Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

Xie Xie remained quiet throughout the journey.

It wasn't that he didn't want to talk, but his face was so swollen that it hurt whenever he moved his lips. The more he did this, the heavier the feeling of unease in his heart became.

When he lost to Tang Wulin for the first time, he could convince himself that it was because his dormitory was too small and he had indeed been careless.

But what about the second time?

The second time was at Donghai Park, a large enough place, and I didn't underestimate my opponent again. In the end, he still lost, and inexplicably at that.

Especially that last punch.

Thinking of this, Xie Xie suddenly raised his head, his voice muffled but he still insisted on asking:

"What...what was that just now?"

Tang Wulin didn't stop walking.

"What? What?"

"The golden light emanating from you," Xie Xie gritted his teeth, "and those things on your right hand. Don't tell me I'm seeing things."

Tang Wulin paused for a moment.

He actually wanted to know what it was.

But he himself didn't understand it, so how could he possibly answer Xie Xie?

"If I said I didn't know, would you believe me?" That was all he said at the end.

Xie Xie sneered.

The meaning is quite obvious.

Do not believe.

Tang Wulin didn't explain further.

His shoulder was still burning, but the burning sensation was completely different from when it erupted in the park. Back then, it felt like something was pushing out of his flesh, and his entire right arm was uncontrollably strengthened; now it was just a simple soreness, and a slight emptiness left after the exertion subsided.

When they got back to the dormitory, Yun Xiao and Zhou Changxi were still awake.

As soon as the door opened, the two of them looked over almost simultaneously.

Then they both froze.

"You guys..." Zhou Changxi spoke first, her gaze sweeping back and forth between Xie Xie's swollen face and Tang Wulin's torn shoulder, her expression a complex mix of emotions. "Finished fighting again?"

"Hmm." Tang Wulin responded, placing Xie Xie on the lower bunk. "He fainted for a moment."

Zhou Changxi's lips twitched.

"You even carried him back on your back?"

"We can't just leave it in the park," Tang Wulin said casually, as if he were talking about something perfectly ordinary.

Xie Xie was already holding back his anger, and hearing this made him even angrier. But when his face stung, he didn't want to say anything, so he could only glare fiercely at Tang Wulin.

Yun Xiao pushed up her glasses, looked at this, then at that, and finally couldn't help but ask:

"So...you won again this time?"

Tang Wulin thought for a moment.

"I guess so."

Upon hearing this, Xie Xie's face darkened even more.

Zhou Changxi gasped, staring at Tang Wulin with a completely different look in his eyes.

Yesterday's fight in the dorm could be somewhat explained by Xie Xie being at a disadvantage due to the terrain. But today, the two of them clearly went out for another fight, and the result was still the same. This can no longer be explained by luck.

Tang Wulin clearly had no interest in explaining these things.

He had just settled Xie Xie down when his stomach growled loudly, much to his delight.

It wasn't just a soft sound.

It was the kind of sound that could be heard several steps away, a sound with a very strong presence.

The dormitory fell silent.

Tang Wulin was taken aback for a moment, then lowered his head and pressed his stomach, his face turning somewhat bitter.

"Is dinner finished?"

Yun Xiao glanced at the time subconsciously.

Not yet, but it will be soon.

The next instant, Tang Wulin grabbed his coat, turned around, and rushed out.

Zhou Changxi stared at the doorway for a long while before muttering a sentence:

"Did he go to fight, or did he go to move mountains...?"

Xie Xie leaned against the headboard, rubbing his swollen face, and said coldly:

"They're about the same."

But as soon as he said that, he fell silent.

He suddenly remembered that when he pressed down on Tang Wulin's shoulder, the dagger had clearly pierced through a little. Later, on the way back, when Tang Wulin had his back to him, he even reached out and touched the other's shoulder.

There was a tear in the clothes.

But the wound could not be found.

It's not just about stopping the bleeding, but about making it look like you've never been injured at all.

Thinking of this, Xie Xie's expression grew even more unpleasant.

This guy must have a secret.

When Tang Wulin rushed to the cafeteria, there were already only a few people left at the C-class food window.

When the head chef saw him, he was taken aback at first, and then couldn't help but laugh.

"It's you again?"

Tang Wulin nodded a little embarrassedly.

"I'm late today."

"You're not just late, you must have waited until we were almost closing up before coming here," the head chef said, pushing a large bowl of noodles towards him. "Yesterday it was steamed buns, today it's noodles. Where have all the stomachs of you little Soul Masters gone?"

Tang Wulin was so hungry that he took the food and started eating, even his thanks were a bit mumbled.

Today's fight with Xie Xie had taken a toll on him more than he had anticipated. Especially those last few breaths when the golden scales burst forth—it felt like they had completely drained him. He had only felt tired on the way here, but now, the smell of food had ignited his hunger like a raging fire.

After finishing a bowl of noodles, my stomach only felt a little better.

He quickly went to get a second bowl, a third bowl, a fourth bowl...

The head chef, who had been watching from the sidelines, eventually laughed.

"Didn't you eat lunch today?"

Tang Wulin paused for a moment.

"I really haven't eaten."

In the afternoon, Cen Yue took me to take a test. When I came back, I ran into the opening ceremony and class assignment. Then I had to fight with Xie Xie. I really didn't have time for lunch.

"No wonder." The head chef shook his head as he picked up a thermos from the side. "There's still some stewed meat and noodle soup left over from the second meal. You might as well take it with you."

Tang Wulin's eyes lit up immediately.

"May I?"

"Eat up," the head chef waved his hand. "Just don't waste any."

This time, Tang Wulin was genuinely happy.

He took the large bowl over and continued eating. The stewed meat was very tender, and the flavor was stronger than that of meal C. It also had a very noticeable heat. After eating it, the feeling of emptiness in his stomach was quickly suppressed, and even the soreness in his shoulder and right arm was relieved.

While he was eating, he finally had a moment to recall the last scene in the park.

Golden scales.

Right arm.

And that punch.

What exactly is that thing?

Is it a problem with the martial spirit? Is it a problem with that ant-like spirit? Or is it something that was hidden inside the body before awakening?

He didn't understand.

But one thing he was now certain of was that the power wouldn't appear out of nowhere.

There must be some conditions.

He just hasn't found it yet.

By the time Tang Wulin finished the last bit of noodle soup, there were even fewer people left in the cafeteria. The head chef looked at his empty bowl and basin with an almost numb respect on his face.

"You'd better come earlier tomorrow," he couldn't help but say. "Otherwise, I'm really afraid you'll eat all the leftovers."

Tang Wulin smiled shyly.

I will try my best.

When I got back to the dormitory, Xie Xie was no longer there.

Judging from the looks of it, he's probably going to get treatment for his facial injury.

Yun Xiao sat on the bed meditating, while Zhou Changxi was still awake, peering down from the edge of the upper bunk. Upon seeing Tang Wulin enter, he immediately lowered his voice and said:

"How exactly did you win?"

Tang Wulin paused in his action of closing the door.

"I don't know either."

"Are you kidding me?" Zhou Changxi clearly didn't believe her. "That guy is level 18, and you're only level 11. Yesterday you beat him so badly, I could say it was just bad luck. But you won again today, and you're telling me you didn't know?"

Tang Wulin draped his coat over his shoulders, thought for a moment, and then shook his head.

"I really don't know what happened in the end."

He wasn't just saying that casually.

Because he genuinely didn't know.

He couldn't explain how the heat came about, how the scales appeared, or why his strength suddenly became so great.

Zhou Changxi stared at him for a while, and seeing that he didn't seem to be pretending to be stupid, she pursed her lips.

"You're a strange person."

"Didn't you already know?" Tang Wulin replied.

Zhou Changxi was stunned for a moment, then couldn't help but laugh.

"Too."

The dormitory quickly quieted down again.

After washing up, Tang Wulin sat back on the bed, but didn't immediately begin meditating. His mind was filled with the golden scales, and the more he thought about it, the more uneasy he felt. Finally, he simply rummaged through his personal belongings and pulled out a sewing needle.

If you can't figure it out, then try it.

The change that occurred in the park happened only after Xie Xie's dagger pierced his shoulder. Does that mean an injury was necessary?

He looked down at his fingers, gritted his teeth, and gently inserted the needle.

"hiss--"

It hurts.

A drop of blood oozed out.

But apart from that, there was nothing.

There was no heat, and no scales.

Tang Wulin frowned and tried again.

The result was the same.

There was no reaction at all.

He stared at the tiny wound for a long time before finally putting the needle down.

Wasn't he injured?

That's because Xie Xie's strike contained soul power.

Or was it because I was pushed to my limit at that time?

He thought and thought, but he couldn't quite grasp that point.

Finally, Tang Wulin simply sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

If that thing is truly inside your body, you should be able to find some trace of it during meditation.

The soul power circulated slowly along the most basic path, round and round.

But everything was normal.

The Sinking Star Hammer sank quietly into his body, and his spirit rings showed no unusual activity. The fluctuations of the ant-like spirit were also very stable, no different from usual. As for the heat that had surged up in the park yesterday, there was not a trace of it.

Tang Wulin opened his eyes and couldn't help but let out a long breath.

Can't find it.

I really can't find it.

The feeling was as if a door inside his body had once cracked open by sheer chance, given him a glimpse, and then immediately closed again. Now, he stood outside that door, knowing perfectly well what was inside, yet unable to find the doorknob.

He looked down at his right hand.

The hand was still the same hand, the skin was intact, and the knuckles were the same as usual, without a trace of the gold scales.

If Xie Xie's face hadn't been so swollen, he might have even wondered if he himself had been knocked out.

Thinking of Xie Xie's face, Tang Wulin felt a little guilty.

He had clearly held back his strength in that last punch.

If it really gets out of control...

He didn't think any further.

Whatever the truth of this matter, it shouldn't be known by too many people right now. Even for him, let alone others, it's something he still doesn't fully understand.

The dormitory was quiet, with only the steady breathing of Yun Xiao and Zhou Changxi.

After some time, the door made a soft knock.

Xie Xie is back.

The swelling on his face had subsided considerably, but some traces were still visible. He walked with a cold expression, as if to say, "Don't mess with me."

Tang Wulin glanced at him once, then looked away and closed his eyes again.

Xie Xie didn't say anything, but simply sat down on his own bed.

After a while, he spoke in a low voice:

"You're not allowed to use that trick on anyone else today."

Tang Wulin opened his eyes and looked at him.

Xie Xie didn't look at him, but stared at a point in the void in front of him, his voice cold.

"Things you don't even understand yourself are the easiest to cause trouble."

Tang Wulin was taken aback.

He had expected Xie Xie to press him further, forcing him to reveal what the golden scales were. But to his surprise, the first thing Xie Xie said was this.

"...I know." That was all he replied at the end.

Xie Xie didn't reply, but lay down and closed his eyes.

But Tang Wulin knew that this guy hadn't actually slept either.

Because Xie Xie's hand was pressed against the part of his face that was still swollen.

Pay money to get a beating.

This kind of thing is definitely not easy to get over.