Ning Rongrong's Defeat

"What's wrong with you two? Whenever people made it to the fourth trial before, weren't you always the first to charge in?"

"Now you see girls and suddenly your feet won't move?"

Ma Hongjun mocked Dai Mubai and Oscar for chickening out.

"Don't put it that way. We're just a little drained."

Dai Mubai spoke with his eyes lowered to his nose, then his mouth. Asking him to attack Zhu Zhuqing was simply too difficult.

"Exactly! Fatty, you're so mighty and imposing. Taking on three girls should be a piece of cake."

Oscar egged Ma Hongjun on. He didn't want to reveal too much of his martial soul in front of someone from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"Fatty, they each have their reasons. Let them off." Tang San walked over and stood beside him.

"How about we fellow disciples handle this fourth trial together?"

Tang San's words drew everyone's attention.

Dai Mubai's heart tightened a little as he worried about Zhu Zhuqing.

Oscar, on the other hand, secretly rejoiced. These three chicks probably wouldn't pass now.

Caution flickered in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes. Tang San struck her as a difficult opponent.

Lin Like felt much the same. She had sensed Tang San watching her earlier and had been terrified that her secret would be exposed.

Ning Rongrong stepped forward and protested, "Hey! We're three girls. If you two men team up, we won't stand a chance."

"Besides, I'm a support type, Li Ke is a ranged agility-attack type, and this black-haired girl's martial soul is also agility-attack. This fight isn't fair at all."

"Hey, little girl! A battlefield doesn't care whether you're male or female, young or old, support or power-attack. If you're scared, just leave, then run home and cry to your elders."

Ma Hongjun loudly shot back, sparing Ning Rongrong no dignity.

"Waaah~ I can't even get into some little country academy! Daddy, help me~"

Then Ma Hongjun mocked Ning Rongrong in a sickeningly cutesy voice.

"Who's scared of whom? Just a fatso and a little pretty-boy toy! You really think I'm afraid of you?!"

Ma Hongjun instantly shattered every last trace of Ning Rongrong's restraint.

Oscar silently thought, What a little witch. Even if she weren't from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, I wouldn't want to fall for this chick at first sight anymore.

Dai Mubai's expression also soured, and he prepared to step forward and fight.

Ma Hongjun likewise burned with rage. Calling him fatso was one thing, but she had actually dared to call his Third Brother a pretty-boy toy. Even the most patient man had his limits!

"You fucking-!"

But Tang San placed a hand on Ma Hongjun's shoulder, calming him down.

He also gestured for Dai Mubai to stay calm.

Tang San kept smiling, but Ma Hongjun knew he was planning to strike hard.

Ning Rongrong's arrogance was precisely the sort of thing Tang San despised.

And she had used such filthy words to insult the looks his parents had given him. He had to teach her a proper lesson on her elders' behalf.

Besides, he still needed to probe that crossbow martial soul, so he couldn't beat the grass and startle the snake.

"In that case, I'll give you the time it takes an incense stick to burn to discuss your strategy."

"One more thing: as long as you perform well, you can enroll even if you lose. Likewise, even if you win, you won't pass if your performance is lacking."

Tang San took an incense stick from the Twenty-Four Bridges Bright Moon Night, lit it with Ma Hongjun's flames, and planted it in the ground.

"We have to work together if we want to give those two a good slap in the face. Let's all explain our soul skills and their effects."

Ning Rongrong took charge of the makeshift team.

Lin Like was with her, so she said little about it.

Although Zhu Zhuqing disliked Ning Rongrong's personality, now wasn't the time to dwell on that.

It would be a lie to say she didn't want to enroll and investigate an academy that could accommodate so many monstrous geniuses.

She also wanted to find out just how capable Tang San was.

"Hellish Traversal increases my speed. At full power, it also lets me pass through objects, but not living people or animals, and it consumes an enormous amount of soul power."

"Hell Stab also increases my speed, while boosting my attack power and adding a piercing effect."

Zhu Zhuqing gave a clear, concise introduction. Both soul skills were fairly conventional, though her First Soul Skill might prove highly useful if employed well.

"My Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda can currently enhance strength and agility by thirty percent."

"My martial soul is the Thousand Mechanism... Crossbow. Its two soul skills fire Splitting Arrows and Explosive Arrows, respectively. It can also load and fire ordinary crossbow bolts."

Ning Rongrong and Lin Like also explained their martial souls and soul skills.

Some distance away, Tang San quietly eavesdropped, beginning to simulate the tactics they might use and devise counters.

Soon, the incense stick finished burning.

The three girls appeared full of confidence in their strategy.

On the clearing, both sides began the fourth trial.

"You certainly look confident."

"Of course. Against you two, we're one hundred percent confident."

Ning Rongrong stood at the rear center, speaking confidently.

Zhu Zhuqing and Lin Like took their positions in order.

The three formed a line like three aligned stars.

By contrast, Ma Hongjun and Tang San's positioning, one ahead and one behind, looked crude and loose.

"Is that so? Then let's stop wasting words."

"The fourth trial begins," the Grandmaster announced, sweeping his hand down.

The moment the Grandmaster finished speaking, two brilliant lights flared, boosting Zhu Zhuqing and Lin Like's speed.

With her own soul skill activated as well, Zhu Zhuqing reached Ma Hongjun almost instantly and bared her claws.

"Just in time!" Ma Hongjun raised the Phoenix Emperor and brought it crashing down with Forcefully Split Mount Hua.

Evil fire surged forth as though toppling mountains and overturning seas.

Yet none of it harmed Zhu Zhuqing in the slightest, nor did she retreat even half a step.

Her figure had turned illusory, leaving the flames unable to touch her.

Even so, she changed course and rushed toward Tang San.

A strength enhancement descended upon her at just the right moment.

"Not a chance!"

Ma Hongjun moved to intercept her, but his spiritual sense detected several crossbow bolts already closing in on him.

Those bolts had been fired as Zhu Zhuqing charged, following behind her.

When Zhu Zhuqing activated Hellish Traversal, the bolts overlapped with her figure, preventing Ma Hongjun from noticing them immediately.

"Paltry tricks!"

Ma Hongjun swept the Phoenix Emperor back, stirring up a heat wave like a wall of fire that blocked every bolt.

But a violent explosion blasted a gap through that wall.

It was an Explosive Arrow, with Splitting Arrows following close behind.

They sought to keep Ma Hongjun scrambling to defend himself, unable to support Tang San.

Yet Ma Hongjun simply abandoned Tang San and lunged toward Lin Like and Ning Rongrong. Those bolts couldn't hurt him at all.

Phoenix Dance Nine Heavens!

The Phoenix Emperor danced nimbly in Ma Hongjun's hands, knocking aside every bolt.

It resembled a phoenix in flight, shielding Ma Hongjun from the calamities that threatened him.

All of this happened in the blink of an eye.

Facing Zhu Zhuqing's Hell Stab, Tang San didn't move a muscle.

Had he been scared witless?

No!

Zhu Zhuqing suddenly felt resistance and stopped right in front of Tang San.

It was Blue Silver Entanglement.

At some point, countless strands of blue silver grass had bound Zhu Zhuqing, leaving her unable to advance even an inch!

As she tried to use Hellish Traversal again, Tang San thrust out a palm, striking her abdomen and sending her flying.

"Your decapitation strategy was a lovely idea. Unfortunately, this head is tough and very nimble."

Tang San didn't pursue her.

Instead, he flicked out countless Blue Silver Dewdrops, sending them into the sea of fire Ma Hongjun had just created.

Instantly, a vast cloud of mist spread.

Ning Rongrong and Lin Like could no longer see. Ma Hongjun was charging toward them, his terrifying presence striking fear into both of them.

Neither knew where to dodge, and Ning Rongrong simply froze.

"Stay close to me!" Lin Like immediately shouted to Ning Rongrong, snapping her out of her daze.

The two pressed together, and Lin Like took out something resembling a badge.

This was no time to keep things hidden. That fatty really seemed intent on striking hard.

To protect herself and Ning Rongrong, Lin Like could only bring out her still-imperfect Shield Generator.

With the mist this thick, they probably won't see it clearly, right?

Thud! A muffled impact rang out, and the shield instantly shattered.

Lin Like immediately felt a tug pulling her backward.

Ning Rongrong shielded Lin Like behind her and took out a crossbow similar to Lin Like's, aiming at the source of the heat and pulling the trigger.

"Enough. You pass."

In an instant, the mist dispersed. Tang San's hands rested on Ning Rongrong's and Lin Like's heads.

Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Emperor rested against the shoulder of Zhu Zhuqing, who had been preparing to ambush him.

Ning Rongrong and her companions had lost.