At first, Huo Feng and Dai Mubai thought they might have heard the name wrong. They suspected it was just someone with the same name as the person they knew. But when a familiar figure walked onto the fighting stage, Huo Feng was left speechless.
It really was that idiot, Tang San.
Huo Feng hadn't planned on dealing with Tang San today. How did he even end up at the Soto Spirit Arena? And what were the chances that he would be fighting at the exact same time as them? It was such a coincidence that Huo Feng started to wonder if Tang San had found out they would be here and came just to confront them.
As Tang San stepped onto the stage, he couldn't see Huo Feng and Dai Mubai in the crowd below without looking very carefully. Because of this, he was completely unaware of the stunned expressions on their faces. His attention was focused entirely on the other side of the ring, where his opponent would soon appear.
He silently prayed that his opponent wasn't the Xiao Wu he was thinking of. If it really was the girl he knew, his first-ever match in the Soto Spirit Arena was almost certain to end in failure.
Just then, on the other side of the ring, a girl with a childish and excited expression on her face leaped onto the stage. It was Xiao Wu. She wore a simple white top and pink trousers that showed her still-developing figure. Her youthful, pretty face immediately caught the attention of many people in the audience.
"How old is that girl?" a man in the crowd asked loudly. "The announcer said she's a Spirit Grandmaster. That's impossible, right?"
In the Spirit Arena, the audience could speak freely without any worries.
"That boy doesn't look much older, either," another person commented. "I heard he's also a Spirit Grandmaster, but he looks a little weak. Weaker than the girl, even."
"Wait, did I hear that right?" someone else exclaimed. "The announcer said the kid's Spirit is Blue Silver Grass!"
"Blue Silver Grass? Isn't that a useless Spirit? I'm surprised he can even cultivate with it, let alone use it in a spirit fight."
Tang San heard the skeptical comments from the audience, but he ignored them. Both he and Xiao Wu were Spirit Grandmasters, and this was the first match for both of them in the Soto Spirit Arena. The crowd was already buzzing with excitement before the fight even started. Based on their reactions, however, it was clear that far more people were cheering for Xiao Wu than for him.
"It really is you," Xiao Wu said, her initial excitement fading as she recognized Tang San. She had never been very interested in him. Back at Notting Academy, he was always challenging Huo Feng, so she had seen him fight many times. She knew exactly what he was capable of.
Across the stage, Tang San's heart sank the moment he saw her. For a second, he wanted to forfeit the match. But then he remembered that if Xiao Wu was here, Huo Feng must be with her. Tang San quickly scanned the crowded audience, searching for his rival. He knew Huo Feng was probably watching him from some dark corner.
"Hah..." Tang San let out a long breath. It seemed he had no choice but to see this through. There was nothing more uncomfortable than having to fight a battle you already knew you couldn't win.
"Tang San, get ready!" Xiao Wu shouted before dashing toward him.
She was incredibly fast, closing the ten-meter distance between them in an instant. She leaped into the air, her long leg swinging in a powerful kick aimed directly at his neck.
"First Spirit Ability, Binding!"
With a solemn expression, Tang San twisted his body to dodge her kick. He immediately activated his first spirit ability. Two Spirit Rings—one white, one yellow—rose from his feet, and the yellow one began to glow brightly. In an instant, dozens of dark green vines, each as thick as an arm, shot out from the ground and rushed toward Xiao Wu from all directions.
"Wow, his Spirit really is Blue Silver Grass!" an audience member shouted, a look of excitement on his face. This newcomer's match was turning out to be more surprising than they expected. A fight like this was truly interesting.
"I've never seen a Spirit Grandmaster with a Blue Silver Grass Spirit before," another person remarked.
To the audience, it looked like Xiao Wu was in a bad position. She had missed her kick and was now surrounded by Tang San's vines. But she only smiled faintly. Tapping her toes lightly on the ground, she jumped high into the air, easily avoiding the vines that were closing in on her. At the same time, two brilliant yellow Spirit Rings appeared around her, proving to everyone in the audience that she was indeed a Spirit Grandmaster. Pink light glowed around her body.
"She's so fast!" Tang San thought in a panic. The speed of his Blue Silver Grass was no match for Xiao Wu's movements. If this continued, he would never be able to land a single hit on her. He was going to lose.
While he was distracted, Xiao Wu's nimble figure had already appeared right in front of him.
Bang!
She swung her leg high and kicked him squarely in the neck. But instead of pulling back, she hooked her foot behind his neck. At the same time, she kicked her other foot into his chest.
Bang!
The first kick had been light, but this one was solid. A sharp pain shot through Tang San's chest, and he let out a groan. His old injuries hadn't fully healed yet, and now he had taken another heavy blow. This girl showed no mercy at all.
"What? She's coming again?"
Out of the corner of his eye, Tang San saw Xiao Wu rushing toward him once more. Since his Blue Silver Grass was useless, he had to rely on hand-to-hand combat. Gritting his teeth, he activated his Xuantian Gong technique, and his Purple Demon Eyes and Ghostly Perplexing Track were ready.
Just as he prepared himself, Xiao Wu arrived and launched a clean, powerful flying kick without any hesitation.
Bang!
Using his Crane Controlling Dragon technique, Tang San barely managed to block the first kick. However, Xiao Wu's second kick followed immediately, giving him no time to recover.
Bang!
Tang San couldn't block it. He felt a powerful force strike his chest and the back of his neck at the same time. With a quick flip, Xiao Wu threw him into the air. As he flew through the air, his eyes were filled with despair. He had fought Huo Feng many times, but he had never once fought Xiao Wu. Only now did he realize how massive the gap in strength was between them.
Before he could even hit the ground, Xiao Wu took a running leap, jumping up to meet his falling body. She expertly wrapped her legs around his waist, twisted her body in mid-air, and slammed him down. Tang San's body was sent flying at an angle.
Thump!
With a solid, muffled sound, Tang San bounced off the protective ropes at the edge of the stage and fell to the ground below. The match was over.
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