"Amaterasu!"
The flames streaming from Lin Yang's mouth cut off, and he uttered a phrase none of the others understood.
Then, under everyone's shocked gazes, a speck of black suddenly appeared at the center of the burning flames and spread at tremendous speed.
In an instant, all the flames turned an eerie black.
Even without any further output from Lin Yang, the black flame did not fade. Instead, like maggots clinging to bone, it latched onto the golden light in midair and kept burning.
Zhao Wuji's expression changed drastically. He hastily increased his Soul Power output, and the golden light blazed brightly again.
But the black flame showed no sign of dissipating. Instead, it burned ever more fiercely, as though his Soul Power were its fuel.
He had no choice but to increase his Soul Power output, yet as the fire spread, his Soul Power drained faster and faster. This could not go on.
He abruptly exerted himself, sending a powerful shock wave surging out from his body. The golden light instantly expanded, then dispersed.
With nothing left to cling to, the black flames gradually faded in the air.
Meanwhile, as Tang San was blown away by the shock wave, a Black Hammer flew from his hand.
Zhao Wuji was wide open, but he assumed it was merely another hidden weapon. He silently channeled Soul Power over his hand and raised it to block.
A dull thud rang out. Zhao Wuji grunted as the hammer knocked his palm back into his face, and blood immediately poured from his nose like a river bursting its banks.
Dai Mubai set Zhu Zhuqing down and stepped forward to catch Tang San in midair. Tang San coughed up another mouthful of blood in his arms.
Zhao Wuji wiped his face with his hand, only to smear blood all over it.
"Oscar, Oscar, get over here! You've got customers!"
At the sight, Dai Mubai felt the corners of his mouth curling up against his will. He quickly amplified his voice with Soul Power and shouted.
"I'm coming! Where's the business?"
Oscar was in such a hurry that he abandoned his little cart and jogged all the way over.
"Oscar, over here." Dai Mubai beckoned.
"Boss Dai, you called?" Oscar came scampering over eagerly.
"Yes. Hurry and make a few sausages. They're all injured." Dai Mubai nodded.
"Coming right up! Five copper coins each. Don't forget to pay. I Have a Big Sausage!"
As he spoke, yellow light flashed in his hand, and a fragrant sausage appeared.
"Eat it. What he says is disgusting, but his sausages work very well. They can speed up your recovery."
Dai Mubai gestured to Tang San.
The corner of Tang San's mouth twitched, and he hurriedly waved his hand.
"I'm not badly hurt, just a little exhausted. Some rest will do. Give it to someone else."
With that, he sat cross-legged on the ground and began regulating his breathing.
But even if he would not eat one, others still needed to.
"Oscar, come here. One sausage and one cured sausage."
Zhao Wuji's muffled voice reached them. His tongue had swollen.
"Who are you? You show up at our academy and even know my name."
Oscar blinked, looking at him in confusion.
"Bastard, do you want to be punished? I'm Zhao Wuji!"
Zhao Wuji nearly choked with anger and immediately roared.
"Uh..."
Oscar's expression was quite a sight. He desperately wanted to ask how Zhao Wuji had ended up like this, but a warning look from Dai Mubai stopped him.
He scampered over to Zhao Wuji, handed him the sausage, then recited another incantation.
"I Have a Little Sausage!"
His tone was perfectly serious, yet somehow it still gave off an incredibly sleazy feeling.
A cured sausage no thicker than his little finger appeared in his hand, and he passed it to Zhao Wuji.
Without hesitation, Zhao Wuji ate both sausages, and his complexion improved a little.
Dai Mubai walked over to Zhu Zhuqing. She stared at him coldly, her eyes full of warning.
"Don't worry. I won't make you eat one. I couldn't bear to."
Zhu Zhuqing closed her eyes and turned her head away.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the clearing, Ning Rongrong watched Lin Yang cover his eyes, at a loss for what to do.
"Um... are you all right?"
Lin Yang kept his eyes covered. An aching, gritty sensation came from his left eye, like the feeling he had gotten after staring at a screen too long in his previous life.
A wave of weakness washed over him. There was barely any Soul Power left in his body.
Amaterasu was a very unusual Soul Skill. It should have been an ocular technique only the Mangekyo could wield, yet he had unleashed it as a Soul Skill.
Beyond the Soul Power expenditure, it also consumed a considerable amount of Spiritual Force, leaving his head somewhat foggy.
His condition could hardly have been worse.
He drew a deep breath and slowly opened his eyes. They had returned to black, but his left eye was covered in bloodshot veins, making it look deeply unsettling.
Ning Rongrong instinctively took a small step back, then stopped, her expression turning awkward.
"I'm fine. I just need some rest. Just look after Xiao Wu for me."
Lin Yang rubbed his left eye and looked at Ning Rongrong.
Ning Rongrong nodded like a chick pecking at grain and tightened her hold on Xiao Wu.
After eating Oscar's sausage and cured sausage, Zhao Wuji's complexion had improved considerably, but numerous small lumps had appeared on his body, sending out waves of stabbing pain.
"Teacher Zhao, did we pass?"
Of the group, only Ning Rongrong remained unscathed, and she promptly reminded Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji looked behind him. The incense stick had burned out completely.
"Hmph. You pass."
Zhao Wuji snorted. Unwilling to stay and embarrass himself further, he turned to leave.
"Teacher Zhao, wait." Tang San called him back.
"Little hedgehog, what else do you want? You've already passed." Zhao Wuji's expression remained unfriendly.
"I'm sorry. I was too impulsive, but you were so powerful that I had no choice but to give it everything I had. Let me remove the hidden weapons for you, or they'll cause problems."
Tang San braced his hands against his knees and stood up.
Those hidden weapons were called Dragon Whisker Needles. They had caused the lumps on Zhao Wuji's body, and once they entered the human body, they were extremely difficult to remove.
Hearing this, Zhao Wuji's expression finally eased a little.
Tang San walked up to Zhao Wuji, confirmed the locations of the Dragon Whisker Needles, then tapped repeatedly with his fingers, using Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to draw them out.
This put Zhao Wuji through absolute torment. The pain of the Dragon Whisker Needles emerging from his flesh made his face twitch repeatedly.
A short while later, all the Dragon Whisker Needles had been extracted. Zhao Wuji ate another of Oscar's sausages, and his wounds began to heal.
As for Tang San, once he had exhausted all the internal energy in his body, his eyes rolled back, and he fell into a baby-like sleep on the spot.
Fortunately, Oscar was right beside him and caught him in time.
Zhao Wuji looked at the unconscious Tang San, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Mubai, you're responsible for getting these new students settled in. Classes start tomorrow. Don't touch the hidden weapons scattered all over the ground. They're poisoned. Let him collect them himself."
Only then did Zhao Wuji turn and leave.
"Yes, Teacher Zhao."
Before you continue