Wanted to Stand Up for Xiao Wu? Tang San Was Humiliated on the Spot!

Outside Dorm Seven, the work-study dormitory at Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy.

Tang San stood at a corner of the corridor beyond the door. His right hand had drifted to his waist, his fingers gripping the Command Parchment Yu Xiaogang had just given him.

His expression was grave, and an inexplicable restlessness was quietly spreading through his chest.

Just outside the academy gates, Yu Xiaogang had declared with near certainty that Tang San possessed the rare Twin Martial Souls.

That penetrating analysis, and Yu Xiaogang's insight into the nature of Martial Souls, had thoroughly won over Tang San, who had lived two lives.

Tang San had decided that Yu Xiaogang was the most qualified guide he could find in this other world. He had bowed to him as a disciple on the spot.

But when he reached Dorm Seven with the document Grandmaster had issued, the laughter coming from inside threw his thoughts into disarray.

A girl's clear, sweet voice rang out from the room, along with repeated calls of "Brother Chen." Each one pricked at his instincts.

The keen sixth sense he had cultivated over two lifetimes through the Tang Sect's internal arts was screaming a warning: the person or thing with whom he should have formed a profound bond at this very moment had been seized by Su Chen inside, utterly and ruthlessly!

"No matter what lies ahead, the Tang Sect Secret Arts will be second to none in this world." Tang San pressed his inexplicable agitation down, pushed open the half-closed wooden door, and stepped into Dorm Seven.

The wooden door swung wide with a creak.

The noise in the dormitory stopped dead.

Wang Sheng and the other Work-Study Students gathered around Su Chen turned toward the black-haired boy at the door, with his shabby bundle on his back.

"Another Work-Study Student?" Wang Sheng looked Tang San up and down. Though Xiao Wu's throw had left him aching all over, Su Chen was here, and that gave him plenty of nerve. He raised his rough voice.

"Kid, are you new? Dorm Seven has rules. New Work-Study Students have to show what they can do first. Brother Chen is the only boss here now. If you know what's good for you, come over and greet him properly!"

Tang San ignored Wang Sheng's shouting. His gaze passed through the crowd and settled on the wooden bed by the window at the back of the dormitory.

Two people stood beside it.

Su Chen stood tall and straight with his hands behind his back. His handsome face held the calm authority of a Primordial Sovereign.

Beside him stood a lovely girl in pink, delicate as a carved jade doll, her long hair tied in a Scorpion Braid.

Xiao Wu's large, bright eyes brimmed with admiration and affection. Her slender, pale hands gripped Su Chen's sleeve, and she leaned almost entirely against him, looking utterly close to him.

Tang San's heart clenched at the sight.

From the first moment he saw Xiao Wu, a powerful urge to protect her and draw close to her had risen uncontrollably from deep within him.

But seeing the unreserved attachment she showed Su Chen sent indescribable jealousy and resentment surging through Tang San's heart!

Why? He has a divine-level Martial Soul. Does he have to take even the peace that should belong to ordinary Work-Study Students?

Su Chen had taken the Work-Study Student place from him in Holy Soul Village. At the academy gates, Tang San had watched him brazenly insult Yu Xiaogang, the teacher he had only just accepted. Now Xiao Wu was so close to Su Chen. New grudges tangled with old ones, stirring waves in Tang San's usually steady heart.

Tang San stepped forward and looked Su Chen in the eye. "I'm Tang San, a Work-Study Student from Holy Soul Village. I heard you were sparring in here. This girl is still young. If someone relied on brute strength and a powerful Martial Soul to force her to call him her brother, that would hardly be fair."

He turned to Xiao Wu, his tone especially gentle. "If you've been wronged, you don't have to put up with it. A contest between Soul Masters should be decided by skill. I'm willing to challenge Su Chen on your behalf and see that you get a fair chance."

At those words, the once-lively Dorm Seven fell silent.

Wang Sheng and the others stared at Tang San as though he were mad.

Had this kid lost his mind?

Hadn't he seen Sister Xiao Wu willingly accept Brother Chen as her brother after losing fair and square?

Yet he'd barged in, accused Brother Chen of forcing her with brute strength, and claimed he was standing up for Xiao Wu?

Xiao Wu's delicate brows drew together, displeasure showing on her pretty face.

She let go of Su Chen's sleeve, stepped forward, planted her hands on her hips, and glared at Tang San.

"Hey! What nonsense are you spouting, new kid? Who was forced? I lost the bet fair and square. Brother Chen is stronger than me, and I wanted to call him my brother. Who asked you to stick your nose where it doesn't belong? Who do you think you are, standing up for me? Have you no shame?"

Xiao Wu's scolding poured out like beans from a bamboo tube, leaving Tang San frozen in place.

He had never imagined that stepping forward with good intentions—and even a hint of a desire to play the hero rescuing a beauty—would earn him such blunt criticism and dislike from Xiao Wu!

Tang San's face turned green, then pale. Beneath his sleeves, his hands clenched into fists again.

Being so completely unable to control the situation left him humiliated.

Su Chen smiled, a knowing chill in his eyes.

Through the Ancestral Dragon Divine Eyes, he could clearly see Tang San's intent to seize on a pretext, put Su Chen down, and build his own standing in Xiao Wu's eyes.

"Tang San, spare me the false speeches." Su Chen walked forward slowly and looked down at Tang San, his expression indifferent.

"If you want an excuse to fight me, why hide behind a young girl? Since you're so eager to step forward, I'll give you the chance."

With Su Chen laying bare his intentions to his face, Tang San forced himself to remain calm.

Things had come this far. Only a true display of strength could wipe that superior look off Su Chen's face and prove to Xiao Wu that he, Tang San, was no ordinary boy!

"Su Chen, we're both Soul Masters. Sparring and exchanging techniques is only natural. What's false about that?" Tang San narrowed his eyes, shifted one foot half a step, and assumed the Tang Sect's standard opening stance. "Show me what you can do!"

The moment he finished speaking, Tang San moved!

His figure skimmed across the floor like a wisp of smoke. His footwork was strange and unpredictable, shifting without warning. It was the Tang Sect's supreme movement art—Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track!

As the technique unfolded, Tang San left several blurred afterimages in the cramped dormitory. He moved so fast that Wang Sheng and the other ordinary Work-Study Students could not tell which figure was real.

At the same time, a lustrous white-jade sheen spread over Tang San's palms. His fingers curled slightly, inner force gathering in his hands. He was combining the Tang Sect's Mysterious Jade Hand and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon!

Borrow his strength and strike his weak point! Tang San drove the inner force of his Mysterious Heaven Skill to its limit.

Faced with Su Chen's terrifying divine-level physique, Tang San planned to use Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to slip into his blind spot, pull him off balance with the deft force of Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, then strike a vital point beneath his ribs with Mysterious Jade Hand and subdue him in one move!