Tang Hao looked at Lin Chuan, nodded, and muttered to himself:
"This little bastard bullied Little San into a sorry state at first, but judging by his perceptiveness alone, he does have some sense."
"He'd be quite suitable as a competent little lackey and diehard simp for Little San."
Just then.
Tang Hao's eyelid twitched as he suddenly saw the little girl with the scorpion braid skipping over to Lin Chuan.
Shock appeared on his face, and he swore outright:
"Holy shit, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form? This run-down Nuoding Academy, in the middle of bumfuck nowhere, actually has a dragon of this caliber hiding in it?"
The next moment, the shock on Tang Hao's face had vanished completely.
In its place was greed so intense it almost took physical form.
Right now, he desperately wanted to strike, swallow this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast alive, skin and all, and claim her for himself.
But on second thought, his Soul Ring slots were already packed full. However much he coveted her, he couldn't fit another one in.
Yet this old fox hadn't abandoned the idea.
It would be a lie to say he didn't covet Xiao Wu's Soul Ring.
He merely turned it over in his mind and instantly came up with an even more sinister idea, one with greater long-term value.
"Little San, whether the Clear Sky Sect rises again and whether your mother's great vengeance is fulfilled all rests on you, you little brat."
"Once you've leveled up, Daddy will personally slaughter this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to pave your way. No, these Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts are pretty shrewd. Going in with brute force could easily capsize the boat..."
"Looks like I'll have to get Yu Xiaogang to let Little San in on the truth and have him get properly acquainted with this Soul Beast."
"If he can hoodwink this girl until she can't see straight and win her absolute trust, wouldn't killing her then follow naturally and be as easy as reaching out and grabbing her?"
Tang Hao's gaze remained glued to Xiao Wu. Amid his all-consuming greed, a plot he considered flawless had fully taken shape.
At that very moment.
Inside Dorm Seven.
Hearing their unrestrained mockery, Yu Xiaogang's face twitched, turning alternately blue and red, and he lost his temper on the spot.
He stared fixedly at Lin Chuan, clenched his back teeth, and said furiously:
"I think you're the ones who look like dogs! Every theory I stated was correct. You can't find a reason to refute them, can you? Yes, that's right, that's exactly it!"
He laughed in his fury, forcing an attempt to salvage his dignity:
"Haha, yes, that's exactly it! Otherwise, why would you be so incapable that you can only make yourselves feel relevant by calling me a dog? This proves you have no argument left whatsoever."
"Across the entire Douluo Continent today, I've never seen anyone whose First Soul Ring exceeded that age!"
Seeing Yu Xiaogang trembling with rage, his face alarmingly green, Lin Chuan actually felt amused.
At this moment, he decided to rein himself in and stop tormenting Yu Xiaogang for now.
Of course, this meant he wasn't in a hurry to torment him, not that he was being softhearted.
To put it simply.
This was called slow torment, meticulous torment, strategic torment.
The key was to keep the stream flowing steadily. You couldn't keep shearing the same sheep until you sheared it to death, right?
After all, the system bound to him had some pretty hardcore functions.
Perhaps he would have a chance to visit other Douluo Worlds for some fun in the future.
Across Douluo I through Douluo V, Yu Xiaogang was a genuine rarity, "the only one in all five worlds."
If he really shattered Yu Xiaogang's mentality now, making him shut his eyes, kick out his legs, and seek death with nothing left to live for, there would be no hope of any future entertainment.
It was like playing a game where the only hidden NPC went offline early. How were you supposed to play through the rest?
It would be an utter waste of a precious thing.
As for Tang San... he didn't matter.
There was one in each of the five worlds, so losing one wouldn't hurt at all.
With that thought, Lin Chuan wasted no time. He stepped forward, a teasing smile appearing on his face:
"You've never seen a First Soul Ring over 423 years old? That only means your experience is limited. You're just a frog at the bottom of a well. Fine, I'll open your eyes today."
As soon as he finished speaking, a Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, shimmering purple.
Of course, this Soul Ring was merely a simulated fake.
After all, his First Soul Ring was a genuine hundred-thousand-year one.
It wasn't that he insisted on playing the pig to eat the tiger. He simply knew Tang Hao was watching from the shadows.
If he actually revealed his Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, he'd be in enormous trouble.
But that was fine...
He had now saved enough system points. Once he did a ten-pull tonight, if he managed to draw a Peerless Douluo-level enforcer, who would still want to hide things here then?
For now, though, this shade of purple was already enough to make Yu Xiaogang's jaw drop.
After all, throughout Douluo I, aside from God-Given Soul Rings.
No one had ever been seen with a purple First Soul Ring.
The moment the purple Thousand-Year Soul Ring rose, Yu Xiaogang staggered two steps backward.
He trembled uncontrollably, his eyes instantly filling with bloodshot veins as he said in utter disbelief:
"Impossible, absolutely impossible! Who has a thousand-year First Soul Ring? Fake, this has to be fake!"
"A six-year-old child's physical constitution has limits. They absolutely cannot withstand the impact of a Thousand-Year Soul Ring. If they dare forcibly absorb one, their meridians will be severed inch by inch, and their body will explode. Death is the only outcome."
"This is definitely some trick to fool the eye... Why should a six-year-old brat get to wear a thousand-year ring as his First Soul Ring?"
Before he had even finished speaking, Yu Xiaogang suddenly threw back his head and burst into hysterical laughter.
At this moment, he felt only that the world before him had begun to spin, absurd as a cheap joke.
How could anyone possibly have a thousand-year First Soul Ring?
It contradicted every theory he had spent his life researching. It was simply impossible.
Watching Yu Xiaogang laugh wildly at the sky like a madman suffering from Qi deviation, Lin Chuan scoffed, his voice carrying the mockery of someone enjoying a show:
"I already told you, just because you haven't seen it doesn't mean it doesn't exist. Besides, people's physical constitutions are worlds apart to begin with. What gives you the right to lump everyone together and stubbornly insist that nobody's First Soul Ring can exceed 423 years?"
"I remember you have some other theories in that head of yours, don't you? How about this? List them one by one, and I'll go through each of them for you. What do you say?"
Yu Xiaogang ignored him completely, continuing to laugh maniacally until his whole body shook, muttering the same words over and over:
"Fake... it's all fake... I can't tell, I really can't tell anymore."
As he spoke, he widened his blood-red eyes and frantically scanned his surroundings like a beast at the end of its rope.
The next second, his gaze locked onto Tang San, who lay sprawled on the floor. He charged over like a ravenous tiger pouncing on its prey, haphazardly swung Tang San onto his shoulder, turned, and barreled out through Dorm Seven's door without looking back.
Watching this series of movements, Lin Chuan was completely dumbfounded.
He had thought Yu Xiaogang had gone mad after having his defenses shattered. He hadn't expected it to be entirely an act.
After all, if it wasn't an act, how could his movements have been so smooth?
Sure enough...
Yu Xiaogang wasn't just unparalleled at pretending to faint. His ability to feign madness and play the fool had also reached the pinnacle of mastery.