Gu Yue shot him a glance. “What did you say?”
Tang Wulin said with a smile, “I was worried that you’d be tired! What would I do if your mood goes bad when you’re tired? If you’re frequently in a bad mood, you’ll age much faster. We’ll slowly grow old together in the future, but it’s best to grow old as slowly as possible, right?”
“You’re the one who’s old!” Gu Yue could not help but laugh. There was a newfound hint of warmth in her gaze toward him.
They stepped onto the competition stage. Their opponents were already there.
Meng Xiaoran had his hands in his pockets, his head askew. When he looked at his opponents making their way up the stage, there was a slight shock within his heart, but there was also some disdain.
From the youthful looks of his opponents’ faces, it was clear that they were some years away from the age of twenty. Before twenty years of age, every year’s worth of cultivation would result in entirely different strengths. There were many of these youths who entered the competition, but most of them were only here to gain some experience in preparation for future competitions. He himself had done that once some years ago. When he was faced with such opponents today, though he viewed them with disdain, he was also very satisfied.
“Let’s send them on their way in one minute. Oh, no, make it half a minute,” Meng Xiaoran suddenly said to his companion.
Die’er rolled her eyes. “You egomaniac. How do you know that they’re not strong?”
Meng Xiaoran shrugged, “Do you even have to ask? Just look at them. They can’t be more than sixteen or seventeen. We’re almost twenty ourselves. No matter how you look at it, there’s no reason for us to lose.”
“That boy is so handsome!” Die’er propped her face up with her hands. When she looked at the boy opposite her with his great stature, good-looks and a pair of big, clear eyes, she could not help but feel an upsurge of emotion.
“Hey, hey! What are you focusing on? Can you not be so boy-crazy?” Meng Xiaoran stepped sideways grumpily and blocked Die’er’s line of sight.
“Go away.” Die’er gave him a flying kick and pushed him to the side. “I don’t care. Drag the fight out a little more later. He’s really so handsome. It’s amazing, I can’t find any flaws on him. He’s sunny, handsome, tall. If he’s got the strength, then he’s practically Prince Charming!”
“Fangirl!” Meng Xiaoran said angrily, but he dared not block her line of sight again. If this woman went crazy, things would turn quite terrifying.
The referee had already gotten onto the stage and was reading out the rules of the competition. Die’er made her way to the central part of the stage.
Tang Wulin looked at the young lady who was making her way toward them with shock. ‘Was this not a competition? Why was she walking over when the start of the match had not even been announced yet?’
“Hey, what’s your name?” Die’er looked at Tang Wulin with keen sparkling eyes.
Tang Wulin was slightly stunned. He pointed at his own nose. “Me?”
“Yes, you! What’s your name, little guy? How old are you this year? Do you have a girlfriend?” Die’er asked with a face full of excitement.
“Return to your position, the competition is starting soon. This is the Continental Young High-Ranking Soul Masters Elite Competition. Not a matchmaking event,” the referee reprimanded her brusquely.
“Alright, alright, I get it. What’s your name, handsome? Tell me quick,” Die’er continued to inquire.
“I’ll tell you if you win,” Tang Wulin said with a smile.
“Uwahh, you look so good when you smile!”
The referee was speechless, but he said, “Return to your position quickly, or I’ll announce that you two have forfeited this match.”
Meng Xiaoran could not take it any longer. He ran up quickly, grabbed Die’er and ran back.
Tang Wulin found this incident to be slightly amusing. This was his first time meeting an opponent like this.
He could not help but turn toward Gu Yue and chuckle softly. “Did you see that? Our opponent has great taste.”
Gu Yue said drily, “I’ll give you one minute. If you can’t finish them off by then, I’ll make my move. You shall not tell her your name.”
“Yes, boss,” Tang Wulin said with a smile.
Meng Xiaoran finally pulled Die’er back to their own side after much difficulty. The referee yelled without hesitation, “Let the battle begin!”
When he heard the announcement for the start of the battle, Meng Xiaoran took the lead and rushed out. He was almost at his limit with Die’er’s antics, so he decided to make this a quick battle.
His speed was very fast. As he dashed out, a pair of wings unfurled behind him. His wings did not seem big nor very effective for flying but after he leaped, he spread his wings out to their full length. It was not a problem for his wings to support his body while gliding.
He had four soul rings, two yellow and two purple. With the release of his martial soul, his hair also quickly turned colorful.
The Golden Pheasant! That was his martial soul.
It was a very special Agility System martial soul. Its uniqueness lay in the fact that his attacks came from his pheasant feathers. The different colored feathers had various effects.
With four soul rings, there were four types of colored feathers on his body, namely red, blue, yellow, and green.
He stretched his hands and two red feathers fell onto his palms. The first yellow soul ring on his body unleashed its glow. He swung his hands, and the two feathers flew directly toward Tang Wulin and Gu Yue.
The feathers flew through the air and transformed into two firebirds. The firebirds spread their wings and, bellowing loudly, swiftly flew right up to Tang Wulin and Gu Yue.
“Hey, hey! I told you to take it slowly!” Die’er frustratedly chased after him.
Tang Wulin had Gu Yue’s one-minute request in mind. He had also dashed out the moment the match started. Two golden soul rings rose around his body. The first soul ring flickered with light. It was the Domineering Golden Dragon Body!
Golden scales covered his entire body. With a bright light, the Golden Dragon Claw on his right arm burst forth. When faced with the two firebirds, he had no intention of evading them at all.
“Huh? His soul rings are golden! That’s so cool!” When Die’er saw the two golden soul rings on Tang Wulin’s body, she could not help exclaiming with surprise.
A chill ran down Meng Xiaoran’s spine. The uncertainty surrounding one’s opponent was always a worrying factor in a competition. What were those golden soul rings?
The Golden Dragon Claw slashed at the air, the tips of the claws pulsing with golden light. The two firebirds were immediately torn to pieces. Tang Wulin tapped the floor with his left foot, and he was already near his opponent.
Two blue feathers flew out. The scorching heat just now had turned into a severe cold. The two feathers transformed into ice birds in midair. They brought with them a severely cold aura as they flew straight toward Tang Wulin.
That was interesting. Dual elements of ice and fire? No, it was not elemental control. It must be related to his martial soul’s unusual characteristics.
Just like before, his Golden Dragon Claw swung and the ice birds shattered. Compared to the firebirds just now, the ice birds had form and substance. Not only did they have elemental attacks, but physical ones as well. They were certainly more powerful than the firebirds.
When he saw that Tang Wulin was charging forth like splitting bamboo and has almost reached him, Meng Xiaoran plucked two yellow feathers from the top of his head without hesitation and threw them onto the floor.
In truth, the number and types of colors of feathers on his head were proportional to the amount of his soul power and types of soul skills, respectively.
In other words, he would have the same number of feathers as the number of times he could unleash his various soul skills with the amount of soul power he had left. The quantities of the different colored feathers were determined when he released his martial soul.
This martial soul of his had somewhat of a binding character, but he could change the numbers of the different colored feathers by retracting and releasing his martial soul again. The advantage was that he could release his soul skills much faster than the average soul master. He needed only throw his feathers, and his soul skills would be released.
At this moment, when he saw that Tang Wulin was almost upon him, he swung his arms toward the floor. Two yellow feathers hit the ground and burst forth in two balls of intense yellow light.
What amused Tang Wulin was that this time, the things that flew out were not like the previous birds. Instead, two gigantic chickens materialized, each two meters tall and brown all over. The moment they appeared, they spread their wings and pounced toward Tang Wulin.
This martial soul of his was interesting! Tang Wulin suddenly quickened his footsteps. His body flashed and he shot past between the two chickens like a ghost.
The chickens were not slow, but how could their agility compare with the Tang Sect’s Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track?
Meng Xiaoran was greatly shocked when suddenly faced with Tang Wulin’s Golden Dragon Claw.
“Die’er!” Meng Xiaoran yelled suddenly.
“Hey handsome, here I come!” Die’er’s voice sounded. Shortly after, Tang Wulin’s nose picked up a sweet scent blowing against his face.
His vision blurred all of a sudden. He felt dizzy, as though his head was heavy and his feet were light.
Poison!
These two were certainly an unusual combination.
There was a pair of absolutely gorgeous pink butterfly wings on Die’er’s back. They fluttered and her second soul ring flickered with light. A faint pinkish mist covered Tang Wulin and Meng Xiaoran’s side.
The strange thing was that when this mist fell onto Meng Xiaoran’s body, it would disperse of its own accord so that it would just miss touching him.
“Bang!” A figure flew backward from within the mist. The two chickens shattered shortly after.
“Huh?” Die’er exclaimed with surprise. She saw that Meng Xiaoran had flown more than twenty meters and dropped to the ground. He was clearly knocked out cold.
She was certain that she had released her poisonous mist quickly enough. Tang Wulin must have been affected by it as well. How could Meng Xiaoran be defeated without even unleashing his fourth soul skill?
Tang Wulin’s body could definitely be described as richly endowed with natural gifts. After the torturous two month experience in the ocean, his potential was completely stimulated and brought forth, and his body was extremely strong. The Body Sect’s esoteric methods had tremendously improved his physical prowess.