[Host has made Xiao Wu feel disgust toward Tang San, seizing a great amount of Tang San's fortune!]
[Reward: "Spirit Ring Age +1000"!]
Tang Lan could clearly feel a slight enhancement in his physical strength.
Damn!
Just making Xiao Wu dislike Tang San was worth +1000 spirit ring years?
If he could completely steal her away…
Tsk tsk tsk!
"Big Brother."
Tang San clutched his chest.
"I don't know why… but I feel a deep pain in my heart."
Of course you do!
One of your greatest opportunities was slipping away from you!
"Are you feeling unwell?"
Tang Lan asked with concern.
"Let me heal you."
Before Tang San could refuse,
Tang Lan placed a hand on his shoulder and channeled Nine Yang Divine Skill into him.
That pure yang energy once again contaminated his Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Tang San's face turned green!
His heart ached even more!
Where would he find the time to worry about anything else?
He frantically waved his hands.
"Big Brother! I feel much better!"
"Stop wasting your soul power! Please, just stop!"
Tang Lan didn't stop,
Instead, he stared at Tang San suspiciously.
"Are you sure? I have plenty of soul power. Don't worry about me wasting it."
"I'm sure!" Tang San panicked.
"Oh! I just remembered—I have something to do at my dorm! I'll come visit later!"
And then—
He bolted.
Tang Lan chuckled to himself.
Although the system didn't trigger a reward,
That burst of Nine Yang inner power would set back Tang San's cultivation by a few more days.
Winning Xiao Wu Over
For the next few days—
Because of Tang San, Xiao Wu treated Tang Lan a little colder than before.
There was a sense of "sharing a bed but not the same dreams."
But soothing a girl's temper?
Tang Lan was a natural at that.
All he had to do was target her interests.
Xiao Wu had been protected by her mother since birth,
And later, she grew up sheltered by Da Ming and Er Ming.
Her knowledge of the outside world was about the same as a child's.
So—
Tang Lan simply brought her nice clothes, tasty food, and cute stuffed animals.
And occasionally—
He would "accidentally" cross the boundary line on their bed,
Giving Xiao Wu an excuse to punish him and vent her frustrations.
Before long—
She completely forgave him, returning to her playful self.
She even kept pestering Tang Lan to teach her "the secret to getting stronger."
And, of course—
Tang Lan agreed.
The Midnight Lesson
That night, after lights out—
Xiao Wu lay awake, staring at Tang Lan with suspicious pink eyes.
"Why does this strength training have to happen at night?"
In her experience—
Getting stronger just meant lifting weights or doing physical training, right?
Could it be that Tang Lan wanted to…
"Don't overthink it."
Tang Lan's voice was calm.
"It's just replacing sleep with training to improve efficiency."
As he spoke—
His hand crossed the boundary line, gently grasping Xiao Wu's small hand.
Before she could pull away—
A surge of Nine Yang inner power entered her body.
That pure, scorching yang energy—
Made Xiao Wu tremble all over!
This blazing-hot soul power—
Was filled with "human vitality."
As a 100,000-year soul beast in human form—
She had to stay close to humans for a long time until she reached rank 60 to fully solidify her human transformation.
But now—
With this scorching soul power inside her—
She no longer needed to stay around humans all the time!
Instead, she could just find a few humans, absorb a little of their energy now and then,
And she'd be fine!
That meant—
The most dangerous, weakest stage of a soul beast's transformation…
She could now completely avoid it!
If that was true—
Then Da Ming and Er Ming could also safely take human form!
Thinking of this—
Xiao Wu tightened her grip on Tang Lan's hand,
Carefully memorizing the flow of energy.
She focused completely on learning.
And, as expected of a 100,000-year soul beast—
Her talent was exceptional.
In just one night,
She mastered the first level of Nine Yang Divine Skill and began working on the second level—Muscle Cleansing and Marrow Washing (易筋洗髓).
The second level would take some time to complete.
Xiao Wu could have trained on her own.
But—
She enjoyed the warmth of Tang Lan's soul power too much.
So every night—
She pretended she hadn't learned it yet,
And actively crossed the boundary line, reaching for Tang Lan's hand.
Tang Lan hadn't expected this development.
Their relationship grew more ambiguous—
And the intensity between them steadily increased.
Over time—
Her hatred for Tang San faded.
Instead, she simply ignored him whenever they met in class.
—That was the best she could do.
But Tang San—
Had no idea what was going on.
So he ignored Xiao Wu in return.
From then on—
The two of them became complete strangers.
Tang Lan watched everything unfold—
Feeling completely satisfied.
Everything was going exactly as planned.
Yu Xiaogang Appears
Until one day—
A voice at the classroom door shattered this peaceful balance.
"Tang Lan and Tang San, step outside for a moment."
Yu Xiaogang.
Tang Lan's expression darkened immediately.
This is bad!
Such a targeted summons—
This guy wasn't here with good intentions!
Tang Lan glanced at Tang San, who also looked confused.
Tang Lan had a suspicion.
—Could it be that Tang Hao heard Yu Xiaogang was here and asked him to teach us?
After all—
While Yu Xiaogang was a fraud who plagiarized research papers,
Until he was exposed, his theoretical knowledge was still well-respected.
With that thought in mind—
Tang Lan and Tang San followed Yu Xiaogang to an office.
Yu Xiaogang: "I'll Be Your Master!"
"You must be wondering why I called you here."
Yu Xiaogang got straight to the point—
"You may call me 'Grandmaster.'"
"Your father has entrusted me with teaching you about the ways of a Soul Master."
"I heard that both of you have twin martial souls and innate full soul power?"
"Summon them. Let me see for myself."
Tang Lan's eyes darkened.
Just as I thought!
Tang Hao, you damn lazy bum!
You left, and instead of making things easier, you dragged me down with you!
But—
At least this time, Yu Xiaogang wasn't just guessing from a piece of paper.
So Tang San didn't feel that "plagiarist energy" yet.
He simply gave Tang Lan a look, signaling him to handle the situation.
Tang Lan considered for a moment.
Since Tang Hao had already gotten involved,
It was impossible to shake off Yu Xiaogang completely.
So there was only one solution—
Overwhelm Tang San with talent, just like Tang Hao did!
That way, Yu Xiaogang would lose interest in him.
Without hesitation—
Tang Lan removed his disguise, summoning his life-bound Blue Silver Emperor.
That emerald-green hue made Yu Xiaogang's eyes narrow!
Blue Silver Grass was supposed to be blue!
And those golden veins—what was going on?!
This looked nothing like Blue Silver Grass!
In fact—
"Your martial soul has mutated!" Yu Xiaogang said with certainty.
Tang Lan's eye twitched—
Well, duh! That's obvious!
Then, with his left hand, he summoned the Thunderflame Clear Sky Hammer—
The fire-red hammer crackled with arcs of lightning.
Yu Xiaogang's face lit up with joy!
He found it!
He finally found a true genius who could prove his theories!
Compared to Tang Lan's impressive display—
Tang San's ordinary Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer were completely overshadowed.
That neglect—
Made Tang San's expression turn even darker.
The Disrespect is Real
"Good, good, good!" Yu Xiaogang laughed in excitement.
"Tang Lan, would you be willing to take me as your master?"
Tang Lan blinked, saying nothing.
After a few seconds—
Yu Xiaogang finally seemed to remember Tang San existed.
He turned to him and added—
"Of course, Tang San, if you're willing, I can accept you as my disciple as well."
Tang San: "…"
Don't treat me like I'm stupid!
Did he really think Tang San couldn't tell this was just a throw-in offer?
Tang San knew nothing about Yu Xiaogang's true nature yet,
But this level of blatant favoritism—
It was completely unacceptable.
With his pride wounded, Tang San firmly rejected him.
"No thanks."
"A person can only have one true master in their life."
"I don't need an irresponsible teacher."
Translation:
"I can tell you don't give a damn about me, so take your favoritism and screw off."
Tang Lan's eyes gleamed with excitement!
Damn!
That flip-off was instant!
Now I can side with Tang San and refuse Yu Xiaogang together!
System Notification:
[Host has delayed Tang San from becoming Yu Xiaogang's disciple, seizing a great amount of Tang San's fortune!]
[Reward: Pending Calculation…]
(End of Chapter)