MTLNOVEL Chapter 61: Warning
"What happened?"
Hearing Tang San's voice snapped everyone out of their daze. Yu Xiaogang rushed over to check on him, only to see a vivid red mark across Tang San's face and a small trickle of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Yu Xiaogang's heart tightened with distress. To him, Tang San was not just a disciple, he was living proof of his theories, his ticket to the top, and the key to erasing a lifetime of humiliation. If anything happened to Tang San, he would lose everything.
Seeing that Tang San's injuries were minor, Yu Xiaogang felt a wave of relief. That relief quickly turned to anger as he faced Wu Lan.
"Wu Lan, how could you hit your brother like that?"
Wu Lan's mouth twitched at Yu Xiaogang's shamelessness. When they had first met, Yu Xiaogang had warned him to stay away from Tang San. Yet now, upon realizing Wu Lan's strength, they were suddenly "brothers" again.
"Rabbit, Zhuqing, let's go." Wu Lan ignored Yu Xiaogang and walked away, resisting the urge to punch him outright. Xiao Wu and Zhuqing quickly followed.
Meanwhile, Xiao Wu instantly understood what had happened. Her brother had slapped Tang San because he had come to provoke her, and that thought filled her with joy.
From childhood, Tang San had constantly irritated her. Yet her brother had never struck him, only intervened to stop him, even restraining her from retaliating. Though she was often annoyed, she obeyed her brother's wishes. No matter how shameless Tang San's behavior was, her brother always forgave him, believing their shared village origin warranted leniency.
She had tried countless times to make her brother see Tang San's true nature, but nothing worked. Now, seeing the red mark on Tang San's face, she knew she no longer had to worry, her brother had finally acted.
Zhuqing felt nothing, she already knew Wu Lan could easily defeat even a Soul Saint.
Tang San, still in shock, wondered how Wu Lan possessed such strength. The sharp sting in his cheek pulled him back to reality, igniting hatred so intense it reached mortal-enemy levels.
In his mind, Xiao Wu was willing to be with him, but Wu Lan was keeping her away. Now, he wanted to kill Wu Lan and claim Xiao Wu for himself.
"Wait for me, Xiao Wu. I will rescue you," Tang San muttered with killing intent.
If Wu Lan had heard this, he would have regretted hitting him only once.
Yu Xiaogang then took Tang San to a healing-type Soul Master in the city, shamelessly using Mubai's money, and dismissed everyone from training for the day.
On a mountain near the academy, a shadow watched the entire scene, fists clenched tightly in anger.
Night soon fell.
Wu Lan had just finished his late-night training and was about to sleep when he heard a voice.
"Wu Lan, come out."
He recognized it instantly, it was Tang Hao's voice, filled with anger. Wu Lan had expected this. Hurting Tang San was something Tang Hao would never ignore.
This was why Wu Lan had never struck Tang San before, despite his shamelessness, and had only taken indirect revenge using debt collectors.
But now, if Tang Hao dared to act against him, Wu Lan had the power to kill him.
With this in mind, he headed toward the mountain near the academy, where he found a pale-looking middle-aged man.
"Wu Lan, how dare you hurt Tang San?" Tang Hao didn't give him a chance to explain, summoning the Clear Sky Hammer and releasing his spirit rings to pressure Wu Lan.
One by one, the rings appeared, each adding to the crushing pressure in the air.
Seeing the final ring, Wu Lan's eyes widened and his shoulders began to tremble.
Tang Hao, mistaking this for fear, felt satisfied. Believing the display had been warning enough, he returned to a stern expression. "Since you healed me and Tang San in the past, I'll forgive you this time. But if you hurt Tang San again, be ready to face my wrath."
With that, he left, leaving behind a still-trembling Wu Lan.
But Wu Lan's trembling was not from fear, it was from holding back laughter.
Tang Hao had only seven soul rings.
Dropping from Title Douluo to Soul Saint was an absurd decline.
Wu Lan had suspected Tang Hao's strength was waning, given the soul power payments over the past three months, but this was far worse than he expected.
After reaching level 50 and finally gaining the opportunity to obtain what he wanted as payments, Wu Lan focused solely on soul power as payments.
He had already condensed his fifth soul ring, an impressive 80,000-year-old ring. Now he knew his next, his sixth ring, could be a 100,000-year soul ring, the same as Tang San had in the original story.
He had used up all the soul power he had obtained from Tang Hao for this soul ring, along with several level-ups, raising his cultivation to level 56.
Once Tang Hao's presence faded, Wu Lan finally let his laughter spill out, already imagining Tang San's fate.
"Tang San, I look forward to seeing who will save you from Bibi Dong in the finals."
Meanwhile, Tang Hao traveled far from the academy to a hidden cave, struggling to contain his injuries. In the past, he had always suppressed them with his Title Douluo cultivation. Wu Lan's healing had mended them slightly, but despite long periods of cultivation, his soul power never increased. At first, he blamed lingering wounds and focused on recovery.
But over the past three months, his soul power had begun plummeting rapidly. Panic set in, every day, it diminished further, even after his rank dropped. Without his former strength to suppress them, his wounds erupted. Even when idle, his cultivation continued to deteriorate. Only during cultivation could he slow the decline.
Now, Tang Hao spent all his time cultivating, desperately suppressing his wounds as his strength slipped further away.