Douluo Dalu: I Can Become Stronger by Pitfalling Yu Xiaogang

"Notice: After Martial Soul information is unsealed, the Martial Soul's appearance and aura will undergo certain changes. Please inspect and experience them yourself."

Zhang Tianyu immediately summoned the Wooden Sword—oh, no, it should be called Huangquan now.

Sure enough, the moment it appeared, an icy, sinister chill spread outward with him at its center.

Xiao Wu, who had been wandering around the playground and garden some distance away, immediately noticed it. She stared over with wide, bewildered eyes.

Zhang Tianyu was a little bewildered too.

At that moment, the Wooden Sword no longer looked shabby and low-grade. Its entire body was black and gleaming, with streams of visible black mist wafting from it.

This was obviously some evil thing, damn it. Was this really okay? Would people mistake me for an Evil Spirit Master and kill me?

"Notice: Who the hell would dare?"

Just then, Xiao Wu walked over. Looking at Huangquan in Zhang Tianyu's hand, she blinked her big eyes. "Wow, is this your Martial Soul? I didn't get a good look during our spar earlier, but now that I see it... it's kind of scary. No wonder I couldn't beat you."

Zhang Tianyu raised his head to look at her, and she immediately jumped back several steps, her little face turning pale. "Y-you... you..."

Zhang Tianyu looked completely confused. "Huh? What's wrong with me?"

"Look for yourself..."

Xiao Wu somehow pulled out a mirror and held it before Zhang Tianyu. The moment he saw his reflection, he froze.

Damn, I'm so handsome!

Well, fine, that was a universally acknowledged fact.

His appearance had changed somewhat. His hair moved despite the lack of wind, and his already fair, handsome face now looked even paler. His lips were slightly dark, as though he had applied dark lipstick, while two clusters of red light flickered in his eyes.

Is that me?

Good grief! Why do I kind of look like Demon Lord Chonglou now?

"Notice: But the host is more handsome."

"Tsk, you system always tells the truth. Honestly, I just love an honest system like you... I never expected this Martial Soul to have an effect like this. Summoning it can even change my appearance!"

Seeing that he had fallen silent, Xiao Wu cautiously asked, "Y-you're okay, right?"

Zhang Tianyu suddenly rose to his feet and looked down at Xiao Wu. His long hair moved without wind, red light flickered in his eyes, and black mist swirled around his body. Xiao Wu was terrified. "Ah... y-you..."

"Hehe! I was just scaring you!" Zhang Tianyu immediately broke into a grin.

Xiao Wu: ...

"You jerk! You did that on purpose to scare me!" Xiao Wu smacked him.

Once he withdrew Huangquan, Zhang Tianyu's appearance returned to normal.

"Wow, you can change your appearance after summoning your Martial Soul?"

"Yeah, I only just found that out," Zhang Tianyu said. "Was I really that scary just now?"

Xiao Wu thought for a moment. "Emmm... actually, it was okay. It was a little scary at first glance, but after looking for a while... I thought it was actually pretty good-looking."

Thinking of Zhang Tianyu's transformed appearance just now, Xiao Wu's heartbeat quickened slightly. The already handsome youth had instantly become bewitchingly beautiful, carrying a dangerous, wicked aura... That feeling really did make one's heart race!

"Whether it looks good or scary, I'm still me. My appearance just changed a little," Zhang Tianyu said with a smile. "There's nothing to be afraid of."

"Mm." Xiao Wu nodded. "It's getting late. Shall we go to the Cafeteria for dinner?"

The two of them had eaten outside at noon, so this was their first time coming to the Cafeteria. By the time they arrived, Wang Sheng and the others were already eating on the first floor. Tang San was sitting with them as well.

When they saw the two arrive, Wang Sheng and the others immediately called out to them.

Just then, an unpleasant voice came from the second floor. "You two are the new Work-Study Students who arrived today?"

Zhang Tianyu looked up and saw a group of haughty noble students standing on the second floor, looking down at them.

The leader wore an obnoxiously smug expression, his nostrils practically pointing at the sky. This was the leader of the noble students, Xiao Chenyu.

"Hey," Xiao Chenyu said to Zhang Tianyu, "I heard you became the boss of those poor Work-Study Students the moment you arrived. Heh, a monkey calling himself king!"

"What the hell are you? How dare you talk about him like that?" Xiao Wu immediately snapped.

Xiao Chenyu's eyes lit up. "What a pretty little girl. Heh, too bad she's a poor Work-Study Student. Was I wrong? How strong can a bunch of poor trash be? You're nothing but a group of ignorant, useless monkeys who can only chatter away!"

"Even if you pick the strongest fighter among the monkeys, it's still just a monkey. It can never defeat a wolf!"

Zhang Tianyu: ...

Only because it's me. If you dared say that in front of Great Sage, there wouldn't even be ashes left of you.

"You!" Xiao Wu's face turned pale with anger. She clenched her little pink fists so tightly that veins stood out on the backs of her hands.

Wang Sheng and the others hurried over and stood behind Zhang Tianyu and Xiao Wu, glaring furiously at Xiao Chenyu's group. Tang San naturally came over with them as well.

"Oh? The monkeys are getting angry already?" Xiao Chenyu sneered, then said to Zhang Tianyu, "I'm going to eat now, so I don't have time to deal with you. I'll teach you a lesson when I'm free!"

Under normal circumstances, Wang Sheng and the others would have endured it.

They simply couldn't win in a fight. There was no helping it—challenging them would only result in getting beaten up. So unless it was something especially damaging to their dignity, like this little bit of trash talk, Wang Sheng and the others would endure it if they could.

But they could endure it. Zhang Tianyu could not.

"What the fuck do you think you are?" Zhang Tianyu shouted something shocking toward the second floor.

In an instant, the entire Cafeteria fell silent!

Everyone turned to look, their gazes mingling with shock, admiration, disgust, awe, and more.

Wang Sheng and the others looked at Zhang Tianyu, their expressions practically overflowing with worship!

Holy shit, the boss was the boss indeed. So damn badass!

With just that one line, the boss's bearing and presence had been displayed on the spot!

Xiao Wu, meanwhile, blushed a little.

Cursing people like that was satisfying, but... fine, I'm still a little girl who doesn't understand anything. I should pretend I didn't get it.

"Prompt: Simple foul language, ultimate enjoyment."

Zhang Tianyu: "Alright, where's the mission, then? I cursed, you enjoyed it—wouldn't it be unreasonable not to give me a mission?"

"Prompt: Mission received [What the Fuck Are You?]. Mission objective: Defeat Xiao Chenyu. Mission reward: Reward Points +1. Failure penalty: Death (If you can't even beat him, hurry up and kill yourself to atone for your shame!)"

Zhang Tianyu: ...

This system was great—simple, direct, and brutal! I liked it!

This was the kind of system that suited me perfectly!

Second floor.

Every strand of Xiao Chenyu's hair stood on end!

His expression instantly twisted into a snarl!

He rushed back to the second-floor railing and glared at Zhang Tianyu. "What did you say?!"

"Oh? You're getting mad over that already?" Zhang Tianyu said, mimicking Xiao Chenyu's earlier tone and manner.

"You!" Xiao Chenyu nearly summoned Martial Soul Possession on the spot!

"Quit pretending to be blind, dumbass. I'm just asking whether you dare come outside and spar with me."

"Let's go! If I'm afraid of you, then I'm not the boss!"

The two groups left the Cafeteria in a grand procession and arrived at the training grounds.

It was not completely dark yet, and the streetlights had already come on, so visibility was not too poor.

Wang Sheng and the others were extremely excited.

They hadn't expected to see Zhang Tianyu teach Xiao Chenyu a lesson so soon. They had thought they would have to wait a long time!

"Never in my life has anyone cursed me like you did. Today, I'm definitely beating you flat!" Xiao Chenyu took up his stance. "None of that pointless bullshit. We'll settle this directly in a boss-versus-boss duel!"

"Wait a moment." Zhang Tianyu raised a hand.

"What? Scared? Too late!" Xiao Chenyu cursed. "Unless you kneel and beg for mercy, I'll definitely beat the hell out of you!"

"You're overthinking it." Zhang Tianyu thought, How are you so good at making things up? "Since it's a duel, there should be stakes. If I win, I'll be the academy boss from now on. All the work for us Work-Study Students will be done by you, while we collect the pay. How about it?"

Xiao Chenyu sneered. "No problem! What if you lose?"

"You tell me."

"If you lose, every time you see me from now on, you'll have to kneel, kowtow, and call me Grandpa!"

"Fine."

Wang Sheng and the others were stunned. "Boss!"

This wager was completely unfair! The Work-Study Students' jobs were so easy. These noble kids could casually have their family servants handle them, but if Zhang Tianyu lost, he would truly never be able to show his face at this academy again!

Zhang Tianyu waved them off and said to Xiao Chenyu, "Let's begin."

"Martial Soul Possession!" Xiao Chenyu shouted. A layer of green light rose from his body, his muscles began to swell, his eyes gradually turned pale green, and he slowly raised both arms. His claws stretched forward, and his nails became sharp.

A white Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet—the appearance of Martial Soul Possession.

"Boss is mighty!"

"Boss, use Martial Soul Possession and beat him flat!"

"That's right! That kid over there probably hasn't even seen what a Soul Ring looks like!"

"Hurry up and surrender, kid!"

Zhang Tianyu nodded to himself as he watched.

This was what true Beast Spirit possession looked like: transforming into a form resembling a half-human, half-beast, rather than having an illusory Beast Spirit silhouette appear behind one's back.

Xiao Chenyu did not waste a word. After possessing his spirit, he charged straight at Zhang Tianyu. Zhang Tianyu spread his hands, and Huangquan silently appeared before his chest, between his hands, shrouded in dense black mist.

Whoosh!

A cold, sinister aura swept across the entire field like a tsunami. Xiao Chenyu jumped in fright and abruptly slammed on the brakes!

Then, Zhang Tianyu's appearance rapidly changed. This transformation was even more outrageous than before. Besides his face turning pale, his lips darkening, and his eyes turning red, even his black hair began to turn somewhat white.

It was completely different from the feeling he had given Xiao Wu back then. At the time, Xiao Wu had merely felt that Zhang Tianyu looked somewhat strange, somewhat evil, and a little bewitching after changing into this form. That was all.

But Xiao Chenyu was different. The moment the Yellow Springs appeared, the scene before him instantly changed. The familiar schoolyard became a barren, pitch-black burial ground. A massive tombstone radiating a sinister aura appeared behind Zhang Tianyu, while terrifying creatures floated above it, howling miserably. An indescribable, horrifying pressure descended from the void above the tombstone, crushing Xiao Chenyu until he could not straighten his back and scaring him out of his wits!

Thud!

He instinctively dropped to his knees, trembling all over and drenched in sweat. "I... I surrender! I surrender!"

This was absolutely not something he could resist. A voice deep within his heart told him that if he took even one more step forward, he would die!

Only by submitting and kneeling could he find a way to survive!

The people standing behind Xiao Chenyu were dumbfounded!

What had just happened?

Although the other party's Martial Soul looked somewhat strange—sinister and chilling, with the temperature of the entire area plummeting the moment it appeared—Boss Xiao, you were an eleventh-level Battle Soul Master with a Soul Ring. How could you surrender without even fighting? And even kneel before him?

Didn't you say you were going to make him kneel?

"Netherworld Mansion, Yellow Springs Road, an Other Shore Lamp—ask not where the soul returns."

Everyone stared blankly at Zhang Tianyu as they listened to him softly recite those words, and a chill ran down every spine!

The Work-Study Students finally enjoyed a lavish meal on the second floor of the cafeteria, with Xiao Chenyu footing the bill.

After eating and drinking their fill, Zhang Tianyu stood and said, "Then from now on, all the Work-Study Students' work will be handled by you."

"No problem, Boss," Xiao Chenyu immediately replied. "My father is the lord of Nuoding City. Leave this little bit of work to us!"

"Long live the Boss!" Wang Sheng and the others cheered. At this moment, Zhang Tianyu's position in their hearts was completely unshakable.

They would no longer have to work in the future, making things much easier. And they could use the extra time to cultivate!