After the match ended and the crowd dispersed, the three walked home from school, still buzzing with excitement. Xie Xie had held his tongue the whole way, but finally could not resist suggesting, "I've been bored out of my mind at the academy lately. You've got it easy as a day student, Wulin. I stay in the dorm every day, and I'm restless all over. Come on, how about we go out for something to eat?"
Tang Wulin silently weighed his options, then gave a flat reply. "Not going."
"Why?" Xie Xie blinked.
"No money." The answer was crisp and direct.
"That's hardly a problem." Xie Xie waved dismissively. "Call me big brother, and I'll treat you."
Tang Wulin said nothing, simply watching him with those sapphire-blue eyes. Xie Xie cracked first and hastily amended his offer. "Fine, fine, my treat. No strings attached. Happy now?"
Gu Yue suddenly chimed in from beside them. "I'm coming too."
"Sure, let's all go."
The three headed toward the snack street near the academy. It was not far, and they arrived after a little over ten minutes. From a distance, they could see shops lining both sides of the fairly narrow street. The aromas of all kinds of food drifted toward them on the breeze, making their mouths water. Tang Wulin, in particular, felt every cell in his body leap with joy as hunger surged through him.
As they walked, something suddenly stirred in Tang Wulin's mind. The snack street... He searched his memories carefully, then abruptly recalled it. Wasn't this the pot-braised beef episode from the original novel? Today was the day he would offend a mecha pilot here.
While he pondered this, Xie Xie had already grabbed him and Gu Yue excitedly and headed straight for the pot-braised beef shop at the street entrance. As the young master of an established Eastsea City family, Xie Xie knew this area like the back of his hand.
"Boss, three pots of braised beef and three bowls of rice!"
The shop had a small storefront, with its stove set up outside. Nearly a hundred little burners were packed across it, each supporting an earthenware pot that simmered steadily. The rich aroma of beef wafted out with the rising steam, tempting passersby. Only five small rectangular tables stood inside. Though cramped, the place was exceptionally clean.
Gu Yue raised an eyebrow, a little surprised. "Who would have thought the grand young master of the Xie family would come to a snack street?"
Xie Xie waved dismissively, but his voice softened. "My mom used to bring me here for pot-braised beef when I was little. We came almost every month."
The owner, Uncle Li, was a kind-faced, middle-aged man wearing an apron with a few grease stains. Seeing Xie Xie, he greeted him with a smile. "Oh, Xie Xie! Brought some friends along? The usual?"
"Sorry for the trouble, Uncle Li. Three of the usual," Xie Xie replied.
"This is the first time I've seen you bring friends." Smiling, Uncle Li took three bottles of chilled soda from a soul-powered refrigerator and handed them over. "Here, have these. My treat. No charge."
The rich aroma rising from the earthenware pots whetted their appetites. Tang Wulin could contain himself no longer. He picked up his spoon and dug in. After his first mouthful, he could not help exclaiming, "This is delicious! So good!"
Seeing this, Xie Xie turned and called to Uncle Li, "Uncle Li, another thirty bowls of rice and fifteen pots of braised beef!"
With his mouth stuffed full, Tang Wulin looked up a little sheepishly. Xie Xie knew his appetite all too well. This little bit of food would barely line his stomach.
Watching from nearby, Uncle Li could not help marveling inwardly. The boy looked so young, yet his appetite was astonishing. Had he not seen it himself, he would never have believed a nine-year-old could eat so much.
As the three ate enthusiastically, Gu Yue set down her spoon and suddenly looked at Xie Xie. "By the way, why are you called Xie Xie? Your name sounds a little strange."
The smile faded from Xie Xie's face. He forced a bitter smile and explained softly, "My mom chose it. She said she met my dad through a chance encounter, and that was how I came to be."
He paused, lowering his voice further. "But after they married, my dad was always busy. When my mom became gravely ill, he was still away. He didn't even make it back to see her one last time."
The mood at the table suddenly sank. Tang Wulin's spoon hand paused slightly. He had never imagined that the usually lively, flamboyant Xie Xie carried such a past in his heart.
Uncle Li approached with several freshly braised pots of beef. Seeing Xie Xie's forlorn expression, he sighed softly. "This child's had a hard life too. His mother used to bring him here all the time. After she passed away, he came all alone. In all these years, this is the first time I've seen him bring friends. I'm happy for him from the bottom of my heart. He's young and proud. Please look out for him."
Tang Wulin nodded silently, unsure what to say. He had not even fully figured out his own past, let alone Xie Xie's history in the original novel. Hearing these old stories firsthand filled his heart with an indescribable ache.
Just as the mood grew heavy, a clattering crash of smashing furniture suddenly came from farther down the snack street, mixed with rough, overbearing shouts. "Protection money! Move it!"
Three hulking men strode down the street, shaking down one shop after another. Before long, they stopped outside the pot-braised beef shop. Their leader was a burly bald man with bare arms, a dragon tattoo baring its fangs and claws across his arm. His two companions were also tall and muscular, with fierce brows and glaring eyes. One glance told anyone they were trouble.
"Li! You do business on this street, yet you dare keep putting off your protection money? Excuse after excuse-do you think I, Guang Long, am a beggar?" The bald brute kicked over an empty stool, brimming with arrogance. "If your beef wasn't halfway decent, I'd have smashed this dump long ago. Cut the crap. Pay up today, or forget about keeping this place open."
Uncle Li turned deathly pale and hurried forward with an ingratiating smile. "Brother Guang Long, I really haven't been holding out on purpose. My wife's bedridden. Every bit I earn working from dawn till night goes toward her medicine and treatment. If you smash my shop, my whole family will have nothing to live on!"
Guang Long laughed loudly and shoved Uncle Li hard. "Trying to threaten me with your life? What's your worthless hide worth? Without your lousy shop, someone else will take over and pay me protection money just the same. I'm asking one last time. Are you paying or not? If not, get the hell out!"
Before he finished speaking, his foot shot viciously toward Uncle Li's face. Just as it came within ten centimeters of his nose, several thick blue silver vines burst from the ground, wrapped tightly around Guang Long's right leg, and yanked hard, flinging him bodily away. Tang Wulin had made his move.
"You little bastard! How dare you interfere!" Guang Long hit the ground and grimaced in pain, glaring viciously at them. "A soul master, are you? Just one ring, and you dare stick your nose into my business? Ever wonder what's let me collect protection money on this street all these years?" He waved at his two accomplices, and the men immediately encircled Tang Wulin and his friends.
Looking at the wreckage in the shop, Xie Xie's face darkened, his brows drawing tightly together. His voice carried barely restrained fury. "How can you treat people like this? Do you have any humanity left?"
He strode forward and pulled Uncle Li behind him, shielding him as his gaze locked onto the bald brute opposite him. For the first time, chilling killing intent surged in the eyes of the normally lively, carefree boy.
Since his mother's death, Uncle Li had been one of the few people who genuinely cared for him and treated him like his own child.
A sizable crowd of onlookers had already gathered around them, pointing and commenting in a rising chorus.
Hearing Xie Xie's accusation, Guang Long threw back his head and scoffed as though he had heard the funniest joke in the world. His face was savage and domineering. "Get lost, you little brat! You dare meddle in my business?"
Before the words were out, Guang Long pushed off hard. His thick right leg swept through the air with a fierce gust, kicking straight at Xie Xie.
Tang Wulin was so angry he almost laughed. He had never seen anyone so utterly shameless. Stepping forward, he gathered strength into his right hand and drove his fist head-on into the bald man's incoming foot.
The mocking amusement on Guang Long's face changed abruptly. A shrill cry of pain escaped his mouth as agony shot from his sole through every limb, as though the punch had shattered his bones. His body curled up violently, and he fell flat to the ground with a scream, clutching his foot and rolling nonstop. The watching crowd erupted, startled cries rising everywhere.
"They're fighting! They're really fighting!"
"Good heavens! That boy knocked Guang Long down with one punch! What terrifying strength must be in that fist!"
Some who knew the situation lowered their voices in warning, looking apprehensive. "Stop watching. Let's get out of here. Guang Long has someone backing him. This is going to mean serious trouble."
Two minutes later, Guang Long gritted through the searing pain in his foot bones and struggled upright. Towering rage churned in his eyes as he stared fixedly at Tang Wulin and Xie Xie.
"You little bastards are asking to die!"
Powerful soul power erupted from his body. Two soul rings rose beneath his feet, one white and one yellow, slowly circling his tall, burly frame. As the rings lit up, his skin rapidly turned iron-black. Hard, iron-gray scales bulged along his neck, looking utterly impenetrable. His Ironclad Dragon martial soul had possessed him.
Beside them, Xie Xie's pupils contracted sharply, and he cried out, "A two-ring Soul Grandmaster!"
The two soul rings around Guang Long blazed. His body abruptly swelled, growing a full size larger, his muscles bulging as a savage, violent pressure bore down on them.
Realizing the danger, Tang Wulin immediately summoned his martial soul. He lowered his center of gravity and pressed his right hand firmly against the ground, quietly activating his first soul skill-Blue Silver Forest.
They were already less than five meters apart. In an instant, countless strands of blue silver grass burst from the earth, sweeping toward Guang Long like a green tide of vines and tightly binding his forearms, right leg, and thighs.
Guang Long's expression changed, but he did not panic. His second soul ring suddenly flared, and he shouted fiercely, "Second soul skill, Ironclad Dragon Body!"
His martial soul was an Ironclad Dragon to begin with. As his soul power surged, his body expanded again, and thick, hard dragon scales covered him. Unable to withstand the sudden increase in strength, the blue silver grass binding him snapped and shattered with a series of sharp cracks.
A hint of triumph had just appeared on Guang Long's face when an enormous fireball came whistling down from above, heading straight for his face! Gu Yue had formed it with her Elemental Control.
Boom! The fireball slammed into his face, blasting him into a stumbling retreat. Before the smoke cleared, Tang Wulin's huge fist had already broken through it and smashed toward his forehead.
At that moment, Tang Wulin's punch carried well over a thousand jin of force, and both fists possessed astonishing explosive power. Before such overwhelming, brutal strength, defense seemed too fragile to withstand a single blow.
The punch left Guang Long's head ringing and his mind utterly dazed. Even his soul power churned chaotically within him. Tang Wulin concentrated his attacks on Guang Long's unprotected head and face, deliberately avoiding the parts covered in Ironclad Dragon scales.
The more Tang Wulin fought, the more excited he became. The Golden Dragon King bloodline hidden within his body was thoroughly stirred, and savage strength surged through his limbs. At some point, his eyes had changed. Their clear sapphire color faded, replaced by gilded vertical pupils that gleamed with the terrifying ferocity of a ferocious beast.
A faint golden glow wreathed the surface of his right arm, as though an immensely powerful force was about to burst free through his flesh. In the end, however, that force remained suppressed within him and did not fully emerge.
Guang Long could no longer defend himself. His face had been battered crooked, his body bloodied and mangled. Wretched and beaten, he had already lost the strength to resist.
Seeing that things had gone badly, Guang Long's two companions tried to flee. Tang Wulin stretched out his right hand, and blue silver vines swiftly bound all three together.
Xie Xie had long been burning with anger. Clenching his sandbag-sized fists, he mercilessly pummeled Guang Long's two companions. Gu Yue stood where she was, watching coldly.
Only after the three had received a thorough beating did Tang Wulin withdraw his vines. Guang Long and his companions staggered upright, their noses bruised and faces swollen. It was not that they had never considered fighting back; they simply had no time to do so. Under Tang Wulin's huge, sandbag-like fists, even their soul power could not circulate properly, leaving them unable to unleash a single soul skill.
Taking advantage of the chaos in the crowd, Guang Long broke away and fled in disgrace. As he stumbled off, he looked back and screamed himself hoarse at Tang Wulin and the others.
"Just you wait, you little bastards! This isn't over! I'll be back!"
After spitting out that hateful threat, he dared not linger another moment. Dragging his injured body along, he ran off and vanished in a flash.
In truth, there had always been a widespread misconception on the Douluo Continent: most soul masters devoted themselves entirely to studying soul skills and cultivating soul power, completely neglecting the foundations of their bodies. In the language of traditional cultivation fantasy, they cultivated mystical arts without tempering their muscles and bones. Their soul power might seem to advance rapidly, but their foundations were hollow. Once an opponent closed in and suppressed their soul power, they had no way to fight back.
Having read the original novel, Tang Wulin naturally knew that Guang Long was no decent man. But was Tang Wulin some soft persimmon anyone could squeeze? Behind him stood Mu Chen, president of the East Sea Blacksmith Association and an Eight-Star Saint Craftsman, as well as Wu Changkong, a Six-Ring Soul Emperor. If he remembered correctly, Wu Changkong was also a Two-Word Battle Armor master. With his battle armor activated, his strength could surpass a Soul Saint's and touch the Soul Douluo realm. Such combat power was not to be underestimated. In little Eastsea City, it was already at the very peak, virtually unmatched.
Seeing Guang Long and his companions beaten into a humiliating retreat, the snack street's merchants clapped and cheered. Some kindhearted shopkeepers also approached the three with worried warnings. "You're students from Eastsea Academy, aren't you? Hurry back to the academy and lie low. Those three have some powerful people behind them. Guang Long only dares collect protection money so openly because his brother backs him. That man's the one you really don't want to cross. You're young. There's no need to face them head-on."
The three thanked the passersby for their kindness, said goodbye to Uncle Li, and headed back to the academy. Having caused trouble outside school, their first thought was to find Wu Changkong.
Knock, knock, knock-
"Who is it?" Wu Changkong's usual cool voice came from inside the teachers' dormitory.
"Teacher Wu, it's me, Xie Xie, with Wulin and Gu Yue."
"Come in."
The moment the door opened, all three froze. Wu Changkong was wearing pajamas printed with little yellow ducks. He looked like an entirely different person from his usual cold, stern self. The contrast hit them full force.
Ignoring their stunned gazes, Wu Changkong walked over to a chair and sat down, closing his eyes to rest. His voice was perfectly even. "Speak. What do you need? From the look of you, I assume you've caused trouble again."
The three gave Wu Changkong a complete account of how they had encountered thugs extorting protection money at the pot-braised beef shop that afternoon and intervened.
After listening, Wu Changkong merely nodded slightly, his voice remaining calm. "Understood. You did nothing wrong. Go back."
"Teacher Wu, you don't blame us?" Tang Wulin asked in some confusion.
Wu Changkong simply swept an indifferent glance over them and said calmly, "What would I blame you for? A soul master who doesn't dare stir up trouble is a mediocrity. Besides, you weren't in the wrong this time. If there's nothing else, you can leave. I still need to sleep."
With that clear reassurance from their teacher, the three finally took their leave with peace of mind. Gu Yue and Xie Xie returned to the academy dormitories, while Tang Wulin headed straight for his lodgings at the Blacksmith Association.
The night passed uneventfully, and the next day soon arrived. The second match of the Class Promotion Tournament took place as scheduled.
Today's second match of the Class Promotion Tournament pitted first-year Class Five against first-year Class Three. Class Three's homeroom teacher was a woman named Ye Yingrong. She was exceptionally attractive, standing over one meter seventy with a well-proportioned figure, bright, lively eyes, and light green hair tied in a neat ponytail. She had joined Eastsea Academy as a teacher at twenty-three and was already a Four-Ring Soul Ancestor, a remarkably impressive achievement at her age.
One should not think that having only four rings at twenty-three was unremarkable. On the Douluo Continent, martial soul awakening was the first hurdle, and possessing innate soul power at all was already rare. The higher the martial soul's quality, the greater the innate soul power-this was the second hurdle. As for innate full soul power, it marked the absolute upper tier even among geniuses. Despite ten thousand years of development on the Douluo Continent, soul masters with innate full soul power remained few and far between.
Ye Yingrong smiled and greeted Wu Changkong a short distance away. He answered only with a faint "Mm." Just then, Long Hengxu, the director of academic affairs, stepped onto the competition platform and called out, "Second match of the Class Promotion Tournament. First-year Class Five, still entering three contestants?"
Wu Changkong nodded slightly.
Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Gu Yue walked to the center of the arena. On the other side, Ye Yingrong was giving her three contestants instructions. "Gu Tianri, Gu Tianyue, Gu Tianming, remember: friendship first, competition second. Understood?"
The three were triplets born to the same mother. "Understood!" they answered in unison, then walked shoulder to shoulder to the opposite side of the arena.
As usual, Long Hengxu called out to confirm, "Are both sides ready? Three-two-one, begin!"
The three Gu brothers were already prepared. Having witnessed Class Five's swift victory yesterday, they knew that even the slightest delay could mean immediate defeat. The instant the command sounded, all three channeled their soul power and released their martial souls.
A flicker of surprise crossed Tang Wulin's eyes when he saw their martial souls.
A white soul ring lit up beneath each triplet's feet. Their martial souls were actually identical-three spectral hawks with outstretched wings appeared behind them. Their toes left the ground, and all three rose into the air together, climbing skyward.
Flying martial souls!
The three Gu brothers' martial soul was called the Sky-Piercing Warhawk, a bird-type martial soul distinguished by its flying speed. Of course, in terms of sheer speed, it could not match the famously swift Sharp-Tailed Swift martial soul. The Sky-Piercing Warhawk was not a top-tier bird-of-prey martial soul, but its exceptional endurance was its strength. Its corresponding soul beast could soar at an altitude of three thousand meters and maintain high-speed flight for long periods.
Clearly, all three brothers followed the agility-attack path. Tang Wulin and his friends showed no panic as they watched them take flight. Flying soul masters were already among the opponents they had anticipated. Attacking from above certainly offered every advantage of position, so winning would require some ingenuity.
A calculating gleam flashed through Tang Wulin's sapphire eyes. With a wave of his right hand, blue silver grass spread outward and wrapped around Xie Xie's and Gu Yue's waists. Both remained composed, without the slightest panic.
"Xie Xie, Gu Yue, focus on attacking with everything you've got. Leave your footing to me."
As his words fell, he exerted a sudden burst of strength and hurled them straight into the sky.
At first, Xie Xie and Gu Yue had nothing to push against in midair, but Tang Wulin was already prepared. He pressed his palm to the ground and channeled his soul power. Within a ten-meter radius around him, blue silver grass burst from the earth and grew wildly. After Xie Xie and Gu Yue scattered the brothers' aerial formation, they began to fall, only to be caught securely by layer upon layer of blue silver grass. Tang Wulin controlled the vines, stacking them higher and higher like a ladder to the clouds, supporting the pair so they could stand and fight in the air. A bright yellow hundred-year soul ring then lit up beneath each of their feet.
Ye Yingrong could not hide her shock from the stands. All three children had hundred-year soul rings? How was that possible? How could students with such configurations have been assigned to Class Five? Not even one student in her Class Three possessed a hundred-year soul ring.
In the arena, Gu Yue struck first. Her first soul skill activated instantly, sending several fireballs into the air to bombard the three brothers from different angles. They intended to dodge with their agile movements, but never expected the fireballs to explode halfway toward them. A rain of fire swept down from the sky. With nowhere to evade, the three were thrown off balance by the blasts and fell straight from above.
Before they could steady themselves and take flight again, several thick blue silver vines had already wrapped around their ankles, wrists, and wings, forcibly dragging them from the air onto the platform. Tang Wulin stepped forward and gave three light kicks, each measured to precisely the right force. One kick per brother sent the still-bound triplets off the competition platform in turn.
Before you continue