Tang San's Restraint

Star Luo Empire, within Star Luo City.

Sunlight spilled onto the bluestone path, casting mottled patterns of light and shadow.

Tang San crouched at the street corner, a chipped, broken bowl placed before him, with a few copper coins lying silently at the bottom.

He lowered his eyelids, his gaze resting on those copper coins as his fingers rubbed them unconsciously, his mind constantly calculating.

At the current rate of begging, he could earn at most three to five copper coins a day; to save enough Gold Soul Coin to awaken his martial soul, it would take at least ten years.

And that was assuming he didn't have to pay tribute to the Wolf Gang.

Every evening, those guys with faces full of fat would appear right on time, reaching out their hands to collect what they called "protection fees."

Tang San raised his head, his eyes sweeping across the street with a hollow look; it wasn't as if he hadn't thought about blacksmithing to earn money.

But this body of his was already ten years old and yet remained skin and bones; even practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill would require several years of conditioning.

In this state, even if he were to swing a hammer to forge iron, he probably wouldn't last more than a few strikes.

The owner of the blacksmith shop would just wave him away upon seeing him, muttering:

"Skinny as a bamboo pole, you're useless for anything."

Tang San clenched his fists, his knuckles turning slightly white, his heart feeling stifled and suffocated.

Could it be that he, a dignified God King, had fallen to such a miserable state after his rebirth?

Just as he was lost in thought, a burst of footsteps broke his train of thought.

Tang San looked up and saw a youth emerging from the crowd, his long golden hair shining brilliantly in the sunlight, his double pupils particularly striking, exuding an innate sense of authority.

The youth was surrounded by several middle-aged men with steady gaits and swords at their waists.

On the other side, a bloated noble man was nodding and bowing as he followed along.

The man wore a flashy robe with intricate gold thread embroidered on the cuffs, saying with a face full of smiles: "Young Master Dai, what brings you to Star Luo City today? Do you have any instructions?"

The youth, however, stared straight ahead, not sparing the noble even a sliver of peripheral vision.

Tang San narrowed his eyes, sizing up the noble man.

Memories surged in his mind; he recognized him—this fatty was an administrator within the official ranks named Li Fulai, who managed the tax collection for several streets.

The reason the Wolf Gang allowed him to beg "peacefully" here was simply because more than half of the money he offered up as tribute ended up in the pockets of these people.

He sneered; this Star Luo Empire was truly corrupt to the core.

Then, his gaze fell back onto the golden-haired youth.

Double pupils... Evil Eye White Tiger?

Tang San's heart jolted, and a familiar feeling welled up.

In his memories, the image of Dai Mubai, who used to have a girl on each arm, surfaced once again.

Back then, Xiao Wu always despised Dai Mubai for being promiscuous and fond of bullying the weak.

But Tang San felt that there was something different deep in Dai Mubai's bones.

Sure enough, he later became an indispensable brother on his path to becoming a god.

Now, this youth seemed to share a few similarities in temperament with Dai Mubai.

Tang San licked his cracked lips, his throat bobbing as he whispered to himself: "If I could get close to him..."

Perhaps he could use the hands of this Dai family descendant to get rid of that damned Huo Yuhao?

Just as Tang San was calculating in his heart how to strike up a conversation.

Suddenly, the ground beneath him felt empty, a great force slammed into him, and he stumbled, falling straight to the ground.

"Where did this stinking beggar come from, daring to block Young Master Dai's path?"

Tang San endured the sharp pain in his ribs and looked up to see one of the guards beside the youth glaring at him with utter impatience.

The man kicked the broken bowl on the ground away, cursing: "Get lost, don't be an eyesore here!"

The golden-haired youth did not stop his pace, not even lifting his eyelids, as if he hadn't noticed the commotion at all.

Li Fulai turned around, a flash of ferocity squeezing onto his fat face as he hissed at Tang San:

"You little thing, are you blind? Don't you know this is the Second Young Master of the Dai family?"

He narrowed his eyes, thinking to himself:

"It seems the Wolf Gang is being too lenient; I'll have to give them a good warning."

Tang San looked at Li Fulai's sinister gaze, and a fire of rage rose in his heart; his fists clenched tightly, but then he relaxed them.

There was no help for it; he was still in the process of re-acclimating to this body.

When he first started begging, he had secretly hidden a few copper coins, and after the Wolf Gang found out, his legs were nearly broken.

As for the noble man's gaze, Tang San was all too familiar with it; it was clear the other party had murderous intent toward him.

The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record states that once an opponent is confirmed to be an enemy, they are already on the path to death.

His hidden weapons should be put to use.

But taking action now would only draw the law enforcement squads of Star Luo City.

Therefore, he had no choice but to endure for the time being.

Endure!

The reason Tang San was able to step by step become an enforcer of the God Realm relied on far more than just strength.

More importantly, he understood how to assess the situation, and he possessed that world-shaking wisdom.

Tang San forcibly suppressed the killing intent in his heart, picked up his rice bowl from the ground, and then stooped to squeeze out a smile as he left.

Several days passed in this manner, and when night fell, the area outside Star Luo City was silent.

The guard who had shoved Tang San that day was humming an off-key tune, stumbling his way home.

The smell of alcohol made his eyelids droop, and as he rubbed his eyes in a daze, he vaguely saw a black shadow swaying in the grass ahead.

He frowned and stopped, just about to shout a question, when a faint "swish" reached his ears.

Immediately after, a sharp pain pierced his throat.

He instinctively covered his neck, his fingertips touching a cold and sharp piece of metal.

The black Money Dart had already sunk deep into his flesh.

The guard's eyes widened abruptly, his throat emitting a rattling gasp as his legs went weak and he collapsed to the ground.

Blood gushed from between his fingers, staining the front of his tunic red.

He struggled desperately, trying to stand up, but his body twitched violently and uncontrollably.

From the grass, Tang San stepped out slowly.

With a flick of his fingers, two more hidden weapons flew out; one pierced the guard's chest, and the other struck his temple.

The guard's body stiffened abruptly, and he fell silent forever.

Confirming that the other party was completely devoid of breath, Tang San walked forward to retrieve the hidden weapons one by one.

After all, these were things he had painstakingly managed to craft in secret.

Conditions were harsh now, nowhere near as affluent as in his previous life, so he naturally had to cherish them doubly.

However, when Tang San's fingers touched the blood spilling from the guard's body.

A vibration rippled through his sea of consciousness, and the phantom of the Sea God Trident emerged, flickering with a strange golden-red light.

A warm current surged in through his fingertips, rapidly flowing through his entire body.

Tang San was slightly stunned, feeling that vitality and soul power flowing through his meridians, bringing an indescribable sense of comfort that made him unable to stop a low moan from escaping his lips.

About half a cup of tea's time later, the guard's body, which had been quite plump, had withered away completely.

Tang San also snapped out of that wondrous state.

He could clearly feel that his soul power seemed to have increased by one level, and even his body had become a bit stronger than before.

He hadn't expected that his Sea God Trident, having been reborn along with him, would possess such a miraculous ability.

This was even more overbearing than the Eight Spider Lances he had used in his previous life.

With such a divine artifact in hand, why should he worry about being unable to kill that Huo Yuhao, replace that God Realm Tang San, and reclaim Xiao Wu?