"Hahahaha..." Xiao Chenyu couldn't help but burst into laughter. "Little girl, you really are adorable. I'm starting to like you more and more as a pet."
Xiao Wu clearly had no patience for his nonsense. "Cut the crap. Let's get started. You say how we fight!"
Xiao Chenyu grinned mischievously. "Same old rules. I'll send ten people from my side, and you working students send ten from yours. We fight one-on-one. The winner stays to face the next opponent, until one side is completely wiped out."
"Fine, I'll go first!" Wang Sheng gritted his teeth and stepped forward.
"Wang Sheng, looks like you're itching for a beating again!" From behind Xiao Chenyu, a tall student walked out.
Seeing the familiar figure, Wang Sheng took a deep breath. "Liu Long, it's not over yet—we'll see who wins!"
A yellow light gleamed from Liu Long's hands as a two-meter-long staff instantly appeared in his grasp. "Loser, today I'm going to beat you so hard you can't get out of bed!"
Before Wang Sheng could respond, Xiao Wu laughed from the back. "If you lose, we'll just call you 'Wilted Liu'!"
Liu Long's face darkened. He stomped forward, his staff striking directly at Wang Sheng's head.
Wang Sheng also flared up with yellow soul energy, letting out a tiger-like roar as he charged to meet the attack.
A longer weapon always gives an edge!
With his martial spirit being a staff, Liu Long had a significant advantage. Within just a few moves, Wang Sheng was already at a disadvantage, his arms marked with bloody welts from the staff.
"It's over! A peasant will always be a peasant. Even with cultivation, you're still trash!"
Liu Long leapt into the air, swinging his staff toward Wang Sheng's head.
From a distance, Xiao Yan, who had just arrived at the back mountain, dared not hold back. Using his Ghost Shadow Mist Step to the limit, his body turned into a blur and appeared beside Wang Sheng in an instant. With one step forward, he struck Liu Long square in the chest.
The sudden intervention caught Liu Long, merely a Soul Scholar, completely off guard.
He only felt a sharp pain in his chest and stared in disbelief at the student who had suddenly appeared.
Xiao Yan grabbed the yellow staff martial spirit from him, casually examining it. It felt no different from an ordinary iron rod—clearly not high quality.
Liu Long staggered back a few steps before regaining his balance. Seeing his martial spirit in the opponent's hand, he shouted, "Give me back my martial spirit!"
Can't retrieve it yourself?
Xiao Yan raised an eyebrow. "Give it back? Let's see if you can catch it."
"Your right hand!" Xiao Yan's tone sharpened as he swung the staff without haste.
Liu Long immediately tensed up, focusing all his attention on defending his right hand.
Although Xiao Yan spoke before attacking, the staff still struck Liu Long's hand first.
Liu Long's plan to defend first and then retrieve his martial spirit was completely disrupted.
Struck by his own martial spirit, Liu Long winced and stepped back, shaking his hand in pain.
Xiao Yan still remembered the horrifying wounds on Wang Sheng's body from that day. He had long wanted to teach these noble bullies a lesson. As he struck, he called out each target spot:
"Left hand, left calf, right calf..."
Although Xiao Yan announced each spot before swinging, Liu Long always reacted a second too late.
To onlookers, it looked like Liu Long was fumbling from left to right, upper to lower—comically out of sync.
Even some of the noble students on his side couldn't help but laugh.
"Fine, take it back! Catch!"
Xiao Yan held the staff horizontally, tossed it forward.
Liu Long, ignoring the pain, reached out to catch it—but again, he was too slow. The staff struck him hard in the chest.
A powerful force traveled through the staff, sending Liu Long flying several meters. Strangely enough, the martial spirit landed right back in his hand.
The duel was over in less than a minute, yet the outcome was clear.
Wang Sheng, watching from the side, was stunned. Had Xiao Yan gotten that strong after absorbing just one soul ring?
Even Xiao Wu, not far away, was shocked. She'd fought Xiao Yan multiple times before.
Seeing him fight now, she could clearly feel his strength had grown tremendously. Even with her newly acquired soul ring, she wasn't sure she could beat him.
"Who are you? Another working student?" Xiao Chenyu asked coldly.
This student's sudden appearance—his speed and strength—was too overwhelming!
For a moment, Xiao Chenyu couldn't believe this guy was just a working student.
Xiao Yan ignored the noble and turned to Wang Sheng's arm. "Just superficial wounds. Use the healing medicine I gave you last time. You'll be fine soon."
Having used Xiao Yan's medicine once before, Wang Sheng knew firsthand how potent it was.
"It's okay, I'm used to it." Wang Sheng waved it off. "Xiao Yan, why'd you show up so suddenly? That was way too close!"
He paused, then added: "Xiao Yan, did you time it perfectly just to save me?"
"No way." Xiao Yan shrugged. "I got back not long ago and heard you guys clashed with the nobles. I just found this place."
Wang Sheng explained, "Originally, we weren't going to fight so soon. But today, Xiao Wu ran into Xiao Chenyu. When she found out he wanted to keep us working students as pets, she completely lost it and challenged him. I couldn't stop her."
Xiao Wu walked over. "Xiao Yan, you're finally back. You still owe me a ton of wages!"
After hearing Wang Sheng's story, Xiao Yan realized his guess was right and chuckled. "Let's settle that after we take care of this mess."
Having been ignored like thin air for half a day, Xiao Chenyu sneered. "So you're the one called Xiao Yan? The new leader of the working students? Sharing my surname is your misfortune!"
Xiao Yan stepped forward a few paces, scanning the group of over ten noble students. "So you're the so-called 'Little Tyrant' Boss Xiao? Anyone else planning to fight? Bring it on, all at once."
Before his words even faded, Wang Sheng panicked. "Xiao Yan, you're being reckless! Xiao Chenyu is already a Soul Master, and his companions are no pushovers either. You can't beat them all alone!"
Xiao Wu had always thought of herself as fearless, but even she was surprised—Xiao Yan was even bolder than her!
Sure, he had a soul ring now and was a Soul Master, but taking on over ten people, including another Soul Master? That was suicide.
"So you're just a meathead with a bit of power." Xiao Chenyu sneered.
He'd thought Wang Sheng's respected new leader might actually be skilled. Turned out he was just another muscle-head with no brains.
Xiao Chenyu flexed his wrists. "Don't worry, we won't gang up on you. I'll accept your challenge myself. I'll show you just how big the gap is between a commoner and a noble!"
(End of Chapter)