Chapter 193

Just as Tang San was daydreaming, Zhu Zhuqing launched another attack. The cold light on her cat claws was icy, with a fierce aura, she fiercely struck Tang San's cheek, instantly pulling him out of his pleasant fantasy.

"Ah~" a tragic scream came from Tang San's mouth, and his face was once again engulfed in burning pain.

At this moment, Tang San was filled with grief and indignation, finally understanding Zhu Zhuqing's 'vicious' heart—she wasn't realizing her mistake; she wanted to torment him.

When had Tang San ever been so miserable, being treated like a sandbag and abused at will?

"Puh~" overcome with rage attacking his heart, Tang San couldn't help but spit out a mouthful of old blood, his trembling finger pointing at Zhu Zhuqing.

Zhu Zhuqing directly ignored Tang San, not waiting for him to speak, her cat claws like a phantom continued to strike Tang San.

She didn't worry at all that her heavy hand would cripple Tang San's body, because Ye Lingling's healing light constantly enveloped Tang San.

However, Ye Lingling's healing only restored Tang San's bodily injuries, not his soul power. Thus, Tang San had no strength to resist, and due to Zhu Zhuqing's attack rhythm being too rapid, he could barely even utter surrender.

Tang San's face flushed crimson, his resentment toward Zhu Zhuqing reaching its peak—he had never hated anyone so much; he secretly swore to make her pay tenfold, a hundredfold.

Thus, Tang San endured treatment while being mercilessly attacked by Zhu Zhuqing, as if—no, he was truly suffering the extreme punishment of death by a thousand cuts.

Zhu Zhuqing watched her sister's fierce moves, feeling an itch in her hands. But as the sister with the broadest mind, she generously let this 'toy' go to her sister, arms crossed before her chest, amusedly watching Tang San being abused.

"Good hit, beat that little bastard to death."

"Grab his face! Kick his groin."

"Don't, don't dirty your hands."

"……"

For a time, cheers rose and fell on the spectator stands, and some even offered strategies.

Of course, Zhu Zhuqing did not employ those despicable methods to attack Tang San's vital parts; she even avoided touching his body, all her attacks being cat claws formed by condensing soul power on her hands, trying to avoid direct contact with Tang San.

"Stop!"

"Referee, we surrender! We want to surrender!"

As the spectators' cheers continued, Yu Xiao Gang, standing on the stands, shouted anxiously.

Actually, upon seeing Dai Mubai, Oscar, and Feng Xiaotian successively lose combat ability, Fland had already wanted to call for surrender.

But Yu Xiao Gang still held a sliver of hope for Tang San; even if defeat was inevitable, he wished Tang San could stay on the stage a bit longer, show more of his strength, achieving the honor of 'losing with glory,' so he delayed speaking for Tang San's team to surrender.

But now he could no longer sit still, because the spectators paid no attention to Tang San's ability, instead hurling verbal abuse at him; if this continued, his little three would only suffer a beating for nothing.

Zhu Zhuqing heard Yu Xiao Gang's shout but did not stop; her jade leg whipped like a steel rod, lashing fiercely at Tang San's lower back.

"Ah~"

Instantly, Tang San's tragic scream echoed across the sky; an unprecedented pain surged from his lower back, making him feel as if his internal organs in the waist and abdomen were being torn apart.

The next moment, after the world spun before his eyes, his vision gradually fell into darkness.

"Boom~"

Tang San crashed heavily to the ground, kicking up dust; his consciousness had sunk into unconsciousness, yet his body still twitched involuntarily.

"Xiao San! Xiao San"

Yu Xiao Gang shouted anxiously, ran onto the stage, embraced Tang San's waist with both hands, and helped him sit up straight.

Instantly, Tang San's body convulsed more violently a few times, even his eyelids twitched slightly, as if trying to open, but ultimately he failed.

"Xiao San, wake up quickly; without you, how can I, as your master, survive?"

Tang San is his most precious disciple, the proof of his hopes; Yu Xiao Gang was now as anxious as an ant on a hot pan.

"Referee, we surrender."

Fland threw out a white towel, also ran onto the stage, shielding Yu Xiao Gang and Tang San behind him.

"Referee! I want to complain; they aren't even competing, they're intentionally attempting murder! They violated the match rules. I demand they be judged the losers."

Yu Xiao Gang looked at the still-unconscious Tang San, his eyes bloodshot, turned his head, and glared angrily at Zhu Zhuqing; even though Zhu Zhuqing was his niece-in-law, his gaze was filled with hatred!

"Hmph!" Zhu Zhuqing merely gave a soft snort, turned sideways, leaving her back of the head, and no longer glanced at that master-disciple pair.

At that moment, Ye Lingling heard Yu Xiao Gang's words and immediately stopped her healing light; she also felt somewhat displeased. Though she didn't know Yu Xiao Gang, she was extremely disgusted by his slander of her team, silently thinking: 'Obviously it's this Tang San who refuses to eat bitterness and refuses to take a beating.'

On the other side, Zhu Zhuqing, who had been watching the show, laughed furiously, turned to the referee, and asked: 'Honorable referee, I only have one question: are they dead?'

Only then did the referee come to his senses; the earlier battle had been incredibly exciting, these people's strength mostly not inferior to his own as a Soul King referee, and while watching he had learned many combat techniques, engrossed, and seeing Tang San's miserable state also felt gratified.

After reacting, the referee turned his head to look at Dai Mubai and others at the edge of the stage, then at Tang San in Yu Xiao Gang's arms, and at Xiao Wu lying lifeless on the other side.

Dai Mubai and the five others, though bloody and looking grim, were fine; they had even regained consciousness. Only Xiao Wu and Tang San remained unconscious, but they still breathed, so they shouldn't die.

Zhu Zhuqing then pointed to Ye Lingling standing at the rear: 'Our auxiliary system Soul Master's ability is healing. She has been observing the condition of Team One of the Tian Dou Royal Academy, releasing healing soul skills when injuries are severe—just now, she has been healing Tang San; if we wanted to kill, would we still heal the opponent?' Zhu Zhuqing's voice wasn't loud, but extremely clear; she deliberately projected her voice via soul power so everyone could hear.

"Yeah, we can all testify that Lan Ba Academy had no murderous intent."

"Right, on the contrary, the vice-captain of the Tian Dou Royal Academy declared that the opposing side had a death-seeking path."

"……"

For a moment, the spectators outside were all stirred up, many supporting Lan Ba Academy, showing extreme dissatisfaction toward Team One of the Tian Dou Royal Academy, especially Tang San.

"You clearly are just making it convenient to torture Tang San." The referee muttered to himself, then without hesitation loudly announced: "In the first match of the first round of the preliminaries, Lan Ba Academy wins!"

"Ref..." Yu Xiao Gang wanted to say more, but Fland promptly stopped him.

Fland pressed his voice into a line, sound directly transmitted into Yu Xiao Gang's ear, urgently saying: 'Xiao Gang, I beg you not to speak; it's truly not the opponent's fault—indeed Xiao San first spoke rudely, and they gave him a chance to surrender, which he insisted on refusing. Furthermore...'

Fland paused, took a deep breath, looked at Yu Xiao Gang somewhat puzzled, and slowly said: 'Furthermore, they are clearly your nieces-in-law! And your father is also watching from above! Are you sure you want to keep making a fuss?'

In Fland's view, Yu Xiao Gang's behavior was indeed excessive, utterly unaware of familial closeness, for a disciple he actually pressed his own relatives hard.

How would outsiders see this? How would Yu Yuanzhen in the VIP seats see it? His own son making things difficult for his daughters-in-law—if this continues, where would he put his old face? Lan Dian Ba Wang Sect might become a laughingstock again, with the continent saying someone is mocking them.

Fland still had some things he couldn't say; if it weren't for his long friendship with Yu Xiao Gang, as close as brothers, he certainly wouldn't intervene in Yu Xiao Gang's family matters.

Fland's words struck like thunder, instantly clearing Yu Xiao Gang's mind. He then took a deep breath, steadied his emotions, and chose not to speak further.

During this process, he kept his head lowered, not daring to glance at the VIP seats, fearing to see his father's expression of helplessness and frustration. What he feared most was being mocked and despised by his family, and his father's disappointment.

Seeing Yu Xiao Gang calm down and cease his uproar, Fland finally breathed a sigh of relief. He approached Zhu Zhuqing, embarrassed, and said: 'Sorry, Xiao Gang got a bit excited, which led to his rash words. Please don't blame him.'

"President Fland, you're overdoing it—how could we dare blame Uncle!" Zhu Zhuqing smiled lightly, speaking softly. However, she deliberately emphasized the word "uncle"; if not for Yu Xiao Gang's senior status, she would certainly not be so polite.

Fland seemed not to hear the mockery in Zhu Zhuqing's words, thickening his face as he continued, "Could you please have your support-system Soul Master heal our team members?"

"Yes." Zhu Zhuqing turned her head to signal Ye Lingling with a nod, and Ye Lingling then released her healing soul skill again, this time not just healing Tang San but treating all seven members of the Tiandou Royal Academy team.

After a moment, Ye Lingling retracted her martial soul, her breathing slightly short, for healing seven people at once was still quite a burden for her as a Soul Ancestor, but her healing effect truly lived up to the reputation of the continent's top healing-system martial soul, the Nine Heart Sea Begonia.

Only then did one see that Dai Mubai and the other five had returned to normal; aside from the bloodstains still on their bodies, their wounds had fully healed, yet Tang San and Xiao Wu remained unconscious.

Xiao Wu's unconsciousness was due to a mental backlash, a situation Ye Lingling could do nothing about, while Tang San's state was deliberately caused by Ye Lingling.

At Yu Tianyun's request, Ning Rongrong also imparted the Divided Attention Control technique to Ye Lingling, who seemed quite gifted in this regard; after two years she had directly reached the level of the Six Apertures.

In the healing light she used on Tang San, she deliberately reduced her soul power output, healing only his external injuries while leaving the internal ones untreated, because she still held a grudge against Tang San's "Way of Courting Death".

"Thank you, thank you." Seeing Ye Lingling finish her healing, Fland bowed his hands in gratitude, then said to Yu Xiao Gang, "Xiao Gang, let's head back."

Yu Xiao Gang said nothing, merely nodding lightly; his spirits were very low as he lifted Tang San and walked straight out of the arena.

"Alas!" Fland let out a soft sigh, then picked up Xiao Wu and followed after them.

At the same time, Dai Mubai, Shi Mo, and the others also fled in disgrace, trailing behind Fland's backside.

Upon seeing Tang San in Yu Xiao Gang's arms, Dai Mubai showed a look of contempt: "What an idiot, what's there to be tough about? You'd be better off just admitting defeat like me, saving yourself further beatings—I only felt a little pain, while you've suffered countless times; you totally deserve it."

Dai Mubai reflected for a moment, and the vicious act Zhu Zhuqing had just inflicted on Tang San sent a chill down his spine; he suddenly felt he no longer harbored any affection for Zhu Zhuqing.

……

"Alas! Tang San's disposition is still not mature enough, and why has his fortune diminished so much? Could it be that they sabotaged him? No, they don't have that kind of capability; if they had tampered, there would surely be some trace. This is really strange."

At this moment, on an unknown continent shrouded in fairy mist, there stands a blood-red, magnificent palace rising from a sea of blood—the very temple of the Asura God. Clad in blood-red demon armor, the middle-aged-looking Asura God gazes at a mirror formed of blood-red mist before him, furrowing his brow in thought, while the image within the mirror remains fixed on the last scene Tang San saw.

"Forget it, his fortune is still fairly strong; let's see after he obtains the Slaughter God Domain!" After a moment, the Asura God sighed, then waved his left hand lightly, dispelling the blood-red clouds before him.

……

At this moment, the atmosphere on the VIP seats grew somewhat solemn, with everyone remaining silent.

Originally Salas was bound to say a couple of lines regardless, but upon seeing Yu Xiao Gang, his face instantly turned extremely ugly, and he muttered to himself: "How could it be him? How could it be him?"

As an elder of the Spirit Hall and a loyal follower of Bi Bi Dong, Salas had known Yu Xiao Gang for a long time; indeed, he also knew that Yu Xiao Gang had an unclear relationship with his own the Pope, and if he dared to utter a couple of sarcastic remarks, his Pope might very well personally come to the Spirit Hall Sacred Temple in Tiandou City the next day.

Furthermore, the old man sitting next to him—Yu Yuanzhen—had kept a dark ever since Yu Xiao Gang appeared on the stage, and even if you gave him ten guts, he still wouldn't dare say another word.

On the other side, the Snow Night Great Emperor's silence wasn't because of Yu Xiao Gang; he simply didn't know Yu Xiao Gang. He felt embarrassed, after all Tang San represented his Tiandou Royal Academy, represented the imperial family, but after learning Tang San's background from Ning Fengzhi, he also found it hard to say anything.

Moreover, he had originally wanted to ease the atmosphere by praising the Lan Ba Academy, but seeing Yu Yuanzhen continually wearing a dark face left him puzzled, so he decided not to touch that jinx.

Ning Fengzhi was actually the most relaxed among these bigwigs, even feeling a bit pleased, for seeing the perpetually smug Yu Yuanzhen finally suffer a setback naturally made him happy. However, out of respect for his in‑law's face, he still put on a natural demeanor.

"Cough cough!"

(End of chapter)