Xiao Wu sat on a tree branch.
She swung her lower legs back and forth.
She made a huge face at Yu Xiaogang:
"Bleh, bleh, bleh! What do you know, mister? What a country bumpkin!"
She leaped lightly down.
Like a graceful butterfly, she landed beside Tang Tian and said, as though seeking praise:
"Brother Tang Tian taught me before that the first few Soul Rings should ideally boost your stats."
"As long as I run fast enough and dodge well enough, other people can't hit me."
"If they can't hit me, I can slowly wear them down to death!"
"It's called kiting tactics. Get it?"
"Besides, it's not like this is my only skill. I have hands and feet."
"I also know soft techniques! Why waste a Soul Ring slot learning an attack skill?"
This was indeed the direction she had heard Tang Tian ramble about in the Blue Silver · Mimicry cultivation field.
Originally, she had wanted to condense Waist Bow.
But one day, Tang Tian had said that you could only deal damage if you stayed alive!
That had changed her mind.
Moreover, although this Soul Ring looked yellow, like a four-hundred-year one,
as a hundred-thousand-year being cultivating anew, what she had condensed for herself was a genuine eight-hundred-year Soul Ring!
That speed boost far surpassed what ordinary people could imagine!
Hearing Xiao Wu's words, Tang Tian nodded approvingly:
"Smart. For a Soul Master, speed is life, and it's also the strongest attack."
"It's not like we have to fight our enemies inside the same circle!"
"Unless it's an arena match!"
He had never understood why everyone on the Douluo Continent acted as though they had been cursed.
When fighting the Clear Sky Hammer, they insisted on getting close!
Agility-type Soul Masters insisted on clashing head-on? Why not take the assassin route?
Tang San nodded too.
He thought his big brother was absolutely right!
Praised by Tang Tian, Xiao Wu smiled until her eyes curved into crescents.
Even her ears nearly stood upright.
Watching Tang Tian and Xiao Wu echo each other,
treating him as though he were thin air, Yu Xiaogang turned livid with anger, yet could find no words to refute them.
Because that "kiting" sounded...
as though it really did make some sense!
Dean Zhang watched the three children from the side.
The light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.
A control-type genius who had created his own hidden weapon techniques.
An agility-type prospect with phenomenal luck and exceptional comprehension.
And another who was unfathomable, with a solid grounding in theory.
Although he had no Soul Ring yet, one glance showed that he was the central brain.
Dean Zhang roared inwardly:
I've struck gold!
This time, I've really struck gold!
These aren't three Work-Study Students. They're Nuoding Academy's future living billboards, its money trees!
No, I must increase their scholarships when we get back!
And improve their meals!
I must bind them firmly to the academy's war chariot!
This is one investment I'm definitely making!
On the way back,
everyone chatted and laughed.
Xiao Wu laughed, Tang Tian gave perfunctory responses, and Yu Xiaogang withdrew into himself.
They soon returned to Nuoding Academy.
The setting sun stretched their shadows long.
At the foot of the dormitory building, Yu Xiaogang stopped and turned a brooding gaze on Tang Tian.
The current situation was very unfavorable for him:
Tang San had an over-limit Soul Ring and self-created hidden weapons; his aspirations had risen, making him hard to fool.
Xiao Wu was an unorthodox practitioner with heaven-defying luck, utterly scornful of him and impossible to control.
Only this Tang Tian...
Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang Tian, who was empty-handed and had gained nothing except the bundle of bamboo on his back.
A spark of hope rekindled in his heart.
Only this boy still had no Soul Ring!
Though he had a little cleverness, he was ultimately a student with zero Soul Rings.
Without a Soul Ring, he could not break past rank ten and could only remain a Soul Scholar for life.
This is my opening!
Yu Xiaogang silently plotted:
I'll go back and spend all night poring over ancient texts to tailor a perfect Soul Ring plan for this boy.
Then I can naturally bring him under my wing.
Once I've secured the older brother, won't that obedient younger brother Tang San come meekly into my bowl?
At that thought, a smile curled the corners of Yu Xiaogang's mouth.
I failed last time, but this time there definitely won't be a problem!
Seeing the look in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, Tang Tian felt a chill of revulsion.
What grand drama is this "Grand Wet" imagining now?
Forget it. Ignore him.
The immediate priority was to hurry back and feed this piece of purple gold essence to Little Iron Hammer.
Back in Dorm Seven,
the night was quiet, and moonlight spilled through the window onto the floor.
After a day of commotion, everyone was exhausted.
Soon, the sounds of breathing rose and fell throughout the dormitory.
Tang Tian did not go straight to sleep.
He secretly peeked into his Sea of Consciousness.
Inside, Little Iron Hammer was drooling.
She stared fixedly at the piece of purple gold essence.
The corners of Tang Tian's mouth lifted slightly, and he deliberately made a little noise.
He took out the piece of purple gold essence and pretended to look around for somewhere to hide it.
Finally, he "very carefully" tucked it into the deepest recess beneath his bed.
He placed the bamboo there too.
Then he lowered his voice.
He muttered to himself:
"Phew... If I put such a precious treasure under the bed, nobody should know about it, right?"
"This is the safest place. I'll take it out to sell tomorrow morning."
With that, Tang Tian climbed into bed and pulled up his blanket.
Before long, his breathing became even.
He seemed to have truly fallen fast asleep.
Inside the Sea of Consciousness,
Little Iron Hammer rolled her eyes:
"Tch! Stupid master! How did you even come up with this cover-your-ears-to-steal-a-bell trick?"
"Sell it? That's my food! Nobody's taking it away!"
The night deepened.
Just as Little Iron Hammer was about to "sneak a snack," something unexpected happened.
Xiao Wu, sleeping in the bed next to Tang Tian's,
suddenly murmured in her sleep:
"Carrot... don't run... take my Eight-Stage Throw!"
Whoosh-!
A long, powerful leg suddenly swept out from beneath her blanket.
With a rush of wind, it crossed the gap between the beds with extraordinary precision.
Her foot kicked toward the space beneath Tang Tian's bed!
From the looks of it, she was practically trying to demolish the place!
Little Iron Hammer, who was just about to emerge from Tang Tian's body,
was so startled that her entire hammer body trembled.
"Wah! That crazy rabbit! She can't even behave in her sleep!"
"She scared me to death!"
"If that kick landed on Master's face, he'd be disfigured tomorrow!"
Fortunately, Xiao Wu's kick only struck the blanket.
Tang Tian rolled over without waking.
Xiao Wu smacked her lips and withdrew her leg.
Hugging her blanket, she rolled over.
Half her body hung over the edge of the bed.
Head down, she continued sleeping soundly.
Only after confirming that the danger had passed
did Little Iron Hammer poke out again, still shaken.
Like a thief, she slipped beneath the bed and touched the piece of purple gold essence.
Sizzle, sizzle, sizzle...
That incomparably hard rare metal
actually melted away rapidly, like ice meeting a branding iron.
It turned into streams of pure purple-gold energy.
They flowed into Little Iron Hammer's body.
"Mmm... delicious! So delicious!"
Little Iron Hammer looked utterly enraptured.
Faint traces of regal purple-gold patterns even appeared on her hammer body.
"This texture, this hardness-it's a hundred times better than that brittle bamboo!"
"Stupid Tang Tian may be a dummy, but his eye for finding things is passable."
Halfway through eating, Little Iron Hammer suddenly paused.
She looked at Tang Tian's sleeping face.
In her heart, a tiny trace of guilt actually arose, only as big as a fingernail.
Before you continue