Acting Like a Hooligan

"Mang Tian, what's wrong?"

Tang Ziran jumped at the shout, and the teacup in his hand shook, splashing a few drops onto his pants.

He hurriedly set down the cup and looked at Mang Tian in confusion.

The four people who had been chatting animatedly all fell silent, startled by the sudden commotion.

The living room instantly quieted, and everyone's eyes turned toward Mang Tian on the sofa.

Even the Blue Silver Grass drifting through the air seemed frightened, trembling slightly.

"I'm saying Wulin's Blue Silver Grass martial soul is anything but ordinary."

Mang Tian sat up straight and said gruffly, pointing at the seemingly fragile Blue Silver Grass.

"Don't let its thin appearance fool you. It's unexpectedly tough, and it even has some offensive power.

"I only touched it just now, and it injured me."

"Really? That can't be possible, can it?"

Tang Ziran wore an unconvinced expression.

He reached out, casually grabbed a strand of Blue Silver Grass that had drifted in front of him, and gave it a light tug.

The Blue Silver Grass did not move at all.

Tang Ziran froze, and the disbelief on his face turned into surprise.

He put in more strength, tightly gripping the blade between his fingers before yanking backward.

It still did not break.

"Heh, it really is tough."

Tang Ziran became interested.

He simply stood up, grabbed both sides of the middle section of the Blue Silver Grass with both hands, planted his feet wide, gritted his teeth, and pulled with all his strength in opposite directions.

"Ahhh—!"

His face turned red from the strain, veins bulged on his forehead, and the muscles in his arms tightened.

Yet that slender strand of Blue Silver Grass remained taut like a tough steel cable. Forget breaking—it did not even show the slightest sign of stretching.

After pulling for more than ten seconds, Tang Ziran finally could not hold on any longer.

He let go, gasped for breath, and dropped back onto the sofa, constantly shaking his aching arms.

"It really is tough!"

He panted, his face full of disbelief.

"With strength like mine, I actually can't even snap a blade of grass."

"It wouldn't matter if you used more strength."

Mang Tian looked at him and spoke calmly, as though it were only natural.

"After all, you're just ordinary people. This Blue Silver Grass contains a very special kind of power. Ordinary human strength can't break it."

Having said that, he directly grabbed the collar of his blue vest and gave it a hard pull.

Riiip—!

A crisp sound of tearing fabric rang out.

Mang Tian pulled off his vest and casually tossed it onto the floor beside him.

"Ah—!"

Lang Yue let out a short cry and hurriedly closed her eyes.

With one hand tightly covering her own eyes, she quickly used the other to cover Na'er's eyes as well, pressing the little girl's head into her chest.

"Mang Tian! What are you doing?"

Tang Ziran panicked too. He shot to his feet, stepped in front of Lang Yue and Na'er, and shouted at Mang Tian.

"Can't you stop stripping the moment you disagree with someone in another person's home? Are you trying to act like a hooligan?!"

"Uncle Mang Tian, do I need to take mine off too?"

Tang Wulin tilted up his little face and looked earnestly at the bare-chested Mang Tian.

He thought this was some necessary ritual before the test.

"You don't need to."

Jin Qiu simply answered Tang Wulin's question within his Spirit Sea.

"He's worried that he'll rip his clothes when he exerts himself later. Your little body isn't capable of that yet, so there's naturally no need."

Mang Tian's upper body was almost entirely defined muscle.

His shoulders were broad, his chest firm, and his abdominal muscles were lined up neatly like bricks. The biceps and triceps on his arms bulged high, brimming with explosive strength.

His back and arms were covered in scars of all sizes. Some had been burned by hot metal, some struck by forging hammers, and some were old injuries whose origins were unknown.

Rather than making him look ugly, those scars gave him a wild, masculine air.

He ignored Tang Ziran's protest and did not answer Tang Wulin's question.

He merely took a deep breath and slowly closed his eyes.

Hummm—

A powerful fluctuation of Soul Power suddenly erupted from Mang Tian's body.

The air in the living room instantly became heavy. The teacups on the table began to tremble slightly, and the drifting Blue Silver Grass was blown backward by the Soul Power.

As his Soul Power continued to rise, four rings of different colors slowly rose from beneath Mang Tian's feet, floating up and down around his body.

At the bottom was a white Ten-Year Soul Ring. Above it were two yellow Hundred-Year Soul Rings, and at the very top was a purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring.

The four Soul Rings emitted a faint glow, enveloping Mang Tian's body.

A circle of white Soul Power radiance spread outward from Mang Tian.

His hair and the scraps of vest he had tossed onto the floor were both lifted by the Soul Power.

His entire body seemed wrapped in a layer of white light, radiating a powerful sense of pressure.

"What powerful Soul Power!"

Tang Wulin widened his eyes and spoke in amazement.

He could clearly feel that the Soul Power emanating from Mang Tian was stronger than that of anyone he had seen other than Big Brother Jin.

Although he had long known that Mang Tian was a Soul Master, he had never expected him to be a four-ring Soul Ancestor-level Soul Master.

"It feels like his whole body is glowing."

Tang Ziran and Lang Yue were also stunned. Despite knowing Mang Tian for so many years, this was the first time they had seen him release his martial soul and Soul Rings.

So this rough man who normally only knew how to forge iron was actually such a powerful Soul Master.

Just then, four blurry figures slowly appeared around Mang Tian.

They were his four Soul Spirits.

Closest to his feet was a fluffy little white rabbit.

It was only palm-sized, with red eyes and long ears. Gentle and adorable in appearance, it was his Ten-Year Soul Spirit. It crouched by Mang Tian's feet, constantly wagging its short tail as faint white light radiated from its body.

Beside the white rabbit floated a palm-sized bronze hammer.

The hammer was entirely antique bronze in color and covered in mottled rust. It looked heavy and solid. It was his first Hundred-Year Artificial Soul Spirit.

Above the bronze hammer was another hammer-shaped Soul Spirit.

This hammer was somewhat larger than the bronze one. It was snow-white all over, with a pair of tiny white wings growing from its handle. It flapped its wings as it floated in midair. It was his second Hundred-Year Soul Spirit.

At the very top, near the purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring, floated the phantom of a massive black bear.

The black bear stood over two meters tall, its body covered in dense black fur. Its eyes were fierce, its open mouth revealed sharp fangs, and it radiated a savage aura.

It was Mang Tian's Thousand-Year Soul Spirit, the Mighty Bear.

The four Soul Spirits circled Mang Tian, reflecting one another with the four Soul Rings as the entire living room was illuminated by their strange light.

Then Mang Tian focused his mind and steadied his breathing, channeling all of his powerful four-ring Soul Power into his fingertips.

His five fingers tightly clenched the slender Blue Silver Grass covered in golden-purple patterns. The muscles on his body suddenly tensed, and his arm, filled with strength, violently pulled backward!

Hummm—

An invisible shockwave of Soul Power instantly exploded outward from the Blue Silver Grass, sweeping through the entire living room.

The countless strands of Blue Silver Grass that had been drifting gently all snapped taut at once. Their slender stalks stretched straight and hard, the golden vein-like patterns on their bodies lit up wildly, and the purple destructive veins woven between them flashed abruptly, faintly revealing a powerful force of resistance.

At the instant the two forces began pulling against each other, Tang Wulin, standing amid the Blue Silver Grass, suddenly shuddered.

An abrupt, intense dizziness crashed into his mind. A spinning sensation instantly engulfed his body, the scene before him blurred and overlapped, and his head felt as heavy as though it had been filled with lead.

"Ah."

A faint groan escaped Tang Wulin's lips. His small body staggered forward several steps uncontrollably, his feet unsteady and weak as he swayed on the verge of collapse, nearly falling straight to the floor.

The body that had still been brimming with energy after his training suddenly flooded with intense weakness.

Mang Tian's expression changed instantly when he saw this.

He immediately withdrew all his Soul Power and released the Blue Silver Grass in his grip. The force pulling it taut vanished in an instant, the glow of the Soul Rings around him dimmed, and the agitated Soul Power fluctuations quickly calmed.

He strode forward, his gaze fixed tightly on Tang Wulin. His voice was wholly serious and concerned as he hurriedly asked,

"Tang Wulin, what happened to you just now?"

Tang Wulin lowered his head slightly and raised a hand to gently press his dizzy forehead, his little brows furrowing.

He calmed himself and carefully sensed the Soul Power circulating within his body.

His Innate Full Soul Power, which had originally been full and abundant as it flowed obediently through his meridians, had now become slightly sluggish. Its warm sensation had faded considerably, and he could clearly feel that the total amount of Soul Power in his body had fallen by a noticeable amount.

After recovering from the dizziness, he raised his head and answered honestly.

"My head got dizzy for a moment, but I'm not dizzy anymore. It's just that my Soul Power seems to have dropped a little."

After hearing this, Mang Tian's gaze darkened completely, and all his suspicions were finally confirmed.

He stared fixedly at the Blue Silver Grass around them, which had returned to drifting gently. His dark face was filled with extreme solemnity, and his voice was firm and forceful.

"It seems that, Tang Wulin, your martial soul has mutated."

He paused, emphasizing his next words with certainty.

"And it isn't the shallow sort of mutation where only the color or pattern changes. It's a deep transformation that occurred at the very foundation and origin of your martial soul!"

Tang Ziran looked at Mang Tian, who was seriously analyzing martial souls while standing there bare-chested with his muscles exposed, completely unconcerned with appearances, and did not know what to say anymore.

He helplessly raised a hand to his forehead and loudly complained,

"Mang Tian! Put some clothes on first! Can you pay a little attention to your image? This isn't your home!"