Tang Syndrome

Boom!

Under Elder Chen's bewildered gaze, Jiang Lin shot into the air and slammed headfirst into the mountainside opposite.

Elder Chen froze for a moment, then hurriedly caught the dazed Jiang Lin.

"What's gotten into you, boy? If you don't want to explain, fine, I won't ask. But there's no need to crash into a mountain to prove your resolve, is there?"

Jiang Lin's mouth twitched. What the hell did he mean, crashing into a mountain to prove his resolve?

He simply hadn't gotten used to the Wind-Thunder Wings' speed yet.

Although Jiang Lin hadn't fully refined them, they were still astonishingly fast.

The only problem was how much Soul Power they consumed.

After all, the old devil's Evil-Warding Divine Lightning came with the wings, while his Blood Fiend Divine Lightning came from his Martial Soul. Using it required Soul Power.

Just then, Elder Chen suddenly realized something.

"Wait, your speed just now..."

Elder Chen stared at Jiang Lin as if he were some kind of monster.

By Elder Chen's estimate, Jiang Lin had just moved no slower than an Agility Attack System Soul King.

But he wasn't an Agility Attack System Soul Master. In fact, he was one of the slower Power Attack System Soul Masters.

A halberd was a heavy weapon, after all. Speed wasn't his strong suit.

What Elder Chen didn't know was that Jiang Lin hadn't finished refining the Wind-Thunder Wings. Otherwise, he would have been far faster than that.

Jiang Lin gradually regained his balance and steadied himself in the air.

"Phew." He let out a long breath and turned his gaze toward the waterfall opposite them.

"Elder Chen, let's clean up. We can't leave any trace of our presence here."

A few days later.

Carrying a wine gourd and reeking of liquor, Tang Hao staggered through the waterfall. He had come to visit Ah Yin, whom he hadn't seen in a long time.

"Ah Yin..."

Tang Hao suppressed his drunkenness, and a tender expression unconsciously appeared on his face.

But in the next moment, the wine gourd slipped from his hand with a sharp crack and smashed against the ground, spilling wine everywhere.

Tang Hao stared at the empty compartment before him. The ground was nothing but a bare pit, not even a blade of grass left. The tenderness on his face froze instantly, replaced by the horror and disbelief of a dying beast.

Then a blood-red killing intent, as tangible as solid matter, suddenly burst from him. His utterly anguished roar rang out across the entire mountainside behind Holy Soul Village:

"Who?! Who took my Ah Yin?!"

The fury of losing the woman he loved robbed him of all reason. His drunkenness vanished, and his tenderness was gone without a trace.

His terrifying Divine Slaughter's Domain unfurled in an instant. Clutching the Clear Sky Hammer tightly, he rampaged through the cave like a madman.

His powerful spiritual force surged outward like a tide, searching wildly for the slightest clue. He turned over every inch of ground within ten li.

But apart from the waterfall's damp mist and the earthy stench of the soil, the air was perfectly clean. The thief had not only taken Ah Yin and the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone, but had also completely erased every trace of their presence.

Despairing at his fruitless search, Tang Hao instantly suffered a fit of "Tang Syndrome." His eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like an ox.

In his rage, Tang Hao suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.

"Spirit Hall! It had to be Spirit Hall!"

Tang Hao's not particularly sharp mind could come up with only one answer.

After all, apart from the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall, he couldn't think of anyone else who knew Ah Yin's true identity.

And deep down, Tang Hao couldn't believe the Clear Sky Sect had done this.

So his pent-up hatred finally found an outlet. Tang Hao raised his head and roared:

"Spirit Hall! My Tang Hao will never rest until we've settled this score!"

In his blinding fury, he swung the greatest weapon Martial Soul under heaven, shaking the entire cave and the forest beyond the mountainside to pieces.

The rocks crumbled, the earth collapsed, as if he meant to flatten everything in the world to vent his rage.

Only when the valley had been reduced to a ruin did his rampage finally subside, his strength spent.

Like a puppet with its soul ripped out, Tang Hao fell to his knees before the pit where Ah Yin had once grown.

He clutched the cold earth with both hands, his knuckles whitening from the strain.

The boundless fury that had consumed him now turned into a blade aimed at himself. An overwhelming sense of helplessness and remorse cut at his heart, again and again, like a rusty, blunt knife.

"Why... If I hadn't gone out... If I'd brought you with me sooner... Ah Yin, Xiao San... I failed you..."

In the vast, shattered cave, Tang Hao was left alone with his muffled, despairing sobs.

Elsewhere, Jiang Lin flew swiftly through the air.

After several days of practice, he could now use the Wind-Thunder Wings without trouble.

However, to conserve Soul Power, he usually kept his speed around the level of a Soul King.

He had also tested just how fast the Wind-Thunder Wings could go when pushed to their limit—

At his Soul Elder cultivation level, he could reach the speed of an ordinary Agility Attack System Soul Saint using his Martial Soul Avatar.

However, that was only his speed when fleeing without a care for anything else.

In battle, he naturally couldn't come close to that.

Of course, that wasn't the Wind-Thunder Wings' limit. It was his.

Even so, they were incredibly fast.

After all, becoming a Soul Saint was a major threshold. Once one reached level seventy, they could use the Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul Avatar.

In the original story, Soul Saints might have seemed as common as dirt, hardly worth mentioning.

But that was because the story followed Tang San, the protagonist.

Across the entire continent, Soul Saints were already formidable powerhouses.

Besides, Jiang Lin still needed some time to finish refining the Wind-Thunder Wings.

Behind him, Elder Chen trailed along at an unhurried pace.

Their destination was Heaven Dou City.

Jiang Lin was taking advantage of the journey to practice controlling his Wind-Thunder Wings.

So far, the results were pretty good.

After flying for a while longer, Jiang Lin gradually came to a stop.

Elder Chen quickly caught up. "Why did you stop? You don't look like you've run out of Soul Power."

Jiang Lin pointed downward. "I've practiced enough, and it's getting late. There's a town down there. Let's see where we are and find somewhere to stay. Then we can get a carriage straight to Heaven Dou City."

Elder Chen didn't object. He had watched Jiang Lin go from wobbling through the air and nearly crashing into trees whenever he lost focus to flying steadily. There was no need to keep practicing.

The two concealed their auras, landed outside the town, and entered disguised as ordinary travelers.

The town was small, and there were hardly any pedestrians left on the streets. They walked along the main road for a while and found a hotel that wasn't luxurious but looked clean.

Jiang Lin pushed open the door. Behind the front desk sat a middle-aged man, looking down as he flipped through a ledger.

"Boss, two rooms, please. And bring up some hot food as well." Jiang Lin spoke as he made his way to the counter, surveying the surroundings.

The boss looked up, saw that he had guests, and immediately put on a smile. "You've come at just the right time. We have two clean upper rooms available. Hot water and meals are ready whenever you need them. I'll have someone bring everything up."

Jiang Lin nodded. After completing the arrangements, he left a Gold Soul Coin, took the keys, and went upstairs with Elder Chen following behind.

Their rooms were on the third floor. They were small, with simple furnishings, but the beds and quilts were white and neatly arranged. The windows were bright and the rooms spotless. They were indeed very clean.