Chapter 208: Shi Nian Sets His Sights on Tang San

Yu Tianyun waved a hand, and Dugubo's Ruyi Treasure Bag at his waist vanished without a trace.

Then Yu Tianyun asked, "Grandfather, how many days have passed now?"

"Twenty‑four days have already passed," Dugubo said without looking up, his hands still stroking Yu Tianyun's armor. The aura emanating from the armor felt very pleasant to him, and its texture was so fine that he couldn't let go.

"Twenty‑four days? That means the continent‑wide Elite Academy Competition for senior Soul Masters has been going on for fourteen days; it's time to return."

Yu Tianyun pondered briefly, forced his way out of Dugubo's poisonous claws, picked up the soul guide device he had dropped, and then gathered the clothes he had thrown on the ground into the device.

"Grandfather, I'm leaving now."

Having said that, Yu Tianyun did not wait for Dugubo's reply; his left foot struck the ground hard, and he shot forward like an arrow released from a bow.

A deafening boom rang out, yet the ground he stepped on showed no change and did not dent from the impact.

However, an invisible shockwave surged through the air, accompanied by a flash of barely perceptible black threads.

Dugubo blinked slightly, as if disoriented by the wind. His eyes clearly caught those black threads and instantly recognized them as spatial fissures.

"What level of power and control is this?"

"Hey? You stinky kid, wait for me!"

Dugubo had no time to sigh, because Yu Tianyun had already vanished into the sky, leaving only a series of booming sounds produced by the Explosion.

Immediately, he also rose into the air and headed toward Tiantou City.

He had originally planned to watch his granddaughter's match, but he stayed here out of worry for Yu Tianyun.

Now that Yu Tianyun has left, he sees no reason to remain.

……

Boom!

With a massive crash, Hu Yanli's hulking, meat‑mountain body was forcibly embedded into the hard rocky ground.

On the arena, a huge crater suddenly appeared; the cracked marks spread from the center of this crater to every corner of the arena in an instant.

Blood streamed from Hu Yanli's body, his wounds torn open all over, making him look extremely grim.

But there was nothing he could do—after all, the Xiangjia Academy team's defense was strong; they couldn't just be knocked out casually, so they would have to bleed more.

"Won't you admit defeat?" Duguyan's left foot pressed heavily on Hu Yanli's shoulder, teasingly asking.

"I admit defeat," Hu Yanli croaked with difficulty. He wasn't sure whether his team had lasted a full minute, but he was certain that if he kept going, he would surely die.

His injuries were already severe; if he kept resisting, the damage would worsen, possibly to the point where he'd have no chance to vie for a spot in the promotion round, so he chose to concede.

Hearing this, Duguyan slowly lifted his foot and looked toward the referee.

"Round 13, Match 8 of the preliminaries: Lanba Academy defeats Xiangjia Academy." The referee stared blankly for five or six seconds before remembering to announce the result.

This match was even more one‑sided than Lanba Academy's bout against the Tiantou Royal Academy.

The Xiangjia Academy team, famed for its defense, couldn't last a minute against Lanba Academy's team, being suppressed the whole time with no chance to fight back.

It was truly shocking.

Yet this was also the result of Lanba Academy deploying all its members, so Xiangjia Academy's loss was not undeserved.

"Aooo!"

"Lanba Academy! Lanba Academy!"

"The goddess steps…"

"I'll f*** you!"

As the referee's voice fell, an unprecedented roar erupted from the audience, including the few supporters of Xiangjia Academy.

In the end, the seven women of the Lanba Academy team exited amid the cheers and applause of the crowd.

In the VIP seats, Hu Yanzhen, seeing his grandson severely injured, felt his face harden like stone; he clenched his fists and slammed the armrest of his seat hard.

He was furious, especially seeing his grandson trampled by a woman with no chance to resist, his copper‑bell‑like eyes seeming ready to burst into flame.

It was a great humiliation, and it happened in front of everyone.

How could his Xiangjia Sect, one of the lower four sects, ever hold its head up after this?

Yet when he saw Yu Yuanzhen not far away, he had to force his anger down.

Dugubo, Hu Yanzhen is not afraid; in his eyes, that weakest Title Douluo of only ninety‑one levels can't trouble him.

But Yu Yuanzhen, a ninety‑five‑level Title Douluo, is not someone he can mock. (The true soul‑power levels of Dugubo and Yu Yuanzhen were not revealed.)

Sa La Si beside Hu Yanzhen also wore an uneasy expression, though it was just a grim look.

What else could he do? It wasn't his Spirit Hall that was embarrassed, nor his grandson that was beaten; why the rush? While the two of them were in a sour mood, the atmosphere on the other side was comparatively pleasant.

The Snow Night Emperor smiled and said, "Lord Yu, what a blessing for your grandson; your granddaughters‑in‑law are each more gifted than the last."

"Your Majesty overpraises me," Yu Yuanzhen laughed heartily, stroking his beard.

He appreciated the Snow Night Emperor's compliment, but still modestly replied, "My incompetent grandson has attracted so many fine ladies; I feel ashamed!"

Modest? This is outright bragging.

Sa La Si and Hu Yanzhen grew even more displeased after hearing that.

Sa La Si could still hold back, but Hu Yanzhen could not; he huffed a few coarse breaths in anger.

It was like rubbing salt into his wound.

Originally, members of the Xiangjia Sect, because of their martial souls, grew rather rough and found it hard to find wives; now hearing Yu Yuanzhen's words made him want to leave immediately, saying "I have other matters," and walking out.

Even Ning Fengzhi and Jian Douluo on the other side muttered in their hearts, "That old man feels guilty? He must be dreaming to be so happy."

Inside a private room of the Tiantou Royal Academy.

Tang San's face was extremely grim; the better Duguyan and her group performed, the more he was convinced they had taken immortal herbs.

The brooding Tang San no longer wanted to stay here; he needed to vent the fire inside his heart.

Tang San turned his head toward Yu Xiao Gang, "Teacher, I'd like to return to the academy early."

Yu Xiao Gang was startled, "Aren't you watching the competition?"

"Teacher, the battle between Lanba Academy and Xiangjia Academy has already ended." Tang San said calmly, "The other five Element Academies did not encounter each other in today's competition; when facing weak teams, they won't show their true strength. Rather than studying their hidden‑strength performance here, we should strengthen ourselves."

"As long as I raise my soul power level a bit, facing them will become easier."

If one wants soul power to increase quickly, what should one do? Tang San's answer is certainly the union of yin and yang.

"You don't need to worry about my safety; the competition isn't over yet, everyone's watching the matches, no one will notice me."

"Alright." Yu Xiao Gang nodded slightly, "But remember to change clothes before you go out, and be careful on the road."

Yu Xiao Gang wasn't really worried about Tang San's safety; if nothing goes wrong, Tang Hao is secretly protecting Tang San.

"Third brother, I'll go back with you too." Xiao Wu said, following closely.

Uh… Tang San's mouth twitched. Xiao Wu was following him; how could he go to vent fire? Although Xiao Wu had told him she didn't mind him going to such places, going out in broad daylight made it look somewhat eager.

But seeing Xiao Wu's pitiful eyes, Tang San couldn't bring himself to refuse.

After a moment of hesitation, Tang San said, "Fine."

Xiao Wu instantly brightened; she had long sensed that Tang San had been acting strangely lately, constantly disappearing without reason, so she wanted to investigate.

Soon, the two changed out of Tiandou Royal Academy's team uniforms and slipped away silently from the group.

"Lanba Academy is truly strong; they even have a Soul Emperor." In the Canghui Academy's spectator area, every trainee wore a solemn expression.

Shi Nian's eyes flickered as he glanced at the group of Lanba Academy women entering the corridor.

All this time, he never found a chance to assassinate them; now Duguyan revealed his Soul Emperor cultivation, making it even more troublesome for him.

His Remnant Dream martial soul is great for crushing weak opponents, but when facing opponents whose levels aren't far from his own, it's hard to inflict effective damage; at best it can only trap the enemy.

At that moment, the usually frowning Shi Nian's eyes suddenly lit up.

"If you encounter Lanba Academy ahead, just concede defeat."

He dropped that line and vanished before the Canghui Academy trainees.

After changing clothes, Tang San and Xiao Wu quietly slipped out of the Great Dou Soul Arena.

At this time, outside the Great Dou Soul Arena, only a few ticketless spectators and scalpers were present; otherwise it was fairly quiet.

Leaving the Great Dou Soul Arena, Tang San and Xiao Wu hurried toward the direction of Tiandou Royal Academy.

Meanwhile, Tang San kept pondering how, after returning to Tiandou Royal Academy, he could slip away from Xiao Wu's side and head to the place that enthralled him.

It was morning; the sun wasn't scorching, its warm light bathed him. Perhaps because his plant martial soul loves sunlight, Tang San enjoyed walking while basking in the sun, thinking. His whole body relaxed, even his urge to vent a little waned, though only a sliver, not enough to quell the craving of his marrow‑tasting self.

As he walked, Tang San's steps suddenly slowed; he sensed something amiss.

Although they had already passed the city gate and the mountain of Tiandou Royal Academy was near, looking up revealed there was still a short distance to go.

The sun was still shining on him, yet he felt no warmth; instead, a chilling sensation surged from all directions.

Without hesitation, Tang San instantly became alert, summoned his Lan Yin Cao Martial Soul, wrapped a vine tightly around Xiao Wu's waist, spread other vines around, and with his other hand drew the Zhuge Divine Crossbow from the Twenty‑Four Bright Moon Bridge, gripping it.

Xiao Wu also sensed something wrong; without Tang San's warning, she immediately let her martial soul possess her, watching the surroundings warily.

At that moment, the surroundings fell silent; the chirping of insects and birds vanished.

The scenery before them seemed veiled by a thin gauze, everything blurring in an instant.

The next second, a figure slowly emerged from ahead, gradually becoming clear, finally stopping about ten‑plus meters in front of Tang San and Xiao Wu.

"Impressive, as expected of an outstanding Tiandou Royal Academy student—your perception is sharp, but you're a bit late in noticing."

The figure was Shi Nian in a white robe; although Tang San didn't know him, his heart grew heavier, for Shi Nian bore seven Soul Rings.

Tang San signaled Xiao Wu to stay calm, then stared at Shi Nian with a composed expression, "May I ask who you are? What business do you have stopping the two of us here?"

"Heh heh heh!" Shi Nian chuckled oddly, staring at Tang San. "It's not about instruction; you'll soon vanish from this world. Still, making you a clear ghost won't hurt. Remember, I am the Canghui Academy's Mentor—Shi Nian!"

Tang San was taken aback; he and the Canghui Academy had some minor grudges two years ago, but those were trivial—why now such a big clash? Yet soon he guessed, replying coldly, "Are you trying to get the Canghui Academy through the promotion tournament?"

Shi Nian didn't answer Tang San's question; a hint of regret flashed in his eyes, "What a pity, you're not a student of my Canghui Academy."

Having said that, Shi Nian fell silent, his regret turning into a sinister coldness.

Tang San acted decisively, aiming the Zhuge Divine Crossbow at Shi Nian; sixteen bolts burst forth.

The gap was too great; a Soul Saint versus two Soul Elders, he could only rely on a surprise attack for a sliver of hope.

When the bolt pierced Shi Nian's chest, Tang San's face lit up, but immediately turned grim; Shi Nian's chest shed no blood, the bolt seemed to vanish into thin air, leaving no trace.

Shi Nian sneered and began to fight seriously.

Tang San and Xiao Wu struggled in vain, and eventually were pulled into Shi Nian's illusion, their vision shifting rapidly.

"Mother?" Xiao Wu's eyes widened as she saw a familiar young woman's figure.

The surroundings turned into an ancient forest filled with towering trees.

The young woman turned her head; her features were ninety percent like Xiao Wu's, her face full of sorrow as she gently instructed, "Xiao Wu, stay hidden. Mother will draw them away; after Mother does, you must quickly find Da Ming and Er Ming."

"Mother, no, I don't want to leave you." Xiao Wu sobbed, tears flooding like a breached dam.

The young woman ignored Xiao Wu, sprinted straight toward a direction.

Xiao Wu knew that direction housed three human Soul Masters—two men and a woman—who came to capture her and her mother.

She could only clutch the comb in her arms, daring not to shout, for this hard‑won chance of escape was bought with her mother's life.

After waiting a long while, Xiao Wu sorrowfully glanced toward her mother's departing direction, then turned toward the forest's depths, knowing only by finding Da Ming and Er Ming could she prevent her mother's needless sacrifice.

……

On the other side, a cliff appeared in Tang San's view—a cliff he would never forget—Ghost-Seeing Sorrow!

"A dream? Could everything that happened on Douluo Continent be just a dream?" Tang San stared blankly at the cliff ahead, his whole being becoming hazy.

"Tang San, you're audacious, daring to steal our sect's Xuan Tian Treasure Record—an unforgivable crime."

"Tang San, the Tang Sect raised you, taught you skills, and you commit such despicable, universally condemned acts…"

More than ten Tang Sect Elders appeared behind Tang San in succession, accusing his misdeeds.

"Ahhh!" Tang San screamed repeatedly as the elders battered his entire skeleton, shattering it piece by piece. In the end, the elders, like discarding a dead dog, tossed Tang San onto the cliff edge.

Intense pain surged from all over his body, extraordinarily real, causing Tang San's body to constantly spasm and twitch.

He couldn't tell whether the other world was a dream or this world was a dream.

Gradually, he felt his body growing weaker and weaker, as if his life had reached its end, and the world in his eyes began to blur.

"Third brother, third brother, save me, save me..." Suddenly, Xiao Wu's anguished cry came from beside his ear. (End of chapter)