Luring the Snake Out of Its Hole

"Could This Seat possibly mistake that deathly, stagnant spirit power of Tang Hao's?"

Bibi Dong sat up slightly and asked in return.

Naruto's expression turned ugly, and he tugged at the corners of his mouth.

"Why did he suddenly stop holding back?"

Just last night, Bibi Dong had detected Tang Hao's aura. It sounded like good news—Tang Hao, who had been hiding in the shadows, had finally surfaced, which might even create an opportunity for Naruto.

But upon hearing Tang Hao's location, Naruto was instantly dumbfounded. At the time, Tang Hao had been merely a few hundred meters from his home! One could even say that Tang Hao had been watching him from afar!

At such a close distance!?

What was he trying to do?

Naruto naturally had no heart for meditation, and fearing he might startle the snake, he could only stay at home, motionless.

He spent the entire night in a state of trepidation. As it turned out, by the next morning, when the sun had already risen, Tang Hao had done nothing and simply left in silence.

This, instead, gave Naruto an even more dangerous signal.

He was scouting the location!

This bastard wanted to make a move!

"On this continent, while the Upper Three Sects and Spirit Hall appear peaceful, it is no rare occurrence for them to secretly assassinate each other's geniuses."

Bibi Dong's face was cold as she spoke gloomily, then she glanced at the distressed Naruto. "As for you, you are no longer the whetstone Tang Hao left for Tang San; you are a future great enemy that must be nipped in the bud immediately."

The situation had changed.

It was no longer a simple matter of face, but a matter of survival.

Sorting out the reasons, Naruto waved his hand in frustration and plopped down onto his shabby chair. "Fine, I know you people have no class, not even sparing a model student like me!"

"You?"

Bibi Dong sneered in response, intending to lecture him on the various outrageous and absurd things Naruto had done at the academy over the years.

However, seeing Naruto with his head buried deep, brows locked, and teeth gritted in indignation, she lost interest and turned to ask with concern.

"What do you intend to do?"

Naruto took a few deep breaths to suppress this pathetic sense of grievance before finally sighing helplessly.

"Run away, of course. I've already packed my things."

The gap in strength between the two was truly like heaven and earth.

Even with the Dong Trumpet, Naruto, who was only at the Great Spirit Master level, could only be forcibly boosted to the Spirit King level. The gap remained despair-inducing; it was not something that could be bridged simply by feeling unwilling, stifled, or angry.

If the other party wanted to strike, all he could do was flee...

Seeing that the brat wasn't planning on doing anything extreme, Bibi Dong let out an imperceptible sigh of relief, though her words remained sharp.

"At least you still have some sense. With your current body, you cannot withstand the full force of This Seat's mental power. As of now, I cannot be certain where Tang Hao is hiding."

"He might even be waiting for you right at your doorstep."

This was the reason why, even as noon approached, the two had yet to take action and were still bickering here.

The enemy was in the dark while they were in the light; Tang Hao, hidden in the shadows, remained like a massive mountain pressing down on their hearts.

Naruto did not answer, remaining silent.

His consciousness returned to the quiet courtyard. He looked up at the sun overhead, silently calculating the time as if waiting for something.

As time slowly ticked by, it seemed something truly had happened. A commotion faintly drifted from the otherwise peaceful Nuoding City, and countless residents took to the streets, shouting something he couldn't quite make out.

Naruto curled his lips, providing the answer.

"Lure him out, that's all!"

Rewinding to a few minutes ago.

At Notting Academy, the gates were tightly shut, guarded by only a few sentries. Across the bustling street, among the low-rise buildings, were countless dark, narrow alleys.

Naruto pressed himself against a wall, his figure hidden in the shadows. He pulled up his hood, revealing only a pair of deep purple eyes.

His gaze passed through the pedestrians toward the Notting Academy behind them. After a brief observation, he frowned slightly.

What a nuisance...

Within his line of sight, Naruto first located his target in a corner of the academy, then looked toward the windows representing the faculty offices. Figures were scattered inside, and one chubby silhouette was particularly conspicuous.

The chubby principal wasn't out grabbing a private meal today?

It had been a spur-of-the-moment decision, so it wasn't strange for accidents to occur; Naruto could only shake his head and accept his bad luck.

That bastard of a main body who only knew how to issue orders didn't have the patience to wait.

For the path ahead, he would have to force his way through!

Having made up his mind, Naruto withdrew his gaze and took a deep breath, beginning his final preparations by pulling several orange-red papers from his hand and carefully sticking them onto his body.

Then, within the corner of his eye, his entry tags expanded.

[Orphan, No Regrets Youth, Ninja Academy Student, Ninja, Mischievous, Ramen Enthusiast, One Thousand Years of Death...]

Over the years, Naruto had tried various methods to acquire all sorts of strange entry tags, but unfortunately, the effects of most were lackluster, and the system had a limit: he could only equip three tags at a time.

He swapped his tags to "No Regrets Youth," "Ninja," and "Mischievous," then performed hand seals to alter his voice and appearance.

Next...

Bang!

"Yes, the living habits of the Thunder Beast..."

In a studio piled high with books, two people sat by the window. Tang San, already a level 24 Great Spirit Master, sat upright at the desk with a serious expression. Behind the desk, Yu Xiaogang held his hands tucked in, a smile on his lips as he explained a specific type of spirit beast to Tang San.

But this sudden, thunderous explosion cut the Master's lesson short!

Immediately following, The entire Notting Academy was stirred.

Including the master-disciple pair of Tang and Yu, countless gazes looked through the windows toward the sound, only to see the massive iron gate of Notting Academy bent into scrap metal, flying high into the air.

This was the cause of the loud noise just moments ago. At the school gate, the two guards, who had yet to react, turned pale and collapsed to the ground, trembling in fear.

A mysterious Spirit Master draped in a pitch-black cloak stood at the school entrance, his purple-black, sinister spirit power mixed with blood-red killing intent pouring out like a tsunami, held back by nothing.

Under the weight of that blood-red killing intent, The sky over Notting Academy seemed to dim.

The weaker students immediately rolled their eyes back and fainted on the spot.

Only those who had reached the Great Spirit Master level could barely resist. Yu Xiaogang's face turned deathly pale, but fortunately, Tang San, seeing this, quickly stepped forward to support him, preventing him from falling to the ground.

However, Yu Xiaogang couldn't care about that right now. He widened his eyes, unable to tear his gaze away from this person, muttering to himself.

"A Spirit King? Such familiar... spirit power? Who is this?"

Bang!

The iron gate finally hit the ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Amidst the swirling yellow smoke, a figure moving like lightning tore through the haze and shot out!

In the eyes of Tang San and Yu Xiaogang, the figure had become blurred from the high speed, appearing almost like a pitch-black line.

In an instant, The hair on both their bodies stood on end. They leaned back in unison, eyes wide with shock and bewilderment. The opponent's speed didn't decrease; it seemed as if he were charging straight toward them!?

However, just as the two were struck with terror, the entire Notting Academy reacted.

"Who goes there?"

A thunderous roar exploded over the academy. Brilliant golden light filled their entire field of vision as a giant, shimmering golden bell silently manifested, slamming in from the side!

Boom!

The sound of metal clashing rang out.

The figure, speeding at full tilt, had no time to dodge and was struck from the side, instantly changing trajectory and forced to a halt.

Wiping the dust from his face, the mysterious Spirit Master stopped and looked up. Several teachers who were Spirit Elders, along with the Principal, all with grim expressions, had leaped from the windows and landed on the training grounds, blocking his path.

Illuminated by the giant golden bell behind him, The furious Principal Fuqi looked ferocious, like an angry, living Buddha.

Four spirit rings—white, yellow, yellow, and purple—appeared beneath his feet as he stepped forward, shielding the others. "Evacuate the students! We will hold him here!"