"My name is Tang San. My Spirit is Blue Silver Grass," Tang San said, a polite smile on his face. "Could you please move aside?"
"Blue Silver Grass?" "Isn't that a useless Spirit?" "You can cultivate with a useless Spirit? That's hilarious!"
Inside the dorm, all eyes shot toward the door. The other boys looked at Tang San as if he were some kind of strange creature. Despite the mocking stares, Tang San's calm smile never wavered, as if he didn't care what they thought.
This calm demeanor only infuriated Wang Sheng. In front of all his followers, he felt like he was being completely ignored. His original plan was just to give the new kids a little warning, but now he felt he had to teach this one a lesson.
"Listen up, 'Little Sanzi'," Wang Sheng sneered, deliberately using the demeaning nickname. "I'm the boss here. This whole dorm is my territory, which means you do what I say. Got it?"
It seemed Tang San was a natural magnet for trouble. Wang Sheng was so focused on him that he completely ignored Huo Feng, who was standing quietly behind Tang San. This was exactly what Huo Feng had been hoping for. Let Tang San draw all the attention, and I'll be the one to steal the show. Perfect.
"My name is Tang San, not 'Little Sanzi'!" The smile vanished from Tang San's face, replaced by a cold glare. He was clearly insulted by the nickname.
"Oh? You got a problem with it?" Wang Sheng scoffed. He rolled up his sleeves and gave Tang San a hard shove on the shoulder.
In the next instant, Tang San's figure blurred. Using his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, he appeared behind Wang Sheng with impossible speed and drove an elbow into his kidney.
"You dare to hit me?" Wang Sheng grunted in pain, stumbling forward. He was furious. Roaring, he activated his Spirit, and a yellow glow enveloped him. His hands grew into a pair of sharp tiger claws as he spun around and swung wildly at where Tang San had been.
Tang San was surprised by the sudden retaliation. With his back to the wall, he had nowhere to dodge. Instead of retreating, he met the attack head-on, throwing a punch of his own. Having swung a blacksmith's hammer thousands of times a day, he was supremely confident in his own physical strength.
Bang!
A powerful shockwave erupted as their fists collided. The force sent both of them stumbling backward. Wang Sheng's eyes widened in disbelief as he was pushed back five full steps before he could regain his footing, his tiger claws throbbing with pain.
Tang San, on the other hand, had only been pushed back three steps.
"Are you okay, Tang San?" Huo Feng asked, steadying him from behind as he came to a stop.
"I'm fine," Tang San said, shaking his head. But internally, he was deeply dissatisfied with his performance. He didn't know why, but ever since his Spirit Awakening, he felt like his strength had hit a plateau. He had no idea, of course, that Huo Feng had already sacrificed him once. He just felt stuck. Otherwise, a single move should have been enough to deal with someone like Wang Sheng.
"You're dead!" Wang Sheng howled, his face twisting with rage. Seeing that his full-power attack had barely won him an advantage, he charged forward again, fists raised.
"Come on, then," Tang San muttered, a hint of disdain in his eyes. This Wang Sheng clearly didn't understand the gap between them. He hadn't wanted trouble, but he was never one to back down from a fight. As Wang Sheng rushed toward him, Tang San didn't even raise his guard. Instead, he watched his opponent's clumsy footwork, searching for the perfect opening to end it.
At that exact moment, Huo Feng's eyes narrowed. He silently called out to his system. System, sacrifice Tang San!
[Ding!] [Time since last sacrifice of Tang San: Ninety days.] [Cooldown status: Available.] [Note: This sacrifice will yield 10% fewer points than the previous one.] [Does the host wish to proceed with the sacrifice?]
Wang Sheng was now just a single step away from Tang San, who was tensing his legs to counterattack. There was no time to think.
Sacrifice! Huo Feng commanded.
[Ding! Sacrifice of Tang San successful!] [Sacrifice Points +90.]
Just as the system's voice faded, Wang Sheng's and Tang San's fists were about to collide for a second time. A confident smirk touched Tang San's lips. He was about to use Controlling Crane, Capturing Dragon to easily handle Wang Sheng.
But in that critical instant, his vision suddenly went dark. A wave of weakness washed over him, and his legs buckled. With his stance broken, he had no time to react. Wang Sheng's punch connected, and he was sent flying backward.
"Now!"
In a flash, Huo Feng moved, catching Tang San just before he slammed into the wall. "Take a rest, Tang San. Leave this to me."
Tang San felt terrible. He didn't know what had just happened to him, but the fact remained that he had lost to Wang Sheng. I was careless, he thought bitterly. He gave a weak nod and closed his eyes. Though Huo Feng had helped him, he didn't believe for a second that Huo Feng could win. He himself had used his Tang Sect skills and still lost. How could Huo Feng possibly be stronger?
"Huo Feng. Spirit, Iron Sword. I'm your opponent now."
Swish!
A plain iron sword appeared in Huo Feng's right hand. Unlike Tang San, he wasn't going to hold back. He was going all-out from the start.
"What, you're not convinced either?" Wang Sheng panted. After defeating Tang San, he felt a surge of pride as his followers cheered him on. But it was just for show. Activating his Spirit had drained a huge amount of his spirit power, and the fight with Tang San had used up most of what was left. He only had about thirty percent of his power remaining.
"Get him, boss!" "Yeah, teach him the rules of Dorm 7!" "Show him who's in charge!"
The shouts from the other boys fueled Wang Sheng's ego, and he began to lose himself in the praise. He glanced at Huo Feng, who was shorter and thinner than Tang San, and his confidence swelled.
"Since you're my junior, I'll be generous and let you have the first move," Wang Sheng declared, puffing out his chest. In reality, he was just trying to stall for time to recover a bit more of his spirit power.
Huo Feng smiled. Is he really giving me such a perfect opportunity? It seems that beating Tang San went to his head.
Without a moment's hesitation, Huo Feng planted his left foot, pushed off hard with his right, and launched himself forward. He could already feel the benefits of the second sacrifice. The system didn't just give him points; it also converted a portion of the sacrificed person's essence into real attribute boosts for him—attack, speed, and defense. The first time he sacrificed Tang San, the effect wasn't very noticeable. But now, after the second time, he felt a significant improvement in his power. Tang San had been training his Xuantian Technique day and night, and now a good chunk of that hard work belonged to him.
Seeing him charge, Wang Sheng quickly gathered all his remaining strength into his tiger claws, making them as hard as iron.
Huo Feng brought his sword down in a simple, unadorned arc.
Clang!
The sound of metal striking metal echoed through the dorm as the iron sword met the tiger claws.
This is bad!
In the next instant, Wang Sheng's arrogant expression turned to one of pure shock. He knew something was terribly wrong.