Suddenly, the candle on the desk flickered, instantly putting Grandmaster on his guard.
"Your strength may be lacking, but your reflexes are good."
A weathered voice rang out in Grandmaster's room.
Grandmaster looked toward the voice and found a tall figure standing in the shadows of the room.
"May I ask who you are?"
Grandmaster asked warily. Someone who could enter the academy unnoticed and reach his room without alerting anyone had to be at least a Soul Saint.
"...Tang San's father, Tang Hao."
Tang San's father?!
Tang Hao!?
Grandmaster frowned. His newly accepted disciple actually had such a powerful father, and that name...
"Are you Clear Sky Douluo?"
"A hollow title from the past..." Tang Hao said with a trace of melancholy.
Grandmaster's shock had reached its peak. His former idol, Clear Sky Douluo, was standing right before him.
But he soon composed himself and, as a teacher addressing his student's parent, said, "Mr. Tang Hao, rest assured. I will take good care of Tang San and guide him toward becoming an outstanding Soul Master."
The man had come not as Clear Sky Douluo, but as a child's father.
Though Grandmaster had countless questions, he only needed to fulfill his own responsibilities.
"Talking to a clever man certainly makes things easy." Tang Hao nodded. "But there's no need for him to become an outstanding Soul Master. It's enough if Xiao San can live a stable life."
"Forgive my presumption, Mr. Tang Hao, but Xiao San will certainly not spend his entire life in such ordinary peace."
Grandmaster summoned his courage and corrected Tang Hao.
"Hmm?!"
The sudden, overwhelming pressure knocked Grandmaster off his feet and into his chair. Yet he stood back up and said solemnly, "How could a golden-scaled creature remain confined to a pond? Once wind and clouds gather, it transforms into a dragon."
"Xiao San has potential within him, and he himself longs to bring it out. With your blood flowing through his veins as well, he is certain not to spend his entire life in peace."
"But please rest assured. I will stake my life on ensuring that Tang San has ample resources to face all manner of challenges in the future."
"...Very well. In that case, take this."
Tang Hao closed his eyes and remained silent for a while, then spoke slowly and flicked a token out of his robes.
"There is something I must do. I don't know how long it will take, or whether I can return safely, so I'm entrusting my son to you."
Grandmaster caught the token, a flicker of surprise crossing his eyes. It was the Spirit Hall's Pope Token.
"Wait, Lord Clear Sky. There are two things I would like to ask you." Grandmaster suddenly called Tang Hao back. There were two things he needed to confirm for the sake of Tang San's future.
"Speak."
"First, did you kill Pope Qian Xunji yourself? Second, are the rumors about your wife true?"
"Back then, I only battered that bastard to the brink of death. With his Angel Martial Soul, injuries of that severity couldn't possibly have killed him."
"And yes, the rumors are true. I advise you not to entertain any crooked ideas."
"If you want to do research, you can go find that rabbit."
With that, Tang Hao left.
Grandmaster was left alone, a hundred emotions churning in his heart. He slumped completely into his chair. Tang Hao's pressure just now had been truly terrifying.
He had heard far too many explosive revelations tonight. He would have to sort through them carefully.
Over the next few months, Tang San followed his studies step by step, occasionally seeking out Grandmaster for private lessons.
Like a sponge, he absorbed all manner of theories and knowledge about soul beasts.
He did not neglect his body either. Grandmaster devised a comprehensive training plan tailored to Tang San's physical condition.
Variable-pace runs, long-distance runs with weights, obstacle races, combinations of two or even all three...
With such an enormous amount of exercise, Tang San, who was still growing, naturally needed plenty of nutrition. But food cost money, so he found work as a blacksmith in the city.
Grandmaster encouraged this as well and asked Tang San to forge the weights needed for training in his spare time.
The other students needed them too, so whenever they ran, the thought that Tang San had forged the weights on their backs stirred hostility toward him.
But under the twin tempering of Grandmaster's special training and his smithing work, Tang San had completely shed his former scrawny, malnourished appearance and grown sturdy. Few dared pick a fight with him.
Except for one person.
"Sister Xiao Wu is mighty! Beat Tang San!"
"Sister Xiao Wu is mighty! Beat Tang San!"
"Sister Xiao Wu is mighty! Beat Tang San!"
Right now, Xiao Wu had latched onto Tang San again. The girl seemed to have boundless vitality. Even after a full day of grueling training, she still had the energy to pester him.
Over these three months, Xiao Wu had fought her way through every minor in Nuoding City without meeting her match, rising to become the city's big sister.
Yet among them, one person still refused to submit.
"Xiao San, don't think you can run away this time. Grandmaster is away, and there's no one left in this academy who can protect you."
Xiao Wu had always wanted to make Tang San submit, but he kept brushing her off and evading her with all sorts of excuses.
Everything had always gone smoothly for Xiao Wu. Only Tang San and Grandmaster had ever made her eat humble pie, so she was determined to reclaim her lost ground.
"Aren't you afraid I'll tell my teacher what you did when he gets back?"
Tang San had no affection for Xiao Wu. He even felt a trace of disdain for her.
She liked stirring up trouble and flaunting her strength, then basking in other people's praise and admiration.
Yet this very rabbit hooligan possessed strength and cultivation that others her age could scarcely match.
She was already at rank twelve, and her formidable fighting skills allowed her to look down upon all the contenders in Nuoding City.
As for the academy's teachers, they found it hard to keep Xiao Wu in check. Besides, they were naturally delighted to have such a genius, so they let her run wild.
It was only children roughhousing, after all. That was what the teachers thought.
Only Grandmaster took the matter seriously and disciplined Xiao Wu repeatedly, but in the end, it was still like drawing water with a bamboo basket-all for nothing.
She had no intention of correcting herself. She was like a feral child who had never been taught manners by her parents.
"You haven't got a shred of manliness," Xiao Wu said disdainfully to Tang San. Her persistence came from nothing more than a desire to conquer him. "Whatever you say, if you don't want a beating, let me hear you call me Sister Xiao Wu."
"Sister Xiao Wu is mighty!"
"Sister Xiao Wu is mighty!"
"Sister Xiao Wu is mighty!"
Looking around, Tang San discovered that Xiao Wu's lackeys had already surrounded him.
It seemed this fight was unavoidable.
Just as well. He would test the new move he had developed over this time.