Xiao Wu's mind exploded with a bang.
Bathe together?!
How could they do that!
That was... that was something only a married man and woman could do!
Her mother had told her that a girl could only let her future husband see her body!
"N-no!"
Xiao Wu shook her head like a rattle drum.
Her big pink eyes were filled with panic and embarrassment.
"I... I didn't mean to!"
"Only... only married people can bathe together!"
She stammered, shrinking back as hard as she could.
Tang Yuan watched her frightened reaction, the amusement in his eyes deepening.
"Oh? Is that so?"
He deliberately drew out the words.
"If you don't want to bathe together, why haven't you left?"
"Or are you waiting for me to wash you?"
Those words seemed to flip a switch in Xiao Wu.
"Ah! I'm going! I'm leaving right now!"
"Um... I think I've scrubbed enough!"
"Take your time bathing, Your Highness!"
Xiao Wu scrambled out of the tub.
In her hurry, she nearly slipped again.
She did not even stop to straighten her soaked clothes. Barefoot, she rushed for the door like a gust of wind.
Bang!
The door slammed shut.
Silence returned to the bathing room.
Only the water still rippled faintly.
Tang Yuan looked at the closed door and chuckled.
That rabbit is still so timid.
But training her isn't something I can rush.
The purer the white paper, the more captivating it is when the ink stains it.
He rose from the water.
Droplets rolled down his body.
He picked up a bathrobe and draped it loosely over himself.
The belt hung slack, leaving much of his muscular chest exposed.
Teasing the little rabbit had been entertaining, but it had also stirred a little heat in him.
Now that the fire had been lit, he naturally needed somewhere to let it out.
Tang Yuan stepped out of the bathing room.
He did not return to the master bedroom.
Instead, he turned toward a courtyard on the west side.
That was where Zhu Zhuyun lived.
Compared with the inexperienced Xiao Wu and the aloof Zhu Zhuqing, that mature, alluring woman who knew how to please him was better suited to quenching his fire tonight.
In a shabby inn outside Nuoding City.
The room was dim, lit only by the flicker of an oil lamp whose flame was no bigger than a bean.
Yu Xiaogang sat at the table, clutching a yellowed ancient text.
Scars still marked his cheeks, left by the beating Tang San had given him.
Whenever his fingertips brushed those sore spots, the corners of his eyes twitched uncontrollably.
Humiliation.
It was the greatest humiliation of his life.
The disciple he had chosen had beaten him in front of everyone.
But he did not hate Tang San.
He hated Tang Yuan, who had taken the place at Tang San's side and even filled the boy's head with misguided ideas.
Yu Xiaogang slammed the book onto the table.
His breathing grew heavy.
Tang San possessed Twin Martial Souls.
He was also the son of Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo.
With such heaven-blessed talent, even a pig could be trained into someone capable.
What did that greenhorn Tang Yuan know about teaching?
He must have forced Tang San's level up with mountains of rare treasures.
Pulling up seedlings to make them grow like that would only ruin an uncut gem.
Only he, Yu Xiaogang.
Only the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul he had proposed could truly guide Tang San onto the right path.
Only then could the potential of those Twin Martial Souls be drawn out to its limit.
At the thought, Yu Xiaogang stood and paced back and forth across the cramped room.
Tang San had acted viciously that day, but the confusion in his eyes could not be faked.
The boy must have been led astray by Tang Yuan's crooked ways.
If I can just see Tang San again.
I'll appeal to his feelings and reason with him.
With my profound mastery of Martial Soul Theory, I can surely bring Tang San back from the wrong path.
The stronger Tang San is now, the more it proves how good his foundations are.
Tang Yuan couldn't possibly deserve the credit.
It's all Tang San's own ability.
Yu Xiaogang stopped pacing and looked out at the pitch-black night.
His gaze gradually hardened with resolve.
To prove his theory, to seize this one chance to turn his life around.
I can cast aside my pride.
As long as I win Tang San back, who would dare call me a worthless Grandmaster who only knows theory?
At the Martial Arts Arena in the Blue Silver King's Mansion.
It was the widest area in the King's Mansion, paved with hard granite.
At that moment.
An agile figure darted rapidly across the arena.
Tang San wore black, his movements sharp.
The innocence and simplicity he had once shown in Saint Soul Village had long since vanished from his eyes.
The Blue Silver Grass in Tang San's hand was no longer the frail vine it had once been.
A metallic glint shimmered across its blades.
Every swing tore a shrill crack through the air.
"Training here?"
A calm voice came from the entrance to the Martial Arts Arena.
Tang San stopped abruptly.
The fierce killing intent around him vanished in an instant, replaced by complete deference.
He turned and saw Tang Yuan approaching with his hands clasped behind his back.
Without a moment's hesitation.
Tang San dropped to both knees, cupped his fists, and bowed deeply.
"Disciple Tang San greets his teacher."
His head hung low, his forehead almost touching the ground.
His respect came from the bottom of his heart.
To him, Tang Yuan had not only given him a second life but was also his only guiding light in this world.
Only Tang Yuan, his teacher and elder brother, had given him dignity and strength.
Tang Yuan stopped before Tang San and looked down at the young man, who already carried himself like a powerful Soul Master.
"Get up."
"How has your training gone lately?"
Nothing in Tang Yuan's tone betrayed pleasure or displeasure.
Tang San rose, but kept his back slightly bent out of respect for his teacher.
"Teacher."
"I have not failed you. My Soul Power has broken through its bottleneck."
"I'm now a level-forty Soul Ancestor."
A trace of pride flashed through Tang San's eyes as he spoke.
But he quickly suppressed it. In Tang Yuan's presence, he did not dare act presumptuously.
"Oh?"
Tang Yuan raised an eyebrow.
"Show me."
Tang San answered.
Then he took a deep breath.
The Mysterious Heaven Skill surged through his body.
Soul Power churned beneath his feet.
Hum!
The air trembled faintly.
Four Soul Rings slowly rose from beneath Tang San's feet.
They were not the usual optimal arrangement of Soul Rings.
Three were a deep purple, while the last was a suffocating black.
Purple, purple, purple, black!
If Soul Masters outside saw a Soul Ring Configuration that defied all convention, they would probably be scared out of their wits.
Tang San curled his right hand as if gripping something.
In his palm, a tuft of Blue Silver Grass grew wildly.
This time, however, the blades did not spread in every direction.
Instead, they wove around one another, twisting together.
Every blade was as tough as steel, strange black patterns flowing across its surface.
"Please look, Teacher."
"This is a Soul Skill I created myself, based on the principles you taught me."
"Undying Blue Silver."
Tang San gave a low shout.
The Blue Silver Grass in his hand instantly became a black spear and thrust toward a boulder nearby.
Before you continue