Chapter 3

"What are you so pleased about?"

Lu Yuan looked up at Tang San before him and asked in confusion.

"You know perfectly well what I'm pleased about!"

"Despicable person!"

Seeing the puzzled look on Lu Yuan's face, Tang San could no longer suppress the rage in his heart. He clenched his fist and punched Lu Yuan in the face.

A faint jade sheen clung to his fist.

The jade color was not pure.

But in terms of power, it was enough to serve as an Assault-type Soul Skill during the early stages of a Soul Master's development.

"Stop!"

Old Jack saw Tang San throw the punch from far away.

But the distance between them made it impossible for him to stop Tang San himself.

Thus, he could only place his hopes on his words.

But the fist still came down.

Much of the fury in Tang San's eyes vanished, replaced by disbelief.

It was blocked!

No!

That wasn't right!

The air had blocked his fist!

Tang San swiftly pulled back, widening the distance between himself and Lu Yuan.

"So that's how it is."

The corners of Tang San's lips curled upward slightly, as though he wanted to laugh, or perhaps sneer at something.

His sharp gaze remained fixed on Lu Yuan, who was still sitting on the grass.

"Your Martial Soul can control the air. Is that where you got the confidence to steal the academy spot from me?"

A trace of helplessness and pity flashed through Lu Yuan's eyes.

He made no effort to hide it, so Tang San naturally saw it clearly.

"Don't make it sound so unpleasant, and don't speak so absolutely."

"Especially before you know the full story, it's best not to jump to conclusions so easily."

"I never stole anything. I simply obtained the academy spot as a matter of course."

"I hope you won't misunderstand, or spread nonsense."

His words were brimming with sincerity.

It was as if a kind and honest elder were advising a junior, telling him what he had done right and what he had done wrong.

Tang San's gaze grew increasingly calm, but the fury in his heart only rose higher.

What right did a shameless, despicable person have to judge him?

And he had even told him not to jump to conclusions.

What more was there to conclude?

The conclusion was already clear!

The academy spot had already been taken by the other party!

But after giving it some thought, Tang San understood the hidden twists in Lu Yuan's words.

Talking about finding out the full story first.

Talking about not misunderstanding.

He was merely trying to whitewash the disgraceful things he had done after obtaining the academy spot!

This was going too far!

He was pushing his luck!

"Stop! Both of you, stop!"

Old Jack arrived, panting for breath.

To be honest, with his old arms and legs, being able to chase Tang San this far was already a miracle.

Old Jack himself thought so too.

Of course, that was not the important thing right now.

What mattered was how to stop the tense Tang San and the calm Lu Yuan.

Lu Yuan looked calm enough.

But Tang San, who was usually so clever, was anything but calm.

He had even thrown a punch.

Still, the situation had not developed in the worst possible direction.

That made Old Jack let out a sigh of relief.

"I left early this morning, Grandfather Jack. What exactly happened?"

"From what Tang San said, this seems to have something to do with me?"

Lu Yuan asked.

In truth, when Tang San said, "Is that where you got the confidence to steal the academy spot from me?" Lu Yuan had already roughly understood what had happened.

Although no one had explained the full course of events to him in detail, it was not difficult to infer the outcome by combining the plot with the general personalities of the people involved.

When he was young, he always liked pretending to understand while actually being confused.

But now, he preferred pretending to be confused while understanding everything.

If he directly said that he already knew what had happened, people would only think he was far too calculating.

After all, he had gone out early that morning. It was only natural that he would not know what had happened.

By pretending that someone had suddenly come looking for him, then asking the village chief, Old Jack, what had happened with a bewildered and confused expression—

The image of an innocent victim was established in the fastest possible way.

Though that image was somewhat flimsy, Tang San would definitely put in plenty of effort to reinforce it next.

What did an ancient man who had never even drunk green tea know about green-tea tactics?

Even if Tang San saw through him, it would not stop Lu Yuan from pretending to be a White Lotus for the moment.

A trace of embarrassment appeared on Old Jack's aged face as he hesitantly explained what had happened.

"So, what does this have to do with me?"

After listening to Old Jack's account, which had omitted quite a few details, Lu Yuan spread his hands and put on a look of continued confusion as he asked Tang San in the distance.

Tang San was so furious that he nearly crushed his teeth.

How could someone be so shameless?

Tang San suddenly shoved aside the arm Old Jack had deliberately placed in front of him. A chilling glint appeared in his eyes, carrying a trace of killing intent.

"I challenge you to a duel!"

"Whoever wins gets the spot!"

His icy tone did not match the fury in his heart at all.

But some people became calmer the angrier they got.

Lu Yuan sneered.

Never mind whether this duel had any meaning. Even if it did, there was no need to go through with it.

If he won, Lu Yuan would gain nothing.

But if he lost, he would have to give up the academy spot he had already obtained.

"When an opportunity came to you, you failed to seize it for certain reasons."

"But after I seized that opportunity, you said it should be returned to you because you saw it first."

Lu Yuan looked directly at Tang San. "Tell me, isn't that laughable?"

"So you don't dare duel me?"

A smug look flashed across Tang San's face, though no one knew what he was truly thinking.

"What a clumsy attempt at provocation."

"It must be disappointing that I didn't fall for it. For that, I apologize."

Lu Yuan mercilessly exposed Tang San's Small Thoughts, then mocked him as well.

"So you just don't dare duel me!"

"Admit it! Lu Yuan, you coward!"

Tang San shouted with his neck craned forward.

He paid no attention whatsoever to Old Jack's livid expression.

Though Old Jack did not know exactly what his face looked like, he knew it could not be looking good.

He had originally wanted to turn a major issue into a minor one, and a minor issue into nothing at all.

But Tang San kept provoking and angering Lu Yuan. Never mind Lu Yuan being a child—even this Old Man standing nearby was starting to lose his temper!

Lu Yuan raised an eyebrow.

Modesty was a fine virtue.

But excessive modesty was not!

"A duel is fine."

"If you win, I have no objection to giving you the academy spot."

"But if I win, what can I get from you?"

"I..."

Tang San's words came to an involuntary stop, and he fell silent.

The Tang Sect's Secret Techniques absolutely could not be passed on to others.

But setting aside the many Tang Sect's Secret Techniques he had learned in his previous life, Tang San realized in astonishment that he truly had nothing of equal value to offer.

"Everything you've learned in exchange for my academy spot!"

"That includes your unique method similar to meditation, your precise technique for throwing stones, the faint jade sheen on your fist when you punched just now, and the method you use every morning to train your eyes by looking at the sun."

Though Lu Yuan knew their names, he still felt it was better to keep the act going all the way.

Tang San's eye twitched.

This was no longer a matter of equal exchange.

This was outright extortion!

Thus, he instinctively refused. "Impossible!"

"Then forget it."

Lu Yuan turned around without hesitation and walked down the hillside.

One step.

Two steps.

Three steps.

Five steps.

Ten steps.

"Wait!"

"I agree!"

Tang San's gritted voice came from behind him.

Lu Yuan turned around.

"I hope you won't tamper with any of those methods or techniques."

Tang San's face darkened at those words. "I'm not that low!"

"However, you must promise me that even if you win in the end, you won't pass these techniques on to anyone else!"

This was his final bottom line.

If Lu Yuan refused, there was nothing Tang San could do.

Seeing Tang San being forced to the point where he was nearly ready to bite someone in anger, Lu Yuan nodded speechlessly.

A cornered dog would jump over a wall, and even a Rabbit would bite when driven frantic!

This price was already generous enough. If he raised it any higher, they might truly part on bad terms.

At that point, he did not know how much Tang San would lose, but he certainly would not gain as much as he could now.

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Another day of asking for the triple support~