Tang San

Not long after the competition began, Huo Yuhao realized that coming to watch the preliminaries might have been a mistake.

They were too weak.

Most of the contestants who took the stage were Three-Ring Soul Elders. The occasional Four-Ring Soul Ancestor would draw a wave of astonished cries.

All the so-called "geniuses" were utterly transparent in his eyes. Every movement, every flow of soul power, every flaw—he saw them all clearly. He could even predict what would happen in the next second.

Qian Ren Duo yawned and propped up his chin in boredom. Qian Ren Jun simply leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes to rest. His breathing gradually steadied, and he actually fell asleep. Even Wang Qiu'er's eyes, always calm as still water, revealed a trace of boredom.

"So this is the preliminary round of the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Tournament?" Qian Ren Jun muttered with his eyes closed. "I thought it would be amazing..."

"The Heaven Dou Division was weak to begin with." Qian Ren Duo shrugged and lowered his voice. "The truly strong teams are all on the seeded list and go straight to the finals. The rest are just here to fill the schedule."

Huo Yuhao said nothing. He merely sat there quietly, his gaze resting on the stage while his mind was occupied with other matters.

Just then, the host's voice rose sharply from the stage:

"Next match—Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team Two versus Shrek Academy!"

Huo Yuhao's Sea of Spirit trembled faintly.

The tremor was so slight that it was almost imperceptible. Yet Huo Yuhao's body still stiffened. Because its source was not Skydream Iceworm, not Ice Empress, not Snow Empress—it was the Eye of Eternity.

The vertical eye that had slumbered in his Sea of Spirit for years opened slightly. Rose-gold light flickered across the dome of his Sea of Spirit, as though something had awakened it.

Huo Yuhao frowned.

What was going on?

The Eye of Eternity had been acting too frequently these past few days. Since the night it first opened and drew out that golden Destiny Line, it had remained as quiet as a statue. Yet in the past two days, it had reacted strongly twice already. Once at the Great Soul Arena, and once now.

It was warning him about something.

Huo Yuhao lifted his head and looked toward the stage.

A group of oddly dressed boys and girls was walking onto the stage. Their clothes were mainly green, with blue, green, red, and black decorations scattered across them. Every outfit was different, as though they had randomly stitched together clothes from several people. Compared with Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team Two's neat, uniform team attire, they looked like a motley rabble.

But Huo Yuhao's gaze did not linger on their clothing.

His eyes settled on one boy.

The boy stood at the rear of the group, a confident smile on his lips, looking as though everything was under his control. Blue clothes, black hair, handsome and refined features—he appeared to be only fourteen or fifteen.

Yet there was something in his eyes that did not match his age—not world-weariness, not composure, but a more complicated emotion that was difficult to describe.

Huo Yuhao felt as though he had seen that person before.

But no matter how thoroughly he searched his memories, he could not remember where.

The commentator's voice echoed through the arena. "Shrek Academy, Tang San!"

Tang San.

Huo Yuhao silently repeated the name.

He felt nothing.

He did not know him at all.

Yet that day, the Eye of Eternity had warned him to be careful of this person.

The match began on the stage.

Huo Yuhao had assumed it would be as dull as the previous matches. But what happened next made his pupils contract slightly.

Blue Silver Grass.

That boy called Tang San actually possessed Blue Silver Grass as his martial soul—the universally acknowledged trash martial soul, a weed scorned by countless Soul Masters. Yet his Blue Silver Grass was different from ordinary Blue Silver Grass. The blades were thick and tough, glowing with an eerie red-black light. Dense barbs covered them, gleaming coldly beneath the sunlight.

Then his Soul Rings lit up.

Two yellow.

One purple.

One black.

His fourth Soul Ring was ten thousand years old.

The entire spectator stand first fell silent, then erupted.

"Ten thousand years! His fourth ring is ten thousand years!"

"That's impossible! The fourth ring can only absorb Soul Rings at the thousand-year level! That's an ironclad rule!"

"How did he do it?"

An aged, dignified voice suddenly rang out from the stands. "Ten thousand years, for a fourth ring?!"

It was Xue Ye the Great. The emperor of the Heaven Dou Empire had risen to his feet, both hands braced against the railing before him, staring at Tang San on the stage with shock written all over his face. His pupils contracted slightly, and even his breathing became hurried.

The entire spectator stand was in an uproar.

A ten-thousand-year fourth ring. That was nearly impossible in the world of Soul Masters. The fourth ring could bear, at most, the burden of a thousand-year Soul Ring. It was an ironclad rule established through the blood and even lives of countless predecessors.

Over the past ten thousand years, innumerable geniuses had tried to break through that limit. Without exception, they had all failed—some had their meridians shattered, some suffered the collapse of their spiritual worlds, and some exploded and died on the spot.

But the impossibly young boy before them had done it.

Tang San stood on the stage, the corners of his mouth lifting into a wicked smile.

Blue Silver Grass erupted.

The blades surged toward his opponents like a tide, blotting out the sky with no way to evade. Red-black light flowed over the grass, its barbs spreading open like countless venomous snakes pouncing upon prey. The seven members of Heaven Dou Imperial Academy Team Two did not even manage a proper resistance before they were all bound tight and rendered unable to move.

Then Tang San's teammate, a Soul Ancestor with the White Tiger martial soul, roared and charged forward. His fourth Soul Ring flashed as he unleashed a soul skill upon the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy team.

White light like shooting stars intertwined into a dazzling yet cruel curtain.

The battle was over.

It had taken no more than ten breaths.

Deafening cheers erupted from the stands. Some people stood and applauded, some flushed red with excitement, and some shouted Tang San's name at the top of their lungs.

Tang San stood on the stage with his head slightly raised, savoring the shocked looks around him. He knew that feeling well—he had experienced it countless times in his previous life. Being the center of attention, surrounded by amazement, worshipped as a genius.

He liked that feeling.

He would always like it.

His gaze swept across the spectator stands, over those stunned faces and worshipful eyes. Like a king inspecting his territory, or a hunter searching for prey.

Then his gaze stopped.

The smile at his lips froze instantly.

In one corner of the stands sat several people. One of them had short black hair, deep blue eyes, refined and handsome features, and plain clothing. He sat there quietly watching the stage, in stark contrast to the crazed cheering crowd around him.

Beside him sat two young men with pale golden hair. They looked somewhat alike, likely brothers. There was also a girl with golden hair and red eyes.

Tang San's pupils suddenly contracted.

He recognized that person.

He recognized that face, those eyes, that figure sitting quietly in the corner, utterly out of place amid the crowd.

That was Huo Yuhao.

Huo Yuhao at twelve or thirteen years old.

Back then, his divine consciousness had watched from within Wang Dong's Sea of Spirit as this boy first emerged at that age, entered the Soul Master Tournament, won the championship, and step by step embarked on a path that led to the same destination as his own.

That name struck his mind like a bolt of lightning, making his heart pound violently. Blood rushed to his head, then went cold in an instant. His hands began to tremble, and his teeth ground together with a creak.

Huo Yuhao!

The person who had destroyed everything he had! The person who had made him fall from his divine throne! The person who had left him to suffer alone in the turbulence of time and space for ten thousand years! The person he had sworn to kill with his own hands!

Why was he here?!

Hadn't he been born ten thousand years later?!

But now, he was here. Alive, sitting in the stands, watching him. The same age as him, the same cultivation, standing in this arena just like him.

Tang San's gaze turned venomous.

That hatred was as thick as ink, as deep as an abyss, nearly spilling from his eyes. He stared at Huo Yuhao, at that face, at those deep blue eyes—exactly the same eyes as in his previous life.

He saw that those eyes held no fear, no retreat, only a faint wariness and confusion.

It was all your fault.

Huo Yuhao.

Because of you, I lost everything.

It was all your fault!

Huo Yuhao was momentarily stunned by that gaze.

The hatred and killing intent in it were too intense. Even across the entire arena, he could feel them.

It was like a wounded beast staring at a hunter, or a madman looking at his mortal enemy. That killing intent had almost solidified, chilling the air around him.

But he did not know this person.

They had only met for the first time yesterday. He had defeated him, that was all. Was there really any need to look at him like that?

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes slightly, cold light filling them.

The Eye of Eternity was right. Someone who could not accept his own defeat and wanted to tear others to pieces at the slightest provocation was indeed someone to be wary of.

He did not know that the words in his heart at that moment were exactly the words the person on the stage said most often.

Tang San stared at Huo Yuhao, hatred and fury burning inside him like fire. The flames made his whole body tremble, made him nearly lose control and rush off the stage on the spot.

But gradually, those flames changed.

They became joy.

They became wild ecstasy.

They became uncontrollable laughter.

"Ha—hahahaha—"

He laughed aloud.

The laughter was sinister, as though it came from hell, like an evil ghost crawling out of the Nine Nether Abyss and shrieking. It echoed above the arena, causing the people still cheering around him to fall silent in confusion.

The Shrek team members shuddered and exchanged glances, not knowing what was wrong with him. Dai Mubai frowned, Oscar shrank back, and Ma Hongjun unconsciously took a step backward.

Xiao Wu stepped forward and tugged at his sleeve in concern. "Third Brother, what's wrong?"

Tang San ignored her.

He only stared at Huo Yuhao, the smile on his lips growing wider and more twisted. Those once handsome eyes were now filled with madness.

Heaven was helping him.

He did not need to wait ten thousand years.

He did not need to wait that long.

Huo Yuhao was here, in this era, the same age as him.

He could kill him with his own hands now.

He could take revenge with his own hands.

He could end everything with his own hands.

"HAHAHAHA—"

He began laughing again, rocking back and forth as tears came to his eyes.

This era was wonderful! He could kill Huo Yuhao and become a god as well. The best of both worlds! Killing two birds with one stone!

Xiao Wu stood beside him, watching him laugh like a madman, and suddenly felt an indescribable unease rise in her heart.

She had never seen Third Brother like this before.

In the stands, Huo Yuhao frowned.

Was this person insane?

He stood and said to Qian Ren Duo and the others beside him, "Let's go. There's nothing worth watching anymore."

Qian Ren Duo froze. "We're not watching the rest of today's matches?"

"No."

Huo Yuhao turned and headed toward the exit.

Wang Qiu'er followed behind him. When she reached the entrance to the passageway, she suddenly stopped, turned back, and glanced at Tang San on the stage.

An indescribable glint flashed through her red eyes.

That glint was cold, as cold as ten-thousand-year ice from the Far North. It was neither vigilance nor fear, but something deeper—like a predator assessing prey, or someone looking upon a person who was about to die.

Then she turned around and vanished into the shadows of the passageway.

On the stage, Tang San finally stopped laughing.

He watched that figure disappear into the passageway, the same sinister smile still hanging from his lips. Hatred, madness, and joy intertwined in his eyes like a cauldron of boiling poison.

"Huo Yuhao."

He spoke softly, so quietly that it sounded like he was talking to himself, yet also like he was making a declaration to someone unseen.

"Just wait."

"We'll meet again very soon."

His hand clenched beneath his sleeve, his knuckles turning white. The barbs of Blue Silver Grass pierced his palm, and blood dripped to the ground, drop by drop, but he felt no pain.

There was only one thing in his mind.

Kill Huo Yuhao.

Now. Immediately. At once.

He could not wait any longer.

Xiao Wu stood beside him, looking at his clenched fist, his bleeding palm, and the mad light in his eyes. She wanted to say something, but the words reached her lips and were swallowed back down.

She suddenly felt that the person standing before her was not quite the Third Brother she knew.

No.

Perhaps he had always been like this.

She had simply never been willing to see it.

The wind swept through the arena, carrying away the last lingering warmth of Tang San's laughter. The people in the stands were still discussing the magnificent match they had just witnessed, still marveling at the genius with a ten-thousand-year fourth ring.

No one knew that a deeper undercurrent was already surging within that genius's heart.

At the other end of the arena, Huo Yuhao's figure had already vanished into the shadows at the end of the passageway.

His pace was fast, so fast that Qian Ren Duo had to jog to keep up. He did not look back, nor did he speak. Only those deep blue eyes of his were colder than usual.

Wang Qiu'er walked beside him, silent as a shadow.

She did not ask anything.

Because she knew he did not need to ask.

They all knew.

A storm was coming.