Challenge

The next day, after eating breakfast and washing the dishes and chopsticks, Lin Yang took gifts to visit the neighbors in the village.

While he had been away, these neighbors had often come over to help Grandma Su Xi.

Now that he was back, it was only right for him to visit them and return the favor with gifts.

The gifts were nothing expensive, just pastries and the like commonly found in Nuoding City.

But to the children of Red Maple Village, they were rare treats.

That evening, night fell.

After sensing that Grandma Su Xi was fast asleep, Lin Yang slipped silently into Red Maple Mountain behind the village.

Red Maple Village had gotten its name from this mountain. In autumn, red leaves covered its slopes like clouds ablaze at sunset, a truly beautiful sight.

Today, however, Lin Yang had not come to admire the scenery.

After making sure no one was nearby, he summoned his Demon Blood Martial Soul.

"Martial Soul, possess!"

With his low shout, the drop of blood, the size of a pigeon egg and heavy as mercury, instantly sank into his palm.

The air around Lin Yang turned cold and eerie, and his skin took on an unnatural pallor.

This was his "Ghostification" form.

In his normal state, he looked no different from an ordinary person, but he could release his power further and become a true ghost.

A Yellow Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, then shone brightly.

First Soul Skill, Invisibility.

Lin Yang closed his eyes, then opened them again in an instant.

His pitch-black eyes instantly turned blood-red, his pupils becoming vertical slits like a snake's, with tiny blood vessels spreading around them.

At that moment, Lin Yang's sight had already passed beyond layers of obstructing mountains, looking straight into Holy Soul Village dozens of li away.

Clang, clang, clang...

Although it was late, loud hammering still rang out from that dilapidated-looking house.

Lin Yang knew this was Tang San practicing the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.

This had continued from the day Tang San awakened his Martial Soul until now.

Tang Hao, whom Lin Yang was watching most closely, also followed a very regular daily routine.

There were only three things in total: eating, sleeping, and beating Tang San.

No, teaching Tang San to forge.

Had Lin Yang not known Tang Hao's true identity very well, he would merely have taken him for a dispirited middle-aged man, rather than the renowned Clear Sky Douluo.

At that moment, Tang San, tired from forging, put down his hammer and prepared to rest a while, his gaze drifting toward the window.

He then saw a raven, pitch-black all over without a single stray-colored feather, standing quietly in a nest of grass on a branch.

"It's already built a nest...?"

Tang San frowned slightly but paid it little attention. It was only an ordinary raven.

Meanwhile, Lin Yang switched his sight to several other viewpoints.

If these viewpoints were put together, they would reveal a steadily expanding search centered on Holy Soul Village.

Indeed, Lin Yang was searching for the cave that held the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.

He only remembered that the cave was hidden behind a waterfall, but he did not know exactly where that waterfall was.

He could only use the painstaking method of searching inch by inch through ravens he had placed under an illusion.

Still, Tang Hao would naturally keep something as important as a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone right under his nose.

So searching around Holy Soul Village could not be wrong.

He had already let one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone slip by. He absolutely could not miss this one as well.

Moreover, he was confident that, with the immense vitality contained in the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone, he could definitely overcome the Demon Blood Martial Soul's weakness to sunlight.

Vacation always passed swiftly. Before he knew it, there was hardly any time left.

Under Lin Yang's attentive care, Grandma Su Xi's health gradually improved. She could now walk about freely without a cane.

With sufficient nourishment, her complexion was also much better than before.

Meanwhile, Heaven did not fail those who persevered. After searching the mountains inch by inch, Lin Yang actually found the cave containing the Soul Bone.

It was only a dozen or so li from Holy Soul Village.

For a Titled Douluo, such a distance might take only a few breaths to cross.

Lin Yang restrained his thoughts. After firmly committing the location to memory, he left just one raven as a lookout to watch the cave entrance and released all the others.

Soon, the last day of vacation arrived. Lin Yang said goodbye to Grandma Su Xi and set off on the journey back to Nuoding City.

As soon as he returned to the academy, Lin Yang spotted that classic scene unfolding at the gates.

A simply dressed little boy was kneeling on both knees, kowtowing to Yu Xiaogang with loud thumps while calling him "Teacher" with utmost respect.

Who else could be in this classic among classic scenes but Tang San?

As Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San, his already stiff face stretched into an ugly smile.

The burning intensity of his gaze gave Lin Yang goosebumps all over.

He could hardly bear to look.

As luck would have it, Yu Xiaogang noticed Lin Yang as well.

The smile instantly vanished from his face, replaced by a trace of disdain mixed with pride.

The disciple he had taken in this time, Tang San, possessed Innate Full Soul Power.

In terms of talent, he was who knew how many times better than Lin Yang, and he even possessed the one-in-ten-thousand Twin Martial Souls.

Either trait alone would crush Lin Yang until not even scraps remained.

Hmph, just wait, Lin Yang. Soon you'll know what you missed out on.

Yet Lin Yang merely thought, What's wrong with him? and headed straight toward the teaching building.

He was going to arrange to live off campus. He had no desire to cultivate right under the nose of an obsessive voyeur.

Tang San naturally noticed the change in Yu Xiaogang's expression as well, and followed his gaze toward Lin Yang.

"Teacher, do you know that person?"

"His name is Lin Yang. He has a little talent, I suppose," Yu Xiaogang said with a contemptuous smile.

"In my eyes, he's nothing but a fool who thinks too highly of himself. I kindly offered him guidance before, only for him to speak disrespectfully to me."

As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang patted Tang San's shoulder and said solemnly,

"Little San, you possess Innate Full Soul Power. Under my guidance, your goal is to become a Rank 99 Titled Douluo. Someone like Lin Yang has limited prospects. He isn't worth your attention."

A cold glint flashed through Tang San's eyes, and his favorable impression of Lin Yang instantly plummeted to rock bottom.

He dared speak disrespectfully to my respected teacher. This person... surely couldn't be a good man.

Soon, Lin Yang came out of the academic affairs office. The arrangements for living off campus had gone smoothly and taken little effort.

He returned to Dorm Seven to pack his things, only to find the students gathered together.

Lin Yang approached and saw Wang Sheng pinned to the floor, unable to move, with Tang San sitting on top of him.

"Do you submit?"

"No!" Wang Sheng stiffened his neck, his face flushed red.

The sight made Lin Yang frown slightly. He was the boss of Dorm Seven now, so how had Wang Sheng and Tang San still ended up fighting?

"What happened?"

Seeing Lin Yang appear, the other students all made way for him.

At Lin Yang's question, someone explained the entire affair clearly in a few words.

It turned out that, upon seeing a new work-study student arrive, Wang Sheng, who styled himself Lin Yang's number-one lackey, had wanted to make sure Tang San understood who the boss of Dorm Seven was.

Instead, Tang San had pinned him to the floor in just a few moves.

Well, damn!

Lin Yang was speechless. Why did this scene look so familiar?

After all that, I'm the villain?

Despite these thoughts, Lin Yang kept his expression unchanged and merely said to Tang San,

"You've won. Can you let him go now?"

Tang San looked up at Lin Yang. "You're the boss of Dorm Seven?"

Lin Yang nodded. "For now."

"The rule in Dorm Seven... is that whoever's strongest becomes the boss?"

"That's right."

"Then I challenge you," Tang San said directly, a faint hostility in his eyes.