Stubborn Tang San: All His Hidden Weapons Turned Against Him, and He Still Had a Long Way to Go!

Qin Yun had plenty of ways to counter Tang San's hidden weapons.

Unlocking the Fourth Period of the Periodic Table of Elements had given him access to more metallic elements.

And as his Soul Power grew,

the amount of elements he could combine had increased considerably.

Qin Yun had no need for magnets anymore.

He could use the power of elements to control the crossbow bolts Tang San fired at him.

Qin Yun lifted a fingertip. An invisible wave of Soul Power spread from his palm and touched the bolts with precision.

The bolts were made mainly of iron and cobalt, with traces of copper and zinc mixed into their shafts.

His Soul Power took hold of those metallic elements.

It was as if an unseen thread controlled them.

Less than three feet from Qin Yun's face, the bolts abruptly changed direction.

Then they shot back at Tang San faster than they had come.

Tang San's pupils contracted.

"What—?"

He dodged instinctively, pushing Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to its limit at the last possible moment.

The bolts grazed his left shoulder, missing him by a hair.

But before he could recover,

the three bolts changed direction again and locked onto him.

Tang San's expression darkened.

For the first time, he felt the absurd, crushing pressure of being chased by his own weapons.

After dodging aside, he dropped to one knee.

At the same time, he flicked several steel needles from a concealed pouch at his waist, sending them straight toward Qin Yun's vital points.

The needles made it halfway before entering the space within three feet of Qin Yun.

Their tips trembled in unison, then turned back without hesitation.

They rained down on Tang San instead.

Tang San rolled across the ground, scrambling out of the needle shower.

Four or five needles sank into the spot where he had just crouched, their ends still humming.

He pushed himself up from the ground, his chest heaving.

A few steps away, Qin Yun watched Tang San's frantic dodging with his hands behind his back.

"Once your hidden weapons leave your hands, they stop listening to you?" he said.

"The more you throw, the more you'll have chasing you."

"Aren't you just making trouble for yourself?"

Tang San did not answer.

He sprang to his feet, teeth clenched. Qin Yun's words had only stoked his refusal to give in.

His hands flashed to his waist, sleeves, and wrist guards. He hurled every hidden weapon concealed there in one burst.

Iron caltrops, darts, plum blossom needles—dozens of weapons of every size flew at once.

They formed a dense rain of hidden weapons.

He refused to believe Qin Yun could truly control every one of them.

Qin Yun merely shook his head.

"I tried to warn you, but you're stubborn!" he said.

"If you won't believe me, I'll show you what I can do!"

Qin Yun spread his Soul Power farther outward, like an invisible net covering the entire training ground.

The hidden weapons lost speed as soon as they entered its reach, then all turned around.

They became a metal storm surging back at Tang San.

Every one of his hidden weapons had turned against him.

Tang San cursed under his breath at the sight.

"Damn it!"

"How is he doing this?"

This time, footwork alone would not let Tang San dodge them.

He channeled his Soul Power. Several strands of Blue Silver Grass surged up and wove together into a dark green shield wall before him;

at the same time, his back arched slightly, and eight dark-red spider legs tore through his clothes to block the returning weapons.

Once the Eight Spider Lances emerged, his defense grew far more effective.

They knocked down or deflected most of the weapons flying back at him.

An External Soul Bone truly was unlike any other Soul Bone: easy to extend or retract, tough yet flexible.

Under the cover of the Eight Spider Lances, Tang San finally fought his way out of the returning barrage.

He braced his hands on his knees and gasped for breath.

The ordeal had clearly taken a toll.

Qin Yun had no intention of giving him time to recover.

Since Tang San had used hidden weapons, Qin Yun would show him one he had made himself.

The materials in Tang San's current weapons were far too poor.

The iron was too soft, the zinc too brittle, and the cobalt impure...

Qin Yun held out his hand. A round glow of Soul Power appeared above his palm. Within it, atoms of carbon, iron, and chromium rapidly rearranged under his control, compressed to extreme density, refined, and shaped.

In just a few breaths, a dark steel nail appeared in his hand.

Qin Yun pinched the Steel Nail between two fingers and flicked it.

This Steel Nail was nothing like the silver needles or crossbow bolts from before.

It shot straight at Tang San.

Tang San's pupils tightened. Instinctively, he crossed his Eight Spider Lances before him to block it.

The Steel Nail struck the chitinous shell of a spider leg with a dull thud.

Then everyone beside the training ground saw it clearly.

The Steel Nail had pierced straight through the foremost joint of an Eight Spider Lance and emerged from the back of its shell, trailing a thread of dark-red fluid.

"Ah—!"

Tang San grunted, his body jolting.

He dropped to one knee and clenched his teeth, refusing to cry out again.

Qin Yun stepped forward to press his advantage.

But a gray-clad figure suddenly rushed out from the sidelines and shouted,

"Stop!"

Yu Xiaogang stood between Qin Yun and Tang San, his face pale.

He glanced back at Tang San kneeling behind him. His gaze lingered on the bleeding spider leg, and a flash of pain and anxiety crossed his eyes.

Then he turned back to face Qin Yun.

"I concede on Tang San's behalf! This match ends here!"

Tang San looked up from where he knelt.

Sweat covered his usually calm, gentle face, and his eyes were full of frustration and disbelief.

"Teacher..."

He spoke softly, still wanting to argue.

"I can still—"

"Enough."

Yu Xiaogang did not turn around, but his voice grew heavier.

"You're no match for him yet. Pushing yourself will only get you hurt worse."

"How long has that spider-leg External Soul Bone been part of your body?"

"You haven't even built a solid foundation with it, and you want to wear yourself out fighting?"

Tang San's lips moved, but no words came.

He lowered his gaze, and his clenched fists slowly relaxed.

He let Yu Xiaogang put an arm around his back and help him steadily to his feet.

Qin Yun said, "Since your teacher has conceded for you, this match is over."

"If you want another sparring match, come find me anytime."

"But..."

"At your current level, you're still a long way from beating me!"

With that, he turned and walked toward the edge of the training ground.

Only then did Flender step forward. "All right, all right, stop standing around!"

"Today was supposed to be the academy's first day of classes. I should have gone over the rules with everyone, but that match ate up the time."

With his hands behind his back, he slowly swept his gaze across the group.

"That's it for this morning. Go back and get yourselves sorted."

"Gather on the training ground again tonight!"

After Flender spoke, the onlookers dispersed in small groups.

As Ning Rongrong walked away, she glanced back toward Qin Yun.

Curiosity grew in her eyes.