Tang San's Stubbornness

"Teacher, I... I'm fine."

Tang San did not take Master's outstretched hand. Instead, he slowly and painfully climbed to his feet, clutching his aching chest. His face twisted as he said, "I told you, I won't lose this time!"

"Xiao San!" Seeing that Tang San still intended to fight Cheng Xiao, Master frowned and warned, "Based on my assessment, his second Soul Skill should grant him Stealth. With your current strength, you can't defeat him."

"No, Teacher. If you let me use Hidden Weapons, I can definitely win." A barely perceptible killing intent flashed through Tang San's eyes. If his guess had been correct, he had seemingly been affected by some kind of mental influence just now. Fortunately, his Purple Demon Eye not only trained his eyes but also strengthened his spiritual power.

Otherwise, in that affected state, Cheng Xiao's punch would likely have knocked him unconscious. Fortunately, he regained his senses a second before Cheng Xiao threw that punch, which was why he had not been struck down and left unable to stand. After absorbing his second soul ring, his physical condition had improved considerably as well, allowing him to withstand it this time.

"But if you use those Hidden Weapons, Cheng Xiao can use his twin swords too. Your chances of winning will be even lower," Master said quietly.

"It's fine, Teacher. Let me use Hidden Weapons. I'm eighty percent certain I can defeat Cheng Xiao in an instant," Tang San said.

Seeing this, Master sighed helplessly. He then returned to Mano's side and explained Tang San's wish to use Hidden Weapons in the duel.

"No, Xiao Gang. Didn't we agree from the beginning? They would only compete with Soul Skills. Now you want them to bring weapons into the match halfway through. Forget whether I agree or not—even if I did, would Cheng Xiao agree?" Mano shook his head and refused firmly.

"Mano, we're old friends. In my view, letting them use weapons other than Soul Skills isn't necessarily a bad thing. Must we soul masters rely solely on our own Martial Souls in battle? Sometimes, we need to be flexible," Master said.

"Xiao Gang, we may be friends, but I have to say this." Mano stared at Master's stiff expression and slowly said, "You were the one who proposed not allowing weapons other than Soul Skills. Now that Tang San can't beat Cheng Xiao, you want the two children to use weapons for sparring instead. I'm starting to find you hard to understand."

"You..." Master's expression changed. He had not expected his old friend to say such things to him, yet Mano was not wrong. He had been the one to make that suggestion in the beginning, and he was also the one now proposing the use of weapons.

But would Master admit to his double standards? Of course not. As a Martial Soul Theory Master, he quickly came up with his response.

Master said calmly, "Mano, battles between soul masters are ever-changing. You can't agree on the rules beforehand when fighting an enemy. There has only ever been one rule in the world of soul masters: strength."

"If you still consider me your friend, trust me. Letting the two children use weapons other than Soul Skills is the only way we can discover the problems in their fighting. I don't think you want to see two genius soul masters die on the path to becoming stronger just because they followed the rules of soul masters, do you?"

Hearing this, Mano became somewhat hesitant. Master's words did make some sense, but changing the rules now was simply too unfair to Cheng Xiao.

As though he had seen Mano's hesitation, Master turned to Cheng Xiao and said, "Cheng Xiao, Tang San has already lost in the competition of Soul Skills, so I intend to let you use weapons in order to bring out more of your strength. What do you think?"

"Sure. Let Tang San use weapons, then. I didn't bring any weapons when I came, so I won't use any. Saves the trouble," Cheng Xiao said indifferently, a disdainful curl appearing at the corner of his lips.

Seeing Cheng Xiao look down on him so much, Tang San clenched his fists. He hardened his resolve and said, "Cheng Xiao, in a moment, I'll show you just how powerful the Hidden Weapons of the Tang Sect that you look down on can be!"

Hearing Cheng Xiao agree to Master's proposal, Mano also breathed a sigh of relief. Since both parties had agreed, there was nothing more for him, the dean, to say.

However, what surprised him was that Cheng Xiao's second Soul Skill seemed to be a Stealth-type ability.

"Come on, Tang San. This time, I'll let you attack first." Cheng Xiao shifted his gaze from Master to Tang San and smiled faintly.

With Stealth and Swift Walk, two skills that increased his speed, Cheng Xiao felt no fear at all toward Tang San's Hidden Weapons from the Tang Sect. No matter how powerful your Hidden Weapons were, they still had to hit me first, right?

"Stop looking down on me!" Tang San suddenly raised his head, and purple light burst from his eyes. It was so intense that Cheng Xiao even felt as though Tang San truly intended to kill him.

The next second, Tang San's hands lightly brushed over Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon before suddenly rising from both sides of his waist.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Piercing sounds tore through the air. Tang San's hands moved at an extreme speed. In the span of a single breath, every Hidden Weapon within Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon had been emptied. Dozens of cold flashes flicked from between his fingers, shooting toward every part of Cheng Xiao's body.

Cheng Xiao's eyes sharpened as Shadow Power surged within him. Black mist burst from his body, making the air ripple slightly. An invisible Black Mist Barrier enveloped him, allowing all the incoming Hidden Weapons to strike it with a series of clinks and clangs before falling to the ground.

"What is that? Could it be a defensive soul bone skill?" Dean Mano cried out in shock.

"No, it doesn't seem like it." Master frowned slightly, his eyes fixed on Cheng Xiao as he rubbed his chin and guessed, "I think it should be one of his soul ring skills. I don't know whether it's his first or second Soul Skill, but it definitely isn't a soul bone skill."

"Soul bones have always been rare. How could an eight-year-old child possibly obtain one?"

"How is this possible? All my Hidden Weapons were blocked?" Tang San's expression changed drastically as he stared at the black mist surrounding Cheng Xiao's body. He had never imagined that his Hidden Weapons would be so easily stopped.

"The game is over, Tang San!" Cheng Xiao moved like lightning, appearing before Tang San in the blink of an eye. His clenched fist blasted forward. He had not used Shadow Power in his attacks before, but this time, he would show no mercy!

"Hit the Vital Point!"

Just as Tang San raised his arms to block, the Shadow Power within Cheng Xiao's body surged to its limit. As his shout fell, his thrown fist came crashing down.

At the same time, a black flash streaked past Tang San's eyes.

Bang!

The air trembled as a savage force surged toward him. Tang San's expression abruptly changed. His raised arms had no time to block it. So he had not intended to use his fist after all—his true killing move was his leg!