The Hand He Couldn't Grasp! Tang San Breaks Down in Jealous Hatred

Chu Yuan walked slowly toward them with Keqing, Mona, Zhu Zhuqing, and Ning Rongrong, stopping less than two zhang away.

As Chu Yuan approached, an invisible yet supremely exalted primordial divine might quietly spread through the air, accompanied by the vast pulse of life unique to the [Irminsul].

Xiao Wu, who was supporting Tang San, trembled!

The previous two times, at the Suotuo City night market and on White Stone Long Street, several zhang and a noisy crowd had always separated her from Chu Yuan.

But now, Chu Yuan stood less than two zhang in front of her!

At such close range, the presence radiating from Chu Yuan swept over her!

It was the presence of the supreme divine tree that ruled over the Ley Lines of countless worlds and nurtured the origins of plants and living beings!

To any plant or Soul Beast, the [Irminsul] was the source of life and the supreme sovereign that stood above all bloodlines!

Xiao Wu felt a thunderous boom in her mind. The origin bloodline of the hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit, which had been deeply concealed within her by the laws of transformation, now trembled entirely beyond her control!

An intense sense of closeness and attachment welled up from the depths of her soul and bloodline, along with an instinct to submit-even to prostrate herself in worship at once. Like a flood bursting through a dam, it swallowed her reason in an instant!

Her breathing abruptly grew rapid and hot, and a dazed blush rose uncontrollably across her fair, delicate cheeks.

Even her hands loosened their grip on Tang San's shoulders a little. Xiao Wu slowly raised her head, her large, limpid eyes gazing entranced at Chu Yuan, who was so close at hand.

In her eyes, the handsome black-haired youth in white before her seemed to become the only source of light and the only destination in the world.

Simply by drawing close to him, touching him, or even breathing in his presence, the origin life force she had lost through transforming and cultivating anew cheered and leaped within her, bringing her an unprecedented sense of comfort!

"X-Xiao Wu?"

Though Tang San, who was leaning against Xiao Wu, was temporarily blind, how could he not be intimately familiar with her presence?

Sensing Xiao Wu's grip on him suddenly loosen and her breathing turn rapid and strange in a way he had never heard before, Tang San's heart sank.

Forcing himself to endure the agony in his eyes, he relied on sound and his keen senses to tell that Xiao Wu was staring fixedly at Chu Yuan, who stood before them!

Not only that, but from the moment Chu Yuan walked over, Xiao Wu had seemed to lose her soul. Her body trembled slightly, and she even instinctively leaned half a step toward him!

In that posture, where was the slightest trace of shared hostility toward an enemy?

It was plainly the submissive response of a lesser creature facing a supreme ruler, mingled with intense longing, attachment, and obedience!

Why?!

Xiao Wu was the little sister who clung to him and depended on him the most. How could she show such an almost bewitched attachment when facing the enemy who had left him gravely injured and utterly defeated?!

An indescribable panic and a bone-deep jealous hatred bit into Tang San's heart like venomous snakes, causing him a hundred times more pain than the injuries to his eyes!

"Xiao Wu! What are you looking at?! Wake up!"

Tang San reached out with his trembling right hand and seized Xiao Wu's wrist in a death grip, his nails nearly digging into her flesh. His voice was hoarse and urgent as he growled.

The stabbing pain in her wrist finally jolted Xiao Wu out of her bloodline instincts' intoxicating spell.

"Ah...? Brother..."

Xiao Wu gasped softly like a startled fawn and lowered her head in a panic, not daring to look again into Chu Yuan's eyes, deep as an abyss.

Yet even with her head lowered, her chest still heaved violently. The strange urge to draw close to Chu Yuan and submit at his feet did not fade; instead, it grew wildly in the depths of her heart, leaving her both ashamed and flustered.

Chu Yuan had taken in every detail of Xiao Wu's strange reaction, and the corners of his lips curved almost imperceptibly.

A hundred-thousand-year Soft Bone Rabbit in human form?

Before the supreme life status of the [Irminsul], no Soul Beast bloodline could escape its natural suppression and attraction. Sooner or later, this little rabbit would also be an attendant in the Divine Court of Heavenly Principles' grasp.

For now, however, there was still the wager from earlier to settle.

Chu Yuan withdrew his gaze from Xiao Wu and glanced indifferently at Flender and Zhao Wuji, whose faces were ashen as they held the unconscious Dai Mubai:

"The outcome has been decided. Flender, that wager we made on the long street three days ago-will your Shrek Academy carry it out yourselves, or shall my people do it for you?"

At those words, the clamor of the crowd fell silent once more.

Everyone recalled the wager that had spread throughout the city before this Soul Fight began-

If Shrek Academy lost, Dai Mubai would cripple both his arms in public to atone to Zhu Zhuqing, and Shrek Academy would put up a sign admitting defeat and get out of Suotuo City!

Flender's face went pale, then flushed, veins bulging on his forehead.

Dai Mubai was a prince of the Star Luo Empire, and Zhu Zhuqing had already gravely injured him. If his arms were crippled in public as well, how could they answer to the Star Luo Imperial Family?

But tens of thousands of pairs of eyes were fixed on them, and even the lord of Suotuo City and the Great Soul Arena's senior figures were watching from the stands. If Flender dared to renege in public, not only would Keqing and the others immediately strike with the force of thunder, but Shrek Academy's reputation would be dragged completely through the mud!

"Sir, spare others when you can!"

Flender took a deep breath, gritted his teeth, and stepped forward. Steeling himself, he bowed his head and said:

"Shrek Academy was indeed outmatched today. This old man has no objection whatsoever to putting up a sign admitting defeat! But Mubai is already gravely injured, his bones and sinews broken. He has learned the lesson he deserved. I am willing to offer five thousand Gold Soul Coins in compensation in place of crippling his arms. I hope you will be magnanimous!"

To save Dai Mubai's arms, Flender, who prized stinginess as dearly as his life, had actually been forced to part with a fortune of his own accord, taking out five thousand Gold Soul Coins in private savings he had accumulated over many years!

Standing beside Chu Yuan, Zhu Zhuqing gave the unconscious Dai Mubai a cold glance and said softly to Chu Yuan:

"My lord, Dai Mubai is already a dead man in my eyes. Having defeated him in public today, I have resolved the knot in my heart. When I return to the Star Luo Empire, I will take his life with my own hands."

Chu Yuan smiled faintly.

"In that case, we'll do as you wish."

With a casual wave, he motioned for Ning Rongrong to step forward and accept the gold card worth five thousand Gold Soul Coins that Flender handed over with immense heartache. Then he shot a cold glance at Tang San, whose eyes were shut tight and whose face was full of venom and resentment, and at the absentminded Xiao Wu:

"Remember your wager. Before daybreak tomorrow, I do not want to see Shrek Academy's sign anywhere in Suotuo City."

With that, Chu Yuan spared the pack of defeated dogs no further glance. He turned, slipped one arm around Keqing's slender waist, and took Mona's soft little hand with the other. Accompanied by Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong, who held the gold card and smiled with her eyes curved into crescents, he calmly left the Soto Great Soul Arena as the tens of thousands of spectators watched him go in awe.

He left behind only Flender and Zhao Wuji, their faces ashen with humiliation beneath the Soul Fighting stage, and Tang San, who gripped Xiao Wu's wrist tightly while jealous fire and hatred churned together in his heart.

Half an hour later, in eastern Suotuo City, at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's residence deep within Poplar Street.

The old servant guarding the gate had been dismissed, and the secluded, elegant courtyard was brightly lit.

As soon as Ning Rongrong entered the courtyard, she eagerly presented the crystal card worth five thousand Gold Soul Coins with both hands. Then she tilted up her fair, delicate little face and looked expectantly at Chu Yuan, who sat in a grand preceptor's chair in the main hall:

"My lord, Sister Keqing and Zhu Zhuqing were so magnificent tonight! They beat that Shrek Academy until its flowers fell and its waters scattered! Um... my lord, you promised Rongrong before that once things at the Great Soul Arena were settled, you'd help baptize Rongrong's Martial Soul..."