Smack!
Another slap!
"Blue Silver Entanglement? More like Blue Silver Entanglement!"
"I'll entangle your ancestors for eighteen generations!"
Smack, smack, smack!
The slaps kept coming!
Watching Tang San get brutalized, Grandmaster sighed inwardly.
Tang San's first Soul Skill was called Blue Silver Entanglement.
It wasn't Blue Silver Poison Thorn, Blue Silver Strangulation, or even Blue Silver Killer Vine!
It was just plain old Entanglement!
The thirty-year-old Solitary Bamboo Soul Ring had given his Blue Silver Grass only one trait: it made the Blue Silver vines a tiny bit more resilient.
Other than that, it had no offensive power and no additional effects.
It was like a three-year-old wrapping his arms around an adult's leg with all his might.
The adult might find it annoying and inconvenient, but it wouldn't hurt.
"No... impossible..."
The slaps left Tang San dizzy and disoriented. He desperately urged his Soul Power, trying to produce more Blue Silver Grass, but it was no use.
Cold sweat ran down his temple and dripped into his eyes, stinging painfully.
After slapping him for a while, the tall man seemed to get tired and simply lowered his hand.
"Get moving! I'm only here to rob you, not kill you!"
"Hand over everything valuable, and I'll spare your lives!"
Spare our lives!!!
I'm a disciple of the Tang Sect! How could I ever have suffered such humiliation?
That's right, I still have Hidden Weapons!
Tang San clenched his teeth and reached for his waist with his left hand.
But then he froze again.
It was over. He'd used up his Sleeve Arrows in the Soul Hunting Forest while fighting the Mandala Snake!
While Tang San racked his brain for a way out, the tall man had already lost patience.
Crack.
Tang San's only uninjured arm was twisted out of shape.
The crisp snap of breaking bone rang out across the night road.
"Ahhh!" Tang San let out a pig-like squeal.
"You don't know when to quit." The tall man spat, bent down, and yanked the money pouch from Tang San's waist. He weighed it in his hand, then casually tossed it to the companion behind him.
"Teacher... Teacher, save me..."
Tang San lay face-down in the mud, his mouth full of dirt. His left arm dangled at an unnatural angle, and bloody froth bubbled at the corner of his mouth.
Yu Xiaogang's face was deathly pale. He could barely save himself, and Tang San was still dragging him into this?
You ungrateful brat! Don't you know your teacher is poisoned and badly injured, with not a trace of Soul Power left to use?
"Oh, I almost forgot about you." The tall man stepped forward, fixed his eyes on his target, and snatched away the Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night. "Hand it over!"
Yu Xiaogang could only watch as his Soul Tool was stolen. He begged desperately, "You can't take that!"
"It's my life savings! My research! My manuscripts!"
But the tall man ignored him. This was the main target of the mission.
If he forgot after being reminded two or three times, he'd never be able to show his face again!
"And you lot, search them and take all their valuables!"
"The boss says, leave no feather on a passing goose, no bark on a tree you pass!"
The bandits were eager to get started. "Yes, boss!"
After a while, the night wind swept in from the roadside woods, bringing a chill with it.
Tang San and Yu Xiaogang stood by the road, wearing nothing but their underwear.
The bandits had long since vanished into the distance in their carriage.
The half-naked master and disciple stood in the middle of a deserted country road, staring at each other.
"Teacher..." Tang San said blankly. "What do we do now?"
Yu Xiaogang stayed silent for a dozen breaths.
"Run."
"Run?"
"Run back to Notting City."
Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth and threw caution to the wind. "There are still three hours until dawn!"
"If we're lucky, we can get back to the academy before sunrise, and not too many people will see us!"
The master and disciple exchanged a glance, took a deep breath in unison, and took off toward Notting City on their bare legs.
The night wind swept across their exposed skin, cold and clammy, like countless invisible hands groping them all over.
Tang San had never suffered such humiliation in his life.
No—in either of his lives.
But the worst was yet to come.
"Ahhh! Perverts!"
A scream rang out from a nearby window.
"There are perverts! Two exhibitionists running down the road!"
The screams roused half of Notting City. Lights came on everywhere.
Countless people opened their windows, some just to see who it was, others to throw rotten vegetables.
The two exchanged a glance, gritted their teeth, covered their faces with their hands, and kept running!
Yu Xiaogang was all right, but Tang San couldn't manage.
Both his arms were broken, and he had only one good leg, so he could barely stumble forward.
Worst of all, with no hands to cover his face, it was exposed for everyone to see!
The crowd erupted in a storm of chatter!
"Oh my god, I know that kid! Isn't he Tang San, the one who lost a bet to Ye Hua a couple of days ago?"
"Tsk, tsk, tsk! Who would've thought he had a thing for running around naked!"
"Well, he does have Innate Full Soul Power. You'd better be careful, or he might come after you when he grows up."
"Come after me? He'd better worry about himself first. What academy would keep a student who likes running around naked in the middle of the night?"
Recognized by the crowd, Tang San's face turned red, then green, but all he could do was run for his life!
At last, the two made it back to the academy and into Yu Xiaogang's office.
The door slammed shut behind them.
Yu Xiaogang dug out a few old clothes and draped them over himself and Tang San.
Then he slumped into his office chair, his eyes vacant.
His Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlit Night,
His life savings,
His research manuscripts, the work of decades,
All gone...
Tang San slumped in another chair. Every bone in his body that could be broken was broken, and the only part of him that could still move was his eyeballs.
Just as they'd entered the office, he'd tripped and broken his only good leg as well.
His Soul Ring was gone, his Hidden Weapons were gone, his money was gone, his clothes were gone. Even the last shred of his dignity had been stripped away.
The two sat there without a word.
After a long silence,
someone finally broke down.
"Waaah!!!"
They burst into loud sobs!
Their cries shook the heavens and startled Director Su, who thought the academy was haunted.
He followed the sound to Grandmaster's office and pushed the door open. Seeing the two embracing and weeping in old clothes, with much of their skin still exposed and touching, he fell silent.
"You two..."
Yu Xiaogang looked up, his face turning bright red. "N-no! Director! It's not what you—"
"I know, I know, I know!" Director Su covered his face. "I'm leaving right now. I won't disturb you!"
Then, at nearly the fastest speed of his life—
He turned! He bolted! He fled!
He moved so hastily that he accidentally slammed into the office doorframe, leaving a huge bump on his head.
Yu Xiaogang was left standing there in his old clothes, stunned in the chilly night air...
Meanwhile, in a small villa in Notting City,
Wang Sheng and several older work-study students took off their black face coverings. They all let out long breaths, excitement still shining on their faces.
"Hahahaha! I can't take it anymore!"
"Brother Ye Hua, you... you should've seen Tang San's face! Hahaha!"
Ye Hua sighed helplessly. "Wang Sheng, you've been laughing for three minutes. Maybe it's time to talk business?"
"Did you get what I asked you to take?"
Before you continue