"Little San, take your boss's advice. From now on... keep your head down!"
"Yes!"
Tang San gritted his teeth and endured Ao Yin's mockery.
He muttered to himself, Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west. Never look down on a young man...
But before he could finish consoling himself, Ao Yin's warning rang in his ears. "If you don't behave, even with your father and Yu Xiaogang protecting you, forget middle age or old age. I'll make sure people speak well of the dead right now!"
Tang San swallowed. How was Ao Yin like a roundworm in his stomach, seeing through every thought he had at a glance?
Fortunately, although Ao Yin threatened him with words, he seemed unwilling to go too far.
Because of Dad?
No! It must be because of Teacher. As the academy's Grandmaster, he makes Ao Yin wary. That's why Ao Yin doesn't dare go too far!
Tang San turned it over in his mind, but that was the only reason he could find that made any sense!
Phew—
Tang San breathed a sigh of relief, grateful he had become Yu Xiaogang's disciple from the start. Otherwise, he had no idea how he would get through his days at Notting Academy!
Tang San's guess was not entirely without reason, but Ao Yin truly thought nothing of Yu Xiaogang. There were two reasons he had been so tolerant of Tang San.
One was that he feared retaliation from Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao. The other was that he wanted to torment Tang San slowly, making him watch as everything that should have been his was taken away.
While Ao Yin and Xiao Wu happily arranged their bedding together, Wang Sheng was assigning Tang San a bed.
"Little San, you got here last. This is the only bed left!"
Wang Sheng pointed toward a spot in the corner. Tang San followed his finger and frowned.
It was not that the bed was poorly made. It was where it stood... right beside the dormitory toilet. The other beds had windows for ventilation; his corner alone was cramped and stuffy.
Standing beside the bed, Tang San could even smell the stench of excrement and urine from the toilet.
"You're bullying me!"
Tang San gritted his teeth and protested to Wang Sheng.
Wang Sheng took offense at once. He rolled up his sleeves and said bluntly, "Tang San, don't push your luck. Dorm beds are first come, first served. You arrived last and didn't get a good spot. Who's to blame for that?"
"Besides, Dorm Seven never had a bed for you in the first place. If the headmaster hadn't done the Grandmaster a favor, you wouldn't even be fit to live here!"
"You call this bullying? If you want to see bullying, I can make you sleep in the toilet. Want to test me?"
His good intentions treated like a donkey's liver and lungs, Wang Sheng fired off words in a rapid volley. His War Tiger Martial Soul showed faintly around him, and he looked ready to fight if Tang San objected.
At the other end of Dorm Seven, Ao Yin and Xiao Wu heard the commotion and looked over.
Xiao Wu grew even more displeased with Tang San. "Little San, how could you think that of Wang Sheng?"
"Exactly! You're like a dog biting Lü Dongbin, blind to a kind heart!"
"Tang San, you're so narrow-minded!"
The other members of Dorm Seven spoke up for Wang Sheng too.
"You're the dog! Your whole family are dogs!"
Besieged by their words, Tang San saw red and began lashing out wildly.
Ao Yin had only just become the boss of Dorm Seven that day. Of course he would not stand by and ignore this. He walked slowly up to Tang San.
He gave a soft laugh. "Tang San, it seems you didn't take a word I said to heart."
"What you said?"
"Your words aren't worth a fart! I only listen to Sister Xiao Wu!"
Tang San had long since thrown Ao Yin's advice to keep his head down out of his mind.
From beginning to end, he had never regarded Ao Yin as the dorm boss. If not for Sister Xiao Wu, Tang San would never have yielded to him!
"Oh? Even now, you really think Xiao Wu gave me the boss's position?"
"What? Didn't she?"
"Pfft—hahahaha!"
Only then did everyone in Dorm Seven understand why Tang San was so stubborn, and they burst out laughing.
Then again, Tang San had arrived late. He did not know Ao Yin was strong enough to overpower Xiao Wu.
But Tang San believed his judgment was sound.
The Grandmaster had once told him that without a Soul Ring, one's Soul Power would hit a bottleneck.
On his first day at school, Ao Yin could not possibly have a Soul Ring. Though Ao Yin had Innate Full Soul Power, Tang San now had ten levels of Soul Power himself and believed they were equal on that front. With the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Tang Sect Secret Arts at his disposal, he was certain Ao Yin was no match for him.
"A dog can't stop eating shit!"
Ao Yin rolled his neck. Warnings were clearly useless. Only fists could train this dog to obey.
Seeing Ao Yin's stance, Tang San hurriedly looked at Xiao Wu and called out, "Sister Xiao Wu, you saw it too! He's the one who wants to fight. If I hurt him, you can't blame me!"
"You? Hurt who?"
Xiao Wu, who had been enjoying the spectacle, blinked in surprise. She had no idea where Tang San found such confidence. She had experienced Ao Yin's martial arts herself; they were every bit the equal of Soul Skills!
"Little San, don't worry. If you can beat Ao Yin, you'll be the boss of Dorm Seven from now on!" Xiao Wu said with a cheerful laugh.
"Really?"
"Truer than pearls! You heard it from Sister Xiao Wu herself!"
Wang Sheng and the others chimed in.
Ao Yin said coolly, "You talk too much."
Tang San flared with anger. "Ao Yin, I've put up with you for a long time!"
"Three months ago, my Soul Power was a little weaker than yours, and I lacked the stamina to keep going, so you beat me with a stick. Do you really think I'm still the same Tang San I was back then?"
"Yes. You're exactly the same!"
Ao Yin answered calmly. He had never thought much of Tang San, and had been provoking him all along, trying to make him attack first.
Tang San finally could not bear it any longer and made the first move.
"Mysterious Jade Hand!"
With ten levels of Soul Power behind his Mysterious Jade Hand, he struck as swiftly as the wind, determined to tear Ao Yin's mouth apart.
At such close range, even Wang Sheng sucked in a breath for Ao Yin. Yet Ao Yin made no move to dodge.
Instead, without using any Soul Power, Ao Yin reached out a hand of his own.
Smack!
Ao Yin easily caught Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand just as it reached his face.
Tang San thought nothing of it. "You dare catch my Mysterious Jade Hand bare—"
"Aah!!!"
Before he could finish, Tang San let out a sudden scream.
Ao Yin had combined Dragon Claw Hand with Power of a Thousand Jun. Even Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand, hardened like mystical jade through Tang Sect Secret Arts, could not withstand it. One of his fingers snapped.
"How is that possible?"
Tang San's right hand trembled with unbearable pain. There had been no ripple of Soul Power from Ao Yin just now, yet he had broken through his Mysterious Jade Hand?
"Take another claw!"
Ao Yin smiled faintly and attacked again with Dragon Claw Hand.
Tang San's scalp prickled. He hurriedly used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, leaving layer upon layer of afterimages as he tried to evade the strike.
"A movement art?"
"I have one too!"
Ao Yin leaned forward into a runner's stance, then pushed off with his right foot.
Mist Step!
Bang!
The marble floor cracked in an instant.
Ao Yin shot forward like a cannonball, not in a straight line, but in an unpredictable, drifting path.
"Hahaha! Go on, run! Where can you run to?"
"What?"
Tang San pushed Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to its limit, but Ao Yin stayed right behind him, deliberately toying with him.
Tang San swallowed and recalled Yu Xiaogang's words. Was what Teacher said true?
But at this point, all he could do was meet force with force.
Tang San stopped short. Rather than dodge again, he turned, strengthened his Mysterious Jade Hand, and suddenly used Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon to strike at Ao Yin's head.
Without a trace of fear, Ao Yin drew on Myriad-Jun Strength and blasted out a palm strike with the Eighteen Dragon-Subduing Palms!
Humm—
A dragon's roar seemed to echo faintly between heaven and earth as their palms collided.
Riiip!
Boom—
The sleeve on Tang San's right arm tore to shreds in an instant. The blow sent him flying into the toilet, where he nearly fell into the cesspit.
"Little San, we're from the same hometown. I didn't want to embarrass you like this..."
"Cough, cough! B-Boss Ao, I was wrong!"
Tang San coughed twice. He had grown even more practiced at admitting fault.
"Oh?"
Ao Yin feigned surprise and stepped closer.
But the moment he relaxed, Tang San flung six iron needles from his hand.
"Die!"
Tang San sneered. This was a Tang Sect Hidden Weapons technique, striking without warning while his opponent was unprepared!
But Ao Yin already knew what kind of person Tang San was. With a flick of his hand, he threw a Little Li Flying Dagger.
Clang, clang, clang—
"Aah—"
Several metallic clashes rang out, followed by a scream. The fruit knife pierced straight through Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand and pinned it firmly to the wall.
"How could I, Tang San... lose... so utterly?" He promptly fainted.
Wang Sheng and the others stared, dumbfounded. "Boss Ao is way too strong!"
Ao Yin waved a hand. "Have Yu Xiaogang take him to the academy infirmary. Don't let him die so easily in my Dorm Seven!"
"Yes, yes!"
Wang Sheng had been won over completely by Ao Yin's strength. Now an ardent admirer, he did as he was told!
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