Beside the shabby blacksmith's shop, in Tang San's home.
Looking at Tang Hao's crooked brows and lopsided eyes, Tang San inexplicably felt a little afraid.
Tang Hao's complexion had already been sallow, and now he looked even more like a vagrant.
Tang San had used a rather potent poison this time, leaving Tang Hao unable to control his facial muscles. His face had taken on the appearance of someone suffering a stroke.
I didn't expect Tang Hao's injuries to be this severe. Otherwise, I wouldn't have dared use such a strong poison! Tang San thought.
Two months earlier, under the pretext of using Blue Silver Grass Soul Power to help Tang Hao regulate his body, he had examined Tang Hao's condition. He had discovered that Tang Hao's meridians were so badly disordered that they hardly seemed to belong to a living person.
If Tang Hao hadn't possessed the Soul Power of a Titled Douluo and been held together by his Soul Bones, with injuries this severe, Tang San guessed he would have met the Grim Reaper long ago.
My hidden injuries seem to have gotten worse! Tang Hao thought.
Over the past few months, he had noticed his body behaving abnormally several times.
I can't put this off any longer. I need to arrange things for Xiao San as soon as possible, then use the sect's secret method to force all my hidden injuries into my Soul Bones!
After this secret method was used, it could clear the hidden injuries from his body.
But the price was that he would lose his Soul Bones, the limbs they were attached to, and the corresponding Soul Power.
By then, he could hand the Soul Bones to Tang San and let him take them back to his clan, making amends for the mistakes he had made.
Two inherited Soul Bones would be enough for the sect to raise another Titled Douluo to lend it prestige.
"Dad, I'm leaving with Grandpa Jack for Notting Academy soon. Take care of yourself."
Tang San knelt on the ground and kowtowed three more times to Tang Hao.
During this time, the more carefully he had poisoned Tang Hao, the harder he had kowtowed.
That way, he could keep up the appearance of a dutiful son and avoid arousing Tang Hao's suspicions.
Tang Hao abruptly downed a flask of cheap liquor and said, "Get lost. Don't bother me!"
In truth, he was somewhat reluctant to part with Tang San.
To leave a good impression on him, he once again endured the pain of stirring up his hidden injuries and used his Soul Power to smooth out his features.
After that, Tang Hao opened the door to his room and lay back down on his bed.
Seeing this, Tang San breathed a sigh of relief. He had passed this hurdle.
He felt the Gold Soul Coins hidden inside his lapel and felt a little more secure.
They were the reward for this mission. He had poisoned Tang Hao three times and made him embarrass himself three times, earning fifty Gold Soul Coins and half a level of Soul Power.
With these fifty Gold Soul Coins, I can make a few decent Hidden Weapons for self-defense! Tang San thought.
It's a shame I'm leaving Tang Hao today. I wonder when the next mission will trigger?
At first, he had resisted the missions. Now, he found himself looking forward to them.
Today was the day he enrolled at Notting Academy.
After saying goodbye to Tang Hao, Tang San packed his things and headed for Old Jack's house.
He didn't have much luggage: just two worn-out sets of clothes and a few iron nails for self-defense.
He had already ground the nails into the shape of the Tang Sect Hidden Weapon, the Bone Piercing Nail. They had decent power.
When he arrived at Old Jack's house, he found Li Ping'an waiting there already.
Like Tang San, Li Ping'an had brought very little luggage.
"Tang San, you're finally here!" Old Jack said with relief.
Old Jack disliked Tang Hao, so he hadn't wanted to go to Tang San's home and meet that drunkard.
If Tang San still didn't show up, though, he would have had no choice but to go check on him.
"Grandpa Jack, I had to say goodbye to my dad, so I'm a little late," Tang San explained.
In front of the village chief, he kept up the appearance of a sensible child, which made Old Jack like him very much.
"Good. Now that everyone's here, let's set off!"
Old Jack then took Tang San and Li Ping'an toward Nuoding City.
Because of Tang San's hostility toward him last time, Li Ping'an had no intention of getting too close to him.
Although improving his relationship with Tang San could make Tang San's missions easier and their rewards more generous, allowing him to earn more rewards as well, Tang San was simply too fickle. He wasn't worth investing friendship in.
Besides, he also had a Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul. Tang San wouldn't have any use for him when he formed a team later, so he had no value as someone to recruit.
"Tang San, Ping'an, you're both good children of Holy Soul Village. Once you get to Notting Academy, remember to look out for each other," Old Jack instructed.
"Got it, Grandpa Village Chief!"
Tang San and Li Ping'an both nodded, but no one knew what either of them was really thinking.
Nuoding Junior Soul Master Academy was in the west of Nuoding City, and Holy Soul Village was also west of the city.
So the three of them reached Notting Academy in just half a day.
Looking at the academy's imposing, old-fashioned walls, Old Jack felt a little inferior.
Even so, he stepped forward to ask about work-study student enrollment on behalf of the two children from his village.
"Work-study students? I don't think Notting Academy has had any for several years, has it?"
The gatekeeper glanced at the two Martial Soul certificates Old Jack handed over.
Old Jack grew anxious. He hadn't understood the gatekeeper's implication, so he hurriedly spoke up.
"These two children really are work-study students. They have their Martial Soul certificates and all the village paperwork!"
The gatekeeper frowned, unsure whether Old Jack truly hadn't understood or was pretending not to.
He wanted a little something—a toll for passage—not to actually check any paperwork.
"What a joke. Since when can Blue Silver Grass be cultivated? Both of them have Blue Silver Grass, and one even has Innate Full Soul Power?"
"Your Martial Soul certificate isn't a fake, is it?"
Old Jack was about to argue and drag the gatekeeper to Spirit Hall to prove their innocence.
But Li Ping'an couldn't stand watching any longer. He was afraid Old Jack might get into a scuffle with the gatekeeper and get hurt.
The gatekeeper wasn't a match for Tang San, but what if Tang San didn't want to fight while he was there?
So he stepped forward, took Old Jack by the arm, and led him aside, quietly explaining what he thought was going on.
"Grandpa Village Chief, Tang San, that gatekeeper's just a doorman. What authority does he have to verify whether our Martial Soul certificates are real?"
"He just wants a little money under the table. Don't get worked up, Grandpa Village Chief. We can just wait him out."
"He wouldn't dare let us draw the attention of some important person. He'll let us in obediently in a moment!"
"What? He's trying to shake us down?" Old Jack was at a loss for words.
Though he was older, he didn't know much about the tricks people in the city used.
Things in the village simply didn't work like that.
Hearing this, Tang San understood as well. In his previous life, he hadn't had much experience with social interactions, but he was an exceptional learner.
Once Li Ping'an put it that way, he caught on.
"What a clever boy. So young, yet already so adept at reading people!" A deep voice rang out.
Li Ping'an and the other two turned around and saw a middle-aged man with a crew cut, a melancholy face, and thick lips.
As soon as he appeared, the gatekeeper stopped acting up and even respectfully addressed him as "Grandmaster."
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