Even if I take ten thousand steps back, are you still not wrong?

"You..."

Yu Xiaogang was practically about to explode with rage.

At Notting Academy, because of his connection to the dean, no one dared speak to him like that.

But outside, no one was obliged to put up with him.

"Simply unreasonable! Utterly unreasonable!"

He turned and snapped at Xiao Wu, "Xiao Wu, look at the kind of friends you've made!"

Xiao Wu merely spread her hands, her face innocent. "Master, who I choose to be friends with isn't for you to decide, is it?"

"Besides, he's my friend, not someone I own. How am I supposed to control him?"

Huang Long continued, "Xiao Wu, how did this Master become an instructor at your academy? Don't junior soul master academies conduct any vetting?"

"Dragon God, he isn't an instructor. He's just here to mooch meals," Xiao Wu said dismissively, waving a hand.

"Oh! So he's a freeloader."

Huang Long nodded slightly, then smiled at Yu Xiaogang. "Who would've thought that the continent's great martial soul theory master was actually a freeloader?"

Yu Xiaogang was so furious that even his ears turned red. Veins bulged on his neck, and his eyes looked as though they wanted to devour Huang Long alive.

"Enough!"

The next second, an angry shout rang out.

Tang San stepped directly in front of Yu Xiaogang, staring at Huang Long with an icy gaze as though he were looking at a corpse.

"Huang Long, my teacher came here to reason with you. Why did you insult him?"

Huang Long crossed his arms and sneered. "Reason about what? About how you used those despicable tactics to launch a sneak attack on us?"

"Or how you coated those arrowheads with instant-kill poison, intending to put us to death?"

At his words, Tang San's gaze began to dart away guiltily.

"I did that... to protect Xiao Wu!"

"Who asked you to protect me? Don't flatter yourself."

Xiao Wu mercilessly drove the knife in from the side.

"We were only joking around. Who acts like you, attacking without distinguishing right from wrong?"

Tang San choked, immediately growing anxious.

"Teacher..."

With a grim expression, Yu Xiaogang raised a hand to cut him off, then stepped out from behind Tang San.

"Even taking ten thousand steps back, were you truly without fault?"

"It was nothing more than a misunderstanding. Why did you have to humiliate my disciple?"

Huang Long was rendered speechless by his words.

He turned to Xiao Wu and said, "How can someone's skin be this thick? If it was a misunderstanding, shouldn't he apologize?"

"Besides..."

As he spoke, he looked at Yu Xiaogang again. "Since you've already taken ten thousand steps back, what else is there to say? You're in the wrong, yet you still want to argue your case?"

"Outrageous! Since that's the case, don't blame me for being impolite!"

Yu Xiaogang snorted coldly, directly circulating the meager soul power within him and summoning his martial soul.

"Come out, Luo Sanpao!"

The next second, a martial soul that looked like a dog but had the build of a pig, with both its body length and waist circumference exceeding one and a half meters, appeared before Yu Xiaogang, making "luoluo" sounds.

At the same time, two yellow soul rings slowly rose from beneath his feet.

After releasing his martial soul, Yu Xiaogang immediately became much more confident. Pointing at Huang Long, he shouted, "Luo Sanpao, attack!"

"Luoluo!"

Luo Sanpao quickly crouched down, taking a charging stance as it prepared to pounce at Huang Long.

Seeing this, Xiao Wu immediately circulated her soul power and summoned her martial soul to possess her.

She had promised Di Tian that she would take good care of the Dragon God!

But just as she was about to use a soul skill, Huang Long raised a hand to stop her.

"No need to act. Just watch me." Huang Long took a step forward, and an immense aura instantly bore down on them!

That aura contained a trace of Yinglong's dragon might. Soul masters might not have been able to sense it.

But to martial souls—especially one like Luo Sanpao, which possessed independent consciousness—it was like encountering its own king.

"Luoluo—luoluo!"

Luo Sanpao's charging motion suddenly froze in midair. Its limbs went limp, and it collapsed directly onto the ground.

Its entire body trembled uncontrollably, low whimpers escaping from its throat.

"Luo Sanpao, what's wrong with you? Attack!"

Yu Xiaogang and Tang San were both completely dumbfounded.

Why had Luo Sanpao stopped halfway through his charge?

And he had even crouched before Huang Long, looking as though he were kneeling in worship.

Yu Xiaogang's face alternated between green and red with rage as he repeatedly urged his spirit power, trying to command his martial soul.

But Luo Sanpao gave no response at all!

"You want to be rude to me? With just you?"

Huang Long snorted coldly, then lifted a foot and slowly walked over to Luo Sanpao.

He slowly crouched down and gently stroked Luo Sanpao's back. "Following a blind, clueless master must have been hard, right?"

"Luo, luo..."

Luo Sanpao raised his head, his eyes filled with grievance as he looked at Huang Long.

That look seemed to say, "Finally, someone understands me."

He gently rubbed his head against Huang Long's palm, letting out a low whimper from his throat before burying his head and refusing to look at Yu Xiaogang again.

To Yu Xiaogang, this scene felt like a direct slap across the face.

"Luo Sanpao!"

Tang San also summoned his Blue Silver Grass martial soul and shouted angrily, "Huang Long, return my teacher's martial soul at once!"

But Huang Long ignored him, gently rubbing Luo Sanpao's head. "Go back. I'll find a way to save you later."

Luo Sanpao nodded gratefully, then turned into wisps of purple light and entered Yu Xiaogang's body.

Only then did Yu Xiaogang feel his martial soul return.

But when he tried to summon it again for battle, no matter how he circulated his spirit power and attempted to call forth his martial soul, Luo Sanpao no longer responded.

Yu Xiaogang's face flushed crimson with fury as he screamed at Huang Long, "What did you do to Luo Sanpao?!"

"Didn't you see what I did just now?"

Huang Long spread his hands and sneered. "I merely told him how useless his current master is."

"You don't even understand your own martial soul, yet you dare help others study theirs. What a joke."

Those words were like a blade stabbing straight into Yu Xiaogang's heart.

"You..."

His face went from bright red to deathly pale, and his lips trembled violently.

After a long moment, he growled, "Xiao San, do it!"

Tang San nodded and immediately unleashed his first soul skill. The Blue Silver Grass in his hand shot toward Huang Long like vines.

"Blue Silver Grass Entanglement? Nothing but a petty trick."

Huang Long raised a hand and directly seized all the Blue Silver Grass that had stretched toward him.

"Tang San, how dare you!" Xiao Wu immediately rushed forward as well, kicking Tang San squarely in the chest.

Tang San let out a muffled groan and flew backward along with his grass, crashing heavily into the courtyard wall.

"Xiao San... Pfft!"

Before Yu Xiaogang could finish speaking, Huang Long raised his hand and slapped him.

Slap!

His entire body spun once through the air before smashing heavily onto the ground. Half his face was as red as a pig's head, and two teeth fell to the ground.

Watching this, Tang San struggled angrily to his feet and raised his right hand.

With a click, something seemed to trigger like a mechanism.

Huang Long's ears twitched. He immediately stepped back and extended his right hand.

Dragon-Pulling Hand!

In an instant, a powerful suction force enveloped Tang San and pulled him over from beneath the courtyard wall.

Tang San had not even realized what had happened before Huang Long had already seized him by the throat.

"Still playing with such despicable tricks?"

Huang Long sneered and directly took the sleeve arrow hidden in his sleeve.