When she had previously sparred with
Meng Yiran nodded to her grandfather. "Grandfather, let's begin."
Meng Shu turned to Tang San. "Are you ready?"
Tang San nodded. When it came to Hidden Weapons, was there really any need to prepare? Naturally, given his temperament, he would never say something like that out loud.
Meng Yiran swiftly pressed the cloth pouch at her waist against her clothing. The back of the pouch was fitted with adhesive strips that could cling to fabric of any material, making it convenient to use. While securing her pouch, she stole a deliberate glance at Tang San. He was standing there looking rather dazed, holding his pouch in one hand — he didn't look like someone who knew the first thing about thrown weapons. The sight gave Meng Yiran a small swell of pride.
The Dragon Grandpa, Meng Shu, made his move. His body didn't budge; he simply flicked his wrist and sent his four-meter-long dragon-head cane flying through the air.
A resonant dragon's cry rang out from the head of the cane. The silver staff shot forward like a living silver dragon, hurtling toward the great tree some twenty meters away.
With a muffled boom, Meng Shu's force was applied with perfect precision — he had fully harnessed the power of vibration, shaking loose a rain of leaves without damaging the tree itself.
Meng Yiran let out a sharp cry and both hands moved at once. Flashes of cold light streaked from her pouch in rapid succession. Her motions were clean and decisive — she hurled all eighteen Soul-Breaking Blades in a single breath.
Perhaps the fury she harbored toward Tang San had sharpened her focus. Meng Yiran could clearly feel that her touch with the blades today was exceptional. She was certain that every single one of her Soul-Breaking Blades had struck its target, and some had even pierced through two leaves at once.
While Meng Yiran was fully absorbed in the task of throwing her blades, Meng Shu, after releasing his dragon-head cane, fixed his gaze on Tang San. His cane was a Tool Martial Soul — once released, he could retrieve it with Soul Power alone, without needing to consciously control it. He wanted to see whether this young man called Tang San could surprise him once more.
Under Meng Shu's watchful eye, Tang San did something that left the Heaven-Shaking Dragon and Snake couple utterly baffled. The moment Meng Shu's cane was released, Tang San had already turned around.
But he wasn't facing the target tree — his back was to it. At the very instant Meng Yiran launched her blades, the hand clutching Tang San's pouch moved as well. The entire pouch unfurled in his right hand in a flash, then shook violently.
Eighteen streaks of cold light departed their positions almost simultaneously.
Meng Yiran's Soul-Breaking Blades, of course, flew straight forward. But Meng Shu could see clearly — every blade Tang San had thrown was tracing an arc through the air.
Throwing a single blade along a curved path already demanded superb technique and skill. Yet Tang San hadn't even used his hands to guide them directly — he had merely flicked the pouch, and every blade had produced this effect.
Even Meng Shu, a Soul Douluo, couldn't help but be startled. He peered intently toward the spot where Tang San's blades were heading.
A rapid thudding filled the air — the dense sound of sharp edges biting into wood. The leaves overhead gradually drifted down, and the contest was over.
Meng Yiran turned to look at Tang San just as he turned back toward her. A mix of surprise and anger crept into her voice. "You didn't even throw?"
Tang San shook his now-empty pouch. "I already did."
While Meng Yiran was still stunned, the Heaven-Shaking Dragon and Snake couple had already appeared at her side. Meng Shu sighed. "A divine technique, truly. Yiran, you've lost."
Meng Yiran looked at her grandfather in bewilderment. Meng Shu shook his head at her. "There's no need to go check the results. Let's go."
"No — I don't believe it." Until she had seen it with her own eyes, how could Meng Yiran possibly accept that she had lost at thrown weapons — her greatest specialty — to Tang San, who barely had any strength left? Brushing aside her grandparents' attempts to stop her, she sprinted toward the great tree. She simply refused to believe that she had lost.
Meng Shu sighed, murmuring to himself, "This will probably hit Yiran hard. But there's no harm in letting her understand that there is always someone better, and that the sky beyond the sky has no end."