Chapter 512: I'll Give Up!

Yuanen Yehui’s expression grew strained. Tang Wulin struck her right in her weak spot. Full of talented students the second grade might be, they couldn’t hold a candle to the first grade. After witnessing the complete beatdown Tang Wulin’s team served on a platter to Wu Siduo’s, her confidence in victory faltered. Tang Wulin’s growth, a speeding bullet. 

Taking her silence as an opening, Tang Wulin said, “Here’s what I propose then: For the best chance of victory, we’ll have you, Ye Xinglan, and Wu Siduo participate in the singles battles. Gu Yue and I will take care of the doubles battle since we have the best teamwork and a soul fusion skill. I’m sure you have no complaints about that. For the team battle, we’ll send out five people. Me, Gu Yue, Ye Xinglan, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan. From the second grade, we’ll want you and Yue Zhengyu. This plan should maximize our odds of victory.

“In summary, we’ll handle two of the singles battles, the doubles battle, and the team battle will have five from my class and two from yours.”

“Impossible,” Yuanen Yehui blurted. “You’ve got to be joking with me. If I accept these terms, how would I even explain it to the rest of my class?” 

Tang Wulin looked her right in the eyes. “Yuanen, honestly, we’re stronger than you guys.” His gaze held an undeniable power. 

Taking a deep breath, Yuanen Yehui spent a few moments to collect her thoughts. ”Fine. I’ll admit that you guys are stronger. But can you really say your intentions are completely pure when it comes to this plan? That there isn’t a hint of selfishness involved? I understand most of your choices, but why Xie Xie over Wu Siduo? She’s stronger than him, and he still only has three rings. In what scenario could he possibly be more useful?” 

Tang Wulin blinked a few times, taken aback. He had not expected her to be so against Xie Xie. His brows furrowed, a frown taking place. “Why can’t he match her? He has twin martial souls too. Did you forget about that? He’s also my comrade, so our coordination will be better.” 

Yuanen Yehui pressed her lips together tight. “I’ll think about it.”

Right at that moment, the door burst open and an ashen-faced Xie Xie walked in. “I’ll give up my spot,” he said, sharp and cold.

Without another word, he turned and ran off. 

“Xie Xie!” Tang Wulin chased after him. 

Meanwhile, Yuanen Yehui watched them depart, frozen in spot. He heard what I said? D-did I hurt his feelings? She clenched her fists.

Why did I have to say that?

When Yuanen Yehui surfaced from her thoughts, she found herself pacing, struggling to come to a decision. In the end, she suppressed her anxiety and went to present Tang Wulin’s plan to the rest of her class, which they discussed and came to a consensus on.

☀ 

Tang Wulin caught up to Xie Xie, grabbing his shoulder just as they left dormitory grounds. “Xie Xie!” 

Xie Xie stopped, turning to face Tang Wulin with cold indifference. “Wulin, I’m fine. Just give me some time to calm down.” 

Tang Wulin threw his arms around him. “Don’t let her words get to you. We all recognize your efforts. You’re our comrade and we believe in you. If anyone questions your strength, then we’ll show them their error with our might. You’re a great agility-type, never forget that.” 

Xie Xie’s stiff expression finally softened when he saw the sincerity in Tang Wulin’s eyes. Pacing around, he heaved a sigh and let out a shout as he punched a tree. “I just don’t get it. Why does she treat me like that? Like I’m the bottom of the barrel. I’ve been working myself to death every day cultivating and rising early to do chores for her. Anything she needs help with, I’m there. Yet she won’t even spare me a minute. I’m not upset that she called me weak. I’m upset that that’s all I am to her. Augh! Jeez. Forget about it.” 

He sucked in deep breaths and expelled them just as hard, huffing like a wounded beast.

Tang Wulin approached him. “It’s up to you to decide what to do, but my advice is to persevere. As long as you can press on forward, you’ll win in the end. If you throw in the towel now, who’s to say the next girl you chase won’t give you trouble too? I can’t say I have much experience with relationships, but in my opinion, if you like a girl, then you can’t give up so easily. Don’t worry about whether they like you or not first. What matters is that you like them. And from there, do your best so that they’ll like you back.” 

Xie Xie directed a dejected look Tang Wulin’s way. “Boss, you know how to talk. But like you’ve said, you’ve got no experience with this. You already have Gu Yue on one arm and Na’er on the other. When have you ever had to use your own advice?” 

Tang Wulin lightly chopped Xie Xie on the head. “If you got time to think about these things, then spend that time on cultivating instead. The clock is ticking. We’re about to turn fifteen. Once we’re in the inner court we can worry about girls all we like. For now, we should be focusing on growing stronger.” 

Xie Xie cracked a small smile. “Study and cultivate properly every day, is it?”

Tang Wulin returned a grin. “A lot of times, the simplest advice is the most meaningful. You get it now?” 

Xie Xie relaxed, his shoulders drooping. “You’re right. The harder I’m pushed, the harder I need to push back. If someone doubts my strength, then I’ll show them just how strong I am. I won’t give up.” 

“Great. That’s a good attitude to have.”  

Xie Xie raised a brow. “So you support my way of thinking?” 

“Of course!” Tang Wulin answered. “If I had to use one word to describe you, it would be ‘brazen’!” 

Xie Xie stared at Tang Wulin, lips mouthing out words that would not come out.

“Alright now, I’m going to go cultivate at the specialized cultivation spaces. You coming?” 

Xie Xie shook his head. “No, I’m fine. My cultivation speed isn’t slow since I’ve got twin martial souls. Oh right, did I tell you yet? I just hit rank 40.”

Tang Wulin went rigid. “Really?” 

Tang Wulin knew that Gu Yue and Xu Lizhi were close to rank 40, but he hadn’t expected Xie Xie to suddenly reach that rank too. Only he and Xu Xiaoyan out of their group were a ways off from their fourth ring. This left him feeling sullen. 

“Hehe. Don’t we have a match with the third grade coming up? We’re even stronger now.” Since Xie Xie already had two spirit souls, there was no need to get another one for his fourth soul ring. He had immediately obtained his new soul ring when he broke through. 

Tang Wulin flashed a thumbs up. “Nice. Looks like I need to work even harder.” 

☀ 

Later in the evening, Tang Wulin and Yuanen Yehui met up to finalize the matter of the competition against the third grade. She explained the opinions of her classmates and teachers before informing him that the second grade class rejected his proposal.

“Let’s have a selection competition. No one can complain about the results that way. Strength will speak for itself,” Yuanen Yehui said.

“Alright.” Tang Wulin had absolute faith in his companions.

“We need to figure out how this competition will run then,” Yuanen Yehui said. 

“Do you have any issues with my proposed candidates for the singles matches?”

Yuanen Yehui shook her head. “No complaints here. But I have to ask, is Ye Xinglan stronger than you?” 

It didn’t take a second for Tang Wulin to nod. “In a one-on-one battle, I only have a thirty percent chance of winning against her.”

Astonishment colored Yuanen Yehui’s face. For Tang Wulin to regard Ye Xinglan so highly was something she had never expected. But after recalling the match between their two grades, she had to admit that Ye Xinglan was powerful.