"Spar? Spar while lying on the ground? What kind of spectacle is this? How on earth did your parents bring you up? Judging by your looks, you must be first-year students this year. Brawling and flirting at such a young age, what will you become when you grow up?"
The teacher's scolding sounded like firecrackers by their ears, and Tang San sneaked a glance at Xiaowu. She was also looking at him, and even stuck out her tongue at him.
Hearing the teacher mention their parents, Tang San couldn't help but say, "Teacher, we were really just comparing soul skills." He had just heard the term "soul skill" earlier that day from Wang Sheng, and now he was using it right away.
The female teacher looked at him disdainfully and said, "You've just started at the academy, what soul skills can you have? When fabricating lies, at least find something plausible. Come on, follow me to the dean's office."
"We're not going," Tang San and Xiaowu said almost in unison.
Tang San earnestly said, "Teacher, we really were just comparing soul skills. If not, let us show you."
Xiaowu patted her chest and said, "Let me do it. Teacher, if you don't believe it, I'll just have to have a spar with you as well."
Before the female teacher could react, Xiaowu was already leaping up. True to her rabbit Martial Soul, she jumped really high, a full meter off the ground, and reached with both hands directly towards the teacher's neck.
The height of Xiaowu's jump surprised the female teacher, who reflexively lifted her head to block with her arms.
Tang San chuckled inwardly, suspecting the teacher was about to be at a disadvantage.
He didn't know the full extent of Xiaowu's abilities, but he was very clear about his own. Although he hadn't been able to advance his Mysterious Heaven Method, with his own strength and the method at its first peak, without considering the added abilities of this world's Martial Souls, even an opponent slightly more skilled than him was no match for his Tang Sect martial arts.
And Xiaowu was the person who had just defeated him. Her soul skills were so peculiar and tricky that anyone facing them for the first time was likely to be taken by surprise.
As expected, the teacher's arms were almost immediately entangled by Xiaowu's, followed rapidly by her scorpion braid wrapping around the teacher's neck.
This was, after all, the Primary Soul Master Academy, where the average teacher had the strength around a Grand Soul Master, mostly around level 25. Generally speaking, it was almost impossible for a Soul Master under level 30 to possess their own soul skills. These teachers were nowhere near Tang San in combat skills. And this female teacher, facing two first-year students, naturally had no thoughts of using her Martial Soul. She was a Tool Soul Master, primarily a support role. Hence, after just one exchange, she was already at a severe disadvantage.
Xiaowu's scorpion braid tightly coiled around the female teacher's neck, her arms twisting around the teacher's. As she leapt, both legs shot out, perfectly targeting the teacher's abdomen. When all these movements were almost simultaneously completed, she violently arched her upper body backward, pulling hard on her scorpion braid and arms. A faint white light could be seen enveloping Xiaowu.
The teacher cried out as she lost her balance, and Xiaowu loosened her hands at just the right moment, performing a backflip. With one push and one kick, the teacher's body was sent flying.
Xiaowu was not as gentle with the teacher as she had been with Tang San; she pushed the teacher's body a full three meters away. The teacher landed heavily on the ground. Even with her Body Protection soul power, she was left dazed for the moment, unable to tell north from south.
Xiaowu approached the teacher, blinked her large eyes, and with an innocent face said, "Teacher, are you alright?"
The female teacher mustered her soul power with great effort and finally managed to stand up. Looking at Xiaowu, her eyes reflected a mix of astonishment and incredulity.
Soul skills, indeed, these were soul skills. Otherwise, how could she, at such a young age, throw her, even if she wasn't a Battle Soul Master? And when Xiaowu entwined her, her hands suddenly became extremely supple, a definite effect of her Martial Soul. Who exactly was this girl?
The teacher might have not cared much for Xiaowu, confident that she could subdue the child using her Martial Soul, but she had to consider Xiaowu's background. Generally, on the continent, the powerful Soul Masters had Martial Souls passed down through families. Possessing soul skills at such a young age indicated how formidable her Martial Soul must be. The teacher couldn't help feeling troubled. She was merely a Grand Soul Master, but this child might be backed by the power of a Soul Master's origin. That was not something she, a commoner-born Soul Master, could afford to provoke.
"You, you… In the future, do not spar on the sports field without a teacher present to supervise. Do you understand?" The teacher gave a few brief instructions and walked away with a dirty face, deciding in her heart to look into this girl's background first thing tomorrow.
Watching the teacher's retreating figure, Tang San quietly asked Xiaowu, "What was that move just now? It seemed quite powerful."
Xiaowu replied with a hint of pride, "I was already holding back, or the consequences would have been serious. It's called Rabbit Kicking the Eagle, one of my proudest techniques." As she spoke, she suddenly looked warily at Tang San, "Why are you asking so clearly? Thinking of preparing a countermeasure for next time?"
Tang San shook his head helplessly, "That's clearly suspecting a gentleman's heart with the mind of a villain."
Xiaowu angrily said, "Are you calling me a villain? Then let's continue our sparring."
Looking at Xiaowu's determined face, Tang San couldn't help but feel somewhat speechless. This girl seemed to take too much pleasure in bullying him. But since they were to spar, how could he be afraid? He gestured with his finger, "Come on, then."
Xiaowu, right beside him, swung back her hand for a palm strike.
Having learned from two past lessons, Tang San wouldn't let her easily entangle him again. He knew that the best way to deal with an opponent like Xiaowu, who had countless close-range attack methods, was to keep a distance. He darted back swiftly, retreating several meters away.