Chapter 360: Showing Weakness to the Enemy
In the core area of Sea God Island, near the Sea God Temple, screams echoed across the ring-shaped sea, followed by several streams of light colliding with the Sea God Light Barrier outside the temple.
"Xiaobai, we agreed not to slap me in the face. Look at my face, it's all swollen from your slap."
Ning Rongrong, drenched, covered her swollen cheek with an angry expression, glaring at the figure in the ring-shaped sea with a mischievous smile.
The "Xiaobai" she referred to spoke at this moment.
"Who said we agreed? I never promised you anything. I can't kill you all, can't I have some fun? Otherwise, I'd have been your practice partner for a whole year for nothing!"
At this time, Long Nianbing and the others slowly dusted off the dirt on their bodies and walked to Ning Rongrong's side. Clearly, this scene had occurred countless times during the past month, and everyone was used to it.
"Ugh, you're driving me crazy, just wait! When Brother comes to see us, I'll make sure he slaps your backside till it's swollen."
Unable to win the fight or the argument, Ning Rongrong trembled in anger. After a moment, she sighed in defeat.
"Ah, this second trial is so difficult. Who in the world would release a 100,000-year soul beast in the ring-shaped sea? How are we supposed to play with sharks in the water?"
"Exactly, exactly! It's too much. They might as well put up a sign saying 'No passage'!"
Rubbing her swollen backside, Xiao Wu, looking equally miserable, echoed her friend's words. Over the past few months, they had tried countless times to cross this few hundred meters of ring-shaped sea, but each time, without exception, they were sent back to Sea God Temple by Xiaobai's tail fin.
The first time they encountered this deep-sea beast, they were terrified, thinking they were about to lose their lives. When they were first slapped onto the shore, they were completely stunned. After some thought, they realized that this 100,000-year Magic Soul Great White Shark seemed to be blocking their way rather than killing them.
This brought them great relief. Fighting a 100,000-year sea soul beast in the open ocean was simply impossible, especially since they had many restrictions placed on them. The worst part was that Nami couldn't even use her soul rings or soul abilities.
"Alright, Rongrong, we did swim farther this time, didn't we? We still have nearly ten months left. We can take it slow."
"Thanks, Nami. I feel a little better now."
Ning Rongrong rolled her eyes at Nami's words. If they were talking about progress, they had indeed made some. From being slapped back into the shore immediately when they first entered the water to now being slapped back after swimming five meters, that progress didn't really feel like progress.
The little bunny, ears drooping, sat by the shore, gazing at the not-so-distant opposite side of the ring-shaped sea. She sighed deeply.
"Do you think we'll fail the second trial? Will we die here?"
Upon hearing this, everyone fell into silence. Honestly, none of them had any confidence in completing the trial in ten months and breaking through the ring-shaped sea.
Seeing the lack of energy in everyone, Xiaobai in the sea laughed even harder.
"You all do have one good quality at least: you're very self-aware. For the remaining time, just eat and play whatever you want. Don't think about passing the trial. You don't have the strength for that, do you?"
The little bunny couldn't take such mocking and immediately stood up, ready to jump into the sea and fight Xiaobai. But she was quickly restrained mid-air by Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing.
"That's too much! Xiao Wu is going to fight you! Who's not a 100,000-year soul beast? You're nothing!"
"Calm down, didn't your backside hurt enough already?"
Seeing this, Nami quickly stepped in to comfort.
"Xiao Wu, we're still in the trial phase, didn't the master say we should try to complete the trial through cooperation? Let's try it a few more times."
"I understand the reasoning, Nami, but right now, I just want to fight her."
After a long while, the little bunny, exhausted from struggling, finally calmed down, but her eyes were still fixed on Xiaobai with hatred.
"Useless rage, since we're not trying today, I'll go sleep. See you tomorrow!"
"See your head! I'll slap your backside next, Xiao Wu!"
"It's okay, Xiao Wu, my self-created soul skill is almost ready. When the time comes, we'll cooperate."
Hearing this, the previously disgruntled little bunny's eyes immediately brightened.
"Really? Hurry up, let Xiao Wu see it!"
In the little bunny's expectant gaze, Nami shook her head.
"Xiao Wu, I think this skill should be saved for the final trial day. If the opponent is prepared, it won't work as a surprise."
"I see. Then let's go. Can you tell me more about your self-created soul skill?"
"Well, it's basically that I can fully fuse with my martial soul to temporarily enter a sea soul beast form. When that happens, my movement speed in the water will greatly increase."
Hearing this, the little bunny looked at Nami with an expression that clearly said, "Are you serious?" How could you possibly outpace a 100,000-year Magic Soul Great White Shark in the water?
Nami, clearly seeing what Xiao Wu was thinking, smiled and explained.
"Just relying on this won't work, but don't forget, I also have the soul bone given by the master. The right arm bone of the Water Nymph Frog gave me a pretty good soul skill. You'll see it when the time comes. Plus, we have many teleportation-type soul skills. We'll have plenty of room to maneuver. The key is not to let Xiaobai know in advance so we can catch her off guard."
"Without practice, can we succeed on the first try?"
The little bunny was deeply skeptical. If they failed on the last day, wouldn't everything be over?
"Come on, Xiao Wu, you have to trust our teamwork. Didn't Zhu Zhuqing have a shadow skill? Nian Bing has many soul skills that can be used too. Just listen to my command, and our chances of passing are very high."
"And we still have an important task at hand."
Hearing Nami's words, the group immediately became interested and quickly surrounded her.
"What task? Tell us!"
"Show weakness to the enemy."
"Eh? We're already weak, do we need to show it?"
"Ah, I didn't mean that. I meant that we shouldn't show any signs of improvement. We'll keep pretending to be weak in front of Xiaobai until the very last day. Do you think she'll become overconfident?"
Hearing this, everyone began to understand Nami's plan. They would exploit the Magic Soul Great White Shark's overconfidence and save all their tricks for the last day, making it a full-on gamble.
After thinking for a moment, Ning Rongrong nodded in agreement with Nami's idea. After all, there was no better plan. If pretending to be weak was the only option, she would do it.
Thus, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong fully embraced their roles as actors. Every time Xiaobai easily sent them flying back to shore, they would start pounding their chests and sighing about their weakness, while praising Xiaobai's invincibility. This made Xiaobai feel a bit embarrassed, and even the strength with which she slapped their backsides became gentler. After all, the small fry would never get through anyway.
Seeing this, Xiao Wu and Ning Rongrong performed even more enthusiastically. Sometimes, tears would come out of their eyes just like that, making Xiaobai feel somewhat guilty.
"Waah, Xiao Wu, I think I can't complete the trial. Xiaobai is too strong."
"Yes, wah, wah, I'll never be able to enjoy the Seven Treasure Pavilion's grand gathering again."
(END CHAPTER)
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