Your Excellency, Worry Not, A Plan Has Just Arisen

Half a year passed in the blink of an eye.

At the Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy, Grandmaster was in his room, organizing his notes on the cultivation progress of Tang Yin and Tang Sanmei, whom he had been observing and teaching for the past six months. However, his pen tip paused slightly at the line regarding the limit for a first soul ring.

"The 432-year limit is still somewhat restrictive. Sanmei's first soul ring is 520 years, so I shall add another five years to my theory."

After a moment of silent contemplation, as if having made a firm decision, Grandmaster crossed out the 432 in his notes and wrote down 525 years instead.

"When I have the chance, I must go to the Theory Research Seminar in Heaven Dou City to update my theories!"

Knock, knock. Just as he was indulging in these thoughts, a sudden knocking sounded at the door.

"Tang Yin, Sanmei, and Xiao Wu have all returned to Holy Soul Village. Who could possibly be disturbing me so late at night?"

Grandmaster frowned; he detested being interrupted while he was thinking or organizing his theories.

"Please, come in."

Following Grandmaster's voice, the door was pushed open, and a tall figure wrapped entirely in a cloak stepped inside.

"Greetings, Grandmaster!"

"Who are you? And what are you here for?" The moment Grandmaster saw the visitor, he instantly entered a combat stance.

He sensed an extraordinarily powerful aura from this person, an aura that felt even more oppressive than the one his father had projected toward him in the past.

"My name is Tang Hao. You should have heard my story, and we even met briefly over twenty years ago."

"You are Tang Hao?" Grandmaster looked at the disheveled middle-aged man before him, recalling the two brothers he had seen while accompanying his father to visit the Clear Sky Sect over two decades ago—the brothers who had filled him with envy, jealousy, and resentment.

"Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao! So it is you!" It took Grandmaster a long time of careful scrutiny to barely reconcile the man before him with the high-spirited Tang Hao of the past. His emotions finally settled, and he returned to his usual calm, indifferent, poker-faced expression.

"May I ask why Your Excellency Clear Sky has visited so late at night?"

"There is no need to mention titles from the past. Standing before you now is merely a father." A look of bitterness flashed across Tang Hao's face before he continued, "Tang Yin and Tang Sanmei are my son and daughter."

"So their identities were not that of ordinary people after all." A look of realization dawned on Grandmaster's face. He had often remarked that while it was plausible for a genius to appear among commoners occasionally, it was highly probable that a pair of siblings both possessing Innate Full Soul Power had inherited powerful bloodlines from their parents.

"That explains it!" Grandmaster nodded repeatedly, then suddenly remembered that Tang Yin and his sister had just left the academy that morning, and here was Tang Hao knocking on his door.

Could it be that the brat Tang Yin complained about me?

Over the past half-year, Tang Yin had mostly responded to him with phrases like "Grandmaster's insight is profound," "That's right," "It makes sense," or "I agree."

But occasionally, the two had engaged in arguments, which usually ended on a sour note.

Thinking of this possibility, Grandmaster's expression became somewhat strained.

"Tang Yin and Sanmei have already returned home. Why have you come here?"

"It is precisely because they have returned home that I have come to find you." As Tang Hao spoke, he looked in a certain direction, a flicker of resentment crossing his eyes.

"I have lived in a daze for nearly ten years, but there are some things I must do." Tang Hao said this, and his eyes softened as he thought of Sanmei.

"From the moment she stepped onto the path of a soul master, it meant that her life would never be ordinary again. What she will face in the future will be storms and tempests."

"A fledgling eagle must eventually leave its parents to grow on its own. Besides, they are not only my children, but also your disciples."

"Is that so?" Grandmaster felt a weight lift from his heart, though his expression darkened slightly at the word "disciples." He said with self-deprecation, "What disciples? I have merely provided them with some guidance."

"Guidance? Does Grandmaster look down upon Sanmei?" Tang Hao's expression sank upon hearing Grandmaster's words.

Tang Hao had little formal education and didn't quite understand the Ten Core Competencies of Martial Soul, but the name of Grandmaster was like thunder in his ears. Furthermore, as the son of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan leader, even if his soul power level was low, taking his daughter as a disciple was hardly an insult to her.

If he, a twenty-ninth-level "waste," didn't mind the title, how could he look down on his own child?

Wait, this Yu Xiaogang seemed to have some murky history with the current Pope, Bibi Dong, and he himself was at mortal odds with Martial Soul Hall. Could it be...

Tang Hao's gaze toward Grandmaster became increasingly dangerous.

"It is not that I look down on her, but rather that your son looks down on me." Grandmaster shook his head with a bitter smile, failing to notice the murderous intent in Tang Hao's eyes.

"Tang Yin?" Tang Hao was slightly taken aback, his mind flashing to Tang Yin's lazy, irreverent demeanor, and his heart stirred.

"Yes, Tang Yin. That boy..." As soon as Grandmaster mentioned Tang Yin, he couldn't help but want to vent, but he remembered that the man before him was Tang Yin's father, and it wasn't appropriate to badmouth a son in front of his parent.

"Speak freely. I know this brat's character better than you do."

"This... very well." Seeing Tang Hao's insistence, Grandmaster lost his reservations and gave a rough account of Tang Yin's various behaviors over the past year from his own perspective, specifically pointing out how Tang Yin had interfered with the cultivation system he had designed for Tang Sanmei.

"Sanmei is a good child, but she sometimes places too much importance on emotion and is almost blindly obedient to Tang Yin as her older brother."

"As for Tang Yin, he is also a clever and studious child," Grandmaster said, his tone shifting, "but he is sometimes too arrogant and stubborn. He still needs to be tempered."

"The nerve of him!" After hearing Grandmaster's evaluation of his two children, Tang Hao couldn't help but shout in anger, especially when he heard that Sanmei had absorbed the Jade Evergreen Vine on Tang Yin's suggestion. He began to pant like an ox, his face flushing red.

Although he wasn't well-read, he knew the reputation of the Jade Evergreen Vine; it was a plant primarily suited for support-type soul masters.

"Your Excellency, you are the one who asked me to speak," Grandmaster said, feeling a pang of regret as he saw Tang Hao's fury; after all, it was the man's son.

"Grandmaster, do not misunderstand. I am merely angry at Tang Yin for failing to live up to expectations." Tang Hao spoke with a pained expression, recalling how the boy had shown him no respect for years, and worse, had even taught Sanmei—who used to call him 'Daddy'—to call him an 'old geezer' at every turn.

"If he were just being mischievous in the past, I could let it slide, but I never expected him to be so reckless when it concerns Sanmei's path as a soul master!"

"If I had been there, I certainly would not have allowed Sanmei's first soul skill to be such a useless, chicken-rib-like ability."

Tang Hao gritted his teeth in anger, a deep sense of regret rising in his heart.

If only he hadn't gone to track that transformed rabbit.

He had learned the identity of the little girl named Xiao Wu the moment he stepped into Nuoding City.

It was precisely for this reason that, upon learning Xiao Wu was about to leave, he immediately chose to stop secretly protecting the siblings and instead went to tail Xiao Wu.

He had never expected such a misunderstanding to occur!

Thinking of this, Tang Hao exhaled deeply, suppressed the anger in his heart, and looked at Yu Xiaogang again, saying, "Grandmaster, I trust in your abilities. What does that little brat Tang Yin know? I will go back and teach him a lesson right now."

In his view, even if Tang Yin and his sister had appeared far more intelligent than other children since they were young, how could they possibly compare to Yu Xiaogang without having received any formal Spirit Master education?

"Wait!" Seeing that Tang Hao's anger was not directed at him, Yu Xiaogang felt a sense of relief while hurriedly stopping him.

"You and I both know that the little sister values emotions deeply, and she is almost blindly obedient to her brother. To rashly reprimand him over this matter might cause the situation to backfire."

"Then what does the Grandmaster suggest?" Tang Hao also recalled the difference in how his daughter treated him as a father versus how she treated her older brother over the years. He realized that if he were to go back and discipline Tang Yin directly, it might instead ruin the relationship he had worked so hard to cultivate with her recently.

He lacked education, but the Grandmaster before him was a man of culture, and men of culture were full of schemes.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang smiled complacently, clasping his hands behind his back and striking that arrogant pose once again.

"Your Excellency, please calm your impatience. I have a plan that can avoid damaging the bond between the children while also sparing the little sister from Tang Yin's interference."