Three Tang Sans—Fight First, Talk Later

When Xu Zhou arrived at Seventh Dormitory, a Tang San happened to fly out through the door.

The other boy rolled twice across the ground, the iron hammer on his back smashing into the corner of the wall with a dull thud.

Xu Zhou lowered his head for a look.

"Clear Sky Hammer?"

"Fake."

The teacher leading him over was unsurprised.

"Rented from the academy blacksmith shop. Two copper soul coins a day. If it breaks, you pay the full price."

The Tang San on the ground struggled to his feet. He first wiped the dust off the iron hammer before looking back toward the dormitory.

"Just you wait!"

"Sooner or later, I'll prove that I'm the real one!"

A wooden stick flew out from inside the dormitory.

He turned and ran.

After Xu Zhou entered, he finally understood why the teacher had said that only three Tang Sans remained in Seventh Dormitory.

Three identical black-haired boys stood in the center of the room.

They were the same height.

They wore the same clothes.

Even their faces looked as though they had been carved from the same mold.

One of them held Blue Silver Grass in his hands, his expression calm.

Another carried an iron hammer on his back, his gaze deep.

The last held nothing at all, yet his expression was the ugliest.

Xiao Wu sat on the edge of a bed, a wooden stick dangling from her hand.

Wang Sheng squatted in the corner, clutching his forehead. A ledger lay before him, already filled with records of damaged tables, chairs, and benches.

"Another one."

Xiao Wu looked up at Xu Zhou.

"Are you Tang San too?"

"My name is Xu Zhou."

"Got proof?"

Xu Zhou handed over his auditing badge.

Xiao Wu glanced at it.

His name was on the front.

A cage was on the back.

"Academy research material?"

"A research subject."

"There's clearly a cage drawn on the badge."

"The person who drew the cage didn't understand art."

Wang Sheng hurriedly leaned over to explain.

"He really isn't Tang San. He's special material that Grandmaster Yu just brought back. Apparently, he has no Soul Power, so he normally shouldn't be dangerous."

The Black Ancient Book trembled faintly.

[Wang Sheng believes that the host cannot cultivate.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

A warm current entered his body, and Xu Zhou's gaze toward Wang Sheng immediately became much friendlier.

Seventh Dormitory might have been a little chaotic, but the people inside spoke so pleasantly.

"Since you're not Tang San, perfect."

Xiao Wu pointed her wooden stick at the three boys.

"Help me figure out which one is real."

The Tang San holding Blue Silver Grass immediately stepped forward.

"Of course I'm the real one."

"Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass. Innate Full Soul Power. My father is Tang Hao, and I come from Holy Soul Village. I'll follow the control path in the future, and my first Soul Ring will be a four-hundred-and-twenty-three-year Mandrake Snake."

The Tang San carrying the hammer sneered.

"You haven't even updated your version, and you dare impersonate me?"

He raised a hand and patted the hammer handle behind his back.

"I possess Twin Martial Souls: Blue Silver Emperor and Clear Sky Hammer. In the future, I'll inherit the dual god positions of the Sea God and Asura God, and I'll establish the Tang Sect."

The real Tang San finally could not hold back any longer.

"Your hammer is rented."

"My Martial Soul just hasn't been summoned."

"The rental tag is still hanging from it."

The hammer-carrying Tang San stiffened, then silently tucked the wooden tag at his waist into his clothes.

Xiao Wu looked toward the last one.

"What about you?"

Tang San took a deep breath.

"They already said everything I was going to say."

That was the most troublesome part.

His identity, Martial Soul, experiences, and even his future Soul Ring path—any random original-novel fan at the academy could recite them all.

Proving that he was Tang San was now far harder than proving he was not Tang San.

Xu Zhou studied the three of them for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What is written on page seven of the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons Encyclopedia?"

The Tang San holding grass lit up.

"The general outline of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record!"

The hammer-carrying Tang San immediately chimed in.

"Hundred Explanations of Hidden Weapons!"

After answering, the two watched each other warily.

Their answers were different.

That meant at least one of the versions they had bought was fake.

Xu Zhou turned to the real Tang San.

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Tang San's expression darkened further.

"The one I bought was fake starting from page one."

"What about page seven?"

"It taught people how to weave straw sandals with Blue Silver Grass."

Seventh Dormitory fell silent for a moment.

Xu Zhou nodded.

"That one is real."

Xiao Wu looked confused.

"Why?"

"Because the person selling fake books was already caught, and he went to an academy teacher to get his money back."

Tang San closed his eyes.

He did not want to remember this incident.

He had spent three silver soul coins on that book.

The cover read Tang Sect Hidden Weapons Encyclopedia. The first page contained the Mysterious Heaven Skill, while the second page began teaching him how to weave straw mats. It even came with a recipe for braised rabbit at the end.

The book seller claimed it was a lost lifestyle volume from the Tang Sect.

Tang San had actually believed him for half an hour.

"That's not fair!"

The grass-holding impostor panicked.

"We just haven't experienced the things he did. That doesn't prove he's real."

The hammer-carrying impostor nodded as well.

"That's right. The most important thing about Tang San isn't his identity, but the Tang Sect's secret arts."

"Let's compare Mysterious Heaven Skill!"

"Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!"

"Then hidden weapons!"

Tang San looked at the two of them, his gaze gradually turning dangerous.

Impersonating his name was one thing.

Now they wanted to compare Tang Sect secret arts right in front of him?

"Fine."

Tang San walked to the middle of the dormitory.

"Come at me together."

The grass-holding impostor struck first. He stepped into Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, his body swaying from side to side.

His movements looked convincing enough.

The problem was that without the support of Mysterious Heaven Skill, he became dizzy himself after only three steps.

The one carrying the hammer was even more direct. He pulled out the iron hammer and charged forward.

"Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!"

Wang Sheng's face changed drastically.

"You can't use a hammer in the dormitory!"

"You'll have to pay if you smash the beds!"

Before the iron hammer could fall, Tang San had already sidestepped. His right hand seized the other boy's wrist and pulled smoothly.

Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

The hammer-carrying Tang San lost his balance and crashed directly into his companion.

The grass-holding impostor hurriedly tried to dodge, only to discover that Tang San had already blocked his retreat.

The two collided and rolled into a heap.

The iron hammer flew from his hand, heading straight for Xu Zhou.

"Move!"

Wang Sheng cried out.

In his eyes, Xu Zhou did not even have Soul Power. If that hammer struck him, the research might end ahead of schedule.

Xu Zhou did not panic.

He had been watching that hammer the entire time.

The impostor's wrist had lacked strength when he swung it, and the rental tag still hung from the handle. It was no surprise that it flew free.

The instant the hammer came flying, he took half a step to the left and kicked the wooden washbasin beside him.

The washbasin slid out.

The hammer crashed into it, sending it skidding all the way into the foot of a bed before it finally stopped.

The Black Ancient Book trembled once more.

[Multiple people in Seventh Dormitory believe that the host cannot evade the attack.]

[Judgment incorrect.]

[Cognitive Bias collected.]

His Soul Power increased a little more.

Xu Zhou lowered his head to look at the washbasin.

It seemed moving into Seventh Dormitory had been the right choice.

There were not only plenty of misunderstandings here, but plenty of danger as well.

The faster he gained Soul Power, the greater the pressure to protect himself became.

Fair enough.

Tang San had already finished the fight.

The two impostors were pinned to the floor by him. One had his wrist locked, while the other had just tried to rise when a pebble appeared behind his back.

"Still want to compare hidden weapons?"

Tang San asked.

The two shook their heads at the same time.

"No more."

"You're the real one."

But Xiao Wu stood up.

"Wait."

Tang San released the two and looked at her.

"What else is there?"

"Now that we've sorted out who's real and who's fake, it's time to choose the boss of Seventh Dormitory."

Xiao Wu flexed her wrist, and the wooden stick spun once in her palm.

"I heard the new work-study student wants to fight the boss of Seventh Dormitory."

Wang Sheng hurriedly raised his hand.

"I'm not the boss anymore."

"Then who is?"

"No one, for now."

Wang Sheng pointed at a sheet of paper on the wall.

"Seventeen Tang Sans have shown up over the past three days, and every one of them wanted to challenge me. After the sixth one, I resigned."

Boss of Seventh Dormitory sounded mighty enough.

But getting challenged every day was expensive in medicine.

Xiao Wu ignored him and merely stared at Tang San.

"Then let's have a match."

Tang San fell silent for a moment, then slowly assumed a stance.

Xiao Wu did not attack right away.

She knew Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and she knew Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon.

Tang San did not move either.

He knew Xiao Wu's grappling techniques, and he knew close-range entanglement was what she excelled at most.

The two watched each other from several paces apart.

Half the day passed, yet neither made the first move.

Wang Sheng could not help speaking up.

"How about rock-paper-scissors?"

"Shut up."

Tang San and Xiao Wu spoke at the same time.

Just then, a stalk of Blue Silver Grass crawled in through the crack in the window.

A small note was tied to one of its leaves.

Xiao Wu reached out, took it down, and read its contents aloud.

"The four-hundred-and-twenty-three-year-old Mandrake Snake has been safely relocated."

"Relevant parties, please do not copy the original plot route, and do not camp at the entrance to Soul Hunting Forest."

"Respectfully, the Soul Beast Protection Faction."

At the very bottom of the note was a drawing of a stalk of Blue Silver Grass wearing a straw hat.

The corner of Xiao Wu's mouth immediately curled upward.

Tang San, however, stared at the note without speaking for a long time.

"Do you know who sent it?"

"No."

Xiao Wu put away the note and gripped the wooden stick again.

"I just think that snake is pretty lucky."

Tang San had not even begun hunting for his first Soul Ring, yet his intended target had already fled.

Outside the window, the Blue Silver Grass trembled again and spat out an even smaller note.

Xu Zhou picked it up and glanced at it.

There was only one sentence on it.

"Bidding opens tonight for Tang San's first Soul Ring. Mandrake Snake odds: one to eighty."