Tang San, Nothing More Than This

Lu Ming walked to the edge of the crater and glanced down at the devastation within, his expression as calm as still water.

It was as though he had merely swatted a fly to death.

He turned and looked at Tang San, whose face had turned livid and whose entire body was trembling.

"Tang San."

"Go back and tell Yu Xiaogang."

"Before learning scholarship, learn how to conduct yourself."

"If he cannot discipline his own students, Jixia Academy does not mind doing it for him."

"Of course, if I see this kind of filth wandering the streets again..."

Lu Ming paused, lightly tapping with the folding fan in his hand.

"Then it will not be as simple as lying in bed for a month or two."

With that, he called out to Gongsun Li, who was still standing there in a daze.

"Let's go, A Li."

"The osmanthus cakes will get cold."

Gongsun Li came back to her senses and hurried after him. As she passed the crater, she even deliberately made a face at the figure inside.

The two swaggered away one after the other beneath countless awestruck gazes.

In midair, Sikong Zhen transformed into a streak of lightning and vanished in an instant.

All that remained were the Shrek Academy group staring at one another, and the smoking crater.

Tang San clenched his fists so tightly that his nails pierced his palms, blood dripping down.

Humiliation.

This was humiliation unlike anything he had ever suffered before.

Yet he could not utter a single word in rebuttal.

Because before absolute power, any reasoning was pale and powerless.

The street was deathly silent.

Only wisps of black smoke continued to rise slowly from the charred crater.

The nauseating stench of burnt flesh, mixed with the aroma of roasted meat, invaded everyone's nostrils.

Dai Mubai stood frozen in place, his mismatched pupils trembling violently.

He stared fixedly at the mangled lump of flesh at the bottom of the crater, its fate unknown, his mind completely blank.

The brother who had been shouting about venting his lust only moments ago had now become a twitching lump of charcoal.

Rage.

An uncontrollable fury instantly swept away the lingering fear he had felt from the might of the lightning.

"Fatty..."

Dai Mubai let out a low roar.

He suddenly raised his head. Bloodshot veins filled those Evil Eyes as he glared viciously at Lu Ming's departing back.

"You think you can just leave after hurting someone?"

"Stay right there!"

Boom!

Dai Mubai's muscles suddenly swelled, and his once well-fitting clothes instantly tore apart.

White Tiger Vajra Transformation!

With a tiger's roar, his third Spirit Ring blazed with light.

Wrapped in that intense white radiance, the leader of Shrek Academy grew much taller. Black-and-white stripes appeared across his skin, while the character "King" on his forehead radiated a savage aura.

He did not spare a glance for the still-smoking Ma Hongjun.

Right now, all he wanted was to tear apart the indifferent man before him.

"Die, damn it!"

Dai Mubai violently kicked off the ground with his rear foot.

The hard stone pavement instantly exploded.

His entire body became a pale streak of light, carrying a fierce gust as he extended his dagger-sharp tiger claws straight toward Lu Ming's back.

This strike held nothing back.

It was meant to kill.

The surrounding townsfolk cried out in alarm and covered their eyes.

Gongsun Li halted, just about to turn around and strike.

Lu Ming merely pressed a hand lightly on her shoulder without even turning his head.

He did not so much as pause for half a step.

Just as the sharp tiger claws came within less than ten feet of Lu Ming's back.

Crack!

Thunder rumbled once more beneath the clear sky.

A bolt of purple lightning, thicker and more violent than before, descended without warning like a sword of heavenly punishment.

It struck the exact path Dai Mubai had to take.

"Get lost."

That single word slammed into everyone's hearts like a heavy hammer.

Boom!

Lightning exploded.

The fierce tiger charging down the mountain was blasted backward even faster than it had charged.

Dai Mubai traced a miserable arc through the air, blood spraying wildly from his mouth before he crashed into the roadside wall like a ragged sack.

The wall collapsed with a roar, burying him beneath the rubble.

Dust billowed into the air.

A burly figure reappeared in the middle of the street amid the lightning.

Sikong Zhen stood with his hands behind his back, his Lightning Battle Armor gleaming with a terrifying radiance.

He had not truly left.

Or rather, so long as Lu Ming needed him, the thunder filling the skies would be everywhere.

"A mere ant."

Sikong Zhen's eyes were filled with indifference.

"And you dared bare your claws behind the dean's back?"

A bout of violent coughing came from the ruins.

Dai Mubai shoved aside the bricks pinning him down and staggered to his feet.

He was in an utterly miserable state.

More than half of his proud golden hair had been scorched away, and his chest was blackened—a mark left by taking the lightning head-on.

If not for the White Tiger Vajra Transformation greatly enhancing his defense, that strike would have been enough to kill him.

"Cough, cough... Urgh!"

Dai Mubai spat out another mouthful of blood, and deep fear finally appeared in those Evil Eyes.

The gap was far too great.

Even after using his strongest amplification soul skill, he was still as fragile as paper before this silver-haired man.

"Mubai!"

A figure darted over and caught the swaying Dai Mubai.

It was Tang San.

Tang San's expression was terrifyingly grim.

He glanced at Ma Hongjun, who was still twitching at the bottom of the crater, then at the heavily wounded Dai Mubai vomiting blood. Finally, he fixed his gaze on Sikong Zhen and Lu Ming.

"Jixia Academy certainly puts on quite an impressive display."

Tang San slowly released Dai Mubai and stepped forward.

His right hand dropped quietly to his side, several tiny black objects already pinched between his fingertips.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated madly within him, and his Purple Demon Eye opened with it, a strange violet glint flashing through his eyes.

"Dean Lu."

"I respect you as a senior, and I treated you with courtesy just now."

"But not only did you allow your subordinate to attack and severely wound my companions, you have now dealt such a vicious blow to Mubai."

"Is this the way of Jixia Academy?"

Tang San's voice was not loud, but it carried the accusatory tone of someone speaking from the moral high ground.

Lu Ming finally stopped walking.

He turned around and looked at this so-called "Son of the Plane" with interest.

"The way?"

Lu Ming seemed to have heard something amusing.

"Tang San, have you misunderstood something?"

"That fatty molested a civilian woman in the street and attempted to violate her. We of Jixia Academy stepped in when we saw injustice. That isn't assault—it's eliminating a scourge."

"As for this sickly cat..."

Lu Ming glanced at Dai Mubai, who was barely clinging to life.

"He launched a sneak attack from behind, and every move was aimed to kill. Since he dared to extend his claws, he should've been prepared to have them chopped off."

"What?"

"Only Shrek people are allowed to bully others, while no one else is allowed to fight back?"

"Is this Shrek's double standard?"

Lu Ming's words left Tang San momentarily unable to breathe.

But he quickly composed himself.

In the Tang Sect's creed, protecting one's own always came first.

No matter what Ma Hongjun had done, he was still Tang San's brother. It wasn't an outsider's place to discipline him!