Xiao Wu, that hundred-thousand-year hooligan rabbit, had the protection of the Sky Azure Bull Python, Da Ming, and the Titan Giant Ape, Er Ming, in the Star Dou Great Forest. As a hundred-thousand-year soul beast herself, she was thoroughly used to throwing her weight around.
Besides, as far as Xiao Wu knew, a border town like Nuoding City would never have any particularly powerful Soul Masters. Naturally, she saw no reason to restrain herself and attacked Lu Yang outright.
Seeing Xiao Wu raise her leg and kick at him, Lu Yang frowned. He reached for her incoming leg, intending to restrain her.
Noticing Lu Yang's move, Xiao Wu felt nothing but disdain. She was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast who had taken human form; her physical strength far surpassed that of ordinary human Soul Masters. She could already picture herself sending Lu Yang flying with a single kick.
But reality shattered that lovely fantasy. Lu Yang's outstretched hand caught Xiao Wu precisely by the ankle. Then, with a powerful swing, he whipped her body up and hurled her at the dormitory wall behind him.
At the sight, quite a few people in the dormitory turned their heads away or covered their eyes, unable to watch. Only Tang San stood up and shouted at Lu Yang, "Let her go!"
Unfortunately, Tang San's intervention accomplished nothing. Lu Yang still flung Xiao Wu straight into the wall.
The dull thud of flesh hitting the wall was followed by Xiao Wu's stifled cry of pain, making Wang Sheng and the others suck in a breath.
"You're being that heavy-handed with a girl? Don't you think that's going too far?"
Before Xiao Wu could get up, Tang San spoke again. He turned his spearhead toward Lu Yang and launched straight into accusations.
Lu Yang turned to look at Tang San. "She challenged me. She wasn't strong enough and got beaten. Isn't that perfectly normal? Besides, we're all Soul Masters. If you're afraid of getting hurt, why become a Soul Master at all?"
With Lu Yang shutting him down like that, Tang San grew even more displeased. For some reason, he had felt a strange closeness to Xiao Wu the moment he saw her. What was more, they had pushed their beds together and would be sleeping together from now on.
"Ow! It hurts, it hurts!"
Only then did Xiao Wu climb up from the floor. She reached behind herself with both hands to rub her back, pouting as she repeatedly complained of the pain. Yet the fighting spirit in her eyes had not diminished in the slightest.
"Tang San, stay out of this! Sister Xiao Wu picked this fight. I can handle it myself!"
Hearing Xiao Wu say that, Tang San's expression shifted slightly. He had been about to continue rebuking Lu Yang, but now he stared at her blankly, unable to understand why she would reject his kindness.
But Xiao Wu's mind was filled with nothing except continuing her fight with Lu Yang. She did not notice Tang San's reaction at all.
"Lu Yang, let's keep going!"
"Martial Soul Possession!"
With a sharp cry, Xiao Wu instantly completed her Martial Soul Possession. The rabbit ears atop her head twitched, and a faint pink glow spread around her body.
"You're the one who used your martial soul first." Lu Yang glanced at Xiao Wu, then entered Martial Soul Possession as well.
Originally, when he summoned his martial soul, The Winged Dragon of Ra, only a ball of light appeared behind him. But after absorbing his first soul ring, his Martial Soul Possession had undergone some changes.
Golden light enveloped Lu Yang's hands and feet. When it faded, golden armguards and leg armor encased his limbs.
"Huh? What kind of martial soul is that? Armor?" Xiao Wu asked in surprise.
"Whatever! Let's fight first!"
Without even waiting for Lu Yang's answer, Xiao Wu tossed her own question aside. She rushed toward him, intending to use her speed to circle behind him, wrap her scorpion braid around his neck, and defeat him with the grappling techniques she excelled at.
But Lu Yang's reactions were hardly slow. Although Xiao Wu moved too quickly for him to catch her right away, there was only so much space in the dormitory. To get behind him, she had to pass along one of his sides.
Lu Yang judged which direction Xiao Wu had chosen and thrust out a leg to intercept her. Naturally, Xiao Wu was not foolish enough to charge straight into it and trip. But in the brief instant she spent hopping over his outstretched leg, Lu Yang had already turned around. His raised hand came down directly on her head.
"Ow! That really hurt!"
After taking that blow to the skull, Xiao Wu cried out, clutched her head with both hands, and crouched on the floor.
"Damn it! You dare hit Sister Xiao Wu on the head? Let's go again!"
Unwilling to admit defeat, Xiao Wu sprang back up soon afterward. This time, she was right beside Lu Yang, and she kicked the instant she rose.
Unfortunately, her kick missed Lu Yang again. Instead, he caught her with one hand and gave her a tug, throwing her off balance and sending her tumbling onto a nearby bed.
"Sister Xiao Wu refuses to believe she can't hit you! Again!"
"Enough. If you keep this up, I'm going to get serious." Lu Yang did not want to keep tangling with Xiao Wu. He raised his hand and channeled the soul power within him, making the armor on his hand emit a faint red glow. At the same time, the temperature in the dormitory began to rise slowly.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu stopped moving. She stared at Lu Yang's faintly glowing red arm and swallowed involuntarily.
"Hmph! Once Sister Xiao Wu gets her soul ring, we'll fight again!" Though she no longer intended to keep fighting, Xiao Wu's tongue never showed mercy.
"When that happens, I won't hold back anymore," Lu Yang said.
"Who asked you to hold back? I'll beat you fair and square!" Xiao Wu said indignantly.
After Xiao Wu released her Martial Soul Possession, Lu Yang did the same. They returned to their respective beds and sat down, and peace settled over Dorm Seven once more.
Whatever the others in Dorm Seven might have felt, Tang San was thoroughly embarrassed.
His righteous intervention had not only been shut down by Lu Yang, but had also earned him Xiao Wu's scorn. Now neither of them paid him any attention at all, making his earlier behavior look like that of a clown.
But since Tang San liked Xiao Wu, he naturally would not hold his displeasure against her. Instead, he laid all of it at Lu Yang's feet. His teacher, Yu Xiaogang, had spoken ill of Lu Yang plenty of times anyway. Presumably, Lu Yang was no good.
As night fell, everyone in Dorm Seven drifted off to sleep one after another. Even Xiao Wu tucked herself beneath her blanket, curled into a ball, and fell blissfully asleep.
Only Tang San remained awake. During the day, Yu Xiaogang had told him that he would take him hunting for a soul ring tomorrow, and Tang San could hardly help feeling excited.
Early the next morning, after finishing his regular morning practice and cultivating his Purple Demon Eye, Tang San got up and left Dorm Seven. He met Yu Xiaogang at the academy gates, and they set off together for the Soul Hunting Forest.
Yet Tang Hao, who should have secretly followed them to protect Tang San, did not go with them for some reason. Instead, he remained in Nuoding City.
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