Farewell

"Why don't you keep it with you? If you run into danger on the road, you can use it to defend yourself." Tang San held the Sleeve Arrow, somewhat hesitant.

"Don't worry, brother. If I encounter danger I can't resist, I'll just Teleport back." Tang Liu smiled as he spoke, leaving a mark on the chair beneath him. "If I run into danger I can't handle, I'll Teleport here. The Grandmaster is here, so he'll notice in time. Don't worry, I'll be fine."

As he spoke, Tang Liu pulled his legs up and sat cross-legged on the chair, assuming a meditative posture to recover his Soul Power.

"Oh, right, brother, aren't you going to check on Xiao Wu and the others?" Tang Liu had barely closed his eyes before opening them again and speaking to Tang San.

Seeing Tang San's hesitant expression, he understood that Tang San was worried about him. He immediately smiled. "Come on, I already said I'm fine. Is it that interesting to watch me cultivate? Go find Xiao Wu. What if they've run into trouble?" He remembered that the work-study students had been bullied by the ordinary students. He just did not know whether the timing had overlapped, considering they had spent two days in Soul Hunting Forest.

Tang San stood before Tang Liu, hesitating for a long while before finally nodding. Then he left the office, looking back every few steps.

As the sound of the door closing rang out, the smile on Tang Liu's face gradually faded. He stopped pretending to meditate as well, because he had never learned how to cultivate in the first place. How was he supposed to recover Soul Power?

Closing his eyes, he gradually immersed his consciousness. Then, once again, he arrived above that pitch-black night sky.

Blue-black stars were scattered across it. Far off at the horizon lay a dense cluster of stars, while four solitary stars were spread around him.

He sat atop one of them, while two others slowly moved in different directions.

And there was one more...

Spirit Hall.

"That was everything." Su Yuntao reported every detail of what they had experienced during this trip to Ma Xiunuo.

After hearing him out, Ma Xiunuo narrowed his eyes slightly without speaking, as though he were pondering something.

After a long time, he finally sighed. "Let this matter end here."

"We won't continue investigating, Grandmaster Ma Xiunuo?" Su Yuntao asked respectfully.

"No. Although there are points in this matter that do not hold up to scrutiny, according to you, that child who supposedly possesses Soul Power beyond the Innate Realm has something wrong with his mind, and it sounds quite serious. Even if someone like that grows powerful in the future, he cannot be used by our Spirit Hall. Although he knew to conceal his strength during his awakening, which shows that the child is not unintelligent, brain disorders are the most difficult to cure. Whether he can even continue living is still uncertain. So let this matter end here. Go to Holy Soul Village now and see whether you can call back the people we sent in advance." Ma Xiunuo spoke indifferently.

"Yes." Su Yuntao responded, then withdrew.

It seemed that the matter of Tang Liu possessing Soul Power beyond the Innate Realm had been resolved.

Upon receiving Ma Xiunuo's orders, Su Yuntao immediately set out on horseback.

Of course, what he rode was no ordinary horse, but a tamed ten-year Soul Beast, a Wind Chasing Horse.

Wind Chasing Horses had no other specialty than extraordinary speed. Otherwise, Su Yuntao could never have caught up with the Spirit Hall party that had set off for Holy Soul Village several hours earlier.

Within one hour, Su Yuntao crossed nearly half the distance from Nuoding City to Holy Soul Village, intercepted the Spirit Hall party, and recalled them.

At that very moment, Tang Liu had just returned to Notting Academy.

The sun sank beneath the horizon, and the sky gradually darkened as night fell.

Tang Liu wore a black robe, its hood covering most of his face, as he quietly slipped out through Notting Academy's back gate.

To avoid being seen, neither the Grandmaster nor Tang San had come to see him off. They had merely exchanged farewells in the office before Tang Liu left.

Under the cover of night, it was the perfect time to depart.

After leaving Notting Academy, Tang Liu did not hurry away. With a clear destination in mind, he headed toward an area densely packed with homes and finally stopped in a dark alley.

Taking off his hood, he first looked around in every direction. Once he confirmed that no one was nearby, he spoke softly.

"Dad, are you here?"

Without a sound, someone appeared behind Tang Liu.

Tang Liu felt the black robe on his body stir from a sudden gust. Turning around, he saw a tall figure dressed in black as well and jumped in fright.

The figure suddenly reached out and covered Tang Liu's mouth, stopping his cry.

Feeling the warmth of the hand, Tang Liu breathed a sigh of relief. Then he slipped around the hand covering his mouth and wrapped his arms around the figure's waist.

At that moment, the clouds in the sky drifted away, and the obscured moon immediately shed its light.

Under the moonlight, the figure's unshaven face came clearly into view—haggard and utterly dispirited, yet still handsome.

It was Tang Hao.

Caught off guard by Tang Liu's embrace, Tang Hao stiffened all over. Then he raised a hand and gently patted Tang Liu's back.

"Let's go." He spoke flatly, then scooped Tang Liu up. His figure shot into the sky at incredible speed, reaching an altitude of a thousand meters in the blink of an eye before flying rapidly toward Holy Soul Village.

Soul Power surged from his body, forming an invisible barrier around Tang Liu to protect him from the fierce winds created by high-speed flight and the bitter cold at such heights.

As for why Tang Hao had appeared, that story began several days earlier, on the day Tang San and Tang Liu had left Holy Soul Village.

Tang Hao drank almost without pause from the porridge in the pot, which had yet to come back to a boil. Both hands gripped the edge of the iron pot, heedless of its searing heat.

Bang—

He slammed the iron pot down, producing a dull boom.

He viciously wiped his mouth, but because his movement was too forceful, a small white slip of paper slowly floated down from the clothing on his shoulder.

Tang Hao's reaction was incredibly quick. With a grab of his hand, he caught the note before it could reach the ground.

He unfolded it. A line of small, neat, beautiful handwriting was written on it.

There were not many words. Tang Hao took one glance and finished reading it, whereupon his expression changed drastically.

His figure flashed, and he vanished from the room.

In another pot, an unattended wild chicken was still stewing.

At the spot where Tang Hao had been standing, a sheet of white paper slowly drifted to the floor. One sentence was written on it:

"Dad, actually, I have level 20 Innate Soul Power, and it seems the people from Spirit Hall have discovered it."

It was signed by Tang Liu.

Yet several seconds later, Tang Hao returned. This time, he took away both the pot and the chicken, along with the note on the floor.

The firewood in the stove was also extinguished by the gust brought in by his arrival.

He vanished from the room again, following far behind Tang San, Tang Liu, and Old Jack.

Of course, he was in the sky.