Far down the small alley outside the small courtyard in the east of the city, Tang Hao stared fixedly in a certain direction.
His face still wore that decadent look, hair unkempt, with a thick beard masking most of his face.
He had watched Little San follow that fellow Yu Xiaogang arrive at this place, and then Little San ran out, followed by running back in to close the bedroom door, never coming out again.
He frowned, just about to retract his gaze when his ears suddenly twitched.
Several miserable wails drifted from inside the courtyard, carrying the irrepressible roars of a youth.
You fellows have the way of dying...
I, Tang San, will destroy your Rose Boy Band at all costs!
Tang Hao's expression changed drastically.
Almost instinctively, he thrust his spiritual sense inside, and the next instant, his entire face sank.
Furious flames erupted from his chest; without a moment of hesitation, his figure transformed into a residual image, charging straight into that small courtyard.
Kicking the door open with one foot, the foul, fishy stench inside rushed forth, churning his stomach.
Tang Hao saw Tang San. The son he had raised as a tool for revenge was being pinned underneath by a dark-skinned man.
"You're courting death!"
His Soul Power erupted with a boom; with a single palm strike, the dark-skinned man didn't even have time to utter a miserable shriek before turning into a mist of blood.
Simultaneously, Tang San's entire body shuddered violently, his eyes rolled back, and he passed out.
Tang Hao gazed with shifting expression at those unconscious Spirit Emperors and Spirit Kings on the ground, killing intent surging in his eyes.
His Soul Power shook once more, smashing all the remaining members of the Rose Boy Band into minced meat.
His gaze landed on Yu Xiaogang, then fell upon that shivering Luo Sanpao on the ground whose legs couldn't even stand straight, killing intent soaring in the depths of his eyes.
Just shortly before, he had entrusted his son to this fellow, and in the blink of an eye, this kind of incident happened.
His Little San was only six years old.
Only six years old!
He had no idea whether this matter would inflict mental trauma upon him.
With a shifting expression, Tang Hao wished he could slap Yu Xiaogang to death as well, but upon seeing those disgusting body-wash bubbles, he forcibly suppressed his killing intent.
Yu Xiaogang could not die.
This fellow was tied to Bibi Dong and Yu Yuanzhen behind the scenes, and he still needed this fellow to help Little San research the cultivation of Twin Martial Souls.
With a dark face, he wrapped his Soul Power around those two bedraggled figures, taking them away from the small courtyard while casually blasting the entire house into ruins.
Finding a river nearby, he roughly tossed Tang San and Yu Xiaogang into the water, washing them repeatedly over and over,
before fishing them out and throwing them back into the Notting Academy dormitory. He concealed his own presence, landing in the distance to watch in silence.
The rising eastern dawn shone in through the window, landing on Tang San's face.
He gave a muffled grunt, slowly opening his eyes, and stared blankly at the unfamiliar ceiling.
Then memories rushed back into his mind like a tide, his complexion instantly turning pale as he abruptly sat upright, only to gasp sharply from the intense pain in a certain part of his body.
He lowered his head to check himself; his clothes were still on.
Yet that pain clearly told him that last night's events were no dream.
His gaze slowly shifted aside; Yu Xiaogang had collapsed in bed in disheveled clothing, completely unconscious.
Tang San's eyes gradually turned red.
As a dignified God King, reborn into another lifetime, he had actually been taken by a dark-skinned man...
He clenched his fists so hard they cracked, every inch of his body screaming with pain and humiliation.
Another question struck him: exactly how had he managed to return yesterday?
That group of people couldn't possibly be so kind-hearted as to change his clothes and throw him back.
At the mere thought of those fellows, killing intent soared in his eyes.
Utmost humiliation!
Simply utmost humiliation!
He carefully pondered the trajectory of Yu Xiaogang's recent words.
It seemed that the night before yesterday, Gangzi had also gone out once.
On the second day, he had lain in bed for half a day.
Moreover, he noticed some footprints by the doorway.
Recalling last night's events, it looked suspiciously similar to what those fellows did.
Damned fellows, after finishing that kind of business, they actually still tossed people back to their original spots.
Tang San felt incomparable humiliation.
With crimson eyes, he looked over at Yu Xiaogang.
Fumbling across his body, the Silent Sleeve Arrow was still there, and though his dagger was lost, he still had a few flying needles in his bosom.
He drew out the flying needles, slowly approaching Yu Xiaogang with a shifting gaze.
As long as Yu Xiaogang died, nobody would know what happened last night.
He would still be Tang San, that pure and unsullied Tang San, instead of someone who had been...
At this moment, he no longer cared about Bibi Dong or Yu Yuanzhen.
Step by step he walked closer, his gait somewhat unsteady due to the pain, yet the killing intent in his eyes grew increasingly dense and heavy.
The flying needles aimed right at Yu Xiaogang's temple; taking a deep breath, he was about to thrust them down—
Yu Xiaogang suddenly let out a soft groan, turning over as his eyes slightly opened a crack.
"Nng... Where is this?"
Yu Xiaogang was bewildered for quite a while before gradually recalling the fragments of last night, his already pale face turning even more unsightly.
He was back in this dormitory again.
Those few times had all been like this.
Every single time those fellows finished enjoying themselves, they would toss him back once more.
Thinking that he would still have to continue enduring such a dark life in the future,
a tear involuntarily slipped from the corner of his eye. He took a few deep breaths to barely steady his emotions, then slowly turned his head to see Tang San's worried expression, a warmth stirring in his heart.
"Little San... Wh-why are you here?"
He struggled to rise, only to be yanked by his wounds into a sharp pain that made him gasp and collapse back onto the bed.
Tang San hurried forward, having long since silently stowed away those few flying needles, his tone sincere and worried:
"I came to find you this morning and discovered you were still sleeping, your clothes all rumpled. Teacher, did you go out drinking again? Let me help you up."
Yu Xiaogang looked at him, his eye sockets turning slightly red, his throat hoarse from over-usage:
"It's nothing... Teacher just drank a bit too much last night, it's no trouble."
Such matters concerning the Rose Boy Band could absolute not be spoken of, so he immediately covered it up.
Pausing, he lifted a hand to pat Tang San's shoulder:
"Good child, with you having this heart, Teacher is content."
"Teacher,"
Tang San said with a completely earnest face carrying a worried expression,
"You are my most important teacher, and also the most important theoretical grandmaster of the Spirit Master world; you must take care of your health."
Yu Xiaogang pulled him into his embrace with a deeply moved face, his voice carrying a sob:
"Good child, good child... Teacher knows, Teacher will pay attention in the future."
Yet he failed to notice that Tang San's expression had instantly turned gloomy, killing intent soaring in his eyes.
After a moment, Yu Xiaogang finally released him, supporting his shoulders and speaking earnestly to him.
"Little San, Teacher will arrange the best training for you right now; you must become the most outstanding Spirit Master, and Teacher will teach you all of his abilities."
Tang San was silent for a moment before revealing a smile, "I believe Teacher."
Master and disciple embraced tightly; viewed from outside the door, the scene was utterly heartwarming and deeply sincere.
On Tang San's face hung a docile smile, while the depths of his eyes remained a sheet of ice.
He would wait for the day when he grew strong enough.
By then, the Rose Boy Band, Yu Xiaogang, and that dark-skinned man—
he would make every single one of them pay a price.
Only, he wasn't strong enough yet; he needed to endure.
One day, he would slaughter the lot of them!
Meanwhile, within the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Ning Fengzhi lowered the intelligence report in his hand, his brows slightly furrowed as his fingertips tapped lightly twice against the tabletop:
"That old poison Dugu Bo has changed his temperament? Or could it be that that group of people possesses something special?"
Sword Douluo Chen Xin stood with hands behind his back off to the side, turning his head slightly: "Fengzhi, what happened?"
Ning Fengzhi passed the intelligence over: "Uncle Jian, take a look at this."
Chen Xin took it and read through it once, a trace of strange emotion flashing within those ordinarily aloof eyes:
"That old poison is actually treating a group of people with utmost respect, even inviting the other party into his estate to entertain them personally? With his temper, he would never put on such a posture even when facing Title Douluo of the same rank."
"That group of people has a problem!"
"Interesting."
Ning Fengzhi curved the corner of his mouth slightly. "Have people keep an eye on them and find out the background of those three."
Chen Xin nodded slightly. "Still, someone who can make Dugu Bo bow probably doesn't have a simple origin."
"Then we need to investigate even more."
Ning Fengzhi picked up the intelligence report again, his gaze falling on the description of the blonde teenager as he fell into deep thought, speaking a moment later:
"Have the scouts keep track of their movements without alarming them. When the time comes, we will go meet them and see just what kind of people they are."
Before you continue