Emotions at the Breaking Point

Another deafening boom rang out.

The Clear Sky Hammer collided with the Heavenfrost Sword, and a shockwave exploded from the point of impact, sending Xie Xie, who was closest, flying.

Dust filled the air. Tang Wulin had the Golden Dragon King's Trunk Bone, so such an impact could not hurt him at all. Still, he flew backward, having originally wanted to stand in front of Gu Yue. It would have looked cooler that way.

With a casual wave of his hand, Wu Changkong dispersed the dust. Tang Wulin "weakly" leaned against Gu Yue.

When he was sent flying, Gu Yue had caught him. Countless earthen walls rose into the sky, forming a fortress around the two of them.

"Tang Wulin, are you... all right?" Gu Yue was clearly a little uncomfortable. They were standing too close, and she turned her head away without looking at him.

Tang Wulin sprang to his feet in an instant. He truly had not expected the impact to be so powerful. He had wanted to look cool, but instead, he had ended up lying in Gu Yue's arms. How humiliating.

"I'll leave the remaining time to the three of you for free-combat training." Wu Changkong tossed out those words and left.

Tang Wulin had been adapting to his new martial soul for nearly a month. The Clear Sky Hammer could change shape at will, fierce and violent, utterly unlike his personality. Sometimes, when he swung the hammer, even he found that aura unfamiliar, as though something was being suppressed beneath the hammer, ready to surge out at any moment.

Xie Xie crawled back from afar, dusted himself off, then walked over and stared at Tang Wulin for several seconds. "Isn't that a little too violent?"

When he had first faced that giant hammer, he had felt a wave of palpitations and assumed it was an illusion. Now, he was sure—his martial soul was being utterly suppressed by Tang Wulin's, and the difference was far more than slight.

"Teacher Wu left the rest of the time for us to arrange freely," Tang Wulin said. "How about this? The three of us take turns fighting and see who gives out first."

"I have no objection." Gu Yue's tone was flat.

"No—who wants to train with two monsters like you?!" Xie Xie looked utterly despondent. Tang Wulin was a control-type soul master with strong offense, while Gu Yue could command nearly every element.

Xie Xie protested with all his might, but Tang Wulin still dragged him onto the sparring platform.

"Come on, I'm ready!" Tang Wulin shouted.

"You're ready? Who even asked you?" Xie Xie grumbled, but he still released his martial soul. Under the pressure Tang Wulin had given him during this time, he had already broken through to the second rank.

The Light Dragon Dagger shone brilliantly in his hand. He had changed the way he used Light Dragon Storm, turning it into something like a flashbang that consumed almost no soul power.

Tang Wulin's vision was swallowed by white light. By the time it recovered, three figures of Xie Xie were rushing at him from different directions.

"Still not dodging?" Xie Xie's voice came from straight ahead. He could no longer stop this attack.

Tang Wulin stood at the edge of the Light Dragon Storm, and no one could tell how he intended to escape. In his mind, he went over the method of exerting force for that move.

Soul power throughout his body gathered in his hands. Crane Control, Dragon Seizure.

After all these days, I've finally waited until Teacher Wu isn't here. Xie Xie, it's not that your brother wants to slap you in the face, but your progress really is too slow right now.

A continuous stream of soul power rippled out from Tang Wulin's palm, precisely wrapping around the two clones. With a light twist, they shattered. Xie Xie's true body flew forward uncontrollably, then Tang Wulin changed the direction of his guiding soul power, sending him flying in the other direction.

"What the hell—?!" Xie Xie was like a cat whose fur had been frightened up every single day. "Where did you learn that now?!"

"Shh." Tang Wulin withdrew his hand. "You'll find out in a few days."

He had not intended to hide it in the first place. Sooner or later, they would enter the Tang Sect. Revealing a little in advance did not matter.

But Gu Yue...

She turned her head to glance at Xie Xie, her eyes carrying a faint trace of mockery.

"Fine, my turn." Gu Yue stepped onto the sparring platform.

Tang Wulin did not respond. He merely smiled faintly.

The opening stance Gu Yue assumed was far too familiar to him.

The corners of his eyes reddened, filled with longing and nostalgia that stretched across time and space.

All of a sudden, his emotions became somewhat unstable.

At that moment, he wanted to hold her and tell her, I miss you so much.

He missed their carefree lives at the academy, missed those beautiful memories, missed his companions, missed...

He felt truly exhausted.

If they were just ordinary people, then with his talent for forging, he could earn lots and lots of money, take her shopping for clothes, delicious food, cosmetics, and...

If they raised a son or daughter in the future, he could leave the child with Na'er while he worked. He would buy his father and mother a big house and a car, buy Na'er delicious food, and as for her dowry, they could talk about that once Na'er grew up.

This time, he did not want to stand against her.

"Alas." The Golden Dragon King let out a long sigh. "Steady your mind. Think about why we came back."

Tang Wulin gathered his emotions. The dim light in his eyes began to flicker again. The Golden Dragon Claw and Clear Sky Hammer appeared at the same time, while Blue Silver Grass lay buried beneath the ground.

"Come!"