Tang Xuan trained from afternoon until dusk, then from dusk until stars filled the sky. On his 135th lap, his consciousness began to blur. His limit was right before him, and he had to break through it.
His body had already gone numb; only his will kept him going. There were three hundred meters left in this lap, and the finish line was right before his eyes. One hundred and fifty meters... one hundred meters... fifty meters... ten meters.
"Aah!" Tang Xuan roared, using the last shred of his strength to finally cross the finish line. The instant he crossed it, a warm current welled up and flowed through every limb and bone in his body. He knew he had broken through his limit, but he had no time to savor the feeling. His consciousness blurred completely, and with a tremendous crash, he fell to the ground along with the iron block. As he lay there, his last flicker of awareness caught a hazy glimpse of the stars filling the night sky before he passed out.
When Tang San and Xiao Wu came looking for Tang Xuan, they found him unconscious and carried him back to the dormitory. Looking at the wreckage scattered across the training ground, they could not help lamenting that a perfectly good training ground had been utterly ruined.
When Tang Xuan woke the next day, he felt no soreness at all. Instead, his body felt wonderfully refreshed. He strapped the iron block onto his back and went off to train again. Day after day, the track was repaired and repaired, resurfaced and resurfaced. More and more weight was added to the iron block, but this training could not last much longer. Three months later, the block had reached its maximum weight of fifty thousand jin. This kind of training no longer did much for Tang Xuan; after all, there was no heavier iron block to be found.
Tang Xuan stared thoughtfully at the iron block on the ground. Suddenly, his eyes shifted, and an idea came to him.
One month later, inside the Heaven Sect.
Tang Xuan and Song Ming were fighting bare-handed, trading punches and kicks in a closely matched bout. The corner of Tang Xuan's mouth was bruised, while Song Ming's clothes were somewhat disheveled. Just then, Song Ming seized an opening and punched Tang Xuan in the chest, forcing him back dozens of steps. Once Tang Xuan steadied himself, he charged forward and tangled with Song Ming again. When Song Ming let his guard down, Tang Xuan landed several punches on him as well, forcing him to retreat. Tang Xuan's strongest blow could deliver eighty thousand jin of force; even a casual punch carried ten thousand jin! Although Song Ming was a Soul Douluo with abundant soul power, those punches were still painful. After all, he was not a defensive soul master. He could not withstand this kind of battering from Tang Xuan! Seeing Tang Xuan about to charge again, Song Ming panicked and hurriedly waved his hands. "Stop, stop, stop!"
Tang Xuan froze at Song Ming's words and asked, "What's wrong, Elder Song? Why aren't we continuing?" He had not had his fill yet. Fighting Song Ming and the others was far more effective than carrying an iron block!
Seeing that Tang Xuan still looked eager for more, Song Ming inwardly groaned. During the first half of the month, they had still been able to keep Tang Xuan pinned down, beating him black and blue every day. They had even treated it as a way to relieve stress. But they simply could not outlast Tang Xuan's persistence in seeking them out to fight every single day. No matter how badly he was beaten the day before, he would show up on time the next day to challenge them again. They had begun to suspect he enjoyed being abused. The latter half of the month, however, had been different. Tang Xuan improved rapidly, and their fights had gone from one-sided crushing defeats to evenly matched bouts. His strength was terrifying, sometimes leaving even them struggling to withstand it, though that was with everyone refraining from using soul power.
"Little Xuan, let's take a break first, eh? Just a little break." Seeing that he had stopped and had no intention of continuing, Tang Xuan could only say, "All right, Elder Song. Let's rest for a bit, then fight again later."
Hearing his answer, Song Ming felt as though he had been granted a pardon. He hurried over to a reclining chair and lay down. Tang Xuan sat on a stone stool beside him and poured him a cup of tea. Song Ming smiled appreciatively, took the cup, and drank. This brat Tang Xuan still has a bit of a conscience. All that sparring with him wasn't for nothing.
I can't push him too hard, Tang Xuan thought. If he runs off like Old Man Lin and Uncle Su, I'll have no one left to train with. As he thought this, he looked up at Song Ming, who now wore a thoroughly contented expression.
Lying in the reclining chair, Song Ming suddenly felt a flutter of unease. Which little rascal is plotting against me now?
Just then, Lin Ao came in from outside with Nock, Xiao Cheng, and Wang Wei. He walked straight over and sat on the stone stool beside Tang Xuan, then said to Song Ming in the chair, "Old friend, you're living pretty comfortably."
Song Ming immediately snorted. "Hmph! Comfortably? Then why don't you take my place?"
Lin Ao naturally understood the meaning behind Song Ming's words. To avoid Tang Xuan's challenges, he and Su Qing had both gone into hiding, leaving Song Ming alone to deal with him. Truthfully, Lin Ao felt a little guilty toward Song Ming.
Tang Xuan said to Nock and the other two, "You three should sit too."
"Yes, Sect Master." The three cupped their hands in salute to Tang Xuan before sitting down.
Tang Xuan looked at them and nodded in satisfaction. Over the past few years, all three had become Soul Douluo-level experts. Nock had reached rank eighty-four, Xiao Cheng rank eighty-three, and Wang Wei rank eighty-two. Beyond the help of pills and soul cores, their own diligent training had also contributed.
"Reporting to the Sect Master, the sect and the merchant association have developed well over these past few years. The merchant association in particular has grown rapidly and now essentially controls the economic lifeblood of the Heaven Dou Empire. It is expanding into other regions of the continent. Also, as you instructed, construction of the city that will house the sect's headquarters is underway. Everything is proceeding smoothly."
"Sect Master, this is a detailed report on the development of the sect and the merchant association." With that, Xiao Cheng handed Tang Xuan a booklet.
Tang Xuan took it and casually flipped through it, expressing his satisfaction.
"Very good. Thank you for your hard work." Tang Xuan nodded to the three in acknowledgment.
The three rose and returned his salute. "Without you, Sect Master, we would not be where we are today. We are willing to serve you."
Tang Xuan was pleased, but still said, "There's no need to be so formal in private. Relax a little."
"Uh, Sect Master, I'll take responsibility for the headquarters, then. I'll be off now! I'll leave the sparring to Lin Ao." With that, Song Ming dashed out with a whoosh.
"Sect Master, the three of us have matters to attend to as well, so we'll take our leave." With that, the three hurried away, terrified that Tang Xuan would drag them into sparring with him.
"Hey, get back here! And you, Old Man Song, overseeing construction of the sect's headquarters is my job! It has nothing to do with you! Hey! Hey, get back here!" Lin Ao shouted in exasperation.
Tang Xuan looked at Lin Ao. "Then, Old Man Lin, about the sparring..."
"Wait, Little Xuan. Overseeing construction is my responsibility. Old Man Song has it all mixed up. I'll go bring him back for you," Lin Ao interrupted. As soon as he finished speaking, he ran out.
Run! Lin Ao thought. Sparring with you, brat-is that a job any human can handle?
Tang Xuan was left standing alone, utterly bewildered in the wind.
"Fine! If you won't do it, I'll find something that isn't human," Tang Xuan muttered. Fighting soul beasts had been his first idea in the first place. Though it would be risky, the results would certainly be substantial. Mm, that settles it. Tang Xuan released the Dragon Wings and flew away with a beat of his wings.
The soul beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest still had no idea Tang Xuan had set his sights on them. Alas, say a prayer for them!
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