Flipping the table easily ignites a confrontational atmosphere, and the diners in the hall all hid. However, apart from the shopkeeper, no one seemed panicked.
Living in a small town near a gathering place for spirit beasts, they were used to conflicts between spirit masters. There was always a commotion to watch every now and then, as long as they stayed out of the fray.
The shopkeeper was in a tough spot, but he didn't dare to intervene. He could only tolerate the spirit masters causing trouble. Some spirit masters would give him gold spirit coins to compensate for their losses afterward, but many would beat him up.
So, in general, this kind of place lacked restraint and rules, and the arrival of any uncivilized spirit master was a scourge to this remote town.
The teacher leading the group from Canghui Academy didn't come out to stop them, and the old men from Shrek Academy were even less likely to do so. None of them were easy to deal with; they were all troublemakers in their younger days.
Of the seven students from Canghui Academy, except for the woman and the man, the other five all rushed over.
Xiao Wu jumped out and blocked their way.
Seeing that Ma Hongjun and the others didn't move, Oscar said, "Why don't you hurry up and attack? Don't let Xiao Wu suffer."
Ma Hongjun replied, "If Tang San isn't panicking, we don't need to be."
Tang San was indeed calm, but his eyes had turned purple as he assessed the opponent's strength. He didn't attack, confident that Xiao Wu wouldn't be at a disadvantage.
Moreover, Tang San had already taken off; if he sensed anything amiss, he would be the first to react and rush forward.
Neither side activated their martial souls immediately. The five youths on the other side were surprised to see a remarkably pretty young girl approaching.
Although she looked young, Xiao Wu was already about 1.7 meters tall, blinking her cute big eyes and appearing harmless, which immediately dampened their momentum.
The five seemed reluctant to attack Xiao Wu, and the leader pointed at Ma Hongjun, about to speak.
Xiao Wu had no time for banter. The youth had just raised his hand when suddenly a shiny black braid flew out of thin air. Before he could react, his neck was already tightly wrapped in Xiao Wu's scorpion braid.
Xiao Wu curled up and leaped, her back to the young man, her feet aimed directly at his chest.
Having his neck wrapped around someone easily caused panic, and seeing Xiao Wu's kick coming, the young man hurriedly raised his hands to block. But little did he know, Xiao Wu's feet weren't for attack, but merely a fulcrum. Almost instantly, he was sent flying by Xiao Wu's handspring.
Xiao Wu's movements were incredibly fast; her feet didn't pause for a moment. Using the momentum of the handspring, she threw one person away, her feet landing on another.
At this moment, the remaining four young men hadn't fully reacted. Facing Xiao Wu's second attack, the young man hurriedly raised his hands to try and block her attack, but Xiao Wu's graceful techniques were not so easily blocked.
He braced Xiao Wu's feet with his arms, but to his astonishment, the Canghui Academy student found that there was no force attached to Xiao Wu's feet; they were as soft as noodles. With a slip, her feet slipped under his arms and accurately clamped around his neck. Then, Xiao Wu's forward-leaning body defied inertia and flipped backward, throwing a second person away.
All of this happened in the blink of an eye. The surrounding diners watched as five people from Canghui Academy rushed forward, only to have two of them cleanly and efficiently thrown away by a pretty young girl in an instant.
The Canghui Academy teacher was also taken aback by Xiao Wu's attack method. Enraged, he roared, "Idiot, use your Martial Soul!"
Tang San, with a whoosh, appeared in front of Xiao Wu in a blur, shielding her behind him.
In a flash, Dai Mubai followed closely behind, appearing on Xiao Wu's other side.
Xiang Chengxian and Zhu Zhuqing also stood up, ready to fight alongside them.
"It's a small matter, sit down. With us boys here, why would you girls need to lift a finger?"
Ma Hongjun stood up and gestured for Xiang Chengxian and Zhu Zhuqing to sit down.
Xiao Wu turned to look at Tang San, who nodded to her. Only then did she refrain from attacking again and calmly walked back.
Ma Hongjun strolled over and squeezed between Dai Mubai and Tang San.
Then he stretched out his left and right hands and placed them on their shoulders, looking like they were best buddies.
Dai Mubai and Tang San helplessly turned to look at Ma Hongjun. They couldn't afford to lose face at this moment, so they had no choice but to accept it.
Tang San was alright; he was always easygoing with his brothers. Although Dai Mubai was a bit arrogant, he could only sigh helplessly in the face of Ma Hongjun over the years and couldn't resist.
"Are you a dog? You think we're your twins!" Dai Mubai said in a low voice.
He knew Ma Hongjun all too well. Before Ma Hongjun was as tall as the Shuang'er sisters, he would have his arms around their waists. But ever since he grew taller, he liked to put his arms around their shoulders.
The tense atmosphere was somewhat disrupted by Ma Hongjun's relaxed and casual demeanor.
Because Xiao Wu hadn't used her martial soul earlier, the two who had been thrown out, though dazed and confused, weren't truly injured. When the five Canghui students regrouped, their anger had reached its peak, and they unleashed their martial souls almost without hesitation.
Three teenagers against five youths—Ma Hongjun's side seemed far weaker, yet their aura was more like a casual fling, showing no regard for the five, utterly fearless.
The five students from Canghui Academy simply couldn't believe that they, as students of a high-level soul master academy, couldn't defeat these teenagers.
Suddenly, various lights shone brightly; the five youths' soul rings were all the same color—one white and one yellow, representing a ten-year soul ring and a hundred-year soul ring.
All five were naturally Soul Masters, including two with Weapon Souls and three with Beast Souls.
The two Weapon Souls were a spear and a trident,
while the three Beast Souls were a deer, a sheep, and a horse. Leaving aside the quality of their Souls, their Soul Ring configuration was a disgrace to advanced Soul Master academies.
Upon seeing this lineup, Ma Hongjun suddenly felt an urge to curse. He was actually quite cautious when facing an advanced Soul Master academy; what truly made him fearless were the five old men sitting beside him.
However, the strength they displayed failed to ignite his interest. Back at Mu Su Junior Soul Master Academy, his underlings all started with yellow Soul Rings, and at Shrek Academy, it was even more so.
Furthermore, Xiang Chengxian also came from an advanced Soul Master academy, so Ma Hongjun had previously held some respect for them.
Now, however, his understanding had been completely shattered. While it's true that one shouldn't judge a book by its cover, this was far too poor.
Strategic contempt was one thing, but tactically, one must take the opponent seriously.
"So these are the disciples of the so-called advanced Soul Master Academy? Some even have ten-year Soul Rings? Brothers, let's show them our Soul Rings too!"
Ma Hongjun said, taking his hands off their shoulders.
Tang San and Dai Mubai quickly distanced themselves and began summoning their Martial Souls.
"White Tiger, Possess!"
A powerful, pale white light suddenly erupted from Dai Mubai's body. He stretched his arms out to the sides, his chest puffed out, his bones cracking and his muscles bulging, straining against his clothes.
Every muscle beneath his clothes became extremely prominent, and even the air around him seemed to become turbulent.
His once golden hair instantly turned black and white, with white dominating and a few strands of black hair standing out.
Four faint lines appeared on his forehead, three horizontal and one vertical, forming the character "王" (king).
His hands underwent the most dramatic change, more than doubling in size. White fur covered his palms, and with each flick of his fingers, short, dagger-like claws constantly extended and retracted from his hands.
Each claw was like a blade, eight inches long, gleaming with a chilling, sinister light.
Dai Mubai slowly leaned forward, his four pupils turning a deep, dark blue, emanating an invisible, icy killing intent, filled with overwhelming power. Beneath his feet, three bright halos rose one after another, two yellow and one purple. As the spirit rings swirled, surging spirit power formed a wave of pressure that crashed down upon them.
Perhaps due to the incompatibility of spirits, the three battle spirit masters with beast spirits couldn't help but tremble and take a few steps back as Dai Mubai completed his spirit possession.
How could deer, sheep, and horses not be afraid in front of a tiger?
Compared to Dai Mubai's imposing presence, Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was much more understated, just a small clump, inconspicuously placed in his palm.
This made the five opponents relax slightly, but the two yellow spirit rings that appeared next made their eyes narrow.
Tang San's Blue Silver Grass was incredibly deceptive. Who could have known that this supposedly useless spirit would unleash power comparable to a top-tier spirit in his hands?
If the strength Tang San and Dai Mubai displayed still gave the Canghui Academy students a glimmer of hope,
then Ma Hongjun's spirit and spirit rings would utterly shatter their hopes.
A silver spear with dark blue patterns appeared in his hand, its tip gleaming with a chilling blue light.
Ma Hongjun, with his long, flowing red hair and strikingly handsome appearance, wore a wicked smile.
Three spirit rings appeared, encircling his body.
Yellow, purple, purple!
The purple spirit ring's light spread out, completely overshadowing the other colors, making the white spirit ring appear extremely shabby.
This caused several students from Canghui Academy to feel extremely unbalanced, or rather, extremely jealous. These three youths looked much younger than them, yet their strength far surpassed theirs.
Without even lifting a finger, the five students from Canghui Academy were already retreating in fear under the overwhelming aura of Ma Hongjun and his companions.
While spirit rings don't fully represent strength, they are the most direct way to demonstrate it.
Two Soul Masters and three thousand-year spirit rings—that's monstrous.
Especially that red-haired youth; his spirit ring configuration is simply beyond their imagination.
Yellow rings—they could still dream of that.
But this yellow-purple ring—they wouldn't even dare to consider it!