Giving In

Xiao Wu looked harmless, with her delicate, sweet appearance like a little white rabbit—soft, adorable, and cute. In reality, her physical abilities were considerably stronger than those of a normal One-Ring Soul Master with a four-hundred-year Soul Ring.

The first few Soul Rings of a transformed Soul Beast were equivalent to self-generated Soul Rings. Not only did they have a hundred percent compatibility, their age could also be set right at the limit of what the body could truly withstand.

The key was, she didn't know how to hold back. She used as much strength as she had, excitement making her eyes glow red.

Like a tiger among sheep, she took down one kid with every kick.

In the blink of an eye, less than ten seconds after Huang Tian made his move, the previously swaggering noble students came tumbling down the stairs, clutching their heads and writhing like maggots.

At some point, all three hundred people in the dining hall had fallen silent as they ate. Aside from a few cries of pain, not a sound could be heard.

Chopsticks hung motionless in midair. People's mouths stayed half-open, their chewing interrupted as they turned their heads and stared at the staircase.

Several heads poked out from the serving window, their expressions so vivid they might as well have had the words Holy crap, this kid! written across their faces.

Two teachers had been eating on the second floor. Hearing the commotion, they came out to investigate, intending to scold the students. But when they saw the scene, they silently shut their mouths.

After all, Xiao Chenyu had already obtained a Soul Ring. The fact that he had been unable to fight back could only mean one thing: his opponent had a Soul Ring too.

And it was highly likely to be a Hundred-Year Soul Ring. Otherwise, it couldn't make up for the age gap.

Huang Tian stood in the middle of the staircase with his arms folded. He said nothing, his expression calm and free of any triumph, quietly waiting to see what his opponent would do next.

Many people in the dining hall were waiting too.

A little over ten seconds later, Xiao Chenyu finally struggled to his feet.

By now, he looked like the Antarctic Immortal. His face was deathly pale, and a blood blister larger than a fist bulged on his forehead, its surface shining with grease.

As Xiao Chenyu got up, several others also forced themselves to their feet and huddled close beside him.

A row of six or seven Antarctic Immortals made for a rather comical sight, but no one dared laugh.

One of them carefully weighed his words before tentatively suggesting:

"Boss, how about we activate our Martial Souls?"

Xiao Chenyu turned to look at him, his gaze full of helpless exasperation.

"You'd be better off just keeping your mouth shut."

"If you want to activate your Martial Soul, then activate it. What do you mean, 'how about we activate our Martial Souls'?"

"Are you trying to choose between being a coward and not being a coward, only to settle on being a cowardly non-coward? Half a coward?"

Just as those words fell,

while everyone was still on tenterhooks, a sudden BANG! rang out by the entrance, startling many people.

Xiao Chenyu shuddered violently and turned his stiff neck toward the sound. Wang Sheng stood there with his hands transformed into tiger claws, fur growing over his body, and a conspicuous white king marking the black hair on his head.

He had actually activated Martial Soul Possession.

Several other senior work-study students gathered around Wang Sheng, ready to stand together, but Tang San was nowhere among them.

Xiao Chenyu's eyelid twitched. Then he let out a long breath, took a couple of deep looks at them, turned back to face forward, and slowly stepped ahead twice.

Under everyone's gaze, under Xiao Wu's excited stare, amid the tension of Wang Sheng and the work-study students and the unease of the other nobles,

he straightened up and tidied his clothes. Then he bent sharply at the waist, folding until he was at a ninety-degree angle, and said with utter sincerity:

"I'm sorry. I was blind and looked down on you. Please, just treat me like a fart and let me go."

Everyone in the hall was left gaping once more.

Wang Sheng instantly canceled his Martial Soul Possession, his face showing the relief of someone who had just escaped a calamity.

Xiao Wu cried out scornfully:

"Ugh, what a letdown. So boring."

She'd hoped her opponents would show a little backbone, so she could enjoy beating up punching bags again.

In less than three seconds, five or six more people bent over like prawns, their booming voices making sure no one could mistake their sincerity.

"We're sorry!"

A few others tried to get up, but failed.

"Find a healing-type Soul Master. Make sure they don't suffer any lasting injuries. We'll deal with the rest after I finish eating."

Huang Tian smiled faintly and beckoned toward the entrance. Then he turned and headed up to the second floor. Wang Sheng and the others cheered and hurried after him, half running and half skipping.

Only after they'd left did a middle-aged man with a short crew cut and a face like a zombie enter from the doorway. He found Tang San and asked:

"What just happened?"

While waiting for the food, Huang Tian casually opened the virtual screen to check his rewards.

The reward notifications had already appeared:

[Defeated Tang San]: You defeated Tang San almost effortlessly, inflicting severe physical pain and psychological pressure on him.

Reward: +10,000 Achievement Points

[Crushed the Troublemakers]: You instantly defeated the campus bully gang led by Xiao Chenyu, effectively putting Nuoding Academy's conduct back in order.

Reward: +500 Achievement Points

[Current Achievement Points Balance]: 43,192

"Only ten thousand points?"

Ignoring the reward for crushing the troublemakers, Huang Tian stared at the words "Defeated Tang San," disappointed, and felt inexplicably frustrated.

Pure and Innocent San was the most vile, disgusting villain in the entire Douluo franchise. How many hundreds of millions had died because of him? What could ten thousand points even do?

He'd been counting on giving Xiao Wu a boost after beating up Sanzi. At this rate, if he only earned ten thousand at a time, how long would it take to save up the down payment?

He'd pretty much succeeded in getting Xiao Wu first, so if he couldn't give her a "boost," so be it. But he was about to head to Heaven Dou City, where a whole crowd of future wives were waiting for their own "boosts."

The Achievement Points he'd earned from entering Xiao Wu's dreams were the starting funds for Dugu Yan, Ye Lingling, Huo Wu, Shui Bing'er, Shui Yue'er, Liu Erlong, Qian Renxue, and the other girls.

He'd gone through all the trouble of transmigrating here. He didn't want to leave behind any regrets, so not a single one of them could be left out.

A family ought to be together, all neatly lined up.

"How am I supposed to get this snowball rolling if it won't grow?"

"No, I'll have to make life hard for Bie San and Gangzi too."

He'd just made up his mind when he spotted Tang San coming up from the first floor.

With the help of a healing-type Soul Master, he'd fully recovered. His complexion was no longer gloomy, and he looked as energetic as ever.

His injuries had been pretty nasty, but they hadn't damaged his bones or tendons. For a teacher with two Soul Rings, treating him had been no trouble.

Huang Tian immediately grinned like a flower.

"Xiao Sanzi, let's have another match after we eat. This academy is too weak. You're the only one who can barely count as an opponent."

Tang San's expression stiffened. His head shook like a rattle, and his lips twitched.

"No thanks. I can't beat you."

"Come on. Last time, you only lost because of your Soul Ring, not because you were inferior. How about this time we both fight without Martial Souls or Soul Skills?"

Pure and Innocent San froze, his expression a mix of disbelief and something strange.

Without Soul Skills, and without that long spear that could extend and retract at will, Huang Tian had more than enough strength but lacked skill. Tang San really would have no trouble winning.

But something instinctively felt off to him, so he neither agreed nor refused.

"Why are you so eager to fight? Aren't you afraid of getting hurt?"

"My teacher said she'd never seen a Soul Master as useless as me. She even said I was the worst student she'd ever taught.

I have to train hard and make her eat her words as soon as possible."

"Huh?"

Tang San was completely dumbfounded.

"Wait, what did you say?"

Xiao Wu's eyes went round as saucers.