Chapter 31: First Battle Against Tang San — Bai Lu: I'm Going to Copy the Tang Sect's Secret Techniques!
Let me see how strong other newly advanced Soul Elders really are.
With that thought in mind, Zhu Zhuqing stepped onto the soul fighting arena.
The moment she steadied herself, a familiar figure walked out from the opposite side—
Blue robes. Black hair. An ordinary but fairly handsome face. Eyes filled with intelligence.
Tang San?
Beneath her mask, Zhu Zhuqing's brows lifted slightly.
She truly hadn't expected that on her very first visit to participate in a soul battle, she would run into this so-called "wronged party", the one who bore a grudge against her for "stealing his mother."
Fate was indeed mysterious.
"Brother! Go for it! You have to win!"
Hearing the voice from the spectator stands, she turned her head.
A girl with a scorpion braid was waving her arms excitedly while cheering for Tang San.
Xiao Wu. The rabbit spirit.
Zhu Zhuqing's icy gaze sharpened.
Beneath the mask, a cold arc curled at the corner of her lips.
Good.
Since they had met, they might as well have a proper spar.
Why does this person look so familiar?
On the other side, Tang San was also quietly observing her.
Black fitted attire. Silver mask. Astonishing curves, yet an agile build. Cold temperament.
Though he couldn't see her face, the more mature yet still familiar figure, along with that aloof aura and distant eyes—
"It's her!"
Tang San instantly recalled the night before entering the Star Dou Forest the Dai Mubai's fiancée, who had fought him fiercely and, as a mere Soul Grandmaster, defeated him and nearly killed him.
That battle had left a deep impression.
'So she succeeded in obtaining her soul ring as well. I wonder how much her strength has improved…'
With that thought, Tang San took the initiative to bow politely.
"Tang San. Martial soul: Blue Silver Grass. Rank 31 Control System Battle Soul Elder."
Zhu Zhuqing returned the gesture and announced her false identity.
"Xiao Yue. Martial soul: Hell Spirit Cat. Rank 39 Agility Attack System Battle Soul Elder."
"What?!"
Tang San's calm expression changed instantly.
Information could be falsified, but soul power could not lie.
He remembered clearly—the last time he saw Zhu Zhuqing, she had only been a Soul Grandmaster.
And now—
Rank 39?!
In less than half a month, she had advanced nine levels?!
Impossible!
The sheer absurdity made Tang San momentarily suspect that this was merely someone who looked like Zhu Zhuqing.
No. Impossible. My Purple Demon Eye would not be mistaken.
It's her.
He trusted his own eyes.
But he simply could not understand how someone could rise nine levels in such a short time.
A wild thought surfaced—
Did a hundred-thousand-year soul beast sacrifice itself to her?
The idea was immediately rejected.
Because—
"Martial soul, possession!"
Opposite him, Zhu Zhuqing completed her martial soul possession.
Two yellow and one purple soul rings rose beneath her feet.
That familiar configuration erased any lingering doubt.
She must have been fortunate enough to find some heavenly treasure that boosted her level.
'Forget it. I'll defeat her first.'
Tang San raised his right hand, and Blue Silver Grass spread outward. Two yellow and one purple soul rings also rose beneath his feet.
"Soul battle begins!"
At the referee's command, the fight exploded instantly!
"Blue Silver Entanglement!"
Knowing his opponent's strength, Tang San did not dare to underestimate her.
His first soul ring lit up. He raised his hand—
Blue Silver Grass shot from the ground in dozens of thick vines, twisting like venomous serpents as they lashed toward Zhu Zhuqing.
But Zhu Zhuqing's speed far exceeded his expectations.
She didn't even activate a soul skill.
With a single push of her foot, she vanished from the attack range at astonishing speed.
A light tap of her toes—
She shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.
Whoosh!
In the blink of an eye, she appeared before Tang San. Her left hand rose, and a heavy punch blasted out.
The force roared like a tidal wave.
"So fast!"
Tang San's heart skipped.
Without hesitation, he activated the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, desperately shifting his body to widen the gap.
But the gap in physical strength revealed itself immediately.
Even pushing Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to its limit, he could only watch helplessly as that seemingly ox-killing feline punch drew closer.
"Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon!"
Alarm bells rang in Tang San's mind.
He poured soul power into both hands. Blue light flickered in his palms as he absorbed and redirected the incoming force.
"Hm?!"
Zhu Zhuqing felt a suction force.
Her punch was pulled aside against her will.
What kind of soul skill was that?
A flicker of surprise crossed her eyes.
A direct punch to the face, and he could still dodge?
"Parasite! Entanglement!"
Tang San's first and second soul rings lit simultaneously.
The Blue Silver Grass seeds he had secretly scattered along her previous path burst into action.
Thick, resilient vines surged upward, attempting to bind her completely.
"Hell Rush Stab!"
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes turned cold as her first soul ring lit.
She stepped down sharply—
Her figure blurred like a phantom, vanishing from her original spot.
In the next instant, she appeared to Tang San's left.
Her claw, glowing with purple-black light, thrust directly toward his throat.
Shhk!
Before the claw even landed, Tang San felt a chill at his neck.
At the critical moment, he twisted his body with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, barely brushing past the attack.
Only a few scattered drops of crimson blood and several thin gashes across his neck testified to how close it had been.
But there was no time to think.
Tang San immediately activated his third soul skill, acquired from the thousand-year Man-Faced Demon Spider:
"Spider Web Restraint!"
Light flared.
A massive, resilient blue-purple spider web shot from his hand, descending toward Zhu Zhuqing.
The distance. The coverage. The speed.
It nearly sealed off every possible escape route.
Once bound, she would not break free easily.
And then it would be his turn to counterattack!
"Good!"
Tang San steadied himself inwardly.
Victory was within reach.
But was she truly unable to dodge?
A trace of mockery flashed in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes.
She had just fought a Man-Faced Demon Spider and obtained the Eight Spider Spears.
To her, Tang San's spider web was a laughable imitation.
She could dodge.
But she didn't need to.
Whoosh!
Lowering her center of gravity, she fixed her gaze on the descending web.
At the moment it fell—
Her claws crossed and slashed outward.
Rip—!
The supposedly indestructible web was torn apart instantly upon contact.
Fragments drifted down like willow catkins.
Without even using a soul skill, Tang San's full-power Spider Web Restraint had been shredded effortlessly.
"Only this much? How boring."
Her eyes grew colder as she prepared to end the fight decisively.
But at that moment, Bai Lu's voice rang out:
"Don't rush. This brat is special. He actually mastered so many unique self-created soul skills."
"Fight him a little longer. Push him to his limit. Let me see if I can record and replicate those soul skills."
Bai Lu remembered the six secret techniques of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record—
Mysterious Heaven Skill, Mysterious Jade Hand, Hundred Deconstruction of Hidden Weapons, Purple Demon Eye, Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.
The first four relied heavily on internal cultivation and mental methods impossible to replicate directly.
But Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track emphasized technique and application.
If they grasped the core principles, even reproducing seventy to eighty percent of their power would be enough.
And that—
Would allow Zhu Zhuqing's strength to surge once again.
End of Chapter