The Peak of My Pitiful Disciple-Trapping Career

Tang San sat cross-legged, staring at the deep purple ring on the ground. The energy fluctuations of a five-thousand-year soul ring made his scalp tingle. He took a deep breath, released his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, and cautiously guided the soul ring's energy into his body.

BOOM!

The violent energy surged into his meridians like a burst dam. The tearing sensation caused by a soul ring age far exceeding his limit made Tang San's vision go black. He felt as if his bones were groaning; it was as if molten lava, rather than blood, were flowing through his veins. He let out a muffled grunt, veins bulging on his forehead, sweat pouring down like rain as his body trembled uncontrollably.

"Hold on, Little San! This teacher believes in you!" Zhu Shen crouched nearby, his tone anxious and his expression "heartbroken." One hand rested "nervously" on Tang San's shoulder, though he was actually gauging the intensity of Tang San's tremors under the surging energy—the more painful it was, the richer the system rewards!

[Ding! Detected that Tang San is absorbing a five-thousand-year Mandala Snake King soul ring at his limit, enduring immense pain. Congratulations to the host for successfully scamming Tang San! Reward obtained: Evolution Points +80! Current Evolution Points: 240/100! Dragon God Bloodline purity can be increased to 22%! Proceed with upgrade?]

Zhu Shen was overjoyed, barely holding back a laugh. Upgrade! He had to upgrade! A warm current, more surging than before, instantly swept through his entire body. His bones cracked and popped, his muscle fibers felt as if they were being reshaped, and the phantom of golden dragon scales flickered beneath his skin before vanishing. His sense of power skyrocketed once more. He felt his Dragon God Bloodline become even purer, and he even found the sight of Tang San twitching on the ground quite pleasing—truly, he was a fine ATM for this teacher!

"Teacher... this energy... is too tyrannical..." Tang San gritted his teeth, squeezing the words through his clenched jaw, his face as pale as paper. The soul ring's energy was not only violent but carried the cold, toxic venom unique to the Mandala Snake King, crazily eroding his meridians and consciousness. He relied entirely on the resilience of his two lifetimes and the Xuantian Skill to guard a sliver of clarity in his mind, guiding this destructive force through his body with great difficulty. Every impact felt like a heavy hammer striking his soul.

"Bitter suffering leads to greatness! Little San, think of the prestige of your father, Haotian Douluo! What is this little bit of pain!" Zhu Shen "encouraged," taking the opportunity to "concernedly" wipe the cold sweat from Tang San's forehead. Internally, however, he was calculating: 240 points! With a little more effort, he could raise his bloodline purity another level and perhaps unlock a new form! His gaze swept over the pale-gold, 10,000-year Dragon God Right Leg Bone he had just acquired in his system space, and he beamed.

Just as Tang San felt his body was about to burst and his consciousness was on the verge of sinking, a sudden change occurred!

Hum!

Inside Zhu Shen's robe, the "Bibi Dong's Love Letter" he kept close to his chest vibrated violently without warning! An indescribable, scorching heat far exceeding anything before erupted instantly. It burned Zhu Shen so badly he let out a yelp, nearly jumping into the air, clutching his chest with a motion as exaggerated as a cat that had just had its tail stepped on.

[Ding! Warning! "Bibi Dong's Love Letter" item activity has surged abnormally! Special energy resonance source detected! Resonance source location: Deep in the forest (coordinates locking)! Warning: This energy source contains extremely high levels of evil aura!]

"Damn it! Again?!" Zhu Shen's face turned green. Why did this piece-of-trash item always cause trouble at critical moments? He scrambled to pin down the jumping letter in his robe. The thin envelope now felt like a red-hot iron brand; he could feel the astonishing heat through his clothes, and the frequency of its pulsing grew faster and faster, like an awakened heart pointing directly toward a spot deep in the forest.

Tang San was at the most critical and vulnerable moment of his absorption, his perception of the outside world reduced to a minimum. However, Zhu Shen's strange cry and the sudden chaotic aura still made his heart tighten, and the already violent soul ring energy within him nearly spiraled out of control. "Teacher?!" he managed to spare a sliver of focus.

"It's... it's nothing! Focus on the absorption! This teacher is here!" Zhu Shen feigned composure, using his soul power to suppress the jumping letter while "fully concentrating" on "guarding" Tang San. In reality, his eyes darted around, nervously scanning the dark forest. The coordinates marked by the system were glaring on his mental map. Deep in the valley, the fluctuations of that cold, evil aura were becoming clearer, carrying a nauseating, viscous quality. It was completely different from the Mandala Snake King's poisonous mist; it felt more like... the aura of some living thing? What were those lunatics from the Evil God Temple doing in this godforsaken place?

"Hiss... roar..." From deep in the forest came a low, suppressed roar, neither human nor beast, accompanied by the snapping of trees being broken by immense force. The ground seemed to tremble slightly. The evil aura surged violently!

The heat of the love letter in Zhu Shen's robe reached its peak!

Puff!

At this moment of internal and external crisis, Tang San's body shuddered, and he spat out a small mouthful of dark red blood. Immediately after, the rampaging soul power within him settled as quickly as a receding tide. The deep purple soul ring settled firmly onto his Blue Silver Grass martial soul, its light retracting. Beneath him, from the head of the massive Mandala Snake King corpse, a nondescript rhombus-shaped bone emitting a faint purple-black glow slowly precipitated, quietly merging into the back of Tang San's head.

Success! Tang San was ecstatic. A five-thousand-year soul ring! He felt his soul power level skyrocketing, breaking through the threshold of level 30, and his physical strength had undergone a qualitative leap. Even more surprisingly, a strange, cooling sensation washed over the back of his head, as if he had grown an invisible eye, and his perception of the surrounding environment instantly improved by several grades! Was this... an external soul bone? A snake-type... mental soul bone? The sheer joy instantly washed away the boundless pain he had just endured.

[Ding! Tang San successfully absorbed a five-thousand-year Mandala Snake King soul ring beyond his limit! Soul power broke through to level 33! Obtained external soul bone: Mandala Eye (five thousand years)! Effect: Significantly increases mental perception, grants minor mental shock and illusion resistance.]

Zhu Shen heard the system notification and, seeing the faint purple rhombus phantom behind Tang San, his eyes went wide. An external soul bone?! And a mental-type one at that! This cheat is... He was jealous! But the next second, the system's follow-up notification balanced his mood.

[Congratulations to the host for indirectly facilitating Tang San's acquisition of a five-thousand-year external soul bone! The scamming effect is outstanding! Reward obtained: Evolution Points +100! Dragon God Bloodline purity can be increased to 23%! Obtained special item: Dragon God Essence Blood (one drop)!]

One hundred points! And Dragon God Essence Blood! Zhu Shen almost laughed out loud, forcing himself to hold it in until his face twisted. Worth it! This scam was so worth it! He was just about to examine the Dragon God Essence Blood when the scorching love letter in his robe gave a violent leap!

Whoosh!

A streak of pink light shot out from between Zhu Shen's fingers without warning, fast as lightning, aimed directly at the source of the evil aura deep in the forest! It was so fast that Zhu Shen couldn't react; he only felt his hand go empty.

"Holy crap! My love letter!!" Zhu Shen's soul nearly left his body—that thing was the key item for farming Bibi Dong's favorability! He instinctively lunged to chase after it.

"Teacher?" Tang San had just opened his eyes, his aura still unstable, and happened to see a streak of pink light vanish into the depths of the dense forest, along with Zhu Shen's exaggerated expression of having lost a priceless treasure, beating his chest and stamping his feet. He looked blankly at him: "Just now... what flew past?"

Zhu Shen froze in place, his outstretched hand hanging in mid-air, his expression locked between "agony" and "bewilderment." He looked at Tang San, then at the direction the letter had vanished, then at the red dot coordinate on his system map—which was rapidly approaching and radiating a thick, evil aura—and finally at the faint purple rhombus mark flickering on Tang San's forehead.

An extremely ominous premonition, like a cold viper, instantly coiled around his heart. Bibi Dong's love letter... the source of the evil aura... deep in the forest... he had really poked a hornet's nest this time!