A sharp, intense pain instantly spread throughout his entire body. Dai Mubai broke into a cold sweat from the agony, his sturdy body losing its balance as he nearly collapsed to the ground.
In the shadow of a distant tree, Dean Flender, who had been silently watching the scene, saw that the match between the new student and the senior student now had a clear result.
No longer hiding himself, he spread the wings on his back and quickly flew out from the shadows, landing steadily in the middle of the field.
Teacher Li Yusong, who was in charge of registration, had been shocked by Dai Mubai's sudden injury.
Seeing Flender personally appear, he hurriedly called out respectfully, "Dean, why have you come out?"
Flender ignored Li Yusong's surprise. He reached out, adjusted the large, signature glasses on the bridge of his nose, and gave a chuckle.
He turned his gaze toward Tang San, who was standing not far away, his eyes filled with a certain depth and appreciation.
"Tang San, I've already heard about you from your teacher."
"Although there are indeed some issues with your second spirit ring configuration, I will make an exception today and allow you to enroll directly."
Looking into Tang San's eyes, Flender added with a smile, "I believe that once you officially enroll, the environment here will change your previous perspective."
Then, Flender turned his head, his expression darkening as he looked at Dai Mubai, who was clutching his back and gasping in pain.
"Mubai, you were far too careless in today's match."
Flender scolded him mercilessly, "You cannot underestimate an opponent just because their spirit power Rank is lower than yours, their Spirit looks inferior, or even because their spirit ring configuration is poor."
"You must remember that on a true battlefield of life and death, underestimating the enemy is a fatal mistake."
"You've suffered a major setback this time; take it to heart. This will be of great benefit to your future Cultivate and battles."
Hearing Flender's words, Tang San stood still, his eyes flickering as he fell into brief thought.
He thought to himself that since his teacher had strongly recommended this academy—and since his teacher had always treated him like his own son—he would never harm him.
Furthermore, since this Dean seemed to be an old acquaintance of his teacher, there was no harm in enrolling first and staying to observe the situation.
With that thought, Tang San let go of his hostility and gave Flender a serious nod, indicating his willingness to stay.
Seeing Tang San agree to enroll, a smile broke out on Flender's somewhat shrewd face.
Then, Flender took a deep breath and, using his robust spirit power to amplify his voice, shouted toward the interior of the academy.
"Oscar! Where are you, you brat? Get over here right now! You've got a big business deal today!"
Flender's shout echoed continuously over the village.
Then, in just a flash, accompanied by the sound of rolling wheels, a figure came running over quickly.
A man with a face full of thick whiskers was seen laboriously pushing an old wooden cart toward them.
On the sign of that wooden cart, the words "Sausage Specialist" were carved in a crooked script.
Drenched in sweat, Oscar brought the cart to a steady halt. His peach-blossom eyes darted around as he asked with a beaming smile, "Dean, what big money-making business do you have for me?"
Flender rolled his eyes at him and pointed to Dai Mubai, who was nearby, grimacing in pain from his back injury.
"Can't you see someone is injured? Hurry up and whip out a few fresh Big Recovery Sausages for Mubai to eat and heal his wounds."
Oscar looked in the direction the Dean was pointing. When he saw the two large, swollen lumps on Dai Mubai's back, he immediately became amused.
An exaggerated expression appeared on his stubbled face, and he couldn't help but start teasing loudly.
"Oh my! Isn't this our majestic Boss Dai? What happened today?"
Oscar laughed loudly, not missing this chance to mock him. "I never would have thought—truly never would have thought—that you, a grand Rank 37 Spirit Elder, would actually lose to a new student?"
"If word of this gets out, I'll die laughing! Boss Dai, even you have a day like this!"
Dai Mubai was already frustrated by the pain. Hearing Oscar's heartless mockery, his anger flared even more.
He glared fiercely at Oscar and cursed through the sharp pain in his back, "Cut the crap! Hurry up and manifest those disgusting Sausages of yours!"
Seeing Dai Mubai's murderous gaze, Oscar knew when to stop and didn't dare to push his luck further.
Just as Oscar was preparing to chant his wretched Spirit Incantation to create the Sausages...
Tang San sighed helplessly and stepped forward quickly, raising his hand to stop them.
"Wait, let me first pull out the two hidden weapon needles shot into your body."
"Once my Hidden Weapons enter the flesh, they curl into a ball and hook tightly into the muscle. Otherwise, you'd never be able to get them out on your own."
"If you recklessly try to pull them out by force, a single mistake could result in the entire chunk of flesh on your back being ripped away. The injury would only be worse then."
Hearing Tang San's professional explanation, Dai Mubai broke into a cold sweat and immediately suppressed his impulse to force the Hidden Weapons out.
He cooperated fully by turning around. With his back to Tang San, he gritted his teeth and said, "Then do it. I can take it."
Tang San nodded. His hands instantly transformed into Mysterious Jade Hands, resembling mutton-fat jade.
He pressed his hands around Dai Mubai's swollen wounds. With the Mysterious Heaven Skill Internal Energy surging within him, he employed a very specific technique.
Tang San's fingers tapped repeatedly on the Acupoints on Dai Mubai's back, precisely controlling the muscle contractions.
Accompanied by Dai Mubai's agonizing howls of pain, Tang San finally successfully extracted the two curled-up Dragon Beard Needles.
After putting the Dragon Beard Needles back into the Twenty Four Moonlit Bridges, Tang San took a step back.
After the intense pain, Dai Mubai was drenched in sweat. Disregarding his image, he grabbed the Big Recovery Sausage Oscar had just produced and swallowed it in large gulps.
As a warm current flowed through his body, the wounds on Dai Mubai's back quickly stopped bleeding and scabbed over. The piercing pain finally eased significantly.
Dai Mubai took a deep breath and turned around, looking at Tang San with a complex gaze.
He was a man who could admit his mistakes. He spoke to Tang San candidly, "In today's spar, I was indeed too careless and underestimated you."
"Once you've officially enrolled and settled in, find a suitable time, and we'll have a proper match!"
...