"Huff"
"Huff"
On the playground, Zhu Zhuqing's eyes were tightly closed, her heart as calm as still water, free from all distracting thoughts.
She slowly inhaled air into her lungs, guiding her soul power to rise slowly from her dantian, flowing along the meridian pathways, allowing the soul power and breath to merge.
When her lungs were full, Zhu Zhuqing paused briefly, allowing the soul power to circulate fully within her body.
Then, she began to exhale slowly, expelling the turbid air from her body. At the same time, she guided her soul power back to her dantian for sedimentation and storage.
As her shoulders trembled, a rich halo of soul power slowly covered her entire body.
Sand and wood chips floated gently around her, as if drawn by an invisible force, slowly rotating around Zhu Zhuqing, constantly swirling, forming a peculiar small vortex.
Gradually, a breeze picked up on the playground.
If Lu Feng were here, he would recognize at a glance that this breathing technique was a move used by Yu Tianheng.
The next moment, Zhu Zhuqing suddenly opened her eyes, her sharp claws shooting out, fiercely grabbing at the air in front of her.
"Sizzle!"
A sharp sound ripped through the air, as if space itself had been torn open by the fierce attack.
"Wow! Zhu Qing, you're amazing!"
Ning Rongrong clapped her hands joyfully as she watched Zhu Zhu Qing's agile figure from the sidelines.
Zhu Zhu Qing looked at the residual electricity on her hands and nodded slightly. "The breathing technique of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan is indeed quite something. It can increase my explosive power by about 30%."
"I wonder what the legendary 'Thunder Breathing Technique' is like." Zhu Zhu Qing put away her martial soul, wiped the sweat from her forehead, and sighed.
Ning Rongrong covered her mouth and laughed, "That's something only the direct disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Clan can learn. Yu Xiaogang? With him? He probably can't even get into the sect's martial arts hall."
"Rongrong, Master is Tang San's teacher after all. You should be a little more careful." Zhu Zhu Qing couldn't help but advise her when Ning Rongrong addressed her by her first name.
"Hmph, who told him to scold me last time!"
Ning Rongrong pouted, saying arrogantly, "My dad, Grandpa Sword, and Grandpa Bone never disciplined me, so why should he, a level 29 Great Soul Master, do so!"
Zhu Zhuqing looked at her friend and sighed helplessly. She realized that Ning Rongrong was like a cat that only responds to gentle persuasion, not force. Forcing her to do anything would only backfire.
At this moment, Ning Rongrong grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's hand, "Alright, for your sake, I'll give him face. From now on, I'll call him 'that guy,' is that alright?"
The two chatted and laughed when a swaying figure walked over from the school gate.
"Hey! Who is this? Why does he have a pig's head?" Ning Rongrong exclaimed exaggeratedly.
Zhu Zhuqing looked closely and saw that the swaying figure was Ma Hongjun.
His clothes were torn in many places, he had bruises around his eyes, a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth, and his round, chubby face was completely swollen.
"Fatty, what happened to you? Did you get beaten up after a fight over a girl?" Ning Rongrong teased, looking at Ma Hongjun's disheveled appearance.
"What fight over a girl? I clearly had my eye on that girl first."
As he spoke, Ma Hongjun squeezed out a tear. "Waaah, Fifth Sister, Sixth Sister, I'm so embarrassed this time."
Yu Xiaogang, in order to manage the trainees, used military-style discipline, assigning them numbers based on their ages.
However, although Ma Hongjun was older than the two, he succumbed to Ning Rongrong's 'tyranny' and always called them 'sister'.
Just then, the other three also came out of the cafeteria.
"Fatty, who beat you up like this?" Dai Mubai's voice was noticeably angrier.
"That guy's name is Bu Le, he's a four-ring Soul Master."
Ma Hongjun rubbed his buttocks, his face contorted with grief, and said, "Brother Dai, you have to stand up for me! He didn't just kick my butt, he slapped your face, Young Master Dai!"
Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai's eyes flashed with rage. "A mere Soul Master dares to hit you? In the entire Soto City, who doesn't know that Fatty is my brother, Young Master Dai!"
He grabbed Ma Hongjun. "Come on, Fatty, you lead the way, let's go see him now. Xiao San, Xiao Ao, are you two coming?"
Tang San nodded. "Our teacher said we're a team, so naturally we should stand together."
"That's right." Oscar chimed in. "Although I'm just a support-type Soul Master, since Fatty got beaten up, how can we, as brothers, stand idly by?"
Upon hearing this, Dai Mubai patted the two men on the shoulders. "The Dean said that those who dare not cause trouble are mediocre. Today, we'll let that damned Soul Master see the strength of the 'Four Swordsmen of Soto City'!"
With that, the group strode out of the school.
They didn't invite the two girls along; since they were going to an entertainment venue, it was more appropriate for the boys to handle it.
Watching their retreating figures, Ning Rongrong said, somewhat tempted, "Zhuqing, why don't we go join the fun?"
Zhu Zhuqing frowned. "What's so interesting about jealousy? Especially in a place like that."
Hearing this, Ning Rongrong pouted, grabbed Zhu Zhuqing's hand, and said coquettishly, "Okay, Zhuqing, let's go see! I'm so bored staying in the academy all day."
Zhu Zhuqing shook her head helplessly, patting Ning Rongrong's hand, "Let's go, I really can't do anything with you."
Half an hour later,
Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong arrived at a row of bungalows, their brows furrowed.
The bungalows were only three meters high and looked somewhat dilapidated. A pink lantern hung at the entrance of each house, and several heavily made-up women of the night stood beneath it.
"Ah~"
At that moment, a scream came from a secluded corner, and Dai Mubai's curses could be faintly heard.
The two approached and saw Dai Mubai and his men surrounding a middle-aged man, relentlessly beating him.
The man had dark skin, a slightly overweight build, and was about 1.6 meters tall. His right hand, which had been wrapped in gauze, was now completely twisted and deformed.
At this moment, Dai Mubai waved his hand and said, "Alright, let's go. Fatty, this guy is in much worse shape than you."
Ma Hongjun was still a little angry, so he kicked the man a few times, saying angrily as he kicked, "Serves you right for hitting me! Serves you right for saying my penis is small!"
Soon, seeing the man completely unconscious, Ma Hongjun finally felt much better.
"Brothers, thank you all today. If you ever need anything from me, Fatty, just let me know. As long as I can do it, I won't refuse."
Dai Mubai chuckled, "No need for repayment. Don't mention you're my little brother anymore. Coming to a brothel like this is a disgrace to me!"
Tang San looked around and frowned slightly, "Fatty, Boss Dai is right. It's better to come to places like this less often."
Ma Hongjun scratched his head and said with a simple smile, "Third Brother, I didn't want to either. But this lust got the better of me, and I couldn't control it."
The group left the brothel, chatting and laughing.
"Tch, this is really boring. Zhu Qing, let's go too," Ning Rongrong said listlessly.
She had initially expected a fierce battle, but upon arriving at this place, she completely lost interest.
"Woof woof woof."
At dusk, a dog's bark awakened the unconscious man.
"Ouch, my back!"
The man struggled to get up, but after several attempts, he couldn't manage it.
Suddenly, he caught sight of two figures emerging from a distant room. He channeled a wisp of his soul power and, forcing himself to stay awake, called out, "Old Goose, Tianya, I'm here!"
The casual conversation abruptly stopped, accompanied by hurried footsteps. Soon, two figures appeared before the man.
"You, you're Bu Le?"
One of the speakers was a tall man with broad shoulders and wild, long hair. However, his small eyes completely ruined his perfect physique.
"Bu Le, what happened to you?"
The other man quickly approached Bu Le and crouched down beside him.
This man was thin, almost skin and bones. His eyes, however, were large, gleaming with a sinister light.
The skinny man quickly ran his hands over Bu Le's body. "Such ruthless methods! Four joints dislocated, two ribs broken. It won't be healed for months."
"Tianya, avenge me!" Bu Le grabbed the skinny man's hand and said viciously.
The skinny man nodded, raised his right hand, and with a flash of bright green light, a sharp blade appeared in his hand.
At the same time, five spirit rings appeared.
One white, two yellow, and two purple. Although the spirit ring attributes were ordinary, it was a genuine Soul King powerhouse.
The skinny man raised his nose and sniffed hard. "Four men, one of them had the same lewd aura as Bu Le."
"Huh~!"
A glint suddenly appeared in the skinny man's eyes. "Bu Le, were there girls among the people who beat you up?"
Bu Le struggled to stand up and laughed and scolded, "No, Tianya, did you smell some prostitute again?"
"That's strange. I smelled those two auras, and they were with those four men." Tianya asked suspiciously.
"Oh? Tianya, are you sure?" Bu Le's eyes suddenly lit up, and he chuckled, "In that case, why don't we go collect some interest first?"
The other two exchanged glances and burst into lewd laughter.