He had taken an absolutely humiliating loss today. All he wanted now was to treat his injuries as quickly as possible, then threaten the kids in front of him to keep their mouths shut. Otherwise, the Immovable Bright King's reputation would be finished.
"Uh..." Oscar really wanted to ask why Zhao Wuji had ended up like this — he knew perfectly well what kind of strength Zhao Wuji possessed. But he quickly caught the look Dai Mubai shot him. As an extremely perceptive person, Oscar immediately wiped the surprise from his face, acting as though nothing had happened at all, and scurried over to Zhao Wuji with a goofy grin. He held out the sausage he had just produced while chanting another Soul Skill incantation that left everyone present caught between laughter and tears.
"I've got a little sausage!" Even though Oscar himself didn't look particularly sleazy, the moment those words left his lips, he became the very embodiment of sleaze.
A tiny sausage, no thicker than a pinky finger, materialized in his palm. He quickly handed it to Zhao Wuji.
Zhao Wuji didn't stand on ceremony. He ate both the big sausage and the little sausage one after another, and his complexion immediately improved.
Dai Mubai walked back to Zhu Zhuqing's side, fighting back a grin. He was immediately met with her ice-cold glare.
Zhu Zhuqing was badly hurt, but the look in her eyes made her message unmistakable: If you dare let that sleazy big-sausage uncle bring his sausage anywhere near me, you're dead.
Dai Mubai made a helpless gesture and shook his head at her. "Don't worry. I would never make you eat that kind of thing. I wouldn't bear to."
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes turned even colder. She shut them and refused to so much as glance at Dai Mubai.
After eating Oscar's Big Sausage and Little Sausage, Zhao Wuji's complexion improved dramatically. His clothes had been badly torn up in the earlier battle, so he simply ripped off a strip and wiped the blood from his face.
Oscar's Big Sausage provided healing, while the Little Sausage cleansed abnormal status effects. Both food-based abilities were extremely practical. The numbness from the Mandala Snake venom gradually faded, but the searing pain made the muscles on Zhao Wuji's face twitch uncontrollably. When he looked down, he saw that the skin on his body had bulged up in multiple places, forming knot-like swellings the size of walnuts. Waves of excruciating pain radiated from each one.
"Teacher Zhao, does that mean we've passed?" The only one among the four examinees who was still standing fully intact, Ning Rongrong, pointed to the space behind Zhao Wuji and asked.
Zhao Wuji turned to look. The incense he had lit had long since burned out. He snorted in anger. "Fine — you've passed." He had no desire to stick around any longer. Being made a laughing stock was not a pleasant feeling. He turned to leave.
"Teacher Zhao, wait." At that moment, a somewhat weak voice spoke up. Zhao Wuji turned to look. It was Tang San, who had been meditating to recover.
After a brief rest, Tang San's spirits seemed to have improved somewhat. He struggled to his feet.
"What is it, little hedgehog? You've already passed my trial." Zhao Wuji looked at the young man before him, feeling a mixture of resentment and admiration. Though this kid had made him lose face spectacularly and left him with a collection of minor injuries, the combat potential and fighting spirit this child had displayed were absolutely that of a monster among monsters.
Tang San said, "I'm sorry, Teacher Zhao. I was too impulsive just now. But your strength was simply too overwhelming for me — I had no choice but to go all out. Please, let me remove the Hidden Weapons from your body. Otherwise, I'm afraid they could cause lasting damage."
The ten Dragon Whisker Needles hidden beneath Tang San's fingernails were all lodged in Zhao Wuji's body now. Those swollen injuries weren't something that could be dismissed casually. Since Dragon Whisker Needles were naturally formed from hair-gold, they were metallic in nature but could not be attracted by magnets. Moreover, once they pierced the flesh, they immediately curled and knotted together. Even if Tang San removed them personally, it had to be done within a short window after the injury — otherwise, once the needles burrowed deep into muscle and tissue, the only option would be to cut the flesh open entirely.
Fortunately, Zhao Wuji's Immovable Bright King Body had remarkable defensive power, and when Tang San had fired the Dragon Whisker Needles, his internal energy had already been running low. As a result, the needles had only penetrated to the skin level. If they had embedded deeper into his body, there would have been nothing anyone could have done.
Hearing Tang San's words, Zhao Wuji's expression softened a few degrees, and a flush of embarrassment crept across his weathered face. After all, he was a Soul Saint. The fact that he had needed to resort to his fifth Soul Ring against a child who hadn't even reached Rank 30 was nothing short of bullying. Still, this little hedgehog was truly something — those bizarre and varied attacks had genuinely opened Zhao Wuji's eyes.
Tang San approached Zhao Wuji and first assessed the positions of the Dragon Whisker Needles on his body. Seeing that most of them were still knotted beneath the skin without having burrowed deep, he quietly breathed a sigh of relief.
After going all-out against Zhao Wuji, the anger in his heart had faded. A measure of regret crept in — after all, this man was a teacher, not an enemy, and he had struck rather hard. Of course, under the circumstances, facing the incomparably fierce pressure Zhao Wuji had unleashed, holding back would have been impossible.
His right hand turned the color of white jade once more. His fingers flickered rapidly across one of Zhao Wuji's wounds in a series of precise strikes. With a subtle application of Crane Control Dragon Catch, a golden needle tip emerged from beneath the skin. Tang San pinched it and pulled firmly, drawing a single Dragon Whisker Needle free.
Zhao Wuji endured real agony. The Dragon Whisker Needles had curled up the moment they entered his body, tangling with his skin and muscle. Having them yanked out sent a bolt of pain so intense that even the thick-nerved Immovable Bright King's face twisted in a spasm.
By the time Tang San had removed every last Dragon Whisker Needle, thick steam was rising from Zhao Wuji's body, and his entire frame was drenched in sweat from the searing pain. But to his credit, he held firm — he hadn't let out a single groan.
(End of Chapter)