Xiao Mei's heart skipped a beat as she twisted her waist and leaned back just in time to narrowly dodge the fierce strike. The sudden motion made her already full chest appear even more pronounced. She sprang backward, putting some distance between herself and the attacker.
"Nice reflexes," the scar-faced youth praised lightly. "Looks like you've got some skill after all."
"Tsk tsk… Sorry about that." The scholarly-looking youth landed in front of the scar-faced one, a faint smirk on his lips. "Ever since our captain got his face slashed by a woman, he loses it every time he sees a beautiful girl. Apologies, apologies!"
"You talk too much," the scar-faced youth said coldly before disappearing in a flash, charging toward Xiao Mei again.
The scholar glanced briefly at the three little girls, then at Qing Lin, and finally settled his gaze on Goku. He smiled faintly. "Well now, how about sparring with me for a few moves?"
"You're not worthy of challenging Lord Goku," Qing Lin stepped forward to block him. "Your opponent is me."
"Oh? Hiding behind a girl, are we?" The scholar turned to Goku with a mocking expression. Due to his nature, he usually avoided fighting women.
"Enough chatter—go ahead, Qing Lin," Goku said indifferently, completely ignoring the man as though he were beneath his notice. This battle was a test for the girls, and he had no intention of interfering. Growth only came through real combat.
"Yes, Lord Goku!" Qing Lin replied respectfully. Her gentle expression sharpened into one of firm resolve. Her Dou Qi surged, and with a flash, she struck straight toward the scholar's chest!
Feeling the sharp force behind her palm, the scholar's expression changed dramatically. "A Great battle master?! Damn… Already a Great battle master at that age? That's insane!" He quickly composed himself, but his thoughts were clearly shaken. "Looks like this batch of new students is seriously monstrous. As an upperclassman, I can't afford to embarrass myself."
He exhaled and shed his usual carefree smirk. While these newcomers were clearly gifted, students who had entered the Inner Academy were no pushovers either. They had their own foundations and pride—there was no reason to fear a few talented freshmen.
"No matter how talented you are, until you fully mature, you'd better learn your place in the Inner Academy!"
With a loud shout, the scholar's Dou Qi surged, forming a crimson suit of energy armor around his body. The pressure he exuded was powerful—he was also a Great battle master, and clearly even stronger than Qing Lin.
---
Despite feeling the opponent's overwhelming aura, Qing Lin remained unfazed. Her strikes didn't slow—in fact, they grew even fiercer.
"Hmph! You chose to fight, so don't expect me to hold back!" the scholar growled. With silver Dou Qi surging around his fist, he launched it directly toward Qing Lin's oncoming strike.
Boom!
As the two fists collided, the ground beneath them cracked and splintered, sending dirt and debris flying in all directions.
Though Qing Lin's fist looked delicate, it struck like a mountain. The scholar felt as if he'd punched solid granite. Not only did he fail to injure her, he was knocked back dozens of steps, pain surging through his organs like fire.
Wiping blood from his mouth, he looked at Qing Lin with a mixture of shock and awe.
'She looks so fragile… but her strength is terrifying! She must be practicing some top-tier technique. Ugh, maybe this ambush wasn't the smartest idea after all…'
"Hoho… Seems like Scholar-boy took a beating," said one of the three remaining young men perched on the treetops. Realizing these freshmen were far from ordinary, they leapt down from the branches and charged toward the two ongoing fights.
But just as they moved, three tiny figures stepped into their path.
Karin giggled and said sweetly, "Did you forget about us?"
As she spoke, powerful Dou Qi erupted from all three girls, making the three young men's faces turn pale.
"Great battle Masters?! All three of them?! What the hell?! Since when did talent come so cheap?!"
"So what if they're geniuses?" one black-robed youth growled. "They're still just children! Their combat experience is limited. No way they can match veterans like us. Let's take them out—quick and clean!"
"One each!" barked another.
"I feel like I'm bullying kids…" muttered the messy-haired one, sighing. But despite his words, he didn't hold back. Great battle master-level pressure burst from him as he dashed toward Haku, his leg sweeping out in a brutal whip kick. He knew better than to underestimate any opponent—child or not.
The other two flanked Alice and Karin, launching coordinated strikes of their own.
At that exact moment, three sets of fists collided—tiny hands clashing with much larger ones, Dou Qi surging wildly at the impact points.
BOOM!
The resulting shockwave sent leaves and dirt into the air like a small explosion.
PFFT!
In an instant, all three young men felt a terrifying force explode through their fists and into their arms, numbing them completely. Their bones rattled, blood surged—and all three were blasted backward like kites with broken strings, coughing blood midair before slamming into the dirt.
Lying there, they stared in disbelief at the three small figures standing before them.
Karin smiled sweetly and said, "Please don't underestimate children!"
Each of them had undergone a divine body refinement from Goku himself. Their talent and potential were enhanced beyond belief. Even their physical strength surpassed that of Zi Yan, a member of the Ancient Void Dragon race. These small bodies housed strength comparable to ancient magical beasts. Not even Dou Spirits could afford to take a punch from them lightly.
And those three men? They'd made the mistake of trying to spank the wrong kids.
As a result, these adorable-looking girls showed no mercy. Their punches were full-force, instantly incapacitating all three opponents. Had they not retained some childish innocence, the victims might've ended up with shattered limbs or worse.
Their display even rattled the two still fighting nearby. Faces pale, both the scholar and the scar-faced youth were frozen in place.
"Getting distracted during battle is dangerous!" Qing Lin shouted suddenly. A surge of pale blue Dou Qi wrapped around her right arm.
"Crap!" the scholar gasped. He tried to summon his Dou Qi armor again, but before it could fully form, Qing Lin's figure blurred—and her fist exploded forward like a cannon.
The impact sent him flying through the air, crashing against a massive tree. Blood spewed from his lips. He looked down and saw a perfect fist-shaped dent in the Dou Qi armor on his chest, now cracked and crumbling.
It was a move clearly taught by Goku—using Dou Qi efficiently, even without a battle technique, to unleash devastating force.
"Dammit! Even the scholar lost?!" the scar-faced youth panicked. He was beginning to regret this ambush. They had seriously underestimated their targets.
With his strikes growing more desperate, Xiao Mei began to falter. Though her strength had reached the Great battle master level, her realm was unstable and her combat experience weak. Her opponent, on the other hand, was a seasoned fighter and two stars stronger.
"Damn… I need to retreat!" the scar-faced man realized. If he stayed any longer, he'd lose both face and his Fire Energy. He threw a heavy strike to push Xiao Mei back and darted into the woods to escape.
"Hmph! You're not getting away!" Xiao Mei yelled and gave chase. After seeing the girls defeat their opponents, she didn't want to fall behind.
"You think you can stop me?" the scar-faced man growled, spinning midair as a massive broadsword materialized in his hand, Dou Qi surging along its blade.
With a roar, he slashed toward Xiao Mei, who hadn't expected such a swift counterattack. The air tore with force. He had clearly been charging this strike long before pretending to run.
Caught off-guard, Xiao Mei could only throw up a hurried Dou Qi barrier. She knew she wouldn't escape injury.
But just as the strike was about to land, a figure stepped in front of her—with a simple wave of his hand, he deflected the attack entirely, sending the scar-faced youth flying into a tree. Blood sprayed from his mouth before he slumped over, unconscious.
Goku had intervened.
He'd promised not to interfere in their fights—but seeing Xiao Mei about to take serious damage, he had no choice.
The remaining four youths stared in horror. That was a five-star Great battle master, and he'd been taken down in one move?
'Fuck me… how are these newbies all this insane?!'
They weren't just up against a tough opponent—they were up against a monster. They'd aimed at the wrong group and were now paying the price.
"S-Sorry…" Xiao Mei whispered, head bowed in shame. She felt she had let Goku down. He had given her precious pills, taken her into the Nest, and helped her improve. And yet, she had still fallen behind—even the little girls had performed better than her.
"No need to push yourself. Just keep working hard," Goku said with a warm smile.
His gentle tone stirred something inside her. Her gloomy mood lifted slightly.
"Looks like this year's batch of freshmen isn't just good-looking—they're monsters too. Forget beauty rankings—even the power rankings are going to change," one of the defeated students muttered.
As Goku's group approached, their faces turned pale.
They knew what was coming.
"Alright! Time for a robbery! Guys on the left, girls on the right, and weirdos in the middle!" Karin declared cheerfully.
The four men lay on the ground, stunned speechless. That line, coming from such a cute child, left them completely dumbfounded.
Goku sighed and rubbed his forehead.
'This is what I get for telling them too many stories… I really need to start watching what I say around them.'
He looked at the defeated group. "I don't need to explain, do I?"
They all gave bitter smiles and handed over their Fire Energy cards.
Goku took a look—one of the cards read "31" in bright red. Holding a black and blue card in each hand, he rubbed them together. A flash of light—his own card changed from 5 to 29, and the blue card shrank down to 7.
You couldn't take all the energy—7 was the mandatory reserve.
Goku then handed the remaining three cards to the little girls. They grinned from ear to ear, mimicking him and rubbing the cards together, their eyes lighting up with joy as the numbers changed.
____
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