Chapter 17: Trouble Comes Knocking Again

Three days later.

Boarding the carriage once more, the days of vacation passed in a flash, and it was time for school to start again; accompanied by his parents, Shi Quan arrived at Notting Academy once more.

Although he had already experienced parting with his parents many times, there was still a lingering sense of reluctance every time they said goodbye.

The familiar dormitory, and the next day, the familiar opening ceremony.

The new semester brought many new faces, and of course, some old faces were missing, such as the boss Xiao, Xiao Chenyu, who had already graduated as a sixth-year student.

After the opening ceremony ended, Shi Quan had just arrived at the Hou Shan to prepare for cultivation when he suddenly heard a sharp shout from behind him.

"Shi Quan, you stop right there."

Hearing that familiar voice of Xiao Wu, Shi Quan's brows immediately furrowed; school hadn't even started yet, and Xiao Wu was already impatient to come and cause him trouble. It looked like she had learned quite a few things from Tang San over these two months.

Stopping his steps, Shi Quan said directly and impatiently, "Don't you know that you are really annoying?"

For once, Xiao Wu was not angry; instead, she confidently held her head high and puffed out her chest, saying, "Shi Quan, I'll give you a chance today. Call me 'Big Sister Xiao Wu' and admit you were wrong, and from now on, we'll live in peace. Otherwise, don't blame me for making you look bad today!"

Seeing this, Shi Quan understood even more clearly in his heart. After carefully recalling the plot, his gaze subconsciously drifted toward Xiao Wu's wrists.

A Sleeve Arrow!

Tang San had given the Sleeve Arrow to Xiao Wu. The conflict between him and Xiao Wu could at most be considered mutual dislike between classmates, just a bit of hostility. If Xiao Wu used the Sleeve Arrow, the concept would be different.

That would mean tearing off the mask completely, because the Sleeve Arrow was a Hidden Weapon used to kill enemies.

Shi Quan's expression shifted slightly, and the look he gave Xiao Wu held a bit more coldness. "A person's patience is limited. I'll warn you one last time: don't come and provoke me!"

Xiao Wu looked at Shi Quan playfully. "What? Scared? If you're scared, just call me 'Big Sister Xiao Wu'."

"A provocation tactic?" Shi Quan looked at Xiao Wu indifferently. "It might work on others, but it's useless on me."

Saying this, Shi Quan turned around and walked straight toward the academy's Hou Shan.

"Want to leave? That depends on whether you can." Xiao Wu didn't care about all that; she tapped her toes, and her body leaped up, launching an offensive toward Shi Quan.

Hearing the movement behind him, Shi Quan's figure moved immediately, shifting laterally to dodge Xiao Wu's attack. He backhanded a flick, and a blue light shimmered and extended into a long whip, lashing out at Xiao Wu like a giant python.

Just as the long whip descended, a hand as white as jade suddenly reached out and grasped the long whip formed by the Blue Silver Grass.

"Tang San, you're going to make a move too?" Shi Quan's voice was low and powerful.

Tang San held the Blue Silver Vine Whip in his hand, a faint purple light flickering in his eyes as he said, "Sorry, I promised Xiao Wu I wouldn't let her suffer even the slightest harm."

"Heh." Shi Quan sneered. "Does that mean if I fight back, you'll intervene? And I should just let Xiao Wu chase me down and beat me?"

Tang San did not speak, because the hand he used to tightly grip the Blue Silver Vine Whip had already given Shi Quan the answer.

"What a 'Buddha Tang'."

Shi Quan sneered in his heart. During the previous year of getting along, he hadn't felt much resentment toward Tang San, just annoyance at Xiao Wu. Now, this move by 'Buddha Tang' had thoroughly disgusted him.

Helpless, he could only retract his martial soul.

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San beside her, her small face slightly flushed, and whispered, "San, you don't need to intervene, I can handle it."

Tang San smiled and said, "What? Forgot how you were crying out in pain before?"

Xiao Wu glared at Tang San, and just as she was about to say something, Tang San interrupted, "Hitting a live target is quite comfortable, want to try?"

Hearing Tang San say this, Xiao Wu's eyes immediately lit up as she looked at Shi Quan.

"Today I'll make you submit willingly. You don't use your martial soul, and I won't use mine."

Xiao Wu gave a sharp cry, then reached into the pocket at her waist. As she pulled her hands out, she flicked her arms, and two pebbles flew out from her hands at high speed.

One could see that Xiao Wu's thumbs were tucked inward, palms facing down, and four fingers pressed together and extended. The movement was simple but very effective; this was a most basic Hidden Weapon technique called the Throwing Arrow Technique, using the inertia of the arm's swing to launch the Hidden Weapon.

This technique was the most direct, the clearest, and the easiest to learn. For someone like Xiao Wu who had no foundation, it was the simplest and fastest Hidden Weapon technique to pick up.

This was also the only Hidden Weapon technique Tang San had taught Xiao Wu during the two-month vacation.

Watching the flying stones, Shi Quan's expression held a bit of disdain. If it were Tang San's Hidden Weapon technique, he would be wary, but if Xiao Wu were using these techniques after practicing for only two short months, how could she dare to show off under his Nine Shadows Shift? It was completely like 'wielding an axe before Lu Ban'.

Although the flying stones were fast, it only took Shi Quan a couple of twists of his waist to easily dodge them.

Xiao Wu wasn't anxious; while quickly chasing after Shi Quan, she kept pulling stones from the pouch at her waist and throwing them at him. As long as one of her stones hit, Shi Quan's movements would definitely be affected, and then she would have the chance to get close. Once she got close, she would use her Soft Technique to teach Shi Quan a good lesson.

Shi Quan looked at Tang San, who was waiting on the sidelines, his eyes filled with a mix of playfulness and coldness. You can block the Blue Silver Vine Whip for Xiao Wu, but what about other things?

He raised his right hand. Just as Tang San thought Shi Quan was going to use the vine whip again, he saw Shi Quan reach his right hand toward the flying stone, his five fingers slightly curled into a palm, and his single palm traced a semicircle. The next second, the power on the stone seemed to vanish, and it was directly caught by Shi Quan.

The next second, the stone had already flown out again.

The difference was that this time, the stone was thrown from Shi Quan's side, and the target was Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu's movements faltered for a moment, and she swayed to the right to dodge. Although she had learned the Throwing Arrow Technique, it wasn't easy to master it in just two months. When dodging, Xiao Wu's Throwing Arrow Technique clearly showed some distortion.

Shi Quan took this opportunity to reach out, easily catching the Hidden Weapon Xiao Wu threw again, and threw it back. Under Xiao Wu's continuous dodging, Shi Quan's agile figure didn't use this to increase the distance between them; instead, he stepped forward, choosing to close in, and slapped his palm toward Xiao Wu's chest with the momentum of 'supporting the heavens'.

Tang San, who was watching the battle from the side, smiled at the sight. In his view, Shi Quan was just trying to catch Xiao Wu off guard with the stones and finish the fight quickly after closing in. But Xiao Wu's Soft Technique was incredibly powerful; even he couldn't get any advantage in front of her Soft Technique, let alone Shi Quan.

He could even imagine the scene of Shi Quan being ruthlessly thrown away by Xiao Wu.

Although Xiao Wu hadn't expected Shi Quan to close in on her, once she noticed his intent, a confident smile immediately rose to the corners of her mouth. There was not a hint of panic in her expression as she twisted her body to dodge the incoming stone.

Shi Quan's figure was agile, and Xiao Wu understood that if one attack missed, Shi Quan would very likely increase the distance again and not give her any chance to get close, so she had to firmly grasp this opportunity.

With a flick of her head, the scorpion braid behind Xiao Wu's head turned into a black shadow and coiled toward Shi Quan's arm. Xiao Wu's hands moved in unison with her braid; as Shi Quan's single palm struck out, Xiao Wu's hands pressed downward simultaneously.

Not far away, Tang San saw the moment Xiao Wu's hands touched Shi Quan's arm, and his tense body finally relaxed. In his view, the battle was decided.

However, at this moment, the smile was gone from Xiao Wu's face, because she was shocked to discover that even though she had clearly touched Shi Quan, she couldn't coil around him.

Xiao Wu's Soft Technique was famous for 'using four ounces to deflect a thousand pounds'. In close-quarters grappling, it specialized in finding the vulnerable parts of the human body to lock onto; after restraining the enemy, it left them unable to resist, followed by a violent throw to severely injure them.

The prerequisite was to get close and coil to restrain, but now, if one were to compare Xiao Wu's hands to cotton, Shi Quan's arm was like air—even though she had touched it, she couldn't grab it.

She was already very soft, but Shi Quan's was even softer than hers, like flowing water or air.

This was the Universe Shift, using force to shift and deflect the enemy's moves and strength.

As the saying goes, 'softness overcomes hardness'. Xiao Wu's Soft Technique was definitely the representative of softness, but if there existed a comparison even softer than her Soft Technique, then her Soft Technique became the 'hard'!

Shi Quan's arm gave an eerie tremor, and the palm that had been supporting upward flipped downward. Xiao Wu had wanted to end the battle in one go, so her center of gravity was placed on Shi Quan's arm. Not only did she fail to coil around him, but she was instead led downward by Shi Quan's arm, and her entire center of gravity shifted downward.

As his right hand sank, Shi Quan's left hand also pressed down. Xiao Wu only felt a great force coming from behind, and her entire body instantly lost its balance and was pressed directly to the ground.

Thud! Xiao Wu fell face-first onto the ground hard. Shi Quan stepped on the back of Xiao Wu's neck, his gaze cold and sharp as he looked toward Tang San.

"Do you really think I'm easy to bully?"

After being disgusted by Tang San, Shi Quan had also come to a realization: he and Tang San were destined never to be friends, because there could only be one Emperor of the Blue Silver Grass!

He had to seize the emperorship that rightfully belonged to him from Tang San, the innate Emperor; how could they ever be friends?

With the existence of the system, his life was destined to be extraordinary and unique.

Previously, he had deliberately chosen to cultivate on the Playground every day; Shi Quan's purpose was to let those around him know of his uniqueness and special nature. Otherwise, why would he have cultivated on the Playground with such fanfare? If he wanted to hide, he could have gone to the Hou Shan to cultivate all along.

The fundamental reason Shi Quan needed to appear unique was that his Innate Soul Power was only level one!

His rise was destined to be a special occurrence, so he had to craft a special persona for himself, making his rise appear as understandable as possible.

Before, he felt he had to be special, but not too special. Weighing everything, Shi Quan had chosen not to seek a temporary compromise when Xiao Wu came looking for trouble, but instead revealed his Martial Arts. Even during subsequent provocations, he had always been hiding his true strength, and the same went for when he used his whip techniques.

Every one of his lethal Martial Arts was a true killing technique. If Shi Quan had really struck with cruel intent, Xiao Wu would have been left with torn skin and flesh, bedridden for a month or two.

Shi Quan had also figured it out: perhaps the actual significance of the Destiny Treasure Chest was to help him compete for destiny. If he were to be suppressed by these two, he would feel uncomfortable himself. A blocked heart and mind was a great taboo in the cultivation of Martial Arts.

Since that was the case, he would simply tear off the mask of civility.

"Shi Quan!" Tang San was so enraged by this sudden turn of events that his eyes were about to split. How could he endure seeing his sister stepped on by someone else? Just as he was about to step forward, he immediately stopped in his tracks.

"Try moving and see what happens?" As he spoke, Shi Quan began to apply force with his foot. The neck is the most fragile part of the human body; as he applied pressure, Xiao Wu immediately let out a pained, delicate cry, "Ah!"

Tang San's eyes turned red. He lightly tapped his left wrist with his right hand; the safety on the Sleeve Arrow on his left arm was already disengaged. At this moment, he had already developed the intent to kill!

"Tang San, from beginning to end, you two have been the ones coming to find trouble with me. I haven't provoked you. I've told you many times, I am very busy, don't come and disturb me. Are you deaf, or just stupid? Why can't you understand?"

Shi Quan looked at Tang San with a cold expression, his gaze falling on Tang San's left hand. Since he had already planned to tear off the mask, he was no longer afraid of Tang San harboring hostility toward him.

Tang San said coldly, "Let go of Xiao Wu."

"Let go?" Shi Quan looked straight at Tang San. "Then I must ask, did you understand my words?"

Xiao Wu was furious. Lying on the ground, she clamored, "I don't accept this! If you have the ability, let me go and come at me again!"

"Looks like you didn't understand!" Shi Quan smiled faintly and applied more pressure with his foot. Xiao Wu, struck by pain, cried out again.

How could Tang San bear to see Xiao Wu suffer? He said repeatedly, "I understand!"

"And you?" Shi Quan glanced indifferently at Xiao Wu.

Xiao Wu also knew that she was currently under someone else's roof and had to bow her head. She could only grit her teeth and say, "I know."

Shi Quan continued indifferently, "Know what?"

"You are very busy, don't come and disturb you!" Xiao Wu's voice, filled with anger, came from beneath his foot.

"Looks like you aren't deaf; you can still hear what others say." Shi Quan looked at Tang San and Xiao Wu with mockery. If he didn't possess the strength, the one lying on the ground would be him.

"I hope this is the last time, otherwise don't blame me for really striking with cruel intent!" As he spoke, blue light flickered on Shi Quan's right hand. With a flick of his wrist, the Blue Silver Vine Whip landed on a nearby tree trunk like a giant python lashing its tail.

*Crack! *

The surface of the tree trunk split open directly, leaving a clearly visible whip mark. If this whip had landed on a person, it would definitely have left them with torn skin and flesh.

Seeing this, the look in Tang San's eyes as he watched Shi Quan changed again and again.

Previously, he had always thought that Shi Quan just possessed some special soul skills, similar to Xiao Wu's Soft Technique—surprising, but understandable. But now it seemed that Shi Quan's strength was not as simple as it appeared on the surface.

It seemed that from beginning to end, they had never known Shi Quan's true strength. Compared to the Shi Quan of the past, today's Shi Quan was like a different person; he was now shrouded in a veil of mystery.

(End of chapter)