Mythic Guaranteed Draw! A Meditation Seal Scares Tang San Witless

Late at night, Dorm Seven.

Snores rose and fell. Wang Sheng's bare foot hung over the edge of the bed, while Xiao Wu slept soundly beneath her blanket.

Chen Xuan leaned against the headboard.

A red countdown flickered in the lower-right corner of his vision.

00:00:03.

00:00:02.

00:00:01.

Time was up.

The previously translucent system panel completely changed color at that instant.

Not the blazing red of the Flame Bow, nor the deep blue of the Water Armor Shield.

An incomparably profound dark gold spread from the panel's edges, instantly filling his entire field of vision.

The system notification exploded in his mind.

[Warning! Detected intense hostility from nemesis Tang San!]

[Current hostility value has exceeded the critical threshold!]

[Mythic guaranteed draw activated.]

[Draw now?]

Chen Xuan rubbed his palms together.

"Draw."

A dark-gold roulette wheel appeared. There was no flashy spinning process; the pointer locked directly onto the topmost slot.

The light receded.

A dark-gold card appeared out of thin air in Chen Xuan's hand.

The card was neither metal nor wood. There was no writing on it, only the image of an intricate hand seal.

[Congratulations, Host, for obtaining: Mythic Skill—Meditation Seal.]

[Description: A rule-based skill that transcends the conventional power system of the Douluo Continent. Form a hand seal to forcibly halt time within the casting range. Ignores level differences and soul power defenses.]

[Current proficiency: Beginner's Insight (Time stop duration: 0.5 seconds).]

[Note: This skill consumes an enormous amount of energy. Use with caution.]

Chen Xuan held the card, his breathing stopping for half a beat.

Time stop.

Ignoring levels.

What did that mean?

No matter whether Douluo Continent soul skills focused on offense or control, they were fundamentally clashes of soul power. Those with greater soul power could easily crush those with less.

But the Meditation Seal was different.

This was a rule.

It did not care about reason or the level of one's soul power. So long as they were within its range, time was his to command.

Even if a level ninety-nine peerless Titled Douluo stood before him, as long as he formed the seal, the other party would have to obediently stand there for 0.5 seconds.

In a life-and-death battle, 0.5 seconds was enough for the Wind Eagle Crossbow to empty its magazine, and enough for the Flame Bow to blast someone's head into mush.

This was no longer a soul skill.

Yu Xiaogang's theories based on soul power evolution did not amount to a fart before this card.

The card turned into a streak of golden light and burrowed into his brow.

A set of incredibly complex exertion methods and hand seals appeared in Chen Xuan's mind.

He raised his head and looked around.

Moonlight slipped through the crack in the window, casting a beam through the air. Dust floated up and down within it.

The rustling of wind through the leaves outside continued without end.

Tang San sat cross-legged on the neighboring bed, his Mysterious Heaven Technique circulating steadily, his breathing long and even.

Chen Xuan raised both hands.

His fingers interlocked, his thumbs pressed together.

A third of his innate rank-nine soul power was instantly drained.

Meditation Seal.

He silently recited it in his heart.

Buzz.

There was no earth-shaking sound, nor any blinding display of light.

An extraordinarily strange ripple spread from Chen Xuan at once, engulfing all of Dorm Seven.

Time stopped.

The dust within that beam of moonlight froze rigidly in midair, without even the slightest rise or fall.

The sound of wind outside abruptly vanished.

Wang Sheng's wide-open mouth froze in place, his snore caught in his throat.

Everything became a motionless painting.

Tang San's senses far surpassed those of ordinary people.

The Mysterious Heaven Technique made him exceptionally sensitive to changes in the surrounding airflow.

At the instant before that strange ripple descended, he suddenly woke.

Danger!

Tang San instinctively tried to circulate his inner power, his right hand reaching for Twenty-Four Bridges Under Moonlight at his waist.

But he could not move.

Not only could he not move his limbs, even the inner power of the Mysterious Heaven Technique was stuck fast within his meridians, unable to circulate in the slightest.

He could not even blink.

His heart stopped beating, and his blood stopped flowing.

Tang San lay stiff on the bed as stormy waves surged through his mind.

What kind of soul skill was this?

A control-type skill?

Impossible! Even Blue Silver Grass's Binding left room to break free. This kind of power, which could completely freeze even one's thoughts and inner power, did not belong to any soul skill he knew of.

Could a Titled Douluo-level powerhouse have passed through Nuoding Academy and released their pressure?

Tang San's back was drenched in cold sweat, though he could not even perform the physiological act of sweating right now.

He wanted to open his eyes, but his eyelids weighed a thousand tons.

He wanted to breathe, but his lungs could not expand.

This was absolute suppression.

Tang San roared inwardly, Mysterious Heaven Technique! Move!

It was useless.

The inner power in his meridians had completely solidified.

Tang San felt fear unlike anything he had ever known. In his previous life, when he had jumped from Ghost's Sorrow, he had felt only relief and determination. But now, faced with this unknown and irresistible force, he panicked.

0.5 seconds.

Incredibly brief, yet incredibly long.

The ripple dissipated.

"Hah—"

Tang San sharply sucked in a huge breath, his chest heaving violently.

His heart began pounding madly again, blood rushing to his head and making his eardrums buzz.

He tore off the blanket in one motion. Three Bone-Piercing Nails were already in his right hand as he pressed himself hard against the wall, every muscle taut while he vigilantly swept his gaze around.

The wind outside began to sound again.

Wang Sheng's snores resumed their previous rhythm.

The dust in midair continued drifting.

Nothing had changed.

Tang San stared fixedly out the window, trying to find the possible Titled Douluo.

There was no lingering aura whatsoever.

He turned his head and looked at the others in Dorm Seven.

Everyone was asleep.

Chen Xuan lay on his side on the lower bunk in the farthest corner, his blanket pulled over his head. His breathing was steady, as though he were sleeping like the dead.

Tang San slowly lowered the Bone-Piercing Nails in his hand.

Too terrifying.

That fleeting sensation of helplessness had been more despairing than being pursued by Tang Sect elders in his previous life.

The waters of the Douluo Continent ran far deeper than he had imagined.

Could the theories Yu Xiaogang had taught him truly explain that kind of power?

Tang San sat cross-legged again, but no matter what he did, he could not calm himself enough to circulate the Mysterious Heaven Technique.

Beneath the blanket, Chen Xuan listened to Tang San's heavy breathing and curled his lips slightly.

The Meditation Seal's effects were even more tyrannical than he had expected.

Tang San was probably scared out of his wits by now.

Still, the consumption was indeed enormous. Just that 0.5 seconds had nearly drained him dry.

Unless it was a critical moment, he could not use this move casually in the future.

Chen Xuan turned over and fell soundly asleep.

The next morning.

Nuoding Academy officially began its holiday.

The work-study students packed their bundles and left the academy in twos and threes.

Carrying the tattered cloth bag he had arrived with, Chen Xuan slowly ambled to the academy gates.

Old Jack was already waiting there.

The old man had changed into clean clothes. Leaning on his cane, he stretched his neck to peer inside.

"Xuanzi! Over here!" Old Jack waved.

Chen Xuan walked over.

"You've grown taller, and stronger too." Old Jack patted Chen Xuan's shoulder, his face full of gratification. "You didn't cause any trouble at the academy, did you?"

"No. I slept through class every day. I was very well-behaved," Chen Xuan casually replied.

"That's good, that's good."

As the two spoke, Tang San walked out through the gates.

He carried a bundle on his back, his face slightly pale and faint dark circles beneath his eyes. The fright from those 0.5 seconds had kept him awake for the rest of the night.

"Grandpa Jack." Tang San stepped forward to greet him.

"Little San's out too." Old Jack smiled happily. "Come on, let's head back to Saint Soul Village."

The three followed the main road out of the city.

Old Jack walked in front, chattering on about the village's harvest.

Chen Xuan and Tang San walked side by side behind him.

Neither spoke, and the atmosphere was somewhat strange.

Tang San's gaze swept over Chen Xuan without leaving a trace.

Yesterday in the hall, Chen Xuan had publicly left Yu Xiaogang unable to save face. He had even said, "Your teacher only got lucky by betting on a genius like you."

Those words had struck precisely at Tang San's bottom line.

Coupled with that unexplained, terrifying stillness last night.

The suspicion in Tang San's heart had swelled to its limit.

There was something strange about Chen Xuan in every respect.

He had innate rank-nine soul power, yet his martial soul was an ordinary stone.

He could use a stone to shatter hidden weapons in midair.

He dared question a teacher's theories in front of the entire academy.

Was a man like that really just a brute who forged iron?

Tang San finally could not hold it in any longer.

"Chen Xuan, you made Teacher look very bad in the hall yesterday."

Without turning his head, Chen Xuan casually plucked a foxtail grass stem from the roadside.

"Embarrassed? I only asked a question. He couldn't answer it, and that's my fault?"

"Teacher's theories aren't meant to explain extreme exceptions like you." Tang San's voice was somewhat cold. "Yours is a mutated martial soul. It has no universal reference value."

Chen Xuan sneered.

"Universal reference value? Tang San, does the hammer in your left hand have universal reference value?"

Tang San abruptly stopped.

His pupils suddenly contracted.

Tang San's left hand instinctively clenched, and killing intent completely boiled over at that moment.

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Tang San suppressed his voice.

"Nonsense?" Chen Xuan turned around, twirling the foxtail grass in his hand. "On the first day of school, Yu Xiaogang called you into the corridor. You two spoke pretty loudly—I could hear you from the training ground."

"Twin martial souls, the third in a hundred years. That really is a top-tier setup."

Chen Xuan tossed the foxtail grass to the ground and crushed it beneath his foot.

"Using a top-tier trump card like that to prove the theory that a 'useless martial soul can rise against the odds'—don't you find that a little ridiculous?"

Tang San's breathing grew heavy.

The secret he was so proud of, the theory his teacher was so proud of, had become a complete joke in Chen Xuan's mouth.

Tang San let his right hand hang at his side, his thumb lightly rubbing the edge of his belt.

Twenty-Four Bridges Under Moonlight held the silent sleeve arrows he had rushed to make over the past few months.

The mechanisms were already cocked.

With the slightest movement of his fingers, three sleeve arrows coated in paralytic poison would shoot out instantly. At Chen Xuan's current distance, there was no way he could dodge.

As long as he took Chen Xuan down and forced him to reveal what secret he was hiding, everything would become clear.

His teacher's theory could not be questioned.

His trump card could not be exposed.

Tang San slowed his pace by half a beat, falling half a body length behind Chen Xuan.

His fingers had already settled on the mechanism's trigger.

Chen Xuan walked ahead.

He did not turn around.

But on the system panel in the lower-right corner of his vision, a red light was flashing wildly.

[Warning! Archenemy Tang San's killing intent has skyrocketed!]

[High-risk weapon lock detected!]

Chen Xuan curled his lips.

Couldn't hold back anymore?

Want to test me by making a move?

Chen Xuan stopped and turned around.

Tang San's fingers suddenly tightened, and the mechanism gave off an extremely faint click.

Yet Chen Xuan acted as if he had noticed nothing, reaching into his pocket and rummaging around.

He pulled out a smooth pebble.

"Tang San." Chen Xuan tossed the pebble into the air, then caught it.

Tang San stared at the stone, his movements stiff.

"Your teacher didn't answer my question in the hall yesterday." Chen Xuan looked into Tang San's eyes, his voice quiet but just loud enough for the two of them to hear.

"I plan to take this stone back to the village and give it to my father as a whetstone."

Chen Xuan stepped forward, closing in on Tang San, and lowered his voice.

"Tell me, is that its path of evolution?"

Tang San's finger on the mechanism trigger froze rigidly in place.