Oscar left as well. Loneliness, helplessness, loss, pain — all manner of emotions assailed Ning Rongrong's twelve-year-old heart, tears sliding silently down her cheeks. She suddenly realized that perhaps she really had been wrong. Had she ever truly had friends? Those children in the clan who were her age — when they saw her, they either bowed and scraped or kept their distance. Behind her back, they all called her the Little Devil.
Friends were nothing more than a vain hope? No, no, no — Ning Rongrong suddenly felt a surge of intense panic spread through her heart. This night, for her, would certainly be a sleepless one.
Many years later, when Ning Rongrong of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan recalled the events of her youth, she told her children that there had been one night — the most painful night of her entire life — that had become the pivotal turning point that changed everything.
Dawn.
Tang San awoke from cultivation. His daily morning practice of the Purple Extreme Demon Eye had long since set his internal clock into a fixed rhythm.
Oscar, rather than sleeping today, had been cultivating instead, but he had not yet awakened. Tang San tiptoed out of the dormitory, drifted up onto the roof, and began his daily cultivation session.
After a full night of rest, the minor internal injuries he had sustained the day before had largely healed — his organs still ached faintly, but nothing serious. In another day or two, he would make a full recovery.
As he cultivated the Purple Extreme Demon Eye, the battle from the previous day against the Iron Brothers — Tie Long and Tie Hu — replayed in Tang San's mind. Especially that final strike of theirs.
The martial soul released from the hand, tracking the opponent's movement, channeling every ounce of power into a single devastating blow — their soul power was clearly inferior to his own, yet they had still managed to injure him. Had it been a head-on confrontation, the damage would likely have been far worse. Though it had been a soul skill of the Iron Brothers, the technique itself did not seem particularly difficult to replicate. He, too, had a hammer. If he applied the same method of attack to his own hammer, what kind of result might that produce?
Although Tang San's hammer came with no attached soul skill, he was certain that it was far heavier than the Iron Brothers' hammers. As for tracking the enemy's movements, within a certain range, he could manage that with Crane Control Dragon Catch. In essence, it would be like throwing his hammer as a hidden weapon.
It was a pity that he could not wield both martial souls simultaneously — otherwise, wrapping Blue Silver Grass around the hammer's handle would have turned it into a meteor hammer.
Having figured this out, Tang San decided to find time to test whether this approach would work with his hammer martial soul. How to channel the force, how to throw the hammer, what techniques to use — all of this would require actual experimentation to determine, along with repeated practice. Now was not the time, of course. That black hammer consumed enormous amounts of soul power, and his injuries had not yet fully healed. Rushing into practice would only risk harming himself.
After finishing his Purple Extreme Demon Eye session, Tang San spent a brief while practicing his hidden weapons, then went to eat breakfast. He was the earliest to rise, and by the time he had finished eating, Dai Mubai had only just arrived at the dining hall with a grim expression. He gave Tang San a curt nod and said nothing more.
After Dai Mubai, the third to appear was Xiao Wu, followed by Zhu Zhuqing and Ma Hongjun. Tang San signaled to Xiao Wu that he was fine, and only then did she sit down to eat with an easy mind.
Ma Hongjun looked refreshed and lively, as though several pounds had been shaved off his frame. Though the fat young man was rough and brash, he knew how to read the room. Seeing the dark look on Dai Mubai's face, he did not dare say much and hurried through his meal.
As for Oscar and Ning Rongrong, neither of them showed up at the dining hall.
"Fatty, you're not going out tonight, are you?" Once breakfast was finished, Dai Mubai suddenly spoke up.
Ma Hongjun blinked. "Why, Big Brother Dai, you looking for some fun?"
Dai Mubai said, "Good. Stay in the dorm tonight — I'm heading out. Going to find those twins from last time."
Ma Hongjun's eyes lit up. "Big Brother Dai, you get the meat — any soup for me?"
Dai Mubai replied irritably, "This kind of thing only works when both sides are willing. A melon twisted off the vine by force is never sweet." As he said this, he deliberately glanced at Zhu Zhuqing.
But Zhu Zhuqing showed no reaction whatsoever, as though she had not heard a word of their conversation. The icy girl simply sipped the rice soup in front of her.
The invisible war did not continue. The bell for class sounded, and everyone hurriedly finished breakfast and headed to the main field.
Neither the dean nor any of the teachers had arrived yet, but there was already one person on the field — Ning Rongrong. Oscar was still nowhere to be seen.