Two vs. Two, Doubles Match

Upon hearing the term "herb knowledge," Tang San hesitated once more. Beside him, Xiao Wu, seeing his dawdling, grew impatient. "Tang San, are you going to fight or not? If not, go back to smithing and stop getting in the way of me dealing with Ye Chen!"

"Fine. I'll fight!" Tang San glanced at Xiao Wu before turning his gaze to Ye Chen, his expression serious. "Let's head to the back mountain then; it's not convenient to spar inside the dormitory."

"Very well." Ye Chen stated first, "But Tang San, I will reiterate my wager: if I win, you must provide me with complete herb knowledge, and you are not to falsify anything."

Tang San replied with certainty, "I have no need to falsify anything."

"Is that so? In that case, there is no need for us to rush." Ye Chen proposed, "Why don't you wait until you have written down the Herb Transcript, and then we can spar?"

Before Tang San could respond, Xiao Wu spoke up, "No way! Ye Chen, I want to fight you right now. Once I knock you down, I'll be the boss of Dorm Seven!"

"Xiao Wu is right." Tang San added, "Ye Chen, let's spar first. If you win, I will naturally keep my promise. If you lose, I won't have to waste my time writing it."

"No." Ye Chen said firmly, "Tang San, you should write the Herb Transcript first. Once it's finished, we can spar. Otherwise, forget it. I've already beaten you so many times that you are already my defeated opponent; I have no need to agree to a spar, nor do I need to apologize to your teacher, as your teacher lacks true talent and learning, and I was merely speaking the truth."

Hearing this, Tang San felt a sudden sense of bitterness. He did not know why Ye Chen was interested in herb knowledge, only that if Ye Chen refused to spar, the Blue Silver Hidden Weapon he had finally succeeded in researching over the past two months would have no place to be tested.

Furthermore, if he didn't win at least once, his obsession with defeating Ye Chen would affect his future soul power cultivation, and he would be unable to vent his anger on his teacher's behalf.

Yet, this herb knowledge was brought from the Tang Sect of his past life; did he really want to teach it to an outsider?

Seeing that Tang San remained silent, Ye Chen picked up his school uniform and headed toward the bathroom, leaving the matter of the spar unresolved.

Five days later.

As soon as the bell rang for the end of class, the work-study students went off to do chores to earn their living expenses.

Ye Chen remained in the classroom to read, taking advantage of the time before graduation to learn more about the basic knowledge and common sense regarding soul masters and Soul Beasts.

Seeing that his classmates had all left, Tang San picked up a book and walked over to Ye Chen's seat, saying indifferently, "I have prepared the wager you wanted. Tomorrow is a day off, so let's set the spar for tomorrow at the back mountain."

Taking the book Tang San handed him, Ye Chen looked closely and saw the words "Herb Transcript" written on the cover.

It seemed Tang San could not resist the urge to spar with him, so he had spent these past few days writing the Herb Transcript, only finishing it today.

Flipping through the Herb Transcript, Ye Chen couldn't help but frown. "Tang San, is the herb knowledge in this transcript accurate?"

"What else?" Tang San countered, "Do you think I would give you fake herb knowledge?"

"Of course not. I trust your character. It's just that this page regarding the Cinnabar Lotus definitely has issues."

Ye Chen pointed to the Herb Transcript in his hand and said, "Look, the Cinnabar Lotus prefers cold, shady environments and counters dryness and heat; it has miraculous effects in treating fire toxins. A heavenly treasure with such strong cold properties should grow in icy, frigid lands. Yet, in this transcript, you have written the effects and the habitat of the Cinnabar Lotus in reverse."

Tang San's expression changed drastically upon hearing this. "So, you actually understand herb knowledge?"

"Of course I do. Why else would I be interested in your poison-using abilities? It is only because you refused to teach me that I asked for complete herb knowledge." Ye Chen asked tactfully, "Tang San, did you write it wrong on purpose, or was it an accident?"

"Naturally, it was an accident." Tang San took back the Herb Transcript to flip through other pages. After checking several times, he feigned carelessness. "Over these past five days, I have been writing this transcript late into the night. Perhaps I was tired and accidentally wrote the effects of certain herbs in the wrong columns. I will check this transcript carefully and won't use it as a wager until I have corrected it and ensured it is error-free."

"Fine." Ye Chen reminded him, "Tang San, you cannot be so sloppy again. If you get the herb knowledge wrong, the consequences will be very serious. I don't want to use the knowledge you provide to save someone in the future, only to end up killing them."

"Rest assured, I guarantee there will be no more errors this time." After saying this, Tang San took the Herb Transcript and left the classroom.

With the assistance of the Purple Demon Eye, how could he have accidentally written the herb knowledge in the wrong columns?

Tang San had assumed Ye Chen didn't understand herbs and intended to write something random to brush him off, but he hadn't expected it to backfire.

Fortunately, Ye Chen did not think he had written the herb knowledge incorrectly on purpose; otherwise, he would surely think his character was flawed.

If word of this were to spread throughout Nuoding Academy, his reputation would be ruined, and his teacher would become a laughingstock.

After weighing his options, Tang San dared not be careless again. Over the next five days, he wrote a new Herb Transcript.

Upon review, Ye Chen found that this version recorded some of the heavenly treasures mentioned in the original work, and their effects matched up. It seemed Tang San had not falsified anything.

However, the Herb Transcript only contained knowledge regarding heavenly treasures and did not mention any immortal herbs, suggesting that Tang San was still holding back on the complete knowledge.

In the end, Ye Chen refused the spar on the grounds that Tang San was not being sincere. After a day of internal struggle, Tang San decided to add the herb knowledge regarding immortal herbs to the transcript.

Reviewing the Herb Transcript again, Ye Chen still found that Tang San was holding back. Although he had added quite a bit of knowledge about immortal herbs, the top-tier ones mentioned in the original work, such as the Lovesick Heartbreak Red and the ten-thousand-year Nine-Rank Ginseng King, were not mentioned.

In truth, it was understandable that Tang San would not write down the complete herb knowledge.

After all, in the original work, Tang San didn't even pass down the complete version of the Mysterious Heaven Skill to the Tang Sect he founded, showing that he was a man who always kept an ace up his sleeve and was extremely cautious.

After much thought, Ye Chen decided not to force Tang San to write out the complete herb knowledge anymore.

And so, this Herb Transcript, which recorded a fair amount of knowledge about immortal herbs, became the wager for their spar.

The next day, at noon.

In the small woods on the back mountain of Nuoding Academy.

In the center of a clearing, Tang San handed the Herb Transcript—the wager—to Wang Sheng for safekeeping, and Ye Chen swore by his martial soul that if he lost, he would kowtow and apologize to Yu Xiaogang.

Just as the two were confirming their wager, thirty noble students led by Xiao Chenyu came running over to join the fun. They, along with the seven work-study students including Wang Sheng, formed a large circle.

Inside the circle, three people stood facing each other.

Two of them were Tang San and Xiao Wu, and the other was Ye Chen.

At this moment, Tang San and Xiao Wu had joined forces and were confronting Ye Chen, the atmosphere thick with tension.

However, in a corner where no one could see, there was another spectator.

This spectator wore a black trench coat, leaning against a large tree with his arms crossed, watching Ye Chen, Tang San, and Xiao Wu with an expressionless face.

If one looked closely, they would see that this spectator in the black trench coat was actually Tang San's father, Tang Hao.