Ah Yin still hadn't realized that the contract she had signed with Li Ping'an was a master-servant contract.
If she dared disobey Li Ping'an's orders, she would suffer the contract's backlash.
Just now, Li Ping'an had ordered her not to leave his body or appear before others without his permission.
It was an order. If Ah Yin dared disobey, she would suffer the backlash.
However, under the subtle influence of the master-servant contract, she probably wouldn't have any thoughts of betrayal.
"All right, let's get out of here!"
Li Ping'an kindly returned Tang Hao's lead box to the cave at the top of the secret chamber.
Then he went to the cave entrance, pulled up a stalk of Blue Silver Grass, and replanted it on that little mound of earth.
Before leaving, Li Ping'an also put all the rocks at the cave entrance back in place, erasing every trace of his visit.
"Wind-Riding Technique really is exhilarating. Too bad my Soul Power is too low to keep me flying!"
Li Ping'an flew down the waterfall and left the valley.
Soul Bone Skills also consumed Soul Power, just less than Soul Ring Skills.
Li Ping'an quietly returned home. Even his parents hadn't realized he'd left; they'd simply assumed he was cultivating in seclusion.
"After absorbing the Soul Bone, it seems both my Martial Soul and my Soul Power have undergone some kind of change!"
Only then did Li Ping'an dare to carefully sense the changes brought about by absorbing the Soul Bone.
He could feel that his Soul Power had become purer and more vigorous.
His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul had also grown much sturdier, and seemed even more mysterious than Tang San's.
Li Ping'an finished cultivating and was just about to head out when he heard Ah Yin's voice.
"Li Ping'an, you're a human Soul Master. Do you know about Spirit Hall?" Ah Yin asked.
Now that she had hope of regaining her Blue Silver Emperor form, she wanted to ask about Tang Hao.
Li Ping'an naturally knew what she was thinking, so he said, "You want to know about Spirit Hall? Call me Master, and I'll tell you!"
"What?" Ah Yin had lived among humans for decades. How could she not know what "Master" meant?
But she suddenly realized she didn't seem to feel much resistance to the title.
"Fine, Master. I want to know if anything major has happened at Spirit Hall in recent years!"
"Tsk, the master-servant contract's influence is that strong?" Li Ping'an thought.
"There was one major event. Eight years ago, the former Pope of Spirit Hall passed away, and his disciple, Bibi Dong, became the new Pope!"
That was all Li Ping'an could know, given his status.
As for the conflict between Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect, how could a Soul Master from a small border town know about that?
Ah Yin knew that Li Ping'an was only a little over ten levels, so she didn't press him for more.
"Spirit Hall's Pope actually died? Then he must have made a tremendous enemy of Spirit Hall?"
Even when she had still been a Soul Beast, she'd known just how powerful Spirit Hall was.
"Eight years have already passed. I wonder how he's doing now, and how our child is doing!"
Star Dou Great Forest.
Tang Hao, whom Ah Yin thought about constantly, and Tang San were both here now.
Tang Hao frowned as he watched two enormous beasts suddenly charge toward him.
"Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python? Why would these two Beast Kings appear on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
"Damn, they're heading toward Xiao San!"
Tang Hao was startled. With Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, and the Academy Dean's abilities, how could they stand a chance against two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?
"Could it be that transformed Soul Beast? Have they sensed her presence?"
Tang Hao knew that some Soul Beasts could increase their cultivation by devouring other Soul Beasts.
So, to certain Soul Beasts, the essence of a transformed Soul Beast was also a great tonic.
He had no idea that the Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python were Xiao Wu's underlings. They'd sensed Xiao Wu's presence and hurried over to see her.
"No, I can't let them get past me. Otherwise, Xiao San might get caught in the crossfire!"
At that thought, Tang Hao no longer bothered to conceal himself. A massive hammer, nearly two meters long, appeared in his hand.
Two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red Soul Ring revolved beneath his feet, radiating immense pressure.
Some of the weaker Soul Beasts nearby fled in fright, while others were pressed flat to the ground.
"A human Titled Douluo?"
The Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python were also drawn to Tang Hao.
"Damn, we can't let this human discover Sister Xiao Wu! Stop him!"
The Titan Giant Ape and Sky Azure Bull Python exchanged a glance, then headed toward Tang Hao.
As it happened, that was exactly what Tang Hao was thinking, too.
They'd all mistaken each other's intentions, each trying to keep the other away from Xiao Wu and Tang San.
With a thunderous boom, Tang Hao's Martial Soul transformed into a hundred-meter hammer and crashed down on the Titan Giant Ape.
The Titan Giant Ape possessed peerless strength. It thumped its chest and charged forward. For a moment, the strength of the man and beast seemed evenly matched.
But Tang Hao was injured, so in their contest of strength, he was still at a disadvantage.
Just then, a streak of blue lightning descended from the sky and struck Tang Hao.
The Sky Azure Bull Python had made its move. One blast of Nirvana Thunder was enough to severely injure an ordinary Titled Douluo, and Tang Hao was no exception.
"My injuries!"
Tang Hao hadn't expected these two Beast Kings to be so difficult to deal with.
When he was young and full of himself, he'd even bragged that he'd once wrestled the Titan Giant Ape and narrowly won.
Now the boast he'd made back then had come back to slap him in the face.
Even after breaking through to Titled Douluo, he still couldn't take down the Titan Giant Ape outright.
"I have to drive them off!"
Tang Hao immediately activated the Clear Sky Sect's secret technique, the Great Sumeru Hammer. He blew up his Soul Rings, unleashing his full strength!
"What is that surge of energy? How could there be such a powerful disturbance on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest?"
Grandmaster and the Academy Dean were startled. They looked toward the source of the disturbance and saw a giant hammer reaching into the sky.
"Da Ming and Er Ming! Have they run into a Titled Douluo?"
Xiao Wu had seen it too, along with two familiar presences. She knew her two underlings had come to get her.
She hadn't alerted them, but they had sensed her presence.
"Is that the Titled Douluo who's been watching me? I wonder who he really is."
At that thought, Xiao Wu asked, "Grandmaster, do you know what Martial Soul that is?"
"Hmph! So now you finally think to ask me?" Seeing Xiao Wu take the initiative to ask, Yu Xiaogang looked rather pleased.
He assumed he'd won her over, and couldn't help feeling smug.
"That's the Clear Sky Hammer, the greatest of all weapon-type Martial Souls!" Yu Xiaogang said.
"The Clear Sky Hammer, the greatest of all weapon-type Martial Souls?" Tang San, Xiao Wu, and the Academy Dean exclaimed at the same time.
"So the Clear Sky Hammer can be cultivated to such a level?" Tang San was filled with awe.
He also had the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, but his was tiny, not even a meter long.
The one in the distance was a full hundred meters tall, towering above most of the trees in this ancient forest.
"But why would someone with the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul be here?"
Tang San had a bad feeling. Through his system, he knew that his biological father was a Titled Douluo of the Clear Sky Sect.
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