Douluo Dalu 1: The Tang Family Rebel

After hundreds of lashes.

Tang San was covered in wounds, having been whipped until he collapsed, barely hanging on to life.

Feeling the hidden gaze that had been watching from the shadows, which was about to erupt at any moment, Yun Chuan finally controlled the armor giant to stop. He slowly let go of the long whip in his hand.

He knew that if he continued, Tang Hao, who was hiding in the shadows, would really jump out and deal with him.

Although Tang San was now covered in injuries, the whipping wasn't too severe—just superficial wounds. His muscles and bones hadn't been injured. That's why Tang Hao had been able to hold back. If his life was truly in danger or he suffered severe injuries, the old drunkard would've jumped out much earlier.

However, despite Tang San's injuries being superficial, the key was the pain! No one could bear being whipped hundreds of times like that. Tang San could only lie on the ground, unable to speak.

As for Dai Mubai, Ning Rongrong, and Zhu Zhuqing, who had been watching the whole time, they were now completely silent, full of fear. They glanced at the armor giant, afraid that the giant might mistakenly strike them with a whip.

Fortunately, Yun Chuan seemed to be done playing.

The three-meter-tall armor giant slowly disintegrated, splitting back into strands of Blue Silver Grass, which then turned into energy and slowly dissipated. Yun Chuan's figure, dressed in white with black hair, reappeared in front of them. He looked at Dai Mubai and the others and asked, "Do you know why I whipped him?"

"Uh... because Tang San provoked you?" Dai Mubai thought for a moment and cautiously asked.

"Not entirely, though there's a small part of that."

Yun Chuan shook his head, then his expression turned serious as he spoke solemnly, "As a teacher, I'm not that petty. The reason I beat him like this is to teach him a lesson—never casually provoke a stronger opponent!"

"Just now, Tang San was injured because of that little girl, and yet he insisted on fighting me, knowing he couldn't win. That's not courage, that's stupidity! If it were someone else, he would've been killed already!" Yun Chuan said, turning to look at Tang San, who was lying on the ground, unable to get up. "So I wanted him to remember today's lesson! This is also my first lesson for all of you as your teacher! Respect the strong. When your strength is insufficient, never provoke a stronger opponent!"

At this moment, Tang Hao, who had been watching from the shadows as his son was beaten into the ground, was burning with anger. Hearing Yun Chuan's speech, he coldly muttered to himself, "Respect the strong, huh? Does that mean if you're stronger, you can do whatever you want? Fine, if you dare to beat my son like this, just wait until tonight!"

Yun Chuan was very measured in his strikes. Though the whip sounded like it tore through the air, in reality, after hundreds of lashes, Tang San only suffered some superficial wounds. His muscles and bones weren't injured. The reason he couldn't get up wasn't because of life-threatening injuries but because his whole body was in so much pain.

This small injury would heal within a month if he rested. However, since Tang San had come to register for school, it was unacceptable to be in this state right after entering. So, Yun Chuan reluctantly decided to heal him. After all, there would be plenty of opportunities to deal with him in the future.

A faint blue light glowed from his hand, and a single Blue Silver Grass sprouted.

With a casual wave of his hand, a small leaf split off from the Blue Silver Grass, floating gently down onto Tang San's body.

A burst of emerald green light enveloped him.

The fresh, natural scent of life filled the air, and everyone around unconsciously inhaled deeply, feeling their lungs clear. It was as if even their bones felt lighter.

The leaf contained the purest vitality of plants. As long as there was enough of it, it might not be able to bring the dead back to life, but it could heal even the heaviest wounds as long as the person wasn't dead.

Soon, all the bloodstains on Tang San's body were completely healed. However, his clothes couldn't be fixed—there were now holes all over, and the bloodstains made him look like he was wearing a beggar's outfit.

After his wounds healed, Tang San suddenly jumped to his feet. He looked at Yun Chuan with lingering fear, but he still remembered what Yun Chuan had said. Deep down, he felt a bit ashamed, realizing his impulsiveness.

"Teacher Tang, I'm sorry. I was too impulsive just now." Tang San sincerely apologized to Yun Chuan.

"Hmm."

Yun Chuan responded indifferently, adopting the demeanor of a teacher. "Tang San, remember this lesson! Otherwise, one day, your impulsiveness will cause irreversible consequences. At that time, others won't be as lenient as I am."

After saying this, Yun Chuan turned to leave.

"Dai, you take care of the four new students and get them settled in. School starts tomorrow. And you, Tang San, clean up the weapons you scattered. Don't let anyone get hurt by accident," Yun Chuan said as his figure disappeared around the corner.

The others, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, looked at his retreating figure. The fear they had from seeing him whip Tang San earlier had completely disappeared. Instead, they now thought that this teacher was actually quite good… a really good teacher.

"Mm..."

At this moment, Xiao Wu, who had been held in Ning Rongrong's arms, let out a groan and slowly opened her eyes.

"Xiao Wu, you're awake!" Tang San quickly approached, concerned.

"Brother? How did you end up like this?" Xiao Wu looked at Tang San in confusion. Covered in blood and looking like a beggar, if it weren't for his condition seeming fine, she would have thought he had been severely injured.

"I..." Tang San was momentarily speechless, then he forced a smile and said, "I overestimated myself and tried to challenge Teacher Tang, and ended up being taught a lesson."

"He actually beat you like this?" Xiao Wu was immediately furious.

Ning Rongrong gently set her down. As soon as Xiao Wu's feet hit the ground, she angrily said, "What kind of teacher beats students before school even starts? I can't let this go. I'll go settle this with him!"

"Forget it, Xiao Wu, I brought this on myself." Tang San quickly stopped her. If he could have fought back, he would have already done so. But right now, they were no match for Teacher Tang. If they provoked him again, he wouldn't be as merciful as this time.

"Besides, Teacher Tang is a Soul Sage, we're not his match." He stopped her.

"Then are we just going to let him beat you like this?" Xiao Wu crossed her arms and said angrily, "You're my brother! How can you let someone hit you for no reason?"

"Forget it, Xiao Wu." Tang San quickly grabbed her, not wanting her to do something foolish. "Right now, we can't beat him. When we're stronger, we'll settle the score."

After repeated persuasion from Tang San, Xiao Wu finally gave up on confronting the teacher in anger.

"I'll take you to the dormitory," Dai Mubai suddenly said.

"Please wait a moment. I need to pick up the hidden weapons around here. I don't want to accidentally hurt anyone in the academy." Tang San said. No one had any objections; a short wait wouldn't be a problem.

So, under the watchful eyes of everyone, Tang San walked over to the battlefield, crouched down, and with his Purple Extreme Magic Eyes, he carefully gathered the hidden weapons.

These weapons were hard to make, and he couldn't bear to discard them easily. Some of them, especially the ones he had painstakingly created, were particularly precious.

Using his Xuan Jade Hands, Tang San quickly retrieved the weapons that had been embedded in the ground and placed them back where they belonged.

During his years in Notting City, Tang San had thoroughly armed himself. His battle with Teacher Tang had been his first time using his full capabilities with hidden weapons.

As he gathered the weapons, Tang San pondered the lessons learned from the recent battle. The defense of the armor giant had been astonishing. Fortunately, it wasn't very fast and didn't use full strength; otherwise, he wouldn't have had a chance. How should he deal with such tough enemies in the future?

These thoughts raced through his mind. He realized that his mastery of hidden weapons wasn't yet perfect. Improving his skills wouldn't happen overnight. The most powerful hidden weapons listed in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record required strong inner strength. If he wanted to fight someone like Teacher Tang with his current power, the only solution was to create powerful mechanism-based hidden weapons!

For example, the three most terrifying mechanism-based hidden weapons of the Tang Sect: Buddha's Wrath Tang Lotus, Violent Rain Pear Blossom Needles, and Peacock Feathers.

The problem was that these three weapons were incredibly difficult to make, with very strict material requirements. Given the current conditions, making them was impossible.

Although Tang San had made all three before and had plenty of experience, recreating them would take at least a year, assuming the materials could be found smoothly.

He sighed and shook his head helplessly as he continued collecting the weapons. With his current situation, making these three weapons was unrealistic. It seemed the only option was to keep training and gradually improve his hidden weapon abilities. He also needed to better arm himself and try to prepare some poisons. But the Mandala Snake poison was too simple...

Meanwhile, Dai Mubai and the others, watching Tang San collecting his weapons while sighing and shaking his head, were puzzled. They wondered if his mood was affected by the recent battle, reflecting on how difficult the fight had been and how powerless they had felt when easily overwhelmed.

(End of Chapter)