367. We Were Tricked

Tang San frowned, speaking quietly:

“Teacher, my second spirit ability is called Death Coil.”

“Death Coil?!”

Yu Xiaogang’s eyes lit up as he considered it. Just from the name, he could tell this spirit ability must be extremely powerful.

“Good, very good!”

“Xiao San, let me see what your second spirit ability can do!” Yu Xiaogang urged him eagerly.

Tang San hesitated, looking a bit troubled, but finally decided to demonstrate. Maybe his teacher could figure out what was wrong.

“Teacher, watch closely.”

Hearing Tang San’s cue, Yu Xiaogang kept his eyes on the seated Tang San.

“I’m watching, Xiao San.”

“Whew…” Tang San exhaled deeply. Under Yu Xiaogang’s curious gaze, he took a long breath, his cheeks puffing up.

The second spirit ring flashed rapidly.

“Ribbit!”

A strange, deafening frog-like croak echoed.

A strand of Blue Silver Grass, covered in saliva, shot from Tang San’s mouth, leaving Yu Xiaogang staring in shock.

—

In the distance, the little bunny leaning on Ling Yuan couldn’t help but laugh, even as Ling Yuan covered her mouth.

Xiao Wu’s whole body shook as her face turned bright red, stifling her laughter.

Even Ling Yuan Douluo struggled to hold back, biting her lip with a slight smile, her eyes brimming with tears from laughing.

Qian Renjue also wore a strange expression, glancing back at the two girls who were laughing contagiously. His usually serious face broke into a grin as he looked back at Tang San.

He hadn’t expected the Crispy Frog’s effect to be this amusing!

—

As Tang San activated his second spirit ability, his cheeks swelled, his face covered with small bumps. Then he opened his mouth and spat out a strand of Blue Silver Grass covered in saliva, which quickly wrapped around a small sapling in front of him.

But despite his efforts, he couldn’t even pull the sapling up.

“Mmm… Teacher?” With the Blue Silver Grass in his mouth, Tang San looked up at Yu Xiaogang, confused.

“How… how could it be like this?” Yu Xiaogang couldn’t comprehend it, but felt there must be some explanation.

He quickly regained composure and asked:

“Xiao San, does your second spirit ability have any additional properties, like toxins or increased toughness?”

Before he could finish, Tang San bit through the Blue Silver Grass with ease, leaving Yu Xiaogang stunned and horrified.

Tang San looked bitterly at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand. “Teacher, aside from the ability to entangle, its toughness barely increased, and as for poison…”

Tang San paused, then said slowly:

“There’s absolutely none!”

“How could this be?!”

Yu Xiaogang couldn’t believe it. He bent down, picked up the broken Blue Silver Grass, and twisted it; it snapped easily.

“How? This was a seven-hundred-year-old spirit beast, a Poison Dart Frog!”

He bit the grass, as if trying to uncover its hidden powers.

Tang San, equally perplexed, wanted to question if the issue was with the spirit ring itself, but it was clearly yellow!

He’d checked multiple times.

Tang San looked up at Yu Xiaogang, cautiously suggesting, “Teacher, could it be that plant-type spirits and animal-type spirit beasts are actually incompatible?”

Yu Xiaogang’s eyes reddened, and he snapped his head up, spitting in defiance.

“No! My spirit mimicry theory is definitely viable! There’s absolutely no flaw in my theory!”

Yu Xiaogang’s tone was firm. His theory was infallible; he was the leading theorist in the Spirit Master world!

Tang San remained calm and patient. “But, Teacher, the evidence is right in front of us!”

“This isn’t evidence, it’s all fake!” Yu Xiaogang, struggling to accept reality, turned red-eyed and pointed angrily at the fallen Poison Dart Frog.

“If there’s an issue, then it’s with that spirit beast!”

Yu Xiaogang’s bloodshot left eye widened in anger.

Tang San’s face darkened. He wasn’t blind… Just as he was about to speak, Yu Xiaogang suddenly burst into laughter.

“Haha! I knew it, I knew it…”

Pointing at the frog, Yu Xiaogang looked back at Tang San, face alight with joy.

“Xiao San, look!”

“This wasn’t a seven-hundred-year-old Poison Dart Frog at all. It’s a ten-year-old Crispy Frog!”

“Teacher…” Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang, who seemed to be losing his mind, with growing irritation, feeling as though he’d gone mad.

With reluctance, Tang San looked over.

⊙_⊙

Tang San’s face froze, his eyes flashing with purple light as he rubbed them furiously.

“How… how could it be a Crispy Frog?! We saw a seven-hundred-year-old Poison Dart Frog just moments ago!”

Hearing Tang San’s voice, Yu Xiaogang laughed triumphantly. “Haha, it’s a ten-year-old Crispy Frog! My theory is flawless!”

“Teacher!” Tang San shouted in frustration, his face darkening.

Yu Xiaogang’s smile froze, his expression turning horrified as he looked at the fallen frog.

“Right! We did see a seven-hundred-year-old Poison Dart Frog!”

“Your spirit ring was yellow, too…”

As he spoke, Yu Xiaogang turned to Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass. His pale face grew even paler, his mouth opening but no words coming out.

Tang San stared grimly at his Blue Silver Grass spirit.

“Why? What’s going on?”

The white and yellow spirit rings on his Blue Silver Grass had turned into two white rings!

Tang San raised his head sharply, consulting his “theory expert” Yu Xiaogang:

“Teacher, why is this happening?!”

Yu Xiaogang was in despair, staring at the Crispy Frog on the ground, his heart filled with dread.

He muttered, guessing:

“Xiao San, maybe we encountered a mutated spirit beast. That Crispy Frog might have unique camouflage abilities…”

“Mutated spirit beast?” Tang San repeated, puzzled. He understood that mutations could happen in spirit beasts, just as they did in spirits, but something still didn’t feel right.

“Teacher, I understand the logic. But would a mutated spirit beast also change the color of its spirit ring?”

Yu Xiaogang was at a loss.

“Maybe… that’s another special trait of this Crispy Frog.”

“Special trait?” Tang San glanced at the Crispy Frog, his head spinning.

—

In the real world, Qian Renjue used the Evil God's Heart to envelop himself and the two women, Ling Yuan laughing gracefully, while the little rabbit burst out laughing.

“Haha, Tang Xiao San has turned into a big, ugly toad! Haha!”