Chapter 189: The Oriole Behind

Trapped within Shi Nian's mental soul skill, Tang San entered a world of illusion.

He felt as if he had returned to the Tang Sect of his previous life, but this time, his infallible Hidden Weapons were easily neutralized by a Tang Sect Elder.

Panic filled his brain; Tang San stood dazed on the spot and was quickly captured by Tang Sect disciples.

In the outside world, Shi Nian stuck out his tongue, licked the corner of his mouth, and revealed a sinister, ferocious, and wicked grin, "What a pity, my strength is still too weak. If I could break through to Title Douluo, I would be able to see what he experienced in his dream."

For a psychopath like him, prying into others' secrets was the best way to please himself.

It was just a pity that Shi Nian's cultivation was insufficient; otherwise, if he had managed to pry into Tang San's previous life, that would have been interesting.

In the shadows, Wu Qi watched the scene before him at every moment.

Tang San did not summon his Blue Silver Grass to protect himself as he had in the original timeline.

Of course, without the opportunity of the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, he had no Yama's Invitation in his possession; even if he could break the illusion, he could do nothing to Shi Nian.

Shi Nian's suppression grew continuously; Tang San let out a shrill, miserable scream and passed out cold.

Seeing that the time was ripe, Wu Qi gave an order, and Dugu Bo moved quickly.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Time Solidification!"

The Green Phosphorus Snake Inner Core was spat out from his mouth and hovered above Shi Nian's head.

The next instant, the entire space fell into a state of stagnation, and Shi Nian stared with wide, astonished eyes.

What he had done was a capital offense; now that he had been discovered, his fate was self-evident!

In an instant, his face turned ashen; he stood frozen on the spot, waiting to be captured.

Dugu Bo revealed himself and walked toward him step by step, "Shi Nian, harming a contestant—do you know what kind of crime you have committed?"

Shi Nian saw who it was, lowered his head, and remained silent.

Facing this Poison Douluo, did he have any hope of escaping?

Wu Qi did not appear, hiding in the shadows to observe everything.

Under his prior instructions, Dugu Bo asked, "Shi Nian, let me ask you: who did you work with to rob the treasure transport carriage of the Tiandou Auction House? Confess honestly, and I might be able to plead for you!"

Shi Nian was no fool; he knew exactly what kind of person the other party was.

If Dugu Bo had said he would give him a quick death, he might have believed it, as that was Dugu Bo's nature.

With such a statement, he was only convinced that he had been set up!

Of course, if he revealed that person's identity, he would have no way to survive either.

However, he still had to fight for himself; what if there was still a way to live?

"Your Excellency Poison Douluo, I don't know what you are talking about, but as long as you are willing to let me go and keep today's secret, I am willing to pay any price."

Seeing that the other party remained unmoved, he continued to increase the stakes: "I have a soul bone; as long as you are willing to let me go, the soul bone is yours."

Dugu Bo sneered, "Since you refuse to admit it, I don't want to ask further. As for the soul bone, isn't it on you? Do you take me for a fool?"

After speaking, his Jade Phosphorus Snake Emperor martial soul opened its blood-red maw.

Shi Nian's eyes were filled with terror; he could not let out a single scream before he was dissolved into a puddle of flesh by the toxins on the spot.

A soul bone emitting a brilliant luster lay quietly on the ground.

Dugu Bo hooked his finger, and a gentle wave of soul power lifted the soul bone, which he then stored in his Soul Guidance Device.

Confirming that no one around had noticed, Wu Qi stood up and came to Dugu Bo's side.

"Old man, it's not over yet. Use your mental power to unlock the seal on Tang San's Soul Guidance Device."

"You want to rob his things?" Dugu Bo asked, puzzled.

Given Wu Qi's background, what was there that he couldn't get? Did he really need to rob someone?

Wu Qi did not explain, only urging him to act quickly.

Dugu Bo did not hesitate; relying on his Title Douluo mental power, he easily erased the seal on the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.

Wu Qi touched the jade stones with his finger, and the items inside poured out.

The first jade stone, which was also the most accessible position for Tang San, was filled with Hidden Weapons.

Ordinary Hidden Weapons required special techniques to launch and were of no use to Wu Qi. The mechanical Hidden Weapons were useful, but they were not the purpose of Wu Qi's trip.

Searching through the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges, he discovered quite a few Hidden Weapon blueprints.

These blueprints were one of his goals; with them, the Spirit Hall could fully arm itself in the future and use Tang San's own methods to defeat Tang San.

Wu Qi's main goal was to obtain the Mysterious Heaven Art in Tang San's possession.

As everyone knew, this cultivation art accompanied Tang San throughout his life; even after he achieved the status of God King, he could still practice it.

How could Wu Qi miss such an exquisite item?

But unfortunately, Tang San had not recorded the art in writing, and it was not found in his Soul Guidance Device.

Thinking about it, that made sense; for such an important art, Tang San would certainly not let it leak out, and it was likely deeply imprinted in his mind, not easily left in written records.

Seeing that a long time had passed, Dugu Bo urged, "Little guy, are you done yet?"

"Highway robbery" in broad daylight—if they were discovered, it would be disadvantageous for them.

Sighing, Wu Qi put all the blueprints into his own Soul Guidance Device, "Old man, clean up the battlefield. Make it look like Shi Nian tried to kill for goods and was arrested by you."

After speaking, he quickly retreated.

The sky grew dark.

The Shrek group gradually realized that Tang San was missing.

They first searched the competition grounds without finding a trace of him, and then checked the places he frequented, as well as the academy, but he was nowhere to be found.

For a moment, the Shrek group panicked.

"Damn it, where on earth did Xiao San go?" Yu Xiaogang frowned deeply.

If he hadn't seen that Tang San had already regained his confidence, he would have truly worried that the other party was unable to withstand the pressure and was using this to escape reality.

Yu Tianheng's expression was ugly, "Has everyone heard the recent rumors? I heard that quite a few participating contestants have gone missing recently, and there has been no news of them to this day. The investigation team sent by the tournament organizers hasn't had any results either."

"I'm worried that Tang San might very well..."

Before he could continue, Liu Erlong accused him, "Tianheng, don't say such cold, sarcastic things; Xiao San will be fine."

Of course, she still took these words to heart, "For the safety of the children, from now on, we teachers will go out to search for Tang San; everyone else stay at the academy and wait for news."

Flender said, "I will go coordinate with the organizers first; Xiao San's sudden disappearance must have some hidden cause. With one more person, there is one more bit of strength; perhaps we can find Xiao San faster."

But they had already offended the Heaven Dou Imperial Family beforehand; would the organizers help them find someone?

Regardless, Flender had to try; he absolutely could not give up even a sliver of hope.

Yu Xiaogang, however, was restless and uneasy.

Back then, Tang Hao had entrusted Tang San to him; if Tang San met with an accident, how would he explain it?

Facing the enraged Tang Hao, he likely wouldn't survive either.

"Dean, send me back to my family and let my grandfather mobilize the family disciples to step in, okay?" Tailong said in a deep voice.

Flender did not object.

Just as the group walked out of the academy, they saw someone from the organizers rushing over.

"You must be the Dean of Shrek Academy, come with me, something has happened to your team member."

(End of this chapter)