"He lost both matches? And the last one was just last night?"
The message from the arena staff was brief and clear, but Yu Xiaogang stood frozen, unable to process the words for a moment. He immediately focused on the first part of the statement. He could accept that Tang San was no match for Huo Feng; he had admitted as much himself. He could even reluctantly accept a loss to a strange girl like Xiao Wu. But to be defeated by other Spirit Masters of a similar rank? As Tang San's master, that was a blow to his pride that he found difficult to accept.
He was intimately familiar with the rules of the Soul Fighting Arena. Participants who registered were only ever matched with opponents of the same rank, and their win-loss records wouldn't be drastically different. Even under those fair conditions, Tang San had still lost. It was unbelievable.
After calming himself down, Yu Xiaogang remembered the real reason he was here: to find Tang San. He realized he had gotten sidetracked by his disciple's failures. He forced himself to re-examine the information the staff member had provided. The last time anyone had seen Tang San was here, at the Soto Soul Fighting Arena. He had participated in two matches, with the second one taking place last night. This meant there had been a gap of about seven days between Tang San's two fights.
Having just been defeated yesterday, it was unlikely Tang San would return anytime soon. Soto City was massive, and searching for him without any clues was like looking for a needle in a haystack. The only thing he could be sure of was that Tang San was still somewhere in the city. He had to have a place to stay, but Yu Xiaogang had no idea where that might be.
His gaze suddenly fell upon Flanders, and his expression soured with a hint of complaint. He had proposed coming to Soto City yesterday, but Flanders had stopped him. If he had insisted on coming then, he thought, he might have run into Tang San at the arena.
In truth, this was just an excuse Yu Xiaogang was making for himself. Even if he had come to Soto City a day earlier, he wouldn't have known where to start looking. The Soul Fighting Arena hadn't even crossed his mind until Flanders suggested it. But in recent years, Yu Xiaogang had suffered one failure after another, both his own and now his disciple's. He had fallen into a habit of shifting the blame for these setbacks onto others. It was a way to shirk responsibility; otherwise, he would be forced to confront his own shortcomings and fall into a painful cycle of self-doubt.
"It seems Tang San is still in Soto City," Flanders said, his tone calm and analytical. "I suggest that if you want to find him, you should wait at the entrance of the Soul Fighting Arena for the next ten nights. There's a high probability you'll run into him eventually. It might not be the most efficient method, but it's the most practical one we have right now."
After offering his advice, Flanders turned to leave. He had noticed Yu Xiaogang's resentful glare but chose not to argue, chalking it up to their long friendship. He was even willing to offer his honest opinion selflessly. He had made up his mind not to interfere with Yu Xiaogang's business any longer. It was up to the latter whether he listened or not. Flanders was finally beginning to understand what it felt like to have his kindness taken for granted. Without another word, a subtle gap began to form between the two old friends, a result caused entirely by Yu Xiaogang's own pride and insecurity.
Yu Xiaogang's expression darkened, but he couldn't come up with a better solution. His pride didn't want to admit it, but his body was honest. He decided to stay in Soto City for the next few days. Every evening, he arrived at the entrance of the Soto Soul Fighting Arena on time, hoping to catch a glimpse of Tang San. He never considered that after two consecutive losses, Tang San might not return to the arena for a very long time.
At that very moment, Tang San was trapped in a blacksmith shop, unable to even step out the door. The owner had initially taken him in after seeing his impressive forging skills. He had even been generous enough to lend Tang San ten gold soul coins when he asked. But he never imagined that after borrowing the money, Tang San would not only stop working diligently but also start disappearing for long periods.
The owner grew worried and asked for his ten gold soul coins back, offering to raise his salary for the month. But Tang San, who was completely broke, couldn't produce the money. It was then that the owner realized he'd been tricked. Tang San had been acting suspiciously, sneaking out only at night. He had even been caught stealing scrap iron from the shop to forge strange, incomprehensible gadgets. To the owner, he looked no different from a jobless vagrant wasting his life in underground gambling dens.
Feeling that his good intentions had been betrayed, the owner locked Tang San in the blacksmith shop. His three free meals a day were cut down to one, and he was told he wouldn't be free until he had worked off the ten gold soul coins. Knowing he was in the wrong, Tang San worked tirelessly day and night for the past two days without a single word of complaint.
Late at night, as he returned to his damp room, he couldn't fall asleep. He felt like his life was over. After his first match in the Soul Fighting Arena against Xiao Wu, he had felt that he hadn't shown his true potential. He was convinced that if he had faced any other Spirit Grandmaster, he would have easily won. His confidence was boosted when he found a way to earn ten gold soul coins in an underground fight, which only reinforced his belief.
But then came his second match in the Soto Soul Fighting Arena. He was pitted against a veteran Spirit Grandmaster with a powerful fire attribute. Despite giving it his all, he still lost. That defeat crushed him. Now, Tang San had completely given up on the idea of returning to the Soul Fighting Arena. In his current state, he felt he didn't even have the face to see his teacher if he were to show up. All he wanted was to pay back the owner as quickly as possible and leave Soto City for good. As for where he would go, he had no idea.
Five days passed, and Yu Xiaogang still saw no sign of Tang San. He spent his days wandering through Soto City, but it was just a way to find some psychological comfort; it yielded no results. He pinned his hopes on the seventh day, the same interval that had passed between Tang San's previous two matches.
Meanwhile, in a private room at a restaurant in Soto City, a group of young men and women sat around a large round table. The table was covered with the remnants of a feast, and everyone looked full and satisfied. They were the seven students from Shrek Academy. Because their recent records in the Soto Soul Fighting Arena had been excellent, Flanders had given them all a day off. Seizing the opportunity, Dai Mubai had generously waved his hand and announced he was treating everyone to a big meal. No one was going to refuse a free lunch, so they had all happily accepted.
When it was time to leave, everyone stood up and filed out of the private room. While Dai Mubai went to the front desk to pay the bill and chat with the owner, Huo Feng and the other six left the restaurant.
Outside, the street was bustling with activity. It was a lively area with no clear theme; all sorts of shops lined the road, creating a diverse and interesting scene. As they walked, Huo Feng suddenly froze, his eyes fixed on a blacksmith shop diagonally across the street. His gaze was locked on a thin figure working tirelessly inside.
That person... he looked oddly familiar.
"Wait," Huo Feng muttered to himself, squinting. "Why does he look so much like Tang San?!"
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