Schrödinger's Tang Hao

Xiao Wu had always had a clear plan of her own.

She had not risked almost certain death to take human form and infiltrate human society, abandoning her status as a perfectly fine Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, just to play house and make friends at an academy.

What she wanted was to find truly promising human geniuses, nurture them into her own helpers, and ultimately storm Spirit Hall with them to take revenge on that evil woman!

And while she was at it... she could experience what the sweet romance her mother had spoken of was actually like.

As things stood, Tang San, this human cub, was undoubtedly the most perfect candidate for her to "raise."

After finally sending off those two disciples, each with their own thoughts, Yu Xiaogang dragged his exhausted body back to his desk and bit down on his pen as he continued agonizing over his precious disciple's future Soul Ring path.

Ever since losing an arm, he had looked especially clumsy and ridiculous whether he was flipping through documents or writing. He could only endure by relying on sheer obsession.

Just then, the night wind outside suddenly picked up.

A pungent smell of cheap wheat ale, mixed with a suffocatingly heavy pressure, abruptly engulfed the entire office.

A tall yet exceedingly disheveled black figure appeared out of nowhere before Yu Xiaogang.

"Master, I already know what happened during the day. I have my own plans."

A low, hoarse voice slowly rang out. "Xiao San needs a whetstone hard enough to sharpen him.

That boy named Lin Nuo happens to qualify."

Feeling that almost tangible pressure, Yu Xiaogang's old face abruptly turned pale, and his pupils constricted.

But after his brief shock, he quickly guessed the visitor's identity from his attire and distinctive aura. His eyes instantly surged with deep reverence.

"Clear Sky Douluo... I never expected Xiao San's father to really be you!"

Before one of the Clear Sky Twin Stars, a peerless powerhouse who had once smashed the previous Pope, Qian Xunji, to death with a single hammer blow, Yu Xiaogang felt nothing but genuine worship.

As for Spirit Hall's rotten business back then?

In Gangzi's eyes, if Qian Xunji had not meddled, he and Bibi Dong might have even had children by now.

The enemy of his enemy was his friend. Tang Hao was Yu Xiaogang's idol!

"You want to keep Lin Nuo as Xiao San's whetstone?

I understand."

Yu Xiaogang respectfully rose to his feet, though doubts could not help creeping into his heart.

The blood feud between the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall was known throughout the continent. Lin Nuo's Martial Soul and that face he had revealed today practically had his identity written across his forehead.

Could this hot-tempered Clear Sky Douluo really swallow such an insult?

"I will be leaving Nuoding City for a while. I can rest assured leaving Xiao San to you."

Tang Hao looked down at Yu Xiaogang from above, his tone brimming with an arrogance that took it for granted. "As for Lin Nuo, you need not concern yourself.

Xiao San is my, Tang Hao's, son. True peerless powerhouses rise only after flattening countless hardships beneath their feet.

Without weathering wind and rain, how could one see a rainbow?

This small setback is merely a required lesson on his road to the summit."

After delivering those lofty words, Tang Hao's figure flashed, and he vanished directly into the night, not even leaving Yu Xiaogang a chance to ask half a question.

But had Tang Hao truly changed? Had he become magnanimous?

Of course not.

During the day, he had hidden in the shadows and watched his beloved son get pinned to the ground and relentlessly elbowed.

Especially when he saw Lin Nuo's face, so similar to Bibi Dong's, and the Death Spider Emperor Martial Soul radiating a pure evil aura—

This world-renowned Clear Sky Douluo had nearly suffered a PTSD episode on the spot. He had almost crushed his back teeth, wanting nothing more than to immediately swing his hammer and smash that little brat into minced meat!

But he did not dare.

Reason forcibly suppressed his rampaging killing intent.

Tang Hao was, at heart, nothing more than a sect slave. Ah Yin's affair had already severely damaged the Clear Sky Sect's vitality back then.

No matter what, he could not bring another crisis upon the barely surviving Clear Sky Sect because of a moment of impulsiveness.

His beloved son Tang San was not only exceptionally gifted, but also possessed the talent of Twin Martial Souls.

Moreover, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone belonging to their Tang Clan had been kept here for use at any time.

Given time, the Clear Sky Sect would surely regain its former glory in Tang San's hands!

As Tang Hao departed, the suffocating pressure completely dissipated.

Staring at the empty study, Yu Xiaogang's tightly wound nerves finally relaxed.

He collapsed into his chair, and his perpetually stiff old face once again bloomed with a feverish smile of certainty.

It was settled! He had never imagined Tang San's father would be that lofty Clear Sky Douluo!

No wonder his precious disciple Tang San possessed Innate Full Soul Power and the talent of Twin Martial Souls!

So what if he had lost to Lin Nuo now?

No matter how monstrous Lin Nuo was in the early stages, even if Bibi Dong stood behind him, he had at most one Martial Soul.

Once they reached the later stages, what could he use to fight Xiao San, who possessed the Clear Sky Hammer, the number one tool Martial Soul in the world?

At the thought of Tang San in the future, holding the Clear Sky Hammer with nine black Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Rings around him—

Even standing at the continent's peak with a dazzling hundred-thousand-year red Soul Ring beneath his feet, an invincible sight—Yu Xiaogang's mouth involuntarily split into a grin stretching to his ears.

"Xiao San, Xiao San, you are your teacher's only hope in this life..."

Yu Xiaogang stared fixedly at the manuscript on the table, a morbid obsession gleaming in his eyes.

"Whether your teacher's Invincible Theory can astonish the entire continent depends entirely on whether you can make me proud!"

"As for that damned Lin Nuo, if he is willing to recognize his mistakes in the days ahead, this Master may not be unable to find a way to spare his life someday."

"Otherwise... hmph!"

Master Yu slowly rose to his feet and arrogantly walked to the window, letting the light outside shine upon his flat-top.

He could not suppress the upturned smile at the corners of his mouth no matter what.

The scene shifted.

The moment Lin Nuo stepped into his dorm room, he casually locked the door behind him. The calm indifference on his face vanished in an instant, and only then did his nerves, stretched to their limit, loosen slightly.

He tugged at his collar and realized that his back had long since been soaked in cold sweat.

During the earlier confrontation, he had sensed with absolute clarity that an icy killing intent, almost tangible, had been locking onto him all along.

One did not need to think with anything more than their toes to know who owned that terrifying pressure.

Fortunately, that suffocating sense of being watched had come and gone quickly.

That old bastard truly has a Way of Seeking Death.

According to the original plot, Tang Hao would leave Nuoding City for a while.

Lin Nuo walked over to the bed and sat down, his mind racing as he began calculating his next steps.

Once his Soul Power reached level twenty and he obtained his second Soul Ring, he would graduate directly from this junior academy.

Those top-grade Immortal Herbs in the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, those heavenly treasures capable of remaking one's body and defying fate—if he did not seize them first, was he supposed to leave them for Tang San?

As for which advanced Soul Master Academy he would attend after graduation, there was no rush.

During this time, he had plenty of opportunity to slowly weigh the advantages and disadvantages of every faction.