Back in Zhu Zhuqing's room—
She was staring at Tang Lan strangely, as if reevaluating him.
"What's wrong?" Tang Lan raised an eyebrow.
"You've hated Yu Xiaogang for a long time, haven't you?" Zhu Zhuqing said bluntly. "Along the way, I kept thinking it was my imagination, but you seemed to be deliberately stirring up..."
She didn't finish her sentence.
But they both understood.
Tang Lan nodded without hesitation.
"Yu Xiaogang is a fraud and a hypocrite. If it weren't for Tang San believing in him, I'd have ripped him apart a long time ago."
"I had no choice but to take this approach—so Tang San could see his true face for himself."
"Tell me honestly, does anything about Yu Xiaogang's situation with Liu Erlong make him a real man?"
Tang Lan briefly recounted the whole story.
Zhu Zhuqing frowned deeply!
She was beginning to understand why Tang Lan despised this guy.
"And that's not all," Tang Lan smirked. "Before Liu Erlong, he was entangled with Spirit Hall's..."
He proceeded to spill all the details about Yu Xiaogang and Bibi Dong's past.
Zhu Zhuqing was speechless.
The Holy Maiden of Spirit Hall had been willing to betray her entire sect for him—
and he had run away?!
Then he stole Spirit Hall's theories and claimed them as his own research?!
For the first time, Zhu Zhuqing's icy face showed genuine disgust.
—Absolutely revolting!
If she had been in Bibi Dong's place?
She would have ended him on the spot!
Seeing Zhu Zhuqing's reaction, Tang Lan felt completely satisfied.
Look at that!
This is how a normal person should react!
Unlike that love-brained Liu Erlong...
…Well, whatever.
If she hadn't been a hopeless romantic, Tang Lan wouldn't have gotten Blue Tyrant Academy so easily.
System Notification
[Host has taken over Blue Tyrant Academy, preventing Shrek Academy's rise. Tang San has lost a major support. Medium-tier fortune stolen!]
[Reward: 20,000-year External Soul Bone – Evil Eye!]
Oh sh*t!
He actually got an external soul bone?!
Tang Lan had never expected this.
He thought Blue Tyrant Academy's contribution to Tang San's future wasn't that major.
But apparently, it counted as a medium-tier fortune?
After all,
in the Douluo Continent 2 timeline, Shrek Academy had become the strongest academy, independent from the Three Great Empires, with its own Shrek City.
And even later,
Tang San's plans heavily revolved around Shrek Academy!
Looking at it that way, this reward made sense.
Speaking of which—
Tang Lan had never read the sequels,
but he'd heard that Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong's descendants appeared ten thousand years later.
Seriously?
So after all that hesitation, the body still got what it wanted, huh?
Tch!
'System, extract the External Soul Bone – Evil Eye and store it in Blue Silver King.'
There was no response.
Tang Lan checked Blue Silver King—
sure enough, there was now a small eye-shaped soul bone.
He immediately took it out.
The Evil Eye was only palm-sized, dark blue in color, shimmering with an eerie glow.
It looked mysterious and captivating.
"Zhuqing, I'm going to absorb a soul bone. Help me keep watch."
Zhu Zhuqing's gaze lingered on the Evil Eye, a hint of desire flashing in her eyes.
But she quickly suppressed it and gave a calm nod.
She didn't ask a single question about the soul bone's origins—
not even out of curiosity.
That was exactly why Tang Lan felt comfortable absorbing the bone in front of her.
Zhu Zhuqing's cold personality made her difficult to pursue,
but once she gave her heart, she was the most reliable ally.
Tang Lan sat cross-legged on Zhu Zhuqing's bed, pressing the Evil Eye against his right eye.
Immediately, he focused his mind, suppressing any pain.
Three Hours Later
As soon as Tang Lan's consciousness returned,
he realized something was off!
Normally, absorbing a soul bone enhanced his physical body.
But this time—
his body hadn't changed much,
yet his spiritual power had doubled!
Doubled!
Even his Twin-Pupil Soul Bone had evolved, increasing from 15,000 years to 18,000 years!
Thinking it through—
The Evil Eye originated from the Evil Eye Tyrant Clan,
whose strongest member, the 780,000-year "Evil Emperor,"
was considered a totem of the Sun-Moon Empire.
Evil Eyes had varied attributes,
but the fewer the attributes, the stronger the soul beast.
This Evil Eye's original owner had possessed both Mental and Time attributes—
one of the strongest combinations, comparable to Titan Giant Apes and Sky Blue Bulls.
This outcome wasn't surprising.
Tang Lan eagerly checked the soul bone skill—
[Skill: Reset!]
Effect:
Once per day, mark a target.Within two minutes, activate the skill to reset the target's state to the marked moment.
At first glance…
It sounded similar to time reversal, like Izanagi or resurrection effects.
And in reality—
it was.
If Tang Lan marked himself,
it would reset everything—soul power, vitality, location—everything.
For most people, this would be a life-saving trump card.
But for Tang Lan?
He had regeneration abilities.
With this new soul bone skill, Tang Lan could mark himself before battle,
then go all out—ignoring any energy depletion or self-damage.
When time was about to run out, he'd simply reset himself to full power.
Which meant—
He could unleash back-to-back full-power bursts!
Imagine this—
Once he mastered the "Ring Explosion" technique,
he could detonate his Life Soul Blue Silver Emperor once,
then blast his Thunderflame Clear Sky Hammer once.
Reset.
Boom—another round of destruction!
And if he activated his Regeneration Soul Bone,
he could literally resurrect on the spot and explode yet again!
Damn!
Fifty-four soul rings in one fight?!
Wasn't this straight-up cheating?!
Tang Lan was now desperate to learn the Ring Explosion technique from Tang Hao!
Wait.
With two minutes of invincibility, why not develop his own version?
Even if it wasn't perfectly efficient, it would still be a devastating trump card.
"Holy sh*t! I'm a genius!"
Overjoyed, Tang Lan grabbed Zhu Zhuqing and rewarded himself with a deep French kiss!
Zhu Zhuqing's mind went blank.
By the time she snapped out of it, Tang Lan's hands were getting restless—
She instantly leaped back, quickly fixing her disheveled clothes.
She cleared her throat, then said calmly,
"Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong have been waiting for you outside. I stopped them from interrupting earlier."
Tang Lan scowled.
You two just started dating—can't you take your romance somewhere else?
Why come bother me?
Watching Zhu Zhuqing adjust her attire,
Tang Lan sighed before finally getting up and opening the door.
Outside on the Balcony
Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong were holding hands,
their faces glowing with happiness as they chatted.
Seeing Tang Lan step out,
Liu Erlong smiled warmly and greeted him—
"Sect Master Tang, thank you for your guidance. If not for you, Xiaogang and I wouldn't—"
Tang Lan waved dismissively.
"We were just using each other."
Yu Xiaogang's value had been drained dry,
and Liu Erlong was just a blind devotee.
Neither of them was important to Tang Lan anymore.
So, there was no need for pleasantries.
Liu Erlong noticed his indifference but didn't mind.
Since Tang Lan had played matchmaker for her and Xiaogang, she had infinite patience for him.
With a wave of her hand,
she retrieved a stack of official documents from her storage ring and handed them to Tang Lan.
"This contains all of Blue Tyrant Academy's records. I've already signed everything over to you—free of charge."
"From this moment on, you are the new Headmaster of Blue Tyrant Academy."
"All I ask is that you honor your promise—keep the current students enrolled, and at least let them graduate."
Tang Lan accepted the documents and nodded.
"Of course. Tang Sect is also establishing an Advanced Soul Master Academy—any students who wish to stay will be welcome."
Liu Erlong breathed a sigh of relief.
She exchanged a glance with Yu Xiaogang, then continued,
"Xiaogang and I have been discussing something... We were wondering—could we stay and teach at the Tang Sect Academy?"
Oh?
Tang Lan's eyes flickered toward Yu Xiaogang.
The latter met his gaze calmly.
This guy...
After being completely humiliated and beaten,
he still wanted to stay?
How pathetic.
This time, Tang Lan didn't bother hiding his disgust.
Normally, Yu Xiaogang's fragile ego would have made him explode in anger.
But now...
Something was off.
(End of Chapter.)