The Pay-to-Win Showdown of an Ironhead

Despite solemnly assuring Yu Xiaogang that he would no longer find trouble with Lin Xuan, the competitive streak deep in Tang San's bones proved impossible to suppress every time he saw Lin Xuan, always itching to vie with him for superiority. He could endure it for a day or two, but as time dragged on, he completely cracked, challenging Lin Xuan almost once every half a month. As for Lin Xuan, he only had one phrase: "Pay up and we spar, otherwise either you beat up our whole group, or our group beats you up one-on-one." He had long seen through Tang San's abnormality—no matter what this fellow did, he wanted to press down on him by a head. Lin Xuan secretly guessed that this probably related to the bloodline of the Blue Silver Emperor. Tang San was like Li Jiancheng, the crown prince of the Blue Silver Empire, occupying the orthodoxy; while he himself, though lacking the name of orthodoxy, pressed closer step by step with sheer strength, looking exactly like Li Simin. Perhaps it was precisely this potential sense of "threat" that drove Tang San, under the instigation of bloodline instinct, to anxiously want to suppress him. Lin Xuan was more than happy to cooperate. Every time Tang San came, he gave Tang San a beating. Not only could he earn a gold soul coin, but he could also delay Tang San's cultivation progress, killing two birds with one stone simply and efficiently. Although each showdown allowed Tang San's physical fitness to improve slightly, having his cultivation dragged down was real and solid, which would leave hidden injuries in the long run and consume his bodily potential. Calculating it this way, it was obviously Tang San who lost more. Being able to slow down an opponent while making money, Lin Xuan naturally half-pushed and half-accepted, turning no one away. He had to admit, Tang San's vitality was indeed tenacious, and his speed of progress wasn't slow either. Yet Lin Xuan's growth felt practically like he had turned on a cheat. Tang San's improvements always had a limit, but Lin Xuan's power seemed to have no end, only growing ever greater. Time quietly passed, and a semester's worth of time quietly drew to a close amidst Lin Xuan's bitter cultivation. This semester, his soul power rose from level three to level five—a full two levels of progress, yet it almost made Lin Xuan want to cry. It wasn't because it was too fast, but because it was too slow. If he cultivated at his own rhythm, reaching level three in a year was definitely not a problem. But thinking of Tang Wulin's terrifying later-stage improvements, he smacked his lips and comforted himself inwardly: Actually, this is pretty good too. Although his soul power wasn't considered stunning, his progress in strength could be called terrifying. Nowadays, Lin Xuan could burst forth with three hundred catties of strength with a single arm, beating Tang San with complete ease. He fought him more and more effortlessly, almost giving Tang San psychological trauma. Looking at Tang San, after a whole semester he had likewise only increased his soul power by two levels, which could only be described as blacksmithing ruining his endeavors. Yet neither he himself nor Yu Xiaogang felt there was any problem with this speed. Even under Yu Xiaogang's flattery, Tang San truly thought his improvement speed had reached the standard of a top genius. Little did he know, Xiao Wu's rank had already imperceptibly caught up to his. It was only that under Lin Xuan's subtle guidance, Xiao Wu thoroughly grasped the essence of the "way of the dog." Usually, she never displayed her full strength, and most of her power was used to suppress her own soul beast aura, avoiding detection by any passing Titled Douluo. At the gates of Nuoding Academy, Lin Xuan rented a horse carriage, and the vehicle was loaded with all sorts of gifts. These were all bought with the gold soul coins "sent" by Tang San—ever since he got this ironhead, not only was he never short on money, but his wallet was also growing increasingly bulging. Returning to Sacred Soul Village this time, he would just use this opportunity to repay the villagers. "Tang San, the carriage can't fit you, so we aren't taking you along. Figure out a way back yourself, bye!" Lin Xuan poked his head out and waved at Tang San not far away. On the horse carriage, Xiao Wu was excitedly organizing the gifts. Long before the break, the two of them had agreed to return to Sacred Soul Village together for vacation. Looking at that fully loaded cart of gifts bought with "his own money," Tang San trembled all over with anger. Lin Xuan was simply going too far! Yet he couldn't beat him—Lin Xuan's strength grew larger by the day, and now he didn't doubt at all that Lin Xuan could take his little life with a single punch. Even more terrifying was that Lin Xuan's agility was equally astonishing, and his explosive speed was ridiculously fast. Before, he could still barely react, but now he could only watch helplessly as Lin Xuan rushed over like a cannonball, his body simply too late to dodge. This caused Tang San to seriously suspect whether Lin Xuan spent all his time exercising his body. Watching the horse carriage gradually pull away, a deep sense of decadence welled up in his heart: "Lin Xuan, when on earth will the effects of your innate divine strength stop?" He had been suppressed by Lin Xuan's innate divine strength for an entire semester. He originally thought that after nourishing his body and raising his soul power, he could suppress him back, but this fellow Lin Xuan simply didn't reason, his innate divine strength continuing to ferment. At the very beginning, he could still barely exchange a few blows with Lin Xuan, and his Blue Silver Grass could also play a slight restrictive role. Yet now, his Blue Silver Grass was like weeds before Lin Xuan, snapping the moment it was pulled taut. Presently, the only things he had left that could contend with Lin Xuan were the bizarre movement technique of the Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and his hidden weapons. Yet no matter how bizarre a movement technique was, getting close was required to exchange blows; as for hidden weapons, there was no need to even mention them—thinking of them made his teeth ache. He didn't know when it started, but Lin Xuan had dug up a bunch of iron beads. The last time he tried a sneak attack with a hidden weapon, Lin Xuan whipped his back hand around and hurled a handful of iron beads right back. That force could spark when smashing against stone; if he hadn't reacted quickly, he would have long since been beaten into a hornet's nest. Lin Xuan's strength back then was already over two hundred and fifty catties, while he had fifty at most. There were no techniques, it was purely numerical suppression! From then on, Tang San never dared to use hidden weapons during spars ever again—he simply couldn't play like that. He played with techniques, and Lin Xuan broke ten thousand laws with sheer force. That skill of throwing stones was faster than arrows shot from the Godly Zhuge Crossbow, completely incomparable to anything human. The gold content of this innate divine strength continued to rise, and Tang San's only expectation now was that this effect could end sooner. Yet he forgot, which person in history with innate divine strength stopped developing before reaching adulthood? Lin Xuan would only be even more terrifying than that. Until the horse carriage completely vanished from his line of sight, Tang San tightened his belt and stepped out with his legs, walking toward Sacred Soul Village. Although he had become a soul master, his life hadn't grown much more affluent; all his money flowed into Lin Xuan's pocket. He also wanted to quit the impulse to challenge Lin Xuan, but this seemed like an instinct deep within his genes, completely impossible to resist. As long as he had money in his hands, he couldn't help wanting to challenge him, and as time went on, he returned to a penniless state once more. If not for Yu Xiaogang supplying his meals, he would have starved himself to death. Tang San didn't attribute this kind of impulse to Lin Xuan, figuring Lin Xuan didn't have that kind of great ability. He told himself that doing this was for the Hundred Refinements Tungsten Steel Hammer in Lin Xuan's hands—that was a treasure of immense value even in his original world. He was only spending a few gold soul coins right now, and this bit of investment compared to the value of the tungsten steel hammer was simply not worth mentioning. He found a perfect excuse for his obsession, yet failed to realize that he had long since plunged into an inescapable obsession amidst wave after wave of defeat. Beneath the setting sun, Tang San's lonely figure walked along the rural path, behind him was the increasingly distant Nuoding City, and ahead of him was the familiar Sacred Soul Village. And his contest with Lin Xuan clearly wouldn't end along with the conclusion of this semester.