Normally, Tang Hao had been capable of noticing the anomaly in time and suppressing his condition by regulating his blood and qi. Unfortunately, the black energy between his brows had suddenly erupted.
The burst of bad luck instantly set off Tang Hao's hidden injuries.
There had been no warning, no time to brace himself.
By the time Tang Hao noticed, it was already too late to suppress them.
"Pfft!"
Warm blood suddenly burst from Tang Hao's mouth.
The spray of blood bloomed in the air, some of it spattering onto Ah Yin and leaving flecks of scarlet across her blue-and-gold body.
The eruption of his hidden injuries had brought far more than a simple bout of coughing up blood.
The Soul Power inside Tang Hao's body had also fallen into disarray.
"Damn it, what's going on?"
Tang Hao looked bewildered, with a hint of panic in his expression.
He hurriedly sat cross-legged and began trying to suppress the chaotic Soul Power inside him.
But it would have been better if he hadn't tried. Suppressing it only made things worse.
The chaotic Soul Power turned violent under the pressure, crashing around inside him and placing an immense strain on his meridians.
"Not good!"
Tang Hao's expression changed drastically, but by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.
"Pssss..."
The sound of air leaking from a balloon rang out with unusual clarity in the silent cave.
A great deal of Soul Power spilled from Tang Hao's body.
"Pfft!"
His throat turned sweet, and he couldn't help spitting out another mouthful of blood.
"No... my Soul Power."
Feeling his Soul Power continually leaking away, Tang Hao was frantic with worry.
Unfortunately, there was nothing he could do.
He didn't dare try to suppress it again, or the consequences would be even worse.
Tang Hao's Soul Power Level began plummeting.
In the blink of an eye, he had fallen to level ninety-one.
He was on the verge of dropping out of the Titled Douluo realm.
"No!"
Tang Hao's eyes bulged with fury. His face twisted, and he couldn't help letting out a thunderous roar.
He didn't dare imagine it.
If he lost his Titled Douluo status, how would he face the colossal Spirit Hall in the future? How would he protect Xiao San?
Perhaps the heavens had heard his cry and sensed his despair.
His Soul Power gradually stopped leaking away.
His final level barely held at ninety-one.
He had managed to remain a Titled Douluo.
"Pfft!"
Overcome with rage and distress, Tang Hao spat out another mouthful of blood.
His body slowly toppled backward.
"Thud!"
Tang Hao hit the ground hard and fell unconscious.
Xiao Chenyu and the others still fought with Xiao Wu and the other work-study students, but they didn't gang up on them. They merely went through the motions.
In the end, Xiao Wu still became Nuoding Academy's Sister Xiao Wu.
But none of this had anything to do with Lin Chen.
He had already devoted his attention to cultivating Soul Power.
He only occasionally brought bad luck down on Tang San and Gangzi.
And he kept things at a steady pace: no major disasters, but a constant stream of minor ones.
Tang San and Gangzi had long since been tormented into questioning their entire lives.
Perhaps the misfortune hadn't been severe enough. So far, it hadn't earned him any particularly good rewards.
One thing worth mentioning was that, for some reason, Tang San had turned into a lovesick puppy.
He was always finding new ways to curry favor with Xiao Wu, but she barely gave him the time of day.
Lin Chen was completely dumbfounded.
That wasn't how it went in the original story. How had Tang San turned into such a lovesick puppy?
The change had caught Lin Chen entirely off guard.
Now that Xiao Wu and Tang San's relationship had changed like this, would Xiao Wu still go with Tang San to Shrek?
If she didn't go to Shrek, would Tang Hao capture her and keep her in captivity?
Definitely.
Tang Hao would never stand by and watch a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast slip away right under his nose, even if his own wife was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.
In the original story, Tang Hao had also said that if Xiao Wu and Tang San hadn't gotten together, he would have kept Xiao Wu captive and waited until Tang San needed her before killing her.
"Ugh, why is Tang San so useless?"
"If Tang Hao keeps Xiao Wu captive, where am I supposed to find her later?"
Her Spirit Ring might not be anything special, but her Soul Bone Skills were excellent.
Teleportation and Invincible Golden Body were both divine skills!
"Forget it. I'll leave it to fate."
Lin Chen shook his head and stopped paying attention to the lovesick puppy's pursuit of a girl.
Time passed slowly.
Before he knew it, Lin Chen had been at Nuoding Academy for two years.
That day, Lin Chen opened his eyes.
"System, open the panel!"
As soon as Lin Chen formed the thought, his status panel appeared before him.
[Name: Lin Chen] [Martial Souls: Sky Thunder Whip, Sword of Calamity] [Level: 20] [Spirit: 20] [Constitution: 33] [Techniques and Secret Arts: [Click to expand]]
Looking at the level on the panel, Lin Chen's lips curled slightly.
Seven levels in two years. Not bad at all.
Tang San was only level eighteen now, already two levels behind him.
It was clear that the Mystic Origin Technique cultivated a little faster than the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Which raised the question: should his Second Soul Ring come from hunting a Spirit Beast, or should he use a System Bestowed Soul Ring?
Lin Chen thought it over for a moment and ultimately chose the former.
The rewards from the system were too unpredictable. He would save the System Bestowed Soul Ring for later.
Millennium Spirit Beasts were easy to find, but Hundred-Thousand-Year and million-year Spirit Beasts were not.
At this rate, he could absorb a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring for his Eighth Soul Ring. Add his Second Martial Soul, and he would need at least eleven Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Rings.
It was better to save the System Bestowed Soul Ring.
"Knock, knock, knock!"
Lin Chen looked toward the dormitory door, his expression full of exasperation.
He didn't even need to guess. It had to be Tang San.
That idiot was completely obsessed now, always thinking of spending money to win Xiao Wu's favor. He had practically put her on a pedestal.
Xiao Wu was like a sea queen now, nearly fishing Tang San into a pouty little fish.
Yu Xiaogang was supposedly a romantic legend among Douluo. How had he managed to teach a lovesick puppy like Tang San?
He really wasn't cut out to be a teacher.
Lin Chen got up, went to the dormitory door, and opened it.
His eyes fell on Tang San's forehead.
Without realizing it, Tang San had accumulated five more streaks of bad luck. This next burst would definitely be no weaker than the one in the Soul Hunting Forest.
"Lin Chen..."
"No!"
Tang San had barely started speaking when Lin Chen cut him off coldly.
Did he seriously think Lin Chen was an ATM?
Lin Chen didn't mind giving Tang San a little compensation, but that didn't mean he was willing to let Tang San take from him without limit.
He wasn't Tang San's father.
"I..."
Tang San hesitated, then lowered his head in shame.
He didn't want things to be this way, either. But if he didn't treat Xiao Wu to good food or give her gifts, she wouldn't even bother talking to him.
What could he do?
Lin Chen ignored the lovesick puppy, locked the dormitory door, and left.
Tang San was left standing there in a daze.
By the time Tang San came back to his senses, Lin Chen had disappeared at the end of the corridor.
"What do I do? What should I do?"
Tang San scratched his head frantically, as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.
He needed money, but besides Lin Chen, he couldn't think of anyone else with any.
"Maybe I could sell him some Hidden Weapons?"
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