Are You Really an Immortal Exiled from Heaven?

"The King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape?"

"I seem to remember Sword Grandpa and Bone Grandpa mentioning it before. It's apparently a ruler-level soul beast of the Star Dou Forest, one even they were wary of."

"That Tang San is quite devoted. He actually wasn't afraid of the forest's ruler for Xiao Wu's sake."

"If Teacher treated me even half as well as that guy treats Xiao Wu, I'd be satisfied."

After guiding Tang San to Xiao Wu, Su Chen led his two students, Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, out of the forest, preparing to return to Immortal Mountain.

Along the way, Ning Rongrong felt rather emotional about Tang San's actions.

As she spoke that final sentence, her voice lowered slightly, and she cast a 'ill-intentioned' glance at her teacher Su Chen's back.

"But I'm very curious. How did Teacher determine that Xiao Wu was safe and sound?"

"For Soul Masters like us with only twenty or thirty levels of Soul Power, encountering a forest ruler like the Titan Giant Ape should mean near-certain death. Even if we were lucky enough to survive, we'd probably only have half a life left."

Zhu Zhuqing tried her best to keep up with her teacher's pace.

There was actually something else troubling her.

No matter how much she accelerated, she found that the distance between herself and Teacher Su Chen remained at around two meters. She could not get any closer.

Meanwhile, Senior Sister Ning Rongrong beside her was clearly walking at an ordinary pace, yet she too remained around two meters from Teacher.

This had to be some kind of spatial technique.

Having used Space-Splitting Claw before, Zhu Zhuqing thought so.

"Because Xiao Wu really is a rabbit. Monkeys like peaches and bananas, but they don't like eating rabbits, so of course it wouldn't hurt a rabbit."

Su Chen said calmly.

He was telling the truth.

But to Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing, it sounded as though their teacher was teasing Xiao Wu and her Martial Soul.

"Teacher, honestly. We're being serious here, so why do you always tease us?"

"If you want to tease someone, tease someone. Why tease rabbits?"

"What rabbits and monkeys? There is a beggar over there, though."

"Hey, that scruffily dressed uncle, please move aside. Don't stand in the middle of the road."

As they walked, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong noticed a middle-aged man who appeared to be around fifty years old, standing motionlessly a hundred meters ahead.

He was exceptionally tall and burly, but his attire was truly unbearable to behold. He wore a tattered robe without even a patch on it, exposing the bronze skin beneath. His originally decent features were covered in a waxy yellow pallor, and he looked half-asleep. His messy hair resembled a bird's nest, while his beard had clearly gone untrimmed for who knew how many days. The smell of alcohol also clung to him.

Pinching her nose, Ning Rongrong walked over to speak to him. Considerately, she also placed two Gold Soul Coins at his feet.

"I think you're quite pitiful too. Take these two Gold Soul Coins and buy yourself some clean clothes. Find a proper job and live well. You have arms and legs, so why come out and become a beggar?"

Ning Rongrong's words left Tang Hao both amused and annoyed.

"A beggar? This is the first time anyone has called me that. You're young, but you've got quite some nerve."

"W-What are you doing?"

Feeling Tang Hao's deep gaze, Ning Rongrong was so frightened that she involuntarily took two steps back.

The aura around this man was somewhat extraordinary.

"Rongrong, Zhuqing, step back. The person before us is no ordinary beggar."

Su Chen looked calmly at Tang Hao and spoke.

Tang Hao bent his knees and leaped lightly, passing over Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing. Crossing his arms over his chest, he unleashed an incomparably terrifying pressure, causing Zhu Zhuqing to immediately pull Ning Rongrong far back to evade it.

"I don't like wasting words."

"Will you hand Tang San's contract over to me willingly?"

"Or shall I beat you until you hand it over?"

"To be honest, I greatly admire a young man of your talent and bearing. I hope you won't bring trouble upon yourself."

Tang Hao spoke in a deep, mysterious voice.

In truth, he had recognized the abilities of the young Immortal before him and rather hoped that Xiao San could study under him.

But a contract made with one's Martial Soul and personality was a fatal weakness. He would not allow someone else to hold such a deadly leverage over his son.

"So you came for this."

The contract appeared in Su Chen's palm. He smiled faintly.

"Tang San signed this himself. No one else can interfere."

"I won't hand it over. Of course, I don't want to be beaten either."

"Besides, I dislike being threatened."

How could I bow and scrape before the powerful, when it would keep me from smiling freely!

Buzz!

The Transcendent Immortal Flute appeared in Su Chen's hand.

A gentle breeze rose.

He played softly, and two clear notes carried Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing to a relatively safe area.

Then, one note after another surged toward Tang Hao like a tide, transforming into swords.

[Fifth Soul Skill: Azure Sea Tide Arises!]

Tang Hao had not expected Su Chen to act so decisively.

He hurriedly swung the Clear Sky Hammer to block.

Yet the torrent-like sword energy still kept cutting open his body.

When Azure Sea Tide Arises ended, Tang Hao wiped the blood from his face, and his gaze turned fierce.

"It seems you've chosen the latter."

"I have to admit, your ability to teach others is indeed impressive. Your talent and bearing are not even inferior to mine in my youth, but you are still too young."

"I'll accompany you and help you loosen up properly."

He stepped out of the tide of flute-sound swords.

Tang Hao gripped the Clear Sky Hammer. Nine incredibly imposing Spirit Rings appeared beneath his feet: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red.

If it had been anyone else, the moment those nine Spirit Rings appeared, they would likely have surrendered.

Nine rings, including a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring—he was among the very few greatest experts on the entire continent.

Yet the peerless young man opposite him remained calm and unconcerned, not taking him seriously at all.

Su Chen said calmly.

"Nine Spirit Rings? I have them too."

"Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings? I have three."

Tang Hao's pupils suddenly constricted.

Beneath the feet of that otherworldly, incomparably handsome youth in white appeared nine perfectly configured Spirit Rings. The seventh, eighth, and ninth were all red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings!

"How is that possible?!"

Tang Hao cried in disbelief.

He had merely lazed around for a little over ten years. Since when had Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Rings become so easy to obtain?

"Haotian Douluo, use your full strength."

"Because my Soul Skills will be very powerful."

Su Chen's ethereal voice slowly rose. Though he had yet to use his Martial Soul Avatar, beneath the faint golden sunlight, his entire figure looked as carefree and elegant as a sword immortal from the heavens.

Su Chen was not provoking him. He was simply telling the truth.

In fact, he had long been hoping Tang Hao would attack.

Since absorbing his eighth and ninth Spirit Rings, he had never used them in actual combat.

He had been troubled by his lack of an opponent.

As his words fell, Su Chen's eighth Spirit Ring flashed faintly.

"Eighth Soul Skill, Ultimate Freedom."

"Eighth Soul Skill, Travel a Thousand Miles Without Leaving a Trace."

The two Soul Skills activated in succession.

In an instant, it seemed as though every shackle between heaven and earth had melted away. Su Chen's body and soul entered a state of perfect freedom. His wide white sleeves fluttered through the air, unbound by Soul Power, while a faint moon-white mist rose around him. His aura became elusive and uncertain, both illusion and reality. His tangible body seemed capable of dissolving and shifting at will according to his thoughts.

The wind, light, and Soul Power between heaven and earth could all be used by him. He was unrestricted by techniques and unbound by distance. His figure drifted with no trace of sluggishness, and all things followed his will. Techniques and Soul Skills rushing toward him slid away upon reaching his body as though falling into reflections upon water. They could not lock onto him, making him seem like an immortal beneath the moon, freed from all worldly shackles.

His toes did not touch solid ground as he stood suspended in the air. His figure abruptly transformed into a flowing white rainbow. The Transcendent Immortal Flute swept out countless pale silver afterimages, sword light and flute energy intertwining into a frosty stream of radiance.

Even if the distance stretched for thousands or tens of thousands of meters, he could arrive in an instant.

Countless sword shadows followed his body.

By the time Tang Hao reacted, Su Chen had already vanished from before his eyes and appeared behind him.

The Transcendent Immortal Sword in Su Chen's hand spun once and returned to its Transcendent Immortal Flute form. He sighed softly.

"I heard that the Clear Sky Hammer is incomparably mighty and can be called the continent's number one weapon Martial Soul."

"But unfortunately, you're too slow. You are no match for me."

"Pfft—"

As his words fell, Tang Hao's body crashed to the ground. Countless sword wounds appeared across his skin, and even his Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, bore thousands of sword marks.

There was only terror in his eyes.

In that fleeting moment, Su Chen had seemed utterly carefree, as though he had only unleashed a single sword strike.

But in Tang Hao's eyes, overwhelming, ferocious sword energy had rushed at him from all directions. There had been no flaw to exploit and no way to resist!

"Do you still want it?"

Su Chen slowly turned around. Tang San's contract lay in his palm as he asked calmly.

Tang Hao spat out a mouthful of blood.

"No, I don't want it anymore!"

"You're not human. You're not an ordinary Soul Master. Are you really an Immortal exiled from heaven?"