Chapter 76 – Two Ring Opponent
“Let’s go and take a look.” Xie Xie couldn’t be bothered to bicker with Tang Wulin, so he quickly ran off. Tang Wulin and Gu Yue could only follow him.
“You guys can’t act like this! Not at all! This is how I make my living!” Before they neared, the three of them could already hear Uncle Li’s voice.
Xie Xie was at the front and was thus able to quickly force his way through the crowd.
The cooking table beside the stewed beef shop’s entrance had been overturned. Beef broth streamed out from the countless shattered jars that lay on the ground. The steamy aroma coming from the meat only added to the disarray.
Uncle Li lay collapsed in the doorway of the shop. He was bleeding from the corner of his mouth and had a swollen eye, which only contributed to the look of grief and indignation on his face.
Three burly men stood before the doorway of the shop. The leader of this trio was a bald man, bare-chested despite the cold weather, showing off the dragon tattoos on his arms.
The other two were also quite tall, and were obviously bad people from the look of their scowls.
“Surnamed Li, a wise man submits to his circumstances. There isn’t anyone on this street who dares to not hand over the protection fee money, yet you’re always coming up with all sorts of excuses. Could it be that I, Guang Long1, need to beg? Do we need to specially send someone over everyday to collect a bit of money? If it wasn’t for the fact that your stewed beef is quite tasty, this daddy over here would have already disposed of you. So stop talking nonsense and hand over the money today. If you don’t, then you can forget about opening up your shop here in the future.” The bald man cast a cold and gloomy gaze on Uncle Li as he spoke. Despite the large crowd, not a single person dared to intervene.
“Big Brother Guang Long, it really isn’t that I am refusing to pay the protection fees. It’s just that my wife is terribly sick and I use the little money I earn every day to take her to the doctor. But you’ve actually smashed apart my business! Now my wife won’t be able to live much longer. When it comes time, I won’t live any longer either.”
Guang Long laughed out loud. “Fine then! Trying to threaten me with your life? Do you think that this daddy here cares about your cheap life? Even if you die, I can just substitute you with someone else and I’ll be paid all the same. If you can’t pay, then beat it! Don’t occupy this space.” As he spoke, he took a step forward a kicked the kitchen table, flipping it over. In a moment, all of the jars of stewed beef on top were scattered about on the ground.
Uncle Li sorrowfully cried, “Guang Long, I’ll stake everything against you.” Uncle Li climbed up with great difficulty, then lowered his head and charged at Guang Long.
Guang Long let out a single evil laugh before raising his leg and kicked Uncle Li, sending him tumbling away. “Fighting with your life? In front of this daddy here, you don’t even have the qualifications to fight with your life. Don’t forget this daddy is a Soul Master.”
“So just because you’re a Soul Master, you have the right to bully people?” A voice angrily rebuked from the sidelines as Tang Wulin’s trio squeezed past the crowd. Xie Xie quickly rushed over to Uncle Li’s side and supported him. Guang Long was met with Tang Wulin’s angry glare.
Guang Long was stunned for a moment, before he began laughing unbridledly at the sight of this child. “This street really doesn’t have anyone left after all! Even a child dares to get in my way. He truly is a calf that does not know how to be afraid of the tiger. Beat it! This daddy doesn’t like to hit children.”
Tang Wulin had been born into an ordinary family. To him, he found the idea of the strong bullying the weak to be absolutely unacceptable! He approached Guang Long with large strides and said, “How could you treat Uncle Li like this!? Are you even human!?”
Guang Long responded with a cold snort, “Can kindness be eaten? He does this in order to provide for his wife, could it be that I don’t need to provide for my mother? Screw being honest! Hurry up and get lost brat; don’t delay my business any longer.”
He raised a hand as he finished speaking, moving to push Tang Wulin’s shoulder.
A light flashed within Tang Wulin’s eyes as he ferociously threw a punch at the oncoming palm.
With a ‘bang,’ Guang Long was sent staggering back. Tang Wulin, however, was similarly stunned. ‘This guy had been caught off guard, yet he was able to control his body. His strength definitely isn’t weak!’
“Fine then boy. It seems you actually have some strength.” Guang Long spread his large palm once more, but this time, he aimed to grab Tang Wulin’s shoulders. The dragon tattoos on his muscular arms grew taut, revealing a fierce appearance.
Tang Wulin’s strongest point wasn’t his martial soul, but his strength. He raised his fist again and sent another punch flying.
Another muffled sound rang out, but this time, Tang Wulin was the one who fell back. He felt as if Guang Long’s palm was like cast copper, and even with his astonishing strength, he was still at a disadvantage. Tang Wulin was pushed back two steps.
Guang Long was also given a fright. He had already put quite a bit of strength into that grab of his just now, yet the power behind that child’s punch had actually been able to make him tremble and miss the grab.
“Good, boy! Your strength is nothing to laugh at!” Guang Long advanced another step forward and attempted to grab Tang Wulin once again.
Right at that moment, a strand of Bluesilver Grass shot out from Tang Wulin’s right hand and in the blink of an eye, Bind was used on Guang Long. The ground suddenly went soft below Guang Long’s feet and he felt as though he were sinking into the ground. He was unable to exert any of his strength at all. Then a figure soared into the sky towards him and landed, its feet suspended over his shoulder. Suddenly, a dagger appeared at his neck, threatening him.
Tang Wulin, Gu Yue, and Xie Xie had undergone special training together for the last three months. Now, they had a complete understanding of each other. As soon as they saw Tang Wulin losing out in strength, Gu Yue and Xie Xie simultaneously launched their assault in order to support him.
Guang Long was caught off guard when the Light Dragon Dagger suddenly appeared at his throat.
The Bluesilver Grass was withdrawn as Tang Wulin and Xie Xie were both highly confident in themselves.
“Apologize to Uncle Li and pay for the damages. If not, I’ll kill you!” Xie Xie said with incomparable iciness. His heart had immediately filled with wrath the moment he saw the good-natured Uncle Li being bullied,
“Don’t be impulsive now, little brother. Let us talk things out properly.” The two burly men on the sidelines finally reacted. These sorts of murky situations needed exceptional judgement when being handled. If the one holding the knife had been an adult, then they wouldn’t be nearly as frightened. After all, not many people dared to kill someone. Children, however, were quite troublesome in this regard. Due to their young age, it was very easy for them to disregard the consequences and act on their impulses.
Xie Xie coldly said, “Nothing good will come out from talking to scum like you. Compensate for Uncle Li’s losses and his medical fees, otherwise I’ll kill this baldy.”
Guang Long suddenly laughed. “Little brat, so you’re a one ring Soul Master. Do you think I’ve been able to control this street all these years without any ability? You think I’d be able to collect protection fees like that? Do it then. I want to see how you’ll kill me.”
Xie Xie was stunned. At his age, he still wasn’t able to comprehend something like being fearless in the face of death. When he had threatened Mu Xi previously, she’d quickly compromised!
The Light Dragon Dagger pressed down on Guang Long’s neck, but Xie Xie still hesitated at the thought of killing someone. Despite this, his loathing for Guang Long had already made him unable to think clearly.
When he pressed the Light Dragon Dagger down on Guang Long’s neck, however, Xie Xie discovered that his neck was actually extremely hard! His Light Dragon Dagger wasn’t able to cut any further!
“Be careful!” Tang Wulin reminded him just in time as Gu Yue shot a fireball towards Guang Long.
Guang Long’s right hand was struck fiercely, and the resulting explosion separated him from Xie Xie.
As this happened, two brilliant rings appeared beneath Guang Long’s feet. Shockingly, he had two soul rings; one white, the other yellow. His naked skin took on a metallic sheen and metallic scales protruded out of his neck one after another.
1. Pretty sure this is a pun actually. He calls himself Guang Long (光龙), where the Guang (光) means light and likely comes from him having a shiny bald head, which is Guang Tou (光头 – Light Head). And “Long” just means dragon, which refers to his tattoos.