The Useless Tang San

The next day.

Behind Nuoding Academy, in the work-study students' dormitory area.

Lin Yuan woke to a racket. Outside his window, people shouted, laughed, and slapped tables.

He pushed open the door of Dorm Seven.

Seven or eight people stood in the courtyard. At their head was a boy of twelve or thirteen in a brocade robe, chin slightly raised, his eyes full of an inborn sense of superiority. Several similarly dressed students stood behind him with folded arms and mocking smiles.

Xiao Chenyu.

He was the son of Nuoding City's lord, a sixth-year student with a wolf Martial Soul, and the leader of the academy's noble students. He had thrown his weight around Nuoding Academy for six years, and no one dared cross him. Though he had only a Ten-Year Soul Ring, his family background and age were enough to make work-study students take a detour whenever they saw him.

His lackeys had staff, swallow, and snake Martial Souls, each with a Ten-Year Soul Ring. They followed Xiao Chenyu around bullying work-study students and knew the routine by heart.

"You're Lin Yuan?" Xiao Chenyu looked him up and down. "I heard you had your Martial Soul Awakening. Some kind of Summoning Type?"

Lin Yuan leaned against the doorframe.

"What do you want?"

"Nothing serious," Xiao Chenyu said with a smile. "I just heard you work-study students have been getting pretty arrogant lately. I came to see what you're capable of."

A student carrying a staff stepped forward from behind him.

"Liu Long. Staff Martial Soul. Let's have a match."

Wang Sheng ran out of the dormitory next door and stood in front of Lin Yuan.

"Xiao Chenyu, don't push it!"

"Push it?" Xiao Chenyu laughed. "It's an academy sparring match. We stop before anyone gets hurt. What, are the work-study students even afraid of that?"

Lin Yuan put a hand on Wang Sheng's shoulder.

"It's fine."

He walked to the middle of the courtyard. Liu Long had already released his Martial Soul. He gripped a wooden staff, and a white Soul Ring lit up.

"First Soul Skill—"

Liu Long had barely opened his mouth when Lin Yuan appeared in front of him.

Lin Yuan swung his right hand.

No Martial Soul. No Soul Skill. Just raw strength in a backhanded slap.

Smack.

Liu Long flew across the courtyard and struck the wall. He slid down it, while his staff fell to the ground and rolled twice.

The courtyard went quiet.

Xiao Chenyu's smile froze.

Lin Yuan lowered his hand and looked at Xiao Chenyu.

"Anyone else?"

Xiao Chenyu's expression changed. He released his Martial Soul, and the phantom of a gray wolf appeared behind him. A white Soul Ring lit up. His muscles swelled, his eyes turned pale green, and claws sprang from his fingers.

"I'll do it."

He lunged.

Lin Yuan did not dodge. He spread the fingers of his right hand, and dark gold patterns flashed across his palm.

Smack.

A slap struck Xiao Chenyu across the face.

Xiao Chenyu spun through the air and hit the ground, his left cheek swollen half an inch high. His gray wolf Martial Soul dispersed outright. The white Soul Ring flickered twice and went dark.

Silence.

The lackeys looked at one another. One stepped back. Another dropped his weapon.

Lin Yuan looked down at Xiao Chenyu.

"From now on, stay out of the work-study students' business."

Xiao Chenyu lay sprawled on the ground. His mouth opened, but not a word came out.

In the distance, behind a large tree.

Yu Xiaogang stood there, with Tang San beside him.

A Yellow Soul Ring slowly revolved beneath Tang San's feet. It was his First Soul Ring, the Mandala Snake's Soul Ring, which he had absorbed in the Soul Hunting Forest.

Yu Xiaogang's gaze settled on Lin Yuan, and his brow furrowed slightly.

"Xiao San."

"Teacher."

"Go test him."

Tang San was silent for a moment.

"All right."

He walked into the courtyard.

Lin Yuan turned. They stood three paces apart, facing each other.

Tang San was half a head shorter, but his stance was steady. Blue Silver Grass appeared in his palm, its leaves deep purple. A Yellow Soul Ring lit up beneath his feet, shining far brighter than an ordinary Hundred-Year Soul Ring.

"Tang San. Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Level eleven, one-ring Battle Soul Master."

Lin Yuan looked him in the eye.

"Lin Yuan. Guga Martial Soul. Level twelve, one-ring Battle Soul Master."

Tang San's pupils contracted slightly. Level twelve? His Soul Power was a level higher than mine.

"Please."

"Please."

Tang San moved first.

Blue Silver Grass shot from his palm and became dozens of vines that snaked along the ground toward Lin Yuan's ankles. They moved with astonishing speed, covering the ground within three meters of Lin Yuan in the blink of an eye.

"First Soul Skill: Entanglement!"

Lin Yuan did not move.

A dark gold light flashed in front of him.

Dark Gold Guga leaped out.

She stood beside Lin Yuan's feet and tilted her head at the Blue Silver Grass surging toward her from every direction. Then she raised her right paw.

She gave it a light swipe.

Five dark gold claw marks burst outward in a fan. Before them, the Blue Silver Grass was like paper, torn to shreds that fluttered through the air. The vines' paralyzing effect never triggered; the leaves had been severed before they could touch Dark Gold Guga.

Tang San watched the scraps of Blue Silver Grass fly through the air, his expression changing.

What terrifying attack power. I couldn't even see the path of that swipe. The Blue Silver Grass was shredded before it reached the claws.

Instead of retreating, he advanced, using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track. His figure wavered as he circled toward Lin Yuan from the side. He flipped his right hand, releasing the Sleeve Arrow's mechanism. Three steel needles shot straight toward Lin Yuan's shoulder.

Dark Gold Guga turned.

The needles struck her.

Clink, clink, clink.

Three sharp chimes rang out, and the needles bounced to the ground. Not even a white mark appeared on Dark Gold Guga's dark gold fur.

She looked down at the needles on the ground.

"...Tickles, guga."

Tang San's pupils contracted a second time.

Hidden Weapons couldn't pierce it. Even steel needles couldn't get through that dark gold fur.

He took a deep breath. With a turn of his left hand, he caught three Bone-Piercing Nails between his fingers. They were the strongest Hidden Weapons he had, made specifically to break through hardened defenses. He launched Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track again, flashed to Dark Gold Guga's side, and fired the three Bone-Piercing Nails in a triangular formation at the back of her neck—the place where her fur was thinnest.

Clink, clink, clink.

Three sharp chimes rang out. The Bone-Piercing Nails bounced to the ground. Not a single hair had fallen from the back of Dark Gold Guga's neck.

She turned, her dark gold eyes on Tang San.

"...Anything else, guga?"

Tang San took a step back, his palms slick with sweat.

He was about to attack again—

"Enough."

Yu Xiaogang emerged from behind the tree. His gaze fell on Dark Gold Guga, and he stopped short.

"A second one?!"

He stared at Lin Yuan, his face as though he had seen something impossible.

"You summoned her after obtaining your Soul Ring? How is that possible?"

Dark Gold Guga tilted her head back and looked at him with dark gold eyes.

"...Who are you, guga?"

Yu Xiaogang did not answer. He stared at Lin Yuan for three seconds, then turned away, walking much faster than he had on the way in.

"Tang San, come." His voice sounded strained.

Tang San withdrew his Blue Silver Grass, glanced at Lin Yuan, and followed. After a few steps, he lowered his voice. "Teacher, what exactly is that little dark gold creature?"

Yu Xiaogang did not look back. "I don't know either."

Tang San faltered for a step. Then he kept walking and asked no more.

The two figures, one tall and one short, disappeared into the trees.

After a few steps, Tang San looked back at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan did not notice. He was looking down at the two Gugas poking each other's cheeks.

In the courtyard, Wang Sheng was the first to rush forward. He stared wide-eyed at Lin Yuan, then at Xiao Chenyu and Liu Long lying on the ground. His mouth opened and closed, then opened again.

"Boss, you... you just beat Tang San too?"

"Yeah."

"But he's Yu Xiaogang's disciple! He has a Hundred-Year Soul Ring!"

"Yeah."

Wang Sheng looked at Lin Yuan as if he were a monster. Then he grinned and laughed loudly.

The other work-study students ran out of the dormitory and gathered in the courtyard. Someone patted Liu Long's face to make sure he was still alive. Someone else kicked Xiao Chenyu in the backside, then quickly ducked behind Wang Sheng with a snicker.

"We won't have to go out of our way to avoid them anymore." Wang Sheng planted his hands on his hips and called out to the noble students sprawled across the courtyard, his voice ringing strong and clear. "See that? We're from Dorm Seven!"

The other work-study students joined in the uproar. Some whistled, and others slapped tables.

Wang Sheng looked at Lin Yuan.

Lin Yuan frowned. "Don't start trouble."

Wang Sheng shrank back a little and gave a sheepish grin. Two lackeys helped Xiao Chenyu to his feet, and he slunk away without daring to look back.