First Soul Fight

Two more days passed.

That day, Jing Hongchen was taking a rare day off at home instead of going to Mingde Hall.

Warm sunlight spilled over the courtyard. Bao Liang held a copy of "Basic Theory of Soul Tools," reading until he grew drowsy; Meng Hongchen lay on a recliner beside him, flipping through a copy of her grandfather's notes on Soul Tools and letting out an exclamation of wonder every now and then.

Only Xiao Hongchen stood straight in the middle of the courtyard, staring at Bao Liang with burning eyes.

"Bao Liang, let's have a Soul Fight."

"...Huh?"

Bao Liang nearly slid off his chair.

He dug a finger into his ear, and once he was sure he had heard correctly, he looked at Xiao Hongchen as though he had seen a ghost. "Xiao, have you been cultivating so hard lately that you've fried your brain?"

"Sister Meng!" Bao Liang immediately turned and shouted. "Quick! Freeze Xiao and cool him down! Look, the poor kid's fever has cooked his brain, and now he's talking nonsense!"

"Coming right up!" Meng Hongchen jumped to her feet and made a show of rolling up her sleeves. "Xiao, hold still. I'll cool you down right away!"

"You're the one with a fried brain!" Xiao Hongchen's face darkened.

"Get lost! Both of you, get lost!" Xiao Hongchen flew into a rage, a vein throbbing at his temple. "My head's perfectly clear! Clearer than both of yours put together!"

"Then why did you suddenly ask me for a Soul Fight?" Bao Liang spread his hands. "I didn't do anything to you."

Xiao Hongchen took a deep breath and grew serious for once. "We may become Soul Engineers in the future, but on the path of a Soul Master, we absolutely have to experience combat and learn how to fight.

"A Soul Engineer is still a type of Soul Master, after all. Soul Power, Soul Skills, adapting on the spot-we'll need all of those sooner or later."

"We can't go onto a battlefield someday knowing nothing but how to hide behind a gun emplacement and press a switch, can we?"

The courtyard fell silent for a moment.

Bao Liang blinked. Suddenly, he felt that Xiao Hongchen's words... made quite a bit of sense.

After all, if he had the stats but didn't know how to use them, wouldn't people play him like a monkey someday? What a joke!

"You're right." Meng Hongchen was the first to nod. "Xiao, you finally said something sensible."

"What do you mean, finally said something sensible?" Xiao Hongchen sputtered. "Everything I say is sensible!"

"Yeah, you've got a point." Bao Liang nodded too, unusually choosing not to argue. "On the path of a Soul Master, fists have the final say.

"If all you can do is cultivate and you can't fight, you're just putting on a show."

Jing Hongchen sat beneath the eaves with a cup of tea. Hearing this, he gave his grandson an approving look. "Xiao is right.

"You three will leave the Hongchen residence sooner or later. When that happens, no one will go easy on you just because you're young.

"There's no harm in learning to fight early."

"All right!" Bao Liang slapped his thigh and stood up. "I'm in!"

"But-" He raised a finger and looked at Xiao Hongchen with a grin. "Let's get one thing straight first. This is a Soul Fight, but I'm not going to get serious."

"Why?" Xiao Hongchen stared at him.

"Because it's a Soul Fight, not a fight to the death." Bao Liang spoke as though it were only natural. "Besides, you're my future brother-in-law. Only an idiot would go all out."

"...Who's your future brother-in-law?!" Xiao Hongchen bristled at once, while Little Meng lowered her head, her face flushed red.

"Hehe, slip of the tongue, slip of the tongue." Bao Liang drew his head back. "Anyway, we'll stop before anyone gets hurt, so fight without worrying!"

"That's more like it." Xiao Hongchen snorted and turned toward the training ground. "Let's go."

Before long, everyone had moved to the training ground.

At its center, Bao Liang and Xiao Hongchen stood facing each other, twenty paces apart.

Jing Hongchen sat at the edge of the field, acting as referee.

Meng Hongchen brought over a little folding stool and sat beside her grandfather. At some point, she had acquired a dish of sunflower seeds, and she looked ready to enjoy every bit of the spectacle.

"Sister Meng, you'd better cheer me on!" Bao Liang shouted in protest.

"Go, go!" Meng Hongchen waved halfheartedly as she cracked sunflower seeds. "Go, Little Baozi! You too, Xiao! Don't hit each other too hard. If you get hurt, it'll cost money to treat you!"

Bao Liang: "..."

Xiao Hongchen: "..."

"All right." Jing Hongchen set down his teacup and raised his hand. "The rules of the Soul Fight: a contestant loses if they concede, are knocked out of the field, or lose the ability to fight.

"In addition, the destruction attribute and methods that cause permanent injury are forbidden.

"Since this is a Soul Fight between Soul Engineers, Storage Soul Tools are allowed. You two, bring out all your gear."

"Yes, Grandpa."

Xiao Hongchen raised his hand, and a flash of light appeared. The Storage Soul Tool on his wrist opened, and piece after piece of equipment flew out and landed beside him.

A Soul Guidance Ray Gun, a Soul Guidance armguard, a Soul Guidance shield, a silver-white metal spear, a short dagger... All manner of things covered the ground, making him look like a little armory.

Bao Liang's eyelids twitched at the sight. "...Xiao, are you moving house or fighting?"

"The way a Soul Engineer fights is to prepare everything in advance." Xiao Hongchen's lips curled upward. "After all, I don't have your ability to turn stones into bombs whenever and wherever I want."

"Good." Jing Hongchen's hand came down sharply. "Begin!"

The instant his words fell, Xiao Hongchen made the first move.

He snatched up the Soul Guidance Ray Gun and fired. A searing white ray tore through the air, heading straight for Bao Liang's face!

Bao Liang had been ready. He rolled to the side, dodging the ray.

At the same time, he picked up a stone from the ground and poured Soul Power into it.

Whoosh!

He flung the stone at Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen swung the gun around, and the ray struck the stone dead on. Bang! The stone exploded in midair, scattering fragments everywhere.

"That's it?" Xiao Hongchen raised an eyebrow.

"Don't rush." Bao Liang grinned and picked up another stone. "I've got plenty more where that came from."

And so, a bizarre scene unfolded on the training ground-

Xiao Hongchen held his Soul Guidance Ray Gun, shooting down the stone bombs Bao Liang threw at him one by one. Bao Liang, meanwhile, scoured the ground for stones, throwing them as he dodged the rays, looking just like a monkey leaping up and down.

"Little Baozi! Go!" Meng Hongchen called as she cracked sunflower seeds. "If you run out of stones, I've got some sunflower seed shells here!"

"...Sister Meng, shut up!"

After more than a dozen exchanges, the glow of Xiao Hongchen's ray gun gradually dimmed. It had consumed a considerable amount of Soul Power.

Bao Liang had been waiting for this very moment.

He swung his hand, and a ball of orange-red light flew from his palm and landed on the ground. The second bomb, Withering Heart Attack!

A palm-sized, orange-red Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff roared as it took shape. It turned its head from side to side, then charged straight at the still-steaming Soul Guidance Ray Gun in Xiao Hongchen's hand!

"You've got to be kidding!" Xiao Hongchen's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly tried to stuff the ray gun into his Storage Soul Tool-but it was already too late!

Boom!

The little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff slammed headfirst into the ray gun, and a deafening explosion rang out.

The ray gun was blasted to pieces, sending metal fragments flying.

The blast wave knocked Xiao Hongchen two steps back, his face livid.

"Bao Liang! You blew up my equipment!"

"Tactics are part of your strength too." Bao Liang picked up another stone with a grin. "Xiao, how much more gear do you have? Bring it all out and let your little brother have a look."

"You-!" Xiao Hongchen ground his teeth in anger, but he had no choice. He drew the metal spear for close combat.

Whoosh!

The spear thrust forward, a flash of silver light.

Bao Liang dodged to the side and slapped the stone in his hand against the shaft. Bang! The spearhead blew off.

Xiao Hongchen: "..."

Expressionless, he threw away the shaft, pulled out the short dagger, and charged again.

Bang! The dagger broke.

Xiao Hongchen: "..."

He pulled out more weapons-metal throwing darts!

Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!

Bao Liang dodged and intercepted them with stone bombs, occasionally sending another little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff chasing after Xiao Hongchen.

Xiao Hongchen was beaten until his head was covered in bumps. His equipment was ruined one piece at a time, and his face grew darker and darker.

"Are you ever going to stop?!"

"That depends on how much equipment you have left, Xiao." Bao Liang spoke as though it were only natural. "I call this-tactical attrition!"

"...Tactical, my foot!"

At the edge of the field, Meng Hongchen laughed so hard she dropped her sunflower seeds. Even Jing Hongchen wore a rare expression of not knowing whether to laugh or cry.

After another dozen or so exchanges, Xiao Hongchen finally ran out of equipment.

He stood where he was, empty-handed, looking across at Bao Liang, who still had a handful of stones, with a little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff crouched at his feet, eyeing Xiao Hongchen hungrily-

"...I concede."

"Huh?" Bao Liang stared at him. "Xiao, you're not fighting anymore?"

"Fight with what?!" Xiao Hongchen's face was dark. "You blew up all my equipment! If we keep fighting, what am I supposed to use to cultivate tomorrow?!"

"Hehe." Bao Liang hurriedly recalled the remaining half of the little Golden-Haired Lion Mastiff into his Martial Soul. "Then, how about we call it a draw?"

"Draw, my foot! A win is a win!" Xiao Hongchen turned and walked away, but after two steps he came back and glared fiercely at him. "Next time, when I've remade my equipment, we'll fight again!"

"Sure, sure, sure. Anytime!"

On the training ground, one of the two little figures was full of swagger, while the other wore a cheeky grin.

The sunlight stretched their shadows long, so long they seemed to reach into a distant, distant future.