"Is there anything else? If not, I'm going to cultivate."
"Hmph, you cultivation maniac. Every day, all I see is you sitting on the bed cultivating. You never even find someone to chat with."
Xiao Wu put her hands on her hips, her tone carrying a hint of implication. She truly hoped Yun Tian would talk with her more. Spending every day in silence was going to suffocate her.
Who would have thought that as soon as she finished speaking, Yun Tian behind her gave no reply at all. He closed his eyes and sat cross-legged, entering a cultivation state.
"Hmph! Stupid Yun Tian!"
Xiao Wu stamped her foot, but in the end, she did not disturb him. If someone in cultivation was interrupted carelessly, it would be very easy for them to suffer a cultivation backlash.
Inside his mind.
Yun Tian watched the figure before him wield the Sky-Piercing Spear, continuously spinning it. Blossoms of spear light appeared one after another. The spear intent was restrained, yet immensely oppressive. The pressure emanating from him was like a mountain, and the Sky-Piercing Spear seemed to have fused completely with his body in that person's hands.
Cloudbreaker, Sweeping the Thousand Armies, Sky-Supporting World-Subduing.
Every thrust sealed off the skies over a vast area, scattering all obstacles with the force of one strength breaking ten thousand techniques and suppressing heaven and earth.
Bang!
As Yun Tian stood dazed, the spear tip shot straight toward him. Before he could react, his spiritual incarnation was instantly shattered, and the scenes within his mind fragmented into pieces.
"Urgh..."
Yun Tian abruptly opened his eyes, his forehead covered in cold sweat from lingering fear. Was this the true purpose of his rainbow-grade trait, the Sky-Supporting Dao Seed?
It planted the Spear Dao Origin, but for it to truly take root, sprout, and become a towering giant, Yun Tian still needed to temper himself and keep improving.
"Fortunately, with this trait's support, I won't easily suffer a cultivation backlash. If that scene just now had happened to an ordinary person, they would probably have fainted already."
Yun Tian thought to himself. The feeling was simply inexplicably terrifying.
It seemed that if he wanted to completely control and activate it, he still needed to comprehend new spear technique secrets himself.
He looked out the window. The sky had already turned dusky, and the sun was about to set. Seventh Dormitory was completely empty. It seemed everyone had gone to eat.
"I really am a little hungry. I'll go get something to eat first."
Yun Tian rubbed his stomach, stood up, and headed toward the cafeteria. But halfway there, he noticed something was wrong. Why were Gangzi and Tang San nowhere to be seen?
Soul Hunting Forest was not far from Notting Academy. Tang San had even planned to absorb a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo under Yu Xiaogang's guidance, so it should have taken even less time.
Thinking of this, Yun Tian quickened his pace toward the cafeteria slightly.
"Yun Tian!"
"Brother Tian."
Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng approached from a short distance away.
"Have you seen Tang San? He went to Soul Hunting Forest with me. Why haven't I seen him even now?"
"That's exactly it, Brother Tian. The headmaster is gathering people to search for him!"
Wang Sheng looked anxious. In Seventh Dormitory, he called Yun Tian Brother Tian and Xiao Wu Sister Xiao Wu. Whoever was stronger, he called them brother or sister. Tang San was the exception; not only did he have a filthy mouth, but his attitude was also extremely arrogant.
Yun Tian then followed the two of them to the cafeteria, which had temporarily been turned into a speaking platform.
Headmaster Yuan Hua stood above them with a solemn expression.
"Students, the new student Tang San is missing. Be sure to keep an eye out within the academy. I will also go out and search for him!"
The headmaster did not mention Soul Hunting Forest, since entry there required a permit. He planned to find Yun Tian and go together with him.
Just in case, he still held a meeting and instructed the students to pay attention within the academy. What if Tang San was merely somewhere on campus?
"Xiao Tian!"
After signaling that they could disperse, Yuan Hua spotted Yun Tian in the crowd at once. It could not be helped—his looks and temperament were simply too conspicuous among children his age.
"Tang San is missing, and so is the master. They said during the day that they were going to absorb a Solitary Bamboo, yet now it's almost dark and they still haven't returned."
"I suspect... they only said they were going to absorb a Solitary Bamboo. In reality, they still went looking for a Mandala Snake."
As he said this, Yuan Hua's expression turned ugly. He had realized that this explanation made far too much sense and completely matched Yu Xiaogang's personality.
He would not give up so easily on his first plan. Could the Mandala Snake really be that important?
"Let's go. I've also gathered several teachers, and Spirit Hall will send some people to search with us."
Yuan Hua had some connections at the Spirit Hall Branch and could find people to help.
"Yun Tian, do you need us to come too?"
"No need. You should head back to the dormitory early. I'll be back later!"
Xiao Wu and Wang Sheng nodded. Looking back with every step, they finally left the cafeteria.
Yun Tian and Headmaster Yuan Hua also hurried toward the entrance to Soul Hunting Forest.
Compared with the bustle of daytime, Soul Hunting Forest had few people around as night approached. That was normally the case, but now many soul masters stood at the entrance.
There were those in their twenties and thirties in rank. The moment Yuan Hua appeared, several people immediately gathered around him. "Headmaster, we found them—a middle-aged man and a child."
"When we found them, they were already lying deep within Soul Hunting Forest. That Mandala Snake nearly ate them."
Upon hearing this, Yuan Hua let out a fierce sigh of relief. Yu Xiaogang was one thing; he was likely just an ordinary scholar. But nothing could happen to Tang San. If word got out that a genius with Innate Full Soul Power had met with disaster, could his Notting Academy even stay open?
Yun Tian, meanwhile, wore a strange expression, because he was certain Yu Xiaogang had not been joking when he said Tang San would absorb a Ten-Year Solitary Bamboo.
Could it really have been Tang Hao who tossed over a Mandala Snake and then left? With an idol and father like that, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San could only endure it.
"It's good that they're alive. Where are they? Hurry and let me see them!"
As the two figures were carried out, their appearances became clear under the torchlight.
Their lips were purple, their faces deathly pale, and each of their arms still bore two small holes pierced through by sharp fangs. Strands of black blood remained outside the wounds.
Moreover, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San gave off a thick, fishy stench of poison. The instant that smell entered the nose, it stirred up a nauseating urge to vomit.
"This... why hasn't the poison been neutralized?"
"There's no way around it. They've been poisoned for too long. If we want to detoxify them now, we'll have to wait for the medical soul masters from the Spirit Hall Branch."
After Yuan Hua spoke with the teachers and Spirit Hall staff for a while, he turned to Yun Tian beside him. "Xiao Tian, go back first. Take my carriage. Since they've been found, you can rest easy."
Yun Tian did not refuse. After nodding, he climbed into Yuan Hua's carriage and returned all the way to Notting Academy.
He had never expected Tang San, who was skilled at using poison, to fall in a field he was so familiar with.
Come to think of it, that was how it had been in the original story too. Tang San only began displaying his true strength—his movement technique and hidden weapons—after Yu Xiaogang passed out.
But now, it was completely the opposite...
Before you continue