Second Defeat of Tang San

This wasn't the first time Tang San found himself intellectually outmatched. In previous soul duels, several situations where he was at a disadvantage or injured stemmed from similar calculations, or rather, tactics.

However, this time, Sanzi felt particularly amazed, his emotions a mix of unwillingness and frustration rather than anger.

The reason was simple:

Most of the previous calculations arose from his lack of understanding of Huang Tian's martial soul and soul skill characteristics. This time, however, the victory was achieved purely through wisdom, with both sides' abilities fully revealed.

What Tang San could understand, the principal, Yu Xiaogang, the teachers, and some students at the sidelines naturally understood even more clearly.

Instantly, several exclamations of admiration arose.

The principal shook his head with some regret.

"You said this child added a ten-year white soul ring just now?

What a pity, such a pity."

Nuoding Academy's teaching staff was weak, and they couldn't possibly find suitable soul rings for all their students.

But if they encountered someone with Innate Full Soul Power, whether it was him, the City Lord's mansion, or the Spirit Hall branch, they would undoubtedly be very willing to offer assistance.

Even if there was no kinship or master-disciple relationship.

The act of helping a Soul Douluo or even a Title Douluo itself held immense value and significance.

Several teachers reacted similarly to the principal.

One of them even expressed dissatisfaction with Gu Yue.

"This kind of teacher is simply misleading the students."

On the field, Tang San had suppressed his two injuries with the Mysterious Heaven Skill. This skill was balanced and peaceful, possessing some healing properties.

Once his head stopped spinning, his eyes sharpened again, a purple light tinged with a hint of the uncanny.

Since he had seen through the opponent's trick, he naturally had a countermeasure. It was simple: play along with the plan.

Think one step ahead: when getting behind him, don't attack directly. Wait for Huang Tian's elbow strike to finish before seizing the opportunity to get close.

With the enhancement of the Mysterious Jade Hand, even if his strength was inferior to Huang Tian's, it would be more than enough for the opponent to handle.

Having devised his plan, Tang San's lips curved upwards unconsciously. The thought of defeating Huang Tian, a powerful soul master with a soul ring, fair and square under everyone's gaze, followed by the teacher's praise, the male students' admiration, and the female students' infatuation, brought an uncontrollable flood of joy.

He couldn't help but show off a little.

"Huang Tian, your current level is truly surprising.

But, this is where it ends."

This statement made many people around them look solemn.

Although Tang San had been taking a beating, they were also amazed by him. They weren't sure if they could do any better.

"Could it be that he's going to use a secret move? Like that flashing Self-Created Soul Skill?"

Wang Sheng recognized Tang San's first use of a Tang Sect martial skill. The teachers were well aware of such obvious things.

(Wang Sheng recognized it as content from the original work.)

Without waiting for others to react, the moment Sanzi finished speaking, his figure flashed forward, unleashing his full power, faster than ever before.

He stopped abruptly when he was within punching distance, raising his palms in a feigned attack.

He had expected Huang Tian to feign defense like in the previous rounds, luring him to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to get behind him and continue with elbow strikes.

He never expected Huang Tian to change his strategy. The moment Tang San stopped, Huang Tian took a step forward, and his right fist slammed fiercely towards Tang San's face.

The fist tore through the air with a roar, causing Tang San's pupils to contract sharply, a clear terror blooming within them. A thunderous sound echoed in his mind.

"Damn it, my move was a feint, but his isn't this time."

"I'm so stupid. He clearly saw through my trick earlier. He must have thought I would change my move."

The difference between a feint and a real move is that a feint only involves simple body movements, while a real move requires mobilizing the entire body's strength, including internal energy and soul power, for an explosive burst.

The latter requires a moment longer for charging than the former, and there is a brief moment of vacuum after the strike. These brief moments are crucial for masters to engage in a battle of wits.

The continuous, all-out bursts had put Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track into a brief cooldown, leaving Tang San unable to dodge. In his haste, he could only raise his hands to protect his face, attempting to use the hardness of the Mysterious Jade Hand to mitigate some of the damage.

As long as he blocked the first hit, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track would be ready to transfer quickly again, and he could remain undefeated.

But what Tang San didn't expect was that the punch, which should have followed immediately after his palms covered his face, did not come as expected.

As he wondered in confusion, a sharp pain erupted from the side of his right knee. He was sent flying, his feet leaving the ground, his body turning parallel to the ground.

Huang Tian pressed his advantage, his fists simultaneously striking heavily at Sanzi's abdomen and chest.

He controlled his strength, not enough to cripple Tang San directly, but certainly not pleasant.

Tang San watched helplessly as his opponent was about to unleash a barrage of attacks. Mid-air, he gritted his teeth in pain, unable to mount much of an effective defense.

He tried to use Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, but his internal energy was already somewhat depleted, and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon was a technique for controlling hidden weapons, which was too difficult to use against a person.

It did manage to shift slightly, but ultimately, the blows landed heavily on him.

His entire body suddenly accelerated toward the ground—no, it would be more accurate to say he was accelerating into a collision.

He landed on his backside first, the terrifying impact causing the flesh and muscle all over his body to tremble violently.

He tried to brace his upper body with his arms, but that single movement was enough to dislocate his left shoulder.

Fortunately, he had protected the back of his head, and most of the force had been cushioned and dissipated upon impact.

At this moment, Bie San felt his arm dislocated, his waist sprained, his knees nearly crippled, his head throbbing with a protruding lump, his stomach churning violently, and his chest so tight he couldn't even draw a breath.

As for his backside, he seemed unable to feel its existence at all.

The pain was omnipresent, so intense that his heart seemed to skip beats, making it difficult to even maintain the circulation of his Mysterious Heaven Skill, and his consciousness began to drift into a haze.

But it was not over yet; after landing two punches, Huang Tian leaned down again, pressing one hand against his chest while raising the other.

It was predictable that the next series of fists would fall upon him like a rainstorm.

At this critical moment, Tang San finally uttered those three words:

"I concede."

Seeing Huang Tian's movements stop just as expected, he finally felt at ease and passed out.

"Sanzi!"

The very instant Tang San suffered the brutal assault, a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering roar suddenly erupted from the crowd of spectators.

Yu Xiaogang scrambled into the arena, shielding his disciple with his own body and checking his various injuries with extreme caution.

Seeing the bowl-sized bruise on his chest, his eyes nearly split from rage, and he was so distressed and anxious that tears actually streamed down his face.

Regardless of this fellow's actual competence or whether he had been a massive hindrance, his cherishing of Sanzi was genuine; he was counting on this disciple to make a name for himself and rise to prominence.

After calling out several times and seeing no sign of Tang San waking up, he stood up in a fury and roared viciously at Huang Tian:

"This is a sparring match between classmates, why would you use such heavy-handed tactics?"