Yu Xiaogang said, "Mutated Martial Souls can't be judged by conventional standards. Sanpao's attacks consume a great deal of Soul Power. Even with all my Soul Power, I can only have him attack three times.
"But unlike ordinary Martial Souls, Sanpao can replenish his Soul Power by eating. After he eats these two white radishes, the Soul Power he just expended will be fully restored in half an hour.
"And the reason I feed him white radishes is that they're very good at making him fart."
By the end, Yu Xiaogang wanted to crawl into a crack in the ground. Having a Martial Soul that could only fart was so embarrassing.
That worked, too?
Tang San quietly turned his head and grinned to himself, taking care not to make a sound in case Yu Xiaogang felt even worse.
Just as the master and disciple thought the crisis had passed, another sudden change occurred. Luo Sanpao turned toward a certain direction and let out hurried, uneasy pig grunts as though frightened. "Luo Luo, Luo Luo, Luo Luo Luo..."
The two immediately grew alert again. Purple light flared in Tang San's eyes as he urged his Purple Demon Eye to its limit.
With the aid of his Purple Demon Eye, Tang San saw a dark green, triangular tongue rise from the bushes. A pair of blood-red snake eyes stared at them.
"Teacher, over there!" Tang San immediately pointed out the snake's location.
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang had no time to wonder why Tang San could see farther than he could. He was desperate to find out what kind of Soul Beast was approaching.
Driven by that need, he took a fire striker from his Storage Soul Tool and tossed it toward the spot Tang San had indicated.
A gust of wind fanned the fire striker into flame.
In the faint light, Yu Xiaogang was finally able to see the snake clearly.
"Hiss!" Yu Xiaogang couldn't help sucking in a sharp breath. "How can this be? A Mandala Snake! Why would such a savage Soul Beast appear in the Soul Hunting Forest?"
Yu Xiaogang was both frightened and furious. He cursed Spirit Hall for its negligence. How was the Soul Hunting Forest being managed? Why hadn't they exterminated such a vicious Soul Beast? Didn't they know that the people who came to the Soul Hunting Forest were all low-level Soul Masters? This was practically asking for trouble.
He could only hope that the snake in front of them wasn't too old—ten years old at most, preferably. Yu Xiaogang prayed silently.
The Mandala Snake didn't seem inclined to let the master and disciple go. It flicked its tongue, hissing softly as it inched closer to them.
Yu Xiaogang said gravely, "Xiao San, I'll teach you another theory: if you have more rings and bones, give it everything you've got; if you have fewer, run for your life. 'Rings' means Soul Rings, and 'bones' means Soul Bones.
"Remember, when you have a clear advantage in Soul Rings and Soul Bones, give it your all and strike hard.
"On the other hand, if your opponent has an overwhelming advantage, don't hesitate. Run immediately.
"Your life comes first. Your pride will never matter more than staying alive."
While Yu Xiaogang was earnestly lecturing Tang San, the Mandala Snake had already drawn within ten meters.
By the light of the moon, they could see that the Mandala Snake was nearly four meters long.
"Hiss!"
Yu Xiaogang's face went white with fright. This was a Mandala Snake with a cultivation base of almost four hundred years!
Damn it, there was no way a half-trained Soul Grandmaster like him could fight it.
"Run!" Knowing the gap between them, Yu Xiaogang had no intention of resisting. He grabbed Tang San and ran.
"Sanpao, hold it off! Farts like thunder—Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!" Yu Xiaogang shouted. Two Soul Rings flew out at once and settled around Luo Sanpao.
"Luo Luo!"
Luo Sanpao sucked in a deep breath and pointed his rear at the oncoming Mandala Snake. With a bang, yellow gas erupted like a volcano, sending out a powerful wave of air.
Caught off guard, the Mandala Snake was blasted into the air by the earth-shaking fart and hurled far away.
The damage was no more than a tickle to the Mandala Snake. It was just incredibly disgusting.
Hiss! The Mandala Snake was furious. So what if it was a snake? Did that make it lesser than everyone else? Did snakes have no dignity? Did it have to put up with being farted on without complaint?
No!
Today, it would get justice for itself.
Seeing the Mandala Snake chase after them again, Yu Xiaogang had no choice but to unleash his big move.
"Farts like smoke—Sleep-Inducing Luo Sanpao!"
Luo Sanpao stuck out his rear and let out a puff. A stream of yellowish-brown gas sprayed out and spread through the air.
Yet the fart's sleep-inducing effect didn't affect the Mandala Snake at all. It continued racing toward the two people and one pig ahead of it.
With no other choice, Yu Xiaogang ordered Luo Sanpao to block it again.
This time, Luo Sanpao wasn't so lucky. His Soul Power was already nearly depleted, so he couldn't use a Soul Skill.
The Mandala Snake bit down on one of his pig legs, then whipped its head to the side and flung Luo Sanpao away like a piece of trash.
The Mandala Snake lunged at them. Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes, resigned to his fate.
Yu Xiaogang was despairing. Fragments of his past swirled through his mind. At that moment, he wanted to ask the heavens why they were so unfair, why he had to be so unlucky.
At the critical moment, Tang San thrust out his arm and flung Yu Xiaogang several meters away. Then he swiftly drew a short sword and brought every ability he had to bear: Purple Demon Eye, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Mysterious Jade Hand, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and his silent Sleeve Sword...
After a fierce, heart-stopping struggle, Tang San finally managed to stab the short sword into the Mandala Snake's mouth.
The blow was fatal. The Mandala Snake writhed and rolled on the ground, struggling for a while before gradually losing its life.
Not only had it failed to get justice for itself, it had lost its life as well.
"Xiao San?" While Tang San was still shaken, Yu Xiaogang staggered over.
Tang San narrowed his eyes. His teacher had seen everything he had just done.
His soul didn't belong to this world. He absolutely couldn't let anyone find that out.
What should he do now? Should he kill his teacher to silence him?
Tang San's arm rose slightly, his Sleeve Sword poised to strike. Yu Xiaogang had no Soul Power left. At that moment, Tang San was confident he could kill him.
But when it came down to it, Tang San wavered. He had once said that a teacher for a day was a father for life.
Was he really going to kill his father?
He still remembered how his teacher had thoughtfully brought him dinner just the day before...
After a fierce inner struggle, Tang San finally abandoned the impulse to kill his teacher.
To cover up what he had done, Tang San put on an act and deliberately collapsed to the ground as if completely drained.
"Teacher, that scared me to death. But I think I managed to stab the snake."
Yu Xiaogang hurried over to Tang San and checked him all over. Seeing that he wasn't hurt, he scolded him, "Why did you let go just now? Do you know how dangerous that was?"
His words were full of concern, but he didn't mention the martial arts Tang San had just used.
In truth, he hadn't seen much, either. It was late at night, and the lighting was poor. Besides, he was getting on in years, and his eyesight wasn't what it used to be.
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