"Hahaha, Blue Silver Grass. You dare step forward with trash like that for a Martial Soul? Have you work-study students run out of people?"
Blue Silver Grass was a trash Martial Soul. That had long been common knowledge across the entire continent.
When Tang San announced that his Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass, the older students behind Xiao Chenyu burst out laughing almost in unison, all tension vanishing from their faces.
"What are you laughing at? Didn't that Ling Feng or whatever his name was just get beaten so badly he was searching the ground for his teeth by Lin Yan, whose Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass?" Xiao Wu retorted, her face full of defiance.
Hearing this, the laughter from Xiao Chenyu's side stopped abruptly.
"What? You're saying that work-study student's Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass?" Xiao Chenyu asked incredulously.
"Of course it was! His Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, and his innate Soul Power was only half a level. So that comparison should tell you just how useless you are! Hmph!" Xiao Wu held her head high and puffed out her chest, brimming with pride.
At her words, everyone turned to look at Lin Yan, their expressions as though they were looking at a monster.
Lin Yan felt rather helpless himself. The fight was already over, so why had the conversation circled back to him?
He could only stand there with both hands in his pockets, whistling and looking up at the sky as though none of this had anything to do with him.
"Which of you will face me?" Tang San asked again.
Xiao Chenyu glanced at the people behind him. Apart from himself, the two best fighters on his side had already fought. One was unconscious, and the other was somewhat exhausted from the previous battle.
Xiao Chenyu stepped forward.
"I will!"
"Xiao Chenyu, sixth-year student. Martial Soul: Wolf. Level eleven, one-ring Battle Soul Master."
As he spoke, a layer of blue-green light emerged from his body. Amid its flickering glow, his muscles began to swell, his eyes gradually turned pale green, and his arms slowly rose, claws facing forward as his nails sharpened. A white Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, displaying his Martial Soul Possession.
Lin Yan had to marvel at Xiao Chenyu's cleverness.
There was an unwritten rule on the Douluo Continent: if one side in a fight announced their Martial Soul, the other had to announce their own in return to show mutual respect in a contest of skill, unless they utterly disdained their opponent or did not fear making an eternal enemy of them.
Thus, by announcing his own Martial Soul and Soul Power Level first, he could learn about his opponent, knowing both himself and his enemy.
"Tang San, first-year work-study student. Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. Level eleven, one-ring Tool Soul Master."
"What level did you say you were?" Xiao Chenyu asked incredulously.
"Level eleven, one-ring Tool Soul Master." As he spoke, a faint white light shone from Tang San's body. A blade of deep-blue grass emerged from his right palm, and as he swept his right hand outward, Blue Silver Grass scattered around his feet. A bright yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, circling his body and pulsing up and down.
"A hundred-year Soul Ring." Xiao Chenyu sucked in a cold breath. "Th-this is impossible. You're only a first-year student. How do you already have a Soul Ring, and a hundred-year one at that?"
"Boss, cripple him! It's just Blue Silver Grass. So what if his Soul Ring is a little stronger?" an older student shouted from behind Xiao Chenyu.
"Idiot, shut up!" Xiao Chenyu barked, cutting his subordinate off.
Just Blue Silver Grass?
Xiao Chenyu practically wanted to curse. As the leader of this group, he did possess some basic knowledge.
On the Douluo Continent, practically no one who could obtain a hundred-year Soul Ring as their first Soul Ring was ordinary.
That was because he could not possibly have obtained it himself. Since someone had been able to help him obtain a hundred-year Soul Ring, he must have some power backing him.
Xiao Chenyu's father was the city lord of Nuoding City. Having watched his father's various dealings in official circles since childhood, he had picked up something of their ways, so seeing Tang San's hundred-year Soul Ring naturally made him think about Tang San's background.
For ordinary people like us, our elders would remind us not to cause trouble or offend others when we went out. As the city lord's son, Xiao Chenyu would surely also have been warned time and again not to provoke people with powerful backgrounds. Angering them could bring disaster crashing down over his head.
"Are you really a work-study student?" Xiao Chenyu could not help asking.
Tang San merely nodded.
"Make your move."
Things had reached this point, and there was no avoiding it. Xiao Chenyu silently resolved, Even if I win, I absolutely must not seriously injure him.
Xiao Chenyu lunged at Tang San. After obtaining a Soul Ring, even a ten-year Soul Ring, his explosive strength was beyond anything Wang Sheng, who had yet to add a Soul Ring, could match. Although Wang Sheng's Martial Soul was the king of beasts and surpassed Xiao Chenyu's in quality, before obtaining a Soul Ring, he could only be crushed by Xiao Chenyu.
Watching Xiao Chenyu's fierce lunge, Tang San readied himself.
Standing at the back, Lin Yan could also clearly sense that the moment Xiao Chenyu lunged, Soul Power had already spread out from his body. He could even feel the ripples of force. This was a lunge of sheer strength, without any technique whatsoever-a head-on clash.
Tang San took a defensive stance, then swiftly thrust both hands forward from his chest to meet Xiao Chenyu's wolf claws.
Victorious smiles already appeared on the faces of Xiao Chenyu's subordinates-they had seen their boss's wolf claws shatter stone with their own eyes! A Blue Silver Grass Soul Master dared meet them barehanded? He simply did not know his own limits!
But Lin Yan knew that Tang San dared take such a bold approach and meet the attack head-on because he relied on his Mysterious Jade Hand. Once cultivated to proficiency, the Mysterious Jade Hand could become as hard as cold jade. It was one of the supreme arts in the Tang Sect's Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
In an instant, Xiao Chenyu's claws collided with Tang San's palms.
With a muffled thud, blue-green and white light flared simultaneously. The blast of force sent out a ring of wind that made the surrounding spectators unsteady on their feet.
Tang San remained motionless in his defensive stance, while Xiao Chenyu's upper body swayed, and the impact sent him stumbling backward.
As he retreated, Xiao Chenyu swiftly grabbed at Tang San's hands with his wolf claws.
But when his wolf claws closed around Tang San's hands, a trace of astonishment crossed Xiao Chenyu's face, as though he had encountered something inconceivable.
Immediately afterward, Tang San spread his hands apart, forcibly wrenching them free of Xiao Chenyu's wolf claws. Turning his hands over, he seized Xiao Chenyu's wrists, pulled backward with both hands, and pressed forward, driving his right shoulder straight into Xiao Chenyu's lower abdomen.
Xiao Chenyu's large body was sent flying by the impact, landing a full three meters away.
Tang San withdrew his stance and stood straight, saying calmly, "I have other things to do, so I won't waste any more time. Let's end this here. Blue Silver Grass, Entanglement."
Just as Xiao Chenyu sprang to his feet, a dozen thick strands of Blue Silver Grass spiraled up from beneath him, winding upward like nimble snakes and instantly binding his legs tight!
"What is this?" Xiao Chenyu's expression changed in alarm. He struggled with all his strength but could not break free.
Tang San walked toward Xiao Chenyu one step at a time.
"Don't bother trying. You can't break free. My first Soul Ring came from a Mandala Snake, so my Blue Silver Grass gained the Mandala Snake's toughness. Of course, it also gained a little of the Mandala Snake's toxicity. If you think you still have the strength to fight, I don't mind letting you taste Mandala Snake venom. Oh, and by the way, I can't cure poison."
Lin Yan really could not understand why Tang San was telling others the characteristics of his Soul Skill. Was he afraid they did not know enough about it?
As Tang San finished speaking, another dozen or so strands of Blue Silver Grass silently rose behind him. Their leaves swayed gently, like venomous snakes poised to strike, coldly pointing at Xiao Chenyu.
The people opposite him were frightened by this eerie sight and backed away in unison.
Lin Yan could not help shivering either-he had been afraid of snakes since childhood. Even though this was only Blue Silver Grass that resembled snakes, it still made his skin crawl.
"Don't, don't release the poison! I concede!" Xiao Chenyu hurriedly shouted.