Tang Sect

A thousand years ago, Tang San founded the Tang Sect. With a god among its ranks, the Tang Sect had once flourished and been known as the greatest sect on the continent. But the Tang Sect had a major hidden flaw from the moment it was founded. It would not surface while Tang San still walked among the living, but it erupted after he ascended.

Unlike other sects, the Tang Sect was not essentially a family ruled by blood ties, with powerful Martial Souls passed down through generations serving as bonds for transferring power and wealth.

The Tang Sect was different. It was a product of its era, a groundbreaking organization formed by numerous influential families opposed to Spirit Hall's rule, brought together through Tang San's immense strength and prestige. The families had no choice but to follow Tang San in opposing Spirit Hall's bid to unite the continent. Spirit Hall wanted to establish a royal regime centered absolutely on the Angel Martial Soul, with less common Martial Souls serving as its middle ranks. There would be no room in that country for any powerful Martial Soul other than the Angel Martial Soul.

Tang San's side was made up of numerous clans—or, more accurately, great families. Those families would never allow such an organization to exist. Their interests clashed. Every family might have dreamed of uniting the continent, but none would ever allow itself to be the one that got united. Of course, if it came down to it, they could always lower their heads, submit, and wait for a chance to act.

Spirit Hall also recruited individual powerhouses to strengthen itself, and in the end, it reached the height of its power. Bibi Dong and Tang San were the representatives put forward by the two sides. Even if they lost, the factions behind them could preserve themselves, surrender, accept defeat, and wait for another chance. The representatives were supposed to be under control, but the tremendous tide of events gave rise to two gods, and the situation slipped completely beyond anyone's grasp.

After Spirit Hall was defeated, Tang San requested that it not be purged. Its lands were merely divided up among the Three Great Empires. Without a god to protect them, how could those ghouls possibly pass up such a lavish feast?

The Tang Sect, too, became too powerful to manage after the war. No one had the means—or the nerve—to break up that prize. And so the Tang Sect amassed immense military power, an economy that monopolized military goods, and the highest political legitimacy. With an extremely efficient system of competition besides, no one could restrain its growth.

But what would happen when Tang San was gone?

The first problem was choosing a Tang Sect Master. Tang San had left no descendants, and the organization was not a family enterprise. It could not simply have a child and carry on, like Dai Mubai's family. The different factions had come together for their own interests. This could be resolved, of course; it was only an internal matter. At that point, the great sects and families all put forward their own candidates. The internal struggle grew fierce.

The final straw was what happened to the national will that the great families had pushed for: the country split apart. After exchanging interests, reaching compromises, and making promises, the representatives of the two empires produced two contenders, each backed by one of the great powers. The Tang Sect's internal factions were too weak to resist. In truth, they were only weak by comparison, but no one could stop the will of the two interest groups. Not unless another god appeared.

In the end, the Tang Sect split into three. Now it was split into four. The Local Faction had fled to Shrek Academy, taking the most essential techniques and cultivation methods with them. The two empires had coveted them, but it was too late—they were busy carving up the Tang Sect's assets and gorging themselves.

The Tang Sect had always been a product of an extraordinary era, and its way of distributing resources had seriously harmed the interests of the great families. After all, how could important resources be given to those commoners? Family interests came first.

Shrek had what Tang San left behind. No one wanted to pick a fight with a god. In the end, this was the compromise that settled the balance of power. Over the past ten thousand years, some families that had lost out in the competition had managed to gain a foothold at Shrek Academy through connections. That was another matter.

Thanks to the rules left over from Tang San's era, and the compromise forced on the great families after powerful commoners rose up and frightened them, Shrek Academy had become the best place for talented commoners. Everyone else was left to be a lapdog for the great families.

On the surface, the Tang Sect Secret Techniques still had not spread beyond the sect. In reality, any family with even a little influence could get its hands on them. But they could not use them openly. They could keep them as a secret weapon, but showing them off would be a slap in the Tang Sect's face. The Tang Sect had passed down the story that Tang San had ordered the techniques not to be shared. No one knew if it was true, and no one wanted to anger a real god. Even after splitting into four, the Tang Sect still had to keep up appearances. Besides, the most essential techniques were in the hands of the Shrek branch. A family's own martial arts were basically enough, and there was no need to provoke the Tang Sect.

Besides, the Tang Sect branches in the Three Great Empires had long since been taken over by powerful Martial Soul families. The Shrek branch, though it possessed a priceless treasure, lacked the power to protect it. It suffered repeated assassinations by unknown powerhouses, and its bloodline gradually dwindled. Now, only one descendant remained. When assassins openly attacked people in Shrek City, Shrek Academy issued its strongest warning, expressed deep sorrow over the Tang Sect's tragedy, and vowed to track down the culprits and defend Shrek's dignity. In the end, thanks to the efforts of the Shrek Inspection Team, the entire criminal gang, led by a Soul Douluo, was killed. The academy vowed to protect the last descendant, declaring that anyone who harmed him would be an enemy of Shrek and that it would pursue the matter to the bitter end. The elders had long since entrusted the confidential materials to Shrek Academy. The assassins could only return empty-handed—and they would.

The matter eventually faded away. The Tang Sect had to die—or, more accurately, its organizational structure had to be destroyed. Things had gone exactly as they had hoped: the Tang Sect was, for all practical purposes, already dead.

To adapt a saying: progress made people forget why they had needed to progress, so they went backward. But eventually, that regression would bring progress again. That was all.

Now twelve years old, Huo Yuhao was being carried on Bei Bei's back to Shrek Academy. More accurately, Tang Ya and Bei Bei had found him half-dead and brought him along.

The story went back to several months earlier, after Huo Yuhao had broken out. Once the adrenaline wore off, the pain set in. His body and mind had unleashed such tremendous power that all he had to show for it was a nosebleed and several broken bones from pushing himself too hard.

The bigger problem was that his pursuers were still after him, hunting the wanted criminal he had become. Even if the Soul Masters knew the truth, they were afraid that coming after him would be a death sentence, so only ordinary people had been sent. For the badly injured Huo Yuhao, that was a serious problem. He could not recover anywhere near people, so he had no choice but to flee to the Star Dou Great Forest. The strenuous exercise after being wounded made his already poor condition even worse. But that was not the biggest problem. Whenever Huo Yuhao remembered what he had said, he could not help squirming with embarrassment. After finally calming down, he buried the gun he had been carrying and let himself relax.

He put on the Silkworm Slough and lay by a river like a corpse. When he got hungry, he activated the Mental Interference Domain, and a whole school of fish floated to the surface. For the first few days, he was too weak to make a fire, so he had to eat them raw. Wang Yi, who had been asleep for days after pushing himself too hard while showing off, finally woke up, and things improved. A green aura flowed through Huo Yuhao's body, speeding the healing of his wounds. After figuring out a little of how to use it, Huo Yuhao drew on its power to force his body to its feet and make a fire for grilled fish.

When the fragrant, steaming fish entered his mouth, tears welled in his eyes. Showing off was risky; pushing himself too hard required caution.

As soon as he finished eating, he lost his strength and lay back down on the ground.

After about half a month, he could move freely again. After careful consideration, Wang Yi suggested that he spend a few months training in the Star Dou Great Forest to improve his combat ability. At this stage, fights still came down to hand-to-hand combat. Soul Skills couldn't do that much damage. In the end, the one with the bigger fists won. Experience mattered a great deal.

Another reason was that Huo Yuhao needed a lot of energy. Fish were no longer enough. He needed energy-rich meat to improve his physique. So he began by hunting weak Ten-Year Soul Beasts. With the Silkworm Slough, Spiritual Detection, Soul Shock, and his own Berserk ability, it was practically a playground. For now, Huo Yuhao called the power granted by the green aura Berserk. It was the only ability he had discovered so far.

After Huo Yuhao's initial killing spree, Wang Yi had him take off the Silkworm Slough and fight. Ambushes were no good for improving his abilities in a fair fight. He could use the Silkworm Slough when he ran into something he couldn't beat.

After several months of effort, the Wind Baboons had dwindled in number. No, Huo Yuhao's abilities had improved tremendously. Then, on his twelfth birthday, he tried hunting a Hundred-Year Soul Beast, a Wind Baboon. It was a difficult fight, but he managed to kill it. In the days that followed, Huo Yuhao tried fighting Soul Beasts hand-to-hand. As expected, he got beaten badly. The physical weakness of a Spirit System Soul Master was too obvious. In the end, he could only activate Berserk and cheat his way to victory over a Ten-Year Deer-type Soul Beast.

During this time, Wang Yi came up with a possibility based on what he knew: the mind could strengthen the body. The reasoning went like this: it was known that an increase in Soul Power cultivation strengthened one's spiritual power. A Soul Master with one Soul Ring obviously could not compare to a Titled Douluo in spiritual power.

Soul Power was the body's circulation.

So could the reverse be true? Could powerful spiritual power influence Soul Power in return? Huo Yuhao's spiritual power was too strong. With his current physical condition, he could not bring out its full power. After life-and-death battles and several months of training, he had only just managed to reach level thirteen. That was already much faster than before, but it still wasn't enough. So they began experimenting.

Tian Meng was asleep, and the mysterious Electrolux was silent, too. Only Wang Yi, with his ordinary person's experience, and Huo Yuhao, whose eyes betrayed a clear, foolish innocence, discussed it and decided to go ahead.

One dared to suggest it; the other dared to do it.

After killing a huge, edible Soul Beast and taking the necessary precautions, they began the experiment.

Huo Yuhao started directing his immense spiritual power through his body from head to toe, and the immediate result was that his mind went blank.

It hurt! It itched! That was all Huo Yuhao could think. With the little awareness he had left, he could tell it seemed to be working. His heart began pounding violently, his body temperature shot up, and his nose started bleeding again.

The green aura darted anxiously through his body, soothing each place it passed. But it could not solve Huo Yuhao's problem. The intense pain and itching made him roll around nonstop.

The violent turbulence in the Sea of Spirit woke Tian Meng at once. He thought a powerful enemy had arrived. When he checked carefully, the enemy was Huo Yuhao.

He immediately intervened and cut off the flow of spiritual power. Only then did Huo Yuhao catch his breath.

"Have you gone crazy? You could have died!"

Wang Yi listened to Tian Meng's scolding from the corner, feeling embarrassed. He hadn't expected such a strong reaction, either. Since he'd made a mistake, he would stand there and take it.

Just as Huo Yuhao had caught his breath, he felt how weak his body was, but excitement took over. "Level fourteen! It worked! It really worked!" Then he passed out.

Tian Meng was stunned. He began soothing the Sea of Spirit and released his spiritual power, shielding Huo Yuhao and the Soul Beast meat. All he could do was wait for Huo Yuhao to wake up.

Five hours later—now that the more precise timekeeping system brought from the Sun Moon Continent had been adopted—Huo Yuhao woke up hungry. As soon as he checked his body, he realized how weak it was. It also itched and hurt. Then he felt a cool sensation in one part of his body and recognized it as the change brought by the green aura passing through. Wherever it went, it felt like a cool breeze, soothing and refreshing. Before long, it had completed a full circuit, and Huo Yuhao regained control of his body. Without giving it much thought, he rushed over to the Soul Beast's corpse to prepare the ingredients and cook.

As he waited, hunger kept bothering him. Having what he wanted so close, yet still out of reach, made him itch with frustration, and there was nothing he could do about it.

After eating his fill, he began to sum things up. Spiritual power could raise Soul Power. The side effects were considerable, and after going through it once, he had no desire to try again. His body became terribly weak, as if it had been hollowed out. After losing so much blood from his nose, Huo Yuhao's face was deathly pale, without a trace of color.

But none of that mattered. The method really worked. A small wish, hidden deep in his heart, suddenly seemed a little more possible. He knew it would be difficult, but he couldn't stop himself from hoping. During the few days he spent recovering, Huo Yuhao often drifted into a daze. He knew something was wrong, but he just couldn't control himself.

Wang Yi was busy reading in the Sea of Spirit, but even with little free time, he noticed the strange behavior.

"What are you struggling with, little Yuhao?"

"Nothing, nothing." Huo Yuhao hurriedly denied it.

"Come on, tell me. I finally understand why our teacher always knew when I was lying at school."

"I have a wish, but with my talent, there's no way I can reach the standard." Huo Yuhao hesitated.

"Hahaha, I can more or less guess what this is about. Don't worry. With Tian Meng, Electrolux, and me in your Sea of Spirit, what could you possibly be hesitating over?"

"There isn't much that can stop you now. Remember this: if you, Huo Yuhao, want to do something, you can do it. It might take time, but you can do it. You should have that confidence. Stand up straight, cast aside your doubts, and do what you want. Just put what you want into practice. Don't doubt yourself. You, Huo Yuhao, are destined to stand at the pinnacle of the world."

"Tell me what you want to do. Loudly."

Inspired by the pep talk, Huo Yuhao worked up his courage. "I want to enter Shrek Academy!"

Wang Yi nodded with satisfaction when Huo Yuhao finally voiced his thoughts, then a question mark appeared in his mind. He'd been worried about that for so many days? Was there anything else that could give him trouble? Feeling a little embarrassed, Wang Yi pretended to agree. "Then keep moving forward, my boy." He fled back into the Sea of Spirit and sulked. His first speech had gone so badly. He began to doubt himself.

Excited, Huo Yuhao resumed his training.

Not long after, he encountered a thousand-year Mandala Snake. He used every card he had before escaping with serious injuries. Tian Meng had nearly stepped in.

In the end, he was found half-dead.

Thanks to Huo Yuhao's information and help, Tang Ya had obtained a suitable third Soul Ring. To thank him, Bei Bei asked if there was anything he could do to help.

Huo Yuhao blurted out, "I want to enter Shrek Academy."

Bei Bei and Tang Ya fell silent at the request. They thought it unreasonable to ask for something so difficult, as if they were taking advantage of his gratitude. Huo Yuhao was about to apologize when Bei Bei said, "Yuhao, we're from the Tang Sect. We can arrange a letter of recommendation. The rest is up to you."

He hadn't expected there to be a way after all. He wanted to refuse, but found he couldn't.

"The Tang Sect has a few recommendation slots. They're going to waste anyway, so you can have one."

"But there's one condition: you have to join the Tang Sect and learn the Tang Sect Secret Techniques."

The offer was so good that Huo Yuhao nearly sprang up from his sickbed. He hurriedly agreed.

Only after they'd finished speaking did Tang Ya chime in from the side. "Bei Bei, I'm the Tang Sect Master. Are you trying to usurp my position?"

Bei Bei hurriedly apologized. "What are your orders, Sect Master?"

"I think Huo Yuhao would be a good fit for our Tang Sect. I'll leave the task of teaching him the Tang Sect Secret Techniques to you. Understood?"

"Yes, Sect Master."

The country boy Huo Yuhao stared at them, dumbfounded. City folk sure knew how to have fun. Just watching them made his injuries ache. Then Bei Bei's words caught his attention, and he began studying in earnest.

The next morning, after the three of them finished cultivating the Purple Demon Eye, they set off on another day's journey.

Their destination was Shrek Academy.