Tang Ziran's Letter

After Long Hengxu announced the results, he watched Tang Wulin and his two teammates walk off the stage in a daze.

Although he had originally placed Xie Xie into Class Five as a favor to Wu Zhangkong, he never expected Xie Xie to have reached the second ring so quickly.

And that Tang Wulin—if he remembered correctly, his martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, right? When did his spirit ring reach the thousand-year level? Had he gone to the Spirit Ascension Platform?

As for the girl, if he wasn't mistaken, she possessed control over space and fire elements, didn't she? A twin martial soul?

She was the student Wu Zhangkong had brought to him a few days ago, claiming she had missed the enrollment deadline. By all rights, he shouldn't have been able to process her admission, but Long Hengxu had done Wu Zhangkong a favor and handled it for her.

Only now did Long Hengxu understand why someone of Wu Zhangkong's temperament would lower himself to ask for a favor; he had clearly set his sights on the girl's talent.

Over the next few days, the topic of Tang Wulin and his teammates spread throughout the entire lower grade, and even some students in the higher grades began to hear about them.

The strength of this year's Class Five was simply too heaven-defying. In the past, the Class Promotion Tournament was essentially a formality for Class Five; they were lucky if they could win even one or two matches.

Yet, not only did Tang Wulin and his team finish off Class Four in under thirty seconds, but in the following two days against Class Three and Class Two, they hadn't taken more than two minutes to secure their victories.

Many were already whispering that even Class One wouldn't be able to hold out against them for three minutes.

However, Tang Wulin and his teammates didn't care much about these discussions—or rather, they didn't have the time to.

After all, the Class Promotion Tournament was one thing, but they were still being tortured by Wu Zhangkong for several hours every day.

Xie Xie and Gu Yue were slightly better off, as they could return to rest after their special training.

But Tang Wulin couldn't afford that luxury. Every day after his special training, he still had to complete the Hundred Refinement commissions he had accepted two days prior.

After all, failing to complete commissions for the Blacksmith Association on time would result in penalties. Although Tang Wulin wasn't exactly short on money, wasting it wasn't his habit, and since blacksmithing was his second profession, the extra practice was beneficial.

"Click!"

Tang Wulin pushed open the door to Mang Tian's studio in East Sea City. He planned to finish his final Hundred Refinement tonight and then head to the Blacksmith Association to submit his work, so he could focus entirely on the final first-year Class Promotion Tournament match against Class One tomorrow.

"Hmm?"

Just as Tang Wulin walked to the forging table as he usually did, he saw a familiar figure.

"Teacher! Why are you here?"

Mang Tian stood behind the forging table, holding the Hundred Refinement metal Tang Wulin had completed over the last two days.

Mang Tian looked at the metal in his hands and nodded, saying with satisfaction, "The purification is excellent. It seems you haven't neglected your forging in my absence. Keep it up."

"Thank you, Teacher!" Tang Wulin said with a smile. Although he had grown accustomed to East Sea City, he was still happy to see someone familiar from Aolai City in this city.

"By the way, Teacher, what brings you to East Sea City?"

Mang Tian set down the metal, walked from behind the forging table to stand in front of Tang Wulin, and spoke slowly, "I came to East Sea City for two main reasons."

"The first is to check on you and see if you've been slacking off in your forging."

"The second reason... is that your parents entrusted me to deliver this letter to you."

"A letter?" Tang Wulin was momentarily confused. By all logic, his parents should have known his communication number, and even if they wanted to write a letter, they could have just mailed it directly. Why entrust it to Mang Tian?

Despite his confusion, Tang Wulin took the letter from Mang Tian's hand. As he took it, he noticed a complex look in Mang Tian's eyes.

"Open it and see," Mang Tian said, looking at Tang Wulin with deep meaning.

Tang Wulin seemed to sense something and hurriedly tore open the envelope.

Inside was a bank card and a sheet of letter paper.

Ignoring the bank card, Tang Wulin unfolded the paper, revealing his father Tang Ziran's familiar handwriting.

"My son Wulin, by the time you read this letter, your mother and I will have gone to a very far place."

"In truth, your father was a very talented mecha designer. Years ago, your mother and I didn't live in Aolai City; we owned our own studio in a large city."

"However, precisely because of my talent, one of my mecha design blueprints caught the attention of a certain faction. They wanted to recruit me to design mechas for them."

"I knew exactly what kind of faction they were. Once I fell into their hands, my life and everything I had would be controlled by them. You were only about a year old then, and I didn't want your childhood to be without your mother and me."

"So, to escape their control, I took you and your mother and fled to Aolai City."

"Here, I never displayed any talent for mecha design, working only as a common repairman."

"But because of my flight, I couldn't provide a better life for you and your mother. I couldn't even afford to buy you a spirit soul, and I even let you start working at the forge at six years old. Every time I saw you return with your hands covered in scars, my heart ached."

"The day you drew that defective spirit soul, I cried alone for a long time. I hated my own cowardice and my inability to provide you with a better spirit soul."

"I am not a spirit master, but I had a dream of being one when I was young. I know exactly what a good spirit soul means to a spirit master."

"Your maturity only made me hate myself more, but I couldn't even offer you a shred of help. You went to the better East Sea City Spirit Master Academy, and I didn't want to be unable to help you anymore."

"So, after you left for East Sea City, I took the initiative to contact that faction and agreed to join them."

"The one million in this bank card is the relocation fee they paid me to join. I hope it is enough for you to buy a century-old spirit soul. Any money your mother and I earn in the future will also be deposited into this card."

"This is all your father can do for now. Wulin, forgive me for leaving you alone. I must face my past."

"Wulin, your life shouldn't be confined to a small place like Aolai City. Your goal is the sea of stars, and I believe you will surely become the most powerful spirit master on the continent."

"But before that, please allow your father a small selfish act: to face the coward I once was."

"Your mother and I already know your spirit communication number. Don't come looking for us. Until we are certain it is absolutely safe, please forgive us for not calling you."

"Your mother and I love you, always!"

"Signed, Tang Ziran."