A Battle of Coincidence

Th... that solved it?

Cheng Xiao was a little dazed. He had originally planned not to summon his martial soul during a fight, lest certain ill-intentioned people set their sights on him.

And yet? Before he could even think of a solution, the Shadow Monarch had stepped in and resolved it so easily?

"It's great having someone powerful backing you up..." Cheng Xiao could not help sighing.

He did not doubt the voice in his mind. The Shadow Monarch's power was beyond imagination; simply changing the color of a soul ring was hardly difficult for him.

With the soul ring color issue resolved, Cheng Xiao planned to visit Spirit Hall in Nuoding City for a Soul Master appraisal and collect his Soul Master Subsidy while he was at it.

Although he had turned down Brother Tao's invitation to join Spirit Hall, that did not mean he disliked Spirit Hall. On the contrary, he held it in fairly high regard.

Of course, that goodwill was not toward Spirit Hall itself, but toward those Spirit Hall deacons who traveled thousands of miles to awaken the martial souls of commoners from more than a dozen villages.

To put it bluntly, there was nothing wrong with Spirit Hall itself. The problem lay only with the people at the top.

"Boss Xiao, those work-study students are really too full of themselves. Let me go first later. I'll beat them until they're crawling around looking for their teeth."

"Liu Long, since you're volunteering so eagerly, you'll take the first match. I figure Wang Sheng will be the first one those work-study students send out. Beat him up good!"

"Ling Feng, you'll take the second match. Let those ignorant work-study students see what Nuoding Academy's fastest really means!"

"Boss, that little rabbit looks pretty good. Do you think we could..."

"Don't worry. As long as you follow Boss Xiao, whatever I get to enjoy, you all get to enjoy too!"

"Boss Xiao is mighty! Boss Xiao! Boss Xiao!"

Just as Cheng Xiao was preparing to leave, a noisy commotion suddenly came from outside the small grove.

Cheng Xiao paused and looked toward the source of the noise. A group of more than twenty upperclassmen was slowly making its way over.

The person at the front wore the school uniform of Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy and had a tall, straight build. There was no need to guess—he was Nuoding Academy's boss, Xiao Chenyu.

"What? You work-study students only sent one person?" Seeing Cheng Xiao standing there alone, Xiao Chenyu's face turned fierce as he shouted, "You work-study students really don't respect me at all, do you? Liu Long, get up there and beat him!"

At his words, Liu Long immediately stepped out from behind Xiao Chenyu.

"?" Cheng Xiao was slightly stunned. Looking at Xiao Chenyu's vicious expression, then at Liu Long, who had stepped forward, he expressionlessly spat out two words. "You're sick."

"You dare say I'm sick?" Xiao Chenyu's eyes widened. "Liu Long, what are you standing around for? Beat him up already. Beat him so badly that even his parents won't recognize him."

Liu Long nodded. Yellow light immediately flared from his body, and a long staff more than two meters in length instantly appeared in his hand. He strode forward quickly, swinging the staff down at Cheng Xiao's head.

Cheng Xiao did not dodge, allowing Liu Long's staff to come at him. Just as it was about to strike him, dark purple Soul Power flared around his body. He reached out with his right hand and caught the fiercely descending staff.

"You dare catch my martial soul with your hand?" Liu Long was stunned for a moment before saying disdainfully, "You don't even know the most basic common sense. Work-study students should hurry home and find their mothers!"

As his words fell, dark purple black mist spread from Cheng Xiao's palm. Liu Long was startled and was about to pull back his staff when he saw purple light shine from Cheng Xiao's eyes.

The next second, with a muffled bang, Cheng Xiao's fist slammed into his abdomen. Agonizing pain erupted from his stomach, and Liu Long's body went limp. He dropped to his knees directly in front of Cheng Xiao, clutching his abdomen and gasping for breath as though that could ease the pain.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiao did not continue attacking Liu Long. He had channeled Soul Power into his fist just now. The abdomen was a vulnerable part of the human body; that punch was enough to render him unable to move.

"Too weak." Cheng Xiao looked at Xiao Chenyu's disbelieving face, curled his lips into a faint smile, and crooked a finger at him in challenge.

"Damn it! You think we're pushovers because we haven't shown you what we can do?" Seeing Cheng Xiao's provocative manner, Xiao Chenyu cursed. "Ling Feng, kill him for me! I'll let him know what happens when he acts so damn cocky!"

At Xiao Chenyu's command, his other lackey, Ling Feng, immediately leaped into the air. Light glowed faintly around his body as he performed an agile flip in midair, spread his arms, and pounced toward Cheng Xiao in a gliding posture.

Watching Ling Feng pounce at him, Cheng Xiao could not even be bothered to move. There was no need to dodge such a completely flawed attack.

"You dare look down on me!" Ling Feng flew into a rage when he saw that Cheng Xiao was not taking him seriously.

However, just as Ling Feng was about to reach Cheng Xiao, a faint light flickered in Cheng Xiao's eyes. At that moment, Ling Feng was full of openings in Cheng Xiao's sight!

Strike the Weak Point!

As the low shout that only he could hear rang out, Cheng Xiao shifted his body, seized Ling Feng's arms with both hands, and used the momentum of his charge to slam him hard into the ground.

Before Ling Feng could get up, Cheng Xiao flashed behind him, grabbed the back of his collar, spun around forcefully, and once again used inertia to hurl his entire body into the air.

Ling Feng crashed heavily several meters away. With no one there to catch him, his vision went dark, and he passed out.

Watching Ling Feng fly several meters away, Cheng Xiao was quite satisfied. The effect of Strike the Weak Point in finding openings was far more powerful than he had imagined.

If he had truly attacked one of Ling Feng's weak points, Ling Feng would not have merely fainted.

Seeing his two most capable men defeated by Cheng Xiao, Xiao Chenyu's eyes were filled with disbelief. He had never imagined that a newly enrolled work-study student could possess such strength. It was truly terrifying!

"Even Ling Feng lost? Are work-study students all this fierce now?"

"Boss Xiao, should we avoid his edge for now? This work-study student doesn't seem easy to mess with."

"Don't talk nonsense. Boss Xiao is a one-ring Soul Master. Wouldn't beating a work-study student be easy?"

The noisy chatter reached his ears, and Xiao Chenyu's face darkened. Looking at Cheng Xiao's calm expression, he could not help clenching his fists.

"Still not convinced?" Cheng Xiao noticed Xiao Chenyu's clenched fists. He raised a brow slightly and said calmly, "Come on. If I defeat you, that means we work-study students win, right?"

"Damn it, if I don't beat you up today, my surname isn't Xiao!" Xiao Chenyu cursed.

"Sure. Then let's give it a try." Cheng Xiao cracked his neck.

Xiao Chenyu stared coldly at Cheng Xiao. The anger on his face had vanished, replaced by a grave expression.

"Xiao Chenyu, sixth-year student. Martial soul: Wolf. Level eleven, one-ring War Soul Master."

Among Soul Masters, announcing one's martial soul and level was a sign of respect toward one's opponent.

As soon as he finished speaking, a layer of green light emerged around Xiao Chenyu. Under its flickering glow, the muscles on his body began to swell, his eyes turned pale green, and his claws became sharp.

At the same time, a white soul ring rose from beneath his feet.

Seeing this, Cheng Xiao grinned. "Cheng Xiao, martial soul: Shadow Soldier. Level thirteen, one-ring War Soul Master. Please enlighten me."