Xu Sanshi lunged forward in fury, his right fist carrying tremendous force as it hurtled toward Huo Yuhao.
Wang Dong cried out, "Huo Yuhao, he was already leaving! Why did you have to provoke him?"
Judging by the color of his uniform, Xu Sanshi was probably a fourth- or fifth-year student, with cultivation far beyond theirs.
Tian Meng gritted his teeth, ready to intervene again, but Huo Yuhao's voice sounded in his mind.
Don't move.
This was the Mental Communication unique to him and Huo Yuhao; outsiders could not hear it.
Tian Meng paused, then chose to obey Huo Yuhao and silently continued eating his grilled fish.
Huo Yuhao showed no fear whatsoever. Even with the fist about to smash into his face, he maintained his provocative, savage grin without so much as an instinctive dodge.
He did not look paralyzed with fear. Rather, he seemed to be deliberately meeting the blow.
The wind from the punch had already reached him, lifting his hair, when Xu Sanshi's fist stopped.
"White Tiger Fierce Light Wave!"
With a roar, a beam of white light shot toward Xu Sanshi.
Xu Sanshi's gaze sharpened as he sensed danger rapidly descending upon him. Three soul rings-two yellow and one purple-abruptly rose from beneath his feet. His body swelled, and a black Tortoise Shell Shield roughly a meter and a half in diameter appeared in his right hand.
The sturdy Tortoise Shell Shield easily blocked the incoming ball of white light. The light wave dissipated without leaving so much as a mark.
"White Tiger Vajra Transformation!"
The owner of that voice roared again. He had already charged up to Xu Sanshi, slamming his right tiger paw heavily against the Tortoise Shell Shield.
His muscles bulged, golden light coiled around him, and black stripes appeared across his skin. The character for "king" emerged on his forehead. It was Dai Huabin, possessed by his Evil-Eyed White Tiger martial soul.
The purple soul ring behind him rose, and his towering body swelled again, radiating an overbearing aura. This was his third soul skill, White Tiger Vajra Transformation.
Yet even when his immensely powerful, razor-sharp tiger paws struck the black shield, it did not budge.
"Three rings in your first year? Not bad. Even I only have three rings right now." Xu Sanshi casually blocked Dai Huabin's tiger paw with his shield and said indifferently, "But the gap between level thirty-nine and level thirty is as vast as heaven and earth!"
With that, he exerted a little force through his right hand and easily shoved Dai Huabin away.
Unable to resist, Dai Huabin stumbled several steps backward before steadying himself, barely managing not to fall.
"Huabin!" A black-haired girl hurried over from nearby, her voice full of concern.
"Lulu, I'm fine." Seeing Xu Sanshi end his Martial Soul Possession first, Dai Huabin did the same, watching him warily.
"Brother Hao, how did you get mixed up with a monster like that? And why didn't you dodge?"
Dai Huabin shook his right hand, still numb from the impact, and asked with a frown.
His opponent's strength had far surpassed his own, despite strength being his pride. Both had three rings, yet even after using his strongest soul skill, he had failed to hurt the other man at all.
It was not merely a difference in soul power. His opponent's martial soul was also no inferior to his own in quality. Though Xu Sanshi was still only a peak Soul Elder, his strength surpassed that of many four-ring Soul Ancestors.
But he knew Huo Yuhao's strength. Even if he could not win, surely he could run? They were right outside the academy gates. How could his opponent possibly pursue him relentlessly?
"Huabin, you shouldn't have interfered." Huo Yuhao slowly rose to his feet and said coldly, "If you hadn't stepped in, I'd have let him beat me up, and tomorrow I could have gotten him expelled!"
Hearing this, Xu Sanshi felt a surge of lingering dread and instantly regained much of his composure.
Academy rules prohibited senior students from initiating attacks against junior students and bullying the weak with their strength. If he had truly ignored the consequences and crippled Huo Yuhao with a punch, he might have vented his anger, but his punishment certainly would not have been light.
Everyone else was stunned by Huo Yuhao's words.
He was willing to take a beating just to get the other man expelled? Was that not wounding the enemy by a thousand while losing eight hundred himself?
So his provocation and refusal to dodge had both been deliberate?
At that thought, a chill ran through them.
"Little Brother Huo, I've come to patronize your business again!"
A cheerful voice broke the icy atmosphere. It belonged to Tang Ya, the young sect leader of the Tang Sect, who came every day for grilled fish.
But she saw no grilled fish, only a wrecked barbecue stall and Huo Yuhao's cold expression.
A short distance in front of Huo Yuhao stood Xu Sanshi, wearing a sour look.
"Xu! San! Shi!"
Tang Ya had not witnessed what happened, but she could guess most of it. She roared at Xu Sanshi, "What have you done? Why are you bullying Little Brother Huo?"
As always, Bei Bei appeared alongside Tang Ya. He surveyed the surroundings and asked unhappily, "Xu Sanshi, Little Brother Huo is a friend of mine and Xiao Ya's. What exactly happened?"
Xu Sanshi clearly knew them both. "So what?" he said coldly. "If he won't show Jiang Nannan respect, then he isn't showing me respect. I already paid, but he still refused to give me those two grilled fish!"
Jiang Nannan was, naturally, the name of the stunning girl from earlier.
Hearing his explanation, Huo Yuhao sneered. "Heh. How amusing."
"I saved those two grilled fish for my cousin. I didn't have any others ready, but I could have grilled another batch very soon. Couldn't you even wait a few minutes?"
"And even if you really couldn't wait, couldn't you have asked politely? Do you not even know how to say 'please'?"
Clearly in the wrong, Xu Sanshi stubbornly insisted, "But I already paid!"
Huo Yuhao shot back, "So paying gives you the right to snatch things? Then why don't you just pay that senior girl directly and save yourself the trouble of courting her?"
He had always possessed a sharp, venomous tongue. He simply did not usually show that vicious side to people who treated him well.
That retort seemed to strike a nerve in Xu Sanshi. His expression darkened again, and his clenched fists began to tremble.
Crack, crack-
The strange sound came from Xu Sanshi grinding his teeth in anger.
He was visibly struggling to control his emotions. A low voice escaped through his clenched teeth. "Kid, if you've got the guts, say that again!"
This is bad, Bei Bei thought.
He and Xu Sanshi were close friends. Jiang Nannan was Xu Sanshi's reverse scale, the one thing no one could touch. Huo Yuhao's words were undoubtedly pouring oil on the flames.
Even someone as consistently proud as Wang Dong grew frightened and hurried to intervene. "Huo Yuhao, that's enough. Just stop talking."
Yet Huo Yuhao remained unmoved. "I'd dare say it ten more times if you asked, you little punk!" he said coldly.
"How could you..."
Hearing that first sentence, even the normally composed Bei Bei could no longer stand still.
Huo Yuhao truly feared neither heaven nor earth!
If this continued, Xu Sanshi would definitely explode!
Bei Bei hurriedly exchanged a look with Tang Ya. She understood at once, and the two quickly split up.
Tang Ya hastened over to Huo Yuhao and tried to smooth things over with a laugh. "A misunderstanding, it's all a misunderstanding. Senior Sanshi was just a little impulsive."
Meanwhile, Bei Bei went over and draped an arm around Xu Sanshi's shoulders. "Sanshi, don't take it to heart. I met Little Brother Huo in the Star Dou Great Forest. His tongue may be a little quick, but he's actually a good person."
Xu Sanshi seemed less angry now. In a calm, indifferent tone, he said a few words.
"I want to hit someone."
Bei Bei continued coaxing him. "Junior Huo is still a new student, after all. As his senior, you should be magnanimous and not hold this against him."
"I said, I want to hit someone."
Xu Sanshi repeated himself calmly, his face dark.
Bei Bei froze, then understood.
He suddenly raised his voice. "You want a fight? Then I'll fight you!"
"What kind of skill does it take to attack a junior? Come on, let's go to the Soul Fighting Zone!"
As he spoke, Bei Bei and Xu Sanshi walked into the academy together.