Tang San had no time to answer Xiao Wu.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated faster and faster through his meridians. Its inner force swept away the soreness left by forging, and the barrier deep in his dantian that had held him back for so long finally began to loosen.
Seeing his expression change, Xiao Wu immediately reached out to push him. "Tang San, didn't you say you were only going to regulate your breathing?"
Tang San gritted his teeth. "Don't touch me. I'm about to break through."
"Break through?"
Xiao Wu's sleepiness vanished. "I'll go get Grandmaster."
"No."
Sweat beaded on Tang San's forehead, and his voice tightened. "I can't stop now."
When Ji Yuan heard that, all he felt was a cold chill.
Of course you can't stop.
What would I feed on if you did?
The Parasitic Network spread through Tang San's body. The Sub-spore at his Heart Meridian contracted into a gate, the fine tendrils around his dantian unfurled, and the dormant nodes deep in his marrow began to draw in energy.
This time, it was no minor skirmish.
The fresh inner force produced by the Mysterious Heaven Skill's second stage was purer than what Tang San accumulated through daily cultivation, and easier for Ji Yuan to convert.
Tang San still thought a true breakthrough awaited him.
He had no idea the gate was no longer in his hands.
Xiao Wu sprang out of bed and paced beside him in panic. "Don't scare me! Does breaking through make you this pale?"
Tang San said nothing.
He couldn't.
His inner force surged toward a critical point in his meridians. His chest grew tight, and that familiar heaviness spread through his left hand.
Thinking the rejection between his Twin Martial Souls had flared up again, he immediately steadied his Blue Silver Grass Soul Power as Yu Xiaogang had taught him.
Ji Yuan seized the moment to push the residual Datura Snake venom to the surface, feeding Tang San a false signal.
That's right.
It's the rejection.
Keep pushing.
Tang San gritted his teeth, and the Mysterious Heaven Skill burst through the final barrier.
With a boom, pure inner force poured from deep within his dantian and spread through his meridians to every part of his body.
A faint purple haze rose from him. Xiao Wu called nervously, "Tang San?"
Joy had only just stirred in Tang San's heart.
The next instant, Ji Yuan drew in the net.
Every sucker opened at once. Before the newborn inner force could nourish Tang San's meridians, it was intercepted from every direction and drawn toward the hidden parasitic core beneath his Heart Meridian.
Tang San's face went deathly pale.
"Something's wrong!"
He finally sensed it.
This was no ordinary expenditure.
That power hadn't dissipated. Someone was stealing it.
Tang San tried to reverse the Mysterious Heaven Skill and pull his inner force back, but Ji Yuan had already pressed down on his Heart Meridian, severing seventy percent of his control.
The remaining thirty percent rammed wildly through his meridians, sending a sharp pain through his chest.
Xiao Wu lunged forward to support him. "Tang San, what's happening?"
Tang San opened his mouth. Blood came out first.
Black blood splattered across the edge of the bed.
The others in Dorm Seven woke with a start. Wang Sheng sat up. "Boss?"
Xiao Wu shouted, "Go get Grandmaster!"
Wang Sheng rushed out before he had even put his shoes on properly.
Tang San pitched forward. Xiao Wu braced him with her shoulder, her voice changing with fear. "Tang San, say something! Don't fall asleep!"
Tang San's vision darkened, but he still fought to suppress the feeling of his power being stolen.
The more he struggled, the more smoothly Ji Yuan drained him.
Nine-tenths of the newborn inner force was dragged into the Demon Vine's true body.
Inside the hidden compartment of Tang San's shoe sole, the Bloodthirsty Demon Vine, only recently revived from its shriveled state, swelled rapidly before Ji Yuan forcibly compressed it.
Its metal-coated barbs took on a dark sheen, and its vine skin deepened to a dusky purple. The sharp energy of the iron mother mingled with the Mysterious Heaven Skill Inner Force, straining his true body until it nearly split.
Ji Yuan did not let greed carry him away.
He left one-tenth behind.
That was enough to keep Tang San alive, and enough for Yu Xiaogang to find that his meridians had strengthened after the breakthrough.
The blood bag couldn't die.
If he died, the supply would stop.
Xiao Wu stared at the black blood on Tang San's lips, her eyes reddening. "You said this wouldn't happen! You lied to me again!"
Tang San wanted to explain, but all he could taste was blood.
Hurried footsteps sounded outside.
Yu Xiaogang arrived with a coat thrown over his shoulders. Wang Sheng followed him, his face white with fright.
"Move aside."
Yu Xiaogang sat at the bedside and took Tang San's wrist. The moment he examined him, his face turned an ugly shade of blue.
Xiao Wu blurted, "Grandmaster, he said he was about to break through, and then he started coughing up blood!"
Yu Xiaogang asked Tang San, "Did you force a breakthrough with the Mysterious Heaven Skill?"
Tang San nodded weakly. "Teacher, I broke through, but my power... it was drained away..."
Ji Yuan immediately withdrew every sucker and disguised the traces as the emptiness left after inner force had scoured the meridians.
Tang San's words made Yu Xiaogang's heart lurch.
Drained away?
That claim again.
He remembered Tang San coughing up black blood before and saying his power had been stolen then, too.
Yu Xiaogang's face darkened as he continued examining Tang San's left hand.
Ji Yuan tugged at the Clear Sky Hammer's origin, drawing a heavy response from that hand.
Tang San groaned. A hint of oppressive force surfaced in his left palm, then quickly sank back down.
Yu Xiaogang's suspicions swung straight toward the Twin Martial Souls.
Xiao Wu was frantic. "Grandmaster, what's going on? Stop just frowning!"
Yu Xiaogang did not answer at once.
He took medicinal powder from his clothes and had Tang San hold it in his mouth, then sent Wang Sheng for warm water.
Wang Sheng hurried off.
Only then did Yu Xiaogang speak. "This isn't a bad thing."
Xiao Wu nearly jumped. "He's coughing up blood, and you're saying it isn't bad?"
Yu Xiaogang looked at her. "Coughing up blood doesn't mean his foundation is damaged. The black blood contains impurities."
Tang San asked with difficulty, "Teacher, was the loss of my power also caused by the rejection?"
Yu Xiaogang lifted Tang San's left hand and pressed his palm. "Your situation is more complicated than I expected."
Xiao Wu couldn't help saying, "Can you explain 'complicated' in plain words?"
Yu Xiaogang glanced at her without reproach. "Tang San just broke through, producing more Soul Power than his body could handle. His Blue Silver Grass couldn't bear it, so his Second Martial Soul stepped in to share the burden."
Tang San frowned. "Share the burden?"
"Yes."
Yu Xiaogang spoke faster, as though explaining it to Tang San and convincing himself at the same time. "It felt as though your power was drained because it didn't remain in the outer layers of your meridians. A deeper Martial Soul Origin absorbed it to stabilize the balance between your Twin Martial Souls."
Inside the shoe sole, Ji Yuan almost unfurled his vines.
Yu Xiaogang was proving a smoother tool with every use.
Doubt still lingered in Tang San's eyes. "But my meridians are empty."
Yu Xiaogang gripped his shoulder. "That's a good thing."
Xiao Wu couldn't bear it anymore. "Grandmaster, you make it sound terrifying."
Yu Xiaogang ignored her and fixed his gaze on Tang San. "Break down to build anew. Understand? The black blood you coughed up was deep-seated impurity left by the residual Datura Snake venom and the conflict between your Twin Martial Souls."
Tang San's breathing gradually steadied.
Yu Xiaogang continued, "You're weak now, but your meridians are tougher than before, and your Soul Power is purer."
Tang San tried to sense what was happening inside him.
Sure enough, though his dantian was hollow, the walls of his meridians were more resilient than before, and the little inner force still flowing through them was cleaner.
That much was true.
Ji Yuan had deliberately left one-tenth of the inner force, just enough for Tang San to feel the fruits of his breakthrough.
That sliver of truth pressed Tang San's suspicions down.
"Teacher, was I too impatient?"
Yu Xiaogang sighed. "Your talent is too great, but your body can't keep up. From now on, you must tell me before you attempt a breakthrough."
Xiao Wu immediately added, "Hear that? Try doing it secretly in the middle of the night again, and I'll tie you up."
Tang San gave a weak smile. "All right."
Ji Yuan watched the three of them coldly.
One cultivated with everything he had.
One worried over him and cared for him.
One explained away every abnormality as something reasonable.
The whole breeding routine could hardly run more smoothly.
Wang Sheng returned with water. Seeing Tang San awake, he finally breathed a sigh of relief. "Boss, you scared me to death."
Yu Xiaogang took the water. "Don't crowd around him tonight. Let him rest."
Xiao Wu refused to leave. "I'm staying."
Yu Xiaogang did not send her away this time. "Watch him. Don't let him cultivate again."
Xiao Wu sat beside the bed and glared fiercely at Tang San. "Hear that?"
Tang San nodded.
Yu Xiaogang put away the medicinal powder and checked Tang San's meridians once more before leaving.
Ji Yuan disguised himself as fragments of Soul Power scattered along the edges of Tang San's meridians, so all Yu Xiaogang saw was the disorder left by the breakthrough.
Yu Xiaogang did not probe deeper.
He feared a closer examination might agitate Tang San's Second Martial Soul.
After Yu Xiaogang left, Dorm Seven fell quiet again.
Xiao Wu kept watch beside Tang San's bed, still scolding him. "Do all you cultivators have such a death wish?"
Tang San said softly, "I'm sorry."
Xiao Wu shoved a cup of water into his hands. "What good is 'sorry'? Drink."
Tang San took it. His hands were still shaking.
Xiao Wu saw that and stopped scolding him. She only pulled the blanket higher over him. "Sleep."
Tang San closed his eyes.
Meanwhile, Ji Yuan digested the nine-tenths he had taken from the breakthrough inside the shoe sole's hidden compartment.
The Demon Vine had ballooned before being compressed again. Its internal energy grew denser, its metal barbs fused completely with its venom channels, and the Disorder Splitting Wind Vine Technique now had a stronger foundation.
He was no longer content with the gains from Tang San's cultivation alone.
Notting Academy held more students, more Soul Power, and more nourishment he could siphon away unnoticed.
Relying on Blood Bag Number One alone was too slow.
By daybreak, word that Tang San was weak had spread throughout Dorm Seven.
The news reached Xiao Chenyu's side as well.
After morning classes, several older students stood at the edge of the training ground, muttering among themselves.
"Tang San coughed up blood last night?"
"I heard he nearly died."
"Once Boss Xiao hears, he'll definitely settle the score."
Xiao Chenyu stood in the shadows, still nursing yesterday's humiliation.
He sneered. "Good. He coughed up blood. I was worried he'd be too strong to beat."
Liu Qiang said quietly, "But Grandmaster is protecting him."
Xiao Chenyu turned and stared at him. "Remember what you said in the cafeteria yesterday?"
Liu Qiang went pale and did not dare answer.
Ji Yuan sensed them through a Spores remnant in the distance and immediately marked the group of older students.
The grand tournament was approaching.
There would be crowds, chaotic Soul Power, and intense emotions.
It was the perfect chance to cast his net.
Tang San was still lying in bed, thinking he needed to recover.
Ji Yuan had already sent his first new Spore into a crack in the floor, crawling toward the training ground.
Just then, Xiao Wu's excited shout came from outside the door.
"Tang San, the final tournament roster is up! You and I are both in the first round!"
Ji Yuan's vine tip paused, then turned toward the training ground.
It was time to expand the breeding grounds.
Before you continue