"Xiao... Xiao San, hurry... hurry..."
Yu Xiaogang's face had turned bluish-green as he remained stuck halfway inside. The snake venom's corrosion had weakened him to the extreme.
He had meant to shout, "Hurry and pull your teacher out," but he simply did not have the strength to say the rest.
Yet those incomplete words produced a strange chemical reaction in Tang San's ears.
"Teacher is already on the verge of death, and the first thing he says after waking up is telling me to run?!"
For a moment, overwhelming guilt instantly flooded Tang San's heart.
His eyes reddened as he cursed himself for truly having followed the Way of Seeking Death. He had actually suspected his teacher of being useless just moments ago!
"Teacher, rest assured!" Tang San was so moved that tears filled his eyes. He strode forward, his tone incomparably resolute. "With Xiao San here, I absolutely won't let anything happen to you!"
At that moment, Tang San was utterly moved by his own imagination. He could not even spare another glance at the century-old Soul Ring floating nearby.
Gangzi had explained before they came that a Soul Ring could remain for two hours after a soul beast died. There was no rush.
The most urgent matter was to save this self-sacrificing, wonderful teacher!
He swiftly stowed the Godly Zhuge Crossbow back into Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, then pulled out a sharp short dagger.
Rip—
Tang San moved cleanly and efficiently, slicing along the tear near the Datura Snake's tail.
After considerable effort, he finally peeled Xiao Gang, covered in unspeakable slime, completely out of the snake's belly.
But clearly, Master Yu's condition after seeing daylight again was dreadful.
His entire body was bloodless as he curled up on the ground, occasionally twitching uncontrollably.
"The Datura Snake's venom has already begun invading Teacher's heart meridians."
As a former Tang Sect disciple, Third Brother was an expert when it came to poisons. He immediately made a professional judgment.
Even worse, Gangzi's entire left arm had turned a horrifying purple-black, while foul-smelling thick blood constantly dripped from the wound.
"Looks like... I can only resort to this last measure."
Tang San knew that once the snake venom truly followed the bloodstream throughout the entire body, even a Title Douluo would have no solution.
Though what he was about to do would be somewhat cruel to his teacher, in Tang San's values, it was better to live miserably than die well.
As long as he could preserve his life, what was wrong with Master Yu suffering a little?
Tang San made his decision at once, instantly driving his Purple Demon Eye to its limit!
His body flashed like lightning as he rapidly searched the surrounding bushes for several medicinal herbs that could detoxify and stop bleeding.
After returning to Master Yu's side, his fingers moved like the wind, tapping several major acupoints on Xiao Gang's left shoulder in rapid succession.
He forcibly sealed off the blood flow within Master Yu's body.
"Teacher, in order to save your life, Xiao San must offend you!"
Tang San lowered his head and apologized in a grief-stricken tone.
Then, his hand rose, and the blade fell...
"AAAAAAAHHHH—!!!"
Accompanied by the dull sound of blade cutting through bone and flesh, a pig-slaughtering scream of unimaginable misery instantly echoed through the entire Soul Hunting Forest.
Tang San turned a deaf ear to the heartrending screams, skillfully slapping the chewed-up herbs onto the cleanly severed stump of Gangzi's arm.
The herbal juice reacted violently with the exposed flesh. The extreme burning pain made Yu Xiaogang roll his eyes back as cold sweat instantly soaked his back. The pain was so intense that he could not even speak properly.
"Xiao... Xiao San... you..."
Watching his teacher tremble in agony, Tang San knew how hurtful the decision he had been forced to make was.
Without another word, he dropped to his knees before Gangzi with a thud. His eyes were red as he knocked his head solidly against the ground three times.
"Teacher! Xiao San cut off your arm only out of absolute necessity!"
"But it was all to preserve your life!"
As he spoke, Tang San thoughtfully kicked that pitch-black severed arm in front of Gangzi, indicating that he should look at how deeply the poison had spread and how worthwhile that cut had been.
Yu Xiaogang: "..."
Gangzi looked at the arm that, just one second ago, had still been perfectly attached to his body. He felt as though his entire being was about to shatter.
Did he really have to use such a hardcore, extreme treatment method?!
He had come from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. He at least understood some theory, and he felt that his arm could actually still have been saved!
That damned rebellious disciple had not even considered any other methods before immediately amputating it?
Damn it! Unforgivable!
Master Yu roared madly in his heart!
But things had already reached this point. Aside from impotent rage, Master Yu could do nothing else.
In order to preserve the last shred of dignity and unfathomable bearing befitting a teacher...
"Sigh..."
Yu Xiaogang forcibly suppressed the anger in his heart and weakly waved his remaining right hand.
"Xiao San, get up. Your teacher does not blame you."
"It was fated... This can be considered a calamity that your teacher was destined to face."
After forcibly giving himself a mental pep talk, Yu Xiaogang slowly turned his lifeless gaze toward the yellow Soul Ring floating in the air on the wind.
Looking at his empty left sleeve, Yu Xiaogang was overcome with sorrow. But soon, that desolation transformed into an almost pathological obsession.
Since he was already a crippled useless man in this life, he had to cling even more tightly to Tang San, this lone sapling!
As long as Tang San could prove his Invincible Theory, Yu Xiaogang would still be a lofty master in the world of soul masters!
As for Lin Nuo, he would make proper plans after returning to Nuoding Academy!
Everything was in his favor!
Suppressing the waves of piercing pain from his severed arm, Gangzi forced a stiff smile onto his face, one uglier than crying.
"Xiao San, cough cough... Since this Datura Snake has already been slain, its nearly four-hundred-year Soul Ring absolutely cannot be wasted."
"According to your teacher's years of theoretical deduction, plant-type martial souls can completely absorb animal-type Soul Rings across classifications.
If your Blue Silver Grass absorbs it, not only will it greatly make up for its innate deficiency in toughness, it can also perfectly inherit the Datura Snake's paralytic venom."
"In that case, your Blue Silver Grass will surely undergo a qualitative leap."
Hearing his teacher's voice, so weak that he was panting heavily between words, Tang San's eyes reddened again as a burning warmth surged through his heart.
How great! Teacher was truly too great!
He had clearly just suffered the pain of losing an arm and taken a trip to death's door, yet the first thing he did after waking was not worry about his own injuries, but plan for the future of him, a disciple he had only just accepted!
With a teacher like this, what more could one ask for?!
"Teacher, say no more. I understand!"
Tang San nodded heavily, roughly wiped away the tears at the corners of his eyes, and quickly walked to the Datura Snake's remains before sitting cross-legged on the spot.
He raised his right hand. A faint trace of Soul Power emerged from his palm, and a pale-blue Blue Silver Grass quietly sprouted, gently swaying in the wind.
Then Tang San closed his eyes. Following the method Yu Xiaogang had taught him, he used his spiritual power to firmly lock onto the bright yellow century-old Soul Ring in midair and slowly drew it toward himself.
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