Kid, This Is Hard to Handle!

Holy Soul Village was far from peaceful beneath the night sky.

At around ten o'clock that night, a furtive figure snuck into Holy Soul Village.

Under the moonlight, his appearance could vaguely be made out.

His face was twisted, his body short and frail, and he trembled from time to time...

As though he were overwhelmed with excitement...

"Zhu Rong, for today's humiliation! If I, Tang San, do not kill you, I swear I am not human!"

This figure was none other than Tang San, who had "dueled souls" with Zhu Rong during the day.

His clothes had been burned away. How could he dare come down the mountain in broad daylight? If anyone saw him, he, Tang San, would have no face left to live in this village.

And so, Tang San had remained on the mountaintop from morning until night before finally coming down.

The wind atop the mountain had been freezing.

He had even suffered some burns during his soul duel with Zhu Rong...

"Hiss... so cold..."

Tang San shuddered. Unable to endure the bone-piercing cold wind any longer, he ran back toward the thatched cottage beneath the cover of darkness.

Tang Hao had watched Zhu Rong and Tang San's "soul duel," but he had no intention of bringing Tang San any clothes.

That was why Tang San had stayed on that little hill for an entire day.

After sneaking back to the thatched cottage and seeing Tang Hao sleeping soundly, Tang San quickly returned to his own room and shut the door.

"Zhu Rong, I cannot live under the same sky as you!"

No matter how he cursed, Tang San always repeated the same few lines.

It was not entirely his fault. Tang San's previous life had belonged to an ancient era, and Douluo Continent was not in an age of technology or information explosion.

Even mortal enemies mostly just called each other bastards and the like.

"Good thing Father doesn't know about this. Otherwise, he would probably be disappointed in me."

"Hmph, just wait, Zhu Rong!"

"Once I finish forging my hidden weapons, don't worry, it won't take long."

Tang San imagined how he would kill Zhu Rong after forging his hidden weapons, how he would turn Silkworm Baby ferocious... and as he thought, he gradually fell asleep.

There was no helping it. He had truly been exhausted today.

He had been constantly focusing on whether anyone was coming up the mountain, afraid someone might discover his "secret"...

Silkworm Baby—this was Tang San's humiliation!

In the darkness, Tang Hao opened his eyes in the other room, a trace of loneliness flashing through them.

Tang San was his son after all. Hoping his son would become a dragon was also Tang Hao's wish.

But compared with Zhu Rong, Tang San was nothing at all!

"Little San, for the glory and resurgence of the Clear Sky Sect, you had better rein in those thoughts of yours! Otherwise... don't blame your father for failing you..."

Others might not be able to sense the killing intent on Tang San, but who was he? He was a killing god who had emerged from the City of Slaughter!

A killing god who possessed Divine Slaughter's Domain!

Tang Hao could sense that tiny bit of killing aura on Tang San even without looking at him.

The next morning.

The air was slightly chilly as Zhu Rong headed toward Tang Hao's home after breakfast.

He told Old Jack that he had a mysterious master who would take him away for a few days to obtain a spirit ring before returning, so Old Jack need not worry.

Old Jack had been quite worried at first, but after Zhu Rong said that his mysterious master was even stronger than Su Yuntao, Old Jack felt at ease.

That was perfectly normal. Old Jack had never seen his own grandfather make a move, and he himself was just an ordinary person...

To Old Jack, someone like Su Yuntao was synonymous with strength.

Someone stronger than Su Yuntao meant his safety was guaranteed!

Bang bang bang...

Zhu Rong kicked Tang Hao's front door a few times and shouted:

"Blacksmith, I need to talk to you! Open the door..."

His expression and movements were arrogant and overbearing. He had beaten the man's son yesterday, yet today he came knocking like this...

Creak...

The thatched cottage's door opened, and the slovenly old ghost Tang Hao appeared before Zhu Rong.

He yawned, his eyes hazy and dull.

When he saw who it was, surprise flashed through his eyes.

What does this kid want with me? Could it be about yesterday?

Tang Hao was somewhat puzzled as he said:

"What do you want with me, kid?"

Tang Hao and Tang San lived on the edge of the village. Almost no villagers passed by here, so even talking at the door was fairly safe.

"I have Innate Full Soul Power. Tao Ge said that my level will only rise after I obtain a spirit ring."

"To obtain a spirit ring, I need to defeat spirit beasts. I've never seen a spirit beast before, but that day you ran so fast that you vanished in a flash."

"..."

Zhu Rong presented the excuse he had prepared in advance to Tang Hao.

Naturally, it was seventy percent truth and thirty percent lies.

As for spirit rings and spirit beasts.

When Su Yuntao had helped Zhu Rong, Tang San, and the others undergo Martial Soul Awakening, he had mentioned them, though only in passing.

"Obtain a spirit ring?"

When Tang Hao heard that Zhu Rong had come to ask for help obtaining a spirit ring, he immediately fell into deep thought.

It was not that he did not want to help. He was considering what excuse to use to help!

If he helped directly, assistance gained too easily would not be cherished.

He wanted Zhu Rong to owe him a favor—the bigger the debt, the better.

But the child was still too young. If he developed bad habits and ran to his "parents" for help at every turn, that would be a disaster!

How could one become strong without experiencing even a little hardship?

"Kid, this is hard to handle!"

Tang Hao rubbed his bleary eyes, then spread his hands and said.

Forget a hundred-year spirit ring—even a top-tier Ten Thousand Year Spirit Ring could be hunted down by him, Tang Hao, for Zhu Rong.

But the favor had to be a big one! One Zhu Rong would remember for the rest of his life!

"Blacksmith, I'll pay you ten Gold Soul Coins to hire you. Are you in or not?"

Zhu Rong took ten Gold Soul Coins from his pocket, held them in his palm, waved them before Tang Hao, and said.

Before coming here, Zhu Rong had already taken twenty Gold Soul Coins from the system storage.

From the fact that the two had not "acknowledged each other" on that little hill that day, as well as Tang Hao's behavior over the past two days, Zhu Rong roughly understood Tang Hao's thoughts and intentions.

He merely wanted to wait until Zhu Rong grew up, help him a few times, play the emotional card, explain the situation, and have him return to the "family."

Why did he use Gold Soul Coins to hire Tang Hao?

On the surface, the two were "unrelated strangers." If money was not involved, Tang Hao truly would have no easy way to help.

Seeing the Gold Soul Coins in Zhu Rong's hand, Tang Hao's mouth twitched and his eyelids jumped wildly. Ten Gold Soul Coins to hire a Title Douluo!

Even hiring a Soul Grandmaster to hunt a hundred-year spirit beast would cost more than ten Gold Soul Coins as a starting price!

He, the dignified Clear Sky Douluo, was being offered ten Gold Soul Coins by a little brat as payment for hire!

What a humiliation!

Wait, where did this kid get Gold Soul Coins?

Judging by his pocket, he seemed to have another ten or so.

One had to understand that the purchasing power of Gold Soul Coins was no joke!

A single Gold Soul Coin could support a family of three for three months without worry over food or clothing.

That showed just how absurd the purchasing power of Gold Soul Coins was!

"Old Jack is only a small village chief. He couldn't possibly have this many Gold Soul Coins. Could Spirit Hall have given them to him?"