First Battle with Tang San

In the auditorium, a stern-faced middle-aged instructor sat upright before the testing crystal. This was Teacher Li, who was responsible for assessing the new students' Martial Souls, with the cultivation of a rank twenty-six Soul Grandmaster. Behind her, several senior students were keeping records.

"Name, age, Martial Soul, Soul Power Level, and release your Soul Ring." Teacher Li's voice was flat. She repeated this procedure countless times every year and had long since grown numb to it.

Most of the children ahead of Yan Zu had awakened farm-tool Martial Souls such as hoes and sickles, with Soul Power hovering around rank two or three. The occasional rank-five child, whose Martial Soul was a "Gale Hound," had already earned an extra glance from Teacher Li.

The line inched forward, and finally it was their turn. "Name, age, Martial Soul, Soul Power Level."

"Yan Zu, six years old, Martial Soul Qilin, rank seven."

"Xiao Wu, seven years old, Martial Soul Phantom Jade Rabbit, rank twelve."

This was the result of the Nine Yin Manual's Aura Concealment Technique. After the system's extensive modifications to the Nine Yin Manual, the Aura Concealment Technique, once mastered, could change the color and presence of Soul Rings.

Before school began, Yan Zu had also told Xiao Wu to conceal her strength as much as possible at school, in case anything unexpected happened.

Teacher Li's pen paused. She looked up and carefully studied the two of them. She had seen too many working students, most of whom had Soul Power at rank one or two. Rank three or four was already considered good. One of these children was rank seven and the other rank twelve; they were already stronger than many noble children.

"Release your Martial Souls and let me see." Her tone softened somewhat.

With a thought from Yan Zu, Little Jade leaped down from his shoulder. An auspicious presence spread out, and even the surrounding air seemed to grow a little fresher. The green plants beside the testing area put out new shoots at a speed visible to the naked eye, drawing gasps of amazement.

Teacher Li's pupils contracted slightly. "Th-this is a Beast Martial Soul? Why can it leave your body? And this vitality..."

Before he had finished speaking, Xiao Wu also released her Martial Soul. The pink phantom of a Phantom Jade Rabbit appeared. Unlike before, pale golden patterns glimmered at the tips of its ears and the end of its tail, and the usually gentle fluctuations of Soul Power carried a hint of sharpness. Xiao Wu's figure flashed across the area, leaving several afterimages behind her. Her speed was astonishing.

"What speed!" the female teacher exclaimed. "Your rabbit Martial Soul has such explosive power?"

The new students around them watched in a daze as well.

Once the test was over, the enrollment procedures went exceptionally smoothly. Teacher Li personally took them to collect their uniforms, textbooks, and dormitory key, and made a point of telling them, "You're working students, so the rules assign you to Dorm Seven. Working students must do some work on campus in exchange for reduced tuition. The dorm leader will assign your specific tasks."

"Dorm Seven..." Yan Zu understood. According to the original story, that was Tang San's first turf.

Nuoding Academy's working-student dormitories stood in the northwest corner of the academy. They were a row of low, simply furnished single-story buildings. Dorm Seven was the largest among them. When they pushed open the door, a smell of sweat and dust rushed into their faces.

A dozen or so boys of varying ages were in the room, some sitting and some lying down. When they saw Yan Zu and Xiao Wu enter, their gazes swung toward them in unison. At their head was a black-haired boy with plain clothes and an ordinary face. He sat cross-legged on a bed by the window, his calm gaze carrying a hint of scrutiny.

It was Tang San.

"New arrivals?" A sturdy, dark-skinned boy stood up. He was Wang Sheng, formerly the number two in Dorm Seven. He looked Yan Zu and Xiao Wu over, and his eyes lit up when he saw Xiao Wu's dainty, adorable appearance in particular. But he quickly put on a stern face again. "Dorm Seven has its own rules. Newcomers have to fight the boss first, and whoever wins becomes the new boss!"

He pointed at Tang San by the window.

Tang San slowly stood and walked to the center of the room. His gaze swept over Yan Zu, then lingered on Xiao Wu's face for a moment.

The girl, delicate as though carved from pink jade, gave him an inexplicable sense of familiarity and a flutter in his heart. But when he saw her standing close against Yan Zu, a groundless irritation arose in him.

"Tang San, leader of Dorm Seven." Tang San's voice was flat. "According to the rules, new working students need to show their strength. Which of you will go first?"

Xiao Wu pursed her lips and was about to step forward, but Yan Zu gently pulled her back.

"I'll go." Yan Zu stepped forward and stood facing Tang San. He was even smaller than Tang San, but his steady bearing made the other children in Dorm Seven fall quiet without realizing it.

A flicker of seriousness passed through Tang San's eyes. He could sense that the boy before him was no ordinary child. He had noticed him when the teacher personally brought him over earlier. But Tang San had cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record since childhood and possessed the Tang Sect's secret techniques; he had his own pride.

"Please." Tang San raised his hands and assumed an opening stance. His hands instantly turned lustrous white, like jade-the Mysterious Jade Hand.

He did not use his Martial Soul, intending instead to probe Yan Zu with the Tang Sect's secret techniques. His feet shifted, and his figure grew elusive as he circled toward Yan Zu's flank like a ghost-the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

The children of Dorm Seven held their breath. They had seen Tang San use this move to bring down several senior working students with ease. That ghostly, unpredictable movement technique was impossible to track.

Yet Yan Zu simply stood there, unmoving. Only when Tang San's palm was about to touch his shoulder did he lightly shift his feet.

The basic footwork of the Wind God Legs-Wind Passes Without a Trace!

There were no dazzling afterimages, no explosive burst of speed. He simply turned lightly and naturally to one side, and Tang San's palm, which had seemed certain to land, brushed past the hem of his clothes. At the same time, Yan Zu's body twisted slightly with the remaining force of Tang San's palm wind, as though he had no bones. He had already executed the Nine Yin Manual's movement technique, Snake Slithers and Cat Somersaults.

Tang San's heart tightened. His Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track changed abruptly, and his hands shifted from palms to fingers, striking at the acupoints beneath Yan Zu's ribs. Although he had never learned a dedicated acupoint-striking technique, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record contained information on the body's meridians. If that strike landed, it would be enough to leave half an ordinary person's body numb and aching.

Yan Zu remained unhurried. His footwork changed again, and like willow fluff in the wind, he floated lightly out of the finger wind's path. He never once struck back, merely dodging Tang San's increasingly swift attacks with ease.

Mysterious Jade Hand, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon... Tang San went through all the Tang Sect secret techniques he had mastered so far, yet failed to touch even the hem of Yan Zu's clothes. His opponent's footwork and movements seemed simple but were profoundly subtle, as though he had already calculated the path of Tang San's every move.

The children of Dorm Seven were already watching in a daze. Wang Sheng's mouth hung open. He had never seen anyone last so long against Tang San, much less evade every attack so easily.

Fine beads of sweat appeared on Tang San's forehead, and the pride in his heart wavered for the first time. He gritted his teeth, his Soul Power secretly surging as his First Soul Ring began to appear beneath his feet-he intended to use his Martial Soul.

At that very instant, Yan Zu moved.

He had been dodging all along, but now he took the initiative to step forward for the first time. The timing was exquisite: precisely the brief interval when Tang San's old force was spent, his new force had yet to arise, and his Soul Power was about to be released.

There was no fluctuation of Soul Power, no astonishing momentum. Yan Zu merely extended his right hand and gently aimed his index finger at the Shanzhong acupoint on Tang San's chest. A wisp of pure Nine Yin Soul Power lay within his fingertip. It moved slowly, yet sealed off every possible escape route for Tang San.

Tang San's pupils contracted sharply. He tried to dodge, only to find that his body seemed locked in place by an invisible Qi influence, leaving him unable to move for a moment!

The fingertip stopped steadily just before it touched his clothes.

"Thank you for yielding." Yan Zu withdrew his hand and stepped back, his tone calm.