Refusal! Tang Ya's Request for Guidance!

Her voice was slightly hoarse, yet exceptionally resolute:

"But you're different."

"You also possess Blue Silver Grass, yet you cultivated it to a Ten-Thousand-Year Second Ring."

"Your understanding of Martial Souls, your perseverance in cultivation, your instinct for battle... all surpass mine by far."

"Only in your hands can the Tang Sect truly rise again."

Beibei took a deep breath and said gravely:

"Tang Ya, the position of Sect Master isn't something to take lightly. Great-Grandfather's side..."

"I know." Tang Ya interrupted him. "That's why I have to act now, while the Tang Sect still has even a sliver of hope for revival."

She continued looking at Huang Fei.

"What do you think?"

Huang Fei fell silent.

The corridor was so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

Beibei stared at Huang Fei with a complicated expression.

Xu Sanshi stood there with his mouth open, unsure what to say for a moment.

After a long time, Huang Fei spoke.

"Senior Tang Ya."

His voice was calm, giving away neither joy nor anger.

"You're serious."

Tang Ya nodded.

"Then I'll answer you seriously as well."

Huang Fei paused.

"I refuse."

Tang Ya's pupils contracted slightly.

Beibei's brows furrowed.

Xu Sanshi sucked in a sharp breath.

"Why?" Tang Ya's voice was faintly bitter. "Do you look down on the Tang Sect? Or do you think I'm not sincere enough?"

Huang Fei shook his head.

"Neither."

He closed the book in his hands, his tone even.

"Senior Tang Ya, let me ask you a question."

"Who founded the Tang Sect?"

Tang Ya froze briefly before answering:

"Our ancestor, Sea God Tang San."

"After Ancestor Tang San became a god, where did he go?"

"...The God Realm."

"Where is the God Realm?"

Tang Ya had no answer.

Huang Fei did not press further.

Instead, he asked another question:

"Ancestor Tang San became a god ten thousand years ago. In those ten thousand years, has the Tang Sect produced a second god?"

Tang Ya fell silent.

"No."

Huang Fei answered for her:

"In ten thousand years, the Tang Sect has produced Titled Douluo, Soul Douluo, and countless gifted disciples. Yet not one of them became a god."

"There hasn't even been anyone remotely close to godhood."

His tone was calm, but for some reason, it weighed heavily on their hearts.

"Senior Tang Ya, have you ever considered why that is?"

Tang Ya's lips moved, but no words came out.

Huang Fei did not wait for her answer.

"I don't know the answer."

"But I do know that I won't stake my fate on a sect left behind by someone who became a god ten thousand years ago."

He paused, lowering his voice slightly.

"These words may not sound pleasant, but they are my honest thoughts."

The corridor fell silent once again.

Beibei stared deeply at Huang Fei, impossible to tell what he was thinking.

Xu Sanshi scratched his head and, unusually, did not crack a joke.

Tang Ya lowered her eyes. After a long time, she gave a bitter smile.

"...I was presumptuous."

She lifted her head. There was disappointment in her eyes, but also a trace of relief.

"You're right. The Tang Sect was left behind by our ancestor, but our ancestor... is no longer here."

"The path the Tang Sect takes from now on should be chosen by the living disciples of the Tang Sect themselves, rather than relying on someone who became a god ten thousand years ago to guide us."

She paused and said softly:

"Even offering up the position of Sect Master... perhaps I was really just trying to shove the responsibility onto someone else."

"When all is said and done, I'm simply not strong enough."

Huang Fei looked at her without speaking.

Tang Ya took a deep breath and forced a smile.

"No matter what, the Tang Sect's doors will always remain open to you."

"If you don't want to be Sect Master, you can be an ordinary disciple or a Guest Elder. Whenever you change your mind, come find me."

Huang Fei nodded.

"Alright."

Tang Ya turned around, her steps somewhat heavy.

Beibei glanced at Huang Fei without saying more, then followed Tang Ya.

Xu Sanshi lagged behind. As he passed Huang Fei, he lowered his voice.

"You kid... you've really got guts."

"The position of Tang Sect Master is something countless people have fought tooth and nail for over ten thousand years without even getting close to. Yet you rejected it just like that."

Huang Fei remained calm.

"It doesn't suit me."

"Different paths cannot be walked together."

Xu Sanshi grinned.

"Fine, then. A monster like you won't have to worry about factions fighting to recruit you in the future anyway."

He waved a hand and strode after the two ahead.

The corridor returned to silence.

Huang Fei leaned against the window, his gaze resting on the backs of the three as they receded into the distance.

Morning light spilled down, casting half his face in light and half in shadow.

He lowered his eyes, his fingertips lightly brushing the cover of the book in his hand.

Tang Sect Master...

That position had been a thread Tang San left in the mortal world for ten thousand years.

Whoever sat there became a puppet on strings.

His life was his own.

He did not want it clutched in someone else's hand.

And he intended to create his own force, leading the commoners to rise.

In a sense, it would take the place Spirit Hall had held in this era.

As for what the future era would become, even he did not know.

In the distance, Tang Ya and the other two had already left the Teaching Building.

The morning wind brushed past, lifting the loose strands of hair at her temples.

Beibei walked beside her and asked quietly:

"Are you alright?"

Tang Ya shook her head.

"I'm fine."

After a pause, she added:

"He's more clearheaded than I am."

Beibei was silent for a moment.

"What do you plan to do?"

Tang Ya gazed at the rising Morning Sun in the distance and replied softly:

"Cultivate."

"Starting today, I'll cultivate even harder."

"Not for lofty claims like reviving the Tang Sect. I only want to prove that disciples of the Tang Sect do not necessarily need to rely on the blessings left by our ancestors to stand on their own."

She turned to look at Beibei.

"You'll help me, won't you?"

Seeing the light rekindled in her eyes, Beibei slowly nodded.

"I will."

Xu Sanshi rolled his eyes behind them.

"Here we go again. First thing in the morning, and you're already flaunting your love."

Tang Ya blushed and raised her foot to kick him.

Xu Sanshi yelped and sprang away.

Laughter gradually rose, easing the heaviness from before.

Sea God's Pavilion.

Mu En reclined in his lounge chair, listening to the record of the conversation Beibei had sent back.

After a long time, he chuckled.

"This kid..."

"He's even harder to fool than this Old Man expected."

He said nothing more.

Morning light filtered through the leaves of the Golden Tree and fell upon his aged face.

Light and shadow dappled it.

The next afternoon.

Having finished the morning's Theory Class, Huang Fei was about to head to the Library when someone blocked his path.

Tang Ya stood beneath a phoenix tree outside the Teaching Building. She looked somewhat hesitant, completely unlike the resolute manner in which she had offered to give up the position of Sect Master yesterday.

"Huang Fei, can I take a little of your time?"

Her voice was very soft, carrying a trace of barely perceptible pleading.

Huang Fei paused and nodded.

"Please speak, Senior."

Tang Ya bit her lip, seeming to make up her mind.

A moment later, she raised her head, hope in her eyes.

"I want to ask you for guidance on cultivating Blue Silver Grass."

"I... I want to change my path and follow your Extreme Life Flow."

"Is it still possible?"

Huang Fei was silent for two seconds.

He looked at Tang Ya but did not answer immediately.

Phoenix leaves drifted down in the wind, spiraling between them.

"Senior, what is your current Soul Ring configuration?"

Tang Ya froze, then answered:

"Yellow, yellow, purple."

"My first ring is a four-hundred-year Ghost Vine."

"My second ring is an eight-hundred-year Thorn Vine."

"My third ring is a Starfall Ghost Vine over seventeen hundred years old."

Huang Fei nodded.

"The first ring, Ghost Vine, leans toward poison and control."

"The second ring, Thorn Vine, still followed the control route."

"The third ring, Starfall Ghost Vine, was the same."

He looked at Tang Ya.

"Senior, you chose the wrong path from the very beginning."

Tang Ya's face turned slightly pale.

"How could that be?"

"Ancestor Tang San also took this path..."