Hao-Lan Mark

Tang Liu had witnessed everything that happened outside Soul Hunting Forest, so naturally, he knew Su Yuntao was inside.

With a persistent snake still to deal with at his side, Tang Liu's consciousness did not linger here for long.

His viewpoint rose again and again, and as it ascended, the surroundings gradually sank into darkness. Yet blue-black light shone from Grandmaster and Tang San.

At last, Grandmaster and Tang San vanished into the darkness, while the blue-black stars remained behind.

Returning once more to the star-filled side, Tang Liu's consciousness returned this time without landing upon any particular star.

The blue-black clusters of light were scattered around him, and faint, elusive connections seemed to extend from them.

It felt as though these clusters could be erased or destroyed at his will. And the targets they clung to seemed...

Capable of being controlled, of being dominated.

Even... toyed with.

Tang Liu opened his eyes.

His vision brightened, but faint blue-black radiance now emanated from the surrounding tree trunks and the snake before him.

That was the power of the Hao-Lan Mark.

The next moment, the blue-black light around him rapidly vanished. Only the blue-black glow on the snake remained in his sight, and it gradually grew brighter.

The Mandala Snake's body seemed to turn translucent, while the blue-black glow within it became increasingly dazzling. At last, it transformed into a complex and profound rune that exuded an air of mystery and ancient antiquity.

Hao-Lan Mark!

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

The vague thoughts emanating from its brain, the flow of blood through its veins, the contractions of its muscles, the movement of its scales, and the surging Soul Power within its body...

Everything was crystal clear!

And it seemed that with a single thought, he could make its blood flow backward, its muscles stiffen, its scales fall away, and its Soul Power come to a halt!

At this moment, within Tang Liu's consciousness, the Mandala Snake seemed to have become a toy he could play with however he pleased.

He could even make that toy explode on the spot if he wished!

He subconsciously raised his right hand and aimed it at the Mandala Snake from afar.

Seeing his movement, the Mandala Snake immediately lunged at him again.

But in Tang Liu's eyes, its originally incomparably swift movements slowed, rapidly becoming sluggish, as though they had come to a standstill.

His blue-black eyes suddenly lit up, releasing blue-black radiance of their own. It was utterly bewitching, and... possessed a strange kind of eerie beauty.

The next moment, the Mandala Snake halted, hanging unnaturally still in midair.

As though space itself had frozen, the Mandala Snake's body, over ten meters long, was forcibly immobilized.

No, it was still struggling. Its body was twisting slightly, though the movement was barely noticeable.

Panic, even terror, appeared in its eyes. For a ruthless and savage Soul Beast like the Mandala Snake, such emotions were indeed rare.

Tang Liu's face turned pale at an astonishing rate, yet the blue-black radiance pouring from his eyes grew even more intense.

He withdrew his palm and clenched his fist.

Purple light began to bloom from within the Mandala Snake's body. It was its Soul Power.

Cracks like shattered mirrors appeared across its body, and the purple light shone through those fissures.

The next moment, the Mandala Snake shattered.

It shattered amid an eruption of dense purple light.

Chunks of flesh scattered across the ground, and blood sprayed three feet into the air.

A Soul Beast that had lived for five thousand eight hundred years died just like that.

Even though its death had been so effortless and casual, it was still a serpent-type Soul Beast that had cultivated for five thousand eight hundred years.

Its death looked simple, but the force of its demise was anything but.

After the Mandala Snake was torn into chunks of flesh by its own rampaging Soul Power, that rampaging Soul Power exploded.

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

Three hours was certainly not a short time.

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

After seeing them return to Notting Academy, Su Yuntao did not follow them any further. He had the coachman take him toward Spirit Hall.

Meanwhile, Tang San and Grandmaster waited quietly for Tang Liu in the office.

Because neither of them knew whether Tang Liu was safe, neither spoke, and the atmosphere became especially heavy for a time.

They waited for an hour.

Grandmaster's calculations had been correct. It took them two hours to return from Soul Hunting Forest to Notting Academy, and Tang Liu appeared amid blue-black light during the third hour.

However, his face was deathly pale, completely devoid of color. His aura was also incredibly weak, as though he might breathe his last at any moment.

Tang San promptly caught Tang Liu as he swayed unsteadily.

"Xiao Liu, are you all right?" Tang San asked with concern.

Tang Liu shook his head and forced a smile. "I'm fine. The Teleportation distance was just a little too far, so my Soul Power was exhausted."

Tang San sighed in relief. "You didn't encounter any danger in the forest, did you?"

Tang Liu shook his head. "Those people from Spirit Hall didn't discover me. I went a little deeper into the forest, then calculated the time and Teleported back."

"It's good that you returned safely. But Xiao Liu, you can't stay at Notting Academy now. What are you planning to do?" Grandmaster's expression relaxed considerably as he spoke.

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

A trace of amusement and gratification flashed through Grandmaster's eyes. He did not speak, merely waited quietly for Tang Liu to continue.

"I plan to rest first and recover my Soul Power. Then, when night comes, I'll return to Holy Soul Village under cover of darkness," Tang Liu said.

"Xiao Liu, are you going back to find Father?" Tang San asked.

"Mm." Tang Liu nodded, giving Grandmaster a meaningful look.

Grandmaster immediately understood.

Indeed, Xiao Liu would only be safest by that man's side now.

"All right. Stay here and recover your Soul Power first. I'll go prepare a few things for you." With that, Grandmaster left the office.

"Xiao Liu, I'll go back with you tonight." Tang San was still worried about Tang Liu.

"No, Brother. If you go back with me and we're discovered, wouldn't that expose you? For now, you only need to stay here and study properly. I'll be fine. After all, Father is at home." Tang Liu spoke with a smile.

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

"Oh, right. Here's your Sleeve Arrow." Tang Liu removed the Sleeve Arrow from his wrist and handed it back to Tang San.