Fun

Xie Xie had never been this bedraggled in his life.

He had grown up in the Xie Family's private training facility, spending most of his time in temperature-controlled cultivation rooms and gravity training chambers, methodically cultivating soul power, practicing movement techniques, and honing his dagger skills.

The teachers hired by his family were all high-ranking Soul Masters registered with the Federation, but every sparring session, they deliberately held back, feeding him moves at his pace. They had never truly forced him into a desperate corner with no way out.

He had never experienced a real head-on battle.

His favored tactic was to rely on the speed advantage of the Twin Dragon Daggers and circle his enemy at high speed.

He used the Light Dragon Dagger to suppress them head-on, and the Shadow Dragon Dagger to exploit openings with sneak attacks, alternating between the two to wear down their defenses and soul power.

Then, once the opponent revealed a flaw and their soul power ran low, he would unleash everything in one decisive strike.

He had trained with this style for years and had never lost in the family's youth competitions.

But today, against Tang Wulin, that entire strategy had completely failed.

His opponent's Blue Silver Grass defense looked clumsy and heavy, yet it was as dense as a great net woven in advance.

It was not flawless; every connection held a faint trace of sluggishness, yet he could not find a single opening that would let him win in one blow.

He had circled and attacked for a full minute without even touching the corner of Tang Wulin's clothes, while exhausting most of his own soul power instead.

The moment he pulled back to catch his breath, Tang Wulin seized the opening and snatched control of the battle away from him.

The situation had now completely reversed.

As Xie Xie kept moving, darting left and right to evade the Blue Silver Grass winding toward him from every direction, he gritted his teeth and tried to steady his breathing, hoping to gather a little soul power.

He had already put away the Shadow Dragon Dagger.

The consumption of activating both Twin Martial Souls at once was too great. With the soul power he had left, he could not sustain it for long.

Only the Light Dragon Dagger remained in his right hand, its blade glowing faintly yellow as it occasionally swung out pale arcs of light to sever the grass stalks winding toward him.

But there was too much Blue Silver Grass.

Whenever he cut one stalk, two or three immediately took its place, like endless weeds constantly sprouting from the soil.

The dark purple markings on the blades brushed against his arms, bringing a faint stinging pain, like tiny needles pricking his skin, along with a slight numbing sensation.

His forehead was drenched in sweat. It ran down his jaw and dripped onto the grass, spreading into tiny wet marks.

His palm was soaked as well, making the Light Dragon Dagger's hilt slippery. He had to grip it with even more force to keep it from slipping free.

"How does this guy seem to have even more soul power than me...?"

Xie Xie stole a glance at Tang Wulin in the distance, feeling puzzled.

Tang Wulin stood where he was. Though his breathing was rougher than at the beginning, it remained steady, and he had not moved even half a step.

There was not the slightest pallor of soul-power exhaustion on his face. His eyes remained clear as he calmly controlled the Blue Silver Grass, steadily tightening the encirclement.

His pace was slow, but every step pressed closer. There was not a trace of panic in him.

He was only a level-fifteen Soul Warrior. By all reason, his total soul power should have been less than Xie Xie's, a level-eighteen Grand Soul Master's.

So why did Tang Wulin seem even more energetic after fighting this long?

Xie Xie could not understand it, nor did he have time to think.

A strand of Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his ankle. He hurriedly leaped up, tapped the grass stalk with his toes, and used the force to flip backward, barely evading it.

When he landed, he staggered and nearly lost his footing.

His calves trembled slightly, a sign of muscle fatigue after moving at such high speed.

If this continued, he would run out of soul power before Tang Wulin even needed to make a move.

Tang Wulin truly had no intention of winning quickly.

His strategy was simple: wage a battle of endurance.

His total soul power was inferior to Xie Xie's, but the recovery speed granted by the Golden Dragon King's blood essence was something Xie Xie could never match.

Warm blood essence flowed slowly through his meridians like an endless current of heat, nourishing them while gradually but steadily replenishing the soul power he had expended.

As long as he kept grinding away and wore Xie Xie's soul power down to nothing, the outcome would naturally be decided.

He stood in place, moving his fingertips as he controlled the Blue Silver Grass to gradually shrink the encirclement, neither hurried nor impatient.

The Blue Silver Grass did not attack fiercely, but it was dense. It gave Xie Xie no chance to catch his breath and no time to properly recover his soul power.

Every swing of his blade and every dodge consumed a little more of his stamina.

Once his opponent was exhausted, it would be over.

"No. I have to finish this quickly."

Xie Xie gritted his teeth and made his decision.

If he kept dodging so passively, he would definitely lose.

He had to gamble. While he still had strength left, he needed to get close and decide the battle with one strike.

At that moment, the Blue Silver Grass across from him suddenly paused.

The dense vines rapidly withdrew into the soil like a receding tide, vanishing without a trace.

Tang Wulin stood where he was, bent over with his hands braced on his knees, gasping heavily.

His chest heaved violently, large beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, and even his shoulders trembled slightly.

He looked like his soul power had been exhausted and he could no longer hold on.

The setting sun fell across his back, stretching his shadow long and making him look utterly drained.

Xie Xie's eyes immediately lit up.

Just as I thought!

How could Blue Silver Grass with only a Ten-Year Soul Ring maintain such high-intensity attacks forever?

His soul power had finally run out!

The opportunity was here!

Without the slightest hesitation, he willed it, and the Shadow Dragon Dagger reappeared in his left hand.

The yellow and black daggers glowed at once. The Hundred-Year Soul Ring beneath his feet flashed fiercely, its light dazzlingly bright.

He pushed off the ground, his toes stomping heavily against the grass as he shot toward Tang Wulin like an arrow released from a bow.

He was fast to the extreme, trailing a string of intertwined yellow and black afterimages. Even the grass beneath his feet was flattened by the gusts of wind, rustling loudly.

The wind howled past his ears and blew his short hair against his face, but he did not care in the slightest.

All he saw was the bent-over figure gasping in the distance.

This strike would decide the battle!

Tang Wulin remained bent over and panting, his head slightly lowered, but his eyes were raised, fixed tightly on Xie Xie's figure.

He did not move. He simply stood there quietly, watching Xie Xie draw closer and closer.

The Blue Silver Grass had not truly withdrawn. Instead, it had quietly spread through the soil around him along the cracks in the earth.

The grass stalks hid among the roots without leaking even the faintest ripple of soul power.

It was a method he had just thought of: deliberately expose the flaw of having exhausted his soul power and lure his opponent into approaching him.

After all, dragging things out like this was not a solution. If he finished sooner, he could still return and finish washing his pants.

Just as the distance closed to two meters, Xie Xie's figure suddenly flickered.

Like a droplet of water melting into the darkening night, he vanished from the spot.

The Shadow Dragon Dagger's concealment effect fully activated, leaving behind not even the slightest soul-power fluctuation.

Only an extremely faint sound of wind circled around toward Tang Wulin's back.

Xie Xie had great confidence in his speed and concealment ability.

He was certain that with Tang Wulin's reaction speed, he would never be able to keep up with his movement technique.

Trying to track his movements with his eyes was nothing but wishful thinking.

The next second, Xie Xie silently appeared behind Tang Wulin.

He held his breath, his footsteps as light as a cat's when they touched the ground, barely even bending a few blades of grass.

The Light Dragon Dagger was in his right hand, its cold blade gently pressed against the side of Tang Wulin's neck.

The sharp edge rested against his skin. If it moved forward another half inch, it could cut through the surface.

"If this were a real battle, I would have already taken your head."

Xie Xie's voice carried a young man's smugness, along with the relaxation of someone who had finally won.

He lifted his chin slightly, unable to hide the pride in his tone. "You're far too arrogant if you think you can follow my speed with your eyes."

The instant he finished speaking, he felt his ankle tighten.

Something seemed to burst from the soil and wrap tightly around his ankle.

The cold yet flexible touch climbed up his skin, its force astonishingly strong.

Xie Xie's heart sank.

Not good! It was a trap!

He instinctively tried to leap away, but the Blue Silver Grass around his ankle was like iron shackles, pinning him firmly in place so he could not move at all.

More Blue Silver Grass emerged from the dirt by his feet and wound upward from his ankles.

It wrapped around his calves and knees in layer after layer, reaching the roots of his thighs in the blink of an eye.

The flexible stalks squeezed his leg bones painfully, even making the circulation of his soul power sluggish.

Tang Wulin had not run out of soul power at all.

He had deliberately hidden the Blue Silver Grass underground, waiting for Xie Xie to deliver himself right to him!

That thought had barely flashed through Xie Xie's mind when a warm hand firmly gripped his wrist.

Tang Wulin spun around abruptly, his left hand precisely locking onto Xie Xie's right wrist, the one holding the Light Dragon Dagger.

His fingertips exerted astonishing force, like iron pincers squeezing Xie Xie's wrist painfully.

His fingers loosened, and the Light Dragon Dagger fell onto the grass with a clang, rolling half a meter away before dissolving into specks of light.

Before Xie Xie could react, Tang Wulin's right fist had already swung toward him with the sound of wind.

It was a powerful haymaker.

The fist wind howled, carrying the heavy force of the Golden Dragon King's blood essence as it smashed straight toward his face.

Xie Xie wanted to dodge, but his feet were bound and his hand was gripped. He could not evade it at all.

He could only watch helplessly as the fist grew larger before his eyes.

With a dull bang.

Xie Xie ultimately chose to catch Tang Wulin's fist with his face.

Tang Wulin had held back at least half his strength and did not dare use his full power.

He was afraid of seriously injuring Xie Xie. It would be difficult to explain to the academy, and he would not be able to explain it to the others in the dormitory either.

But even with only half his strength, the blow was still astonishingly powerful.

Xie Xie only felt his head buzz. His vision instantly went blank, and the world spun around him.

His ears rang as if countless bees were buzzing inside them.

Like a kite with its string cut, he was sent flying backward uncontrollably. He flew more than three meters before crashing heavily onto the grass.

With a dull thud, grass clippings flew high into the air.

He lay on the soft grass with his eyes wide open, but they had lost all focus.

The left side of his face swelled visibly, turning bright red like it had been smeared with rouge.

The two daggers in his hands had long since dissolved into specks of light. His arms hung weakly at his sides, his head tilted to one side as he fainted outright.

The last ray of sunset fell over his face, dyeing his profile a warm orange.

Only his chest still rose and fell faintly, steady and strong, proving that he was not seriously hurt.

The surroundings fell completely silent.

Only the rustle of wind through the leaves remained, along with the distant park announcements mixed with birdsong from birds returning to their nests, making the air feel especially faraway.

Tang Wulin shook his wrist, walked over, and crouched down to examine Xie Xie's condition.

He reached out to check Xie Xie's breathing, then felt his carotid pulse.

Only after confirming that Xie Xie had merely fainted and that his pulse was steady and strong did he let out a sigh of relief.

He had truly been afraid that he had held back too late and seriously hurt him.

The sky gradually darkened, and the light in the woods grew weaker and weaker.

Tang Wulin carried Xie Xie on his back and headed toward the dormitory.

["Tang Wulin, I have something fun here. Want to try it?"]

Jin Qiu's amused voice sounded beside Tang Wulin's ear.

"What is it?"

Tang Wulin asked in confusion after hearing Jin Qiu's words.

["It's very simple. After you carry him back to the dormitory, you just..."]

Although Tang Wulin was somewhat puzzled as he listened to Jin Qiu's explanation, he still agreed.