Chapter 14: Nine Shadows Shift's First Battle

"You still dare to say we are overbearing?"

Upon hearing Shi Quan's words, the anger in Xiao Wu's heart grew even more intense.

"If I don't beat you until you're looking for your teeth all over the floor, I won't call myself Big Sister Xiao Wu today!"

This Shi Quan looked perfectly ordinary, yet he was actually able to dodge her attacks twice. Knowing that she herself excelled in agility, she stopped playing around; while angry, Xiao Wu also became serious.

With a rabbit-like flip, her speed increased by a few points, and she chased after Shi Quan, baring her fangs and brandishing her claws.

Seeing Shi Quan still daring to speak like that, Chang Ke on the side was instantly overjoyed, wishing that Shi Quan would keep making mistakes so he would be severely beaten up by Xiao Wu.

Shi Quan's expression remained unchanged. He circulated his Internal Energy and used the Nine Shadows Shift footwork to move rapidly. His speed was not the slightest bit slower than Xiao Wu's, and with his side-to-side dodging, Xiao Wu simply could not get close to him.

Xiao Wu had originally come to establish her authority, but now she had been dodged by this Shi Quan one after another. Moreover, they were currently on the Playground, and seeing that there were already many onlookers, if she couldn't catch Shi Quan, her prestige as Big Sister Xiao Wu could be considered completely lost.

"Let's see how much you can run!"

As Xiao Wu's gritted-teeth voice rang out, a faint red light lit up on her body. Her large eyes instantly turned red, and her ears slowly grew longer, standing up from the sides of her head with soft white fur. A gentle aura of soul power fluctuated around her body, and a yellow Century Spirit Ring slowly rose from beneath her feet.

When the crowd on the Playground saw the Century Spirit Ring beneath Xiao Wu, there was an immediate uproar. Most of them had only heard that Xiao Wu and Tang San possessed Century Spirit Rings; now that they saw it with their own eyes, it would be a lie to say they weren't envious.

Seeing Xiao Wu release her martial soul, Shi Quan's expression also became a bit more solemn. A Beast Spirit before and after possessing a Soul Ring were two different concepts. A Beast Spirit with a Soul Ring could perform Martial Soul Avatar, and the amplification effect it brought was several times that of before the avatar.

Once the martial soul was released, Xiao Wu's speed increased significantly in an instant. Almost in the blink of an eye, she arrived in front of Shi Quan, and a sweeping leg kick was aimed at Shi Quan's waist.

His body transformed into nine shadows; Shi Quan's figure suddenly tilted slightly, and without any deviation, he perfectly dodged this kick from Xiao Wu.

This time, Xiao Wu was truly stunned. Her speed was now clearly a few points faster than Shi Quan's, yet Shi Quan was still able to dodge her close-quarters attacks.

Naturally, Xiao Wu would not be reconciled. She tapped her toes lightly and leaped up again to chase after Shi Quan.

Shi Quan's speed remained the same, not particularly fast compared to Xiao Wu's, but a bizarre scene appeared on the scene: no matter how fast Xiao Wu was or from what direction she pounced, Shi Quan could always step in the right direction at the appropriate time, always causing Xiao Wu's attacks to miss.

Not only that, while observing all directions, Shi Quan mixed into the surrounding students while dodging, using them to obstruct the rhythm of Xiao Wu's attacks.

What was originally a cat chasing a mouse now felt like a mouse toying with a cat.

Besides the footwork, Nine Shadows Shift also included body techniques. With the two combined, it was not only extremely fast but also exceptionally agile. Shi Quan's practice of Nine Shadows Shift was only at the introductory level; if he were given more time, facing the current Xiao Wu, he would not need to be as serious and solemn as he was now, let alone need to rely on the environment.

"Everyone, get further away!" Xiao Wu roared.

The crowd watching the battle immediately scattered, but it was clear that the speed at which the onlookers scattered was significantly slower than that of Shi Quan and Xiao Wu.

Just like that, one chasing and one dodging, in a short while, the two had already run across half the Playground. Xiao Wu had already started to pant a little, yet she could not catch up to Shi Quan at all.

Looking at Shi Quan, he remained calm and composed.

As the saying goes, the layman watches the excitement, while the expert watches the technique.

Tang San had watched for so long that he could see Shi Quan likely possessed a soul skill similar to his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. Compared to Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Shi Quan's soul skill was faster, but in terms of sophistication, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track was superior.

It was normal for Tang San to have such thoughts; after all, Shi Quan's Nine Shadows Shift had only just been mastered. It went from steps, to body, then to energy; the body technique followed the footwork, and Shi Quan had little previous combat experience, so naturally, he could not perfectly unleash the power of Nine Shadows Shift.

But even so, on this crowded Playground, it was enough to deal with the current Xiao Wu.

The furious Xiao Wu could no longer think about so much and shouted directly at Tang San: "San! Why aren't you helping!"

Upon hearing this, Shi Quan sternly retorted: "It's one thing for a Spirit Master to chase and beat me, a Soul Scholar, but now you want to bully the few with the many?"

Xiao Wu pointed at Shi Quan angrily and shouted: "If you have the ability, don't run!"

Shi Quan was also amused and said: "If you have the ability, don't chase."

"You, you, you..." Xiao Wu was so angry for a moment that she couldn't even speak.

Seeing Xiao Wu's appearance, Shi Quan added fuel to the fire: "You what you? Isn't it just because I didn't help you sweep the floor? Do you really think that just because you're the boss, everyone in the academy has to listen to you? If you have the ability, hit me then. Others might be afraid of you, but I'm not. Looking for trouble for no reason!"

"Despicable!" Provoked by Shi Quan, Xiao Wu was so angry she stomped her feet, but she truly had no way to deal with Shi Quan.

"Let me handle it!" Tang San also walked out at this moment, pulled Xiao Wu back, and nodded to her.

Xiao Wu knew Tang San's methods and understood that a two-on-one would lead to gossip. She could only glare fiercely at Shi Quan before saying to Tang San: "San, you must help me teach him a good lesson."

"Rest assured." Tang San patted Xiao Wu's shoulder lightly, stepped out, and looked at Shi Quan not far away.

Shi Quan also looked at Tang San, his expression becoming a bit more serious. In terms of threat, Tang San's threat was definitely higher than Xiao Wu's. Xiao Wu had no threat if she didn't get close, but Tang San was different; whether near or far, he had his own methods. If he didn't want to expose his Hidden Weapon techniques, he also had the control of Blue Silver Grass. He feared that relying only on the current Nine Shadows Shift, he wouldn't be able to dodge Tang San's Entanglement soul skill.

Just as everyone was looking forward to Tang San's move, Tang San suddenly asked Shi Quan: "Was it you who said that Work-study Students aren't even fit to polish your shoes?"

Shi Quan was stunned for a moment, then realized what was happening. He looked at Chang Ke with an even colder gaze: "I never said that."

Hearing Shi Quan say this, Tang San immediately revealed a look of understanding. He turned and looked coldly at Chang Ke. A pale blue light bloomed from his hands, a yellow Century Spirit Ring appeared, and Blue Silver Vine, like a venomous snake, spread toward Chang Ke.

"I don't like being used by others! Tell me the truth, otherwise, I don't mind letting you taste the Datura Snake Poison!" Tang San's cold voice was full of pressure, and the Blue Silver Grass spreading around was like a venomous snake waiting for an opportunity to strike.

Although this Chang Ke had a little bit of cleverness, he was after all just a six-year-old child. Where had he ever seen such a scene? He was directly scared into collapsing to the ground.

"I'll say... I'll say... don't release the snake poison, don't release the snake poison." Chang Ke explained tremblingly, "Those words were all nonsense I made up; Shi Quan never said them!"

Upon hearing this, Xiao Wu took a step and arrived in front of Chang Ke, grabbed his collar angrily, and asked: "Then why did you say that!"

Chang Ke's eyes were red, and he was terrified to the extreme. Facing Xiao Wu's questioning, he then spoke with a trembling voice, recounting the specific details of what happened yesterday.

"... I just wanted you to help me teach him a lesson, who knew..."

By the end, Chang Ke's voice became smaller and smaller.

"You actually dared to lie to me." Hearing the end, Xiao Wu glared in anger and violently threw Chang Ke to the ground.

Tang San also spoke at the right time: "Shi Quan, this matter is a misunderstanding. I apologize on behalf of Xiao Wu. You weren't hurt either, so let's just let this matter go."

Shi Quan patted the dust off his school uniform, returned to his previous position, picked up the books he had placed on the ground, and said indifferently: "Apologies are unnecessary. Even if an apology is needed, it's not your turn to apologize. Just don't disturb me in the future; I just want to study and cultivate properly."

While speaking, Shi Quan did not forget to glance at Xiao Wu not far away.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu couldn't help but be stubborn: "Hmph, just based on you, you still want me, Big Sister Xiao Wu, to apologize? Keep dreaming."

Naturally, Shi Quan couldn't be bothered to pay attention to Xiao Wu and turned to walk toward the classroom. Seeing Shi Quan ignore her once again, Xiao Wu felt even more annoyed with Shi Quan in her heart.

Soon, the bell for class rang.

Tang San and Xiao Wu also entered the classroom one after another. A bizarre scene also played out in the classroom: as soon as Chang Ke sat down, the students around him immediately changed seats, staying far away from him.

Having offended the two bosses of the academy as well as Shi Quan, whose strength was unknown but who could fight back and forth with the academy bosses, everyone was afraid of bringing disaster upon themselves.

The dull lessons were exceptionally boring for Xiao Wu. Looking at Shi Quan, who was studying seriously in the very back, Xiao Wu poked Tang San lightly and asked in a low voice: "San, does that Shi Quan have the same soul skill as you?"

Tang San shook his head lightly: "Not the same, just somewhat similar."

Xiao Wu pouted and said, "Both of your martial souls are Blue Silver Grass, and you have similar soul skills; I suspect you two are from the same family."

"What are you thinking about?"

Tang San smiled and subconsciously looked back in the direction of Shi Quan, suddenly thinking of one thing: is it possible that Shi Quan, like him, is a transmigrator, because the soul skill Shi Quan just displayed really looked a bit like Martial Arts.

"What am I thinking about?"

But Tang San soon shook his head; if Shi Quan knew Martial Arts, his Innate Soul Power definitely couldn't be only level one.

The two classes ended quickly, Shi Quan went about his business as usual, and Xiao Wu did not come to find trouble with him again.

It wasn't until late at night, when Shi Quan returned to the Dormitory, that the people in the Dormitory, just like yesterday, were neither cultivating nor resting, but chatting as if they were waiting to watch a show.

"Shi Quan, I shouldn't have provoked you. I know I was wrong, I apologize to you."

Just as Shi Quan returned to the Dormitory, Chang Ke walked quickly toward him.

"Oh?" Shi Quan looked at Chang Ke, whose face was somewhat bruised, with a smile, and walked slowly in front of Chang Ke, "But if apologies were useful, what would we need the police for?"

"What does this..." Before Chang Ke could finish his sentence, he only felt a blur before his eyes, then heard a crack, and intense pain caused him to immediately let out a painful wail.

The people in the Dormitory were also shocked by the scene before them; they saw Shi Quan raise his hand and pat and twist Chang Ke's left shoulder and elbow, and Chang Ke's left arm hung down as if it had lost all sensation.

Coupled with Chang Ke's shrill wail, they immediately guessed that Chang Ke's arm might be broken.

"What happened!?" Su Yun, who was responsible for managing Dormitory Three, walked quickly into the Dormitory. Chang Ke's wail was not quiet, and the teachers were not deaf, so they were immediately attracted by the commotion here.

"Teacher, Chang Ke fell when he got off the bed, and his arm seems to have some problems." Shi Quan said with a smile while raising his hand.

Su Yun walked quickly toward the two of them. When he saw Chang Ke's face, which had become twisted and pale from pain, and that hanging left arm, his brows immediately furrowed, "Is that so?"

Su Yun was not a fool; this appearance was clearly not from a fall.

Even though Chang Ke was in such pain that cold sweat was streaming down, he still gritted his teeth and said, "Teacher Su, I just fell by accident."

"Alright." Seeing that Chang Ke also said so, Su Yun could only shake his head helplessly, "You all be careful, I don't want to see such a situation happen again."

While speaking, Su Yun's gaze could not help but sweep over Shi Quan.

Shi Quan smiled and turned to walk toward his own bed.

"Let's go, I'll take you for treatment." Su Yun frowned slightly as he looked at Shi Quan's back, and took Chang Ke toward the top of the dormitory building.

The infirmary had already closed at this time, so Su Yun could only take Chang Ke upstairs to find other teachers to help him with treatment.

Shi Quan still knew how much force to use; Chang Ke's left arm was only dislocated by his Muscle-Splitting Bone-Dislocating Technique. Although it was painful, it was not troublesome to treat; it only required resetting the bone and then resting for a few days.

With this lesson, Chang Ke would have to walk around Shi Quan in the future.

However, after today's incident, others in the academy should not come to provoke him again, and he could also study and cultivate with peace of mind.

The only thing that gave Shi Quan a headache was that Xiao Wu was not a quiet person; there was no guarantee she wouldn't come to find trouble with him later, so the top priority was to strive to improve his strength.

Rising at dawn and resting at dusk.

The fulfilling and peaceful days passed quickly.

That night.

The surging Internal Energy flowed continuously within Shi Quan's body. Three weeks had passed since the last misunderstanding incident.

After nearly a month of hard training, the last trace of soul power in Shi Quan's body was about to complete its final transformation.

As the Internal Energy returned to the dantian, the moment the last trace of soul power dissipated, a crisp crack sound rang out in Shi Quan's mind.

Shi Quan only felt as if something had shattered inside his body; his whole body suddenly became exceptionally relaxed, and the Internal Energy in his body also began to circulate crazily at this moment, surging instantly.

As the Internal Energy continued to circulate, Shi Quan also felt the scene before his eyes begin to change; streams of black and white intertwined Qi began to appear before his eyes, followed by the appearance of the meridians and bones within his body.

Feeling the gurgling yin and yang Internal Energy in his body, Shi Quan was extremely excited. Perhaps because of the accumulation of hard work, the Internal Energy in his body broke through directly to level six, and it even allowed him to reach the realm of Internal Vision.

(End of this chapter)