"Old Shao, quickly give Xiao Gang a healing candy!" Flender urged, eyes fixed anxiously on Shao Xin.
"Got it!" Shao Xin rolled his eyes at Yu Xiaogang, who lay limp on the ground like a dead dog, completely unconscious. With a sigh, he conjured yet another healing candy.
All this way, it felt like all he had done was make healing candy, or prepare to make healing candy. At this point, Shao Xin had simply resigned himself to the routine.
Flender let out a long sigh and turned to Qi Lin, shaking his head. "Qi Lin, Xiao Gang was indeed in the wrong, but we all have to work together at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy. We'll see each other often, whether we like it or not."
By rights, given his decades of friendship with Yu Xiaogang, Flender should have stood up for him.
But when it truly came to this, he couldn't bring himself to defend him.
Even he could clearly see that ever since Qi Lin joined Shrek Academy, Yu Xiaogang had been targeting him at every turn.
That Qi Lin had held back for so long before finally striking was, in Flender's opinion, already astonishing.
After all, every genius carried their own pride—how could one tolerate a mere rank 29 Soul Grandmaster barking orders?
Frankly, if Flender had been in Qi Lin's place, he doubted he could've done as well.
And though Yu Xiaogang bore the title of "Grandmaster," the term held more ridicule than reverence across the continent.
Even if he were a true Grandmaster, he was still insignificant before Qi Lin, who had single-handedly created his own soul power cultivation method.
So Yu Xiaogang had no one to blame but himself for what happened today.
Qi Lin heard Flender's words and gave a light chuckle. "Enough, Flender. No need to say more. For a sanctimonious piece of trash like Yu Xiaogang, the fact that I endured him this long already shows how noble I am."
Flender fell silent.
At the side, Tang San's eyes burned red with rage. His gaze was like a wild beast ready to devour, locked firmly on Qi Lin.
"Qi Lin, you've strayed from the righteous path!"
"Teacher meant well—he may have spoken poorly, but you dared to hurt him like this."
"Teacher treated me like his own son. Now that he's been humiliated, how can I stand by and do nothing?"
"Qi Lin, dare you make a wager with me? If I can withstand three moves from you without falling, you must apologize to my teacher and everyone here."
"And—you must hand over the correct soul power cultivation method."
The moment these words left his lips, Flender and the others' expressions shifted.
"Tang San, do you know what you're saying?" Flender shouted.
Tang San replied calmly, "Dean, I know exactly what I'm doing. I will restore my teacher's honor. He is not trash!"
Flender was utterly speechless.
How were this teacher and student pair so absurdly confident?
Had the lesson of Yu Tianheng and Yu Xiaogang taught him nothing?
Even if Tang San's soul power had reached rank 35 after months of training, hadn't he seen with his own eyes how the rank 39 Yu Tianheng had his arm destroyed by a single punch from Qi Lin?
Qi Lin's gaze cooled at the scene before him.
"Tang San, is it because I've never put you in your place that you think I'm easy to deal with?"
"A wager?"
"You don't even qualify to wager with me—but for the sake of the meager connection we shared these past six years, I'll agree."
"From this day on, we are strangers."
Tang San snorted coldly. "Enough talk. Let's go!"
"No matter how strong you are, I will endure three moves!"
As he spoke, he slowly raised his palm and released his Martial Soul.
In an instant, a blue-purple Blue Silver Grass grew from his palm, and three soul rings—yellow, yellow, and purple—rose from beneath his feet.
At the same time, as a precaution, Tang San immediately activated his Purple Demon Eye. Twin beams of purple light gleamed from his eyes, while his hands turned jade-white—
It was Tang Sect's secret art: Mysterious Jade Hands!
Seeing Tang San's tense, battle-ready stance, Qi Lin calmly stepped forward—without even releasing his Martial Soul.
"Tang San, after all these years, haven't you always wanted to know the true gap between us?"
"Very well—today, I'll show you."
With a calm voice, Qi Lin slowly clenched his right fist.
The next second, the air trembled with a muffled thunderclap.
Boom—!
In a flash, Qi Lin shot forth like a bolt of lightning, his speed leaving only afterimages in his wake.
Even though Tang San had cultivated the Purple Demon Eye to a profound level, all he could see was a fleeting blur.
Fortunately, he had anticipated Qi Lin's strike the moment he saw the fist clench, and without hesitation, he unleashed his first soul skill:
Blue Silver Bind!
At nearly the same moment, his first soul ring lit up, and the Blue Silver Grass in his palm thickened to the size of an arm, flying toward Qi Lin in seven or eight tendrils.
But just before they touched Qi Lin, the vines suddenly lost all strength and flopped to the ground like wet noodles.
The sight left everyone in disbelief, Tang San's pupils constricting sharply.
He didn't know what had happened, but he had no time to think.
Without hesitation, Tang San retreated like a shadow.
It was Tang Sect's evasive technique: Ghost Shadow Perplexing Step.
But no matter how proficient he was, Tang San was still only at rank 35.
In the blink of an eye, Qi Lin was already before him.
A single punch slammed into Tang San's chest.
In that moment, Tang San finally understood the chasm between him and Qi Lin.
His body was launched like a cannonball, crashing dozens of meters away.
That punch—it was as if a mountain had smashed into him.
In an instant, he felt all his internal organs shift. His chest caved in completely.
Terrifying energy rampaged through his body, wrecking everything it touched. He couldn't even summon the strength to stand.
The overwhelming pain triggered his nerves—no matter how strong-willed he was, he couldn't stop the low groans of agony.
Qi Lin stopped and looked down at the scene before him. He slowly walked forward and stood over Tang San, staring down.
"Cough, cough—"
Tang San spat out blood, but thanks to his formidable willpower, he didn't lose consciousness.
When he saw Qi Lin's gaze, horror flashed in his eyes, and an intense unwillingness surged in his heart.
He couldn't even take a single punch!
Just how strong was Qi Lin?
In this moment, Tang San felt his beliefs completely shatter.
And he couldn't help but wonder—
Even if he one day perfected the Clear Sky Hammer with nine ten-thousand-year soul rings…
Would he really surpass Qi Lin?