This mission seemed simple, but Tang Hao was a Titled Douluo. Who knew if he might notice?
Tang San hadn't realized that yet.
Perhaps he'd been abused so harshly over the years that he'd never enjoyed the treatment due a son of Tang Hao.
Now that the system had issued him a mission to get a little revenge on Tang Hao, he could hardly wait.
"The reward is the Martial Soul Meditation Method? Perfect. I can see how this world's cultivation methods compare with my Mysterious Heaven Skill!"
Tang San stared at the rice soup in the pot and made up his mind.
"But what kind of place is Spirit Academy?"
Tang Hao was a Titled Douluo, yet his family could only afford a little thin rice soup. Tang San felt indignant.
Even if Tang Hao was just a blacksmith, their life shouldn't have been this bad.
Holy Soul Village had a fair number of people. Every year, at least seven or eight children were born there.
As the only blacksmith in Holy Soul Village, Tang Hao didn't earn much, but he could still support two people.
Yet Tang San felt that these past few years had been a life no human should have to live.
On top of that, he had to cook, do the laundry, and look after Tang Hao, a Titled Douluo.
Even when he'd been taken in by the Tang Sect in his previous life, he'd never lived in such hardship.
Tang San thought it over. He was just about to add some simple poison he'd concocted to the pot. It wouldn't kill anyone, but it would make them vomit and have diarrhea.
"No, Tang Hao is a Titled Douluo. He might be able to taste the poison!"
"I'll have to use the raw ingredients!" Tang San thought.
At once, he went outside and picked several wild plants by the river that could be used as both food and medicine.
"I'll boil these wild plants into the porridge, then make a side dish to go with it. That way, Tang Hao shouldn't notice!"
"Besides, this medicine needs alcohol to activate it. It won't affect me if I eat it myself, but if Tang Hao drinks alcohol, he'll definitely fall for it!"
As an inheritor of the Tang Sect, he had absolute confidence in his skill with poison in this world.
"Even if he's a Titled Douluo, he won't notice. He'll just be happy that I made an extra side dish today!"
Before long, Tang San had breakfast ready and went to call Tang Hao.
The dim, dilapidated room contained only a simple wooden bed. It was bare as could be.
A slovenly, gray-robed middle-aged man lay on the bed, his robe open at the chest. A foul stench rose from him.
The smells of alcohol, sweat, and dirty feet mingled, turning the room into something like a gas chamber.
Tang San was used to it by now. He called loudly, "Dad, it's time to get up and eat breakfast!"
Tang Hao opened his eyes, glanced at Tang San, and said, "I know. Go get me a jug of wine!"
"But..."
Tang San was about to object. If he spent the money they had on wine, they'd go hungry in a few days.
But when he thought of the system's mission—and how irritable Tang Hao got without wine—he decided to go anyway.
"Yes, Dad. I'll go get the wine!" Tang San obediently left.
Watching Tang San's retreating figure, Tang Hao wondered, Who exactly was that senior he mentioned? How could even I fail to notice him?
He'd naturally heard Tang San muttering softly at the door just now.
As for the word "system" Tang San said afterward, the system had blocked it from him. Otherwise, Tang Hao would have learned who that so-called senior was.
No wonder Xiao San often goes to the back mountain and has such an unusual physique. So a master has been teaching him?
Was he sent by Big Brother? Or is he a Titled Douluo living in seclusion here?
Tang Hao couldn't figure out who the mysterious person was, but he didn't intend to do anything about it. He'd let things take their course.
Even if Xiao San awakens a Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, what can he do?
Are there not plenty of geniuses who cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer in my Clear Sky Sect? Yet who among them can stand against Spirit Hall?
Big Brother, Father, I've failed you! Tang Hao was overcome with guilt.
His greatest obsession in life was to make amends for the mistake he'd made and repay the kindness of his clan and family.
As for taking revenge on Spirit Hall, he didn't even dare think about it.
Tang Hao got out of bed and went outside, where he saw the breakfast Tang San had prepared.
It was just a pot of very thin wild-vegetable porridge and a side dish.
Without suspecting anything, Tang Hao wolfed down some of it, then went back to bed to wait for Tang San to bring his wine.
Before long, Tang San returned with the wine.
Before Tang San could say anything, Tang Hao snatched the gourd from his hand and gulped down the wine.
Only when he was drunk could he stop thinking, stop remembering the terrible fates of his father and the rest of his family.
Seeing Tang Hao drink the wine, Tang San breathed a sigh of relief.
"It worked!"
He'd seen Tang Hao eat more than half the breakfast he'd made.
With that jug of wine on top of it, Tang Hao was in for a rough couple of days!
Even if he used Soul Power to hold it in, his stomach and intestines would still be miserable for a while.
At the thought, Tang San happily ate the rest of the breakfast on the table, leaving not a single bite.
[Congratulations, host, on completing the beginner mission. Your reward is being issued!]
A booklet containing the Martial Soul Meditation Method appeared on the light screen. Tang San found a quiet place and began to examine it.
Tang Hao finished the jug of wine. He didn't use Soul Power to resist the drunkenness, and was thoroughly intoxicated.
In this state, he could forget all his troubles.
Before long, he took advantage of his drunkenness and prepared to sleep.
Just as he was about to drift off, his stomach felt a little uncomfortable, and he suddenly felt the urge to fart.
It was as if letting one rip would leave him completely relaxed, without a care in the world.
After five or six years of slovenly living, Tang Hao didn't think much of it. He let out a "fart."
"Wait, that wasn't a fart!"
He suddenly felt a warm dampness spreading across his clothes.
An unnatural blush appeared on Tang Hao's sallow face.
"Damn it! I'm the mighty Clear Sky Douluo, and I actually..." He'd actually shit himself.
If he hadn't been drunk, he would surely have sensed something wrong with that "fart" and used his Soul Power to force it back in.
But just now, he'd deliberately let down his guard and allowed the drunkenness to dull his bodily senses.
That was how he'd fallen for it.
Tang Hao hastily circulated his Soul Power, ignoring the dull ache in his meridians as he dispelled the drunkenness.
Then he hurried to the nearest deserted place to change his clothes. The replacement was another gray robe.
At the other end of Holy Soul Village, Li Ping'an hid in his home and waited for the system's reward.
As for Tang San, he'd handed him over to the system AI. Whatever missions the system issued had nothing to do with him.
When it came to rewards, though, Li Ping'an had a little leeway to customize them.
[The sub-system's Tang San has obtained a beginner gift pack. The host may claim part of the reward.] [Beginner Gift Pack: Encyclopedia of Martial Soul Theory]
"Martial Soul Theory is great. I'll be able to use it later!"
Li Ping'an quickly claimed half the reward, only to find that the reward in Tang San's beginner gift pack had already changed to Introduction to Martial Soul Theory.
"Is the system really that clever? It can even skim rewards like this?" Li Ping'an was a little surprised.
"Never mind. I'm not some great villain. Since I took some of your reward, I'll add a little something for you."
Li Ping'an added a little extra to Tang San's reward: a Life Background he'd made up himself.
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