Chapter Ninety-Three: Saliva, Slaps, and Three Fools

“Got him!” Urameshi raised his right hand, maintaining the “eight-character” pistol pose, his index finger still smoking.

When Kuwabara struck Shizuo with his spiritual sword, an excited expression quickly appeared on his face. But then he realized that the sword, which usually cut through iron like paper, now felt as if it had hit an old truck tire—thick and solid. It pierced only the surface and could not advance further.

“Hahaha! This is fantastic! You guys are amazing!” Despite the blood flowing from his nostrils, Shizuo’s eyes grew crazier.

His slightly parted lips revealed a bright red tongue, which circled once around his upper and lower lips.

Bang!

With a pull of his left hand, Shizuo suddenly threw Kuwabara off balance. Before Kuwabara’s swollen right eye could recover, it was directly met by Shizuo’s fist.

The heavy blow gave Kuwabara a mild concussion, causing him to collapse to the ground, his entire body convulsing.

“Kuwabara!” Urameshi shouted frantically.

Focusing his spiritual energy into his fists, Urameshi charged at Shizuo.

“ORA ORA ORA ORA!”

Urameshi’s fists became countless afterimages, an overwhelming barrage of attacks aimed at Shizuo. Yet Shizuo, with a thrilled smile, dodged each blow leisurely, his gaze moving over Urameshi as if admiring a work of art.

“Ah ah ah, Spirit Bullet!” Suddenly, Urameshi’s right fist radiated brilliant light.

Shizuo’s eyes narrowed.

That little apple was actually burning his own life force! Were these two really that important to him?

As the saying goes, a warrior can be killed but not humiliated. For Urameshi, a specialist in both enhancement and emission types, the worst offense was disdain from others—a temper that ignited at the slightest provocation.

“You’ve been completely ignoring my attacks, huh? Fine, I’ll use my life force combined with spiritual energy for a full-screen AE attack. Let’s see how you dodge this!”

However, he still underestimated Shizuo.

With a swift move, before Urameshi could even set his stance, Shizuo’s left knee struck his abdomen intimately. All the green energy within Urameshi spilled uncontrollably from his mouth, and the concentrated power dissipated naturally.

“No way, little apple. How can you recklessly burn your life force before I’ve killed you? Remember, you belong to me—just like that other apple called Kouta. Before you mature into a fruit ready for my harvest, even dying is not allowed. Otherwise, I’ll show you what’s scarier than death.”

Blood still fresh, Shizuo, looking somewhat disheveled, caressed Urameshi as if fondling a lover’s face. Gasping for breath, Urameshi, near powerless, could only return his gaze filled with hatred.

***

“Spit!”

“Good.” Shizuo wiped the saliva Urameshi spat on his cheek with the back of his hand, then—

Bang!

Urameshi was punched in the right cheek and flew nearly ten meters away.

Why do you all like hitting faces so much?

Hao Ren, who had crawled over to Kuwabara’s side, witnessed the scene.

“Hmm~ Examiner’s game, you two have passed,” Shizuo, whose face had been full of killing intent and excitement, suddenly relaxed and said this sentence clearly directed at Kuwabara and Urameshi. Hao Ren was at a loss.

“As for you...” Shizuo looked at Hao Ren, whose right hand was tucked behind his back, crossing his arms with a rather troubled expression.

Hao Ren swallowed hard. If Shizuo really intended to force him out, then the item in his hand might be his only chance.

Item: “Fine Needle Noodles,” an unexpected offshoot of the herbal noodle series “Vanilla Noodles.” Made from green herb peppercorn oil, freshly milled wheat flour, fresh cheese, and monster eggs using a special technique, the pine-branch-green fine needle noodles can be thrown like a projectile to inflict certain damage and cause a 100% guaranteed “unconscious” state.

If Shizuo could also resist this 100% unconscious effect, Hao Ren would have no choice but to accept his fate.

“I’ve honestly never encountered a material like you—partly like an unripe fruit, partly like tasteless chewing gum. That black-and-white light ball just now seemed like an illusion. I really don’t know whether to pass you or not,” Shizuo said, genuinely troubled.

Looks like there’s hope! This twisted magician was hesitating whether to kill him or watch how things unfold.

Hao Ren dared not move a muscle, eyes fixed on Shizuo.

Just then, a phone ringtone suddenly rang.

“Hello... yes, yes, got it. I’m on my way,” Shizuo nodded as he answered, then hoisted up the previously tossed-aside Leo and left without looking back.

As Shizuo disappeared into the thick fog, Hao Ren instantly collapsed, his taut nerves relaxing.

It seemed he had been spared, treated like a bonus in Urameshi’s “Little Raccoon Water Margin Card Edition.”

“Urameshi, are you okay?” Since Hao Ren couldn’t use spiritual powers, he took the least damage but was the most seriously wounded. Like performing a magic trick, he produced three plates of spicy Mapo Tofu and three spoons.

***

“You’re impossible to kill.” Urameshi wanted to throw a spirit bullet at Hao Ren for his trivial greeting, but when he saw Hao Ren’s magic trick, his jaw nearly dropped.

“Where do you keep this stuff?” Urameshi had long wanted to search Hao Ren’s pockets. The green energy earlier, and now Mapo Tofu—how did he hide so much food and drink? Could he be one of those legendary space-type spiritual users? But if he could use spiritual power, why hadn’t he shown it?

Though Urameshi often spoke without thinking, it didn’t mean he was stupid... Aside from middle school textbooks, Urameshi wasn’t completely dense...

Saying this really hurts his pride, you know?

Fine, this guy was just a fool whose body acted before his brain. They said this stuff was food made by spiritual users that could heal injuries. He swallowed big bites while yelling about the spiciness.

Hao Ren picked his nose thoughtfully. Spiritual power really explains everything.

“Kuwabara, your hand’s still shaking. Are you really okay?” Feeling his injuries healing, Urameshi started teasing Kuwabara, who was too dazed from the concussion to hold a spoon steadily.

“Idiot! It’s just my wrist twitching, not shaking!” No sooner had he said that than a chunk of chili-covered tofu splattered into Kuwabara’s eye!

“Ah! It hurts! It’s spicy! It hurts! It’s spicy!”

“Hahaha! You idiot! Kuwabara, you idiot!”

“This is the first time I’ve eaten Mapo Tofu mixed with blood. Why doesn’t Eiko’s family menu have Mapo Tofu?”

“Because it’s an izakaya, not a Chinese restaurant...”

Finally, the three teenagers, their injuries mostly healed, arrived at the venue for the second-stage test just before the time limit.

A gunshot rang out as Sados pressed the trigger of the signal pistol.

“Thank you all for your hard work. This is Biscayne Forest Park, the venue for the second-stage test. Let me congratulate everyone here—you have all passed the first stage. Now, good luck with the second stage,” Sados nodded slightly and then turned to leave.

Number of candidates who passed the first stage: 168.

The second stage test is about to begin.