Yu Xiaogang's decision to duel Xiao Yexuan left Little Tang San looking ashen-faced and utterly humiliated.
But Little Tang San had no say in the matter. Yu Xiaogang's eyes gleamed with greed at the benefits Ning Rongrong had promised him. He was determined to seize this opportunity.
Little Tang San couldn't stop him. In the end, he could only watch helplessly as Yu Xiaogang and Xiao Yexuan stepped onto the dueling platform and faced off.
"My name is Xiao Yexuan. My Martial Soul is a fan, and I'm a level-twelve control-type Soul Master!"
Xiao Yexuan stepped onto the competition stage with his back ramrod straight. First, he respectfully clasped his hands and bowed to Yu Xiaogang, then introduced himself. His manners were impeccable.
Yu Xiaogang merely lifted his eyes lazily, without even fully raising his lids.
His expression was cold and proud as frost. He didn't take a low-level Soul Master like Xiao Yexuan seriously at all.
His contemptuous attitude infuriated Zhu Zhuqing, Ning Rongrong, Xiao Wu, and the others below the stage.
Their young master was so courteous and refined, every gesture displaying the fine bearing of a Soul Master. Yet Yu Xiaogang, just because his Soul Power was a little higher than Xiao Yexuan's, put on an arrogant, disdainful air.
Like master, like disciple. Ning Rongrong cursed them furiously in her heart.
Back at Shrek Academy, how had she failed to realize that the master and disciple were both so conceited?
Perhaps it was because she'd insisted on going out to have fun and had ended up staying at Shrek Academy.
Otherwise, she'd have had to go back to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and listen to her two grandfathers nagging her every day. That really would have been annoying.
Yu Xiaogang had no intention of introducing his Martial Soul or level. He flipped his wrist and released his Martial Soul directly.
It looked like a dog, had the build of a pig, and measured over a meter and a half around the waist.
Its fur was pale purple. Two little ears drooped at its sides, and its big, deep-blue eyes held a gentle expression. Its four short legs were thick and stubby, and a lump rose from the top of its head.
Two faint Yellow Soul Rings circled its body. This was Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul, Luo Sanpao.
"Fart Like Smoke, Sleep Like a Log, Luo Sanpao!"
Yu Xiaogang immediately unleashed Luo Sanpao's Soul Skill, hoping to defeat his opponent in one strike.
"Luo-luo~"
Luo Sanpao grunted twice. Its bright blue eyes suddenly lit up, and its round body sprang into the air, climbing to a height of five meters.
It twisted around midair until its rear faced Xiao Yexuan. Its body suddenly swelled, growing round and taut as if inflated.
With a boom, a cloud of yellow gas burst from Luo Sanpao's fat backside, spreading through the air.
The people from Shrek Academy nearby were prepared. They scrambled to pull out masks and cover their faces.
After all, Luo Sanpao's farts were notorious. Nobody wanted to suffer through them for no reason.
Ning Rongrong and the others were so furious their teeth ached, their chests rising and falling with anger. That despicable Yu Xiaogang!
He'd actually used such a low, vulgar trick against their beloved Xiao Yexuan. They could hardly stop themselves from rushing onto the stage and beating him to a pulp.
But Xiao Yexuan's expression remained calm and unruffled. In fact, he was laughing to himself.
Yu Xiaogang had released the hypnotic smoke of his Second Soul Ring right away. Did he think Xiao Yexuan couldn't take the first Soul Skill, Fart Like Thunder?
A faint smile tugged at Xiao Yexuan's lips as he gently fanned himself with the folding fan in his hand.
The ink-green bird in the fan's ink painting spread its wings and flew out with a clear cry.
The blue bird flew to the empty space between Yu Xiaogang and Luo Sanpao, where it suddenly formed a rapidly spinning vortex of wind.
The invisible wind swept up dust from the ground. A powerful suction force dragged everything nearby toward the center.
Luo Sanpao had just released its Soul Skill. Yellow smoke reeking of filth poured from its rear, surging toward Xiao Yexuan like a cloud of dirt. But the vortex's tremendous force sucked it into the center, pinning it there so it couldn't advance another step.
Next, Luo Sanpao and Yu Xiaogang were dragged into the vortex by that irresistible suction.
The thick cloud of yellow, foul-smelling smoke instantly engulfed them both. Yu Xiaogang got a full taste of Luo Sanpao's most potent Soul Skill.
The smoke didn't just stink to high heaven; it also had a mild hypnotic effect.
That level of hypnosis couldn't do Yu Xiaogang any real harm, but the searing stench drilled straight into his nostrils. He clutched his stomach and began vomiting on the spot.
Worse, he was trapped in the vortex Xiao Yexuan had created. The wind spun him around, and his vomit could only whirl in circles with him, splattering over his body again and again. A wave of revulsion swept over him.
The stink seeped into every crevice, worming into his nose and mouth. Yu Xiaogang's vomiting grew more violent until he had nearly emptied his stomach.
Xiao Yexuan's vortex showed no sign of stopping. If anything, it spun faster. Luo Sanpao might have had considerably more Soul Power than Xiao Yexuan.
But against a purely control-type Soul Skill like this, it was helpless. It could only spin wildly in the vortex, unable to break free.
Before long, the yellow smoke in the vortex had turned an even more disgusting, vomit-green color. Sticky liquid clung to Yu Xiaogang's clothes and face. The stench made him dizzy, his vision going dark until he was on the verge of fainting.
Everyone watching backed away, disgusted.
When Xiao Yexuan's Soul Skill ended and the vortex slowly dissipated, all that remained on the dueling platform was a foul-smelling puddle of filth and Yu Xiaogang, covered in grime and utterly wretched.
Overcome by the stench of his own attack, Yu Xiaogang's legs gave out and he collapsed. He kept retching and couldn't even stand.
Xiao Yexuan didn't take the chance to strike him again. He merely waved his folding fan, creating another small vortex that locked the stench firmly within its bounds. It spun around Yu Xiaogang, keeping the smell from spreading at all.
Yu Xiaogang had truly been put through the wringer. Wrapped tightly in the stench once more, he felt as if every breath meant swallowing filth. His expression grew utterly miserable.
Xiao Yexuan's action immediately won the goodwill of the spectators. Quite a few nodded to themselves, thinking the young man was not only skilled but considerate as well.
After all, if the stink clinging to Yu Xiaogang spread, even wearing masks wouldn't spare them from that nauseating reek.
Xiao Yexuan's solution might have made things worse for Yu Xiaogang, but it spared everyone else.
Xiao Yexuan hadn't expected to defeat Yu Xiaogang so easily. He raised an eyebrow, thinking it might be because his Soul Ring was old enough.
His First Soul Ring was over eight hundred years old. Given Yu Xiaogang's circumstances, his Second Soul Ring definitely couldn't have been that old. So it wasn't surprising that one Soul Skill had been enough to control him with ease.
Only after confirming that he'd beaten Yu Xiaogang soundly did Xiao Yexuan continue waving his folding fan. He smiled warmly at the onlookers and said, "I was lucky to win this time."
"Master, don't be modest! You're clearly the stronger one!"
Ning Rongrong immediately shouted at the top of her lungs, sticking up for Xiao Yexuan.
"That Yu Xiaogang is a good-for-nothing—shameless and disgusting, too. He actually tried to dirty Master with such a low attack. Now he's gotten a taste of his own medicine!"
Xiao Wu chimed in, her voice full of disdain.
Xiao Yexuan merely gave them a gentle smile, his eyes curving with warmth. Then he looked toward the shit-yellow vortex in the middle of the stage and snapped his long, slender fingers.
The vortex drifted slowly to one side, moving at an unhurried but steady pace, until it reached a stream outside the arena.
The filth inside the vortex, along with Yu Xiaogang, who was still sprawled on the ground, was swept into the cold stream.
The foul stench drifted away with the current, gradually fading into the distance.
Only then did Little Tang San dare to rush over to Yu Xiaogang. He hurried to the stream and pulled Yu Xiaogang, who had been reduced to a drowned rat, from the water.
He quickly reached out to check Yu Xiaogang's breathing, then examined his teacher for injuries. His face full of worry, he cried out:
"Teacher! Teacher, are you all right?"
Supporting Yu Xiaogang's limp body, Tang San whipped around and glared viciously at Xiao Yexuan. His teeth ground together as he spoke, each word dripping with fury:
"Xiao Yexuan, how dare you treat my teacher like that! I challenge you! This is a fight to the death!"
Ning Rongrong immediately bristled. She planted her hands on her hips, her brows drawing together as she snapped in disgust:
"Are you people ever going to stop?"
"My young master isn't someone you can challenge whenever you please!"
"Little San, I don't think you truly care about your teacher at all. When Yu Xiaogang was trapped in that disgusting vortex, why didn't you go save him or check on him?"
"Now that Yu Xiaogang has been washed clean in the river, you finally come over and pretend to care. Then you turn around and challenge Master."
"Heh. If you really thought of your teacher as your father, how could you have been disgusted by Yu Xiaogang when he was filthy just now? Little Tang San, I despise hypocrites like you most of all!"
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