Practical combat

After everyone finished a lap around the field, Wang Xingyu thought he still had to run after all. Still, it wasn't too bad; it was only one lap.

Grandmaster stood in the middle of the field, Luo Sanpao lying at his feet. He glanced over the group and spoke without any unnecessary pleasantries.

"I've read your files, but the information in them is static. I need to see your practical combat abilities."

His gaze settled on Dai Mubai. "Dai Mubai, your level is the highest. I want you to fight each of the other seven."

Dai Mubai froze for a moment. Of the seven he had to fight separately, he wasn't too worried about anyone except Tang San and Xiao Wu. But both Tang San and Xiao Wu had thousand-year Second Soul Rings, which made things a little tricky.

Grandmaster seemed to see through his thoughts and added, "Don't worry. You'll fight Tang San first.

"Tang San, I'm restricting you from using Hidden Weapons, your Third Soul Skill, or the Eight Spider Lances."

Dai Mubai nodded.

Wang Xingyu stood to the side. He remembered that, in the original story, Dai Mubai had protested to Grandmaster at this point, feeling that the restrictions on the fight belittled his strength.

But Dai Mubai didn't protest this time. That was probably because he and Tang San had already fought at the Rose Hotel. Tang San had two rings then, and the two had fought to a draw.

The two walked to the center of the field and took their positions facing each other.

Dai Mubai didn't test the waters. His White Tiger Martial Soul instantly possessed him, white tiger fur covering his entire body. His First Soul Ring lit up. White Tiger Protection Barrier. Immediately afterward, his Third Soul Ring lit up. White Tiger Vajra Transformation.

His body grew taller, the lines of his muscles becoming more sharply defined. He looked like a fierce tiger poised to strike. Second Soul Skill-White Tiger Fierce Light Wave.

A pillar of white light erupted from his mouth, flying straight at Tang San's face.

Three Soul Skills, stacked together in almost the space of a breath.

Tang San's pupils contracted slightly. Dai Mubai's all-out attack had indeed startled him, but his hands didn't hesitate for an instant.

Blue Silver vines reached out from his palm. His First Soul Ring lit up, and Iron Thorn Strangulation activated. Layer upon layer of vines interwove into a net in front of him.

The White Tiger Fierce Light Wave struck the vine net. The two vines at the front shattered instantly, fragments spinning through the air. The third was driven backward with a series of creaks, and the attack was finally stopped completely at the fourth vine.

The moment the pillar of light dissipated, Tang San saw a fist burst through the luminous dust, heading straight for his face.

Dai Mubai had charged in behind the White Tiger Fierce Light Wave all along. Using the luminous dust as cover, he struck straight at Tang San's center with a tiger claw empowered by White Tiger Vajra Transformation.

Tang San instantly activated Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, retreating at speed and narrowly dodging. But the punch had come too fast. Although he had opened up some distance, the wind from the blow still grazed his shoulder.

The force knocked him sideways. He went with it, rolling to dissipate the impact, then steadied himself on one knee after several turns.

The whole exchange of attack and defense had lasted less than ten seconds. Ma Hongjun's mouth hung open, and Oscar's eyes were nearly popping out of his head.

Grandmaster stood at the edge of the field, looking at the gap blasted through the vine net and Tang San kneeling in the distance. Then he looked at Dai Mubai, who had just finished his attack and was repositioning himself.

At Dai Mubai's decisiveness and Tang San's reaction, he slowly nodded.

Tang San got to his feet and brushed the grass clippings off his trouser legs. "I almost didn't react in time. You linked those three Soul Skills together too tightly, and White Tiger Vajra Transformation pushed your speed to the limit."

Dai Mubai stood where he was, his chest rising and falling slightly. Suddenly, he gave a rueful smile. "I used my full strength and had the initiative. You didn't even activate your Third Soul Skill, but you defused the surprise attack on reaction alone and kept yourself in position to counterattack." He let out a long breath. "But I'm not giving up that easily."

Tang San said nothing, merely summoning his Blue Silver vines again. This time, he wasn't defending; he was taking the offensive. The vines spread across the ground, his Second Soul Ring lit up, and Offshoot activated. One vine split into two, two split into four, and Blue Silver vines surged toward Dai Mubai, blotting out the sky and covering the earth.

Dai Mubai lowered his stance and struck repeatedly with his tiger claws, shattering the vines at the front. But new shoots immediately sprouted from the breaks. Each vine he snapped split into two, and the cycle repeated. Far from diminishing, the vines tangled around him in ever greater numbers.

Entangled, Dai Mubai was driven back step by step. Vines carpeted the ground beneath his feet, and he had to tear several apart with every step just to move half an inch. He finally stopped, braced his hands on his knees, and panted heavily.

"I surrender."

Tang San withdrew the vines, walked over, and held out a hand to Dai Mubai. Dai Mubai glanced at him, took his hand, and used the leverage to stand.

"The range of that Second Soul Skill of yours has grown since last time at the Rose Hotel." His tone carried a trace of helplessness.

"Offshoot is meant for fighting battles of attrition," Tang San said, his voice still steady. "In terms of explosive power, your White Tiger Fierce Light Wave's destructive force far exceeds that of any single vine of mine."

"But you'd trap me to death." Dai Mubai shook his head.

Grandmaster let him rest for a few minutes. "Next group." He opened the booklet in his hand. "Dai Mubai against Ma Hongjun and Oscar."

The moment Ma Hongjun heard his name, he sprang up from the ground and brushed the grass clippings off his backside. "Boss Dai, you're not going to take all your frustration out on the two of us, are you?"

"Cut the nonsense. Fight." Dai Mubai flexed his wrists.

Oscar ran over from the side, already clutching two Mushroom Sausages and several Recovery Sausages, looking rather eager to try. "Fatty, don't chicken out. I'll help you."

"Who's chickening out? This is tactical positioning!"

Dai Mubai's Tiger Martial Soul instantly possessed him, white tiger fur covering his entire body. His First Soul Ring lit up. White Tiger Protection Barrier. Immediately afterward, his Second Soul Ring lit up. White Tiger Fierce Light Wave.

Ma Hongjun reacted extremely quickly, using Bathing Fire Phoenix and Phoenix Fire Line together. He even made Dai Mubai take a step back.

"Boss Dai, you're no good! How come you're backing up?" Ma Hongjun's mouth showed no mercy as another Phoenix Fire Line shot from it, the crimson line of fire heading straight for Dai Mubai's face.

Dai Mubai was completely fired up by those words, "no good." His Third Soul Ring lit up again. White Tiger Vajra Transformation. His body grew taller, the lines of his muscles becoming more sharply defined. Like an enraged tiger, he charged straight at Ma Hongjun through the Phoenix Fire Line.

Ma Hongjun ate a Mushroom Sausage in one bite. A pair of translucent wings spread from his back, and he shot up into the air. Hovering a short distance above Dai Mubai's head, he poured Phoenix Fire Lines down from above, laughing as he fired. "Boss Dai, don't forget, I'm not fighting alone!"

Dai Mubai looked up at the fatty constantly spitting lines of fire at him from the air, then suddenly turned to look at Oscar not far away.

Oscar was tossing several Recovery Sausages to the fatty. When he unexpectedly met Dai Mubai's gaze, his face immediately broke into an extremely awkward smile. "Boss Dai, I'm just support. Keep fighting the fatty; don't mind me-"

Before he finished speaking, he had already turned and started running, stuffing a Mushroom Sausage into his mouth as he went. Just as Dai Mubai's tiger claw reached for him, a Phoenix Fire Line came crashing down from the air, landing squarely between them. Dai Mubai had to dodge to the side.

"Boss Dai, I told you there were two of us!" Ma Hongjun was so pleased with himself in midair that his wings were almost throwing sparks. After Oscar took flight, he continued passing sausages to the fatty. The two moved to a new spot after each attack, coordinating with remarkable ease.

Grandmaster watched from the sidelines for a moment, then shook his head. "Tang San, go help Dai Mubai. Xiao Wu, go help Ma Hongjun and Oscar."

Tang San nodded and entered the field. Dai Mubai was being pinned down by Ma Hongjun's Phoenix Fire Lines, unable to lift his head. When he saw Tang San coming, he breathed a sigh of relief. "Hold him down, and I'll go up and beat him."

Ma Hongjun saw Tang San enter the field from the air, and his face immediately fell. "We're done for, we're done for! Third Brother's here! Oscar, give me a sausage, quick! I need more firepower!"

Xiao Wu was about to follow when Wang Xingyu suddenly caught her wrist. He leaned close to her ear and said a few words in a low voice. Xiao Wu's eyes lit up, and the corners of her mouth curled high. "Okay, I'll try it."

Xiao Wu walked to the center of the field and tossed her scorpion braid back as she faced Tang San, a mysterious little smile on her lips. "Third Brother, watch out."

Her Second Soul Ring lit up, and Moonfall activated.

She leaped high into the air, paused briefly, and came crashing down toward the top of Tang San's head. Tang San quickly judged where she would land and prepared to dodge to the side, Blue Silver vines reaching out from his palm just in case.

Moonfall's attack followed a straight path, and he was absolutely confident he could dodge it.

Xiao Wu came crashing down. But halfway through her descent, she suddenly vanished from where she was, leaving only a streak of scarlet light.

Teleportation!

Tang San's pupils contracted. "Not good."

He wanted to dodge, but there was too little time. The streak of scarlet light had already appeared directly above his head. Xiao Wu emerged from Teleportation, her right foot smashing down with the force of Moonfall.

Fortunately, the aim had deliberately been set a little off. Her heel brushed past Tang San's ear and slammed into the ground, stamping out a small round pit beside him. Grass clippings flew up and landed on his trouser legs.

"Third Brother, you lost!" Xiao Wu pulled her foot out of the pit, her scorpion braid swaying smugly. She turned to look at Wang Xingyu at the edge of the field. "Xingyu, that move of yours really works!"

Ma Hongjun had witnessed the whole thing from the air and had nearly forgotten to keep spitting fire lines. "Damn, Teleportation can be used like that? First pretend to come crashing down, then teleport right above his head-who could dodge that?"

Dai Mubai also froze for a moment, then shook his head. "Just how many sneaky tricks like that does that kid have in his head?"

Grandmaster made a few notes in the booklet in his hand, then looked up. "All right, everyone stop."

Ma Hongjun hovered in the air, so pleased with himself that his tail was almost pointing at the heavens. "Hahaha, we won."