Seeing Tang San admit defeat, Tianlin stepped off the stage, helped up the unconscious Yu Tianheng, and the two agility-attack soul masters, the Shi brothers, each carried a person as they headed back to their lounge.
But as soon as they entered the room, Yu Tianheng pushed Tianlin away. "Xiao Tian, today I lost face because of you."
"Yeah! If the senior sisters at the academy find out that I was forced out of the arena by a mere Soul Elder, how embarrassing would that be?" Oslo and Yu Feng also jumped off the Shi brothers' backs, looking as if nothing had happened.
The three of them had been pretending earlier. Otherwise, how could Tang San, a mere Soul Elder, have beaten three Soul Ancestors?
Even the second soul skill of Huan Yin hadn't been charged to its maximum. Otherwise, relying only on the second level of Purple Demon Eye, it might not have been possible to see through it.
All of this was to highlight Tang San's strength and ability to see through illusions, in order to attract Shi Nian's attention to Tang San, making it easier to use Tang San as bait.
Now, with Tang Hao away during this period, it was the best time to make a move.
Tianlin patted the two on the shoulders, comforting them with a smile, "Alright, I'll make it up to you. Tianheng, I'll send you the bottle of True Essence Dan I promised after the competition. As for Oslo, I'll write off the debt you owe me and Gu Ran. But as for Senior Sister Lingling, I can't decide for her, you'll have to talk to her yourself."
"That's more like it." Yu Tianheng nodded with satisfaction. The True Essence Dan looked very similar to the Xuan Yuan Dan Tianlin had given Tang San, but the effects were worlds apart. The herbs to refine the True Essence Dan were all rare, and its medicinal effect was astonishing. The soul power it boosted was extremely refined and didn't harm the foundation, making it a treasure for assisting low and mid-level spirit masters in cultivation.
This pill wasn't much use to Yu Tianheng, who was almost a Soul King, but he could take it back to help the younger generation in his clan; compared to the clan's development, his pride was nothing.
As for Oslo, losing face in exchange for having a huge debt written off was worth it. Now he was finally debt-free! As for what he owed to Ye Lingling, that could be paid off soon; after all, his family was still a small noble family. Even if they weren't as rich as the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, with some frugality, they could scrape together over a hundred thousand gold soul coins.
"Well, I have some things to take care of, see you later!" Tianlin walked out of the Heaven Dou lounge and headed toward Shrek's side.
Relying on his spiritual power, he had already sensed that a formidable spirit-type soul master was watching the Shrek group—it was undoubtedly Shi Nian. However, although there was heavy hostility, there wasn't much killing intent. That wouldn't do.
At this time, the Shrek team was also about to leave. Tianlin immediately stepped forward and said, "Brother Tang, please wait."
"Ah, Sword Brother, why are you here with us!" Ning Rongrong jumped into Tianlin's arms with delight. She had missed him so much while they'd been keeping their distance.
"Rongrong, be good. I have something important to discuss with Brother Tang. You go back with Dean Flender and the others first." Tianlin winked at Ning Rongrong.
Having been with him for so long, Ning Rongrong immediately understood his intent. For those who had fallen out with him, Tianlin never showed a good face. Now, suddenly coming to see Tang San, it was definitely to set him up.
Although Tang San was her classmate, he was far from being a friend. Tianlin's place in her heart was much more important, so she followed along, "Alright, then Sword Brother, you have to come to see me again."
"Mm!" Tianlin nodded to her, then walked over to Tang San and said, "Brother Tang, could you do me the honor of having a private chat somewhere?"
Tang San hesitated for a moment, but thinking that he would eventually have to subdue the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School anyway, talking to Tianlin now wouldn't hurt. "Master, since that's the case, you all go back first. I'll be back soon."
"Alright, but don't stay outside too long," Grandmaster instructed, then glanced at Tianlin, said nothing, just snorted coldly, and turned to leave.
It seemed he was still holding a grudge against Tianlin for what happened before.
Tianlin couldn't be bothered with him and led Tang San to an empty lounge, where they sat facing each other. Tang San said directly, "Brother Jun, be direct. If it's about cooperation, forget it. After the way you insulted my Master last time, I'll seek justice."
"Hmph, justice. If I had another chance, I'd still say the same. As for cooperating with you, if you don't want to, forget it. I'm here today just to return you one last favor." As he spoke, Tianlin took out a treasure box from his belt. "Since the cooperation is off, I should return your blueprint. But that thing is very useful to my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School. So I'm here today to buy it out completely. What's inside this box should be valuable enough."
Tang San was puzzled. Hadn't Tianlin already paid before? Why buy it again now?
"No need to be surprised. Didn't I know that the actual value of your blueprint far exceeds what I paid? Back then, it was only cheap because of our cooperation. But my Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School never takes advantage of others. What we owe, we repay. After today, we're completely even," Tianlin said sincerely.
Hearing this, Tang San's impression of Tianlin improved quite a bit. Indeed, if it hadn't been for the cooperation regarding Buddha Fury Tang Lotus, he wouldn't have sold it even for five million gold soul coins. Tianlin was quite principled; no wonder the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's reputation had been improving in recent years—it was because they didn't bully others.
Unfortunately, in Tang San's heart, Tianlin was still too naive. No matter how many benefits he received, his determination wouldn't change. The hidden weapon blueprints of the Tang Sect must be reclaimed. Now that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had seen them, he'd just have to subdue the entire sect.
Of course, that was for the future. For now, he had to play along.
"In that case, I won't be polite." Tang San accepted the box without hesitation.
Opening the box, there was a soul bone inside—the unused poison-attribute skull from Tianlin's sect. Tang San's breathing grew heavy with excitement. With his eye, he could naturally tell that there was a strong poison attribute inside, and it was quite compatible with him.
Tianlin also sensed that Tang San wasn't the only one whose heartbeat accelerated—the person hidden in the dark felt the same. Taking out the soul bone was to further attract Shi Nian. Although Shi Nian already had a skull, no one would mind having more soul bones. Even if he couldn't use it, he could trade it for another part. Skulls were more valuable than limb bones, and there was still a chance to trade for a suitable limb soul bone.
"Brother Jun, then our business is settled. Farewell." Tang San couldn't wait to leave—he just wanted to find a safe place to absorb this soul bone. It should allow him to break through level forty immediately.
Tianlin remained seated in the lounge, a smile on his lips. "Shi Nian, Tang San, my soul bone isn't that easy to get. You'd better be ready to pay the price!"