Chapter 45: Control-Type Sweeps Three! The Initial Might of Tai Chi!

Regarding Xiaoxiao's request for a 1V3, Huo Yuhao readily agreed, saying, "Alright then, I'll add the Spiritual Detection Sharing for you."

He also wanted to see how much Xiaoxiao had grown during the past two months of training.

"Very well, then the match begins," Wang Yan announced.

Standing at the very back, Zhao Haochi let out a loud shout—

"Bring on the legs!"

A yellow spirit ring flickered beneath his feet as he materialized two braised chicken drumsticks in his hands, passing them to the two in front of him.

Ouyang Junyi and Chen Junfeng performed a synchronized stunt of deboning the meat with a single bite and summoned their respective martial souls: a sword-billed hummingbird and a soft sword!

Both bore a single yellow spirit ring.

In comparison, the "white spirit ring" floating beside Huo Yuhao instantly looked much weaker in terms of aura.

Yet only Xiaoxiao, who was experiencing the Spiritual Detection Sharing, knew just how utterly bugged this spirit skill truly was!

She was completely at ease, even giggling when she saw the bizarre way the two boys were devouring their chicken drumsticks.

Without even summoning her martial soul, she strode forward on her short legs to close the distance.

Such utter contempt infuriated the opposing trio. Chen Junfeng and Ouyang Junyi flanked her from left and right.

Only then did Xiaoxiao summon her martial soul, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, though it merely hovered above her head.

Channeling spirit power into her hands, she met the two head-on.

This stance led them to suspect she might be plotting something.

Exchanging a glance, Ouyang Junyi swerved, intending to bypass Xiaoxiao and attack Huo Yuhao.

Meanwhile, Chen Junfeng brandished his soft sword, mobilizing all of his 18th-rank spirit power as he slashed fiercely at Xiaoxiao.

He had hoped to use offense as defense.

Instead, the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron above Xiaoxiao's head slammed straight toward Ouyang Junyi. Dodging it nimbly, he found the cauldron beginning to spin rapidly around him as its center, trapping him within its perimeter.

As for Xiaoxiao herself, she fought bare-handed, charging directly at Chen Junfeng. As she drew close, the back of her hand struck the side of the soft sword, deflecting it into an arc that swept past her shoulder.

Pipa-Strumming Stance!

Dropping into a deep squat to steady her center of gravity, she delivered a solid Tie Shan Kao directly into Chen Junfeng's chest.

Mountain-Crushing Strike!

"Bang!"

Chen Junfeng was sent flying backward, only for Xiaoxiao to "hold hands" with him in a sudden drag that threw him off balance and forced his upper body forward. Her short legs were already raised for an upward kick, waiting precisely for his face to collide with them.

Turnaround Double Kick!

"Bang!"

Spectators all around winced in empathy, touching their own faces as a phantom pain rippled through them.

Too brutal!

However, Xiaoxiao was only dealing physical damage with her bare hands, lacking any spirit skill amplification, which meant she failed to knock Chen Junfeng out cold.

The soft sword in his hand quaked, lunging toward Xiaoxiao with the cunning agility of a venomous snake. At the same time, the yellow spirit ring beneath his feet flashed, causing the soft sword to multiply into countless afterimages. It was already an elusive weapon to begin with, and now distinguishing the true body from the phantoms became utterly impossible.

First Spirit Skill: Shadow Follows Form!

Anyone else would have been utterly dazzled by the optical illusion.

Yet under the effect of Spiritual Detection Sharing, this trick was rendered completely useless.

With a simple left-arm upward parry and block, Xiaoxiao coiled her strength into a small hop and unleashed a snapping punch, landing a heavy blow right on the bridge of Chen Junfeng's nose—the very spot she had kicked just moments before.

Step, Parry, and Punch!

"Bang!"

Chen Junfeng clutched his nose as he stumbled back repeatedly, blood dripping from between his fingers until Zhao Haochi caught him to steady his posture.

But Xiaoxiao had already recalled the Three-Life Soul-Suppressing Cauldron, sending it crashing down in a brutal collision. The two boys, barely steady on their feet, were blasted flying on the spot and landed outside the spirit combat arena.

Without even sparing them a glance, Xiaoxiao had already whirled around to charge at Ouyang Junyi. However, the latter had locked his sights entirely on Huo Yuhao, sprinting at full speed to take him down first.

Xiaoxiao gnashed her teeth in fury!

*If you have a death wish, don't ruin my 1V3!*

Yet Ouyang Junyi was an agility-attack system spirit master, and he had even activated his first spirit skill, Hummingbird Flash Pierce, to boost his speed—a pace Xiaoxiao's short legs simply couldn't match.

He reached Huo Yuhao first.

The sharp spike on his right hand lunged forward, instantly splitting into dozens of light rays to dazzle the eye.

Huo Yuhao chose to close his eyes.

With a simple pivot and step back, the spike slashed right past the front of his face without inflicting the slightest scratch.

Ouyang Junyi froze. *His reaction is this fast?*

He altered his attacks, sweeping, slashing, picking, and stabbing, but Huo Yuhao, eyes still closed, effortlessly dodged them all.

There was no fancy footwork; it was pure, unadulterated reaction speed.

Huo Yuhao would initiate his dodge even before Ouyang Junyi had fully executed his sword strike.

Flawless prediction!

After several seconds of frantic, fruitless attacks, Xiaoxiao caught up. Enraged, she kicked the back of his knee, forcing him into a half-kneel, before raining down a flurry of blows like a storm, evenly distributing strikes to his vital areas including heart, liver, spleen, and lungs.

She beat the existential doubt right out of Ouyang Junyi, driving him to the verge of vomiting blood.

"Don't—uh—"

"Stop—uh—"

"Puff—uh—"

...

He couldn't even form a coherent sentence.

"Don't stop? You still dare to provoke your grandma?" Xiaoxiao was furious.

Seeing that she was about to deal another heavy blow—

"We surrender! Stop hitting!" Zhao Haochi shouted from the sidelines. "We surrender! Grandma, please stop!"

Xiaoxiao ceased her assault with a sense of lingering dissatisfaction, pouting and lifting her chin high.

"Running fast, were you?"

"I couldn't even beat her, yet you still came to cause trouble for the class monitor."

"You're courting death!"

Huo Yuhao chuckled lightly, helping Ouyang Junyi up from the ground.

He looked over at Wang Yan.

"Oh, oh... The First-Year Class One Huo Yuhao team—wins!"

Huo Yuhao let go of Ouyang Junyi and high-fived Xiaoxiao in celebration, then turned to exit the stage.

"Don't get cocky, a momentary victory doesn't prove anything!" Ouyang Junyi gritted his teeth and said, "Your first spirit ring is only of a ten-year grade; your potential is limited after all!"

Huo Yuhao didn't even break his stride.

Ten-year?

Tianmeng-ge could jump up and snap your bull's horns right off!

But Xiaoxiao couldn't tolerate even the slightest slight.

"What? Still can't afford to lose?"

"Looking at you, you must be the type whose freshly washed clothes are never hung up, never folded, and never put on hangers!"

"So what if the class monitor's first spirit ring is a ten-year one? Did it stop him from thrashing you?"

"I might as well tell you the truth: the Tai Chi I used to beat you up just now was taught to me by the class monitor!"

"I could take ten of your kind, and the class monitor could take a hundred!"

"Bah—spit!"

Huo Yuhao was stunned!

He never expected that someone as tiny as Xiaoxiao could be so fiercely toxic when roasting people.

Ouyang Junyi was equally dumbfounded by the verbal assault, pointing a finger at Xiaoxiao for a long while without being able to retort with a single syllable.

"Is that it? That's all you've got?" Xiaoxiao mocked mercilessly. "Hurry home to find your mommy; you won't get any milk if you're late."

"Impudent!" the head teacher of First-Year Class Three scolded. "As a student, to speak with such vulgarity—I fear the family reputation of Dean Yan is about to be ruined by the likes of you!"

"Oh, Teacher, this guy is throwing passive-aggressive shade at you," Xiaoxiao complained right to his face.

The Class Three head teacher didn't panic in the slightest.

"Dean Yan, don't listen to this child sowing discord; I'm merely concerned for your rep—"

"No need for your concern," Yan Shaozhe said coldly. "If I don't listen to my own disciple, am I supposed to listen to you? Take your students and get out of here, making a spectacle of yourselves."

The head teacher honestly hadn't expected that Dean Yan, who had always valued his reputation above all else, would actually be so partial toward this vulgar disciple!

Little did he know, Yan Shaozhe had some dark history firmly held in Xiaoxiao's hands. Judging by his understanding of this disciple, if he didn't take her side today, his reputation really would be dragged through the mud by this afternoon!

Before the defeated party could even leave the stage—

A dazzling figure flew into the arena, two spirit rings—one yellow, one purple—pulsating up and down.

A thousand-year second spirit ring?!

The newcomer stopped right above Ouyang Junyi, looking down at him from on high with undisguised contempt in her gaze.

And the moment she opened her mouth, it was a critical hit!