With a gap of roughly ten levels, Tang San was completely confident he could disrupt his opponent's control abilities. The Great Master had once said that the best way to deal with a Control Type Soul Master was to use control against control. If an Assault Type Soul Master was the core of a team, a Support Type Soul Master its foundation, and an Agility Type Soul Master its eyes, then the Control Type Soul Master was its very soul. These three months of devilish training had not only strengthened Tang San's body, but the Great Master had also given him special training every night. The target of that training was the external spirit bone hidden within his spine—the Eight Spider Lances.
The name "Eight Spider Lances" was given by the Great Master, because this external spirit bone was obtained from the Man-Faced Demon Spider and resembled eight long lances. After this period of training, Tang San had progressed from being unable to adapt to adapting, and now he could basically control the Eight Spider Lances as a sharp weapon for both offense and defense, while also controlling the release and suppression of the poison within them. The Great Master had said that with this external spirit bone, combined with his own Control Type Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass, he could completely contend with opponents below level forty.
After hastily eating dinner, the Fatty ate two of Oscar's Restorative Sausages, and only then did the four quietly head out of the academy. Ma Hongjun hadn't planned to tell anyone else. After all, getting beaten up in a den of grass wasn't exactly something to be proud of.
Just as the four reached the academy gates, suddenly, a black shadow flashed out sideways, blocking their path.
Having been beaten, Ma Hongjun was already jittery and almost immediately released his Martial Soul.
Purple-red flames illuminated the darkness, and the four finally saw who was blocking their way.
Ma Hongjun let out a sigh of relief and withdrew his Phoenix Flame. "It's you? You trying to scare people to death?"
The one who had suddenly appeared before the four was Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu was wearing brown trousers today, with a simple, close-fitting white top. While her figure wasn't as explosive as Zhu Zhuqing's, her slender frame had a charm all its own, especially her astonishingly slender yet incredibly elastic little waist, and the gleaming black scorpion braid that hung down to her heels behind her back, which gave her a girl-next-door beauty. Her big, dark eyes stared at Tang San and the others with a hint of confusion.
"What are you all sneaking around for? Fatty, why is your face swollen? Did someone beat you up?"
Ma Hongjun coughed dryly. The other three, Tang San and his companions, were men like him, so he didn't need to be coy, but Xiao Wu was a girl and had always disapproved of how he handled his Devilfire. For a moment, he suddenly didn't want to explain how he'd gotten beaten.
Xiao Wu stepped forward a few paces, and by the moonlight, she got a clear look at Ma Hongjun's injuries. She immediately jumped up in righteous indignation. "Who could be so vicious? To beat you up like this! Dai, it wasn't you, was it?"
Dai Mubai curled his lip. "Would I lay that kind of hand on my own brother? The Fatty got beaten up fighting over a girl. We're about to go get him some justice."
"Then what are we waiting for? Count me in. Anyone who dares hit my brother deserves to be beaten until he can't take care of himself!" Xiao Wu was naturally one who enjoyed stirring things up. When she first joined the academy, she'd had some prejudices against the Fatty. But after all these days, everyone had looked out for each other through this devilish training, and those prejudices had long since vanished. Furthermore, back at Notting Academy, she had been the big sister and had often gotten into fights to seek revenge for others. During usual sparring, everyone held back, so now finally having a chance for a real fight, she looked even more eager than Ma Hongjun.
"Wu-Mei, you're too good! How about I marry myself to you then?" Seeing that Xiao Wu not only wasn't stopping them from seeking revenge but was immediately joining in, the Fatty was greatly moved, and his gloominess dissipated a bit with that. His last sentence clearly showed his usual creepy nature.
"Who are you planning to marry yourself to?" Tang San looked at the Fatty, his voice a bit odd.
The Fatty glanced at Tang San and quickly chuckled, "Forget I said that. Third Brother, let's go."
The group of four became five, and under the cover of night, they set off on a path all too familiar to them. The five channeled their Soul Power and sped like the wind toward Sotuo City.
About half an hour later.
"Fatty, this is where you usually go to deal with your Devilfire problem?" Dai Mubai's eyebrows were practically knitted together.
Before the five stood a row of single-story buildings. It was a remote corner of Sotuo City. The buildings before them were only a little over three meters high, and many parts looked damaged. At the doorway hung several pink lanterns, and under them stood a few heavily made-up women of no young age, clearly plying their trade to passersby.
Oscar's mouth twitched. "No wonder you always say there's a golden phoenix in a grass den. This really is a grass den!"
Dai Mubai and Oscar truly couldn't quite stomach Ma Hongjun's taste. For Xiao Wu and Tang San, this was their first time in such a place; aside from curiosity, they didn't feel much of anything special.