Ye Yin added calmly, "I don't know which idiot hit him. What do you want with me? You should go find the idiot who hurt your son."
Tai Nuo was speechless. The "idiot" who had given Tai Long a beating was none other than himself and his own father. He let out a frustrated snort. "What nonsense! This is all your fault, anyway!"
Xiao Wu glanced at Tai Long with disdain. "So this is how your family works. You hit the young one, and the old one comes out to fight for him. If we beat up your dad, is your grandpa going to show up next?"
Tai Long's face flushed with shame. "Don't misunderstand, it's just because my dad saw my injuries, that's why he's so upset… But you're right, if my grandpa really did come, that would be a huge problem."
Tai Nuo glared at Xiao Wu. "Little girl, this concerns you too. If you hadn't seduced my son, would any of this have happened? You're a real troublemaker. So young and already learning how to lead men on."
Xiao Wu was stunned for a second, then her temper flared. "What the hell are you talking about?! Who are you calling a seducer?!"
"Weren't you the reason this brat used a spirit ability on my son?" Tai Nuo growled. "Once I'm done with him, I'll teach you a lesson too. What's so great about him? He's nothing but a pretty boy. And you three are all involved!"
As he spoke, he lunged at Ye Yin again. His body shifted subtly, easily dodging the attack as four spirit rings—three purple and one black—rose from his feet. When Tai Nuo saw the spirit ring configuration, he couldn't help but widen his eyes. Hearing his son talk about it was one thing, but seeing a ten-thousand-year ring on a four-ring Spirit Ancestor with his own eyes was another matter entirely.
He quickly masked his surprise with a sneer. "So you're using your spirit against me? Fine, I'd like to see how strong you really are. Great Ape, possess!"
With a roar, his entire body grew several inches taller. With a series of tearing sounds, his dark, bulging muscles ripped his shirt to shreds, revealing a frame as hard as steel. Five spirit rings—two yellow and three purple—swirled around his body with a dazzling light.
"So what if you have a ten-thousand-year spirit ring?" he boasted. "I have one more than you! Are you scared now, kid? If you're scared, just surrender. Let me give you a good beating, and then I'm taking you to your academy's teachers to settle this. I'm a Rank 58, strength-type Spirit King, so you better think carefully. Fists and feet don't have eyes; if I accidentally break your leg, you'll have to forgive me."
Ye Yin simply shook his head as his first and fourth spirit rings flashed in quick succession. He cast two curses. The first was a physical one: Paralysis, with a duration of twenty-four hours. The second was a mental one: an overwhelming urge to hit his son as soon as he felt the sensation of paralysis. This one would last for an hour.
Suddenly, an indescribable, itching numbness shot up Tai Nuo's spine. It felt like thousands of ants crawling deep inside his bone marrow, and it instantly engulfed his entire body.
"Hiss!" Tai Nuo gasped, his body trembling violently. The sensation was a maddening combination of numbness, itching, and stinging pain. It was so uncomfortable he felt like he was about to jump out of his own skin. He instinctively reached back to scratch, but the feeling wasn't on the surface; it was darting around inside his bones and muscles. The bizarre feeling twisted his face into a pained grimace. "Why am I so numb all of a sudden?"
Just as the maddening sensation reached its peak, Tai Nuo's mind buzzed, as if a switch had been forcibly flipped. An extremely strong, irresistible urge erupted like a volcano, instantly overwhelming all reason: Hit his son. Immediately. Right now. Hit his son hard.
The thought came so fiercely and unreasonably that it felt as if the itching all over his body would torment him to death if he didn't obey.
Tai Nuo abruptly turned his head. His eyes, bloodshot from the itching and the sudden violent impulse, stared fixedly at his own son. Tai Long was still standing beside him, completely bewildered and unaware of the impending disaster.
Tai Long was startled by his father's man-eating gaze and instinctively took a step back. "Dad… Dad? What's wrong? Your face is so red…"
Before he could finish his sentence, Tai Nuo roared like a clap of thunder. "You little beast! Take this!"
He couldn't control himself at all. His fist, as big as a casserole pot, whistled through the air. He paid no mind to the fact that they were at the academy's main entrance, nor did he care how many people were watching or that his son's injuries had yet to heal. He slammed his fist with full force into Tai Long's face, which had just barely begun to de-swell.
BANG!
The punch landed squarely. Tai Long didn't even have time to grunt; his entire body was sent flying two or three meters backward like a broken sack, landing on the ground with a heavy thud. Stars spun before his eyes, and the corner of his mouth, which had just healed, split open again, blood flowing freely.
"Ow!" Tai Long clutched his aching face, utterly bewildered. "Dad! Are you crazy?! Why are you hitting me again?!" Didn't we agree you'd bring me here to get even? Why am I the one getting hurt again?!
Everyone at the entrance—students, teachers, and guards—was stunned. They all gaped, watching the scene in disbelief. Tai Nuo, a clan leader, was violently beating his own severely injured son at the entrance to Blue Tyrant Academy without any warning. What was going on? Was this some kind of live-action family drama?
The moment Tai Nuo threw the punch, the excruciating itching sensation miraculously receded like a tide. A sense of indescribable relief washed over him. But the comfort lasted only for a second. Seeing his son wailing on the ground and the shocked looks on the faces of everyone around him, Tai Nuo himself was bewildered.
"I… I… Tai Long!" He looked from his own fist to his son on the ground. Immense shock and guilt surged through him. He instinctively rushed over to help him up and apologize. "Is your face okay?"
But the moment Tai Nuo's hand touched his son, the damned, bone-deep itching sensation returned, even more intense than before.
"Ugh!" Tai Nuo let out a painful groan, his body once again trembling uncontrollably. The powerful, irresistible urge to hit his son overwhelmed him like a tsunami.
"You unfilial wretch! I'll beat you to death today!" he roared, his eyes bloodshot as his reason was once again swallowed by the curse. He slapped Tai Long across the face with a loud crack.
Seeing his father's crazed appearance, Tai Long was scared out of his wits. He no longer cared about the pain and immediately tried to scramble away. He was supposed to be here to get even, right? At this point, he'd rather his dad succeed in getting revenge than fail and keep taking it out on him!
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