"You... who are you?"
The Grandmaster stared at the disheveled man before him, unable to recognize him at first.
"I'm Tang Hao."
Tang Hao spoke.
"Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo!"
The Grandmaster's eyes widened. In that instant, his mind raced, and everything suddenly clicked into place.
Tang San, Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Hammer. So Tang San really was Tang Hao's son. His judgment had been right!
"Don't bring up that old title again. I'm here because of my son."
Tang Hao walked over to the Grandmaster and spoke.
"Your son..."
The Grandmaster pretended to know nothing and spoke.
"Tang San is my son."
Tang Hao spoke.
"Tang San is actually your son!"
The Grandmaster put on an utterly astonished expression, as if he had no idea.
"Right, Innate Full Soul Power, the Clear Sky Hammer, and the surname Tang!"
The Grandmaster looked at Tang Hao as if wondering how he hadn't figured it out before. What a coincidence.
"Grandmaster, I don't want to waste words. Since you've taken my son as your disciple, I'm entrusting him to you after I leave."
Tang Hao stared coldly at the Grandmaster. "I'm not demanding that he become particularly outstanding, but remember this: he's still my son."
"This... where are you going?"
The Grandmaster stiffened. He could hear the deep displeasure in Tang Hao's gaze and tone.
Tang Hao was dissatisfied with him.
"I have things I need to do. That has nothing to do with you, and you don't need to ask. Just take good care of Tang San."
"Judging by the look of you, you've been poisoned, haven't you? As thanks for taking care of Xiao San, I'll help you get rid of the poison."
As he spoke, Tang Hao pulled the Grandmaster up from his wheelchair.
"Thank you, Clear Sky Douluo. Clear Sky Douluo, what—what are you doing?!"
The Grandmaster stared at Tang Hao's fist, which was as big as a sandbag, and shouted in alarm.
"Unblocking your meridians and forcing out the remaining poison."
As he spoke, Tang Hao punched the Grandmaster. What followed was a merciless beating.
The next day at noon, during lunch.
Qin Qi and the others sat together to eat. Tang San had recovered too, and was eating with them.
"Xiao San, you're still young. You need to eat more if you want to grow. I bought this food for you."
Yu Xiaogang came downstairs from the second floor wearing a mask, carrying a heaping tray of food. He walked over to Tang San and spoke.
"Okay!"
Tang San looked at Yu Xiaogang. He remembered that the man hadn't been able to move yesterday because of the poison. How could he be walking today?
And why was he wearing a mask?
"Xiao San, I've recovered. After you finish eating, come with me. I'll start your formal lessons."
After saying that, Yu Xiaogang left. He limped as he walked, as if his legs were injured.
"Yesterday, that guy's eyes clearly showed he looked down on me. So why is he suddenly trying to get on my good side today?"
"What on earth happened?"
Tang San watched Yu Xiaogang leave. He had just seen flattery and ingratiation in his eyes.
But what was there to ingratiate himself with in a poor student like him?
"Xiao San... why is the Grandmaster suddenly being so nice to you? Could he have poisoned your food?"
Xiao Wu looked at the mountain of food in front of Tang San and casually remarked as she ate a carrot.
"!!!"
Tang San's heart began pounding. Xiao Wu's words had reminded him that the Grandmaster might really have poisoned him!
Just as he'd thought before, once you became master and disciple, you couldn't simply end the relationship!
So what would you do if you no longer wanted your master—or disciple?
Of course, you'd find a reason to kill or cripple them, then you could get a new master—or disciple!
While Tang San and Xiao Wu talked, Qin Qi ate his meal, but he noticed something else.
"Judging by how the Grandmaster looks, he must've been beaten up. By who? Tang Hao?"
"So the Grandmaster got beaten by Tang Hao, and now he's behaving himself and trying to butter up Tang San?"
Qin Qi looked at the sumptuous feast in front of Tang San. The Grandmaster had given him food before, too, but it had only been two chicken legs.
Now there was a whole spread of delicious dishes. The difference in treatment was like night and day.
"Must be nice to have connections. Oh, I've got a cheat, so never mind."
Qin Qi grumbled to himself a little, then went back to eating. After lunch, he went shopping.
At the apothecary.
"I'll take one of this, this, and this."
"Give me a few extra pieces of this Whale Rubber, and some of these precious medicinal herbs, too."
Following the list Tang Jiaren had given him the previous night, Qin Qi began buying medicinal ingredients.
"Little young master, these herbs aren't cheap, and they're a hassle to put together. Perhaps you should..."
The shop assistant looked at Qin Qi's tattered clothes and hesitated.
If Qin Qi hadn't bought things here before and paid every time, they would've thrown him out long ago.
"Don't worry, I'm not messing with you. I really do want to buy them."
"Here's the money."
Qin Qi took out some money, set it on the counter, and spoke.
"I'll pay, but don't try to cheat me. I'll inspect every single herb in a moment. If you pass off inferior goods as good ones..."
"Look, I'm wearing a Notting Academy badge. If you try to fool me, I'll go back and get my teachers and classmates to smash up your shop."
Qin Qi looked at the shop assistant. This kind of thing happened often in apothecaries. The herbs were still the same herbs,
but their medicinal properties could have diminished because of how they were picked or stored, making them inferior goods.
When customers who didn't know their stuff came in, the shop would mix the inferior herbs in with the good ones and sell them together. They still had some medicinal effect, just less than they should.
"Yes, yes. Don't worry, we absolutely don't do that here."
The assistant looked at Qin Qi's badge and could tell at a glance that it was real. After all, nobody in Nuoding City would dare impersonate its only Soul Master Academy.
After a while, the herbs were brought over, and Qin Qi sat in the shop inspecting them one by one.
Even though he had money now, he couldn't just spend it recklessly. What was the saying? Save where you can, spend where you must—don't waste a single coin.
Qin Qi had picked up some knowledge of pharmacology from Tang Jiaren. He could identify ordinary herbs, but he couldn't handle rare ones.
He had no choice but to enter the Study Space and ask Tang Jiaren to inspect them. After taking some time, he finally picked out a few that were problematic.
The shop assistant didn't argue and had them replaced right away. Once everything was done, Qin Qi paid and took the goods. The transaction was settled.
After buying the herbs, Qin Qi went to buy materials as well. The Tang Sect had methods for crafting Hidden Weapons in addition to Poison Refining.
Tang Jiaren hadn't let Qin Qi learn those methods before simply because he had no money. Now that he had money, it was time to get started.
After a major shopping spree for materials, Qin Qi's wallet shrank dramatically.
"Ah, Spirit Masters earn money fast, but they spend it fast, too."
Qin Qi sighed, but then he grinned. Once he'd finished working through all the things he'd bought, his strength would definitely improve by leaps and bounds again!