot on Tang San's loose trouser leg.

Tang San continued forward.

But his trouser leg remained where it was.

His movement abruptly stopped.

"You stepped on my clothes?"

"The rules didn't say I couldn't."

Xiao Wu was completely justified.

Tang San could only turn around, intending to pull his trouser leg free first.

But that was exactly the opportunity Xiao Wu had been waiting for.

She did not kick him. Instead, she bent down, picked up half of the wooden basin, and placed it directly beside Tang San's foot.

If Tang San continued turning, he would step on the broken basin, shatter it, and slip.

If he retreated, he would step directly out of the circle.

In that brief instant, he made his choice. His left foot crossed the edge of the circle and landed steadily outside it.

The Seventh Dormitory fell silent for a moment.

"Tang San stepped out of the circle."

Xu Zhou announced the result.

"I won!"

Xiao Wu immediately lifted her chin.

"From today on, everyone in Seventh Dormitory listens to me. Call me Sister Xiao Wu from now on."

"Sister Xiao Wu!"

Wang Sheng shouted it first.

The other students quickly joined in.

Tang San lowered his head and adjusted his pant leg. Though somewhat helpless, he still accepted the result.

"Sister Xiao Wu."

"Too quiet."

"Sister Xiao Wu."

Only then was Xiao Wu satisfied. She turned to Xu Zhou.

"You too."

"I'm an auditing student."

"You live in Seventh Dormitory."

"Only temporarily."

Xiao Wu turned to glance at the wooden stick on the bed.

Xu Zhou fell silent for a moment.

"Sister Xiao Wu."

Temporary lodging was still lodging.

Just then, the door to Seventh Dormitory was pushed open.

Yu Xiaogang entered the dormitory carrying a stack of documents. Luo Sanpao on his shoulder was still holding a map of the Soul Hunting Forest in his mouth.

"The latest plan for the first Soul Ring is ready."

Tang San immediately went up to him.

"Teacher, are there any suitable Soul Beasts?"

"There are many plans."

Yu Xiaogang placed the documents on the table.

"But none can guarantee the right choice."

The original-novel faction suggested continuing to search for snake-type Soul Beasts.

The anime faction insisted that the Mandrake Snake route could not be changed.

The game faction demanded a poison attribute, on the grounds that it dealt more damage.

The manga faction believed they should first strengthen the Blue Silver Grass's vitality and resilience.

As for the Soul Beast Protection Faction, they had sent over a new Soul Hunting code.

There was only one sentence on the first page.

Before hunting, first confirm whether the Soul Beast had ever actively harmed a person.

Xu Zhou flipped through several sets of documents and quickly spotted the problem.

"These are all Soul Beast files, but what about the Soul Hunting Forest's recent patrol records?"

Yu Xiaogang paused.

"You want to first confirm whether the Soul Beasts are still there?"

"Not only that."

Xu Zhou looked at Xiao Wu.

"We also need to confirm which Soul Beasts actively attack people. That way, we can avoid the protected zone and narrow down the options."

Xiao Wu thought seriously for a moment, then nodded.

Yu Xiaogang did not object either.

"This approach is feasible, but attack records can also be falsified. We need to cross-check them against the wounds, locations, and patrol records."

Xu Zhou was somewhat surprised by that.

This time, Yu Xiaogang had not only refrained from making wild guesses, but had even filled in a loophole Xu Zhou had not considered.

It seemed that when the master got serious, he really had some skill.

Yu Xiaogang unfolded the map.

"Tomorrow morning, we'll go to the archives."

As soon as he finished speaking, a new notice flew in through the window.

Wang Sheng caught it and took a look.

"The archives won't be open tomorrow."

"Why?"

"The Soul Hunting Forest has established a Soul Beast Protection Experimental Zone. The academy is holding a public hearing."

He continued reading, and his expression gradually turned strange.

"The first subject of discussion: Tang San."

"Auditing recorder: Xu Zhou."