Douluo: Poisonous Tongue, Loves Telling the Truth

His Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed involuntarily, the look of resentment in his eyes instantly turning clear.

He hadn't expected this Xia Ran to be so ruthless, ready to strike without a second thought.

"I... I can give you all the valuable things I have on me, please, let me go."

After the words fell, he continued to observe Xia Ran's expression.

But Xia Ran didn't make a move, simply continuing to stare at him with those golden pupils.

"These are all my Gold Soul Coins, and some ores..."

"My patience has a limit. I'll give you one last chance: what are you going to use to buy your life?"

Xia Ran was truly amused by Tang San to the point of laughter. Even at this life-or-death moment, he still harbored wishful thinking, hoping to resolve the conflict with a mere few Gold Soul Coins and a pile of scrap metal.

It had to be said, this guy was truly full of schemes.

Seeing the sharp blade gradually closing in, Tang San, kneeling on the ground, reached out to undo his belt...

This action startled the two girls watching the spectacle, who hurriedly covered their eyes. Ning Rongrong, being bolder, peeked through her fingers, watching the situation in the arena with curiosity.

"This is my storage Soul Tool. All my savings are in here, please spare me..."

The belt in Tang San's hands was the storage Soul Tool given to him by Yu Xiaogang, the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.

It contained all his savings from over the years; aside from the Tang Sect techniques, one could say all his assets in this world were inside this belt.

Holding the belt up with both hands, cold sweat seeped from Tang San's temples. He was genuinely terrified of the killing intent radiating from Xia Ran, the tip of the blade right before his eyes.

He dared not doubt that if he couldn't produce a bargaining chip that satisfied this god of slaughter, his head would be gone in the next second.

Xia Ran reached out and snatched the belt, probing it with his spiritual power.

"Oh? Quite a few good things in here."

It had to be said, Tang San had crafted many little gadgets over the years: Sleeve Arrows, Godly Zhuge Crossbows, Sand-Shooting Shadows, and a pile of strange-looking throwing darts.

Inside, there were also the Dragon Whisker Needles he had obtained a while ago, and the rest were just some ores, iron ingots, and the like.

Xia Ran swept all the valuable items into his own storage ring, dumping the useless clothes and daily necessities right in front of Tang San.

"Add one hundred thousand Gold Soul Coins, and this matter will be considered settled."

Without waiting for Tang San to refuse, he left those words behind, retracted his martial soul, and walked out of the trial grounds.

As the figure vanished, Tang San's body went limp as he knelt on the ground, like a deflated ball, losing all his strength in an instant.

"That was too dangerous; he really would have killed me."

That icy killing intent remained vivid in his mind, and the golden eyes devoid of any emotional color had shattered the confidence he had built up over the years.

Since arriving in this world, he had never encountered an opponent among his peers.

In the vast Notting City, aside from Xiao Wu, there wasn't even a child with strength comparable to his.

Yet now, not only were his hidden weapons completely useless against Xia Ran, but even his Soul Power Level had been completely suppressed, not to mention those bizarre skills.

"Blue Silver Grass! Is it really a trash martial soul?"

"No! What I am best at is poison. Attaching a poison-attribute soul ring to the Blue Silver Grass is absolutely my wisest choice. Teacher's theory cannot be wrong."

Lying on the ground nearby, Xiao Wu let out a soft murmur, her eyelids fluttering as if she were about to wake up.

Poor Xiao Wu, having been pushed to the ground by Tang San, was still concerned about her brother while in a daze.

"Brother, are you okay?"

Tang San, caught in his own internal conflict, didn't notice the subtle movements of the girl in his arms until the voice reached his ears, at which point he looked down to check on Xiao Wu.

"Xiao Wu, you're awake!"

"How are you? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere?"

"I'm fine, just hit by a brief dizziness effect."

Tang San thought back to Xiao Wu stepping forward to stop Xia Ran.

His heart was deeply moved; this younger sister truly cared about him.

"Xia Ran, you have already invited your own death!"

The empty arena was left with only the group, looking at each other in dismay.

Before long, a figure with white hair and beard walked over.

"Are you the new freshmen? Follow me, I'll take you to the dorms."

The person looked like an old man, but spoke with the voice of a young man. Ning Rongrong looked closely and realized this was just a peer of similar age.

Xiao Wu was helped up by Tang San, following at the back of the group.

Now that all his money had been given to Xia Ran, he had nowhere to go even if he wanted to leave the academy.

He could only wait for Yu Xiaogang to arrive and see if he could use the dean's connections to get some of his items back; after all, there were many Tang Sect hidden weapons in there.

Ning Rongrong curiously sized up this strange senior. He was clearly about the same age as her, yet he made himself look like an old man—what a weirdo.

"My name is Oscar, you can just call me Little Ao."

"Uncle, how old are you this year? Why are you dressed like this?"

"Uncle? I'm only 14 years old, and you're calling me uncle?"

Oscar turned his head to look at Ning Rongrong, who had spoken. Once he turned, those peach-blossom eyes of his couldn't look away.

Just a moment ago, his attention had been entirely captured by Tang San and Xiao Wu, followed by the curvaceous Zhu Zhuqing. Now that this cute pink-haired girl had appeared, he fell for her instantly.

Sometimes fate is just like that. Xiao Wu's long legs and Zhu Zhuqing's proud figure were only considered top-tier in Oscar's eyes, but the moment Ning Rongrong's peerless face appeared, he felt as if he were bewitched, and he never wanted to like anyone else again.

However, from Ning Rongrong's perspective, he was just a scruffy, middle-aged uncle staring straight at her without even blinking—as sleazy as one could possibly be.

"Are you sick? Why are you staring at me like that?"

Chapter 5: Disgust Level Skyrockets

She finally understood what Xia Ran had meant by that remark earlier; this person was truly so sleazy!

Not only did he look sleazy, but his voice was sleazy, and his gaze was sleazy too.

Realizing he had lost his composure, Oscar hurriedly adjusted his facial expression.

"My apologies, beautiful lady. Your beauty is simply heaven-sent. Please allow me to know your name, would you?"

"Eww~"

After those words, goosebumps broke out all over Ning Rongrong, as if she had been touched by something filthy. She dodged from the front of the group to hide behind Tang San and the others.

"You really are sick! Stay away from me!"

Yet, that look of disgust paired with her beautiful face only made her look even more perfect in Oscar's eyes.

Heavens! That look, that expression—if I can't have a passionate, earth-shattering romance with her in this lifetime, then what is the point of me becoming a Spirit Master?

He led the way while stealing glances back at Ning Rongrong, leaving both Zhu Zhuqing and Tang San speechless.

This guy must have some sort of bad habit; it was fortunate that the target of his attention was Ning Rongrong...

With this pervert as a point of comparison, Xia Ran, who they had met earlier, seemed so upright and excellent.

"Xia Ran, where are you? Why did you have this sleazy uncle show us around the academy!"

After walking for about ten minutes, the group arrived at the dormitory area of Shrek Academy, where several dilapidated wooden huts came into view.

"This is? The student dormitory?"

Xiao Wu had thought the work-study student dormitory was already simple enough, but she hadn't expected Shrek Academy to lower her definition of "simple" even further.

The wooden huts in front of them were clearly old structures from many years ago; it would be considered well-maintained if they didn't leak wind or rain.

And there were only four of these dilapidated wooden huts in total...

"Don't look at the dormitory conditions as being a bit simple, but..."

Actually, there was no "but." Having lived here for so many years, even Oscar couldn't find any advantages to Shrek Academy.

If he hadn't lived here since he was a child and lacked any real pursuit of material things, he would have run away long ago.

Just then, a blond youth walked out of a wooden hut while yawning.

"Eh? Little Ao, are these new students? How come so many came all at once!"

The newcomer had a lazy posture and messy, fluffy hair, though his heterochromatic eyes added a touch of eerie, domineering aura.

Zhu Zhuqing recognized this person at a glance.

The Third Prince of Star Luo, Dai Mubai, who had abandoned her—his fiancée—because he was cowardly, feared death, and refused to face reality in order to escape the struggle for the throne.

Oscar looked confused; everyone usually started their cultivation at this time of day, so what was going on today?

"Boss Dai, what time is it? Why are you only just waking up?"

"Don't mention it. Those twins last night wore me out, but fortunately, I came out on top in the end, otherwise you wouldn't be seeing me today."

As he said this, Dai Mubai wore a proud and arrogant expression, as if he were showing off his impressive record.

[Zhu Zhuqing's disgust level toward Dai Mubai: 50%]

[Host rewarded with weapon: Black Blade—Dark Moon]

Xia Ran, who was in the middle of checking his spoils, was slightly stunned by the sudden system reward.

"What's the situation? Why did it suddenly jump to 50%?"

"Black Blade? Dark Moon?"

With a thought, a standard-issue long blade, pitch-black from hilt to tip, hovered before him.

The blade was as black as ink, showing no luster even under the sunlight.

Only the edge of the blade emitted a faint, chilling light; as the light flowed, it looked like a crescent moon rising in the dark of night.

The ebony hilt was wrapped in black cord, though the material of the cord was unknown, and it featured mysterious patterns on its surface.

Despite its simple design, this long blade emitted an extremely pure dark attribute.