Tang San's hidden weapons were sinister by nature: unexpected, unpredictable, and lethal in a single strike...
Seeing that Wen Ruan had no time to react, Lin Yan didn't hesitate for a moment. He completed his Martial Soul Possession in an instant.
Boom~
With his Martial Soul boosting every aspect of his physical abilities...
Before the hidden weapons could hit Wen Ruan, Lin Yan came plunging down from above, wreathed in purplish-red flames, and swept the girl into his arms.
The next instant, a series of sharp clinks rang out across the scene.
Those were the sounds of hidden weapons striking Lin Yan's back.
When the clinking stopped, the air fell briefly silent.
Everyone present was dumbstruck, especially Tang San!
"Hiss~ What's going on? How did he appear out of nowhere? And how could he take those hidden weapons with his body?"
"Who is that? One of the academy's teachers?"
"Damn! What a heroic entrance!"
"What were those things Tang San threw? There wasn't any warning at all! Were they Soul Skills?"
Ning Rongrong and the others whispered among themselves, their discussion growing animated.
Just then, Lin Yan spoke to the girl in his arms.
"Are you all right, little senior?"
Wen Ruan froze for a moment when she saw his pale face clearly.
"Lin... Lin Yan~"
"Why did you come back?"
Clearly, Wen Ruan still hadn't realized that if those hidden weapons had hit her, she might already have been dead.
That wasn't her fault. The locals of the Douluo Continent had never seen hidden weapons before and didn't know how powerful they were.
All Wen Ruan saw was Lin Yan taking every one of Tang San's thrown weapons with his body.
She didn't know that if Lin Yan hadn't had an External Soul Bone on his back and eaten an Immortal Herb like the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum, he wouldn't have been able to withstand Tang San's attack, either.
"Who are you? Why did you barge into our entrance exam?"
Tang San's voice came from behind them.
Lin Yan frowned, anger rising in his heart.
He turned to look at Tang San, murderous intent surging within him.
This guy had attacked so viciously. Had he never considered that someone might lose their life?
"You! Why did you use those things to launch a sneak attack?"
"Did you ever consider that if I hadn't appeared, your attack might have killed my little senior?"
Lin Yan's gaze turned icy as he clenched his fists.
If he hadn't known Tang Hao was watching the fight from the shadows, he would have already struck Tang San down.
Under Lin Yan's stare, Tang San felt a little guilty. Recalling what had just happened, he stammered,
"I..."
"This is an entrance exam. Of course I had to give it everything I had."
"If she's not good enough, she shouldn't be an examiner!"
"Not good enough?" Lin Yan scoffed.
"Couldn't you tell she'd been holding back the whole time?"
"Teacher Zhao! Is this what you call keeping my little senior safe?"
Lin Yan knew that no matter what, he couldn't lay a hand on Tang San today. Rather than keep arguing with him, he turned to Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji looked embarrassed.
"Well..."
"Lin Yan, forget it."
Wen Ruan spoke up from Lin Yan's arms.
"Teacher Zhao has looked after me all these years."
With Wen Ruan making excuses for him, the awkwardness on Zhao Wuji's face eased slightly.
Things were different now.
Six years ago, Lin Yan had been a level-ten Soul Master who had only just begun cultivating.
But six years had passed, and Lin Yan was now a personal guard to the Crown Prince and a level-forty-nine Soul Ancestor!
Over the years, Shrek Academy had received no shortage of support from Lin Yan.
Perhaps he'd been repaying them for the Thousand-Year Soul Ring he'd received back then. But no one was a fool; they all knew that Lin Yan had given even more because of Wen Ruan.
And now Wen Ruan had nearly been seriously injured—or even killed. As vice dean, Zhao Wuji could hardly escape blame.
"I'm taking her with me!"
Since he couldn't do anything to Tang San today, Lin Yan decided to stop wasting his time arguing.
"Heh~"
"Picking a grudge on your very first day at the academy, Tang San! I'd like to see what tricks you can pull once Tang Hao is no longer there to protect you."
A gentleman's revenge could wait ten years.
Lin Yan couldn't risk revealing his strength, let alone attacking Tang San, with Tang Hao watching.
But once the end of the month came and he returned to Heaven Dou City...
"Who is he? Is he a student at this academy too?"
Watching Lin Yan carry Wen Ruan out of the training ground in his arms, Ning Rongrong asked Dai Mubai curiously.
"That guy's called Lin Yan. I heard he used to be a student at Shrek Academy, but then he enrolled at Heaven Dou Royal Academy."
"He's only come back a few times over the years, so I don't know him well."
"Lin Yan!" Ning Rongrong murmured.
"That name sounds familiar..."
Dai Mubai turned to look at her.
"Familiar? You know that many people? You're even connected to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family..."
"Oh, right!"
Remembering that she had a Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Martial Soul, Dai Mubai swallowed the rest of his sentence.
The training ground fell silent for a moment.
Before long,
"Hiss~"
"I remember now."
Ning Rongrong sucked in a sharp breath, looking utterly astonished.
"That guy works for the Crown Prince!"
As the little princess of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Rongrong often crossed paths with Xue Qinghe, who was Ning Fengzhi's student.
In fact, Ning Rongrong had briefly met Lin Yan several years ago.
But at the time, she'd been too playful, and Xue Qinghe had deliberately concealed Lin Yan's true strength. The two of them hadn't interacted much.
Still, Ning Rongrong had heard Ning Fengzhi say that the man named Lin Yan was exceptionally talented and powerful, and might one day become her marriage partner and the guardian of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
She hadn't expected the two of them to meet like this today.
And he already had a girlfriend, too.
"Wait!"
"He's already a Soul Ancestor at his age, and a favorite of the Crown Prince. His girlfriend nearly lost her life right in front of him, so why..."
"Why did he let Tang San off so easily?"
In Ning Rongrong's eyes, everyone in a position of power had one thing in common.
When someone beneath them offended them, they never showed the slightest sympathy.
This Lin Yan...
Or was it Tang San? What was so special about him?
It had to be said: Ning Rongrong had been personally raised by Ning Fengzhi, and the way she thought about things was already beyond that of anyone her age—even most adults.
Just from Lin Yan's words and attitude, she'd noticed something unusual between him and Tang San.
And after seeing Tang San's strange methods of attack, along with his cultivable Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul...
Ning Rongrong grew even more curious.
Just then, Dai Mubai said,
"..."
"Maybe Lin Yan is just a kind person."
His words happened to interrupt Ning Rongrong's train of thought.
The girl looked at Dai Mubai, who wore a solemn expression, as if he were an idiot.
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
Dai Mubai didn't realize anything was wrong and looked genuinely confused.
"Nothing."
Ning Rongrong brushed him off, then turned to Zhao Wuji.
"Teacher Zhao, then how does this exam count?"
Zhao Wuji waved his hand impatiently.
"They pass!"
"Mubai, take them to the dorms, then show them around the academy."
Meanwhile,
Lin Yan had carried Wen Ruan all the way to his private dormitory.
Flender had built it especially to thank him for his support of the academy. Normally, Wen Ruan was the only one who lived there.
"Little senior, why do you feel like you've put on weight lately?"
"I haven't... Don't start saying nonsense the moment you get back."
"..."
Lin Yan didn't tell Wen Ruan how dangerous things had been. From now on, with him around, she wouldn't have to face anything like that.
He might as well let her live safely beneath his "wings." That way, she'd have less to worry about...