Tang San Got Cocky!

The Tang Sect had three methods for detoxification: bloodletting, severing the veins, and applying medicine.

With the limited conditions at hand, Tang San first used bloodletting to drain the main toxin, then took out a poison-repelling pill he carried with him, crushed it, and applied it to the wound. He tore a strip from his sleeve and carefully bandaged it.

After this treatment, the bluish-purple hue on Yu Xiaogang's face finally began to fade slowly, and his breathing gradually steadied.

Tang San remained at his side. About half an hour later, Yu Xiaogang's eyelashes trembled slightly, and he opened his eyes.

"Little San...?" His voice was hoarse and weak.

"Teacher, you're awake." Tang San helped him sit up.

Yu Xiaogang collected himself, and the first thing he did was look at Tang San's palm. "The soul ring... have you absorbed it?"

Tang San raised his right hand and released his Blue Silver Grass.

Slender vines curled around his palm. The grass blades were covered in a faint dark green glow, while needle-like barbs glimmered eerily beneath the sunlight.

At the same time, that yellow hundred-year soul ring rose beneath his feet, dense and steady.

"First soul skill, Blue Silver Entanglement."

With a thought, the Blue Silver Grass shot outward and coiled several times around a tree stump several meters away.

The barbs on the grass blades pierced into the bark, leaving behind several shallow traces of corrosion.

Yu Xiaogang stared at those corrosive marks for a long time.

Then his shoulders began to tremble, and something welled up in his eyes.

He raised a grime-covered hand to cover his face, and a sound escaped his throat, suppressed for far too long, half laughter and half sobbing.

"It worked..." His voice broke between his fingers. "A plant martial soul... absorbing an animal soul ring... my theory... was real..."

Tang San looked at his teacher's face, a miserable mess of tears and sweat, and the faint regret he had felt at taking a useless teacher quietly faded somewhat.

He knew that this man's dedication to theory might run far deeper than he had imagined.

It was surely Xiao Wu and Yun Tian's loss that they had not taken him as their teacher.

At the same time, he was glad they had not, because that meant he alone could enjoy his teacher's special affection.

Once they returned, he would challenge Yun Tian again and show him just how powerful Blue Silver Entanglement was!

And reclaim the face he had lost before while he was at it.

When Tang San returned to the Seventh Dorm, the midday sun was shining brightly.

Wang Sheng spotted him first and greeted him with a grin. "Yo! Tang San's back! Did you get your soul ring?"

Tang San nodded, his gaze passing over the others before settling on Yun Tian by the window.

The other boy was meditating with his eyes closed, the contours of his profile sharply defined in the light.

Tang San took a deep breath. When he spoke, his tone was serious and resolute. "Yun Tian, I want to fight you again."

The Seventh Dorm fell silent at once.

Xiao Wu put down the apple she had only half eaten. Wang Sheng's eyes widened, and everyone's gazes focused on Tang San.

He raised his right hand. Blue Silver Grass spread from his palm, its vines twice as thick as before and marked with dark green patterns. A yellow soul ring slowly rose beneath his feet.

The aura of a hundred-year soul ring filled the cramped dormitory.

"I've obtained my first soul ring, and I've developed my first soul skill too." Tang San stared directly into Yun Tian's eyes. "I wasn't convinced by my loss last time. This time, I want to try again."

Yun Tian opened his eyes and looked at him. A teasing smile slowly appeared at the corners of his mouth.

"Fine. I'll grant you your wish."

He stood and walked to the open space in the middle of the dormitory. Wang Sheng and the others swiftly moved the tables and chairs to the wall, clearing out a circular battlefield.

Xiao Wu jumped onto a bed and sat cross-legged, excitedly slapping the bedframe. "Fight! Tang San, you'd better make a good showing. Don't embarrass yourself like I did!"

Tang San ignored her and stepped forward into a fighting stance.

Purple Demon Eye quietly activated, taking in every detail around Yun Tian.

His soul power fluctuations were steady, his center of gravity lowered, and his hands were empty...

His opponent had not even released his martial soul.

"You're not using your martial soul?" Tang San frowned.

"That depends on how you perform." Yun Tian beckoned to him. "Come on."

Tang San wasted no more words.

His first soul ring suddenly lit up. Blue Silver Grass rapidly spread across the floor, several vines surging up like a swarm of snakes and wrapping toward Yun Tian's limbs, waist, and abdomen from every direction.

The dark green barbs along the grass blades glinted ominously, the Mandala Snake's venom poised to strike.

"First soul skill, Blue Silver Entanglement!"

The vines tightened instantly, wrapping Yun Tian into a dark green cocoon.

Tang San fiercely poured in more soul power. The barbs drove into his opponent's defense with all their might, and venom spread and corroded across the point of contact.

Yet he immediately sensed something was wrong.

The feedback from the vines was like they had wrapped around a solid boulder. The venom could not seep through, and the constricting force could find no gap to exert leverage against.

Yun Tian stood within the vine cocoon, utterly motionless.

"The venom's not bad, and the force has improved quite a bit too."

His voice came through the gaps in the vines, carrying an unhurried smile. "But..."

He lightly flexed his right arm.

Bang!

The Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his arm shattered inch by inch, dark green vine fragments scattering across the floor.

Before Tang San could react, Yun Tian spread his fingers and clenched his fist. A dense surge of earth elemental power exploded from his palm, directly blasting the vines covering his body into countless fragments.

Tang San's pupils contracted sharply. He stepped out with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, feinted with Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon in his left hand, and flicked three Bone-Piercing Needles from between the fingers of his right hand.

They flew in a triangular formation toward Yun Tian's shoulder, abdomen, and knee—three vital points—while Tang San himself leaped into the air. His Mysterious Jade Hand surged with full force as he brought a palm down toward Yun Tian's face.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

Three crisp collisions rang out.

The Bone-Piercing Needles struck Yun Tian as though they had hit a steel plate, bouncing to the floor and rolling several times.

Tang San's Mysterious Jade Hand followed immediately after, its palm wind fierce.

Yet when his palm was still half a foot from Yun Tian's face, a hand covered in brown metal armor shot out from below at an angle and precisely clamped around his wrist.

Tang San was left hanging in midair.

He looked down, and his pupils abruptly shrank to pinpoints.

A dense earthen yellow radiance enveloped Yun Tian's body. A full suit of brown, tiger-headed armor rapidly formed from his limbs toward his torso, visible to the naked eye.

Shoulder guards, chest armor, and arm guards layered together. A tiger-shaped helmet covered his face, leaving only two deep, shadowy slits for eyes.

At the same time, an even denser yellow soul ring rose beneath his feet, far brighter than Tang San's hundred-year soul ring.

Earth Tiger Armor, fusion complete.

The air pressure in the entire Seventh Dorm seemed to plummet.

Xiao Wu instinctively shrank back, the suppressive sensation originating from beast bloodlines washing over her again and making every hair on her body stand on end.

Wang Sheng and the others barely dared to breathe. Their boss before them no longer seemed like a person, but a mountain.

A voice of metallic authority emerged from beneath the armor's mask. "Tang San, you've indeed improved quite a bit, but unfortunately, in front of me, you're still not good enough! This little toy still can't break my defense!"