Tang San became a simp

Yun Yun's voice carried a sob, making it hard not to feel sympathy.

According to him, the New Soul Project benefited not only the Soul Masters participating in it, but also the Spirit Hall Branches that recommended them.

The Spirit Hall Branches could use these rewards to nurture emerging talent, thereby achieving good results in the next New Soul Project and creating a virtuous cycle.

The reverse was also true.

Neighboring Tanding City had distinguished itself in competitions at the sub-hall and even main-hall levels for several consecutive rounds, and its foundations kept growing stronger.

With those financial resources, its reach had grown longer and longer, gradually extending into neighboring cities to recruit talented young Soul Masters.

Nuoding City, which had consistently ranked at the bottom in recent years and had never enjoyed these benefits, was undoubtedly the best target. Several talents Ma Xiunuo and the others had their eyes on had been poached with superior offers.

If this continued, Nuoding City's Spirit Hall Branch would only decline further, until it became nothing more than a source of talent for other cities.

"What does that have to do with me?" Xiao Yao shrugged.

A source of talent or whatever-he felt no particular sense of belonging to Nuoding City.

The young lady Yun Yun had indeed treated him well, but that only showed her professionalism. It did not mean she would offer him any help beyond her duties.

Likewise, he had no obligation to help her.

Yun Yun looked at Ma Xiunuo. She had already done her best.

Ma Xiunuo held up three fingers.

Yun Yun nodded and continued speaking to Xiao Yao:

"Judging by how you came to our Spirit Hall yesterday, you must be rather short of money. In that case, how about we pay you to compete for us?"

"We'll pay you three thousand Gold Soul Coins to lend us a hand."

Xiao Yao's eyes lit up. "Money? This isn't about money. I just can't stand seeing Nuoding City bullied."

"Come on, let's go inside and discuss it. Do you want sub-hall-level rewards or main-hall-level rewards? Even sacred-hall rewards aren't out of the question, but that'll cost extra."

Yun Yun had not expected Xiao Yao to change his tune so quickly, and for a moment, she was at a loss.

She looked toward Master Ma Xiunuo, only to discover that he had already fainted from happiness.

Ma Xiunuo's final thought before fainting was: Yun Yun, you **! I meant three hundred! Why did you say three thousand?

Our branch's entire annual budget is only five thousand, and you spent three thousand the moment you opened your mouth. How about you manage the household from now on?

After he saw them off, Xiao Wu happened to wake up. Once Xiao Yao told her what had happened, she seemed extremely excited:

"Can I finally bully those little brats? I was ready when I left the heart of the forest. I've been itching to get started!"

A trace of cold sweat ran down Xiao Yao's forehead. No wonder you went straight after Xiao Chenyu and his bunch in the original story. So you'd been planning it for ages.

Without much delay, Yun Yun and Ma Xiunuo took the two of them to Mo City, the higher-ranking city overseeing Nuoding City, the next day.

It was worth mentioning that Tang San was also traveling in the carriage with them. It seemed Ma Xiunuo had really steeled himself this time and invited Tang San over from Nuoding Academy as well.

Xiao Yao deliberately asked, "Where's your teacher? Why didn't he come along?"

Tang San was a little embarrassed. "Teacher is conducting some very important research and can't get away, so he had me come on my own."

The truth was that the unending burning of heart fire had left Yu Xiaogang exhausted in both body and mind, utterly incapable of traveling far.

Even his stamina had greatly diminished. In the past, he had taught Tang San all day, from morning until night, but now he only taught him for two hours in the afternoon.

Tang San's initial thought had also been that something was wrong with the cup of tea Xiao Yao had given Yu Xiaogang. But on second thought, there was no grievance or enmity between them. Surely a failed attempt to take him as a disciple did not warrant such a vicious attack.

After another examination, he found that Yu Xiaogang merely had excessive liver fire and needed more rest.

That settled it. This had absolutely nothing to do with Xiao Yao. It was Yu Xiaogang's own problem, and he could only recuperate slowly.

Listening to Tang San's explanation, Xiao Yao secretly chuckled without exposing the truth.

Throughout the journey, Tang San kept trying to get close to Xiao Wu.

Ever since he had seen Xiao Wu that day, her image seemed to have been imprinted on his heart.

He thought of her while eating and while sleeping. Only when cultivating could he temporarily put her out of his mind.

After thinking it over and over, Tang San felt that he had probably fallen in love at first sight. However, he still had a heavy cultivation workload and was not yet qualified to pursue love, so he could only set it aside for now.

He had already forced himself to forget Xiao Wu. Who would have thought he would encounter her again while traveling for experience?

This reignited the flame he had only just suppressed.

He was even more excessive now. Last time, at Xiao Yao's home, he had still observed some boundaries, stopping at the interactions of strangers. Now, he practically had "I like you" carved onto his face.

Xiao Yao had been about to chase Tang San away, but then stopped.

What a rare sight. When had he ever seen Tang San act like this?

"Xiao Wu, are you hungry? I heard grass is food for rabbits. Should I conjure up some Blue Silver Grass for you?"

"I don't like eating grass. I eat carrots."

"Xiao Wu, this is something I invented myself. I call it a hidden weapon. It's convenient and useful. I'll give it to you."

"Sorry, but compared to this sneaking-and-thieving stuff, I prefer the thrill of fists hitting flesh."

"Then let me be your punching bag. My flesh is really good-smooth and soft to hit."

How did the current Tang San resemble a future God King in the slightest? He was a simp through and through.

Xiao Yao was not at all worried that he could simp his way into stealing Xiao Wu away, either.

Xiao Wu's intimacy with him was now over eighty. What level was that?

Even when Xiao Wu sacrificed herself for Tang San in the original story, it had probably only been around this level.

Mo City truly deserved to be called a higher-ranking city. In both size and prosperity, it left Nuoding City several streets behind.

Ma Xiunuo led everyone to settle into the hotel designated by Spirit Hall.

Just then, an ill-timed voice rang out:

"So it's you, Little Ma. I thought Nuoding City wasn't coming this year, and someone else could take the bottom spot."

Seeing the speaker, Ma Xiunuo displayed a rare look of anger. "Liu Wei! If you hadn't kept poaching our people, would we have ended up dead last?"

The middle-aged man called Liu Wei laughed heartily. "Blame yourselves for not having the ability to keep them."

Inside the carriage, Xiao Yao said to Xiao Wu, "This man is no good. They're both members of Spirit Hall, after all. Master Ma Xiunuo is decades older than him, yet he calls him Little Ma. Someone like that has terrible character."

"Exactly, exactly! Watch me go out and teach him a lesson."

"Don't rush, Xiao Wu. Let me." Tang San stopped Xiao Wu and jumped out of the carriage himself.

Xiao Yao smiled as though everything was under his control.

He had deliberately said those things to Xiao Wu just now, precisely to make Tang San, who was eager to show off before her, go out and get thrashed.

Tang San was only rank thirteen now, while Ma Xiunuo was already a rank twenty-nine Soul Grandmaster. Naturally, Liu Wei, who could look down on him, could not be much weaker.

Could anything good possibly be waiting for him?

The current Tang San had not even begun forging hidden weapons yet.

Even if Tang San had a protagonist halo and defeated Liu Wei through an explosive burst of power, he would still expose himself before Spirit Hall.

Previously, Tang San had merely possessed a Trash Martial Soul. Even with innate full soul power, the branch's people had not valued him.

But if Tang San displayed astonishing combat strength, there was a good chance Spirit Hall's people would discover him ahead of time. Then the direction of the plot would become very interesting.