Showing His Might

In the end,

Yu Xiaogang gave Tang San a strict order: he was not allowed to challenge Xia Yan!

Otherwise, their master-disciple relationship would be severed!

Tang San was puzzled why his teacher had suddenly become so serious, even furious. He had clearly sworn an oath already,

but he still agreed to Yu Xiaogang's demand.

However, he still planned to cultivate diligently, defeat Xia Yan, and give his teacher a surprise!

Hmph, I have the Mysterious Heaven Skill, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Mysterious Jade Hand, countless Hidden Weapons from the Tang Sect, and my teacher's careful guidance.

Why should I fear Xia Yan!

Yu Xiaogang finally let out a breath of relief. His life had been saved.

In the days that followed, Tang San did not approach Xia Yan and improve their relationship as he had promised. Instead, he cultivated even more diligently.

Every day after class, he went straight to cultivate.

He even found an apprenticeship at a blacksmith shop, diligently forging Hidden Weapons from scrap metal.

As they spent time together, Tang San's relationship with the Work-Study Students also improved. After all, they were all still young, and relationships changed quickly.

Besides, Tang San truly was capable.

As for the ordinary students, no one dared bully the Work-Study Students anymore, because the Work-Study Students had three powerful backers.

Their second-greatest backer was Xiao Wu, the big sister. Whoever dared provoke a Work-Study Student would get a beating from her.

She was unbeatable among the ordinary students.

Their third-greatest backer was Tang San. He enjoyed being admired, so naturally, he was willing to stand up for the Work-Study Students.

His poisonous Blue Silver Grass would poison anyone it bound. No one dared provoke him.

Their greatest backer was naturally Xia Yan.

He was the only one who had ever made a public move just once, yet he was the backer the ordinary students feared most.

Ever since then, everyone who saw him would nervously avoid him.

He was also the one who appeared the least. Other than regular classes, he was rarely seen.

Xiao Wu also formally apologized to Tang San for speaking ill of Yu Xiaogang behind his back. After all, she had been in the wrong.

Her mother had said that if she made a mistake, she had to apologize. Otherwise, she would not be a good Xiao Wu.

Tang San generously accepted her apology.

After that brief conflict, everything seemed to be getting better.

Ten months later.

The first-floor space inside the tower.

"Can't you squeeze out a little more?"

Xia Yan pressed down on the Datura Snake's head, kneading and squeezing it, trying to wring out a little more venom.

The Datura Snake shook its head, its fangs knocking against the green porcelain bottle full of venom with a dull sound.

Its ruby-like eyes revealed the exhaustion of being drained dry.

"Sisi~"

There was no more. Not even a single drop...

Over the past ten months, its venom sacs had never been full. Every so often, its venom would be taken. It felt so empty... so empty...

Xia Yan encouraged the Datura Snake. "Good boy, you've already done great. We can earn another two Gold Soul Coins. I'll buy you meat later."

His palm gently stroked its head.

The Datura Snake hissed comfortably, its tail swaying back and forth.

It still did not understand what earning money meant, or why, when hungry, it had to buy food rather than simply eat it.

But if Xia Yan was happy, it was happy.

Xia Yan stroked its scales. He knew the Datura Snake had done its best, but he still needed more Gold Soul Coins.

He now had a steady monthly income of three to three and a half Gold Soul Coins.

Though one Gold Soul Coin was enough to support an ordinary family of three for half a year,

for Xia Yan, it could only be called barely enough.

Soul Masters earned money differently from ordinary people, and their expenses were worlds apart.

For cultivation, he had to eat all kinds of foods rich in Soul Power every day. He also had to buy Whale Rubber, spiritual fruits, and take medicinal baths with the Datura Snake...

The Datura Snake also had to eat foods containing as much Soul Power as possible.

Eating food rich in Soul Power allowed one to cultivate faster.

Whale Rubber could improve the body and strengthen the meridians, which meant the meridians could accommodate more Soul Power flowing through them at once, allowing faster cultivation.

Medicinal baths could relieve fatigue, speed up the recovery of the body and Soul Power, and make up for the physical deficiencies left behind from the days when he had lacked food and clothing...

And all of this had to be supported by those three and a half Gold Soul Coins at most. One could imagine Xia Yan's current financial situation.

It was far from ideal.

His income looked substantial, but it was nowhere near enough.

He currently had only one Silver Soul Coin and one hundred and twelve Copper Soul Coins in his pocket.

Hmm...

He had to find another way to make money...

Gathering herbs, hunting, reselling goods, making medicine... going to the Soul Fighting Arena.

That was it. He could only go to the Soul Fighting Arena.

Soul fighting came in many forms and was a sport beloved by the masses across the Douluo Continent.

Whether ordinary people or Soul Masters, anyone could enter the arena to fight. The lower the win rate and the greater the risk, the more they could potentially win in the end.

Of course, more people were beaten to death on the spot as well.

Only important cities had Great Soul Arenas. Notting City was merely a small city, so it naturally did not have one, but it surely had small Soul Fighting Arenas.

After selling the venom,

Xia Yan went to a Soul Fighting Arena in western Notting City. Relying on nearly a year of grueling training, along with the improvements to his physique and physical strength brought by the Datura Snake,

he defeated four opponents in a row and earned eleven Gold Soul Coins.

The rules used a cumulative system.

For defeating one opponent, he received half a Gold Soul Coin.

For defeating two opponents, he received one and a half Gold Soul Coins.

For defeating three opponents, he received five Gold Soul Coins.

For defeating four opponents, he received eleven Gold Soul Coins.

The increase in Gold Soul Coins was not fixed. It would be adjusted according to the strength of the opponents faced.

By the fourth opponent, Xia Yan had felt the pressure. He estimated that he would have to use a soul skill in the fifth match, so he stopped fighting.

This impressive record shocked the entire venue. At such a young age, he had defeated four opponents in succession. His future was boundless!

The Soul Fighting Arena wanted to sign him to fight there long-term, but he refused.

To him, earning money was for cultivation.

Not cultivation for earning money.

After taking the money and buying what he needed, Xia Yan saw four men and two women of varying heights surrounding a pink figure beside a small stall on his way back to Notting Academy.

"It's her stall. What right do you have to take it!"

"What do you mean, take it? It's ours!"

"You're shameless! This aunt has had this stall for five years. What right do you have to take it from her?!"

Beside the stall stood a frail middle-aged woman, so nervous that she did not know what to do, her hands hovering uselessly in the air.

The oldest of the six, a middle-aged man in his thirties who was clearly their leader, swaggered forward.

He was fat, his face gleaming with grease. His short hair looked as though it had been slicked with oil and combed perfectly into place. The corner of his mouth lifted smugly.

"Little sister, your words really hurt your big brother's—"

Bang!

"Ah!!"

Before the middle-aged man could finish speaking, Xia Yan lashed out with a sweeping kick, snapping his right leg. At the same time, he crushed the right arm of the man beside him and violently dragged him to the ground.

Then he charged toward the two men and two women who had stumbled back in fright.

He grabbed the long staff propped beside the stall and slammed it into their calves, faces, backs, and other places.

In an instant, all six were howling in pain.

The entire street fell silent in shock.

Xia Yan planted his foot over the middle-aged man's mouth, ensuring that he could not howl, then bent down and stared into those terrified eyes.

"I don't care who you are. If I see you threatening any stall owner in this area again, I'll make you understand that today was only a small lesson. If you retaliate against this stall owner in private and I find out, or if she suddenly disappears one day, I will definitely assume it was your doing."

"Do you understand?"

He pressed down with his foot, grinding it against the man's mouth.