Shrek Academy lay in dead silence. The atmosphere in the dilapidated dormitory was so oppressive it was hard to breathe.
Flender, Yu Xiaogang, Qin Ming, Yu Tianheng, and the four remaining members of the Shrek Seven Devils—Dai Mubai, Oscar, Ma Hongjun, and Xiao Wu.
Along with Ye Lingling, who had been called in to treat Tang San, they gathered around the bed.
As for why only four of the Shrek Seven Devils remained...
Zhu Zhuqing had found a chance to run off long ago, though Flender had caught her at the time.
But she had said, "I haven't finished my Soul Fighting match today."
Flender had been at a loss for words and hadn't suspected anything.
Zhu Zhuqing had headed toward Suotuo City, and they did their Soul Fighting at night too. What was there to suspect?
At that moment, Tang San was lying on the bed, wrapped from head to toe in bandages, with only his eyes and nose exposed.
His face was swollen like a pig's head, his nose was broken, several teeth were missing, and the right side of his face was a bloody mess.
Although Ye Lingling had used the Nine Heart Begonia to heal his flesh, horrific, savage scars remained.
Yu Tianheng's face was livid.
He had already learned that Tang San was his uncle's disciple, which made him his junior in the sect. Now that he saw his junior beaten like this, how could he stay calm?
"Lingling, will Tang San's injuries heal?"
Ye Lingling shook her head.
"My Nine Heart Begonia can heal injuries and restore flesh, but it can't turn back time."
"To restore his disfigured face to how it was before, he would need a healing-type Soul Master at the Titled Douluo level, at the very least."
Honestly, even she didn't believe what she'd just said. There wasn't a single healing-type Titled Douluo on the entire Douluo Continent.
Ye Lingling looked at Qin Ming.
"Teacher Qin Ming, I've completed my task. I'll head back to the hotel in Suotuo City."
She truly didn't want to stay here any longer.
This dump of a place, this dump of an academy—it was unpleasant just to look at. Especially the way that fatty and that blond guy were looking at her. Something about it felt off.
After speaking, Ye Lingling turned and left without a backward glance.
Yu Tianheng clenched his fists until his nails dug into his palms. He looked at Yu Xiaogang.
"Uncle, come home with me. We'll go find Grandpa and have him stand up for us."
Yu Xiaogang sat in his chair with a bitter smile and held out his right hand.
It was wrapped in thick bandages, and where his index finger should have been, there was only empty space.
"Stand up for us? With what? That Xuan Qing has two Titled Douluos by his side! Dugu Bo is hard enough to deal with, and the other one is even stronger."
"Father is the only Titled Douluo in the family. How could he stand up for us? Given Dugu Bo's temper, if Father dares make a move, Dugu Bo will make sure the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is left with nothing but its Titled Douluo."
Yu Tianheng fell silent.
He knew his uncle was right. His grandfather wouldn't risk the entire clan for a worthless son.
Xiao Wu stood beside the bed, her expression complicated. She looked at Tang San, her thoughts in turmoil.
By rights, she should have been furious, should have wanted to kill Xuan Qing.
But she didn't dare get angry.
No, it wasn't that she didn't dare. She couldn't get angry.
There was something strange about the way Xuan Qing made her feel. He inspired fear deep in her soul.
It was like a rabbit coming face-to-face with a True Dragon.
No, it was even more terrifying than that. Even a True Dragon should only have been able to suppress her and make her afraid.
But the feeling Xuan Qing gave her was clearly that of standing before her ancestor! It was reverence from the very depths of her bloodline, submission engraved into her soul.
How was that possible? She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form! And she wasn't even a member of the Dragon Clan. What did the Soft Bone Rabbit have to do with dragons? They weren't related in the slightest.
Besides, today, only the Titled Douluo with the Hell Demon Dragon Martial Soul had glanced at her.
Why hadn't the other two Titled Douluos noticed her? She was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form!
A Hell Demon Dragon was practically a legend even within the Star Dou Forest. How could a human possibly possess such a Martial Soul?
Could that Titled Douluo also be a Soul Beast?
But where had such a powerful Soul Beast as the Hell Demon Dragon come from? Weren't Daming and Erming the most powerful Soul Beasts in the Star Dou Forest?
She couldn't figure it out. She truly couldn't make sense of it.
Flender sighed, breaking the silence.
"Everyone, go on. Let master and disciple rest. Don't crowd around in here. Standing around won't help."
Yu Tianheng nodded and helped Yu Xiaogang up. "Uncle, let me help you back to your room."
One by one, everyone left. Only Tang San remained in the room. He had actually woken up long ago, but he hadn't opened his eyes.
Ye Lingling's treatment had stabilized his injuries, but the scars on his face were there to stay.
Only after everyone had left did Tang San open his eyes. He stared at the dilapidated ceiling, his gaze venomous.
"Xuan Qing... just you wait."
"I'll pay you back for today's humiliation!"
"One day, I'll crush you under my feet and make you kneel and beg for mercy."
He clenched his fist, his nails digging into his palm.
Blood seeped out, staining the bandages red. But this little pain was nothing compared to the hatred in his heart.
Before long, Tang San fell asleep. He had a dream, a very, very beautiful dream.
In his dream, the Clear Sky Hammer was covered in Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and radiated a terrifying aura. He swung it once, splitting heaven and earth, and smashed Xuan Qing into a pulp.
Then he stood atop the ruins, looking down at Xuan Qing's corpse, and laughed wildly.
"Xuan Qing, weren't you arrogant? Weren't you so good at fighting? What about now? You're still beneath my feet!"
"What Azure Dragon Martial Soul? What ten-thousand-year third ring? In the face of absolute strength, it's all trash."
"I, Tang San, am the true son of fate! I'm the protagonist of this world! You're nothing but a stepping stone!"
"Just wait! I'll kill everyone connected to you. You can watch from down below as your family and friends die one by one right before your eyes."
"This is what happens when you cross me! Hahahaha!"
He laughed without restraint, laughed hysterically, as if he were venting every last bit of humiliation he had suffered.
But at that moment, the heavens and earth changed color. Dark clouds churned, lightning flashed, and thunder roared.
A colossal Azure Dragon whipped up wind and rain in the sky, its body stretching for thousands of miles, its dragon might supreme.
The ground shook, and hoofbeats thundered. A gray-white, thousand-meter-tall beast, its whole body glowing with a nine-colored radiance, slowly approached from afar.
It resembled a deer but wasn't a deer, a horse but wasn't a horse. It had horns on its head and scales on its body. Every step it took made the earth tremble and the mountains and rivers quake.
Xuan Qing sat atop the beast's head, gazing down at him at his leisure, his eyes full of disdain and pity.
"Tang San, what are you going to use to compensate me for my clone?"
A clone!
Tang San's face turned deathly pale. He wanted to run, but his legs wouldn't move. He wanted to beg for mercy, but no sound came out.
All he could do was watch as the Azure Dragon in the sky opened its mouth and spat out a bolt of lightning as thick as a water vat.
"No—!"
The lightning struck and swallowed him in an instant. Agony coursed through his entire body, every inch of his skin burning.
And then! He knew nothing more.
"Ah!"
Tang San jolted awake and sat bolt upright, cold sweat soaking his entire body.
He instinctively touched his face. The flesh had been restored, but grotesque, terrifying scars remained.
He was disfigured... He really was disfigured.
Tang San burned with rage, his teeth clenched.
In both his lives, when had he ever been this wretched? When had he ever suffered such humiliation?
Back at the Tang Sect in his previous life, he had been an outer disciple, but he had never suffered such a crushing defeat.
After transmigrating here, he had been born with Innate Full Soul Power and Twin Martial Souls, and Yu Xiaogang had called him a genius.
But now?
It was bad enough that a child who wasn't even ten had beaten him down in two minutes. But his face had been smashed, his teeth knocked out, and his face ground into the dirt over and over.
Humiliation!
Utter humiliation!
A humiliation beyond measure!
Tang San clenched his fists, his nails digging into his palms, but he couldn't feel the pain. All he felt was hatred.
"Xuan Qing... just you wait. I'll avenge myself for what happened today. No matter the cost, I'll make you wish you were dead."
A venomous glint flashed in his eyes, and he was like a poisonous snake lurking in the shadows.
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