Gu Tian! You did this again, didn't you!

"Is this the place? Brother Gu Tian."

In the dense forest outside Holy Soul Village, Na'er patted her fair little hands, her short silver skirt swaying gently in the breeze. Just moments ago, Gu Tian had utilized Na'er's spatial teleportation to bring Gu Yue and her across a hundred miles in an instant, arriving at this small mountain village ahead of schedule.

Gu Tian stepped out from behind a tree, his gaze deep as he looked ahead.

The thick fog here had been largely dispersed by the previous battle between Title Douluos, revealing a scene of utter devastation.

"How miserable." Gu Tian murmured.

At the entrance of Holy Soul Village, the stone tablet engraved with the words "Holy Soul" had split down the middle, as if shattered by a giant hammer. At the west end of the village, the blacksmith shop that once belonged to Tang San's family had completely vanished.

Only a charred ruin remained, with rubble and debris scattered everywhere; even the surrounding century-old trees had been snapped in half.

At this moment, Old Jack was surrounded by a dozen sturdy villagers, his face filled with terror as they gathered outside the ruins.

"Village Chief Jack, what on earth happened?" a villager asked, still shaken. "I've never seen anything like what happened last night in my entire life. The whole mountain was shaking; I thought it was an earthquake."

Old Jack leaned on his cane, his hands trembling violently. He had lived in this village his entire life; how could he have ever seen such a scene?

"It's strange." Old Jack pointed shakily at the surroundings. "Look, aside from Tang Hao's house, everyone else's homes are perfectly fine, not even a crack. Does this earthquake only target his house?"

The villagers looked at each other, unable to provide an explanation. After all, aside from the heavy losses at Tang Hao's home, no one else had even a scratch.

Hiding in the shadows of the trees, Gu Tian listened to Old Jack's deductions and couldn't help but curl his lip. This wasn't an earthquake; this was Tang Hao turning the tables. However, those Title Douluos from Martial Soul Hall were indeed professional, keeping all their attacks precisely contained within the blacksmith shop without harming a single civilian.

"Brother Gu Tian, that bad guy is coming." Na'er tugged on Gu Tian's sleeve, pointing toward the end of the main road.

A gray figure was sprinting toward them like a madman. Tang San's Purple Demon Eye was pushed to its limit. Having seen the smoke and dust from his home from a great distance, his young face was now twisted with extreme terror.

"Grandpa Old Jack! What's wrong? What happened!"

Tang San rushed to the ruins, his voice hoarse, nearly on the verge of tears.

"San? You're back for the break?" Old Jack saw Tang San, a flash of sympathy in his eyes. "Child, don't get too excited. Last night... last night it was probably an earthquake. When we came to look this morning, your house had already collapsed like this."

Tang San didn't even finish listening to Old Jack. He shoved the crowd aside and rushed into the pile of rubble like a madman.

"Dad! Dad! Where are you!"

He used his right hand, which had just begun to heal from its injury, to desperately move the charred wooden beams. His fingernails sank into the wood splinters, and he didn't even notice the blood flowing freely. Blue Silver Grass grew wildly in his hands, attempting to push aside the heavy rocks.

However, there was no response from the empty ruins.

Not only was there no sound of Tang Hao's breathing, but even that heavy Forging Hammer was gone.

Just as Tang San was about to fall into despair, he discovered something beneath the Forging Table, which had shattered into several pieces.

It was a letter held down by a stone.

Tang San tremblingly opened the envelope. There were only a few lines of scrawled yet heavy handwriting on the paper:

"San, by the time you see this letter, I will have already left. There are some unexpected circumstances at home, and I need to go away to handle them for five or six years. Do not look for me, and do not try to inquire about my whereabouts. Cultivate well at Nuoding Academy. If one day you feel you are strong enough, I will return to pick you up. Take care of yourself. -- Tang Hao, do not worry."

"Gone... Dad is gone..."

Tang San clutched the letter, his entire being feeling as if his soul had been drained, and he collapsed into the rubble.

To him, the world seemed to have collapsed in this instant. The reunion he had looked forward to with such anticipation had turned into a cold farewell letter, and his only sanctuary was now nothing but charred remains.

"Earthquake... why would it be an earthquake?"

Tang San raised his head, his eyes filled with a sickly confusion. He recalled every little detail that had happened at Nuoding Academy.

Gu Tian, it was Gu Tian again!

Ever since Gu Tian appeared at Nuoding Academy, his life had been on a downward spiral. His first soul ring turned white, Xiao Wu was snatched away, his martial soul was thwarted, and now, he didn't even have a home.

In his paranoid logic, Gu Tian's terrifying martial soul, which could control elements, must have had something to do with this earthquake. He even suspected that the forces behind Gu Tian had discovered his father's identity, leading to this catastrophic disaster.

"Gu Tian... you bastard!"

Tang San stood up abruptly and let out a shrill roar toward the sky. "It must be you! You harmed my father! You destroyed my home! I, Tang San, swear that if I do not kill you in this life, I am not a man!"

Hiding in the tree canopy a hundred meters away, Gu Tian was so startled by the piercing roar that he nearly fell out of the tree.

"Good grief!"

Gu Tian widened his eyes, looking at Gu Yue beside him in bewilderment. "Yue'er, did you hear that? He's cursing me?"

Gu Yue let out a cold snort, killing intent flashing in her dark green eyes. "Young Master, this Tang San has gone mad. He is not only ignorant but lacks even basic logic. Do you need me to kill him?"

"No, don't move yet."

Gu Tian rubbed his nose, looking at the boy roaring madly in the ruins with a mix of amusement and frustration. "I've been staying honestly at the academy, haven't even stepped foot on the soil of Holy Soul Village, and this black pot is still being pinned on me? His talent for shifting blame is truly maxed out."

"Brother Gu Tian, the way he looks at you is so scary, like a rabid dog." Na'er shrank into Gu Tian's arms with disgust.

Gu Tian sneered, watching Tang San, who was kneeling on the ground, gnashing his teeth.

"Curse away, curse all you want. The more miserable you are, the more generous my God-level trial rewards will be. Since you like blaming things on me so much, then later... I'll let you see what a real catastrophic disaster looks like."

Gu Tian took one last look at the ruins and gestured to the two girls.

"Let's go. We'll book a presidential suite at a hotel in Nuoding City and enjoy this early annual leave. As for Tang San... let him stay in these ruins and fantasize about his own comeback."

A silver spatial gate opened, and the figures of the three vanished instantly, leaving behind only the cold wind of Holy Soul Village, accompanied by Tang San's desperate and paranoid roars.