Third Bro's Moment to Shine

Sharp-eyed Jiang Qin had spotted the giant serpent's position early on. He hurriedly called out a warning:

"Tang San! Watch out ahead! That giant serpent's coming straight at you! Quick, dodge to the left..."

Before he could finish, Tang San cut him off impatiently:

"You're a support Soul Master. Just stay in the back and make your pills. Now you're trying to boss me around? How ridiculous!"

"That giant serpent's still dozens of meters away. There's no way it can charge over here that fast!"

Tang San grew even more smug. He had finally caught a chance to snap back at Jiang Qin, and his words shot at him like a string of firecrackers.

Jiang Qin didn't argue. He closed his mouth, a look of schadenfreude on his face.

"Kind words can't save a ghost bent on dying!"

For once, Ning Rongrong didn't chime in either. She folded her arms and looked behind Tang San with a faint, ambiguous smile.

Xiao Wu cried out, "Third Bro, watch out!!"

Tang San said impatiently, "Xiao Wu, why are you..."

Bang! Bang!

A dull impact rang out, kicking up a great cloud of dust that left everyone unable to keep their eyes open.

Then came Tang San's squeal like a pig being slaughtered:

"Ugh! Aaaaaaah! How is this beast so fast?!"

When the dust cleared, the enormous serpent's head had crossed the distance to Tang San in just a few breaths, and, of all places, slammed right into his vital spot.

Tang San cried out in pain again and again. His face was ashen, sweat covered his body, and agony was written all over his face.

One hand clamped over his crotch, he barely managed to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to avoid the follow-up attack.

He dodged onto a nearby tree, turned around, and cursed at Jiang Qin. "Jiang Qin! This is all your fault! You distracted me! Otherwise, how could this beast have hurt me?!"

Fuming, Tang San used his paramecium-like brain cells to make a simple analysis and pinned all the blame on Jiang Qin.

Damn it, if he hadn't been yammering warnings back there, would I have turned my head to look at him? If I hadn't turned my head, would that beast have caught me off guard?

The logic had come full circle. It was all Jiang Qin's fault!

As soon as he said that, Ning Rongrong immediately stopped, having been about to give him some support auras. Oscar also withdrew the hand with which he had been about to offer Tang San a sausage.

"Seriously, Tang San, how the fuck can you be so shameless?" Ma Hongjun spoke up before anyone else, furious.

"Jiang Qin was kind enough to warn you, but you fucking ignored him and didn't watch where you were going. You got caught off guard, and now you're blaming Jiang Qin? How can you be so shameless?"

"A beastly bastard like you didn't deserve Jiang Qin's warning!" Ma Hongjun cursed him repeatedly, his face red and his neck bulging. Clearly, he was genuinely angry.

Xiao Wu sighed and called out, trying to persuade him, "Bro, why do you hate Jiang Qin so much? He really did mean well."

Xiao Wu was at a loss too. Had all her persuading over the past few days been for nothing?

Just then, Jiang Qin suddenly spoke up again. "Tang San, stop arguing and look behind you! That beast's coming again!"

By now, Tang San's pain had eased a little, but everyone's criticism had already put him in a foul mood. Hearing Jiang Qin's warning again, he couldn't help but burn with anger:

"Jiang Qin! Stop spouting fucking bullshit!"

"Last time I was careless and didn't dodge. Now I've jumped up into a tree. No matter how damn good that beast is, can it hit me up here in one move?"

As Tang San spoke, he raised a middle finger in Jiang Qin's direction. He was utterly confident and didn't believe for a moment that the beast could attack him.

Jiang Qin was speechless. He was so fucking speechless that he simply ignored him and turned around. Out of sight, out of mind.

Tang San laughed. "What, nothing to say? Hahahahaha... ugh, aaaaaah!!!!!"

"Aaaaaaaah!"

"My ass!!!!"

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Another miserable scream rang out. With a flap of its wings, the giant serpent reached Tang San's back in an instant. This time, it aimed straight for his rear and charged!

The Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent's eyes also glowed scarlet. Fuck, you look down on my attacks, do you? And you dare turn your back on me?

Clutching his rear, Tang San fell screaming from the tree. It felt as though a chimney had been forcibly jammed into a sword sheath...

"Fuck, it's bursting me open!"

Fortunately, this was one of the few short trees nearby, so the fall didn't do him much harm.

By now, Ma Hongjun was nearly laughing himself senseless:

"Tang San, you really don't fucking listen, do you? Jiang Qin said right from the start that this giant serpent had wings... why didn't you believe him? Hahahahahaha!!!"

Ma Hongjun's merciless laughter stung Tang San. His face flushed completely red, and he fell silent without a word.

Dai Mubai, however, acted out of character and spoke up, which he rarely did. "All right, we're all classmates. I think we should hurry in and help Tang San. The sooner we kill it, the sooner Little Ao can absorb the Soul Ring."

The speech was genuinely strange. Ma Hongjun and Zhu Zhuqing couldn't help looking at him oddly, wondering why Dai Mubai had suddenly changed his ways.

Jiang Qin, however, knew the reason for Dai Mubai's change: he was simply afraid that Tang Hao would retaliate.

Though Tang San said nothing, he gave Dai Mubai a deeply grateful look and secretly waited for everyone to give him a way out.

Watching from the side, Zhao Wuji also felt things had gone a little too far. He was just about to urge everyone to help.

But Jiang Qin spoke first. "Dai Mubai! How can you have so little faith in Tang San?!"

"My Third Bro is wise and mighty, his strength extraordinary, his bearing magnificent and his heroic spirit shining! Does he need your help?!"

"He only has to wave his hand a few times to cut this little Phoenix-tail Crested Serpent down from its horse! If you step in, aren't you looking down on Tang San and saying he isn't strong enough?!"

Then he looked at Tang San with a faint, ambiguous smile. "Isn't that right, Third Bro?"

With those words, he had backed Tang San into a corner.

At this point, Tang San could neither agree nor disagree.

Fuck, what else can I say? Can I really say I'm just too weak and need everyone's help?!

At that moment, Ning Rongrong spoke up too. "Jiang Qin's right! Classmates should trust each other! None of us should help. Anyone who does is looking down on Third Bro!"

Tang San sucked in a breath of cold air. The pain from both front and back was nearly enough to make him pass out. He had originally wanted to go with the flow and accept everyone's help, but with Jiang Qin and Ning Rongrong singing in harmony like this, how the hell could he bring himself to do it now?

Tang San forced a smile uglier than tears and said, "Yes, yes, Jiang Qin and the others are right. Nobody needs to help. Don't come over. I can, ah! I can handle it myself!"

As he spoke, he accidentally pulled a muscle somewhere, making him bare his teeth in pain, but he still forced himself to finish.

Jiang Qin led the applause. "Good, well done! Now that's the outstanding senior student of Shrek Academy we know, a fine example for everyone!"

Tang San nearly spat out a mouthful of blood. In his heart, he kept muttering, Jiang Qin, damn your uncle...