Douluo Continent III Haotian Wulin

As Tang Wulin was kicked back into the encirclement, he felt a tightness in his chest, and the white spirit ring beneath his feet dimmed slightly.

In order to force his way out, he had already forcibly pressed the power of his first spirit ring onto the people around him. That kind of pressure was extremely taxing on spirit power, and now that Mu Xi had kicked it away from him head-on, his already limited spirit power was almost completely depleted in an instant.

He staggered back two steps before barely managing to regain his balance.

"You dare hit me!"

The tall student who had been pushed aside by Tang Wulin earlier had recovered by now. His face turned pale and then red, and he raised his fist to smash it into Tang Wulin's face.

"stop!"

Mu Xi shouted sharply.

The tall student paused, then finally stopped, but he couldn't suppress his anger and pushed Tang Wulin again, his eyes full of rage.

Tang Wulin ignored him and simply looked up at Xiang Muxi.

Only then did he truly see what she looked like.

Two yellow spirit rings slowly rose beneath her feet, their spirit power fluctuations clearly exceeding his by more than one level. Above her head hung a golden halo, its light intense yet not blinding, though the surrounding air seemed to subtly heat up because of it. Above her left shoulder, a small ball of orange-red flame flickered, clearly her spirit.

Two rings.

Great Soul Master.

Moreover, it is a very powerful fire-attribute martial soul.

Tang Wulin's heart sank.

Mu Xi had already walked up to him, looking down at him.

"I am Mu Xi, from Class 1, Grade 5 of the Intermediate Department." Her voice was cold. "I want to compete with you in forging."

Tang Wulin's eyes narrowed slightly, but he remained silent.

Mu Xi continued, "You rejected me once at the association last time. Today, I'm coming to see you again. If you still want to stay peacefully at Donghai Academy, then stop turning yourself in."

This is more than just a challenge.

It is a threat.

Tang Wulin's stubborn streak suddenly resurfaced.

He hates it when people pressure him like that.

Just as he was about to speak, a cold voice suddenly rang out.

"If you want to walk back intact, shut up now and get out of here right now."

The sound came too suddenly.

Mu Xi froze almost instantly.

That wasn't a bluff; it was a statement laced with murderous intent. She could even clearly feel a chill creeping against her neck, while a thinner, colder blade pressed against her lower back.

She dared not move.

They didn't even dare to activate their martial spirit again.

"Tell them to get out." The voice repeated, its tone even colder.

The senior students around Mu Xi suddenly realized what was happening and turned around.

Xie Xie had appeared behind Mu Xi without her noticing.

He was shorter than Mu Xi, but at this moment he appeared exceptionally dangerous. One hand rested on Mu Xi's shoulder, while the other held a gleaming dagger pressed against her neck. As for the almost invisible chill emanating from her lower back, it clearly came from his other concealed dagger.

"You bastard!" the tall student roared, "Do you know what you're doing?"

Xie Xie didn't even lift his eyelids.

"My patience is limited," he said calmly. "If you think I won't dare to make a move in the academy, you can keep trying."

As he spoke, he gave his hand a slight tug.

Mu Xi let out a muffled groan, her face turning pale.

She was only thirteen years old after all. No matter how proud she was usually, when someone actually held a knife to her vitals, fear overwhelmed her anger.

"Get back, all of you!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

Although the senior students were unwilling, they could only disperse to the back.

Tang Wulin stood there, looking at Xie Xie, somewhat stunned.

He never expected to see this guy at a time like this.

Just then, an angry shout suddenly rang out.

"Stop it, all of you!"

As soon as the words left his mouth, Xie Xie's body stiffened abruptly.

The next instant, a large hand reached out from the side and lifted him up. The two daggers in Xie Xie's hands disappeared almost simultaneously, and he was now suspended in mid-air like a small animal grabbed by the scruff of its neck.

……

A few minutes later.

Intermediate Department Teaching Affairs Office.

Long Hengxu sat behind the table, his face dark and grim.

He looked at the row of students in front of him, first glancing at Mu Xi and the others, and finally fixing his gaze on Xie Xie and Tang Wulin.

"Speak," he said coldly, "what exactly happened?"

Mu Xi spoke first.

"I'm here to challenge Tang Wulin to a forging contest."

When she said this, her tone was clearly still angry, but she didn't dare to escalate the situation any further.

Xie Xie sneered.

"A forging contest? You bring seven or eight people to block the entrance of the first-year dormitory to have a contest? Is this how you fifth-year students find people to spar with?"

Long Hengxu glared at him coldly.

"Is this your reason for holding a knife to your senior's neck? Xie Xie, do you even know what you were doing?"

Xie Xie stood languidly, but his words were anything but weak.

"I know," he said. "If you're any slower, my roommate will be ganged up on by your people."

"What if they don't stop?" Long Hengxu asked in a deep voice, "Are you really willing to take action?"

Xie Xie raised his eyes, his expression cold.

"That's hard to say."

Long Hengxu's facial muscles visibly tensed up.

He then turned to Tang Wulin.

"And you? Do you have anything to say?"

Tang Wulin stood very straight, his chest still felt slightly tight, but his voice was very steady.

My dad once told me something.

Long Hengxu frowned.

Tang Wulin continued, "He said that if I bully someone younger than me at school, he will definitely teach me a lesson if he finds out. But if an older classmate bullies me, I must fight back immediately without hesitation."

There was a moment of silence in the teaching affairs office.

Long Hengxu looked at the first-grade child and was momentarily speechless.

Having served as the dean of students for so many years, he had heard far too many explanations. But someone like Tang Wulin, who neither cried nor made a fuss, nor pretended to be wronged, but simply spoke his mind calmly, was the hardest to refute.

Just then, the office door was pushed open.

A clear, cold voice followed.

"That's right. I don't think my students did anything wrong either."

Wu Changkong walked in.

His face was cold, and his gaze was even colder. As soon as he entered the room, the entire teaching office seemed to have cooled down several degrees.

Long Hengxu frowned immediately.

"Teacher Wu, don't you even know how to knock before coming in?"

Wu Changkong glanced at him.

"Feel sorry."

These two words were spoken so casually, without a trace of sincerity in them.

Long Hengxu's expression turned even uglier.

Wu Changkong ignored him completely, his gaze falling directly on Mu Xi and the other senior students.

"Bullying the weak, that's quite something," he said calmly. "I wouldn't do such a thing, but if I find out you're coming to ambush my students again—"

He paused for a moment after saying this.

"I'm going to beat up your homeroom teacher."

The teaching affairs office fell silent instantly.

Mu Xi and the others all froze.

Long Hengxu's brow twitched, and he angrily said, "Wu Changkong, please have some self-respect!"

Wu Changkong turned his head and looked at him, his expression unchanged.

"If you can beat me," he said, "then I'll respect myself."

After saying that, he raised his hand and patted Xie Xie on the head, then pulled Tang Wulin with his other hand and turned to walk out.

His movements were as natural as if he were picking up his students after class.

"you--"

Long Hengxu stood up in anger, but the words were on the tip of his tongue, and he ultimately didn't chase after them.

He knew Wu Changkong's personality all too well.

This guy already gave many people a lot of headaches when he was in the senior division. If you really anger him, he's capable of anything.

The door was closed again.

Long Hengxu's chest heaved twice, and in the end he could only direct his anger at Mu Xi and the others who remained.

"You lot, each of you will receive a warning!" he said in a stern voice. "Bullying the younger ones, and even blocking the entrance to the first-year dormitory, you've really got guts!"

Mu Xi bit her lip, not daring to refute.

……

Once outside the teaching office, Wu Changkong finally let go of her hand.

He continued walking ahead, his back straight, his steps slow, yet there was a sense that no one dared to chase after him.

Tang Wulin jogged a couple of steps to catch up.

"Thank you, teacher."

Wu Changkong didn't even turn his head.

"You did nothing wrong, there's nothing to thank me for."

He paused, then added casually:

"No one can make me miss class."

Tang Wulin was stunned for a moment, then almost burst out laughing.

This reason sounds just like something Wu Changkong would say.

Xie Xie then joined in, his face unusually beaming with smiles, and his tone was incredibly enthusiastic.

"Teacher Wu, you were so cool just now!" he said. "I'm really impressed. Even if you train us to death from now on, I will never complain."

Wu Changkong didn't stop walking, only replying lightly.

"Remember what you said today."

Xie Xie's smile froze for a moment.

He suddenly had a bad feeling.

Tang Wulin stopped at this moment and turned to look at Xie Xie seriously.

"Thank you, Xie."

Xie Xie also stopped and looked at him.

Tang Wulin said, "Thank you for earlier."

That thank you was very sincere.

He knew that if Xie Xie hadn't suddenly appeared, this matter wouldn't have ended so quickly. At the very least, he wouldn't have been able to get away so easily.