The First Step to Subduing Tang San

Wang Sheng stood outside Seven Dorm with two steamed buns in hand. When he saw Qian Bing open the door, a hint of surprise appeared on his face.

"Eh, Old Qian, why did you come out? Does your stomach not hurt anymore?"

Qian Bing nodded with a smile, stepping aside to clear the way. "It doesn't hurt anymore. I was just about to go to the cafeteria to find you, but you came back."

Wang Sheng handed the steamed buns to Qian Bing as he walked into the dormitory. "You must be hungry. Here, hurry up and eat. It's the cafeteria's busiest time right now, so don't go joining the crowd. Before I came to the academy, my godmother made me some beef sauce. Scoop out a couple spoonfuls and eat it with the buns. It's really fragrant!"

Godmother's beef sauce?... That should be pretty tasty.

Qian Bing nodded.

"Alright, thank you. I'll treat you to a meal tomorrow."

Wang Sheng gave a simple-minded grin, patting Qian Bing on the back. "Hehe, Boss, you're too polite."

"It's nothing."

Qian Bing's mind remained fixed on the Adventure Missions in the Pokémon World. He was afraid that if he wasted any more time, someone else would snatch up those two well-paying missions first.

After wolfing down the two steamed buns with the godmother's beef sauce Wang Sheng had given him, he reluctantly chatted for a few more moments before climbing back into bed under the excuse that he was "feeling slightly unwell."

As his consciousness gradually blurred and light and darkness interwove, Qian Bing returned to the Pokémon World.

His mission progress had already been delayed twice—once by Gary's challenge and once by being woken up by Wang Sheng—wasting a great deal of time. So, the moment he logged in, Qian Bing hurried toward Viridian Forest.

Fortunately, he did not encounter any more accidents this time. Before long, he found traces of Kakuna in Viridian Forest.

Kakuna was a Bug-type Pokemon that looked like a green chrysalis. Although its shell was extremely hard, its body inside was very soft. If it suffered a powerful attack, the body within might even fall out.

It lacked both mobility and offensive ability. Only after evolving into its third-stage form, Butterfree, did it undergo a gorgeous transformation, taking a huge leap in both appearance and strength.

Viridian Forest was filled with lush, towering trees. Nearly every stretch of path Qian Bing traveled, he could find several Kakuna hanging from the shadows beneath the roadside canopies.

His luck seemed quite good that night. After eliminating seven or eight unsuitable targets, he used the Spirit Illustrated Handbook Spirit to find his first Elite-quality Kakuna.

Kakuna had no offensive abilities, but if it was allowed to keep using Harden, its defense would continuously stack up until its entire body became ridiculously hard, making it rather difficult to deal with.

Therefore, under Qian Bing's command, Pidgeotto cleanly and decisively used a Gust charged to the limit, blowing that Elite-quality Kakuna unconscious in a single strike.

Then, Qian Bing easily captured it with an ordinary Spirit Ball.

After finishing that job, he hurried deeper into Viridian Forest.

However, it seemed that all of Qian Bing's good luck had been spent at the very beginning. For the rest of the night, he tirelessly searched high and low, yet failed to find another Kakuna that met the requirements. As for any unusual circumstances, he had no clue at all.

On the contrary, after encountering dozens of groups of wild Pokemon living there, Pidgeotto's level rose to Level 19.

Once both Pidgeotto and Bulbasaur had completely exhausted their stamina, Qian Bing could only helplessly find a safe corner to sit down and rest. Before long, he fell into a deep sleep and returned to reality.

When Qian Bing opened his eyes again, dawn had only just begun to break, and a faint sliver of pale light showed in the east.

He quietly turned over and discovered that Tang San's bed beside him was already empty.

"Heh, that kid really is diligent."

Qian Bing was not surprised in the slightest. According to the novel's plot, Tang San needed to rely on that trace of Purple Qi that appeared with the rising sun every morning to cultivate Purple Demon Eyes. Qian Bing therefore knew very well that Tang San should be secretly cultivating somewhere outside the dormitory where no one would disturb him.

After giving it some thought, he felt that his strength had improved again, and it was time to take some of the plans in his mind one step further.

So, he pushed aside his blanket, quietly got out of bed, and headed outside.

There were quite a few landscaped areas in Notting Academy, but only the Small Woods by the Playground had grown large enough to completely block prying eyes from outside.

Tang San had not wasted yesterday's time. He had secretly familiarized himself with the academy's layout, so the moment he got up that morning, he headed straight for these woods to cultivate.

He sat cross-legged in a small corner completely shrouded in shadow, his eyes fixed on the increasingly bright pale light in the east. He slowly drew breath in through his nose, then gradually exhaled through his mouth. His inhalation was long and continuous, his exhalation faint and gentle, forming a marvelous cycle.

He made almost no sound and performed no large movements. Unless someone deliberately searched for him, there was practically no chance of discovering him in such dim light.

At that moment, Tang San's eyes suddenly widened. He stared intently at a faint strand of Purple Qi drifting leisurely through the pale light at the distant horizon.

Without astonishing eyesight and sufficient concentration, it would have been impossible to notice its existence.

The Purple Qi did not remain for long. When a ray of morning sun appeared in the east, tinting the pale light slightly red, it vanished completely.

Only then did Tang San slowly close his eyes and let out a long breath of turbid air. A stream of white vapor shot from his mouth like a ribbon before gradually dispersing.

Rustle!

Suddenly, the sound of leaves brushing against something came from outside the woods. Tang San opened his eyes alertly and turned around, only to see Qian Bing parting the branches as he walked in.

When their gazes met, Qian Bing showed a trace of surprise and asked, "Why are you here? Did you get up early to exercise?"

Seeing that his tone was natural, Tang San's guard relaxed slightly. "I woke up early. I didn't want to disturb your rest, so I came out to get some air."

"Oh, I see."

Qian Bing nodded, his tone seemingly meaningful. He stepped forward a few paces, came to Tang San's side, and sat down cross-legged in the same manner.

Then he suddenly turned his head and fixed his gaze on Tang San's eyes, saying seriously:

"Do you believe me? Actually, I know one big secret about you."

"What do you mean?"

Tang San's body trembled at those words, surprise appearing on his face. The look he gave Qian Bing immediately turned extremely serious.

His left wrist quietly lifted as well, aimed at Qian Bing as he secretly went on guard.

Qian Bing noticed Tang San's movement and panicked like hell inside. His eyes darted about, which only made him seem even more unfathomable in Tang San's eyes.

"If I'm not mistaken, you have Twin Spirits, don't you?"

"How did you know?"

When Tang San heard that the great secret Qian Bing meant was his Twin Spirits, the shock on his face did not lessen, but inwardly, he let out a small sigh of relief.

Compared with the fact that he was reincarnated, having the number of his spirits exposed was hardly worth mentioning.

But Tang San was no softhearted saint either. He immediately began probing Qian Bing's intentions. If he discovered that Qian Bing harbored any thoughts harmful to him, Tang San would not mind using the hidden weapons in his hand to remove the trouble before him.