Chapter Ten: Tang San's Defeat

With his Soul Power under perfect control, Ye Lan closed in on Tang San, who had yet to steady himself, in just two exchanges.

Without hesitation, his right fist shot straight at Tang San's face. Tang San had no time to respond and could only cross his arms in front of his face to defend.

Bang!

Tang San's arms slammed into his face, leaving him in pain as he stumbled backward again and again.

Once Tang San regained his footing, he no longer dared to underestimate Ye Lan.

A purple glint surfaced in Tang San's eyes, a white gleam appeared around his hands, and his feet shifted through strange, elusive steps.

They were the hand-training method Mysterious Jade Hand, the eye-training method Purple Demon Eye, and the movement technique Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

By the time Tang San activated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Ye Lan had already closed in before him again.

Tang San steadied his mind. Unlike the last exchange, he now had a chance to strike. He brought the five fingers of his right hand together and thrust out his palm, aiming directly for Ye Lan's chest.

Seeing Tang San's palm coming at him, Ye Lan answered Tang San's Mysterious Jade Palm with a straight right fist! Fist and palm collided, and Ye Lan felt through his knuckles that Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand was exceptionally hard, like jade.

Tang San had begun blacksmithing before awakening his martial soul. After several months of training, his strength had become exceptional, only slightly inferior to power-type Battle Soul Masters of the same rank.

As their hands met, Tang San felt Ye Lan's strength to be seemingly endless, with no end in sight.

Their figures flickered continuously throughout the Seventh Dormitory, each shift accompanied by the sharp sounds of fists and palms clashing.

Bang! Bang! Bang bang!

Tang San now discovered that no matter how much strength he used, Ye Lan could withstand it.

Tang San's close-combat experience was not particularly strong to begin with; he relied entirely on the grappling technique Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon in close quarters. He tried to draw out greater force from Ye Lan's punches so that he could borrow that force against him.

But no matter how Ye Lan threw his punches, he always held back a fraction of his strength, giving Tang San not the slightest opportunity to borrow his force.

The battle became a constant exchange of flashing movements and clashes. As it continued to escalate, both sides grew faster and faster.

Yet Tang San became increasingly uneasy inside. Ye Lan might be a few years older than him, but his Soul Power was three ranks lower. And yet Tang San still could not defeat him.

Since cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill, this was the first time Tang San had encountered such a troublesome opponent of his own age.

While Tang San was still pondering how to find an opening in Ye Lan's defense, Ye Lan had already thoroughly analyzed Tang San's strength.

Tang San relied on the Tang Sect's techniques: the Mysterious Heaven Skill to generate power, the Purple Demon Eye to see through an opponent's moves, the Mysterious Jade Hand to enhance the strength and defense of his hands, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to constantly create distance and disrupt the opponent, and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon for its excellent force-manipulation techniques.

Ye Lan marveled inwardly. Tang San truly deserved to be the protagonist of Douluo Continent. He had only just awakened his martial soul, yet already possessed such strength.

After three years of training, along with completely mastering the technique of combining Soul Power with his body to exert force, Ye Lan's every attack was equivalent to a Soul Skill.

Although Ye Lan had not yet used his full strength, Tang San had still managed to hold out for so long.

Ye Lan stopped probing him and decided to use a little more force to end this challenge.

Just as Tang San darted to the side again, intending to maintain the current situation—

Ye Lan ignored Tang San's movements and instead widened the distance between them to around five meters.

Tang San watched Ye Lan warily, not knowing what he intended by creating distance.

Meanwhile, Ye Lan channeled seventy to eighty percent of his Soul Power into his legs and exploded forward, charging straight at Tang San.

Tang San used the Purple Demon Eye to see through Ye Lan's moves. Although his attack speed was inferior to Ye Lan's, he could still receive every one of Ye Lan's attacks.

The Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track beneath his feet continually disrupted Ye Lan's speed, preventing him from making full use of his speed advantage.

Thus, Ye Lan's answer to Tang San's fighting style was to break skill with speed and overwhelm finesse with strength.

Ye Lan had opened the distance in order to create room for an explosive sprint.

The blue-haired figure crossed several steps in an instant and reached Tang San before he could even blink.

Using the momentum of his charge, Ye Lan borrowed that force and threw a fierce punch at Tang San's shoulder.

Although Tang San's Purple Demon Eye saw through Ye Lan's move, Ye Lan was simply too fast. Tang San had no time at all to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and could only raise both arms and defend against Ye Lan with the palms of his Mysterious Jade Hand.

But this time, the force was not something Tang San could defend against. This was Ye Lan's full-power explosive punch.

Bang!

With a tremendous crash, Tang San was sent flying stiffly through the air, crashing into and toppling a nearby bedframe!

Ye Lan was not worried about Tang San's injuries. After so many exchanges, Ye Lan had a clear understanding of Tang San's strength and defense. When he threw that final punch, he had held back.

Though he had fought Tang San under the influence of the Nameless Fire, Tang San was still only a six-year-old child. Ye Lan would not strike to kill.

Besides, Ye Lan had no desire to test Tang Hao's moral limits. He did not know whether Tang Hao would attack a child, and the original work had never mentioned it. But Tang Hao was famous for having the old come after the young were beaten; he was an extremely protective man.

On the other side, Tang San lay on the bedframe and contemplated life.

We both have Blue Silver Grass, so why am I so much weaker? No, I haven't used my full strength yet! If I use Hidden Weapons, even if it's only one move, I can still decide the outcome.

Tang San's wrist twitched involuntarily, but then he relaxed. Ye Lan is only a few years older than me. There's no need for me to use Hidden Weapons.

Tang San then climbed to his feet and asked Ye Lan, "Why are you so much stronger than me when we both have Blue Silver Grass?"

"I've merely trained for a few more years. As long as you find the right path for yourself, anyone can become a Battle Soul Master, right?" Ye Lan scratched his head and brushed Tang San off.

Of course, Ye Lan would not tell Tang San about the Extreme Soul Ring Attachment Method. With innate Soul Power at Rank 3, it was the foundation of his survival on Douluo Continent.

Ye Lan had no interest whatsoever in the Tang Sect's cultivation techniques. After all, on Blue Star in his previous life, who among those who had read wuxia novels would like techniques meant for sneak attacks?

"You're right! Teacher said it too: there are no useless martial souls, only useless Soul Masters. Even with Blue Silver Grass, I can cultivate until I'm as strong as you!" At the mention of Yu Xiaogang, Tang San's face filled with reverence.

Ye Lan did not argue and stir up further trouble. He merely thought to himself, If you weren't a Twin Martial Souls wielder, Yu Xiaogang wouldn't even spare you a glance. And as for that famous saying, isn't Yu Xiaogang himself proof of the words 'useless Soul Master'?

Wang Sheng and the others from Seventh Dormitory crowded around Ye Lan excitedly. "Ye Lan! You and Tang San are way too strong! Tang San was already strong enough—he's a Soul Master with Innate Full Soul Power! Who would've thought you were hiding your strength and actually defeated someone with Innate Full Soul Power? You're actually the strongest in Seventh Dormitory. We all thought you were the weakest one here!"

"From now on, you're Seventh Dormitory's Boss!"

"Yeah, yeah! From now on, Seventh Dormitory will depend on you, Ye Lan. We won't ever be bullied by the upperclassmen again!"

Ye Lan shrugged, disregarding the expectant gazes of the Seventh Dormitory students. "I have no interest in being Boss. Give it to Tang San! He's strong enough. He'll have no problem helping Seventh Dormitory deal with the upperclassmen from noble families."

Just as everyone in Seventh Dormitory was feeling disappointed, a crisp voice came from outside. "Is this Seventh Dormitory? I'm Xiao Wu!"

A pretty little girl around Tang San's age and about the same height appeared before the Seventh Dormitory students.

Her little face was fair with a rosy glow, tender and pink. A scorpion braid hung down her back, and her clothes were clean and neat. Her large, watery eyes were especially adorable.

Wang Sheng and the others were so captivated that their eyes went wide. Ye Lan was not surprised by Xiao Wu's appearance, but he had no desire to provoke this Rabbit Spirit who only knew how to cause trouble.

Ye Lan looked at Tang San and discovered that Tang San actually seemed somewhat nervous at that moment.

Ye Lan patted Tang San on the shoulder and said sincerely, "Tang San, you're Seventh Dormitory's Boss now. Seventh Dormitory is yours to handle. I'm going to eat."

Then, amid everyone's stunned reactions, Ye Lan left the dormitory.

Xiao Wu was somewhat curious about Ye Lan's departure. She secretly thought, How could that dark blue-haired boy completely ignore such an adorable girl like me?

After that, Tang San and Xiao Wu began fighting, continuing Seventh Dormitory's tradition of fighting to determine the Boss.

As expected, Tang San could not bring himself to be ruthless and lost to Xiao Wu.