Chapter 30: Flender's

Flender stood on the roof opposite the shop, watching the struggle between the two sides.

After hearing Ma Hongjun's voice, he had already guessed the other party's intent.

It was his idea to have Ma Hongjun go to such places as brothels in order to suppress the Evil Fire of his martial soul.

Ma Hongjun was currently only a Great Spirit Master, and he could only receive ten Gold Soul Coins from the Spirit Hall each month.

A place like a brothel was a money pit; how could that little bit of money be enough to spend?

The purpose of the other party coming here was self-evident.

From their attire, Flender could tell that Wu Qi and his companion were wealthy individuals. Naturally, he did not want to let such high-quality customers slip away.

When Ma Hongjun misunderstood the two, he was still thinking about how to step in and clarify things to avoid losing customers.

But when Ma Hongjun released his soul skill, the fluctuations of soul power emanating from the two piqued his interest.

"Not very old, yet they possess the strength of a peak Great Spirit Master and a Soul Elder; these are two geniuses."

Thinking of this, a glimmer of sharpness flashed in Flender's eyes.

Suotuo City did not have much fame on the continent, and there were no Advanced Spirit Master Academies nearby. For two geniuses to come here, it was highly probable they had heard of Shrek Academy's reputation and wanted to enroll and meet more geniuses.

The two looked mature, and their ages might exceed Shrek Academy's enrollment standards, but they would not be older than fourteen.

Considering their soul power levels, it would not matter if they were over the age limit; they would still meet Shrek Academy's standards.

While he was pondering, the struggle had already reached a white-hot stage.

Wu Qi grabbed Ma Hongjun, rushed out of the shop, and tossed him onto the street at will.

Poor Ma Hongjun, despite possessing an avian martial soul, did not actually have the ability to fly himself.

Being thrown to the ground, his backside hurt terribly!

From the previous exchange, Ma Hongjun knew the other party was very strong.

Knowing he was no match, he simply used his status to pressure them.

"A petty thief dares to be this rampant? Do you know who my teacher is!"

Comparing teachers?

Wu Qi gave a mocking smile.

Qingluan Douluo was a Ninety-Seventh Level Super Douluo; even if the digits of Flender's soul power level were reversed, he would not be an opponent!

But in Suotuo City, with Flender's strength, he was absolutely a top-tier powerhouse, perhaps even the strongest.

It was no wonder Ma Hongjun felt so secure.

"You dead fatty, what nonsense are you spouting! We were just picking out merchandise; which eye of yours saw us stuff the merchandise into our pockets?" Qiangu Changkong said indignantly.

He was not short on money, so being branded a thief—wouldn't that bring shame to his family?

Wu Qi's expression remained unchanged as he calmly stated, "We are all Spirit Masters; everything is decided by strength. Don't say we are bullying you; you can choose any opponent you like."

"If you win, we will not be stingy with compensation, how about that?"

Ma Hongjun's eyes rolled around.

This trip, he had come specifically to ask Flender for money to go to the brothel.

Since the other party was offering compensation voluntarily, he could spend the whole day venting his fire at the brothel.

He couldn't beat Wu Qi, but couldn't he beat Qiangu Changkong?

After all, the latter looked like a lackey; how much strength could he have?

Being singled out, Qiangu Changkong was both angry and happy.

The reason for his anger went without saying, but being able to personally teach this dead fatty a lesson made the resentment in his heart dissipate quite a bit.

His Coiling Dragon Staff martial soul appeared, and the battle was on the verge of breaking out.

Wu Qi stepped back and simultaneously signaled the nearby onlookers to leave to avoid being accidentally injured.

The current Ma Hongjun did not have many means of attack.

Following behind Flender to learn, his Spirit Master cultivation had not improved much, but he hadn't missed out on eating, drinking, or whoring.

"First Soul Skill, Phoenix Fire Line!"

"Well come."

Qiangu Changkong brandished his Coiling Dragon Staff and simultaneously activated his First Soul Skill.

The Evil Fire Phoenix was only a "mongrel" martial soul, and its flame intensity was very low; how could it be a match for the Coiling Dragon Staff?

The Evil Fire, red with a tint of black, landed on the Coiling Dragon Staff and was easily swallowed by the flames on the staff.

The scene he expected, where Qiangu Changkong would be roasted black, did not appear, and Ma Hongjun couldn't help but widen his eyes.

He wanted to activate his Second Spirit Skill to increase his power, but he saw Qiangu Changkong had already closed in.

Flender had never taught him close-quarters combat techniques; of course, even if he had, with his slacker attitude, he probably would have forgotten them long ago.

In Qiangu Changkong's hands, every follow-up movement after a swing of the Coiling Dragon Staff was perfectly timed, without a single flaw.

Ma Hongjun could only passively take a beating, unable to fight back.

"Don't hit the face when hitting a person!" Ma Hongjun said with a mournful face.

If he had known the other party's strength was this formidable, he definitely would not have dared to go looking for trouble.

Flender did not appear; relying on himself, how could he stop two "thieves"?

……

Flender wanted to go save Ma Hongjun, but it was not easy for him to intervene in a spar between peers.

Moreover, Qiangu Changkong's control over the Coiling Dragon Staff was already no less than that of his old friend—Li Yusong.

"With them joining the academy, Old Li can consider himself lucky."

Both having staff-type martial souls, plus Qiangu Changkong's decent talent, Li Yusong would surely "love it and not be able to put it down."

As for Wu Qi, both having avian-type martial souls, Flender would not yield to anyone.

The moment the Qingluan Spirit emerged, the suppression from its bloodline made even him feel a trace of apprehension.

Such a high-quality martial soul—was this not exactly the candidate for a disciple he had been looking for?

Ma Hongjun is also quite good, but compared to Wu Qi, he is far inferior.

If Wu Qi were to take him as his master, he would be the senior disciple; Ma Hongjun would just have to be wronged and become the junior disciple.

……

Seeing that Qiangu Changkong was enjoying the fight, Wu Qi flashed to his side and grabbed his arm.

"Alright, that's enough for now."

Wu Qi could guess that Flender was likely watching all of this from the shadows.

If they beat the other party's disciple half to death, they would likely face quite a bit of trouble.

Furthermore, this is inside the city; Spirit Masters fighting in the street is already a very serious public security incident, and if one side were beaten into a serious injury, it would likely alarm the Chengzhufu.

Wu Qi did not want to be high-profile over such meaningless matters, lest it reach the Offering Hall and leave a bad impression.

Qiangu Changkong was slightly startled.

Once caught in his attack rhythm, even a Soul Elder would find it hard to break free from his entanglement.

Wu Qi had interrupted him with ease; if this were a match against an opponent, his staff technique would have no advantage at all.

"Fine."

He really wanted to know the answer, but with an outsider present, would speaking it aloud not expose his own weakness?

Seeing the attacks stop, Ma Hongjun dared not linger, scrambling and crawling to run over a hundred meters in one breath.

"That fatso is really durable; it seems I didn't hit him hard enough!"

Wu Qi said irritably, "Give it a rest. A simple lesson is fine, and their elders won't say anything; but if you really beat them into a serious injury, would their elders just sit by and watch?"

Qiangu Changkong did not dwell on it, turning instead to ask, "By the way, how did you interrupt my attack rhythm?"

For Wu Qi, this matter was very simple.

When the Panlong Staff Technique is swung, it inevitably stirs up air currents; in Wu Qi's eyes, the arm swinging the staff is a vortex of air, and by "poking" it, there is great resistance to swinging the staff again.

Once the speed of Qiangu Changkong's arm swing slowed down, he could easily grab it.

Furthermore, most soul skills disturb air currents when cast, and by relying on this ability, one can easily neutralize them.

Qiangu Changkong could not help but breathe a sigh of relief; this counted as a special ability of the martial soul that others could not replicate.

"It's a good thing you're on our side; if outsiders knew the weakness of the Panlong Staff Technique, Grandfather and Seventh Grandfather would probably be unable to sleep."

(End of chapter)