Actually, I'm a Tang Sect Disciple Too

After Chrysanthemum Douluo had gone far away, Xia Tianling did not reveal his identity. Instead, he pointed at Tang San's belt in feigned surprise. "Yo, Little San, this belt of yours is pretty impressive. It actually has twenty-four jade pieces embedded in it? Quite extravagant."

Tang San scratched his head sheepishly. "This? Teacher Yu gave it to me. I named it Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night."

At that moment, Xia Tianling slipped back into his role as an award-winning actor, trembling as he pointed at Tang San's waist.

"Y-you said your belt is called what? Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night?"

"Yeah, what's wrong, Brother Ling? I think Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night is a nice name." Tang San asked in confusion.

Xia Tianling drew a deep breath, placed both hands on Tang San's shoulders, and stared hard into his eyes.

"Little San, no matter what I say next, don't shout."

"Uh, okay."

Then Xia Tianling recited, word by word, in fluent Chinese, "Twenty-Four Bridges Moonlight Night, where does the jade beauty teach the flute to play!"

"Brother Tianling, you!"

Tang San was truly dumbfounded this time. He nearly cried out in shock, but forcibly held it back. Being a transmigrator was the greatest secret in his heart. The language of Douluo Continent was vastly different from Chinese. After six years, hearing that familiar language again dealt a tremendous blow to his heart.

"Brother Tianling, could it be that you're also..." Tang San asked tremblingly.

Xia Tianling pulled Tang San into a hug, not letting him see the expression he was barely able to control. Only after taking several deep breaths did he let him go.

Then he smiled and answered, "That's right. I'm from there too."

After saying that, he secretly communicated with the system, spending some Fate Power to activate a mysterious function.

"I never expected it. I thought I was all alone, but Brother Tianling, you're one too. No wonder you knew so much as a child and were so mature." Tang San muttered.

"Then when you called yourself a Prophet as a child, you were actually using divination?"

"Well, you could say that."

The Dao Scripture did indeed contain knowledge about stargazing and divination, but Xia Tianling had only scratched the surface. He would be lucky if he could read the weather.

"Little San, I want to ask you two questions. First, what era was it when you transmigrated—or rather, when you died? What was your government or imperial court called at the time?"

"When I died, it seemed to be... Xiantong. I don't remember which year. The emperor seemed to be named Li Wen—no, perhaps it was Li Cui." Tang San pondered bitterly for a while before answering.

In his previous life, he had devoted himself entirely to hidden weapons and had never stepped half a foot outside the Tang Sect. It was only natural that he did not know much.

Xiantong? Li Cui? Wasn't that the late Tang Dynasty? Who would have thought Tang San's world had a timeline that overlapped so closely with his original world? Good thing I studied tourism and liked history, so I knew the reign titles, temple names, and posthumous names of emperors from every dynasty. If it had been anyone else, they'd have been screwed.

"So, Little San, the imperial court in your time was called the Great Tang, right?" Although Xia Tianling already knew the answer, he still asked.

"Yes, that's right. Could it be that you also died around that time, Brother Tianling?" Tang San asked excitedly.

"Of course not." Xia Tianling wore a wicked grin. "I died perhaps tens of thousands of years after you. The Great Tang you lived in had already become dust in the pages of history by my time."

"What? Tens of thousands of years?" Tang San, who had only just calmed down, widened his eyes again.

Before Tang San could finish being shocked, Xia Tianling dropped another bombshell.

"If I'm not mistaken, Little San, you should be a disciple of the Tang Sect of Shu, right?"

"What? You even know that?"

"Of course." Xia Tianling curled his lip. "In a sense, I'm a Tang Sect disciple too."

Tang San: !!!!!!

He was too shocked to say a word.

"Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eyes, Hundred Forms of Hidden Weapons, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Mysterious Heaven Skill, right? I'd already suspected it when you cultivated on the back mountain as a child. Who could possibly be born knowing everything?" Xia Tianling said with a smile. "Purple Demon Eyes can only be cultivated by absorbing that strand of purple qi at dawn, when the purple aura comes from the east."

"If I'm not mistaken, you're Tang San—the one who secretly learned the inner sect manuals, created Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, then jumped off a cliff to prove his resolve. I never thought you would come here too."

"Brother Ling, you know me?" Tang San asked hesitantly. "And it seems you haven't cultivated any of these Tang Sect techniques?"

"That's only natural." Xia Tianling spread his hands. "By my era, these things had long become history. Even you were just one part of what was recorded in history books."

"To be precise, even the Tang Sect of old was merely a passage in history books. In our era, the Tang Sect had long since merged with several other sects and become the Shushan Immortal Sect. About a thousand years after your death, spiritual qi revived, and the cultivation system advanced enormously. However, the Tang Sect's Mechanical Hidden Weapons and hidden weapon techniques were passed down."

"Driven forward by the wheels of history, the Mysterious Heaven Skill—or rather, the cultivation methods of old—were all eliminated. What we cultivated in later generations were more powerful immortal Dao techniques. Refining Essence into Qi, Refining Qi into Spirit, Refining Spirit into Void, Refining Void into Dao, and finally, Ascend to Immortality!"

"B-become immortal?"

"That's right, become immortal—become one of the immortals from myths and legends. In my previous life, I failed while crossing tribulation and perished. Yet I never expected to end up here instead."

As he spoke, Xia Tianling put on a face full of regret and wistfulness, as though he truly were some great cultivator reborn after failing his tribulation.

"But unfortunately, I can't teach you the cultivation method I practice. First, the Great Dao Longevity Scripture I cultivate is completely incompatible with your Mysterious Heaven Skill. If you want to cultivate it, you must abolish your Mysterious Heaven Skill entirely, including the soul ring you just obtained."

"Second, whenever a new system emerges, it inevitably brings an enormous body of corresponding knowledge. Many things that are common sense to me would be utterly incomprehensible to you, Little San. Even people in my era, after beginning cultivation, had to continuously study for a full twenty years before they could continue cultivating."

The first point Xia Tianling said was true. To switch to another cultivation method, especially one that was such a Dimensional Strike, he first had to discard his old cultivation system.

He was only half truthful about the second point. Some common knowledge was practically like a heavenly book to Tang San, an ancient man. He simply could not understand it.

For example, the simplest fact: the Earth was round. Did he expect an ancient person who believed heaven was round and earth was square to be the ultimate truth of the universe to understand that? How much basic astronomical knowledge would he need to explain first?

This Great Dao Longevity Scripture was not a traditional obscure scripture full of mystical nonsense, where one had to figure out cultivation entirely by oneself. It was a complete guide that specified how every detail should be cultivated, what situations might arise, and how to resolve them.

The Dao Scripture even stated at the very beginning: Hundred Days Foundation Establishment, Three Years Golden Core, Five Years Nascent Soul, Ten Years Spirit Transformation. It taught one step by step how to become immortal. To ascend, all you needed was a dantian.

It could truly be called "very scientific."

Of course, the part about mandatory studying for twenty years was purely meant to fool the kid.

A great deal of studying was indeed necessary, but for someone like Tang San who already had a solid educational foundation, it would not take long to get started. One or two years would be enough. Xia Tianling simply could not be bothered to teach him and wanted Tang San to back down in the face of difficulty.

Besides, didn't Tang San have the Mysterious Heaven Skill, which could cultivate all the way to God King? Maybe he would not even think much of this lousy Dao Scripture.

"Brother Tianling, don't feel regretful. It's fine if I continue cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill." After weighing his options for a long while, Tang San finally spoke.

"Sigh, fine, fine. If you ever change your mind, come find me anytime."

After Xia Tianling's round of bluffing, Tang San's trust in him rose by another great deal. He then told Xia Tianling about his recent situation at Spirit Hall.