Tylong felt as though the fist he threw had struck empty air. The force on his knuckles vanished in an instant, and then a tremendous power slammed into his chest. His feet stumbled, and his entire body was sent flying.
Bang — Tylong's massive body crashed several meters away, crushing a patch of Blue Silver Grass in the woods.
"Are you convinced yet?" Tang San stood with his hands clasped behind his back. Though he was young, standing there like that, he carried an air of imposing grandeur.
"I'm not convinced!" Tylong roared and sprang from the ground like a boulder hurtling toward Tang San.
Tang San frowned. "Then I'll keep going until you are."
Ten minutes later, Xiao Wu was the first to emerge from the woods. Even as she walked, she couldn't help but sigh. "That Tylong may be annoying, but his ability to take a beating really is something. He got thrown over a hundred times and still managed to stand back up."
"He's pretty tenacious too," Tang San followed Xiao Wu out of the woods. "If I hadn't dislocated his joints, who knows how much longer he would have kept at it."
Against Tang San's Ghost Shadow Phantom Trail combined with Crane Control Dragon Catch, Tylong didn't stand a chance. His physical strength truly exceeded Tang San's, but he never had an opportunity to use it. He was completely suppressed.
In the end, to stop Tylong from clinging to the fight, Tang San had no choice but to use his grappling techniques to dislocate the joints in all four of his limbs. Only then did this contest finally come to an end.
Xiao Wu grabbed Tang San's hand. "Come on, let's go get something to eat."
Tang San nodded, but his gaze drifted to Xiao Wu, and he became momentarily lost in thought.
"What's wrong? Don't recognize me?" Xiao Wu teased with a smile.
Tang San hastily shook his head, covering up his embarrassment. "Let's go. Wherever you want to go this afternoon, I'll follow you."
The academy really was conveniently located within the city — step out the front gates and there was the broad avenue. Tian Dou City truly deserved its status as the capital of the Tian Dou Empire. The streets were wide and clean, lined with shops on both sides, and streams of people flowed ceaselessly up and down.
Because Tylong had delayed them, Tang San and Xiao Wu tried several restaurants in succession, only to find them all packed. Without realizing it, they had wandered all the way to the city center.
"Brother, what's that place over there?" Xiao Wu pointed ahead to a domed building not far away.
The structure looked quite peculiar — perfectly round in its entirety, like half a sphere pressed down against the ground. There was no nameplate on it, only the image of a hammer.
Something stirred in Tang San's mind, and he immediately recalled the Great Master's words — that hammer was not the casting hammer of a blacksmith. "That seems to be an auction house. The symbol on it should be the auction hammer used exclusively by auction houses."
Xiao Wu's eyes lit up. "An auction house? Can we go check it out? I remember the Great Master saying that only in the capitals of the two great empires are there auction houses of the highest caliber — they even sell Soul Bones."
Tang San knew about auction houses, of course, because of Soul Bones. They were the treasure every Soul Master dreamed of. In a sense, as long as one's Soul Power reached a certain level, any Soul Master could obtain Soul Rings — the quality might differ, but the Rings were attainable. Soul Bones were an entirely different matter.
Soul Bones were so rare that they became the exclusive prize of a select few Soul Masters. Anyone who possessed a Soul Bone would go to great lengths to conceal it, lest others find out. Countless bloodshed incidents had erupted over Soul Bones. Even the most ordinary Soul Bone could sell for a sky-high price.
Although Spirit Hall had strictly forbidden Soul Masters from hunting Soul Beasts on a large scale to obtain Soul Bones, there were still plenty of Soul Masters confident in their own strength who took the risk. Naturally, very few were willing to part with a Soul Bone once they had one. Most transactions were trades — swapping for a Soul Bone better suited to one's own Martial Soul, or for other precious items.
Tang San was quite interested in this auction house too. "Xiao Wu, let's go eat first. After we've eaten, we can go take a look."
The moment food was mentioned, Xiao Wu couldn't help but grow annoyed. "It's all Tylong's fault for wasting our time. The good restaurants near the academy gates are all full. These places are way too popular — there's not even a seat to be found."
Tang San shrugged helplessly. "Well, we can't exactly head to an auction house on empty stomachs. In a city as big as Tian Dou, there has to be somewhere to eat."
Xiao Wu suddenly laughed. "Look over there — they're selling fast food. Let's just grab a quick bite."