Hao-Lan Mark

Tang Liu, having witnessed the situation outside the Soul Hunting Forest in its entirety, naturally knew that Su Yuntao was sitting inside.

Because there was still a persistent snake to deal with nearby, Tang Liu's consciousness did not linger here for too long.

His perspective climbed continuously once more, and as it rose, the surroundings gradually plunged into darkness, while blue-black light began to glow upon Grandmaster and Tang San.

Finally, the figures of Grandmaster and Tang San vanished into the darkness, but the blue-black stars remained behind.

Returning once again to this side filled with stars, this time, Tang Liu's consciousness returned without landing on any single star.

Those blue-black clusters of light were scattered around him, and vaguely, there seemed to be a faint, tenuous connection reaching out.

It felt as though these light clusters could be extinguished or destroyed at his whim. And the objects to which these light clusters were attached seemed...

They could also be controlled, be mastered.

Even... be toyed with.

Tang Liu opened his eyes.

His vision brightened, but at this moment, a faint blue-black glow emanated from the surrounding tree trunks and from the body of the snake before him.

That was the power of the Hao-Lan Mark.

The next moment, the blue-black light in the surroundings vanished rapidly, leaving only the blue-black glow on the snake in his eyes, which was gradually becoming brighter.

The body of the Mandala Snake seemed to become illusory, while the cluster of blue-black light within its body grew dazzling, finally transforming into a complex, profound rune that exuded an aura of mystery and antiquity.

Hao-Lan Mark!

Gazing at that profound rune, everything about the Mandala Snake became incomparably clear in Tang Liu's mind.

The thoughts vaguely transmitted from its brain, the flow of blood in its vessels, the writhing of its muscles, the rhythm of the scales on its surface, and the surging of the soul power within its body...

Crystal clear!

Moreover, it was as if with a single thought, he could make its blood flow in reverse, its muscles stiffen, its scales fall off, and its soul power stagnate!

At this moment, in Tang Liu's consciousness, the Mandala Snake seemed to have become a toy he could play with at will.

He could even, if he wished, make this toy explode right where it was!

He subconsciously raised his right hand, pointing it from afar at the Mandala Snake.

Seeing his movement, the Mandala Snake immediately lunged forward once again.

However, its originally lightning-fast movements now appeared slow in Tang Liu's eyes; they were rapidly sluggish, as if frozen.

His blue-black pupils began to glow at this moment, emitting a light of the same blue-black hue—eerie to the extreme, and... possessing a very strange kind of beauty.

The next moment, the Mandala Snake halted its movement, strangely frozen in mid-air.

As if space itself had stagnated, the Mandala Snake's body, over ten meters in length, was forcibly brought to a standstill.

No, it was still struggling, for its body was twisting slightly, though the amplitude was not obvious.

Panic and even terror appeared in its eyes; for a soul beast as ruthless and ferocious as the Mandala Snake, these were indeed rare emotions.

Tang Liu's complexion turned pale at a very rapid speed, but the blue-black light released from his eyes became even more intense.

He retracted his palm and clenched his fist.

And so, purple light began to bloom from within the Mandala Snake's body. That was its soul power.

Cracked, mirror-like patterns appeared on its skin, and the purple light seeped out from these fissures.

The next moment, the Mandala Snake shattered.

Amidst the erupting, dense purple light, it shattered.

Pieces of flesh scattered across the ground, and blood splashed three feet high.

A 5,800-year-old soul beast had just died like that.

Even if it died so easily and casually, it was still a snake-type soul beast that had cultivated for 5,800 years.

The method of death looked simple, but the momentum at the time of death was still far from simple.

Just after the Mandala Snake was sliced into a pile of minced meat by its own rampaging soul power, that rampaging soul power exploded.

The surging purple light reached the face of Tang Liu, who was as pale as paper, in the blink of an eye.

Three hours was definitely not a short amount of time.

When the carriage arrived at Notting Academy, Grandmaster brought Tang San to his office.

Seeing that they had returned to Notting Academy, Su Yuntao did not follow them further, instead having the coachman drive him toward Martial Soul Hall.

On the other side, Tang San and Grandmaster waited quietly for Tang Liu in the office.

Because they did not know if Tang Liu was safe, neither of them spoke, and the atmosphere felt very heavy for a time.

This wait lasted for one hour.

Grandmaster's calculation was correct; it had taken them two hours to return from the Soul Hunting Forest to Notting Academy, and Tang Liu appeared amidst a burst of blue-black light during the third hour.

However, his complexion was deathly pale at this moment, devoid of even a hint of blood. Furthermore, the aura around his body was extremely faint, as if he might draw his last breath at any second.

Tang San reached out in time to steady the swaying Tang Liu.

"Little Liu, are you alright?" Tang San asked with concern.

Tang Liu shook his head, forcing a smile as he said, "I'm fine, it's just that the teleportation distance was a bit far, and my soul power is exhausted."

Tang San breathed a sigh of relief, "You didn't encounter any danger in the forest, did you?"

Tang Liu shook his head, "Those people from the Martial Soul Hall didn't discover me. I ventured a little deeper into the forest, and once I calculated that the time had come, I teleported back."

"As long as you returned safely, that is all that matters. However, Little Liu, you cannot stay at Notting Academy any longer. What do you intend to do?" Grandmaster's expression also softened considerably as he spoke.

Supported by Tang San, Tang Liu first bowed to Grandmaster and said, "Grandmaster, thank you."

A trace of a smile and gratification flashed through Grandmaster's eyes, but he did not speak, waiting quietly for what was to follow.

"I plan to rest for a while to recover my soul power, and then, when night falls, I will take advantage of the darkness to head back to Holy Soul Village," Tang Liu said.

"Little Liu, are you going back to find Dad?" Tang San asked.

"Mn." Tang Liu nodded, casting a meaningful glance at Grandmaster at the same time.

Grandmaster understood immediately.

Indeed, staying by that person's side was the safest place for Little Liu right now.

"Very well, stay here and recover your soul power first. I will go and prepare some things for you," Grandmaster said before walking out of the office.

"Little Liu, let me go back with you tonight." Tang San was still worried about Tang Liu.

"No, Brother. If you go back with me and we get discovered, wouldn't that expose you? For now, you just need to stay here and study properly. I will be fine; after all, Dad is at home," Tang Liu said with a smile on his face.

Tang San nodded and helped Tang Liu sit down on a chair.

"Right, here is your sleeve arrow back." Tang Liu unfastened the sleeve arrow from his wrist and handed it back to Tang San.