There Will Be No More Tang San

Wait, why was that kid's body visibly turning paler?

"Hiss, wait a second, something seemed off."

His eyes widened as Tang Hao pushed his vision to its limit, staring fixedly at every change within the room.

No, Xiao San had not merely looked like she had grown quite a bit.

She had genuinely grown quite a bit!!!

No matter what, doing that sort of thing could not possibly cause such drastic changes, could it?

Wait, could it be that they were absorbing Whale Rubber? Whale Rubber could be refined into medicine with effects like this?!

As he watched helplessly, the brat sitting cross-legged seemed to grow a little taller at a visible speed. Tang Hao's breathing halted, and his pupils trembled uncontrollably.

Could it be... could it be that nothing had actually happened tonight? And Whale Rubber's true effect was to temper the body and reshape the bones, possessing such powerful body-refining abilities?

That was why that brat had been so excited, dragging Xiao San to the hotel to absorb it immediately, avoiding the work-study students in the dormitory?!

His powerful gaze swept across every corner of the hotel room. The focus of a Titled Douluo allowed the clear-headed Tang Hao to instantly realize that the entire room was perfectly neat. Even the white sheet on the bed was spotless, without the slightest sign of having been sullied.

Just now, rage had clouded his mind, and his worry had thrown him into confusion. He had not even noticed something so obvious.

So that meant nothing had happened at all, and everything had merely been his own delusion?

His state of mind, which had finally calmed down, churned again at the thought. Tang Hao felt incomparably stifled, his blood and energy surging.

That damned brat! If he had not harbored those thoughts, why had he not said so earlier? Why had he not said so earlier?!!

There were so many places they could have absorbed Whale Rubber. Why did he have to bring Xiao San to a hotel like this to be alone together, then stay completely silent as though hiding some treasure?! Looking like he could not wait another second!

Nothing had happened between the two children, while he had acted like a ridiculous clown, coughing up blood three times and trembling with rage, only to discover that it had all been imaginary, entirely the result of his own overthinking?

In an instant, Tang Hao felt an unprecedented sense of shame, as though a basin of cold water had been poured directly over his soul from above.

For some reason, several twisted hopes arose in his heart.

Compared to this pointless, imaginary worry, it would have been better if something had truly happened between those two little brats. At least then it would have settled everything once and for all, completely ending this old father's worries and letting him give up entirely.

Rather than like this, being driven into a fit of rage again and again by that unfilial daughter's actions, coughing up three liters of blood...

"Ah..."

Exhausted in body and mind, Tang Hao suddenly had a feeling amid his indescribable melancholy.

If those two little brats kept this up, then sooner or later, that unfilial daughter who had practically fallen into his lap would truly anger him to death...

"Haa..."

With a long exhale, Lin Yue emerged from his meditative state. The instant he opened his eyes and sensed the changes in his body, he could not help but marvel!

This body-strengthening Whale Rubber had worked even better than he had expected!

Lin Yue clenched his fist and felt every inch of his muscles reinforced by the Whale Rubber. With a casual swing of his hand, he could even produce a faint sound of air tearing.

After the Whale Rubber refined his body, his physique felt exceptionally light. The rapid, massive enhancement left him with an almost transcendent sense of unfamiliarity, making his condition better than it had ever been.

Even without obtaining a soul ring, bare-handed, the current him after being tempered by Whale Rubber should have no problem taking on two versions of his former self.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Body refinement really does have a future. It even saves more resources than other cultivation methods, and the resources saved can then be used for body refinement..."

Lin Yue was swinging his fists and sighing when Xiao San's voice suddenly sounded beside his ear—

"Brother Lin Yue, thank you."

Xiao San bit her lip, but traces of shame appeared on her face.

Lin Yue had thought of her the moment he obtained such an excellent body-tempering medicine and split it evenly with her.

Meanwhile, she had accepted Brother Lin Yue's help since childhood, yet she had continued clutching the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record without sharing it with him.

Although her past life and the rule that Tang Sect techniques could not be passed on had played a part in it, and although she had considered breaking that rule several times, not doing it meant not doing it. She would not make excuses for herself.

But this time, she would not hide anything from him anymore.

"Brother Lin, actually... I have always been cultivating this..."

The girl gritted her teeth and took out a copy of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record that she had transcribed long ago...

"Hm? I know this... It was what Xiao San had been practicing before, right?"

Seeing Xiao San take out even the cultivation technique she had obtained at the cost of her life in her previous life, Lin Yue sighed inwardly. At the same time, he became even more aware that the current Xiao San seemed to be drifting farther and farther from the original world... She was almost becoming someone he no longer recognized.

"I'm sorry, Brother Lin. Actually, it was because I..."

Seeing the thoughtful expression on Lin Yue's face, Xiao San assumed he was blaming her. Her rosy cheeks immediately paled slightly, and she was about to explain in panic when Lin Yue raised a hand.

"Alright, I understand."

"Huh?" Xiao San's face showed a trace of confusion.

"Yeah, don't storybooks always say things like this? Some expert passes down their techniques, but you cannot reveal my identity, and you cannot casually pass my cultivation technique on to others... Isn't that pretty common?"

Grinning, Lin Yue patted the bewildered girl, signaling for her to relax.

"It's fine. If learning this cultivation technique would make you break your rules, Xiao San, then I do not have to learn it."

As he spoke, Lin Yue stretched out his limbs and comfortably lay back on the large bed.

Honestly, although Tang Sect techniques were powerful, whether they would be useful to him... Well, that was really hard to say.

Whether he had them or not would not make much difference; they would merely be icing on the cake. With the DNF System, Lin Yue was already satisfied. Whether Xiao San wanted to break her rules for him or keep the cultivation technique to herself, it did not really matter. Lin Yue would not hold the slightest resentment in his heart.

But... had he prepared tomorrow's rations in his backpack? Why could he not remember? He should go check...

Lin Yue had just sat up when he saw Xiao San pressing her lips tightly together, tears streaming down her fair cheeks.

"Ah... What's wrong?"

He had never expected Xiao San to react like this. Lin Yue panicked, genuinely having no idea what he had said wrong to make the girl so sad.

"Brother Lin... do you dislike me?"

Hugging the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record, the moment the girl thought of that possibility, the tears in her eyes became impossible to stop...

"No, why would I dislike you..."

A few drops of sweat rolled down Lin Yue's forehead as he immediately came to Xiao San's side, his expression tense.

The girl stared at him with reddened eyes and sobbed, "Then why... have you always been rejecting me..."

In truth, she had been able to sense it from the very beginning.

Ever since her martial soul awakened, Brother Lin seemed to have gradually lost that closeness and care he had shown during their childhood.

It was not that their relationship had worsened in any way, but... Xiao San had a strong feeling that whenever she wanted to get closer, Brother Lin would deliberately maintain a subtle distance from her.

That had been true during the past half month of rest, and it had been true just now when she had wanted to give him the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.

She had clearly already regarded Brother Lin as the most important person in her life, yet he seemed to be avoiding something...

"Brother Lin, why do you not dare to look into my eyes... Do you really dislike Xiao San that much?"

Grabbing Lin Yue by the collar, the little girl was already crying bitterly, her frail body trembling in the cold wind.

"It's not that..."

Lin Yue gently patted Tang San's back, his expression strange.

How was he supposed to explain this?

Because you are Tang San, I always picture another Tang God King I knew in my previous life whenever I see you, so being around you always feels weird, and I am afraid you will decide I deserve to die?

After all, whenever he called out the name Tang San, he always thought of another supposedly pure and virtuous Xiao San, which made Lin Yue feel somewhat uncomfortable... The sense of disconnect was too strong, and it always made him instinctively recoil.

When all was said and done...

"Xiao San, why are you called Xiao San?"

Lin Yue gently wrapped an arm around the girl's shoulders and asked softly.

"..."

Lying in Lin Yue's arms, the girl's expression stiffened.

Yes... why?

She had never thought about it before.

From the moment she had memories in her previous life, she had already been called Tang San.

In fact, Tang Sect did not only have Tang San. There were also Tang Yi, Tang Er, Tang Si, and Tang Wu.

She had merely been a tool among the sect's outer disciples, responsible for handling dirty and exhausting work. Even when cultivating Tang Sect's core techniques, she had needed to hide like a rat in a gutter. Her name had only been a number, something to distinguish her from others. Its meaning had never mattered.

After being reborn, her father had never explained why she still had this name. It was simply the same as in her previous life, so she had accepted it without a second thought, taking it for granted.

Whether she had been treated as a tool or treated coldly...

She had merely... grown used to it.

"It is not that I do not like you. I just do not like that name. It does not sound like a girl's name."

Seeing the confusion on the girl's face, Lin Yue sighed inwardly.

She had merely been the third orphan adopted by Tang Sect... Her childhood in both lives had been so miserable...

"Then... what name does Brother Lin like?"

Biting her lip, the girl stubbornly raised her head, hope glimmering in her eyes.

"How about... Tang Yin, little Blue Silver Grass..."

Tang Yin?

No longer a cold sect number, but a name given to her by the person she loved.

No more restraints from sect rules, and no other limitations... In Tang Yin's heart, there would no longer be a world, only...

Him.

The girl tightly hugged Lin Yue's arm, her body trembling slightly...

"Alright. From now on, I'll be called Tang Yin."

No longer Tang San of Tang Sect, nor Xiao San in anyone else's eyes, but...

"I'm Tang Yin, who belongs only to Brother Lin Yue..."

The girl's whisper sounded beside his ear. Lin Yue's spine tingled, and when he lowered his head, he saw Tang Yin's eyes, filled with endless tenderness...

A pair of delicate hands wrapped around his neck. The next moment, Lin Yue felt a warm, sweet touch against his lips...