Several black lines slid down Tang Hao's forehead.
Tang Hao's face darkened.
Tang Hao flew into a rage out of humiliation.
"Are you trying to get yourself killed, you little brat?"
"Little brat? So that makes you an old brat? Hey, little rabbit, do you know this old guy?" Tang Liu looked at the little wild rabbit tethered nearby, crazily testing the boundaries of his own demise.
The little rabbit trembled at the killing intent someone had released. "..." Don't drag me into this!
Tang Hao's rage meter hit max!
Grabbing Tang Liu by the collar, Tang Hao turned into a streak of light and flew into Tang Liu's room. After sitting on Tang Liu's bed, he laid Tang Liu across his lap and mercilessly brought his right hand down on Tang Liu's little backside.
Finally realizing what was about to happen, Tang Liu instinctively cried out, "Holy crap, it's a beating of love! Dad, old man, I was wrong!" Damn it, he had forgotten this was his own father, not those jerks from his previous life! He had taken the joke too far!
Tang Hao sneered. "Now you know you were wrong? Too late!"
At that moment, Tang Hao's palm came down, accompanied by Tang Liu's pained cry.
After beating Tang Liu into submission, Tang Hao made him cultivate in his room while he went off to drink, feeling utterly refreshed.
So beating children really was addictive!
He had decided that whenever Tang Liu disobeyed in the future, he would drag him out and beat him a few more times!
"Hiss—this old guy has no sense of restraint at all. Am I even his biological son? Wait, no. Isn't beating me this ruthlessly exactly the sort of thing only a real dad would do? Hiss... damn, it hurts so much. How am I supposed to cultivate like this?!"
Tang Liu complained, one hand covering his backside.
"Host, have you forgotten your first soul skill, Ethereal Defense?"
Tang Liu: "..."
Holy crap!
Tang Liu immediately felt terrible.
"Forget it. If I dared to use it, I'd probably get beaten even worse from now on..." Tang Liu comforted himself that way, then flopped onto the bed so his backside would not hurt as much.
"System, can I meditate and cultivate while lying face down like this?" he asked.
"Yes. Host, please cultivate as you wish," the system replied.
"All right." After answering, Tang Liu closed his eyes and began using his Mental Power to communicate with his Soul Power.
"Seriously, he hit so hard I can barely walk. How am I supposed to make lunch later..."
Muttering to himself, Tang Liu entered his cultivation state.
At the same time, the system began flooding Tang Liu's mind with scrolling messages.
It was still the same passage.
Yet for some reason, those words possessed a strange power. They stimulated the Soul Power within Tang Liu's body to circulate at an unimaginable speed without causing the slightest damage to his meridians.
In fact, under the scouring of that rapid torrent of Soul Power, his meridians gradually became tougher.
Just like that, Tang Liu quietly crossed the threshold of level 25 and entered level 26, rapidly advancing toward level 27.
Early morning, five days later.
Just as Tang Liu had said, his Soul Power cultivation had reached level 30.
On the bed, where he sat cross-legged in cultivation, his Third Martial Soul emerged on its own. Two blue-black Soul Rings gently pulsed around his body, their radiance faintly illuminating the entire room.
The door curtain stirred. Tang Hao had entered at some unknown point and stood beside the bed, watching Tang Liu with a complicated expression.
Sure enough, level 30.
He felt gratified, because he saw hope for vengeance in Tang San and Tang Liu.
He was also puzzled. Why did Tang Liu cultivate so quickly?
After a moment of stunned silence, Tang Hao was shocked once more.
"Th-this is..."
Blue-black luminous mist continuously seeped out from Tang Liu's body.
The two blue-black Soul Rings around him became more solid amid the mist, and the aura they gave off grew somewhat stronger than before.
At the same time, that mist swirled around Tang Liu and vaguely formed the shape of a halo.
As the mist continued to increase and thicken, that halo gradually became more substantial as well.
In the end, Haolan Spell's third Soul Ring condensed just like that.
After the three Soul Rings pulsed around Tang Liu three times, they slowly faded away and returned to his body.
One breath later, Tang Liu opened his eyes. The first person he saw was Tang Hao standing before him.
After pausing briefly, he said, "Why are you in my room?"
But Tang Hao ignored him and asked with a complicated expression, "What level is your Soul Power at now?"
"Uh..." Tang Liu was somewhat confused. After checking the system panel, he said, "Level 31. Why?"
"...Nothing." Tang Hao opened his mouth, but ultimately said nothing more. He headed out of the room. "Hurry up and get ready for breakfast. Since you've already reached level 30, we'll leave in a while."
"Oh."
After lifting the door curtain and walking out, Tang Hao's expression instantly turned sorrowful.
Cultivating a Soul Ring on his own... wasn't that just like Ah Yin?
As a Titled Douluo, he could naturally tell that Tang Liu was not a Soul Beast.
But since Tang Liu could cultivate Soul Rings on his own, did that mean killing Tang Liu would also yield a Soul Ring and a Soul Bone?
Tang Hao walked toward the stove, his heart heavy. However, he soon gathered himself again.
No matter what, he would protect Xiao Liu.
Besides, with Tang Liu's abnormal Teleportation soul skill, it would not be easy for anyone else to catch him.
"Dad, you told me to come out and eat. Don't tell me you cooked for yourself?" Tang Liu came out of his room and looked at Tang Hao in surprise.
Tang Hao said flatly, "It's not like I can't cook. Otherwise, would you and your brother have starved to death when you were little?"
"You only cooked on and off for four years, okay? And it wasn't even every meal... Since I was four, my brother was the one who cooked for our whole family, okay? And you actually have the nerve to ask whether my brother and I would have starved to death... Who exactly is the father here?" Tang Liu said disdainfully. Yet his movements were swift as he sat down, picked up his porridge, and started drinking.
Tang Hao was choked speechless again. He clenched his fists, clearly wanting to beat someone.
After Tang Liu slowly finished breakfast, they prepared to leave.
Tang Liu carried a small bundle containing a set of clothes and several Silver Soul Coins.
Tang Hao had earned that money by forging farm tools over the past five days. Tang Liu had taken it away, or Tang Hao would definitely have spent it on alcohol again.
After securing the little bundle on his back, Tang Liu looked up at Tang Hao and asked, "Where are we going now?"
"To the Star Dou Great Forest to get you a Soul Ring," Tang Hao said flatly.
"Oh." Tang Liu nodded, then naturally spread his arms and looked at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao: "...What are you doing?"
"Aren't we flying?"
"...No. We're walking."
Before you continue