Sparring

Early the next morning, the Shrek group dawdled their way to the training ground.

Yesterday's gravity training had put everyone through the wringer. Ma Hongjun still staggered a little as he walked, Oscar rubbed his lower back, and the bags under Ning Rongrong's eyes had yet to fade.

Zhao Wuji stood in the middle of the training ground with his arms folded, his fleshy face full of impatience.

"Dragging your feet like that, you little brats. We're going to the Star Dou Great Forest today to help Oscar obtain his Third Soul Ring."

After bellowing that, Zhao Wuji added, "If any of you dare fall behind on the way, I'll deal with you when we get back."

Standing beside Wang Xingyu, Xiao Wu muttered, "Why little brats? Couldn't he call us little blind bears instead?"

Wang Xingyu heard her and couldn't hold back a laugh. Everyone's gaze swung toward him in unison, including Zhao Wuji's.

Wang Xingyu hurriedly opened his fan, which bore the words "Tang Sect," and hid his face behind it. "Sorry, everyone, sorry. Something went down the wrong way."

Zhao Wuji glared at him but let it go, waving for Dai Mubai to lead the group out.

They spent the entire day traveling from Shrek toward the Star Dou Great Forest.

Toward evening, the group entered a small town along the way. Zhao Wuji sat at a table by himself, while the eight students gathered around another. The dishes had barely arrived when Ma Hongjun reached out with his chopsticks, only for Dai Mubai to slap them away.

The inn door swung open, and seven or eight people entered, all wearing matching white Soul Master robes.

Their leader was a tall, lanky fellow. His gaze swept around the inn before settling on Shrek's table. Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun exchanged a glance, both breaking into eager grins.

Xiao Wu bit her chopsticks and asked curiously, "What are you two grinning about?"

Dai Mubai lowered his voice. "The dean said that those who don't dare stir up trouble are mediocrities."

Xiao Wu frowned slightly. "I don't think that's right. Going out of your way to cause trouble and being too scared to fight back when you're bullied are two different things."

Dai Mubai shook his head. "In the world of Soul Masters, strength reigns supreme."

Wang Xingyu was about to speak, but to his surprise, Tang San spoke first. "The strong swing their blades at those stronger than themselves; the weak swing theirs at those weaker."

Wang Xingyu froze. He himself had forgotten when he had said that to Tang San. He had probably mentioned it in passing one day while the two were cultivating on the back mountain. He hadn't expected Tang San to remember it.

"Little San," Wang Xingyu said, hiding his mouth behind his fan, "I'm so touched."

Inside, however, he was roaring: Nice, nice! Tang San's already a model young man!

Tang San's words left Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun speechless. They wanted to argue, but couldn't find anything to argue against, so they sat down in frustration.

They had barely sat down when the tall, lanky fellow from Canghui Academy across the room spoke up in a mocking tone. "You over there, the one with the fan. You're so young, so why are you pretending to be some dashing scholar? You even wrote on your fan. You look like an idiot."

Douluo's folk customs were truly simple and honest. He had just stopped the others from looking for trouble with Blue Sunshine Academy, but he hadn't expected Blue Sunshine Academy to provoke them first.

Wang Xingyu snapped his fan shut.

The people beside the fellow joined in. "And you, girl with the braid, stop hanging around with these country bumpkins. Come over and have some good food with us."

"Damn it. Sister Xiao Wu, beat him up."

"Way to go!" Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun sprang to their feet almost simultaneously, identical grins on their faces and excitement bursting from their voices.

Xiao Wu had already rushed out. "So now you know to call me sister?"

Moon Shadow left three afterimages in the inn's narrow aisle. Before the tall fellow could react, a kick caught him behind the knee, dropping him to one knee. Waist Bow followed immediately, and a second kick struck his waist, sending him flying into an empty table and overturning it.

Dai Mubai followed close behind, his White Tiger Martial Soul possessing him. A swipe of his claw sent one person flying.

Ma Hongjun flipped his right hand, and a rooster's comb sprouted on his head. He was just about to open his mouth and shout his Soul Skill when Wang Xingyu's fan firmly stopped his mouth.

"If you spray fire, we'll have to pay for the damage. Don't do anything. Those two are enough." Ma Hongjun blinked. The flames rolled around in his throat before he swallowed them back down, and he reluctantly withdrew his Martial Soul.

There was no suspense. Xiao Wu and Dai Mubai moved as though no one could stand in their way, and in less than a moment, all eight Canghui students lay sprawled on the floor.

Dai Mubai approached the last student, who was cowering in a corner. Just as he was about to throw another punch, a hand suddenly reached out from the side and clamped firmly around his wrist. A jolt of Soul Power sent Dai Mubai stumbling back two steps.

The student in the corner looked up and cried out tearfully, "Teacher!"

The newcomer was a middle-aged man in his fifties, wearing the same white Soul Master robe as the students, though his collar was edged in gold.

He wasn't tall, but his shoulders were exceptionally broad, and he stood there like a millstone. He glanced at the students rolling on the floor, and his face darkened. "What sect are you from? Are you trying to make an enemy of Canghui Academy?"

Dai Mubai flexed his wrist. "Don't make such a fuss. We were just sparring."

"Sparring?" The middle-aged man sneered. Five Soul Rings rose from beneath his feet: two yellow, two purple, and one black, the optimal combination. The oppressive presence of a Soul King spread through the inn. "If you want to spar, I'll oblige."

Wang Xingyu set down his chopsticks. "If you're going to fight, do it outside."

The group left the inn and came to an open space at the edge of town. The moon shone bright and clear, lighting the ground as though it were day. The middle-aged man stood in the center of the clearing, his Black Tortoise Martial Soul possessing him. The illusory image of a tortoise shell appeared behind him, and five Soul Rings pulsed up and down.

Wang Xingyu opened his fan, while Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged a glance. All three extended their right hands at once. Their first rings were yellow, their second rings purple.

The three purple rings were particularly dazzling in the moonlight.

The middle-aged man's expression changed. He stared at the three thousand-year Second Soul Rings, and his previously steady Soul King presence visibly faltered.

He knew that the limit for a Second Soul Ring was only a hundred years. Were these monsters with thousand-year second rings raised by some great sect?

Just what were these children's backgrounds?

Fortunately, only these three children had thousand-year Second Soul Rings. The other five all had normal hundred-year second rings.

Ma Hongjun glanced at the three thousand-year Second Soul Rings and remarked that they had stolen all his thunder.

Seeing that their opponent still didn't dare come forward, Wang Xingyu snapped his fan shut. "We already told you, it's just sparring."

The middle-aged man stood where he was, the light of his Black Tortoise Martial Soul flickering, but his feet didn't take a step forward.

He couldn't see through these children's backgrounds, much less the forces behind them. If he won, word of him bullying the young as their elder would sound bad, and if he drew out the sects behind them, that would be even more trouble. If he lost, where could he hide his old face in front of so many students?

Ma Hongjun grew impatient with the wait. He poked his head out from behind the others and shouted at the top of his lungs, "Are you going to come at us or not, you bastard tortoise?"

The muscles in the middle-aged man's face twitched violently, and veins bulged on his forehead. "I'm not a bastard tortoise! I'm a Black Tortoise!"

Before his words had faded, he charged over. His Black Tortoise Martial Soul erupted with all its power, the illusory tortoise shell shining dazzlingly beneath the moonlight.

Dai Mubai bore the brunt of the charge, his White Tiger Martial Soul possessing him as Ning Rongrong used her Soul Skill, First: Strength.

His tiger claw met the attack head-on, striking the shell with a muffled thud. He was knocked back three steps, the web between his thumb and forefinger tingling. The middle-aged man snorted coldly, and the illusory shell shook violently. A ring of watery blue light rippled outward, knocking Dai Mubai and Ma Hongjun back at the same time.

Tang San's Blue Silver Grass spread along the ground, eight vines winding toward Ye Zhiqiu's limbs and torso from different angles.

Wang Xingyu's Blue Silver Grass extended at the same time. His Second Soul Ring lit up, and Flying Fluff's silvery-white seeds attached themselves to every vine.

Ye Zhiqiu let out a low shout, and watery blue light surged from the shell, snapping the vines one after another. But new shoots immediately sprouted from the breaks-Offshoot. One became two, two became four, and instead of dwindling, the vines wrapped around him in ever-increasing numbers.

Ye Zhiqiu frowned. He wasn't afraid of meeting force with force, but the vines that multiplied the more he fought kept him from concentrating on any one person.

Every time he locked onto a target, new vines coiled around his feet, as though he had stepped into a living swamp.

He could do nothing to this group of slippery children, and they couldn't break through his defenses either.

And so the two sides reached a stalemate.

"What's all this racket in the middle of the night? Get back to bed, all of you!"

A rough voice came from the direction of the inn. Zhao Wuji walked over with his coat draped over his shoulders, impatience on his face. His fleshy features looked especially fierce in the moonlight.

Ye Zhiqiu withdrew his Martial Soul and stared at Zhao Wuji. "Are you their teacher? What force do you belong to?"

Zhao Wuji yawned and glanced at him. "Old bastard tortoise, what business is it of yours what force we belong to?"

The muscles in Ye Zhiqiu's face twitched violently. "I'm a Black Tortoise! Not a bastard tortoise!"

Before his words had faded, he charged at Zhao Wuji. The illusory tortoise shell lit up again, and his five Soul Rings blazed.

Zhao Wuji stood where he was without even activating his Martial Soul and casually slapped him with his right hand. A crisp smack rang out. Ye Zhiqiu flew sideways, snapped a tree as thick as a bowl, and hit the ground, skidding a long way before lying still.

Zhao Wuji looked at his palm and grinned, revealing a mouthful of uneven teeth. "Slapping someone without using my Martial Soul feels great."

The Canghui Academy students scrambled to help Ye Zhiqiu up. Holding the swollen side of his face, Ye Zhiqiu glanced at Zhao Wuji. Without saying a word, he turned and left with his students. His steps were much quicker than when he had arrived.

Zhao Wuji turned to the Shrek group. "Why aren't you getting back to bed? We still have to travel tomorrow."

Dai Mubai was the first to turn back, with Ma Hongjun following behind him, muttering, "One slap and it was over. How boring." Wang Xingyu closed his fan and walked shoulder to shoulder with Tang San at the back of the group.

The Canghui Academy group had already vanished into the night.