Feng Xiaotian pointed at Su Ming, full of confidence, and said, "Su Ming, if you're really a man, accept my challenge! People say you're already a Soul King, but I don't believe it! If you have the guts, fight me!"
Feng Xiaotian knew he was being impulsive, but Su Ming had never shown his true power, so he believed he still had a chance. Su Ming shook his head and replied, "Feng Xiaotian, do you think you're being impressive? Just because your martial soul is a wolf doesn't mean you can bite anyone you want. Watch out, or it'll bite back!"
"Pfft, hahahaha!" A burst of laughter erupted from the side, and it was Huo Wu, holding her stomach and laughing uncontrollably. "Sorry, I couldn't help it; that's the best insult I've heard in ages."
Feng Xiaotian, undeterred, proclaimed, "All I'm saying is, if you're a man, then right here, right now, fight me!"
Su Ming sighed and waved his hand dismissively, "You probably can't even beat Huo Wu, so how do you expect to win against me? Besides, Huo Wu doesn't like weaklings...or people who grovel." He added, "Since you insist, let's do this. No need to change locations; it's quiet here anyway."
"Damn it!" Feng Xiaotian hated being called a groveler and immediately summoned his martial soul. "Gale Double-Headed Wolf, possession!" Four spirit rings appeared beneath him.
Without concern, Su Ming lazily summoned his martial soul, and five spirit rings rose beneath him, yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—he was indeed a Soul King. He masked his fifth ring as a black ten-thousand-year ring rather than a hundred-thousand-year one to keep a low profile.
Huo Wu, watching the confrontation intensify, stepped aside, intrigued to witness Su Ming's strength firsthand.
Seeing Su Ming's fifth black ring, Feng Xiaotian's eyes widened—he really was a Soul King! But with the challenge issued, there was no turning back. Besides, seeing that Su Ming's martial soul was wood-based, he figured his own sharp spirit abilities might counter it. Summoning his second skill, Feng Xiaotian charged at Su Ming, believing he might have a chance.
Su Ming watched, already bored. He had no real desire to entertain Feng Xiaotian, and with a slight tap of his foot, a large wooden hand shot forward, capturing Feng Xiaotian mid-dash.
"What?!" Feng Xiaotian's mind went blank—had Su Ming even used a skill? There was no ring glow, no chanting, nothing.
Huo Wu was impressed. "That must be Su Ming's technique...instantly cast. He's good."
Though momentarily shocked, Feng Xiaotian quickly recovered. "First skill, Wind Blade Array!" Sharp wind blades surrounded him, slashing toward the wooden hand. But as the blades struck, they only left tiny marks that vanished in seconds, leaving the wood unharmed. Feng Xiaotian felt a wave of frustration—weren't his wind blades supposed to counter plant-based abilities? Why weren't they working?
"Now you see the gap between us, right?" Su Ming said calmly. "I really don't want to fight you. If you're weak, then just keep practicing."
He continued, "If I'm not mistaken, Feng Xiaotian, you're already 24, aren't you? Born with full spirit power, and yet Huo Wu, who's five or six years younger, has a higher spirit level."
Feng Xiaotian thought himself strong, but to Su Ming, he was just another talent who'd wasted too much time on self-created skills instead of mastering the basics.
Feeling his face burn from embarrassment, Feng Xiaotian could only stammer, unable to respond. He had always considered himself talented, a Soul Ancestor at level forty-three, and usually the best of the best. He even had his own powerful self-created skills. Why wouldn't Su Ming let him showcase them?
Su Ming, meanwhile, would've shrugged at the idea. If your power's insufficient, you can't use your skills. That's on you, not me. "If you're weak, just practice more," he would say.
Though Su Ming initially intended to teach Feng Xiaotian a simple lesson with a wood spike, he decided to drain him instead. With the Emperor Snow speech the next morning and their upcoming journey to Spirit City, he summoned a wooden dragon instead.
Seeing the dragon's massive maw coming straight for him, Feng Xiaotian panicked. Was Su Ming planning to kill him?
"No, wait! Su Ming, I give up! Don't, don't come any closer!" he yelled frantically, "Huo Wu, help me!"
As he begged for help, Huo Wu shook her head. Was this really the guy who claimed to like her? She thought to herself, Only if I were blind would I even consider him. If I had to choose, why not someone strong and handsome, like Su Ming?
She knew Su Ming would stop short of anything life-threatening. Meanwhile, Su Ming, rolling his eyes at Feng Xiaotian's dramatic reaction, watched the dragon close in, absorbing his spirit power in seconds. Feng Xiaotian's face paled as he fainted on the spot.
"Su Ming, are you sure it's fine to drain Feng Xiaotian like that? Won't it cause trouble later?" Huo Wu asked.
Su Ming shrugged. "Nothing to worry about. I just drained his spirit power, you see?" He gestured to his wooden dragon. "He's passed out from the depletion, but he'll be fine otherwise."
Su Ming needed to clear up any misunderstandings; otherwise, if Huo Wu mistook his wood dragon's absorption ability for something similar to Tang San's, that would be troublesome. As he approached, Su Ming noticed a small wet spot under Feng Xiaotian. It seemed the poor guy had been scared to the point of wetting himself!
"Eww…" Huo Wu, having noticed this as well, took a few steps back in disgust. "Well, with Feng Xiaotian in this state, how is he supposed to get back?"
Su Ming shrugged, pointing in one direction. "Not our problem. The power of our abilities here should've drawn his teammates' attention. They'll probably come for him soon. Let's just get out of here."
After they left, Huo Wu hesitated for a moment before saying, "Su Ming, how about you have a match with me too?"
Surprised, Su Ming asked, "Right now?"
Huo Wu nodded. "After watching your fight with Feng Xiaotian, I don't want to wait until the finals. We might not even end up facing each other then. I want to see what you're really made of, one-on-one."
Seeing her eagerness, Su Ming relented, "Alright then, come with me."
He led her to an empty training arena. "Huo Wu, I don't mind fighting, but remember, we leave for Spirit City tomorrow. Don't overdo it," he advised.
Huo Wu brushed off his concerns. She didn't care about such things right now. All she wanted was to give it her all and see if she could defeat Su Ming. As for getting hurt? She hadn't even considered it. If it happened, she figured it would be her own fault.
"Let's start!" Su Ming said simply.
Without further ado, he launched his attack, deciding this was the perfect opportunity to impress the fiery beauty. It was also a chance to try out some other wood techniques.
"Piercing Root Technique!"
Instantly, countless wooden spikes appeared in front of Su Ming, rushing toward Huo Wu.
"Third spirit skill, Repelling Fire Ring!"
As expected, the spikes shattered instantly. Su Ming couldn't help but admire her technique—very effective indeed. But that was merely a probing attack on his part. In his view, this move, while powerful, had its limits; a sufficiently strong attack would surely break through it. A third spirit skill from a Spirit Elder couldn't possibly block the full force of a Spirit Emperor or Spirit Sage.
Seeing that she'd deflected his attack, Huo Wu confidently taunted, "See, Su Ming? Your attacks can't touch me."
Su Ming shook his head. That was far from the truth. His initial move had only been a warm-up, without any power augmentation. He hadn't expected it to succeed.
Alright, he thought, to make an impression, I'll go with a big one.
"Wood Release: Wood Human Technique!"
With a loud rumble, an enormous wooden humanoid figure rose in the center of the arena, nearly taking up half the battlefield. Coiled around the wood figure's torso was a wood dragon, adding to the imposing sight. Huo Wu gaped in shock; the wood figure had to be at least ten meters tall—far taller than she'd expected!
What she didn't know was that this was a scaled-down version. Typically, a Wood Human was around fifty meters tall, but there was no way this room could accommodate such a giant without bursting open.
Even so, the towering wood human was an intimidating sight, and she couldn't help but compare. Her Blazing Dance of the Sun in her fusion mode might not even be as large as one of this figure's hands.
"Su Ming, what…what is this move?" Huo Wu asked in awe, realizing the gap between them might be larger than she'd thought.
Su Ming replied nonchalantly, "This skill has a simple name—Wood Human."
Huo Wu was dumbstruck. How could such a formidable skill have such an ordinary name?
Unwilling to admit defeat, Huo Wu immediately used her Repelling Fire Ring again. However, this time the wood figure stood perfectly still. The wood human and dragon just stared at her, as if to say, "Is that all you've got?"
Huo Wu couldn't believe it. Given her strength, she should have been able to repel any ability from a Spirit Emperor, even partially deflecting those from a Spirit Sage. But against this wooden colossus, her skill had zero effect. Su Ming was only a Spirit King—did this wood human possess the strength of a Spirit Sage or even a Spirit Douluo?
Seeing her reaction, Su Ming knew his plan was working; he wanted her to experience a bit of existential crisis, to truly feel the power gap. That was the best way to command her respect.
"It's getting late, Huo Wu," Su Ming said. "If you have any tricks left, bring them out now. If you can take down this wood human, I'll concede defeat."
Biting her lip in frustration, Huo Wu didn't want to win under these circumstances. Her competitive spirit ignited as her remaining four spirit rings flared up, fusing to create her Blazing Dance of the Sun.
A massive, blazing fireball with a diameter of around five meters appeared before her. She couldn't help but compare, and she was relieved to see that, at least in terms of size, her fireball was larger than Su Ming's wood human's hands.
"Alright, let's see how you handle this!" she cried, sending the fiery sphere hurtling toward the wood human. Yet, just as she released it, the wood human's hand expanded, effortlessly catching her Blazing Dance of the Sun.
The wood figure's eyes seemed to examine the fireball curiously, as if it were nothing more than an intriguing object in its grasp.
Notes-Read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X, i have finished uploading the whole series in patreon, thanks for supporting me and special thanks to all the patrons for joining
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