Return to Holy Soul Village

After leaving Nuoding Academy, Su Chen paid a visit to the Spirit Hall Branch.

He met Su Yuntao again.

Su Chen had also repaid Su Yuntao's help.

With Su Chen speaking well of him, Su Yuntao had already been promoted to Yellow-Robed Deacon and was being groomed as the branch's prospective hall master.

As long as his strength improved in the future, the Spirit Hall Branch in Notting City would be under his command.

Su Yuntao was sincerely grateful to Su Chen.

Now, he had received a promotion, a raise, and won the beauty's heart.

The Sisi he liked was an ambitious woman. Seeing that Su Yuntao had become a prospective hall master, she agreed to his pursuit.

Whether he could truly make this woman settle down depended on Su Yuntao's abilities in the future.

After meeting up with Qian Renxue, they left Notting City.

Along the way!

Qian Renxue probed indirectly. "Xiao Chen, what do you think of your childhood friend Tang San and his father, Tang Hao?"

It seemed Qian Renxue knew about Tang San and had deduced Tang Hao's identity.

Su Chen told her the truth. "I don't like Tang San. He was very withdrawn in the village, and he was jealous that I was good-looking and well-liked. He got beaten up by me because of that before."

"As for his father, Tang Hao, he has a terrible temper. If he weren't so good at making farm tools, no one in the village would want anything to do with him."

Finally, he asked meaningfully,

"Sister Xue'er, why are you concerned about Tang San and Tang Hao?"

Qian Renxue took a deep breath, a serious expression appearing on her stunningly beautiful face.

"Xiao Chen, I won't hide it from you."

"That Tang Hao is a wanted criminal of our Spirit Hall. He isn't some ordinary blacksmith. He was once the Clear Sky Douluo. Even my father died at Tang Hao's hands."

"He hid in your Holy Soul Village because he was wanted by Spirit Hall. In the future, I will definitely capture Tang Hao and his son Tang San and bring them back to Spirit Hall. I'm telling you in advance now."

Su Chen paused, his expression turning serious.

"Sister Xue'er, you've treated me so well. I'll definitely stand by your side."

"If you want to capture Tang Hao, I'll help you deal with Tang San. If we go into battle, we'll go together. When siblings unite, they can cut through gold."

"Good little brother!" Qian Renxue looked delighted and touched. She immediately pulled Su Chen into her embrace, treating him to a faceful of softness as she rested her chin atop his head.

"I didn't spoil you for nothing!"

"Our siblings will stand united and avenge our father together!"

Su Chen felt as though he had crashed into a ball of cotton—soft and springy, wrapped in a sweet fragrance. It was just a little hard to breathe. What a blissful burden.

Holy Soul Village!

"Grandpa, I came back to see you!"

At Old Jack's home, before Su Chen even entered, he was already calling out loudly.

"Xiao Chen, is that really you, Xiao Chen?"

When Old Jack stepped outside, the tall, upright, handsome youth gradually overlapped with the half-grown child in his memories.

He recognized Su Chen.

Old Jack smiled as brightly as a flower, every wrinkle on his face smoothing out.

"Good child, you've grown taller and stronger. You've finally got a bit of a man's bearing, and you still remembered to come back and see Grandpa."

"These people are...?"

Old Jack shifted his gaze from Su Chen to Qian Renxue, She Long, and Ci Xue behind him.

Though he was merely a village chief, he had lived for many years and had a sharp eye. From Qian Renxue and the others' appearances, bearing, and clothing, he could tell they were no ordinary people.

Qian Renxue put on no airs. Smiling gently, she introduced herself, "Hello, Grandpa. I'm Xiao Chen's sworn elder sister. You can call me Xiao Xue."

"I was the one who took Xiao Chen away to train him after seeing his talent. Grandpa, you've raised a fine grandson."

"As for these two, they are my guards, She Long and Ci Xue."

For Su Chen's sake, She Long and Ci Xue greeted young Old Jack.

"Hello, sir."

She Long and Ci Xue were both Titled Douluo, so they were already seventy or eighty years old. They merely looked younger because of their profound Soul Power.

As for Old Jack, though he looked old, he was actually only in his sixties. Before She Long and Ci Xue, he counted as a young man no matter how one looked at it.

Old Jack was grinning from ear to ear. A beautiful and refined young woman like Qian Renxue called him Grandpa just like Su Chen did. He felt immensely honored.

He was no fool either. Back then, Gao Lu had personally come to Holy Soul Village and told Old Jack that Su Chen had been noticed by several great figures—figures even greater than Soul Sages.

They respected him enough to call him Grandpa, but Old Jack did not dare truly regard them as his granddaughters.

"Miss Xiao Xue, our Xiao Chen has really troubled you these past years. Don't stand around at the entrance. Come in and sit down. I'll arrange some food for you. You're all eating at my house today. It's just simple country fare, but it has an honest farmhouse flavor. Please don't mind it!"

Old Jack ushered everyone inside, then called Little Jack over to cook.

An hour later, the table was filled with fragrant country dishes. There were no rare delicacies, only ordinary chicken, duck, fish, and meat.

Qian Renxue ate with great relish, praising the food from time to time. The smile on Old Jack's face never faded.

Those were the speaking skills she had honed amid the schemes and intrigues of the imperial palace. Winning over an old man like Old Jack was child's play.

After dinner, Su Chen had Old Jack take an Immortal Herb. Since Old Jack was an ordinary person, Su Chen had chosen the mildest one.

Its main effects were strengthening the foundation, replenishing vitality, and prolonging life.

On Douluo Continent, an ordinary person's lifespan generally peaked at sixty or seventy years. But after taking this Immortal Herb, Old Jack living to one hundred and twenty would be no problem at all.

Evening!

While taking a walk to aid digestion, Su Chen and Qian Renxue arrived at the dilapidated house where Tang Hao had once lived.

There were signs that the house had been cleaned recently. Tang San had probably tidied it up before leaving for Shrek Academy.

A cold glint flashed through Qian Renxue's eyes, and her tone darkened.

"According to the records I found at the Spirit Hall Branch, Tang Hao has been missing for six years. Ever since he sent Tang San to Nuoding Academy, he has never appeared again."

"From my guess, Tang Hao must not like Tang San as a son. Otherwise, why would the mighty Clear Sky Douluo not keep Tang San by his side and train him?"

"Tang San is useless too. He inherited Tang Hao's top-tier cultivation talent, but unfortunately, he only awakened the useless martial soul Blue Silver Grass. That is probably why Tang Hao doesn't like him."

"Elder Snake Lance once suggested capturing Tang San to lure Tang Hao out, then hunting him down."

"I rejected that idea. Tang Hao doesn't even care about this son, so why would he risk himself for him? With Tang Hao's despicable temperament, he would only slaughter innocents everywhere and force us to release Tang San."

After Su Chen declared that he stood with her, Qian Renxue also spoke to him from the heart.

Su Chen sighed inwardly. Qian Renxue's deduction made sense, but she had not realized that Tang San also possessed Twin Martial Souls.

That was how a normal Soul Master would think. For Twin Martial Souls to awaken together, the quality of the two martial souls had to be similar. One could not completely overwhelm the other.

Who could have imagined that the Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Grass could form Twin Martial Souls together?

Yu Xiaogang had merely stumbled upon the answer by blind luck. His half-baked theory claimed that Blue Silver Grass could not provide Soul Power, so another powerful martial soul must have supplied it.

Su Chen naturally had to help Qian Renxue. "Back in the village, Tang San would head to the back mountain before dawn every day. I don't know whether Tang Hao was secretly guiding him in his cultivation. Should we take a look at the back mountain?"

Qian Renxue's eyes lit up. "Let's go. We'll set off now! Tang Hao lived here for so many years. He must have left clues somewhere."