Tang San's Mental Breakdown

A four-hundred-year Mandala Snake!

It slithered out from between two ancient trees!

Its dark green scales glinted with a cold sheen in the twilight, while the icy vertical pupils in its triangular head locked firmly onto Tang San and Yu Xiaogang.

Its forked tongue flicked in and out with a hissing sound.

Cold sweat instantly beaded on Yu Xiaogang's forehead.

Four hundred years was already beyond his capabilities, especially with night approaching!

"Xiao San, get ready!" Yu Xiaogang tossed out a face mask and formed seals with both hands. "Heaven-Shattering Earth-Splitting Luo Sanpao!"

Luo Sanpao turned around, aiming his fat backside at the Mandala Snake as his belly swelled—

"Run."

Ye Hua grabbed Xiao Wu and took off at a dead sprint, moving so fast that she was nearly dragged off her feet.

She staggered after him and was about to ask why when an earth-shaking muffled boom suddenly sounded behind them.

Among the trees several hundred meters away, a shit-yellow mushroom cloud slowly rose into the air.

Even from so far away, the smell faintly drifted over, like filthy socks that had gone unwashed for three hundred years, boiled in rancid water, then mixed with rotten eggs fermented for half a year.

"Hold your breath and keep running!"

Ye Hua decisively led Xiao Wu another two li away. Only after making sure the stench could no longer reach them did he breathe freely again.

"Brother," Xiao Wu said, still trembling from surviving the disaster, "how did you know...?"

"I guessed," Ye Hua replied without changing expression.

Seeing his utterly calm face, Xiao Wu knew it was inconvenient for Ye Hua to explain, so she did not press him.

"But wouldn't it have been enough for us to put on masks?"

"What if Tang San and the others ran off and vanished? Wouldn't your plan go down the drain?"

Ye Hua answered without hesitation, "We still had to run!"

"Xiao Wu, perhaps you don't know this, but the reason we can smell things is because objects release something called molecules, which spread through the air."

"And when those molecules enter our noses and are perceived by us, that's how we identify scents—like the smell of meat, the fragrance of roses, and Xiao Wu's body scent."

Xiao Wu's face immediately flushed red. "Brother, you-you-you!"

Ye Hua tilted his head. "What? You don't want to accept my praise?"

"My Xiao Wu smells sweet all over. No arguments allowed!"

"And if I open my mouth and smell your body scent, isn't that basically the same as eating you?"

Seeing Ye Hua become increasingly bold, Xiao Wu hurriedly covered his mouth.

"Stop, stop, stop! If you keep talking... keep talking, I'm going to get angry!"

"Fine," Ye Hua said agreeably. "Then I'll continue with the previous topic."

"The reason we can smell farts is because farts also release molecules."

"If we open our mouths and swallow those molecules into our stomachs, that's called eating farts."

"If you open your mouth while using the toilet..."

Xiao Wu's eyes widened.

But Ye Hua abruptly changed the subject.

"It's fine. What normal person opens their mouth for no reason while using the toilet?"

Xiao Wu breathed a sigh of relief.

"But molecules can still stick to your clothes. Just like Gangzi used to pickle stinky tofu—the whole place would reek..."

"Ye Hua!!!!!"

Seeing Xiao Wu leap onto him and wildly pound his chest with her fists, Ye Hua simply wrapped his arms around her.

Xiao Wu instantly stiffened, feeling the ambiguous touch against her Liquid Stockings and lower back.

Just as she did not know what to do, Ye Hua suddenly leaned in and took a deep sniff at her chest.

"Mmm, it hasn't been contaminated by other molecules. It's still pure body scent!"

Xiao Wu bristled.

"Alright, alright, my mistake. I'll treat you to a carrot feast when we get back."

"Now we still need to check on Tang San. We won't take his life, but he should at least learn a lesson."

"He needs to understand that my Xiao Wu isn't someone anyone can covet, and that I, Ye Hua, am not someone easy to bully!"

Xiao Wu nodded. "Brother, your original plan was to keep Tang San from obtaining a Soul Ring, but now it seems..."

"Forget obtaining a Soul Ring. He'll be lucky if he doesn't lose his life!"

"Then let's go back and take a look." Ye Hua shrugged, looking righteous. "Tang San is our classmate, after all. Even if he gets killed by the snake, we can't just leave his corpse out in the wilderness, can we?"

Only after that shit-yellow mushroom cloud had completely dispersed did Ye Hua lead Xiao Wu back at an unhurried pace.

The clearing in the forest was a complete mess.

Luo Sanpao lay sprawled beside Yu Xiaogang's feet, his tongue lolling out. He took in more air than he exhaled, his fat body rising and falling weakly.

Yu Xiaogang leaned against a tree trunk, his face green and his lips purple.

The Mandala Snake's poisonous mist had struck without warning, leaving him no time to deal with it.

The poison had seeped into his blood through his respiratory tract, and half his body had gone numb.

In the middle of the clearing.

Tang San knelt on one knee, gripping a dagger in his left hand and gasping for breath.

The bandages on his right arm had come undone, and the splint had shifted to one side. Piercing pain shot from the broken bone as blood ran down his sleeve.

Yet when Xiao Wu saw Tang San gasping for air, her first reaction was not that he was getting what he deserved, but sympathy written all over her face!

Luo Sanpao's fart had not fully dispersed yet, and after such an intense battle, he had no choice but to gulp down air. Did that mean...

The Mandala Snake was coiled five meters in front of him. Several white marks from dagger slashes had appeared on its dark green scales, and blood spurted from its mouth.

That was the only effective injury Tang San had inflicted: he had fired a Sleeve Arrow into the snake's mouth, piercing its upper jaw.

Tang San clenched his teeth. His Sleeve Arrow was fitted with barbs and could make it bleed profusely. As long as he stalled for a few minutes, this snake's Soul Ring would be his!

On the surface, his face was deathly pale and his breathing was ragged, as though he was about to die in the snake's jaws.

In reality, the Mysterious Heaven Skill's recovery ability was incredibly strong. He could recover while fighting and stall for half an hour without a problem!

Just as Tang San was preparing to drag the Mandala Snake to death...

A dark golden flash swept past his side!

The Coiling Dragon Staff swept through the air, and the Five-Clawed Golden Dragon pattern on its shaft suddenly lit up in the twilight!

The dragon raised its head and swung its tail. Beneath the disguise of Thousand Faces, a yellow Soul Ring burst into bloom around the staff!

Fire Dragon's Roar!!!

True dragon flames erupted from the end of the staff, transforming into a blazing dragon-shaped phantom. Its maw, formed from condensed fire, opened wide and viciously bit down on the Mandala Snake's vital point!

The snake scales exploded amid the flames with a crackling sound like popping beans.

The Mandala Snake let out a shrill hiss, its body twisting frantically as it tried to break free, but it was merely a dying struggle.

The power of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring!

The suppression of pure dragon might!

Four hundred years against a thousand, a wild snake against a true dragon—the gap was not one of age, but of level!

The Mandala Snake's struggles grew weaker and weaker beneath the dragon's might. Its body gradually slackened, until it finally collapsed limply to the ground without moving.

A yellow Soul Ring floated up.

Ye Hua withdrew his staff.

From beginning to end, it had been clean and decisive—a single strike killed it.

The forest fell so silent that only Tang San's labored breathing remained.

Tang San slumped onto the ground, the hand holding his dagger suspended in midair as his entire body froze.

His pupils shrank to pinpoints, his lips trembled, and his face was filled with incredulous shock.

Ye Hua!

It was Ye Hua again!

Why was it him again?!

If I had just held on a little longer, that Soul Ring would have been mine! Mine!

Damn it, you really deserve to die!!!

Tang San's eyes turned vicious as he suddenly seized his dagger and charged forward!

"Ye Hua! I want you dead!"