Lu Yuan flashed in front of Tang San and threw a punch at him.
Tang San crossed his arms before his chest, blocking the blow.
He immediately released his blue silver grass, intending to bind Lu Yuan and restrict his movements.
But Lu Yuan flashed away again, leaving an afterimage as he escaped the range of Tang San's blue silver grass.
"Boss Lu is amazing!"
Seeing Lu Yuan's new move, Wang Sheng and the others cheered him on. It seemed Lu Yuan had something new to show them every time.
"Something's wrong."
Tang San's eyes turned purple, tracking Lu Yuan's position constantly until his next "Instant Teleportation."
"This! What is this?!"
This time, Tang San saw it clearly.
What Lu Yuan used wasn't Instant Teleportation at all. It was more like a concentrated burst of physical strength, boosting his speed in an instant to a level ordinary people could scarcely imagine.
Even with his wealth of experience as an assassin, Tang San could hardly spot the secret behind Lu Yuan's movements without activating his Purple Demon Eye.
The corner of Lu Yuan's mouth lifted. This was precisely the second cheat he'd obtained from the world of the Kingdom of Locke after his soul power broke through level ten: the stamina system.
This ability could consume a certain amount of stamina to grant himself, Meowmeow, or other living beings an instantaneous burst of strength. Paired with different soul beasts or martial souls, it could even produce effects like deploying grappling hooks, performing double jumps, or sensing the surroundings by using different creatures, just like in the game.
Seeing the purple light gleaming in Tang San's eyes, Lu Yuan knew he had activated his Purple Demon Eye and must have glimpsed some of his secrets.
Too bad. Tang San's reflexes probably can't keep up with my speed right now.
Lu Yuan unleashed several bursts of speed, darting back and forth and catching Tang San off guard each time. With Meowmeow attacking in support from the side, Tang San lost ground steadily until Lu Yuan forced him into a corner.
Damn it, what is that? Martial arts? No, that's impossible. Unless he fell from Hell's Peak and crossed into this world like I did, how could he possess martial arts like that?
Tang San's mind was full of questions.
Judging by Lu Yuan's movements, he seems to need a rest after using that burst of strength five or six times in a row at most. But even if my Purple Demon Eye can track his movements, I still can't keep up with his attacks.
Tang San's sleeve shifted, faintly exposing his Sleeve Blade.
Looks like I'll have to use the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons.
Just then, the door to Dorm Seven opened again. A little girl with an oval face walked in, wearing a pink dress and rabbit hair ornaments, with a long ponytail hanging down her back.
"Hey, is this Dorm Seven? Huh, what are you doing?"
The newcomer was naturally Xiao Wu, who had arrived at Dorm Seven right after Tang San in the original timeline.
Tang San's gaze was instantly drawn to Xiao Wu, as though it were destined.
Tang San blushed and froze, completely oblivious to the danger about to unfold before him.
Perfect opening!
Lu Yuan flashed forward, charging up to Tang San, and clenched his right fist before driving a fierce punch toward Tang San's head.
"Ow!"
Tang San cried out in pain. His left cheek reddened under Lu Yuan's punch, and he slumped to the floor, his head spinning.
"Oh, he fell."
Xiao Wu covered her mouth in surprise. She hadn't expected to see two human boys, Lu Yuan and Tang San, sparring like soul beasts, every punch striking flesh, so soon after entering human society.
Looking at Tang San lying weakly on the floor, Lu Yuan stopped there. He hadn't struck to kill, nor did he continue attacking.
It was a sparring match between children. Tang San had lost, and that was that. As long as Lu Yuan didn't go too far or bully someone younger as Zhao Wuji had, Tang Hao had no reason to say anything.
What if Tang Hao was nearby and saw Lu Yuan deliberately tormenting Tang San?
Ugh...
Lu Yuan shook his head inwardly. He had no desire to experience what Zhao Wuji had gone through-being soundly thrashed by an expert several ranks above him.
"You're so cute! Who are you? What's your name?"
Wang Sheng, who had something of a weakness for girls, immediately became smitten at the sight of Xiao Wu.
"My name is Xiao Wu. My martial soul is the Soft Bone Rabbit, and my innate soul power is level ten."
"Huh?"
Everyone was dumbstruck by Xiao Wu's introduction.
How did two genius work-study students with level-ten innate soul power arrive one after another today?
As Wang Sheng pondered this, Xiao Wu spoke again.
"What are they doing?"
"Tang San and Boss Lu were sparring. Whoever wins gets to be the boss of us work-study students."
"Be the boss?"
Xiao Wu's face lit up with excitement as she recalled making the Sky Azure Bull Python and the Titan Giant Ape call her boss on the shores of the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest.
"Then I want to join in too."
"Huh?" Wang Sheng was clearly taken aback.
"Xiao Wu, you're a girl..."
"So what if I'm a girl? I'm strong. Stronger than every one of you."
Xiao Wu puffed out her chest and pointed her thumb at herself.
"Come on. You're that Boss Lu they were talking about, right? Let's spar and see who's stronger. Whoever wins gets to be the boss," Xiao Wu declared fiercely to Lu Yuan.
"Sure."
Lu Yuan agreed.
"But let's agree beforehand. If I win, you all have to call me Sister Xiao Wu. How about it?"
The other work-study students felt uncomfortable at the thought of calling a girl younger than them "Sister," even if Xiao Wu was very cute.
"Heh, I agree." Lu Yuan chuckled, also wanting to test the limits of his ability to fight consecutive battles.
"Good!"
Xiao Wu seized the initiative and charged at Lu Yuan. Just as she lunged in front of him, Lu Yuan vanished in a flash.
"Huh? Where did he go? Ah!"
While Xiao Wu was still wondering where Lu Yuan had disappeared to, he had already used Instant Teleportation to flash behind her and seized her hands, preventing her from fighting back.
"Soft arts!"
With her hands restrained by Lu Yuan, Xiao Wu intended to counterattack using her soft arts, but she couldn't lift her legs no matter how hard she tried.
"What's going on?"
Xiao Wu looked down at her legs. Several leaves that had appeared out of nowhere from the ground had actually bound them.
Looking ahead again, she saw Meowmeow hopping about, smiling with narrowed eyes. While Xiao Wu and Lu Yuan were fighting, Meowmeow had taken the opportunity to pin her legs in place.
"Hey, let go of me!"
Xiao Wu struggled, but now that she was no longer a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, her strength was no match for Lu Yuan's.
"Xiao Wu, do you concede?"
Helpless, Xiao Wu actually began to break down emotionally, puffing out her cheeks and whimpering.
"Mmm..."
Oops, looks like I went too far.
Hearing Xiao Wu's distressed whimpers, Lu Yuan hurriedly released her hands and had Meowmeow free her feet.
Then Lu Yuan flashed away from Xiao Wu, afraid that this little girl who held nothing back would still try to attack him after being subdued.
"You win."
Once freed, Xiao Wu held her right arm with her left hand and remained upset for quite a while before finally admitting that Lu Yuan was stronger than her.
"Great! Lu Yuan is still the boss of us work-study students!" Wang Sheng led the other work-study students in cheering.
So his name is Lu Yuan.