Tang Wulin: Shut up! I won't let you talk about Big Brother Yao Chuan like that! [Two-in-One]

Tang Wulin stared at the auction list, his eyes nearly bulging out of their sockets.

The strings of zeroes after the names Century Ice Crystal Fruit, Century Red Flame Fruit, and Century Dragon-Type Soul Beast Essence Blood were like one hammer blow after another to his heart.

An indescribable embarrassment and awkwardness instantly spread across his face, which burned as if on fire.

He truly understood what it meant for a single penny to stump a hero.

Forget buying them. Just looking at the prices made it hard for him to breathe.

"This... this is way too..."

Tang Wulin struggled to open his mouth. His voice was hoarse, and the rest of his words seemed to get stuck behind those astronomical figures, refusing to come out.

Yao Chuan had already taken in his reaction from the side.

A knowing smile tugged at the corner of his mouth. He patted Tang Wulin's somewhat stiff shoulder.

"All right, Wulin, don't look like that."

Yao Chuan's voice held a steady reassurance.

"Don't worry about the money."

Tang Wulin jerked his head up, his eyes full of bewildered disbelief.

"Big Brother Yao, you... what did you say?"

Yao Chuan smiled, his tone as casual as if he were talking about the weather.

"I said I've already bought them for you."

Tang Wulin was completely dumbfounded. His mind went blank.

"B-bought them?"

Yao Chuan nodded firmly.

"Mm. The auction house staff should be on their way by now. They'll bring everything straight to our training room."

An enormous wave of joy surged over Tang Wulin and swallowed him whole.

The embarrassment and dejection vanished from his face, replaced by an ecstatic excitement he could hardly believe.

"Really?! Big Brother Yao! Th-thank you so much! I really..."

He was so excited that he could barely get his words out. His eyes even reddened, and the sudden disappearance of that enormous pressure left him feeling as though it weren't real.

He hurriedly bowed deeply to Yao Chuan.

"Big Brother Yao! I'll remember this kindness! I'll definitely..."

However, after the rush of joy, reason quickly returned.

Thinking of the total price of those three items, Tang Wulin's heart sank again.

He straightened up. The delight on his face gave way to deep guilt, and his voice turned unusually firm.

"No! Big Brother Yao, absolutely not! These things are far too valuable! I... I can't just take them from you! Count it as a loan! I'll pay you back, no matter what! I'll work myself to the bone to earn the money! I swear!"

His eyes were utterly earnest, without the slightest hint of pretense.

Seeing how stubbornly serious he was, Yao Chuan didn't insist on arguing with him.

He knew Tang Wulin's stubborn streak all too well.

"You little rascal, still pulling this on me."

Yao Chuan shook his head helplessly and ruffled Tang Wulin's hair, like an older brother who truly indulged his younger brother.

"Fine, fine, I can't win against you. We'll do it your way. It'll be a loan. Once you become a blacksmithing master and have money, you can pay me back little by little, all right? It's not like I'm short on cash."

He smiled warmly, with a hint of teasing.

"Think of it as an early investment in a future lucky star."

Only after hearing Yao Chuan agree to count it as a loan did the weight truly lift from Tang Wulin's heart. He smiled again and nodded repeatedly.

"Mm! Thank you, Big Brother Yao! I'll pay you back as soon as I can!"

As he watched Tang Wulin's relief and gratitude, a flicker of satisfaction passed through Yao Chuan's eyes, too subtle to notice.

He quickly ran the numbers in his head.

This "investment" was a guaranteed profit for him.

First, over the past few months, while supervising Tang Wulin's forging, he had quietly reaped plenty of benefits from the Golden Dragon King essence passively leaking out of Tang Wulin's body.

That pure, overbearing energy had greatly helped improve his own strength.

He could count the value of these three treasures as a little "rental fee" and "compensation" for having Tang Wulin, this "walking energy vault," around. It was only fair.

Second, and more importantly—

He intended to use this kind of timely aid, given without asking for anything in return while still respecting the other person's wishes, to firmly establish himself in Tang Wulin's heart as a "reliable, considerate big brother worth depending on."

The more secure that image became, the more he would weaken Tang San's influence over Tang Wulin when the "Old Tang" slumbering deep in Tang Wulin's sea of consciousness finally awakened completely.

Judging by the trust and closeness filling Tang Wulin's eyes right now, Yao Chuan felt that he had already accomplished most of his goal.

The boy's affection for him and dependence on him had definitely soared.

"All right, once you have the items, remember to take them somewhere absolutely safe, where no one will disturb you."

Yao Chuan gathered his thoughts and gave him a serious warning.

"These kinds of rare heavenly treasures have powerful effects, but the process probably won't be easy. Be careful and make sure you're prepared."

Tang Wulin nodded hard, his expression solemn.

"I understand, Big Brother Yao. Don't worry! I'll find the safest place."

"Mm. I'll get going, then. Just wait here for the delivery."

Yao Chuan waved and turned to leave without hesitation.

He left with easy confidence, but he knew exactly what was coming: when it came to absorbing the treasures and undoing the seal, that was a "father-and-son affair." As an outsider, he'd do best to keep his wits about him and leave Tang Wulin and the "father" in his sea of consciousness to themselves.

Time passed, one second at a time.

Only Tang Wulin remained in the training room, waiting anxiously.

He couldn't sit still and kept glancing toward the door.

His palms were damp with sweat from nervous anticipation.

At last!

Knock, knock, knock!

Tang Wulin sprang up as if he had a coil inside him, dashed to the door, and flung it open.

An auction house employee stood outside, holding a tightly sealed, exceptionally sturdy-looking case.

"Hello, Mr. Tang. These are the items you won at auction. Please sign here."

The employee maintained a professional smile.

Tang Wulin's heart pounded. His hand trembled slightly as he took the case and quickly signed his name.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

The employee left politely.

The heavy training room door shut behind him with a muffled thud.

Holding the case, which seemed to weigh a thousand jun, Tang Wulin hurried to the open space in the middle of the training room and carefully set it down.

He took a deep breath, forcing down the heart that was practically about to leap from his chest.

Then he closed his eyes and sent his consciousness deep into his sea of consciousness, calling out to the pale golden figure.

"Old Tang! Old Tang! The stuff is here! All three items!"

His thoughts brimmed with unprecedented excitement and exhilaration.

Deep within his sea of consciousness,

the pale golden light began to ripple under Tang Wulin's powerful call.

Golden light flowed, and the outline of a blurry figure, carrying the aura of ancient times, slowly came into focus.

Tang San's divine consciousness had awakened.

However, the moment his perception synchronized with the outside world and he saw the case before Tang Wulin, while sensing the familiar aura of the three treasures needed to undo the first seal inside it...

His divine consciousness, taking the form of a face that should have been as calm as a still well, instantly froze.

An indescribable sense of bewilderment crashed down on his newly awakened, still-weakened soul like a thunderbolt from the heavens!

What was going on?!

Tang San's divine sense shuddered so violently it nearly fell apart.

He could hardly believe what he was sensing!

By his estimate, given Wulin's current family circumstances and strength, it would take at least several years to gather these three priceless treasures. He might even need some kind of special opportunity.

After giving his instructions, he had fallen back into a deep sleep to recover his strength, planning to wake up and check on Wulin's progress after a year or so.

But now?!

How long had it been since he gave those instructions?

Two months? Three months?!

How had this child managed to get them?!

Was he using cheat codes?!

This wasn't how the story was supposed to go!!!

But what shook his soul even more, almost making him cry out, was another sensation, unmistakably clear!

His keen divine sense instantly detected the aura of the Golden Dragon King's core essence inside Tang Wulin.

The power remained vast and overbearing, its destructive might lying dormant.

But!

The total amount of that power... seemed to have decreased by a tiny bit since he last fell asleep?!

The amount lost was insignificant compared with the Golden Dragon King's immense source power, like a drop in the ocean, a hair on an ox. It was nearly negligible.

But!

To Tang San, whose wisp of soul resided in Tang Wulin's sea of consciousness and was closely connected to the Golden Dragon King's seal, his perception had been amplified to the limit...

That minuscule loss, imperceptible to ordinary people, was as clear as a firefly in the dark!

Like a stone tossed into a placid lake, its ripples were magnified endlessly by his soul's perception!

"Lost?!"

Tang San's soul trembled violently. The pale golden light flickered unstably, as if he might crumble from sheer shock at any moment.

"How could it have leaked away?!"

"The Golden Dragon King's core essence is sealed deep in Wulin's spine, locked down by my power and layer upon layer of seals! In theory, unless the seal loosens, not a trace of it could possibly leak out on its own!"

"But now... the seal hasn't been undone, yet the power has diminished?"

"It's barely less, but it's definitely less!"

"Who did it?!"

"Who could silently siphon away a trace of the Golden Dragon King's source essence from outside the seal I placed?!"

"This... this is impossible!"

"Unless..."

An utterly absurd thought came to him, one that sent a chill through him.

"Unless someone at the same level... or even higher, intervened?"

"But in this world..."

Overwhelming shock mingled with deep confusion and an indescribable trace of wariness, washing over Tang San's newly awakened soul like a frigid sea.

He looked at Tang Wulin, who was beaming with excitement and cradling the case like a priceless treasure, then at the three treasures he shouldn't have been able to obtain so easily...

An intense sense of wrongness coiled around the core of his divine sense like a cold, venomous snake.

"Something's wrong!"

"This feeling... something is very wrong!"

Tang San's divine consciousness silently roared deep in the sea of consciousness. The enormous question marks nearly burst his fragile wisp of divine sense.

"There's definitely a problem!"

"A huge problem!"

After his exclamation, Tang San's soul suddenly withdrew.

Suspicion was his first reaction.

Something was wrong!

He had to find out what was happening at once!

"Wulin," Tang San said, keeping his divine voice as calm as possible and letting just the right note of concern slip through. "These three treasures can't have been easy to get, right? Did you come across some... special opportunity? Can you tell me how it happened?"

Tang Wulin was immersed in overwhelming joy and deep gratitude toward Yao Chuan, completely off guard.

He gave no thought to the probing in Tang San's words.

"Yes, Old Tang," Tang Wulin said sincerely. "It's all thanks to Big Brother Yao Chuan! He knew I urgently needed them, so he went out of his way to buy these three treasures for me! I... I really don't know how to thank him enough!"

His words brimmed with trust and gratitude toward Yao Chuan.

Tang San's divine sense sank abruptly.

Yao Chuan!

Yao Chuan again!

He had already sensed that this man's timing and abilities were far too bizarre.

Now that he had learned it was Yao Chuan who had procured these three century-old treasures—items that even ordinary Soul Master families might not easily be able to gather—his suspicions rose to their peak.

Deeply scheming!

With enormous ambitions!

No easy opponent!

A powerful sense of danger exploded in Tang San's heart.

Yao Chuan had to be after his son—or, more accurately, after the Golden Dragon King's source essence sealed inside his son!

No!

He had to get Wulin away from this man!

"Wulin," Tang San's voice turned more solemn than ever, imbued with the authority unique to divine power as he tried to suppress Tang Wulin's blind gratitude. "Listen to me!"

"There's no such thing as a free lunch! This man is shrewd and calculating, and he's far too generous. He's definitely not just being kind!"

"If someone goes out of their way to ingratiate themselves with you, they're either up to no good or after something! You need to understand: the debts of cause and effect in this world are the hardest to repay!"

"You're still young. You don't know how wicked people can be!"

"Listen to an old man's advice. This person... is no good. You must stay away from him!"

"Don't let his outward appearance fool you, or you'll regret it for the rest of your life!"

Every word Tang San spoke came from the heart, carrying the deepest worries of a father who'd seen it all for his own sweet, naïve son.

He truly believed Yao Chuan had ulterior motives and would harm Tang Wulin.

And yet!

To Tang Wulin, who had just received an enormous kindness from Yao Chuan, those words were like a spark dropped into an active volcano!

An inexplicable fury instantly swept away Tang Wulin's reason!

When Tang Wulin was at his most desperate and helpless, Brother Yao Chuan had reached out to help without asking for anything in return, solving a problem that had nearly crushed him!

When Tang Wulin was training in blacksmithing, Brother Yao Chuan had taught him everything he knew, strict but full of expectation!

In Tang Wulin's heart, Brother Yao Chuan was as reliable and trustworthy as an older brother!

And now, this so-called "father" (divine sense) had never even met Brother Yao Chuan, yet based on pure conjecture, he was slandering his benefactor, his older brother, with such vile words!

How could Tang Wulin stand for that?!

Tang Wulin's eyes instantly turned bloodred, and an unprecedented fury surged straight to his head.

He didn't even notice the Golden Dragon King's dormant bloodline within him stirred by his rage, letting out a low, rumbling growl.

"Shut up!!"

A furious roar boomed like thunder in the depths of his sea of consciousness!

Tang Wulin's voice brimmed with anger and unquestionable resolve!

"I won't let you talk about Brother Yao Chuan like that!!!"

Every word was like a heavy hammer, slamming into Tang San's divine sense!

The space within the sea of consciousness seemed to freeze.

A silence as profound as death.

Tang San's divine-sense orb trembled violently, its light flickering on and off, revealing its master's utter shock and... bewilderment?

For a few seconds, his mind went completely blank.

Wh... what?

Sh... shut up?!

N... not let him?!

He... he was one of the Divine Realm's Supreme God Kings, a being who controlled the Divine Realm's core, the Sea God and Asura God, wielder of Dual Godhood, God King Tang (Buddha Tang), whose every stomp made the entire Divine Realm tremble...

Had he just... been scolded by his own son?!!

And not just scolded, but berated with such utter rudeness and mercilessness?!