Douluo Dalu (Soul Land): Shadow Monarch

Upon hearing this, Ma Nuo was somewhat swayed. What Cheng Xiao said made sense. Although Tang San had killed the Mandala Snake in a panic, it also showed his extraordinary mental fortitude.

Letting him detoxify the poison from the Grandmaster didn't seem like a bad idea.

After a moment of hesitation, a sharp glint flashed in Ma Nuo's eyes. He solemnly said, "Alright, Cheng Xiao, let's go with your suggestion and let Tang San detoxify the Grandmaster."

Hearing this, a smile appeared on Cheng Xiao's face. 'Tang San, since you've apprenticed under the Grandmaster, surely a small task like detoxifying your master shouldn't be beyond you, right?'

Originally, Cheng Xiao had a decent impression of Tang San, but his earlier attempt to flee had drastically changed that. 'Since you showed no loyalty, don't blame me for being unkind.'

Although Cheng Xiao's current strength wasn't enough to kill Tang San, he prided himself on his ability to disgust others. 'Since the Grandmaster is your teacher, it shouldn't be too much to ask you to detoxify the awkwardly poisoned part of his body, right?'

A few hours later, Tang San, who had just finished absorbing his spirit ring, slowly opened his eyes. Sensing the abundant spirit power within him, he couldn't help but smile. "Teacher's theory was correct. My Blue Silver Grass has gained an entangling ability!"

But when Tang San turned his gaze toward the Grandmaster, his eyes immediately widened.

The Grandmaster was leaning against a tree, his body seemingly rigid and motionless. Black energy swirled around his face, and he looked as if he were closer to death than life.

"Poison!" Tang San blurted out upon seeing this scene.

"Tang San, you're awake!" Ma Nuo exclaimed joyfully upon seeing him. "Quick, Xiao San, your teacher is poisoned. Use your spirit power to force the toxin out of his body."

Hearing this, Tang San was momentarily dumbfounded. 'Wait, what? You, as the Principal, aren't helping your own teacher? You waited for me to wake up to handle this?'

Without paying attention to Tang San's confusion, Ma Nuo grabbed his hand and explained his reasoning, inevitably mentioning the awkwardly poisoned part of the Grandmaster's body.

After hearing this, Tang San's previously joyful expression turned extremely stiff. Looking at his unconscious master, he suddenly felt a surge of anger. 'You want me to suck the poison out with my mouth? Are you kidding me?'

But Tang San was someone who respected his teachers deeply. Since he had apprenticed under the Grandmaster, the Grandmaster was now like a second father to him. Now that his "father" was poisoned, how could he not try to save him?

Resolutely making up his mind, Tang San tore off the Grandmaster's clothes, revealing the deeply concealed, awkwardly poisoned area. Holding his breath and clenching his teeth, he leaned in.

As soon as his lips touched, a foul smell assaulted his senses. Tang San forcefully suppressed his physical discomfort and activated his Mysterious Heaven Skill, beginning to extract the poison from the Grandmaster.

Just as Ma Nuo had said, the location of the poison was too awkward for regular detoxification methods. Helpless, Tang San had no choice but to use his mouth.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill, being the highest internal energy cultivation technique of the Tang Sect, had strong detoxification properties. This gave Tang San the confidence to go ahead and suck out the poison. Had it been any other Spirit Master, they might have accidentally poisoned themselves in the process.

"Headmaster, didn't I tell you I was right?" Cheng Xiao whispered with a barely suppressed smile, watching the scene unfold.

"Indeed, Cheng Xiao, I didn't expect such sharp insight from someone your age." Seeing Tang San wholeheartedly detoxifying the Grandmaster, the Headmaster Ma Nuo stroked his chin in approval.

"Headmaster, once the Grandmaster wakes up, we should return," Cheng Xiao said.

"But your spirit ring…" Ma Nuo replied awkwardly.

"Headmaster, to be honest, when we were separated, I was fortunate enough to encounter a century-old spirit beast that had been severely injured by a Nether Demon Wolf. To avoid troubling everyone further, I absorbed it myself," Cheng Xiao calmly lied without blinking.

"Good kid, quite the lucky one!" Ma Nuo joyfully patted Cheng Xiao's shoulder, without a shred of doubt about the truth of his words.

…

Some time later, Tang San sat down heavily on the ground after successfully extracting the poison from the Grandmaster. He looked at the poisoned blood he had spat out and finally breathed a sigh of relief. As long as the snake venom was fully cleared, the Grandmaster would no longer be in danger.

Seeing the Grandmaster's complexion slowly changing from a dark purple to a pale white, Ma Nuo's face lit up with joy. He looked at the panting Tang San and said, "Xiao San, take a short rest. We need to get the Grandmaster back to Nuoding City as soon as possible. Although you've extracted the poison, it would be best to have a healing-type Spirit Master examine him."

"The Grandmaster's strength is not high, and I worry about potential aftereffects."

"Yes, Dean," Tang San replied, cold sweat dripping from his forehead as he nodded.

A short while later, Mano carried the Grandmaster, while Cheng Xiao and Tang San swiftly left the Spirit Hunting Forest.

Fortunately, Ma Nuo had regained some strength, and they encountered no powerful spirit beasts on their way out. The few ten-year spirit beasts they did come across fled in panic at the sight of them, ensuring a relatively smooth escape.

After leaving the Spirit Hunting Forest, Ma Nuo rented a carriage from a nearby market. After paying a few extra silver spirit coins, the driver steered the carriage towards Nuoding City.

Upon their return to Nuoding City, Headmaster Ma Nuo used his connections to find a healing-type Spirit Master to treat the Grandmaster. After a short treatment, the Grandmaster woke up.

No one was happier than Tang San when the Grandmaster opened his eyes. Seeing his teacher awake filled him with immense joy.

As for Cheng Xiao, he didn't immediately return to the dormitory but instead headed to the back mountain of Nuoding Academy.

The forest was quiet, with only Cheng Xiao standing there alone.

Looking down at the dark purple spirit ring coiling around him, Cheng Xiao fell into deep thought. Although having a first spirit ring that was a thousand years old, and even a growth-type spirit ring at that, sounded impressive, he knew that being too flashy before he was fully grown could lead to trouble.

This trouble was precisely the dark purple spirit ring slowly rotating beneath his feet. On the way back to Nuoding Academy, Cheng Xiao kept wondering if revealing his thousand-year spirit ring instead of the usual yellow one would bring about fatal consequences. 'After all, a tree that stands out is more likely to be blown down by the wind.' If possible, he didn't want to draw too much attention to himself yet. He couldn't even summon Shadow Soldiers, and according to his estimation, he wouldn't be able to unlock his class-specific skills until he reached at least level thirty or even level forty.

He clearly remembered that when Sung Jin Woo completed his class change mission, his strength was already quite impressive. However, the Shadow Soldiers he summoned were far weaker than him.

Although the Shadow Soldiers would grow stronger as the Monarch's power increased, if Cheng Xiao were to summon them now, they would only be a group of low-level cannon fodder that consumed spirit power without any practical use.

For now, Cheng Xiao decided not to think too much about it. Although summoning Shadow Soldiers was essential, it wasn't a priority at this stage. His main concern now was finding a way to hide the color of his spirit ring.

As Cheng Xiao pondered how to solve this issue, a cold, emotionless female voice suddenly echoed in his mind.

[Detected the strong will of the third-generation Monarch's inheritor. You have obtained the passive skill, Camouflage. From now on, no one except you will be able to see the true appearance of your spirit ring.]