Threat, Nine-Leaf Lotus

"Hmph, all flash and no substance."

Tang Hao let out a cold snort, his gaze toward Bai Shu filled with even more disappointment and disdain, as if he were looking at a defective tool.

Bai Shu, slumped on the ground, keenly caught the sudden drop in the air's temperature.

In that moment, he clearly felt the pressure radiating from Tang Hao change—what had initially been mere intimidation now carried a tangible, bone-chilling murderous intent that made him feel as if he had fallen into an icy abyss!

He wants to kill me to silence me!

Bai Shu's heart hammered against his ribs, his brain racing frantically under the threat of death.

He was currently of no use to Tang Hao, but if Tang Hao allowed a genius with innate full spirit power who held a grudge against him to grow, it would inevitably become a persistent, life-or-death threat should Bai Shu join Spirit Hall or another major power in the future. Given Tang Hao's style of conduct, cutting weeds and eliminating roots was only natural!

Feeling the murderous aura that threatened to crush his heart, Bai Shu didn't dare hesitate for a second. Gritting his teeth, he shouted as fast as he could:

"My Lord! I don't know what use you have for this lotus seed, but I am currently just a Spirit Scholar without even a single spirit ring! I have innate full spirit power; as soon as I obtain my first spirit ring and officially become a Spirit Master, my martial spirit will undergo a qualitative change! The lotus seeds I condense then will be several times more effective than they are now. They will definitely be of help to you!"

As these words fell, the near-frozen air in the courtyard stalled for a brief moment.

Bai Shu felt the invisible mountain pressing down on him lighten slightly, and he breathed a secret sigh of relief.

This was, of course, a lie meant to fool Tang Hao. His martial spirit had long since informed him of the Chaos Lotus Seed's properties—it only worked on Spirit Masters no more than two major ranks above him. Furthermore, the item wasn't meant for healing; it only possessed minor restorative effects due to its dense life energy.

But for now, he had to paint a picture! Keeping Tang Hao steady was his only path to survival.

In the darkness, Tang Hao remained silent for several seconds.

He truly had the urge to swat this brat to death, but Bai Shu's words had struck a chord of lingering reluctance in his heart.

Since the boy had innate full spirit power, he would break through as soon as he added a spirit ring, so there was no need to wait too long.

If it truly had miraculous effects, keeping this kid as a portable blood bag wouldn't be a bad idea; if it remained useless, it wouldn't be too late to kill him then.

Having made up his mind, Tang Hao glanced coldly at Bai Shu on the ground: "In that case, continue to stay in this village and behave yourself. In two months, I will take you to hunt for a spirit ring. I hope your martial spirit doesn't disappoint me again by then."

With that, Tang Hao's figure merged into the night like blue smoke, leaving only a chilling warning echoing through the small courtyard: "Do not speak of today's events to anyone. And don't even think about running away, otherwise... I wouldn't mind letting Holy Soul Village disappear from the map entirely."

"Rest assured, My Lord, I will never leave this place." Bai Shu lay on the ground, and even though he knew Tang Hao had already left, he maintained a posture of respectful terror, trembling as he gave his word to the darkness.

It wasn't until a full quarter of an hour had passed, and he was certain there were no more fluctuations of spirit power in the vicinity, that Bai Shu gasped for air like a fish out of water. He dragged his battered body up with great difficulty.

He kept his head low, his face expressionless as he fetched a broom and began to silently clean the courtyard, which had been left in shambles by Tang Hao's aura. From start to finish, he didn't show even a hint of hatred on his face.

He knew all too well that with the other party's cultivation as a Title Douluo, he had countless ways to monitor his every move at any time.

It wasn't until the dead of night, when Bai Shu returned to his cramped room and pulled the quilt tightly over his head, that he finally moved.

He clenched his fists beneath the covers, his nails digging deep into his palms, drawing blood without him even feeling it. The humiliation, the rage, and the bone-deep murderous intent finally surged wildly in his chest, no longer to be suppressed!

Tang Hao... He gritted his teeth, his eyes flashing with a grim, icy light in the darkness. I, Bai Shu, will remember today's humiliation! It won't be long before I make you and your son pay it back a thousandfold!

After calming himself for a long time, Bai Shu took a deep breath, forced himself to cool down, summoned the system in his mind, and began to rethink his overall plan.

In the three years since he had obtained the system, he had already drafted a perfect plan for his future rewards based on his training tasks.

Originally, he had intended to choose a top-tier cultivation technique when he unlocked the first-ring task after obtaining his first spirit ring. This would not only increase his cultivation speed but also make his spirit power more profound.

After all, in the original story, even though Tang San's martial spirit was severely contaminated by poison, his cultivation speed still managed to outpace Xiao Wu, a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in human form; the Mysterious Heaven Skill was definitely the primary reason for that.

Since he had a system, wouldn't choosing a cultivation-grade technique allow him to completely crush Tang San?

As for the subsequent second and third-ring rewards, he had planned to choose treasures that strengthened the body and spirit, high-year external spirit bones, or even a second martial spirit.

Unfortunately, while his ideas were beautiful, reality had taught him a bloody lesson.

It wasn't until he was pressed into the dirt and rubbed like a dog by Tang Hao tonight that he finally realized a fact: the reason Tang San could grow up smoothly in the original story, acting arrogantly and causing trouble everywhere while still remaining alive and kicking, was not because of some damn Mysterious Heaven Skill, hidden weapons, or immortal herbs. His greatest reliance was the umbrella named "Clear Sky Douluo" hanging over his head!

Without a background or a protector, no matter how high one's talent, one was merely fish on someone else's chopping block! If not for that status, given Tang San's personality—lacking awe for the strong and constantly courting death—he would have died eight hundred times over!

"The technique can wait, but right now, I lack a backer capable of intimidating everyone!" A sharp glint flashed in Bai Shu's eyes as he made his decision.

After obtaining his first spirit ring, his first-ring system task reward must be the summoning of a peerless expert to act as his protector!

Only after surviving the most vulnerable novice period would he have the qualifications to talk about the future.

Two months passed in a flash of endurance and dormancy.

Bai Shu knew exactly why Tang Hao had insisted on making him wait for two months.

For these two months, the sound of hammering from the blacksmith shop at the entrance of the village had rung out from dawn until dusk, sometimes even clanging away in the middle of the night.

Unsurprisingly, it must have been Tang Hao giving Tang San special training, teaching him that so-called Clear Sky Sect ultimate skill—the Rushing Wind Hammer Technique.

"Grandpa, don't you worry. A powerful Spirit Master passing by took a liking to my talent and offered to take me out to hunt for a spirit ring. With that Lord there, there won't be any danger at all."

Early in the morning, Bai Shu stood outside the courtyard, looking at Old Jack, who was full of worry. He deliberately emphasized the words "powerful Spirit Master" and smiled to reassure him.

"I... sigh..."

Old Jack had lived for most of his life; he was an old fox, so how could he not hear the implication in Bai Shu's words? His withered lips trembled slightly, his cloudy eyes filled with heartache. He reached out a rough hand to pat Bai Shu's head, but in the end, he didn't say anything more to stop him.

He was just an ordinary person; he couldn't afford to offend or contend with the high-and-mighty Spirit Masters. The only thing he could do was return to the house and stuff the best dry rations he had into Bai Shu's pack.

After saying goodbye to Old Jack, Bai Shu went alone to an old poplar tree not far from the village entrance. This was the location Tang Hao had told him through voice transmission.

He waited until the night grew dark, and Tang Hao's figure, wrapped in a tattered black robe, appeared abruptly before him like a ghost.

"Kid, you're sensible. Let's go. I'll help you obtain a soul ring you're satisfied with, provided you can satisfy me in return."

"Everything shall be as you decide, My Lord." Bai Shu kept his head bowed and eyes lowered, continuing to play the part of a timid, submissive country boy, not daring to show the slightest disrespect toward Tang Hao's words.

Tang Hao was clearly pleased with Bai Shu's attitude. Without any superfluous chatter, he reached out his hand, which was as broad as a palm-leaf fan, and clamped it firmly onto Bai Shu's shoulder.

The next moment, Bai Shu felt the world spinning; the whistling wind nearly deafened him, and he couldn't even open his eyes.

Tang Hao didn't care in the slightest whether the body of a six-year-old child who hadn't yet obtained a soul ring could withstand the travel speed of a Titled Douluo. To him, as long as Bai Shu wasn't dead when they landed and could still breathe well enough to absorb a soul ring, that was sufficient.

He didn't know how long he endured the darkness and agony, but when that pulling force finally vanished and Tang Hao stopped, the two of them were already deep within a primeval forest where the dense vegetation and tree canopies blotted out the sky.

"Ugh—!"

The moment his feet touched the ground, Bai Shu could no longer control the churning in his stomach. He leaned against a nearby tree and began to retch violently. His face was as pale as paper, a sharp ringing sound still echoing in his ears, and he couldn't even stand steadily.

Tang Hao stood to the side with his arms crossed, watching with cold indifference, showing no intention of stepping forward to help or asking about the nature of Bai Shu's martial soul. As soon as Bai Shu caught his breath, Tang Hao grabbed him by the collar without a word and began moving rapidly through the sunless forest.

Along the way, they encountered quite a few soul beasts, but all of them, cowed by the pressure radiating from Tang Hao, lay trembling on the ground, not even daring to let out a whimper.

It was evident that this forest was quite vast; even at Tang Hao's speed, he couldn't find a suitable soul beast in a short amount of time.

As time passed, a hazy morning light began to tint the horizon, and Tang Hao's brow gradually furrowed.

The soul beasts within the Soul Hunting Forest could practically be considered livestock raised by the Heaven Dou Empire. Before entering the forest, these beasts had already been culled more than once, so high-quality soul beasts were virtually non-existent.

After a night of fruitless searching, Tang Hao's already thin patience was completely exhausted.

In his view, this was merely a first soul ring. With this kid's innate full soul power, even if he shoved some trash soul ring into him, at most it would only limit his future achievements; it certainly wouldn't cause any major negative impact on his current state.

Regardless, all he wanted was for Bai Shu to break through. As for Bai Shu's future, that wasn't something he needed to consider.

Having made up his mind, Tang Hao stopped abruptly. Ignoring the unsteady Bai Shu, he glanced casually around his surroundings, intending to pick just any soul beast.

"Hm?"

The two were currently standing by a small lake. Tang Hao looked around and discovered that a number of white lotus flowers were growing in the water.

"Nine-Leaf Lotus? That will do." Tang Hao muttered indifferently. He then swept across the surface of the lake, plucked a century-old Nine-Leaf Lotus that appeared to be in the center of the pond, and turned back to land on the shore.

"Thud!"

That century-old Nine-Leaf Lotus, which had no power to struggle, was tossed along with a dagger at the feet of the just-risen Bai Shu, as if Tang Hao were discarding trash with extreme impatience.

"Take the blade, kill it, and absorb the soul ring immediately! My time is precious; don't make me wait too long."