The afterglow of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Tournament's elimination rounds had yet to fade when an invisible killing intent began to permeate the direction of Spirit City.
Tang San stood in Blue Tyrant Academy's waiting room, his fingers unconsciously rubbing the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist.
The hammer-shaped soul mark in his palm was faintly hot.
Just moments ago, in order to claim the final victory, he had ultimately failed to conceal his second martial soul.
The Clear Sky Hammer!
The name exploded in his mind like thunder, bringing with it a torrent of chaotic thoughts.
He clearly remembered how, when that giant hammer—black as ink and covered in savage patterns—appeared in the center of the arena, the stands had fallen instantly silent before erupting into an uproar like crashing mountains and roaring seas.
The gleam in the eyes of Ning Fengzhi, Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect; the shock of the Heaven Dou Imperial Family; and those icy gazes from Spirit Hall's judges' platform that had nearly pierced through him—all had been deeply branded into his heart.
"Little friend Tang San, may I have a word with you in private?"
Ning Fengzhi's refined voice still echoed in his ears, but upon recalling it now, Tang San could only feel an indescribable depth hidden behind that smile.
After the match, the continent's foremost support-system Soul Master had approached him of his own accord, doing everything in his power to win him over.
Yet when Tang San had casually mentioned that his "father had been missing for eight years," Ning Fengzhi had been extremely evasive.
"Sect Master Ning seems to have heard something about my father's whereabouts."
Tang San had spoken bluntly at the time. He had sensed a fleeting disturbance in the other man's Soul