Four Against One? Xiao Wu's Pride

Ma Hongjun lay on the ground groaning for a while. Qin Yun stood nearby with his arms folded, his expression calm.

He knew exactly what was going on.

The poison was mild to begin with. Its side effects would last an hour at most—numbness, itching, soreness, and swelling—before wearing off on their own.

The fatty was putting on a show.

In that case, Qin Yun could play along a little longer!

At last, Qin Yun decided he had let it go on long enough and bent down.

He gave Ma Hongjun a light tap on the back of the neck, sending a wisp of Soul Power in through his fingertips.

Ma Hongjun shuddered. The numb, itching sensation that had gripped every part of him ebbed away at once.

He took several deep breaths, rolled over, and scrambled to his feet. After working his stiff arms and legs, he hurried over with a broad grin.

"Thank you, Brother Yun! Thank you for going easy on me!"

"Next time...?"

"No, no! There won't be a next time! Absolutely not!"

Ma Hongjun shook his head furiously.

Before he had even finished speaking, he turned and ran.

His round figure shot off into the distance, as if he feared Qin Yun might change his mind and dose him with something new.

Qin Yun watched him flee in disarray and shook his head lightly.

The next morning.

Suotuo City was still shrouded in morning mist, but the gates of Shrek Academy were already open for this year's admissions.

Qin Yun did not go to the gate. He waited on the training ground instead.

The sun shone warmly, and the breeze was gentle.

Before long, Dai Mubai came into view.

His long hair hung loose, with two strands falling across his brows. He carried himself with a bold, untamed air.

Four young applicants followed him—the familiar faces Qin Yun remembered.

Tang San walked at the front.

He was slimmer than Qin Yun had imagined, dressed in blue from head to toe. His expression was calm and gentle, and his eyes were bright.

Beside him walked a girl with a scorpion braid. Her large eyes sparkled, her steps were light, and she brimmed with energy. That had to be Xiao Wu.

Two steps behind them was a slender girl in black. She was coldly beautiful, her stride steady and her lips pressed tight. She was like a short blade resting in its sheath—Zhu Zhuqing.

Last came Ning Rongrong in an elegant dress. Her skin was fair as snow, her eyes were smiling, and she had the pampered charm of a girl raised in comfort.

Dai Mubai strode up and nodded to Qin Yun. Then he turned to the four applicants and pointed at him, his tone growing serious.

"For the final test, hold out against him for the time it takes one incense stick to burn. Do that, and you pass."

All four looked at Qin Yun.

Xiao Wu tilted her head and studied him for a moment, then burst out laughing.

"He looks about our age. Fourteen or fifteen, maybe?"

"All four of us against him, and we only have to last one incense stick?"

She glanced at Tang San, then at Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. Her voice was breezy.

"Why do I feel like we could beat him?"

Ning Rongrong smiled too.

"Is Shrek Academy's final test really that easy?"

Dai Mubai folded his arms, his expression grave.

"Beat him?"

He gave a short laugh at his own expense.

"If Qin Yun went all out, I'd be on the ground in a single exchange."

The smiles on their faces faded.

Tang San had fought Dai Mubai before. Could this person really defeat him in a single exchange?

Zhu Zhuqing's gaze sharpened as she took a fresh look at Qin Yun.

"One warning: watch out for poison. That's all I'll say. Judge the rest for yourselves."

At that, Xiao Wu patted Tang San on the shoulder and said with a grin,

"What's there to be afraid of? Xiao San is an expert with poison! If he tries using it against us, he'll have picked the wrong people!"

Tang San said nothing, but a restrained confidence showed at the corners of his mouth.

He was confident in his own skill with poison.

Facing another poison user did not seem like much of a threat to him.

After a brief exchange of names and Martial Souls, they had at least been introduced.

Qin Yun strolled to the center of the training ground and stood with his hands behind his back.

He looked over the four of them before speaking slowly.

"The rules for the final test are simple. Work together and hold out against me for one incense stick."

"I won't chase you. But if any of you can so much as touch the hem of my clothes, you pass."

He said it as calmly as if it were nothing.

To the four of them, it landed like a thunderclap.

The four of them together, and touching his clothes was enough to win?

He clearly did not take them seriously.

Xiao Wu raised an eyebrow and was about to snap back when Qin Yun half-closed his eyes. A faint ripple of Soul Power rose around him.

Then three Soul Rings rose slowly from beneath his feet and hovered at different heights before him—

The first was purple.

The second was purple.

The third was purple too.

Three thousand-year Soul Rings glowed a deep violet in the sunlight, like three silent bolts of lightning striking the training ground.

Tang San's pupils contracted sharply.

He recalled something his teacher, Yu Xiaogang, had once told him.

"The age limits of Soul Rings on Douluo Continent are ironclad. The first Soul Ring can be no older than 423 years, and the second no older than 764. A thousand-year Soul Ring cannot occupy either of the first two positions."

"That is a law of cultivation for Soul Masters. No one can break it."

Yet this person's first two Soul Rings were plainly purple thousand-year rings. Their deep color suggested they might be far older than a thousand years.

Tang San clenched his fists until his knuckles paled. For the first time, a shock he could barely put into words surged through him.

Who was this boy called Qin Yun?

Why was his path of cultivation so different from every other Soul Master's?

Xiao Wu stood stunned too, her lips parted and unable to close.

She was not human, but she knew the basics of Soul Rings. Three purple rings were unheard of.

Ning Rongrong frowned slightly and set aside her earlier nonchalance.

Of the four, Zhu Zhuqing reacted the least.

She merely gave a quiet "hmph" and adjusted her stance. Her catlike fighting instincts had already awakened.

Tang San took a deep breath and spoke to the other three in a low voice.

"His Soul Power should be around level thirty-eight or thirty-nine. We don't stand much chance in a head-on fight."

"I'll test how he uses poison. Xiao Wu, feint and keep his attention. Zhuqing, look for an opening to get close. Rongrong, support us from behind with your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda."

"If he does release poison, leave it to me."

Qin Yun saw them conferring but did not hurry them. He simply stood where he was, his gaze drifting over the four of them.

The morning breeze stirred the loose hair over his forehead.

An almost imperceptible mass of Soul Power had already gathered in his palm.

It was Carbon Monoxide, formed from carbon and oxygen. Colorless and odorless, it was silently spreading above the training ground.