Ji Hongchen calmly held up one finger.
"If you lose, you'll owe me a thousand Gold Soul Coins!"
Tang San's expression froze.
Ji Hongchen really had the nerve to ask. A thousand Gold Soul Coins was no small sum. Even he couldn't produce that much; he would have to ask Gangzi for it.
Tang San gritted his teeth.
To keep Xiao Wu from becoming Ji Hongchen's slave, he was going all out. Gangzi would just have to suffer a little.
"All right, make your move."
Ji Hongchen stood in the middle of the arena.
Tang San drew a deep breath and narrowed his eyes, a flash of purple light flickering in their depths.
His first soul ring lit up.
First soul skill, Blue Silver Entanglement!
More than a dozen strands of Blue Silver Grass sprang up from the ground, spreading rapidly toward the spot beneath Ji Hongchen's feet before finally bursting through the soil.
But the instant the Blue Silver Grass broke through the ground...
Before it could touch Ji Hongchen's body, it encountered what seemed to be an invisible barrier of sword qi around him. The moment the Blue Silver Grass touched it, it was shredded to pieces.
"Impossible!"
Tang San's eyes widened.
But in the next instant, his expression turned even uglier.
Ji Hongchen moved.
His speed increased until even Tang San's Purple Demon Eye could not track him. All Tang San could see was an afterimage.
A second later.
Tang San felt a chill against his neck.
A cold gleam flashed across his throat.
"You lost."
Ji Hongchen's indifferent voice rang out, instantly shattering Tang San's thoughts.
He looked at the long sword against his neck.
Tang San fell silent. He swallowed hard, cold sweat beading on his forehead as he stared at Ji Hongchen in disbelief.
He had lost.
How was that possible?
He had lost to an eight-year-old child?
No! He hadn't lost yet. He hadn't used his hidden weapons, and he hadn't had time to unleash his Tang Sect Secret Arts. It was all just because Ji Hongchen was too fast.
Damn it.
If he had used his hidden weapons and Tang Sect Secret Arts, how could he possibly have lost? Ji Hongchen had clearly cheated. It wasn't fair.
"What? Not convinced?"
Ji Hongchen looked at the silent Tang San and held out his hand. "A thousand Gold Soul Coins. Since you lost, you have to keep your promise."
Tang San said nothing.
Where would he get a thousand Gold Soul Coins? He had never thought he would lose, but with everyone watching, he could hardly wriggle out of it. He could only steel himself and say,
"I'll have my teacher come pay you later."
With that, he turned and left.
Ji Hongchen paid no mind to Tang San's retreating figure. He simply turned his gaze to Xiao Wu. "Little rabbit, how are you going to pay up?"
"A hundred Gold Soul Coins. Not a single coin less."
Xiao Wu flushed, her voice losing some of its strength. "Sister Xiao Wu doesn't have that much money. Could I owe you for now? Once I have the money, Sister Xiao Wu will definitely pay you back."
"No money?"
Ji Hongchen sneered. "Why did you make a bet if you had no money? You're not trying to dodge your debt, are you? A hundred Gold Soul Coins, right now."
Xiao Wu bit her lip.
She had no money at all. The only Silver Soul Coin she had received when school started had gone toward buying a set of bedding, had gone toward buying a set of bedding. Now she had only a few dozen Copper Soul Coins on her.
"Xiao Wu really doesn't have any money."
"Please, I'm begging you. Let me off."
Xiao Wu's voice grew weaker and weaker. She could neither beat him nor escape him; all she could do was hope Ji Hongchen would show mercy and let her go.
Ji Hongchen shook his head.
Let you off? In your dreams.
Still, he could lay a trap for Xiao Wu and see whether he could make her his seventh soul ring later-a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring for free.
But he could not reveal that yet.
Ji Hongchen cleared his throat and said with a perfectly straight face, "How about this? Write me an IOU, and I'll give you a year. If you can't pay me back within a year, then for every month after that, the number of Gold Soul Coins you owe me will double. What do you think?"
Xiao Wu hesitated.
She counted on her fingers for ages without making any sense of it. Certain she could pay him back within a year, she simply nodded and agreed.
"Fine. Sister Xiao Wu will sign."
Seeing Xiao Wu take the bait, Ji Hongchen was delighted.
He promptly led Xiao Wu away. Watching from the shadows as a distraught Xiao Wu followed Ji Hongchen, Tang San felt pain pierce his heart.
No!
Snowflakes drifted and fluttered~ The north wind sighed and moaned~
Heaven and earth stretched bleak and boundless~
Tang San was overcome with grief, like a helpless husband watching his wife being taken away before his very eyes, unable to do a thing. He clenched his fists, his eyes bloodshot, panting like an ox.
That evil Ji Hongchen was already so despicable and shameless at such a young age, stopping at nothing. He had truly sown the seeds of his own death.
Tang San went to Yu Xiaogang's office.
He walked in, utterly dejected, and saw Yu Xiaogang leisurely organizing his Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul.
"Little San? What's wrong?"
Seeing his beloved disciple so distracted, Yu Xiaogang immediately approached with a worried expression and asked with concern.
This was his chance to prove himself.
He absolutely could not let anything happen to Tang San, or everything would be over.
"Teacher, I lost. Is my soul skill too weak? I couldn't even restrain an ordinary Soul Master. Am I useless?"
Tang San recounted what had happened.
Hearing this, Yu Xiaogang immediately breathed a sigh of relief. He patted Tang San's shoulder and comforted him. "Tang San, you really don't need to worry about this."
"Why?"
Tang San raised his head and looked at Yu Xiaogang in confusion.
Yu Xiaogang smiled confidently. "You should know that Ji Hongchen's martial soul only became a sword after its second awakening."
Tang San nodded. Everyone at Nuoding Academy knew that.
"But from my observations, Ji Hongchen's second awakening isn't stable, and it carries serious hidden risks." A sinister smile curled at the corner of Yu Xiaogang's mouth.
Tang San immediately perked up.
"Teacher, what hidden risks?"
Yu Xiaogang smiled mysteriously and rose to his feet. With one hand behind his back, he tilted his head up at a forty-five-degree angle to gaze at the sky, putting on an air of profound wisdom as he spoke.
"I've observed that ever since Ji Hongchen's second awakening, he has been buying special metals at regular intervals."
"But I investigated, and those metals disappeared after Ji Hongchen bought them. I suspect something has gone wrong with his martial soul."
"After all, his theory is still incomplete, and he hasn't had my guidance. His martial soul is very likely degenerating, requiring a constant supply of metal to sustain it. That's also why he's so short of money."
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's explanation, Tang San's eyes lit up. "So that's it! No wonder Ji Hongchen is so short of money!"
It made sense!
Everything made sense now.
No wonder Ji Hongchen had insisted on betting Gold Soul Coins with him. His martial soul was defective, and he needed a constant supply of metal to sustain it.
Seeing Tang San regain some of his confidence,
Yu Xiaogang's expression turned serious, his tone growing more solemn. "So, Little San, a temporary defeat means nothing. You must pull yourself together."
"You have innate full soul power and twin martial souls. In the future, you'll become a Titled Douluo at the very least. This little setback is nothing."
"Think about it. With Ji Hongchen's defective martial soul, even sustaining it is a problem, let alone advancing further."
"He's stronger than you now, but that's only temporary."
"In the future, when you've already become a Soul Grandmaster, he may still be a Soul Master. When you become a Soul Elder, he may only just have become a Soul Grandmaster. His martial soul might even shatter, leaving him a cripple!"
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