The Weakling's Code of Self-Cultivation

"Put it away!"

Tian Hao closed the notebook and handed it to Ah Yin, taking the matter very seriously.

Whether he could fleece some of the Clear Sky Sect's fortune depended on this.

"Mm!"

Ah Yin solemnly accepted it and stored it in her Storage Soul Tool. After hesitating for a moment, she asked hopefully, "If I can provide you with soul rings, can you stop hunting soul beasts in the future?"

She understood Tian Hao's talent very well. His meager innate aptitude could not restrain this young man at all. Sooner or later, he would obtain soul rings and become a true soul master.

But she did not want him to take that path. If those theoretical conjectures could be perfected and realized, he could completely condense soul rings on his own, just as Soul Beast Transformations like her could generate their own soul rings.

What Ah Yin did not know was that the instant she accepted that notebook, the fortune around her was drained until only a tiny trace remained, less than five percent of what it had been.

Only because she had bundled up and passed all sorts of secrets about soul beasts to Tian Hao the night before, spurring Tian Hao's Martial Soul Evolution and granting him self-healing abilities, had much of the loss of fortune been offset. On top of that, condensing a Blood Essence Soul Ring and achieving the rank of Titled Douluo had greatly increased her fortune. Otherwise, she would have been drained dry long ago; it might even have gone negative.

"Alright!"

Tian Hao agreed to Ah Yin's request without hesitation.

He had never planned to refine soul beast soul rings anyway. In his eyes, that was a form of contamination to his own martial soul.

His ideal was to generate soul rings naturally like Ah Yin and Xiao Wu, or to possess innate soul rings like the Soul Breaking Spear of the Breaking Clan.

Compared to such soul rings that completely belonged to oneself, soul beast soul rings were nothing.

Moreover, soul beast soul rings themselves carried hidden dangers. For example, they would be sealed and unusable in the City of Slaughter. That was something he had to guard against.

"Thank you!"

Ah Yin thanked him sincerely once more. She looked at the sun, already high in the sky, and knew it was time to leave.

"I'll wait for you at the Clear Sky Sect!"

Only after leaving those words behind did she depart.

Though reluctant to part, she truly had to go. Fortunately, they would be able to meet again at the Clear Sky Sect in the future.

Hopefully!

"Come through for me!"

Watching Ah Yin's slender figure vanish from sight, Tian Hao muttered inwardly.

Although Ah Yin had vouched for him, he still did not place too much hope in the Clear Sky Sect. After all, neither Ah Yin nor Tang Hao could call the shots in the Clear Sky Sect right now.

Even in the original story, were Tang Hao and Tang Xiao not constrained by those seven elders?

The best course was for Ah Yin and Tang Hao to return to the Clear Sky Sect first. Once they had established themselves there, he could go over afterward.

If Ah Yin was not accepted by the Clear Sky Sect, or if they even became hostile toward her, then there would be no need for him to go.

When the time came, he could just find Ah Yin directly. At worst, he could lie low and develop alongside that old woman in the Blue Silver Forest.

Compared to Tang Hao, he trusted kindhearted, adorably foolish Ah Yin more. Besides, Ah Yin still needed him to perfect the theoretical conjectures of the Soul Beast–Soul Master Symbiosis System. She definitely would not let him suffer any grievances, much less come to harm.

That was the golden thigh that could truly protect him at the cost of her life.

Do not blame him for being so cowardly. This was the self-cultivation of the weak.

When one lacked strength, one had to develop cautiously and keep a low profile. Once one became powerful, then one could crush everything in one's path.

Still, he did not think much of Ah Yin and Tang Hao as a couple, not only because of their identities, but also because of the Clear Sky Sect.

The original story had made the character of the Clear Sky Sect's people perfectly clear. They could not exactly be called evil, but neither could they be called good. They were no different from other aristocratic clans and sects, merely interest-driven clan sects held together by mutual benefit.

One could make deals and discuss interests with such forces, but one must never speak of feelings.

Just look at how miserably the four great clans of Strength, Speed, Defense, and Breaking had been exploited in the original story. The Speed Clan had nearly become poor enough to eat dirt, while the Breaking Clan had been constantly suppressed and targeted.

So the Clear Sky Sect could not be relied upon. Once that old woman Ah Yin's identity was exposed, the Clear Sky Sect would surely abandon her. They might even slaughter her in public to prove their innocence.

Only because Tang San gained a God Inheritance and had hope of becoming a god, coupled with the pressure of Spirit Hall outside, could either Xiao Wu or Ah Yin possibly be accepted by the Clear Sky Sect in the original story.

The conflict between humanity and the soul beast race was not something that could be brushed aside with words, much less when it involved a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that could, to some extent, represent the soul beast race.

So if Ah Yin thought she could move the people of the Clear Sky Sect through her love with Tang Hao, then she was only innocently adorable and pitifully foolish.

"It doesn't matter if it fails. I'll first harvest a wave of fortune from the Clear Sky Sect through those Hundred Great Conjectures, then use the opportunity to test what effects a reduction—or even disappearance—of fortune will have."

With that thought, Tian Hao took the matter in stride. It would be best if it worked out, but if it did not, he had nothing to lose.

As for those Hundred Great Conjectures, they truly were just wild speculative ideas. The gap between thinking of something and accomplishing it was enormous. Who knew how long it would take to put them into practice and turn them into viable cultivation methods or even a complete system? And the sacrifices along the way would definitely not be small.

Just look at the great researchers from his previous life. The fact that so many of them ended up losing their entire fortunes showed how arduous it was.

So the thing had very little practical value. It only looked intimidating.

"I need to make Old Li Tou speed up the village's relocation. If Ah Yin falls out with the Clear Sky Sect, who knows whether the Clear Sky Sect will come looking for us?"

Thinking of the consequences of Ah Yin's failure, Tian Hao felt that he needed to get the villagers to move as soon as possible.

Fortunately, this place was not close to the Clear Sky Sect. Tang Hao and Ah Yin would need quite some time to return, so there was no need for them to panic just yet.

Leaving aside how Tian Hao pondered the road ahead, perhaps because Ah Yin's fortune had plummeted, some mystical change occurred. Beside a river hundreds of miles away, a burly old man with a fierce face was fishing—fishing for crocodiles.

"Your Excellency, intelligence indicates that the whereabouts of Tang Hao, the young master of the Clear Sky Sect, have vanished. He is suspected of secretly heading south and may be hiding somewhere in the surrounding area. Should we..."

A woman clad in leather suddenly leaped to the old man's side and reported respectfully, but before she could finish, the old man interrupted her calmly.

"Stop being so paranoid all day. The Clear Sky Sect has merely been putting on an act these past few years. Tang Zhen is a smart boy; he will not do anything foolish."

The fierce old man remained calm and did not take the woman's report to heart.

"Then should we send people to search for Tang Hao? If he is nearby, we could eliminate a major hidden threat for Spirit Hall."

The woman cautiously suggested it. Tang Hao had long been on Spirit Hall's kill list.

"In a thousand years, the Clear Sky Sect has produced only one Tang Chen. Dream on if they think they can produce another Peak Douluo. So long as that junior does not come disturb my good mood, there is no need to bother with him.

"But if he truly falls into my hands, then it can only be blamed on his bad luck. Even if Tang Chen returns, he will have nothing to say about it."

The old man still refused. He understood very well the difficulty of becoming a Peak Douluo. It was simply not something human effort could achieve. Even Tang Chen had only become one because he had accidentally consumed a precious herb containing divine power when he was young. Otherwise, he could never have reached the rank of Peak Douluo through his own strength.

That was a realm belonging to gods, not one humans could attain.

And before that person, anyone who was not a Peak Douluo was like an ant.

"Forget it. It's time to return. Go make the preparations; we leave tomorrow."

Mentioning Peak Douluo suddenly made the old man lose interest in continuing his vacation. When would he be able to cross that threshold?

"Yes, I will make the arrangements at once!"

The woman accepted the order and withdrew to arrange their return.

Tian Someone: Can anyone guess who this old man is? Here's a hint: in the original story, he had quite a fateful connection with Tang Hao.