Tang Hao: Forget It, Getting Blasted Isn't Worth It

In the grove behind Nouding Academy.

To avoid disturbing his son's sleep, Tang Hao grabbed Yu Xiaogang by the neck and flew straight to the back mountain.

"A Titled Douluo!"

"Could you be Xiao San's father, the legendary Hao—"

Yu Xiaogang landed on the ground, his eyes filled with shock.

The man before him could fly through the air. He had to be a Titled Douluo!

Nuoding City lay in a remote area on the border between the Star Luo Empire and the Heaven Dou Empire. Even Soul Kings were exceedingly rare there.

Let alone a Titled Douluo, someone who stood at the pinnacle of the continent!

Before Yu Xiaogang could finish, however, Tang Hao raised a hand to cut him off and took a swig of cheap ale.

"Who I am doesn't matter. What matters is that I'm Xiao San's father!"

"Yu Xiaogang, answer me!"

Tang Hao's face turned cold. "'A teacher for a day is a father for life.' Did you teach Xiao San that?"

Sweat poured down Yu Xiaogang's back. The joy he had felt at seeing his idol vanished without a trace.

Before Yu Xiaogang could explain, Tang Hao pressed on. "You may be Xiao San's teacher, but what teacher makes his disciple work like an ox or a horse, pulling a cart?"

"Is my son supposed to acknowledge you as his father just because he took you as his teacher? And pull a four-wheeled carriage for you too?"

"And what happened to Xiao San's eyes? I asked you to hunt a Hundred-Year Soul Ring for your disciple, and you nearly blinded him!"

With every sentence, the pressure radiating from Tang Hao grew heavier, and Yu Xiaogang's face grew paler.

"Your Excellency Haotian, I've been wronged!"

"I never taught Xiao San any such thing. He came up with it entirely on his own!"

Yu Xiaogang's legs trembled. His injuries had yet to heal, and under the weight of a Titled Douluo's Soul Power, he dropped to his knees.

"Useless."

Disdain flashed through Tang Hao's eyes.

If he hadn't still needed Yu Xiaogang's theoretical knowledge to resolve the danger of Twin Martial Souls tearing Xiao San's body apart, he would not have wasted so many words.

"Enough. I don't want your explanations!"

"I'll allow you to teach Xiao San as though he were your son, but you cannot truly treat him as your son!"

Tang Hao gave Yu Xiaogang a pointed look.

Yu Xiaogang did not understand the deeper meaning, but he was in no position to refuse.

"You needn't say another word, Your Excellency Haotian!"

"Now that Xiao San has become my disciple, I will use the invincible theories I've spent my life developing to help him become the strongest Soul Master on the continent!"

Yu Xiaogang slowly rose, regaining the bearing of the Grandmaster whose theories were second to none.

"Hmph. Your composure isn't bad. It's your strength that's lacking!"

"Yu Xiaogang, don't say I never gave you a chance. I won't use my Martial Soul or Soul Power. Last half an incense stick against me, and I'll leave without another word!"

Tang Hao patted his coarse, grease-stained clothes and spoke as though it were nothing.

Yu Xiaogang hurriedly waved his hands. "Your Excellency Haotian, you're a Titled Douluo. How could a mere Soul Grandmaster like me—"

"Haven't you advanced to Soul Elder?"

"Enough talk. Activate your Martial Soul Possession and show me what you can do now that you've passed level thirty!"

"If you aren't strong enough, how will you protect Xiao San?"

Tang Hao stepped forward, his clenched fists creaking.

He had made up his mind to teach Yu Xiaogang a lesson.

"Your Excellency Haotian, please let me explain..."

"It isn't that I don't want to fight. My Martial Soul has undergone a malignant mutation. I truly can't!"

Yu Xiaogang's face was pale. Recalling what had happened that day, he knew that even his thick skin could not withstand going through it again.

"Hm? So you look down on me?"

"If you won't use your Martial Soul, then I'll use mine!"

Tang Hao took another swig of cheap ale. He had just returned from the cave where Ah Yin was kept and was drowning his sorrows in drink. Yet Yu Xiaogang still dared to refuse him.

"Then you might as well kill me!"

Yu Xiaogang closed his eyes and struck a pose of heroic martyrdom.

"You're asking for death!"

Scarlet flashed in Tang Hao's eyes. Divine Slaughter's Domain activated unconsciously, and the Clear Sky Hammer dropped into his hand.

Did a mere level-thirty Soul Elder really think he had the standing to bargain?

Now that the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul existed, he did not necessarily need Yu Xiaogang to resolve the danger of Twin Martial Souls tearing Xiao San's body apart.

A tidal wave of killing intent crashed over Yu Xiaogang, jolting him fully awake.

Seeing Tang Hao in such a wretched state, Yu Xiaogang's heart sank. Even a Titled Douluo could get drunk?

"Wait!"

"If Your Excellency Haotian insists on seeing it..."

Yu Xiaogang gritted his teeth, crossed his hands before his chest, and began to sway. "Possess me, Luo Sanpao!"

With a pop, pale-purple Soul Power surged from his body, and Yu Xiaogang's appearance changed.

The grove fell deathly silent.

Even Tang Hao's drunken eyes cleared a little.

No way!

"Gr... Grandmaster, what is this?"

At Tang Hao's question, Yu Xiaogang said bitterly, "Please don't laugh, Your Excellency Haotian. It's merely the price I paid for making a wish."

Tang Hao's eyes widened. Was the price of a wish really that steep?

"Wait. If that's the case, how could you still let Xiao San make a wish?"

Tang Hao's eyes reddened, and he breathed like an angry bull. This time, he truly was furious.

"You misunderstand, Your Excellency Haotian. This isn't a flaw in Xu Yuan's Martial Soul. It's a flaw in mine!"

"After meticulous research, I've determined that Xu Yuan's Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul merely changed mine from a separate manifestation into a possession."

A bitter smile crossed Yu Xiaogang's face, as if he were lamenting the unfairness of fate.

"What about Xiao San?"

"You needn't worry, Your Excellency. I've worked out the principles behind the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul and organized them into Martial Soul Theory."

"As long as one makes a wish according to my Martial Soul Theory, the price exacted by the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul remains within manageable limits."

Yu Xiaogang lifted his close-cropped head and spoke with supreme confidence.

"I see..."

"In that case, I won't spar with you."

"Also, give me a copy of that wish-related Martial Soul Theory of yours."

After some thought, Tang Hao decided to stand down.

Mainly, he remembered that his elder brother Tang Xiao seemed to have mentioned Yu Xiaogang's Soul Skill once. At the time, Tang Hao had taken it as a joke.

But now... getting blasted by it hardly seemed worth it.

"Your Excellency Haotian, do you want to make a wish too?"

"Then I suggest going next month. According to my research into Martial Soul Theory, the Wish-Granting Tree Martial Soul can grant only one wish per month!"

Yu Xiaogang's eyes lit up. He had never expected even his idol to need the Martial Soul Theory he had so painstakingly researched.

He, Yu Xiaogang, had finally made something of himself!

"Is that so..."

Tang Hao shook the flask in his hand. Something felt off. Had Yu Xiaogang really been the one to discover the one-wish-per-month limit?

Still, he could not be bothered to look into it.

After all, Xiao San's wish had succeeded this time without exacting too steep a price. That showed Yu Xiaogang's theory had some use.

At last, Tang Hao left Nouding Academy with a stack of drafts containing Yu Xiaogang's Martial Soul Theory research.

"I should go back and spend more time with Ah Yin."

"Once my injuries heal, I'll have to devote everything to fighting Spirit Hall. I probably won't have another chance."

Tang Hao tucked the drafts into his clothes and strode toward a bright future beneath the first rays of the eastern dawn!