Tang Hao Attacks

Nuoding Academy.

By now, the sky had darkened. It was clear overhead, stars hung high, and the evening wind rustled coldly.

At that moment, cries of agony rose and fell across Nuoding Academy's training ground, making even Zhao Ming shudder.

Zhao Ming frowned as he watched the two fight. Every one of Xiao Wu's attacks was fierce and sharp, while Tang San had too many reservations and did not want to aim his killing moves at Xiao Wu.

Under such circumstances, Xiao Wu could naturally defeat Tang San with ease.

This was already the fifth time Tang San had been thrown to the ground by Xiao Wu. However, he had trained his body since childhood, and his physique was fairly good. At the very least, he was considered strong among those his age.

"Again." Seeing Tang San get back up once more, Xiao Wu spoke excitedly, clearly still not satisfied.

Facing Xiao Wu, who eagerly treated him like a punching bag, Tang San could not help feeling miserable. His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was completely countered by Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Rabbit. Although he could use his Tang Sect Techniques to contend with her, he was ultimately at a disadvantage.

He still had plenty of killing moves, but how could he possibly use them on Xiao Wu? As the fight continued, the injuries on Tang San's body only accumulated.

"Xiao Wu, let's leave it at that for today." Zhao Ming stepped forward and played the peacemaker.

At that point, Tang San was already swaying unsteadily on his feet, and his face was somewhat swollen.

"Hmph. For Zhao Ming's sake, I'll let you off. But don't disturb us again in the future." Xiao Wu waved her little fist, revealing her two small canine teeth as she spoke fiercely.

For Zhao Ming's sake? Tang San could not help feeling bitter.

Did she know that Zhao Ming had started all of this? He had done it on purpose.

But Tang San had no way to tell Xiao Wu any of that. Once he said it, Xiao Wu would only accuse him of being ungrateful and ruin the impression he had made on her.

He truly had suffering he could not speak of.

Still, he really could not fall out with Zhao Ming any further. He could see it now: Xiao Wu was completely on Zhao Ming's side. If he fell out with him, he would gain nothing.

His top priority now was to erase the bad impression Xiao Wu had of him. To do that, he needed to please Xiao Wu. And the person Xiao Wu cared about most right now was Zhao Ming, so...

"Zhao Ming, thank you. I was wrong about what happened before. I apologize for my past attitude toward you." Having figured it out, Tang San smiled faintly and spoke to Zhao Ming. He seemed to have become open-minded.

Tang San's humble posture caught Zhao Ming off guard. However, Zhao Ming quickly understood what Tang San meant.

Tang San, were you about to become a bootlicker?

"It's fine. What happened before is in the past. We'll all be good classmates from now on." Zhao Ming smiled and extended his right hand to shake Tang San's.

"You two..." Xiao Wu widened her eyes. Tang San had looked like he bore a blood feud against Zhao Ming just moments ago, so how had they suddenly made up?

Tang San definitely had some kind of ulterior motive. Xiao Wu pondered deeply.

"Xiao Wu, it looks like you beat some sense into him. You know what they say—no fight, no friendship." Zhao Ming said cheerfully, as though he did not care about what had happened before at all.

Xiao Wu frowned. She only felt that her Zhao Ming was too innocent. He was just a child, after all. Though gentle and considerate, and with a mind like that of an adult, he had not experienced much of the world and could not see through Tang San's intentions. Tang San, on the other hand, was like a vicious old fox who knew when to bend and when to stand tall. His current disguise was surely meant to deliver Zhao Ming a fatal blow.

Those were Xiao Wu's thoughts. If Zhao Ming had known, he probably would have laughed like a pig. Tang San would likely have been so furious he coughed up blood.

"Oh, so that's how it is. Then I'll come spar with you often in the future and help knock some sense into you while I'm at it." Xiao Wu gave Tang San a sweet smile. She was not some naive fool like Zhao Ming. Still, she was certain she could protect Zhao Ming. Before absolute strength, no schemes or tricks mattered. As long as she paid closer attention to Tang San's movements, he would not be able to stir up any real trouble.

Tang San's body suddenly trembled at Xiao Wu's words.

It was not his first time experiencing Xiao Wu's grappling and over-the-shoulder throws. After being slammed so many times today, he felt as though every bone in his body was about to fall apart. He did not want to spar with Xiao Wu again.

But on second thought, were those not opportunities to spend time with Xiao Wu? As the ancients said, fighting was affection and scolding was love. Given enough time, they could beat feelings into each other.

"Sure. We can spar more in the future. It will be a great help to our strength," Tang San said.

Over the next few days.

Tang San no longer took the initiative to trouble Zhao Ming. Zhao Ming was more than happy to enjoy the peace.

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, sparred with Tang San often.

But Tang San had been wrong about one thing. After sparring for a while, Xiao Wu's attitude toward him had not changed at all. Her heart remained with Zhao Ming.

This was another ordinary day of Xiao Wu beating Tang San up.

Night fell especially early that day.

After exchanging moves with Tang San, Xiao Wu skipped toward the dormitory.

But very quickly, Xiao Wu sensed an extremely dangerous aura. A terrifying pressure crashed down upon her, making her body seem like a blade of grass swaying helplessly in a storm.

"This level of strength? A Titled Douluo?" Xiao Wu's expression changed drastically. She had never expected to encounter a Titled Douluo in a small place like Nuoding City.

How was that possible? To evade the senses of those Titled Douluo, she had crossed so many places before coming to such a remote location. There was not even a single Soul Ancestor here, so how could there be a peerless powerhouse like a Titled Douluo?

"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast? Heh, I never thought I would encounter a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in a place like this." A sudden voice rang out. A shadow slowly emerged from beneath a large tree. The man was entirely wrapped in black, with a black hood over his head that concealed his features. All Xiao Wu could tell was that he was a tall man.

"Who are you? Who exactly are you?" Xiao Wu's expression changed wildly upon seeing him.

He truly was a Titled Douluo,

and that pressure was definitely not from an ordinary Titled Douluo.

"You're asking who I am? You just beat up my son. Who do you think I am?" The black-clad man's voice sounded again, low and carrying threads of pressure that surged toward Xiao Wu.

"Tang San? You're Tang San's father?" Xiao Wu was shocked. No matter how much she calculated, she had never expected Tang San to be the son of a Titled Douluo. Looking at it this way, Tang San's motives became obvious.

She had always wondered why Tang San was willing to let her beat him up every day. So he had wanted to verify her identity as a Soul Beast through battle. There were still certain differences between Soul Beasts who cultivated into humans and actual humans. The difference lay in the pathways through which Soul Power circulated. A Soul Beast's Soul Power circulated opposite to that of a human. To truly determine whether someone was a Soul Beast cultivating into a human, one needed to observe the route of their Soul Power circulation. This could be confirmed through the way they absorbed World Origin Energy during battle.

Tang San's father had discovered and suspected her Soul Beast identity, but he had not been completely certain. So he had relied on Tang San sparring with her again and again to observe her in secret.

And now he had come to take her Spirit Bone and Soul Ring.

Past events replayed one by one in Xiao Wu's mind. She understood. At last, she truly understood.

So Tang San's target had never been Zhao Ming, but her—her Soul Ring and Spirit Bone.