The Tang Sect specialized in using hidden weapons and deadly poisons to assassinate its targets. Once, its name alone had been enough to make the great masters of the martial world tremble in fear.
The disciples within the sect were not only indifferent to one another; they were rivals, too.
In her previous life, Tang Sanmei had been an outer sect disciple of the Tang Sect.
Because she was a girl, the other disciples had bullied her since childhood, and she had grown into a solitary, ruthless person.
As she grew older, her face became more and more beautiful, and eventually that beauty brought trouble upon her. The son of an inner sect elder took a liking to her and repeatedly tried to coerce and tempt her.
After that, she developed a pathological hunger for power.
Tang Sanmei had grown up in the Tang Sect, surrounded by ingenious hidden weapons and the many ways of wielding them. In her eyes, the Tang Sect's supreme technique, the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, represented the pinnacle of power.
She had a natural talent for hidden weapons, but her status as an outer sect disciple kept her from learning anything about them.
When the inner sect elder's son became even more brazen, she finally resolved to steal the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
The theft went unexpectedly smoothly. Not only did she learn the techniques and hidden weapons recorded in the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, but one dark and stormy night, she also brutally murdered the elder's son.
Unfortunately, her deeds were eventually exposed, and she ended up falling from a cliff.
Looking at the middle-aged man before her, reeking of alcohol, Tang Sanmei felt her heart turn colder and colder.
"Men really are all rotten!"
The thought flashed through her mind, only for Tang Yin's face to appear right after it.
Well, except for my brother! Tang Sanmei's icy heart melted in an instant, though she still glared frostily at the man who was her father in name in this life, Tang Hao.
"What are you making all that noise for? It's just a bowl of vegetable porridge! Your brother won't starve to death if he misses one meal!"
Tang Hao came out of the room, his face full of impatience. He staggered over to a stool and sat down, then grabbed an old kettle and took a swig. Tea trickled down his scruffy beard and onto his greasy, gleaming collar.
"You old drunk, you!"
At Tang Hao's brazen display, Tang Sanmei's face flushed red, and she began to pant like an ox.
The Tang Sect's teachings had engraved the proper order between elders and juniors into her bones. If the man before her hadn't been her father, she would already have marked him for death.
"Forget it, Third Sister. It's only a bowl of porridge!"
A warm hand settled on her shoulder, bringing Tang Sanmei back to her senses from the depths of her grievance and fury. She turned and looked at Tang Yin beside her with tears in her eyes.
"But you've worked hard all day, Brother, and you haven't eaten anything!"
Seeing Tang Sanmei's woebegone expression, Tang Yin first shot a cold glance at Tang Hao, who was nodding off nearby. Then he reached into his shirt, took out a palm-sized parcel of oiled paper, and held it out to her.
"We can just cook another pot of porridge. Tonight, we're having something extra!"
"This is... beef!" Tang Sanmei looked doubtful, but after sniffing with her little nose, her forlorn eyes lit up.
She couldn't possibly mistake that smell. In all the years since she had crossed into this world, this was only the second time she had smelled beef.
The last time had been when a villager's daughter in Holy Soul Village married a nobleman and came home to visit her family, bringing a beef shank with her. The two siblings had smelled it as they passed the woman's kitchen, and she remembered how badly they had craved it.
"Go cook another pot of porridge first. I'll make beef stew with radishes myself tonight."
With a self-satisfied look, Tang Yin took Tang Sanmei by the hand and led her into the kitchen, leaving Tang Hao sitting there speechless, like a withered tree on the verge of rotting away.
Early the next morning, just as dawn was breaking,
two figures sat cross-legged at the edge of the summit behind Holy Soul Village, meditating with their eyes closed.
As the sun rose over the horizon, they opened their eyes in unison.
They were, of course, the Tang siblings.
Unlike Tang San in the original story, who kept his knowledge close to his chest,
one morning two years ago, Tang Sanmei had gone out to pick mushrooms as usual. When she returned, she mysteriously pulled Tang Yin up the mountain and told him she had found some techniques left behind by an ancient predecessor in a cave...
From then on, the two of them began cultivating together.
After two years of cultivation and Tang Sanmei's occasional guidance, Tang Yin had mastered the basics of Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Mysterious Jade Hand. He had also broken through to the first level of Mysterious Heaven Skill.
The only regrettable thing was that he had never managed to grasp Purple Demon Eye. In the end, he had no choice but to accept that he lacked the talent to learn it.
As for the Hundred Interpretations of Hidden Weapons from the original story, for some reason, it simply wasn't on the cave walls.
Though he didn't know why, Tang Yin was already more than satisfied. After all, he had never been particularly interested in hidden weapons.
Although people in his previous life had teased Douluo Continent as the bottom rung of fantasy worlds, it was still a world where great power rested in the hands of individuals. Only the growth of one's own strength truly mattered.
Spending time researching hidden weapons might boost his strength in the short term, but it would do nothing for his path as a Soul Master.
After all, not everyone was Tang San from the original story, with divine positions lining up to be shoved into his hands.
"This Mysterious Heaven Skill is truly wondrous. To stumble upon these techniques—Third Sister's luck is simply heaven-defying!"
Tang Yin's lips curled into a slight smile. Noticing Tang Sanmei's gaze beside him, he couldn't help teasing her.
"Uh..." A flicker of panic crossed Tang Sanmei's eyes. She didn't want her brother to probe any further, so she could only bring up the question that had always troubled them both.
"It's a pity that, for some reason, even though our Mysterious Heaven Skill broke through the first level long ago, we haven't made any progress since!"
"Heh." Tang Yin's mouth twitched. He leaned back, laced his hands behind his head, and lay down, following her lead.
"Where there's a mountain, there's a way over it. Maybe something will change before long."
Tang Sanmei was clever and perceptive. Seeing that Tang Yin spoke as though he had a plan, a thought stirred in her mind. She suddenly remembered what old Grandpa Jack had said about Soul Master awakenings.
"Brother, do you know about Soul Masters?"
Tang Sanmei lay back like Tang Yin, then seemed to find it uncomfortable. She rolled onto her side, propped her cheek on one hand, and gazed at her brother with curiosity.
"These past few days, I've gone with old Grandpa Jack to buy and sell things in quite a few places. I went with him to deliver vegetables to a tavern, and heard the customers there talking about it."
Tang Yin made up a source for his information on the spot, then explained the ten ranks from Soul Scholar to Titled Douluo and the different colors of Soul Rings to Tang Sanmei.
"Brother, you're amazing. You know so much!"
In front of Tang Yin, Tang Sanmei was always the perfect audience, never spoiling the mood and always giving him plenty of affirmation. Then she asked him about Martial Souls.
"What kind of Martial Souls do you think we might awaken?"
"Martial Souls..." Tang Yin said with a rueful look. "That old man at home is a blacksmith. Maybe our Martial Soul will be a hammer?"
As he spoke, the image of little Tang Sanmei lugging around a huge iron hammer suddenly popped into his mind, and he couldn't help laughing.
"Why are you suddenly laughing, Brother?"
"I was imagining you carrying a huge iron hammer around and smashing people with it someday. That's why I laughed!"
"So that's it! You were imagining me as a laughingstock, Brother!" Tang Sanmei pretended to be angry, then rolled over and hugged Tang Yin. She buried her face against his chest and secretly curled up the corners of her mouth.
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