Outside Nuoding City's gates, a deathly silence fell.
Merchants and armed mercenaries coming and going stared in shock. They looked at the filthy, ragged "beggar" as if he were already dead.
After a brief hush, the Royal Knights erupted in a thunderous rage.
"Impudent!!!"
The knight captain closest to Yu Xiaogang glared, his fury rising. A lord's disgrace was his servants' death—yet this bug, who looked as if he'd crawled out of a cesspit, dared humiliate the noble viscount in public!
"Clang—"
Without a moment's hesitation, the knight captain yanked the steel riding crop from his waist and lashed it viciously at Yu Xiaogang's sallow face!
The blow was forceful and heavy. If it landed, Yu Xiaogang would be left with torn flesh and a mouthful of shattered teeth.
Yu Xiaogang had been driven mad by resentment alone. Now, facing the furious attack of a Soul Elder-level knight, he froze in place. Too frightened even to dodge, he could only shut his eyes in despair.
At that critical moment—
"You've gone too far!"
A crisp voice, brimming with icy anger, rang out beside Yu Xiaogang.
Tang San, who had been supporting Yu Xiaogang all along, suddenly had an intensely strange purple gleam flash in his eyes!
Purple Demon Eye!
Then his feet traced an uncanny, unpredictable pattern—Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!
Tang San's small, frail body, spattered with mud, shifted a hair's breadth to the side and planted itself firmly in front of Yu Xiaogang.
At the same time, Tang San drew a deep breath and frantically channeled the Mysterious Heaven Skill into his hands.
His filthy hands turned, in an instant, as lustrous and translucent as white jade.
Mysterious Jade Hand!
"Thwack!"
A dull sound rang out.
The steel riding crop, studded with barbs and powerful enough to shatter stone, was caught fast in Tang San's six-year-old hands. The crop couldn't move another inch!
"Hm?" The knight captain's expression changed.
How was that possible?
A child who looked no older than six or seven, dressed like a little beggar, had caught his crop with his bare hands?!
It wasn't imbued with Soul Power, true, but that was still unbelievable!
Tang San slowly raised his head. Beneath the mud smeared across his face, his expression was dark and ruthless, utterly at odds with his age.
He stared coldly at the knight captain on horseback, then glanced toward Xue Yao, who stood surrounded by admirers, exalted above the crowd.
Jealousy and rage gnawed at Tang San's heart like venomous snakes.
Why?
He had lived two lifetimes, possessed the Tang Sect Secret Arts, and had Innate Full Soul Power. Yet he had to wear rags and be despised alongside his teacher like a pair of dogs driven from their home.
And this boy before him looked only a few years older, yet he wore such luxurious brocade, rode a magnificent steed, and had such powerful knights guarding him!
What was more, as Tang San looked at Xue Yao's flawless, cool, noble face, instinctive disgust and hostility surged within him.
As expected, no matter what world you're in, these pampered brats of noble birth are all the same! They bully the innocent and treat human life like grass! Tang San thought coldly.
Seeing the knight captain channel Soul Power again, ready to wrench the crop away, Tang San's eyes flashed with murderous intent.
His free left hand crept, almost imperceptibly, toward the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.
This man is unreasonable. He lets his subordinates commit violence in the street and even tried to take my teacher's life... He deserves to die!
Tang San had passed judgment. His left fingers were already resting on the hidden mechanism, ready to give the knight captain a fatal surprise.
Just as the conflict was about to escalate and blood was on the verge of being spilled—
"Stop."
A calm voice, imbued with unquestionable authority, came from the center of the procession.
At the sound of it, the knight captain shuddered. He immediately abandoned his attempt to reclaim the crop, lowered his head respectfully, and retreated to the side.
Tang San let go as well, then looked coldly at the exalted young man as he rode forward.
Xue Yao rode his pure white steed slowly toward Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.
He didn't even look at Tang San's left hand, which concealed its murderous intent. He simply gazed down at the wretched pair of teacher and disciple.
Xue Yao had watched every move Tang San made. He found the whole thing utterly ridiculous.
"Is this how you let your subordinates attack people in the street?"
Before Xue Yao could speak, Tang San actually jumped in first, righteous indignation ringing in his voice.
He puffed out his chest and, despite his ragged clothes, put on the air of someone unafraid of the powerful and filled with righteous conviction. He shouted:
"My teacher only said a couple of things to you, yet your subordinate tried to kill him! Is this how nobles are taught to behave? If ordinary commoners had been standing here today instead of us, wouldn't you have beaten them to death in the street?!"
The commoners around them felt a faint stir of agreement. Their gazes toward Xue Yao grew wary.
Looking at Tang San's sanctimonious face, Xue Yao, seated on his horse, finally let out a soft laugh.
"Heh."
The laugh brimmed with the sharpest mockery.
"Your teacher only said a couple of things to me?" Xue Yao's gaze was like a blade as he stared coldly at Tang San. "If you're not deaf, you heard that stinking piece of trash point at me and call me a bastard and a little beast."
"Insulting a hereditary viscount of the Heaven Dou Empire is punishable by having one's tongue torn out and being beaten to death."
Xue Yao's voice was quiet, but it carried a suffocating chill. "My people showed remarkable restraint by not cutting his head off on the spot."
Tang San was briefly left speechless, but his absurd double standard took over at once.
In his eyes, Yu Xiaogang was his beloved teacher. How could his teacher ever be wrong? If his teacher had cursed someone, then the other party must have deserved it!
"Lies!" Tang San glared at Xue Yao and loudly retorted. "My teacher is a learned Grandmaster of the highest caliber, a man of noble character! If he cursed you, then you must have done something unforgivable to wrong him!"
"No matter what, you're his junior. How can you let your men humiliate an elder?!"
The more Tang San spoke, the more reasonable he felt. He even stepped forward, pointed at Xue Yao's horse, and made an utterly absurd demand:
"You have to apologize to my teacher for what happened today!"
The crowd erupted!
A commoner was actually demanding that an imperial viscount apologize to a madman who had cursed him, while surrounded by Royal Knights?!
And when Tang San saw Xue Yao sitting silently on his horse, he felt no unease at all. Instead, a baffling confidence flickered in his eyes.
This young man might have quite a grand retinue, but to Tang San, he was nothing more than a useless young master who relied on his family's standing to throw his weight around.
If it came to a fight, Tang San was a hundred percent certain he could subdue him with a single move using the Tang Sect Secret Arts!
With that thought, Tang San raised his chin slightly and laid down his wager:
"You look like a Soul Master too, don't you? Since you refuse to reason with us, then we'll settle this the way the Soul Master World does!"
"If you've got the nerve, get down here and fight me one-on-one! A fair duel!"
A blazing competitive fervor and calculating gleam shone in Tang San's eyes. "If you lose, get off your horse right away, drop to your knees, and apologize to my teacher! Do you dare?!"
The Royal Knights all looked at Tang San as if he were an idiot.
On horseback, Xue Yao's mockery turned into deep weariness and revulsion.
He looked at Tang San below, who had assumed a defensive stance and thought he had the whole situation under control. Xue Yao felt as if he were staring at a fresh, steaming pile of dog shit.
Beating Tang San would be easy. He wouldn't even need to summon his Martial Soul—one slap would send Tang San flying into the city wall, where he'd be stuck so fast they'd need a crowbar to pry him out.
But what then?
Xue Yao didn't need to give it a moment's thought. If he beat Tang San until he was groveling in the dirt, or forced Yu Xiaogang to his knees, Tang Hao—the ultimate troublemaker, forever carrying that Clear Sky Hammer—would come bounding out of some nook or cranny and shout, "Who dares hurt my son?!"
That man was a Titled Douluo! Though wounded, he was still a full-fledged madman who detonated his rings!
Xue Yao had only a few Soul Ancestor-level knights at his side, and the Royal Griffin trump card hadn't yet fully matured. He was nowhere near strong enough to fight a Titled Douluo head-on.
Tang San was a veritable pile of dog shit: step on him, and not only would you soil your shoes, but a stinking fly—Tang Hao—would swarm around you, too!
Disgusting.
Utterly disgusting.
Xue Yao took a deep breath, burying the murderous intent in his eyes.
Now isn't the time to step in dog shit.
Before you continue