"Hmm?"
Old Jack frowned and pushed the door open.
The tall, dejected figure was long gone from the house.
The stove stood cold and deserted.
Only a thin sheet of letter paper lay weighed down on the table.
Tang Tian picked it up and looked it over. The scrawled handwriting carried an air of wild defiance and finality.
The contents were simple, even somewhat cold.
[Xiaotian, Xiaosan]
[I have something important to attend to and must leave for a while. You've grown up now. Learn to take care of yourselves.]
[-Your father, Tang Hao.]
"That rotten bastard!"
After reading the letter, Old Jack was so angry that his beard bristled, and he slammed his walking stick against the ground.
"Leaving two children this young behind to fend for themselves while he runs off? What kind of father does that!"
He turned his head.
Seeing Tang Tian's "dejected" expression, he hurried to comfort him:
"Xiaotian, don't be sad."
"Let that old bastard go. At least he won't drag you two brothers down anymore. If you ever run into trouble, just tell Grandpa!"
As he spoke, Old Jack shakily pulled a cloth bundle from inside his clothes.
He forced several Gold Soul Coins into Tang Tian's hands.
"Take them! Go buy yourself and Xiaosan some decent clothes in the city."
"We may come from poor families, but we can't let those young masters and misses in the city look down on us!"
Holding the Gold Soul Coins, which still carried Old Jack's body warmth, Tang Tian felt a warm current flow through his heart.
He knew Grandpa Old Jack must have painstakingly saved up these Gold Soul Coins.
Over the years, he had received more help from Grandpa Old Jack than he could count.
He did not refuse this weighty kindness.
Someday, I'll make sure Grandpa Old Jack gets a ten-thousandfold return on this investment!
"Thank you, Grandpa Jack."
After packing a few changes of clothes, Tang Tian said goodbye to Old Jack.
Before he left.
Old Jack watched his retreating figure.
A light of hope shone in his clouded eyes:
"Xiaotian, you and Xiaosan have both become Soul Masters now."
"Perhaps someday, our Holy Soul Village can have an even grander name..."
Old Jack had only offered those words as casual encouragement.
But Tang Tian stopped in his tracks.
He turned back and took a long look at the village's battered old sign.
"It will, Grandpa Jack."
He spoke silently in his heart.
"Someday, because of Xiaosan and me, this place will become a true home of gods."
To him, Soul Saint was merely a starting point!
Titled Douluo was merely a small goal!
His future lay above the Divine Realm!
On the road back to Nuoding City.
Tang Tian did not use his flying ability again.
He chose to measure the earth with his own feet, feeling every subtle change in his evolved body.
The once-lengthy journey.
Now took him only a third of the time as he strode along as swiftly as if he were flying.
After returning to Nuoding City, he headed straight for a shop.
He picked out two sets of casual clothes made from decent fabric.
One for himself, and one for Tang San.
As he paid, his gaze swept over a corner of the counter.
A pile of cheap little accessories lay there.
A carrot-shaped hair clip caught his attention.
"Shopkeeper, how much is this?"
"That? You can have it. It's a promotional freebie nobody wants anyway."
Tang Tian smiled and slipped the hair clip into his pocket.
Now that's a bargain for nothing!
"Little Blue is asleep, upgrading, and that tsundere Little Iron Hammer is still sulking..."
"At a time like this, offering to make peace will only make her more smug."
"Looks like I'll need another trick, like diverting her attention."
"As for the target to win over..."
That small, exquisitely delicate figure surfaced in Tang Tian's mind.
"That hundred-thousand-year-old rogue rabbit! It's about time I raised her Affection Level."
He had just returned to Nuoding Soul Master Academy.
Dorm Seven.
Before he had even pushed the door fully open.
A pink figure rushed toward him like a young swallow returning to its nest.
And latched straight onto Tang Tian.
"Tian! You're finally back!"
Xiao Wu's large, ruby-like eyes stared intently at Tang Tian.
Her pert little nose kept sniffing him.
An intoxicated expression appeared on her face.
"You smell so good..."
"Tian, did you sneak off to eat something delicious while you were home? Why do you smell so much nicer now?"
For Xiao Wu, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form.
The pure life aura within Tang Tian, originating from the Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone.
Was nothing short of a fatal temptation.
It was an attraction rooted in her very essence, making her unable to resist drawing closer, and closer still.
"Ahem!"
A deliberate cough interrupted Xiao Wu's taking liberties.
Tang San walked over with a dark expression.
Without betraying anything, he peeled Xiao Wu off his big brother.
And took the bundle from Tang Tian's hand.
"Brother, why were you gone so long?"
When he saw the new clothes and the letter inside the bundle, his expression froze.
"This is..."
Tang Tian handed the letter to Tang San and said softly:
"Dad left."
Tang San took the letter, and the instant he read its contents, he felt as though lightning had struck him.
Although he had long since grown used to his father's indifference.
This departure without a goodbye still left a hollow ache inside him.
A sense of loneliness at being abandoned welled up unbidden.
"He's gone... perhaps that's for the best."
Tang San lowered his head, his voice slightly hoarse.
Just then, a warm hand settled on his head and gently ruffled his hair.
"Don't look so glum. Dad may be gone, but you still have your brother."
Tang Tian's gentle yet firm voice sounded beside his ear.
"As long as your big brother has a bite to eat, you won't go hungry."
Tang San abruptly raised his head.
Looking at his big brother, whose brilliance was impossible to hide.
At that moment, he keenly sensed that his brother's aura had become deeper and stronger.
"Big Brother must have gone home to train his heart out... I can't fall behind either!"
That sense of loss at being abandoned instantly vanished.
In its place came an even firmer conviction.
"Yes! Brother, I'll protect you! I'm a Soul Master now!"
Tang San clenched his fists, a flame called "the king of grinding" igniting in his eyes.
Afterward, Tang Tian had both of them change into their new clothes.
As the saying went, clothes made the man.
Tang Tian, dressed in a well-fitting martial outfit.
Even with his complexion toned down, his otherworldly bearing still seemed to brighten all of Dorm Seven.
Even Tang San looked spirited and full of youthful vigor.
"Wow! Tian, you look way... way too good!"
Xiao Wu circled Tang Tian several times, her eyes full of stars.
[Ding! Detected target to win over: Soft Bone Demon Rabbit. Affection Level +3. Current Affection Level: 43/100 (favorable).]
Tang Tian laughed inwardly:
"Sure enough, human or rabbit, they're all suckers for a pretty face at heart."
As though performing a magic trick, he pulled the carrot hair clip from his pocket and held it out to Xiao Wu.
"Here. I saw a promotion on the way back. This was a freebie, so I picked it up."
"But I thought it would suit you pretty well."
Xiao Wu accepted the hair clip in delighted surprise.
Unable to put it down, she clipped it onto her scorpion braid.
Already pink and delicate, she looked even more impossibly adorable with the playful carrot accessory.
She smiled sweetly at Tang Tian, two little dimples flickering into view:
"Thank you, Tian! I love it!"
"This is the first gift I've ever received!"
Watching this heartwarming scene, Tang Tian's lips curved slightly upward.
But deep within his mind.
Little Iron Hammer, who had remained quiet all this time, seemed... even more jealous?
Before you continue