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The Shrek Academy members were already simmering with suppressed anger, and this undisguised provocation was like igniting a powder keg. They instantly glared fiercely in the direction of the voice.
At once, they saw Dugu Bo and Tang Chen walking toward them with expressionless faces.
"Yu Xiaogang, be careful!"
Seeing that the newcomers were Dugu Bo, Liu Erlong's face changed dramatically. Almost instinctively, she stepped forward, using her body to fully shield Yu Xiaogang, who was in the wheelchair, behind her.
"Erlong, you be careful too!" Flender's heart instantly tightened when he saw this. He quickly stepped forward, blocking Liu Erlong, and looked at the approaching Dugu Bo with a solemn expression. The atmosphere instantly became tense!
"Who are you calling a thief!?" The first one to leap out was Tai Long.
At that moment, Tai Long's fist was already raised. He didn't know Dugu Bo, and being naturally short-tempered, he couldn't hold back when provoked like this.
"Tai Long, come back," Tang San's voice suddenly rang out.
Tai Long's fist, which was about to swing, had to stop mid-air. He turned his head to look at Tang San.
Tang San spoke calmly, "What's the use of arguing? If you want to fight, wait until you're in the arena. Don't you know that fighting between Spirit Master academies is strictly forbidden here?"
He continued, "Their purpose in doing this is nothing more than to provoke us, so that Shrek Academy will be eliminated early. We cannot fall for their cheap trick."
Hearing this, Tang Chen smiled slightly, then his gaze bypassed Tai Long and directly locked onto Tang San, who was standing behind him. His gaze was so deep it made one uncomfortable.
"Little San, judging by the spirit power fluctuations around you, your aura is much thicker than before. Your cultivation has advanced quite a bit during this time," he said.
As he spoke, he looked Tang San up and down, but a faint, unreadable smile suddenly appeared at the corner of his mouth, and he abruptly changed the subject.
"It's just a pityā¦ you followed a useless teacher like Yu Xiaogang."
Tang Chen's voice suddenly rose, ensuring that everyone around with ears perked up could hear clearly. "As the saying goes, 'you are known by the company you keep.' You haven't learned much good, but your thieving skills have surpassed your master."
Before Tang San could retort, Tang Chen continued, "Do you know? Your good teacher, who is known as invincible in theory, did something despicable in his youth: secretly plagiarizing core research materials from Spirit Hall and then publishing them under his own name! In the end, when the truth came out, he was mercilessly expelled and blacklisted by Spirit Hall, becoming a stray dog!"
He finished with a sneer, "Now, under his careful guidance, you went to steal Senior Dugu's medicinal herbs. It can indeed be consideredā¦ carrying on your Sect's excellent tradition. Indeed, master and disciple are of the same lineage!"
As soon as these words came out, it was like pouring cold water into boiling oil; the crowd instantly erupted. Not only did people from other academies around cast surprised and uncertain glances, but even substitute members like Tai Long and Huang Yuan from the Shrek Academy team subconsciously looked at Yu Xiaogang in the wheelchair.
Yu Xiaogang's face instantly turned crimson, his lips trembling violently. He suddenly gripped the armrest of the wheelchair, wanting to stand up and refute the accusations. But when his gaze met the expressionless Dugu Bo, who exuded a chilling killing intent not far away, the angry curses at the tip of his tongue were forcefully swallowed back. He didn't want his Bloodline to be drawn by Dugu Bo againā¦
"Tang Chen! You're spouting nonsense!"
Just then, Tang San stepped forward, shielding Yu Xiaogang behind him, and shouted angrily, "What do you mean I stole Dugu Bo's medicinal herbs? The Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well is a natural wonder, a gift from nature! Since when did it become his, Dugu Bo's, private property?!"
Tang San became more and more agitated the more he spoke, completely unleashing the accumulated anger and injustice in his heart. "Moreover, I was the one who discovered and entered the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well first! That old fellow Dugu Bo arrived later, saw the treasure, and, relying on his Titled Douluo cultivation, tried to forcibly seize it and murder for profit! In the end, failing to seize it, he turned around and slandered me, pouring dirty water on me! Utterly shameless!"
He then sneered repeatedly, his voice resonating powerfully. "And you, Tang Chen! As my elder brother, not only do you not protect me, but you collude with outsiders to frame me! You even stole the only keepsake my mother left me back in Saint Spirit Village! You are worse than pigs and dogs, a complete and utter beast!"
"Furthermore, a treasure trove like the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well naturally belongs to the virtuous! Dugu Bo is bloodthirsty, his temperament is fickle, and he frequently massacres cities and exterminates clans. How can he be worthy of owning such a spiritual and beautiful place? A treasure spot being defiledānothing could be worse!"
"Boy, you're looking for death!"
Hearing this, a cold killing intent flashed in Dugu Bo's eyes, and the surrounding temperature seemed to drop a few degrees. He spoke in a sinister tone, "Although in this Great Spirit Arena, I am bound by the rules of the competition and cannot do anything to you, you'd better pray you don't run into me alone outside the arena."
"Old poison, why bother getting angry with such a person?" Just then, Tang Chen suddenly raised his hand, slightly interrupting Dugu Bo's words.
His gaze returned to Tang San, a look of feigned pity and undisguised mockery on his face, as he continued, "Little San, I didn't expect that after a few months, your glib tongue has improved quite a bit. This ability to twist black into white and argue sophistically seems to have truly inherited Yu Xiaogang's mantle." At this point, he pointedly glanced at Yu Xiaogang, whose face was ashen, behind Tang San.
"As for you saying I stole mother's keepsakeā¦" Tang Chen sneered, then his tone suddenly became self-righteous and serious. "Since it was mother's keepsake, as her eldest son, it is only right and proper for me to take and inherit it. How can it be considered stealing? It's youā¦"
As he spoke, he deliberately drew out his words, a meaningful glint flashing in his eyes. Then he mocked slowly and clearly, word by word: "Speaking of which, it's quite a coincidence. I once heard a story about someone named Tang San."
"It is said that this person was born in the land of Bashu, and while still in swaddling clothes, he was kindly taken back to the Sect by the Tang Sect's old patriarch and raised there," Tang Chen continued. "But this person, who had received so much favor from the Sect, at the age of nine, committed the act of stealing the Tang Sect's ultimate technique, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record! Tsk tsk, wouldn't this be considered repaying kindness with enmity and being an ungrateful wretch?"
"As for why it is determined that this Tang San started stealing at the age of nine? It's simple. He was twenty-nine when he finally jumped off Ghost's Sorrow, and he himself admitted that it took him a full twenty years to create the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus." At this point, the mocking curve of Tang Chen's lips slowly widened, as if stating an undeniable fact. "So, isn't the answer obvious? He must have stolen the Tang Sect's Secret Manual at the age of nine!"
"Such a person, isn't he worse than pigs and dogs, even worse than a beast?"
In the end, Tang Chen no longer gave Tang San any opportunity to question or retort. He then gave Dugu Bo, who was beside him, a knowing look. The two then turned without hesitation and walked away directly, leaving a dashing silhouette.
At this moment, Tang San was utterly petrified, frozen in place with a dumbfounded expression, his mind buzzing and blank, completely at a loss.
"Heā¦ how could he know so clearly? Even the time and details are perfectly accurate!"
"Could it beā¦ my brotherā¦ also transmigrated from the Tang Sect?" This absurd yet only plausible thought entered his mind, making Tang San feel a sudden dizzy spell, almost fainting to the ground.
"But thisā¦ how is this possible?!"
"If that's really the case, then brother must have already found a path to his own demise!"
"I absolutely cannot leave such a huge threatā¦"
Yu Xiaogang saw that Tang San's face was somewhat pale, his heart full of worry and doubt. He pushed his wheelchair closer and asked in a low voice, "Little San, what exactly was your brotherā¦ just saying? What Tang Sect? What Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus? Why don't I understand a single word?"
Tang San was startled awake by Yu Xiaogang's voice. He finally recovered from the immense shock and chaotic thoughts. He took a deep breath, forced a very strained, even somewhat stiff, smile onto his face, trying to make his tone sound light and natural.
"Teacher, Iā¦ I don't understand either."
Fearing that Yu Xiaogang would continue to ask, he quickly changed the subject, his gaze turning to the crowd that had begun to enter in an orderly fashion. His tone was deliberately urging, "The opening ceremony is about to begin. Let's prepare to enter first, so we don't delay important matters."
After speaking, he unceremoniously supported Yu Xiaogang's wheelchair, signaled for the others to follow, and led the way toward the entrance passage. However, his slightly hurried steps and subtly flickering eyes revealed that he was far from as calm as he appeared on the surfaceā¦
On the other side, after Tang Chen and Dugu Bo left the noisy entrance area, they went directly to a relatively quiet VIP lounge on one side of the Great Spirit Arena. Inside, Xue Qinghe was already waiting. He was dressed in the luxurious customary attire of a prince, with a dignified demeanor.
Seeing the two enter, Xue Qinghe nodded slightly. Dugu Bo casually sat down nearby, closing his eyes to rest, as if he wasn't very interested in the upcoming conversation.
Tang Chen, however, walked directly to Xue Qinghe, without any pleasantries, and in a low voice, got straight to the point. "What? You want me to tamper with the draw ceremony for the first round of the preliminary competition at the organizing committee, and directly arrange for your Tianxing Academy to face Shrek Academy in the first match?"