Tang San's defeat

"Challenge me?"

Lin Yang mulled those words over, then slowly shook his head.

"No need. Beating Wang Sheng proves you're pretty strong. Since you want to be the boss of Dorm Seven, go ahead."

At those words, every student in Dorm Seven was startled. Even Wang Sheng looked at Lin Yang in disbelief.

"Boss, you... what nonsense are you talking about?"

Lin Yang slowly swept his gaze over everyone and explained,

"I've already registered as a day student, so I won't be living in Dorm Seven anymore. But I won't be leaving the academy for now. If you run into trouble you can't handle, you can still come to me."

"But... even so, you're still our boss!" Wang Sheng shouted, looking rather stubborn.

"Besides, you're the only one I respect."

"Right! Brother Sheng's right."

"Boss, you'll always be our boss."

"The boss is the boss."

Faced with his roommates' "collective outrage," Lin Yang did not know whether to laugh or cry.

"All right, all right, don't get so mushy. You'd be better off spending that time cultivating and getting your Soul Rings sooner."

Just then, Tang San, whom everyone had forgotten in the corner, suddenly took two steps forward, his voice extremely cold and hard.

"Lin Yang, I don't need you to yield to me. I'll take what I want through my own strength."

Everyone instantly fell silent. Looking at Tang San, who overestimated himself, they all wore expressions of gloating anticipation.

Wang Sheng even mocked him. "Tang San, was it? Don't think beating me means you can pit yourself against our boss. He's a One-Ring Soul Master."

Tang San frowned. He truly had not expected that.

But if he used hidden weapons, the outcome remained uncertain.

Lin Yang asked, "Tang San, I feel like you're hostile toward me. Why?"

"Because you spoke disrespectfully to my teacher," Tang San answered without hesitation.

In his eyes, a teacher for a day was a father for life. Anyone his teacher disliked so much certainly could not be a good person.

Lin Yang understood. This really was just the sort of thing Yu Xiaogang would do.

"Grandmaster? I'd advise you to ask around about his reputation at the academy first."

Before Tang San could speak, Wang Sheng looked at him strangely.

"Seriously? You actually took Grandmaster as your teacher?"

"He's not much in terms of strength, and all he ever does is eat and drink at the academy's expense. If he weren't close to the dean, he'd have been kicked out long ago."

Tang San's expression turned cold. "Shut up. My teacher harbors grand designs and ambitions. Who are you to judge him?"

Then he turned and looked coldly at Lin Yang.

"Lin Yang, do you dare fight me? If I win, you'll apologize to my teacher in person."

The corner of Lin Yang's mouth twitched slightly. "And if you lose?"

"Then I'll apologize to you."

"No need for that." Lin Yang shook his head.

"Just apologize to Wang Sheng."

Tang San clenched his teeth. After several seconds of silence, he nodded firmly.

"It's a deal. But you can't use your Martial Soul..."

Tang San was obstinate, but he was not stupid. Before he knew what trump cards his opponent held, he would weaken his opponent's options as much as possible.

Without his Martial Soul, Lin Yang was merely a child one year older than him.

Wang Sheng, however, would have none of it and shouted,

"Are you joking? A Soul Master who doesn't use his Martial Soul? What kind of Soul Master is that?"

Wang Sheng looked scornful, but Lin Yang raised a hand to stop him.

Rein it in a little. Haven't you noticed you're looking more and more like a villain's lackey?

Lin Yang's expression was calm. "Fine."

The students of Dorm Seven then cleared the space, leaving the largest open area to the two of them.

Lin Yang and Tang San stood facing each other while everyone beside them held their breath and focused.

Tang San looked at Lin Yang solemnly.

Although his Mysterious Heaven Skill had yet to break through the first level, he had thought it would be more than enough to deal with a child.

But only when he actually stood opposite Lin Yang did he realize he had still underestimated the profession of Soul Master. Perhaps Soul Rings played a greater role than he had imagined.

I'm afraid... I'll have to go all out this time.

Out of everyone else's sight, Tang San tightened the Sleeve Arrow on his wrist.

Perhaps... hidden weapons will be the key to my victory!

Just then, Tang San moved first.

So fast!

Wang Sheng only had time to cry out inwardly before Tang San's figure appeared abruptly beside Lin Yang like a phantom.

His palm shone with a soft, jade-colored luster. His five fingers formed a claw and seized toward Lin Yang's shoulder blade with ruthless precision.

He wanted to take him by surprise and subdue him quickly.

Yet Lin Yang seemed to have anticipated it. In the instant before he was caught,

he used the momentum to turn his body slightly, driving his right elbow like an iron pestle toward Tang San's exposed ribs.

Tang San's heart tightened. He instinctively circulated his Mysterious Heaven Skill at full speed, concentrating his internal power in his arms and crossing them in front of himself.

Thud!

A dull impact sounded. The moment elbow and arms collided, a tremendous force slammed through his arms.

Shock appeared on Tang San's face. His feet involuntarily thumped backward three steps before he barely managed to dissipate the force.

Feeling the aching numbness in his arms, Tang San was secretly stunned. Such tremendous strength!

He had been forging iron every day lately, and his strength had increased greatly, far surpassing that of his peers.

With the Mysterious Heaven Skill bolstering him as well, he had actually come off worse in a contest of strength.

Was this guy born with divine strength?

"Do you want to continue?"

Lin Yang did not pursue him. He merely stood where he was, his tone calm.

Tang San took a deep breath, a faint purple hue emerging in his eyes. "Of course."

He still had plenty of tricks left.

The next moment, the two clashed again.

This time, Tang San unleashed everything and held nothing back.

He drove his Purple Demon Eye to its fullest. In his eyes, Lin Yang's movements seemed to slow by half a beat, their trajectories clearly visible.

His footwork changed. Treading strange steps, he moved like a ghostly shadow, shifting between feints and reality, elusive and unpredictable.

Relying on the Tang Sect Secret Arts, Tang San no longer confronted Lin Yang head-on.

Instead, he relied on nimble footwork and his eye technique's predictions to keep circling Lin Yang, waiting for an opening.

Lin Yang, by contrast, had none of those elaborate flourishes.

Each of his moves possessed a beauty that balanced strength and speed.

Amid Tang San's tidal wave of attacks, he remained at ease throughout.

"So strong..."

Wang Sheng stared at the two blurred figures in the middle, his eyes fixed.

His boss's strength was beyond question, but he had never expected this skinny little Tang San to unleash such formidable fighting power too.

His movements were so strange that they dazzled the eyes.

Were working students all hiding their abilities this deeply now?

Yet Tang San, at the center of the battle, felt increasingly heavyhearted.

This Lin Yang surpassed him in both strength and speed.

His Purple Demon Eye could see Lin Yang's movements clearly, but his body could not react in time.

Put simply, the situation was as follows:

Eyes: I saw it clearly. Go!

Body: Where? Where?

As for Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, it had more than enough ingenuity.

But before absolute speed and those precise predictions, it actually seemed somewhat ridiculous.

Instead, it made him look like a monkey that could only dart back and forth.

A profound sense of helplessness and agitation quietly crept into his heart.

Were the Mysterious Heaven Skill and all the Tang Sect's secret techniques I'd painstakingly practiced for years really this vulnerable before a Soul Master?

Was there any need for me to keep studying them, then?

At that moment, Lin Yang never imagined that his presence would actually make Tang San question the Tang Sect's legacy.

In contrast to Tang San, Lin Yang felt that his earlier views had been shallow.

The arts that had allowed the Tang Sect's legacy to endure for a thousand years truly had their unique merits.

Take Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, for instance.

Although it was unsuited to traveling long distances at speed, being so agile within a confined space, and even anticipating his movements to a certain extent, was truly impressive.

The reason he had kept exchanging blows with Tang San for so long was also to observe it further and see whether it could offer him any inspiration.

After all, one needed to be unashamed to learn from those beneath oneself.

But seeing Tang San's fluctuating state of mind, which had even left him exposing quite a few openings,

Lin Yang knew it was time to end this.

He immediately seized an opening and planted a completely unadorned straight punch squarely in Tang San's chest.

Bam!

A dull impact rang out. Tang San flew backward and crashed heavily to the ground.

The victor was decided!