A familiar scene, here and now, just like then and there.
Only this time, the force Yu Xiaogang had to endure was clearly far greater than Tang San's.
His body slammed hard into the ground—first his backside, then his back, and finally all four limbs, flailing like whips, crashed down.
The ground actually rang out with three or four consecutive booms,
the sounds muffled yet shockingly loud. Just hearing them made the surrounding spectators' hearts tighten, their faces showing their fright.
Gangzi's whole body took a violent impact. His lips flapped wildly in the air, and his face quivered like a scrap of cloth.
When his chin had been struck just moments earlier, he'd only been dizzy and still conscious. But after the back of his head hit the ground, he passed out completely, utterly unconscious.
His Martial Soul and Soul Rings were forcibly dismissed, dissolving into scattered points of Soul Power that faded away on their own.
Everyone on the training field stood dumbstruck. They hadn't even had time to react to the immense shock, and their faces looked completely numb.
The result was just too unexpected. It could even be said to have overturned their entire worldview and understanding.
With Level 29 Soul Power, a seven-hundred-year Soul Skill, and the physical strength and mental reflexes brought by two Soul Rings totaling over a thousand years, it was no exaggeration to say this was like using a cannon to swat a mosquito.
Xiao Chenyu imagined what would have happened if Huang Tian had hit him with all his strength at noon,
and instantly shuddered, his face turning pale with fright. He felt like his skull might have shattered, like a watermelon smashed with an iron hammer—bang, splitting into countless pieces.
"Big Brother Huang Tian never really beat me up. What he did was more like a caress."
The Principal had been watching closely and had planned to intervene at a crucial moment,
but even he hadn't expected Gangzi to be so useless. Forget fighting back—he hadn't managed to react even once throughout the entire ordeal.
According to what he'd imagined earlier, the two of them should have been in the opposite positions.
Even when Tang San had taken a heavy blow, he'd still been able to force his arms into a sacrifice to protect his head and lessen the impact. Yet Yu Xiaogang was somehow worse than his own disciple.
He also hadn't expected Huang Tian to move so fast, giving no chance to react. The whole thing had taken less than ten seconds.
If you didn't count the time it took to rush over to Yu Xiaogang, the beating itself had lasted only three seconds.
There was no time to wonder why.
The Principal immediately shouted:
"He lost! Stop! Xiaogang has already lost.
"Huang Tian, under the rules of Soul Fighting, someone who loses consciousness or the ability to resist can be declared defeated. Continuing to attack is against the rules."
As he spoke, he quickly ran between them, separating Huang Tian and Yu Xiaogang. Then he hurriedly called for an auxiliary Soul Master to take Tang San to his Principal's office.
As for himself, he carefully scooped Yu Xiaogang up in his arms. Just as he was about to leave, his pupils suddenly contracted.
He saw that the ground on the training field had actually been smashed into a small crater. This place was a Soul Master training ground, specially reinforced, and ordinarily it was difficult to damage.
And in the crater, as well as where the back of Yu Xiaogang's head had hit, there was a smear of bright red blood at each spot, glaring to behold.
"Teacher Zhao, stop the bleeding first."
"Understood."
The auxiliary Soul Master summoned a large white flower and called out his first Soul Skill. A misty white glow then shone on the spots where blood was flowing from Yu Xiaogang's head and back.
After his head received treatment, Gangzi slowly regained consciousness.
He felt pain everywhere—his back, legs, backside, skull, chest, arms, chin, and abdomen.
Wave after wave of piercing pain surged through him, as if his consciousness had been tossed into a running washing machine and was spinning wildly.
Huang Tian said calmly,
"You should know by now that when I fought Tang San, I really did hold back, right?"
"You... ngh."
Yu Xiaogang didn't know what he'd wanted to say, but when he opened his mouth, only a groan came out. He didn't even dare groan loudly, making most of his pained sounds through his nose.
The moment he opened his mouth, blood trickled from the corner. He wasn't vomiting blood; he'd probably bitten his tongue when his chin was struck.
"When you treat him, you'd better set his bones first. He probably has two fractures, in his sternum and ribs, and one thigh is dislocated."
No longer interested in taunting him, Huang Tian casually offered a few words of warning, then turned and left the training field.
As soon as he returned to the dormitory, he shut the door and eagerly opened the virtual screen.
Other people couldn't see the virtual screen, but they could see his unusual reactions. He was still in the habit of checking it somewhere private.
Three pieces of information appeared on the interface:
[Defeat Tang San Twice]: Even without using your Martial Soul, you still defeated Tang San in an almost crushing manner, inflicting severe physical pain and psychological pressure on him and making him question his life.
Achievement Points +20000
[Unmasking]: You launched a devastating verbal attack on Yu Xiaogang, exposing his lies and tearing away his hypocritical mask, dealing a critical blow to his heart.
Achievement Points +5000
[Brutalizing Gangzi]: You subjected Yu Xiaogang to a merciless physical attack, causing him immense suffering in both body and mind.
Achievement Points +30000
[Current Achievement Points Balance]: 98192
"Good, good, good! Hahaha, this is great!"
Not only had he received three rewards—one more than he'd originally expected—but the amounts of two of them had also exceeded his expectations.
This had pushed his progress past eighty percent. A couple more actions later, and he'd reach the threshold for entering the dream.
Huang Tian was overjoyed. All that effort had been worth it, even if beating people had left the backs of his hands a little numb.
For every action, there was an equal and opposite reaction. Thankfully, his Body Martial Soul gave him strong bones and excellent resistance to impact. Without protective gear, if he'd gone in barehanded, his own hands wouldn't have held up.
After closing the virtual screen, Huang Tian silently began pondering the system's reward patterns. If he could figure out some of its hidden rules, he could be more deliberate when farming achievements in the future.
He'd defeated a villain both times, and two of the victories had even been against Tang San. Why had the rewards been so different?
The severity of the beating?
The difference in their strength?
Whether there were spectators?
As he was thinking, he suddenly heard a series of light footsteps in the hallway outside.
A moment later, Xiao Wu pushed the door open. The instant she saw him, an incredibly radiant smile spread across her face, her eyes curving into crescents.
"Wow, you were amazing just now! Tang San and Yu Xiaogang weren't even a match for you.
"I wish I could be as impressive as you."
Huang Tian immediately put on a Stephen Chow act.
"Want to learn?
"I'll teach you."
"Really?"
Xiao Wu jumped with delight. This rabbit hopped up and down whenever something made her happy, and she also liked acting cute. No wonder her true form was a rabbit.
Huang Tian's expression suddenly turned serious.
"Of course. We're friends, after all.
"But training is really hard. You have to think it through, so you won't complain later."
"If you're not afraid of hard work, then I'm not either."
Xiao Wu didn't care in the slightest.
Huang Tian was just about to stress the point again, but then he abruptly shut his mouth.
In the original story, she really had hardly ever complained. Regardless of how reasonable or scientific Shrek Academy's training regimen was, it was definitely intense.
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