"No!"
Xiao Wu cried out, finding strength from somewhere she could not explain.
Her body suddenly erupted with unprecedented speed and power, and she kicked at Tang San.
Caught off guard, Tang San hastily tried to block, only to be sent flying by Xiao Wu's kick.
Like a phantom, Xiao Wu swiftly appeared between Ye Fan and Yu Xiaogang, raised her leg, and kicked.
At that hairbreadth moment-
Crack!!
The wooden stick struck Xiao Wu's leg and snapped on impact.
"Ngh!!"
Pain twisted Xiao Wu's face.
Even she could not shrug off that blow.
Her fair, delicate calf instantly turned red, marked with streaks of blood.
It was not that she had not wanted to attack Yu Xiaogang. She had been afraid of making a mistake and failing to stop his attack, so she had chosen to strike the stick instead.
But at the same time, she had confirmed something.
With that much force behind his blow, Yu Xiaogang definitely had no good intentions!!
"You!!"
Seeing his attack blocked, Yu Xiaogang flew into a rage.
Instinctively, he moved to smash the remaining half of the wooden stick down on Xiao Wu.
"Teacher, stop!!"
As Tang San rushed over and witnessed this, the thought of killing Yu Xiaogang actually flashed through his mind.
His first Soul Skill activated instantly. Three thick, tough strands of Blue Silver Grass burst out of the ground, winding toward everyone present at once.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu prepared to fight back despite the pain.
Just then, a tremendous surge of Soul Power erupted around Ye Fan.
It blasted Yu Xiaogang away.
The wooden stick in his hand went flying with him.
Even as he flew through the air, Yu Xiaogang stared at Ye Fan in disbelief.
How was this possible?!
He had absorbed a Thousand-Year Soul Ring beyond his level, and not only had he succeeded, he had done it this quickly!?
"Ye Fan!"
Watching Yu Xiaogang get blasted away, Xiao Wu's face lit up with delight.
She sprang into the air, spun once, and kicked aside the Blue Silver Grass winding toward her.
Ye Fan opened his eyes, a brilliant golden light shining within them.
"Freeze."
As that Word Spirit rang out-
Everything around him instantly stopped.
Tang San, Xiao Wu, and even Yu Xiaogang, who was still hurtling backward.
While absorbing his Soul Ring, Ye Fan had inexplicably sensed a hint of danger and hurriedly sped up the process.
It had been like someone stuffing more food into his stomach at a buffet even though he was already bursting.
It had been uncomfortable, but he had done it anyway.
He had never expected to open his eyes to a scene like this.
He glanced at the Blue Silver Grass frozen beside him, then at the broken half of the wooden stick, and his gaze turned cold.
After one second of stillness, everything that had been frozen began moving again.
Yu Xiaogang hit the ground with a smack.
Ye Fan immediately turned to the person beside him and pulled her clear of the Blue Silver Grass's attack.
"Are you all right, Xiao Wu?"
Xiao Wu looked at Ye Fan and shook her head, a smile tugging at her lips.
"Who do you think your Sister Xiao Wu is? I'm not that easy to hurt!"
She planted her hands on her hips, looking thoroughly pleased with herself.
But as Ye Fan looked her up and down, he quickly spotted the injury on her leg.
A flicker of warmth inevitably stirred in his heart.
Granted, this silly rabbit only cared so much about him because he had deceived her.
But if she was this devoted to protecting him, then... the future Ye Fan had fabricated might yet come true.
With that thought, Ye Fan crouched down and reached toward Xiao Wu's calf.
"Hey, you... what are you doing...?"
Watching Ye Fan's movements, Xiao Wu unconsciously took two steps back.
For some inexplicable reason, she remembered the change in Ye Fan's body earlier, and her face flushed.
I couldn't treat him like a little brat anymore...
"Don't move. I'll heal you."
Ye Fan stopped Xiao Wu, then swiftly pressed his hand against her calf without waiting for a reply.
"Reverse."
His Word Spirit activated.
Under its effect, the marks on Xiao Wu's leg slowly faded.
Even after the wound had vanished completely, Xiao Wu pinched the spot in disbelief.
"Wow, Ye Fan, you're amazing! It doesn't hurt at all anymore."
Ye Fan smiled.
"Of course. This isn't simple healing, but it's even more effective."
It was not that he did not want to heal Xiao Wu directly.
Unfortunately, he lacked that ability.
Word Spirit was not omnipotent, either.
He still had a long way to go before he could achieve Word Becomes Law.
For now, he could only rewind Xiao Wu's condition to produce a healing effect.
Fortunately, Xiao Wu had only just been injured. Otherwise, even draining all his Soul Power would not have restored her original condition.
After absorbing his First Soul Ring, Ye Fan had finally gained a true understanding of his Martial Soul.
The stronger the Word Spirit he invoked, the greater the backlash.
Under normal circumstances, his own Soul Power would offset it.
But if he uttered a Word Spirit such as the end of the world... something truly terrifying might happen.
If his strength fell short, for instance, his life might be taken as the price to summon unknown things that would fulfill that Word Spirit.
Watching from nearby, Tang San and Yu Xiaogang both widened their eyes in disbelief.
He had actually healed Xiao Wu's injury so easily.
A bewildered question arose in Yu Xiaogang's mind.
Could this fellow... have awakened a support-type Martial Soul?
But... he could blast them away. How could this merely be a healing ability?
Naturally, Ye Fan noticed their stares as well. He raised a hand and beckoned to them.
"Come here." (No vocal fry version.)
The next moment, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San discovered, to their horror, that their bodies were walking toward Ye Fan against their will.
They were like puppets on strings.
Tang San accepted it quickly.
He knew that Ye Fan's Martial Soul... had grown stronger!
Still, he was not particularly worried about that.
He had faith that his Purple Demon Eye could break through this sort of mental control.
The man beside him, however, was nowhere near as composed.
"Ye Fan, you... what are you going to do?" Yu Xiaogang demanded sharply, forcing himself to appear calm.
He had actually misjudged it.
Was this Tongue actually a mental-type Martial Soul?
Where was the justice in that?!
Faced with Yu Xiaogang's harsh words and fierce expression, Ye Fan was in no mood to joke with him.
"What do you mean, what am I going to do? Grandmaster, that's an interesting thing to say..."
Ye Fan pointed at Xiao Wu.
"So, what exactly happened just now? Why did I open my eyes to find you attacking Xiao Wu? You even injured her..."
"And unless I was mistaken, the stuff about to wind around us just now was Tang San's Blue Silver Grass."
"Aren't you going to give me an explanation?"
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang relaxed a little.
Thank goodness. This fellow still seemed willing to listen to reason...
He quickly sorted out his thoughts, then immediately put on a sorrowful expression as he looked at Ye Fan.
"...Didn't we do all this for your sake?"
"If you hadn't been absorbing a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, we wouldn't have been so worried about you."
Before you continue