A Psychological Analysis of Tang San

Chen Feng felt that his idea was reasonably feasible.

At the very least, compared to that path of killing, killing, and more killing, this road of research better suited his true nature and interests, and it also had strong potential for sustainable development.

Although the Soul Beasts and biological Spirit types in this world were not the same as the species Chen Feng had studied in his previous life.

He felt that the underlying principles should still be connected.

To learn more about this world's Soul Beasts and Spirits, Chen Feng got to know Su Yuntao. At first, Su Yuntao did not think much of him and merely treated him like an ordinary child.

But after Chen Feng offered advice that helped him win over Sisi, Su Yuntao's attitude changed. He realized that this child possessed wisdom beyond his age.

Chen Feng had used tricks he had read about in all sorts of romance novels in his previous life, and they worked remarkably well.

Su Yuntao had initially only intended to give it a try, never expecting it to actually succeed.

After getting to know Su Yuntao and displaying a certain degree of wisdom, Chen Feng was able, with Old Su's help, to borrow the books stored in Spirit Hall.

He spent two years finishing the books there. After all, it was only a small city, so he could not expect it to hold a vast collection.

These were the preparations Chen Feng had made during the six years since his transmigration.

And the preparation he felt most fortunate about now was that he had used psychological methods to alter Tang San to some extent, making their relationship exceptionally good.

This meant that, barring any accidents, the blood of the future Blue Silver Emperor Spirit wielder was already within Chen Feng's grasp.

At first, Chen Feng had not wanted to approach Tang San at all.

Because when he had read Peerless Tang Sect in his previous life, he had found this character utterly repulsive.

If Tang San during the era of Douluo Dalu 1 had merely been a generally typical novel protagonist, somewhat withdrawn and hypocritical at most.

Then Tang San during Peerless Tang Sect was nothing but an absurdly awful creature.

There was no need to go into his outrageous deeds. Those who knew, knew.

For that very reason, Chen Feng originally had not wanted anything to do with Tang San.

But he quickly realized that avoiding dealings with Tang San was impossible.

Because in the era of Douluo Dalu 1, the Blue Silver Emperor Spirit was the finest Plant Spirit.

And Tang San, whose Spirit was bound to evolve into the Blue Silver Emperor, was an exceedingly rare research subject.

Once this chance passed, there would be no other. He had to seize it tightly.

After making up his mind, Chen Feng began considering how he could seize this opportunity.

Violent imprisonment was definitely out of the question. Chen Feng had no desire to have Tang Hao smash his head with a hammer.

That left only one option: becoming friends with him.

But there were two kinds of friendship: superficial friendship and sincere friendship.

If it had been another novel protagonist who valued loyalty and righteousness, someone like Xiao Yan, then sincere friendship would naturally have been the better choice.

But God King Tang was simply too absurd, leaving Chen Feng uneasy. He feared that one day Tang San might suddenly tell him, "You have earned the right to die."

This concerned his life. Having already died young once, Chen Feng did not want to "die" again.

Yet the experimental subject was far too precious, and he did not want to give up.

So Chen Feng could only steel himself and approach Tang San first, to see what the actual situation was.

Practice produced true knowledge, after all.

And once Chen Feng truly came into contact with Tang San, he unexpectedly found that the man seemed all right.

Though somewhat withdrawn, he was not as absurd as God King Tang.

Still, Chen Feng remained somewhat uneasy, so he tried to guide Tang San through ideas.

But that guidance could not be too obvious, nor could he use a preachy approach.

That would reek too much of paternalism and provoke resentment.

It might work on actual children.

But Tang San looked like a child while his soul belonged to an adult detective—no, assassin—so he needed to be influenced subtly over time.

Could an adult's personality be influenced and changed?

The psychology master Freud believed that humans were no different from animals, that all kinds of behavior were influenced by sexual impulses, and that personality was fixed by one's childhood experiences, with no changes possible after adulthood.

If an individual's sexual impulses suffered setbacks during childhood, they would fall into a state of mental disorder.

Jung, however, believed that humans possessed noble qualities, and that even after adulthood, hope and lofty ideals could still shape one's personality.

Jung believed that the causes of psychological problems should be sought in the present, rather than in the past.

Clearly, Jung's theory fit reality better.

Many real-world examples could prove his view.

For instance, the events that occurred on Blue Star during World War II profoundly demonstrated that an adult's character, thoughts, and beliefs could all be influenced and changed.

What was more, although Tang San's soul was that of an adult, his body was still that of a child and would be affected by hormones.

So guiding Tang San during this period was highly feasible.

If it had been Tang San after he emerged from the City of Slaughter, then he would most likely have been beyond saving.

In fact, Chen Feng strongly suspected that the reason God King Tang later became so absurd was largely due to his experiences in the City of Slaughter.

After establishing the basic policy of influencing Tang San through ideas, Chen Feng began considering specific methods of guidance.

Master Jung had said that hope and lofty ideals could shape an adult's personality.

Chen Feng did have lofty ideals now, but since he was still just a little brat, saying them aloud would not have much effect.

Hope, however, was different.

Did Tang San of this period in the original story have hope in his heart?

He did, actually, but it was not very strong.

It was easy enough to understand. Tang San had already completed the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus in his previous life. He had transmigrated after accomplishing his goal, with no great obsession left behind.

A normal person would have begun considering how to embrace a new life at that point.

Yet after Tang San transmigrated, aside from Old Jack, the village chief, who occasionally showed concern out of duty and pity, he had no further social contact.

His father, Tang Hao, did not care for him, and the other children in the village did not think much of him either, because his family was too poor.

But humans were social animals. Going without love and social contact for long periods could drive a person mad or make them withdraw into themselves.

Even a shut-in needed the internet.

Without love, without the internet, and without social contact, given enough time, one could only either go mad in silence or become withdrawn in silence.

And Tang San had devoted himself to researching the Buddha Fury Tang Lotus in his previous life, so he clearly had little social interaction then as well.

In other words, he had already been lonely and starved of affection for more than thirty years. How could he possibly retain hope for life?

So Tang San in the original story could only devote himself to cultivating Tang Sect techniques.

Even when he encountered a bottleneck in cultivation, he kept cultivating relentlessly, because he simply did not know what else to do and was filled with confusion about life.

As an adult, he had come to this new world six years ago, yet had never thought to learn anything about it. He did not care what kind of place he had arrived in—whether it was dangerous or safe, peaceful or turbulent.

There was obviously a serious problem here.