Looking at Yu Xiaogang, who seemed to be having some kind of stress response,
Tang San thought, Damn it, I never said your theory was the problem. I was just asking whether there might be something wrong with the Soul Ring.
Why are you getting so worked up?!
He had already been a little suspicious that Yu Xiaogang's theory might be flawed.
Now that he saw how strongly Yu Xiaogang had reacted, he was even more suspicious.
So he promptly chose to keep quiet instead of arguing with Yu Xiaogang.
Before long, Yu Xiaogang realized he'd lost his composure too. He took a deep breath and said, "Sorry, Xiao San. I got too worked up. I..."
He hadn't finished speaking when the wound he'd aggravated by shouting began to throb with pain. His head spun, too.
Yu Xiaogang staggered, then immediately collapsed to the ground.
Tang San hurried over to support him. "Teacher, lie down and get some rest first."
Yu Xiaogang nodded and lay down, his face deathly pale.
Over the next two days, the two of them spoke far less than before, and the atmosphere between them grew somewhat strange.
Tang San's behavior was still beyond reproach. He acted every bit the good student who respected his teacher, taking extremely good care of Yu Xiaogang.
But Yu Xiaogang could clearly sense that,
Tang San had begun to reject and distance himself from him, albeit subtly.
He probably thinks my theory is wrong, and that I led him into a trap! Yu Xiaogang lamented inwardly. I finally found such a promising student, and now I'm about to lose him!
Alas! What a miserable life I have!
The next few days passed with the two of them caught in that strange atmosphere.
By the time Tang San and Yu Xiaogang set off back for Notting Academy, Zhang Tianyu had stopped observing them.
The trial period for the [Jianghu] function had ended, so Zhang Tianyu could no longer monitor them even if he wanted to.
That was because, after completing the mission, he had chosen to activate the [Marauder's Map] function.
In comparison, the [Marauder's Map] function was more important than the [Jianghu] function.
The [Marauder's Map] could pinpoint the location of anyone he wanted to find. It was incredibly useful for finding people, hunting them down, or escaping.
And when he encountered someone he didn't recognize but who might be important, he could use the map's viewing function to check their identity.
It could even calculate the difference in strength between him and other people, letting him know himself and his enemy.
Although the [Jianghu] function could monitor another person's current state in real time, it couldn't monitor them while they were bathing, using the restroom, or doing that kind of thing, out of respect for their privacy.
And most importantly, to add someone to the Jianghu list and monitor them, he first had to meet them and at least make an impression on them.
For example, he couldn't check on Bibi Dong right now.
In this life, Bibi Dong had never met him and had no impression of him, so she wasn't on his Jianghu list. He couldn't see what she was doing.
A few days later.
Tang San finally returned to Notting Academy with Yu Xiaogang, who was barely clinging to life.
After hearing the news, Zhang Tianyu naturally went straight to Yu Xiaogang's office to visit them.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang lying on the sofa, looking half dead, Zhang Tianyu asked in surprise, "W-what happened? Did you run into some kind of danger?"
"We encountered a Mandala Snake that was over four hundred years old," Tang San said. "It was the one who injured my teacher."
"My goodness, over four hundred years?!" Zhang Tianyu exclaimed, looking shocked. "Ah San, are you okay?"
Ah San?
Tang San was taken aback, then grimaced.
What kind of weird nickname was that?
Why did it sound so stupid and embarrassing?
But whatever. Ah San it was. Zhang Tianyu was his best friend right now, after all.
And although the nickname Ah San was a little unpleasant, to Tang San it sounded better than "Xiao San."
"I'm fine," Tang San said. "We even killed the snake in the end, and I absorbed its Soul Ring."
Zhang Tianyu looked delighted. "Really? Your very first Soul Ring came from a Mandala Snake over four hundred years old? Wow! That's incredible, bro! Come on, let me see!"
Seeing how delighted Zhang Tianyu looked, Tang San felt warmth well up inside him.
See?
This was what a real friend was like!
A true friend would be sincerely happy for you when you got something good, not jealous!
Tang San obediently showed off his First Soul Ring. Looking at the somewhat pale Yellow Soul Ring, Zhang Tianyu smiled and said, "Amazing, amazing. Your first Soul Ring is already this powerful. The ones you get later will definitely be even stronger! Let's see who dares say your Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul is useless now! If it really were useless, how could your very first Soul Ring be a hundred-year one?"
Tang San said, feeling a little ashamed, "It's just a pity that something went wrong while I was absorbing it, so some of the Soul Ring's energy was lost. It's not a four-hundred-year Soul Ring anymore."
Yu Xiaogang's eye twitched sharply.
"Even so, it's still impressive," Zhang Tianyu said. "Look at everyone else in our academy. Their first Soul Rings are all ten-year ones, including many of the teachers. Ah San, you're already outstanding!"
I'm the reason you lost some of your Soul Ring's energy.
So...
Why don't you hurry up and thank me already!
"Thank you, Tian Yu. Thank you for encouraging me," Tang San said, touched. "Since I came back to the academy, you're the first person—and the only person—who's come to see me. Tian Yu, thank you. I really mean it."
"We're best friends. No need for all that polite stuff. So, are you staying here to look after Grandmaster?"
Yu Xiaogang immediately said, "I'm much better now. Xiao San, you haven't eaten or slept well these past few days. Go to the cafeteria and get something to eat, then go back to the dorm with Tian Yu and rest."
Tang San looked at him. "Teacher, you're still injured. I'll stay and take care of you."
"No need." Yu Xiaogang shook his head, a somewhat wooden smile appearing on his face. "I roamed the continent in my youth and got injured plenty of times. This is nothing. I'm almost better already. Go on."
"All right, Teacher. You should get some rest, too. I'll bring you some food later."
Tang San had barely left,
when Yu Xiaogang had just lain down and taken a few breaths before his whole body suddenly jolted. Out of nowhere, he spotted a tall, dark figure standing in the shadowy corner of the office.
"Who are you?"
Yu Xiaogang jumped in fright and struggled to sit up as he asked.
The figure stepped out of the shadows. He was a tall, resolute-looking man, surrounded from head to toe by an unfathomable aura.
"I'm Tang Hao."
Yu Xiaogang shuddered violently!
"Tang! Y-you're Clear Sky..."
Before he could finish speaking, a powerful aura burst out from Tang Hao!
The aura was incredibly forceful. It sent Yu Xiaogang flying straight into the wall!
A mouthful of blood sprayed from Yu Xiaogang's mouth!
"Never in all my years on the continent have I heard of someone's Soul Skill going out of control!" Tang Hao said gravely. "Now my son has absorbed that Soul Ring because of your theory, and his Soul Skill has gone out of control! Are you sure your theory is correct?"
Before you continue