In the days that followed, Su Zui spent each day familiarizing himself with his own power.
He repeatedly activated the Soul Bone Armor, trying to control the power of the Explosive Flame Sky-Rending Claw at his fingertips.
At first, he couldn't even control it. With the slightest effort, scorching hot metal energy leaked out from between his fingers, burning the mud at the bottom of the lake to a charred black.
However, he was not discouraged. He practiced and adjusted again and again until the power amplified fivefold could flow smoothly under his control.
He repeatedly mobilized his Soul Power at the Soul Saint realm, allowing that immense power to slowly settle into his bones, meridians, and flesh.
The Soul Saint's Soul Power is not even in the same league as the Soul Emperor's. He needs to readjust to this sense of control, making every exertion and every retraction precise to the last detail.
However, Su Zui still did not use his Martial Soul Avatar.
For some reason, he had a premonition that if he used his Martial Soul Avatar now, something terrible might happen.
It seems I need a trigger to master my Martial Soul Avatar.
Perhaps this is the problem of having an excessively powerful Martial Soul?
Qian Renxue would occasionally come to visit him, and the two would spar and practice moves together.
As the days went by, Su Zui's aura became more and more composed and refined.
While this great forest was immersed in peace and rebirth, the Blue Silver Forest, thousands of miles away, was shrouded in a completely different kind of dark cloud.
Deep within the Blue Silver Forest.
A giant Blue Silver Grass, its roots intertwined and its branches drooping, casts dappled shadows in the afterglow of the setting sun.
Tang San sat alone under the tree, leaning against the rough trunk, with a nearly extinguished fire burning in front of him. The flickering firelight reflected on his increasingly thin and gloomy face.
He's been here, waiting for a whole week.
Seven days ago, when Tang Hao was leaving, he slipped a token into his hand and patted him on the shoulder. His father, who was usually stern and taciturn, unusually spoke a few more words that time.
"Little San, remember this: head east from here, cross a vast ocean, and you'll find a place called Sea God Island."
Tang Hao's voice was deep, carrying a solemnity Tang San had never seen before. "If I don't return in three days, it means I'm dead. Take this token and go to Sea God Island. There's a senior there who will take you in and protect you."
"Never come back."
Tang Hao paused, his gaze heavy as he looked at Tang San's face. "The Spirit Hall will wipe them out sooner or later. Don't go and die in my place. Staying alive is the most important thing."
Then, three days passed. Tang Hao did not return.
Tang San comforted himself, thinking that his father was so strong, he was just delayed on the way.
Tang San repeatedly tried to convince himself of his father's power, after all, he had witnessed his father's strength firsthand. Such a large piece of granite was shattered by his father with a single punch.
Tang San had only ever seen such astonishing power in his previous life from the Supreme Elder of the Tang Sect who had cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Skill to the ninth level. In Tang San's mind, the Supreme Elder of his Tang Sect was an invincible being, so his father must also be an invincible being.
Four days passed, and Tang Hao still hadn't returned. Tang San grew restless. He walked to the edge of the Blue Silver Forest and gazed at the path his father had taken when he left, staring at it for an entire day.
Five days, six days, seven days.
Tang San guarded the nearly extinguished fire, waiting from sunrise to sunset, from the birds flying away from the treetops until another nest of birds hatched.
Every day, he would walk to the edge of the Blue Silver Forest, stand on tiptoe, and look towards that familiar path, hoping that tall figure would appear at the end of his sight.
He even rehearsed in his mind how he would rush to his father when he returned, how he would complain about how long his father had kept him waiting, and how he would tell his father how worried he had been these past few days.
But that road remained deserted.
On the seventh day at dusk, Tang San finally accepted the fact he dared not think about.
Father... will never come back.
He knelt under the tree, clutching the token so tightly his knuckles turned white. He opened his mouth, but no sound came out.
Tears streamed down his cheeks, splashing onto the mud and leaving dark, damp marks. He couldn't cry out loud; his shoulders trembled violently as he clenched his teeth, swallowing back all his sobs.
He couldn't understand it.
My father was so strong, the Clear Sky Douluo, a super strongman renowned throughout the continent, how could he just disappear like that?
He clearly said that he wanted to live, to go to Sea God Island, and never come back. He arranged everything, except for the fact that he himself would come back alive.
Tang San wanted to rush out, to confront the Spirit Hall, and to avenge his father. He was trembling all over, the impulse almost bursting through the dam of reason. But he didn't move; he held himself back tightly.
He couldn't defeat the Spirit Hall. Even if he created the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus right now, he still wouldn't be a match for the Spirit Hall.
You must understand, his father was Titled Douluo! One of the most powerful beings on the entire continent, yet his father had perished there. If he rushed out, he would only be throwing his life away. His father wanted him to live; he couldn't just die out there like that.
Tang San gritted his teeth, the sadness in his eyes gradually fading, replaced by a burning, icy hatred.
He slowly stood up, carefully put the token away from his body, and wiped away the tears on his face.
He gazed in the direction of Spirit City, his eyes flashing with a venomous coldness.
Tang Sect Rules 171: A gentleman takes his revenge, even after ten years!
All I can do now is endure! Only by enduring this will I have enough power to take revenge!
"The Spirit Hall..."
Tang San's voice was hoarse, each word seemingly squeezed out from between his teeth. "You killed my father, you killed my mother, you destroyed the Clear Sky Sect. I, Tang San, will remember this blood feud."
"You just wait. When I, Tang San, one day reach an invincible level, I will return, raze the Spirit Hall to the ground, and collect every single blood debt you owe me, with interest."
He spoke so softly that only he could hear him. Yet, those few light words seemed to carry Qian Jun weight.
Tang San didn't cry a second time. He just stood there, letting the night wind blow through his robes and dry the tears on his face.
During this time, his father had told him everything, Tang San also knew that the Spirit Hall was the culprit who killed his mother.
He looked down at the token his father had left him, gently stroking it with his fingertips, as if trying to feel the last vestiges of his father's warmth.
Then, he turned around, slung his bag over his shoulder, and strode eastward toward the sea without looking back.