D, Full of Fighting Spirit, Part Two

Tang San's fear and fighting spirit erupted almost at once. Martial Soul Possession! Blue Silver Grass, appear!

"You lied. So why did you lie?"

Dai Mubai strolled toward them as though he couldn't see their fighting stances. His eyes seemed fixed on nothing but the answer. Xiao Wu shoved Tang San aside, rushed forward, and kicked at him. But Dai Mubai barely reacted. With a casual block, he sent her attack right back!

"Fool. What are you interfering for?" Dai Mubai asked coldly.

"Tiger's Might!"

The White Tiger Martial Soul enveloped Dai Mubai. Its force drove Xiao Wu back to Tang San's side, where she stood shoulder to shoulder with him. Dai Mubai ignored her and threw a heavy punch at Tang San. Tang San raised both arms to defend himself, but the blow broke through his guard and struck him in the face!

"Brother San!" Xiao Wu's ruby-bright eyes turned an even deeper red. Right then, she wanted to crush Dai Mubai like scrap metal in a compactor, like a rabbit stripping the grass around its burrow, like an eagle snatching up a rabbit—until he became the guy who couldn't get an airplane door open with his elbow!

"Now give me a reasonable explanation. Did you do it, or did you see who did?" Dai Mubai summoned his Spirit Rings as he pressed him. Yellow, yellow, purple. Those three rings radiated overwhelming pressure and authority. A Soul Elder! He really was a Soul Elder!

The restaurant, sparsely occupied to begin with, emptied out in an instant. The owner and the waiter carrying dishes stared in shock. They hadn't expected the talks to break down so quickly. If they'd known, they would have cleared the tables while they still could!

"Let them fight." Unconcerned with the three of them, Jodio walked back to the counter and set a Gold Soul Coin from his wallet on it.

"What are you looking at? Jealous? Want a beating too? Huh?" Dai Mubai roared at the only remaining table of customers. They hurriedly left their meal money and fled in terror. Xiao Wu thought the trio's purple, yellow, and red hair looked familiar. Hadn't Rain, who'd been beaten up, had a similar hair color? A green, seaweed-like mop of hair, perhaps?

This is bad. He's a Soul Elder. Tang San was a little worried. That punch had apparently been only a test and had done no more than leave his face aching. But with Dai Mubai's Martial Soul now active, he wouldn't stop at testing him.

"Hmph. He's only a Soul Elder. That's nothing special!" Tang San said, feigning pride and confidence.

"Oh, Tang San, you're pretty arrogant," Dai Mubai said with a smile, flexing a hand that had nearly become a claw, like a tiger king.

"Heh, Tang San, apologize now and I might let you and your girlfriend go. I'm a reasonable man. Apologize, pay the medical bills, and I could forgive you both," Dai Mubai said like a lunatic. Tang San was certain the man had lost his mind. But if that was all he wanted...

"And if you refuse? Heh. There are plenty of important people in the city. My friends at Spirit Hall are especially fond of little boys like you. Your girlfriend's quite pretty too~" (He was all talk, just trying to scare the kids.)

"Die!"

Tang San charged like a startled Hakimi, entering Spinosaurus Form and activating Mysterious Jade Hand. He drove his palm toward Dai Mubai, but that attack was only a front. His real strike was the Sleeve Arrow beneath his wrist! At this range, Tang San was certain it would tear through Dai Mubai's throat!

A large hand suddenly seized his wrist and the Sleeve Arrow just as it was about to fire. The battlefield fell still. Both Dai Mubai and Tang San stared at the newcomer. Tang San was especially stunned. It was that blond boy with the cowpat hairdo, the one whose pressure was even more terrifying! He had finally stepped in!

"Yare yare daze. You'd kill someone over a few remarks from a stranger? Is that how you do things?" Jodio asked calmly, looking at the Sleeve Arrow on Tang San's wrist. If he remembered correctly, the little bastard had already packed a heap of hidden weapons, ready to use against Zhao Wuji in tomorrow's test.

"Your organization's Tenet says it plainly: insults must never be tolerated!"

Tang San slipped his hand free like an eel and retreated a step, shifting out of line with Xiao Wu. He activated his first Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Entanglement, targeting both Jodio and Dai Mubai. He would seize control first!

Xiao Wu worked well with him. She kicked the tables and chairs aside to make room, then drove a succession of front kicks at them. Reinforced by Waist Bow, each kick hit as hard as one from Sylvester Stallone at full strength. And she was wearing high heels to boot!

Jodio smiled and summoned Crazy Diamond. It blocked the kicks one after another, moving just as DIO once had when defending against the Emerald Splash, and stopped every attack with ease. Jodio himself sprang lightly into the air, avoided the winding Blue Silver Grass, and landed on a table. Then he sat down!

"He sat down!" the owner cried from a distance, stunned.

But Jodio hadn't sat on the table. He had sat down in midair! Like someone holding a horse stance in a martial arts novel, he crossed one leg over the other and sat there without any support, held up by his left leg alone!

This guy! Does he have a tool-type Martial Soul? No, that's clearly a beast-type Martial Soul. Then why can it manifest separately from his body? Tang San thought in shock.

Could it be a Martial Soul that can separate from its user, like Grandmaster's? Tang San was even more astonished. He couldn't help feeling a touch of respect for Grandmaster. Grandmaster had been right: the world was vast, and anything was possible!

"An insult? I don't think my brother insulted you. Weren't you the ones who insulted our organization and injured someone first? By your logic, if you killed my whole family, I'd be in the wrong for killing you when I came for revenge?" Jodio asked with a faint smile.

"A cricket that stores no food in spring will starve in winter. A truck driver who fails to secure a steel coil will likely have the cab crushed. An office worker who thinks, Just five more minutes, will inevitably oversleep. Surely you knew what would happen when you said those things?" Jodio said with contempt.

"That was a vicious beating. Judging by the injuries, you weren't the one who did it. So it was this little girl." Jodio looked at Xiao Wu. Tang San immediately sensed a heavy killing intent and undisguised anger. He activated his second Spirit Skill, Parasitism! He had to protect Xiao Wu. He couldn't let her get hurt!

"Parasitism?" Jodio looked at the scattered clumps of blue algae sprouting from his body and found it almost too convenient. He'd just been wondering how to use Gold Experience to develop resistance to this and catch Tang San off guard in tomorrow's Trial. He hadn't expected the boy to use Parasitism on his own.

"There's a price for doing wrong, Tang San. Can you bear it?" Paying no mind to the blue clumps growing on his body and clothes, Jodio hopped lightly down to the floor.

←To Be Continued

Gao Weis—JoJo! (A coin drops.) (JoJo Part Five transition music.)

Information currently available:

Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass (Level 29)

Holder: Tang San

Spirit Rings: Yellow, yellow

Destructive power: D, speed: C, range: B, stamina: A, precision: B, growth potential: B-

Martial Soul ability: Gathers Blue Silver Grass to entangle and restrain enemies. It can also poison them and use Parasitism. It is a standard control-type Martial Soul, with only minimal offensive power and speed but strong control and stamina.

Because it lacks offensive power, it usually needs to work alongside an assault-type Soul Master to achieve more. Ultimately, the Martial Soul's "low" quality limits its performance. In a higher-grade state, it should be more capable on the attack.

Although Tang San's Soul Power has advanced quickly, his talent comes primarily from the techniques he cultivates and the Clear Sky Hammer. Before its awakening, Blue Silver Grass's growth potential is actually low. ```