As dawn broke faintly in the sky, Jiang Nan finally finished discussing the project details with Yao Hong.
He left her another batch of goods before teleporting straight to Kyoto Spirit University.
Yao Hong had already begun dispatching people to find Wan Dongchen’s address. For Dandelion, this was not difficult.
Six in the morning, luxury apartment.
Zhong Yingxue emerged from her room cradling Xiao Jiuwo. She was the first one up.
The moment she stepped out, she saw Jiang Nan sitting on the sofa, wiping away tears.
“Ah! Xiao Nan? Why are you crying?”
Startled, Zhong Yingxue hurried over and gently brushed away his tears.
Xiao Jiuwo said, “Master, don’t cry. You’re not alone!”
Jiang Nan immediately burst into loud sobs.
“Xuexue, I swear I’ll never go out at night to do bad things again!”
Not only did he fail to earn any pocket money, he had spent a fortune of his wife’s savings.
He had never spent so much money in his life. Unforgivable.
The more he thought about it on the way back, the more Yao Hong seemed like a scammer. Now Jiang Nan saw everyone as a potential fraud.
Zhong Yingxue looked utterly bewildered. Why had Xiao Nan suddenly decided to turn over a new leaf?
Just then, the door opened.
Xiong Er poked his head out, only to see Jiang Nan and Zhong Yingxue cuddling intimately on the sofa.
He quietly closed the door. To avoid disturbing Jiang Nan, he opened the window and leapt from the 19th floor, heading off to gather the trainees first.
…
Seven in the morning, alloy training room.
After a night’s rest, the 100 trainees looked refreshed and energetic. Xia Yao and the others grew excited at the thought of leading students.
Only Jiang Nan appeared listless, still unable to shake off the shadow of spending such a huge sum.
He stepped forward. “After one day of training in the Sword Mountain Spirit Ruins, I’m sure you’ve all gained a basic understanding of the five of us.”
“Now, choose your instructor based on your ability type and fighting style.”
Only targeted training like this would maximise growth.
For example, an elemental damage dealer might learn little from Jiang Nan, but could thrive under Zhong Yingxue.
Hearing they could choose freely, the trainees’ eyes lit up. They quickly formed lines.
Three minutes later, 33 stood before Zhong Yingxue.
Xia Yao had 27. Wu Liang had 18. Even Xiong Er had 30.
Only Wang Zhan and Xiang Zu, the two stubborn gold-rankers, remained with Jiang Nan. Even Ye Xingxuan had gone to Xia Yao.
Zhong Yingxue and Xia Yao snickered quietly.
Jiang Nan’s face darkened. “Are you serious?”
The other trainees shrank back. They had been tormented enough in the Sword Mountain Spirit Ruins by Jiang Nan, for one thing.
More importantly, his strength had reached a level they could no longer comprehend.
Wang Zhan winked. “It’s fine, South God! You’ve still got the two of us to keep you company!”
Xiang Zu chuckled lightly. “The two of us will keep you plenty busy!”
Jiang Nan beamed. “Excellent! Here, take these. You’ll need them later.”
He handed each ten Vitality Ginseng plants. Their faces instantly paled.
“No, South God, aren’t you going to teach us some theory first? We still…”
Before they finished, Jiang Nan spun and unleashed a left haymaker, smashing it into Wang Zhan’s face.
Boom!
With a tremendous bang, Wang Zhan’s body spun through the air over three hundred metres and crashed hard into the training room wall.
[Resentment Value from Wang Zhan +1000!]
Before anyone could react, Jiang Nan whipped a leg sweep towards Xiang Zu’s waist.
Xiang Zu hurriedly blocked with his arms. “Collapse!”
Yet a spatial wormhole appeared. The kick that should have struck his waist landed on his head instead.
His body flew, his soul chasing after.
[Resentment Value from Xiang Zu +1000!]
Jiang Nan said, “In a real fight, why shout your move name? Can’t you release it without announcing? Are you giving the opponent time to prepare?”
“Theory? All my theory is in practical combat. You two won’t get a break today. Come on, babies!”
With that, he teleported forward.
“Left hook!”
Wang Zhan instinctively raised his arms to block left.
Only to be smashed by Jiang Nan’s right hook, spitting blood.
[Resentment Value from Wang Zhan +1000!]
“But you said left!”
Jiang Nan rolled his eyes. “You believed me? Never trust what an enemy says!”
“Right hook!”
Panicking, Wang Zhan blocked left again.
Only to take a heavy right cannon to the eye, swelling it shut.
[Resentment Value from Wang Zhan +1000!]
“How is it real this time?”
Jiang Nan replied, “Why just block? Fight back! Don’t follow my rhythm! Whoever lets the opponent dictate the pace is doomed to lose!”
“Now do you understand how to use move names? I shout ‘Spatial Wormhole’, but actually release ‘Void Black Hole’. Imagine the effect. Got it?”
Wang Zhan froze. Damn? It could…
Boom!
A front kick sent Wang Zhan clutching his stomach, sprawling on the floor vomiting blood.
“Don’t get distracted in battle!”
At this moment, Wang Zhan and Xiang Zu finally understood Jiang Nan’s teaching method.
The most direct, simplest way to show you how to win a fight.
The price was relentless beating.
Such progress was undoubtedly immense. Lessons learned this way would never be forgotten, even in death.
But… was it too late to switch instructors?
The resentment value list refreshed frantically.
The other trainees watched Jiang Nan brutally thrashing the pair, their faces turning pale with fear.
“Instructor Zhong, we won’t be taught like this, right?”
“Instructor Xia, you’re so youthful and lovely, so lively and cute. You won’t hit us, will you?”
Zhong Yingxue smiled. “We’ll start with some combat theory, then create training plans tailored to each of your abilities!”
The trainees sighed in relief, looking as though they had been saved.
Only Xiong Er’s 30 trainees appeared conflicted. They had chosen him remembering his ferocious baseball performance.
But on second thought, Xiong Er was actually a spirit beast. What could he teach them? Being instructed by a spirit beast?
The very idea already seemed absurd.
Xiong Er grinned. “Come on, everyone sit. Today I’ll teach you some survival tips for the spirit ruins!”
Hearing this, the trainees perked up and focused intently.
Xiong Er continued, “In future, you’ll inevitably face danger in the spirit ruins. Spirit beasts as reasonable as me are rare.”
“Today I’ll teach you the laws of survival in the spirit ruins. I rose from black iron to platinum in the ruins, became boss of Duck Pear Island. I’ve summed up some experience!”
The trainees looked at him with admiration. This was far too practical.
Xiong Er bared his teeth in a grin. “First, you need to know powerful spirit beasts divide territories. Except in special cases, they don’t hunt outside their own.”
One trainee quickly asked, “How do we tell if we’ve entered a spirit beast’s territory?”
Xiong Er replied, “Most mark the edges by urinating on trees. A few unhygienic ones might use their droppings.”
“I’ve even seen some mark with spit. Remember, the stronger the beast, the more pungent the urine smell.”
“If you smell urine in the ruins, be alert!”
The trainees exchanged glances, as though discovering a new world.
At this point, even Zhong Yingxue, Wu Liang, and the others looked over curiously.
Someone asked, “Instructor Xiong Er, how did you mark your territory?”
Xiong Er said proudly, “My territory in the ruins was huge. How could I patrol it all myself? I usually prepared urine in advance and had my underlings mark it for me!”
Xia Yao stared wide-eyed, horrified.
For some reason, an image flashed in her mind of a gorilla carrying a pole with two urine buckets, diligently ladling it out to mark Xiong Er’s territory.
Xiong Er chuckled. “One more tip. If you encounter a Tyrant Tiger spirit beast, one move guarantees survival!”
Everyone grew eager. “What move?”
Xiong Er said, “In that situation, lie flat on the ground, hands over head, and say ‘Aowu wa~’. The Tyrant Tiger won’t eat you!”
“Come on, repeat after me! Aowu wa~”
The trainees echoed, “Aowu wa~”
After several repetitions, Xiong Er’s smile nearly overflowed. “Good! Keep going!”
“Aowu wa~”
Someone asked curiously, “What does it mean? Why won’t it eat us if we say it?”
Xiong Er said mysteriously, “Aowu wa is beast language for ‘Daddy’. Because even tigers don’t eat their young!”
At that moment, everyone’s faces darkened across the entire training room.
So they had spent all this time learning beast language for “Daddy”?
Calling him Daddy the whole time? No wonder he could barely hold back his laughter!
“Is this reliable? Tigers don’t eat their young, really?”
“Eh? Is that what the phrase means?”
“Instructor Xiong Er, have you misunderstood something?”
“I think you just want to be our daddy!”
Xiong Er waved a paw. “Nonsense! I’m a spirit beast! No one understands spirit beasts better than me!”
He added sentimentally, “Human language truly is profound. Humans figured out this secret of ‘tigers don’t eat their young’ long ago!”
The trainees looked baffled. It somehow seemed to make a little sense.
Wu Liang: (٥･᷄_･᷅)
Xiong Er was definitely messing with them, right?
