Tang Hao could more or less guess that the outbreak of the Great Plague mentioned by the Celestial Screen was almost certainly connected to him.
After all, his original plan had been to kill Ye Wuhen outright to prevent him from evolving the Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul ahead of time!
Without the Celestial Screen, even if he failed once, he would have kept trying until he succeeded!
Perhaps the plague mentioned on the Celestial Screen had been caused by his attempt to kill Ye Wuhen.
And from the looks of it, the assassination had failed.
Although in reality, Ye Wuhen's mysterious abilities had kept him from acting before Yu Xiaogang's earth-shattering wisdom made him give up.
But he had taken the Seeds Bestowed by the God on Ye Wuhen!
Who knew whether the god behind Ye Wuhen would grow furious and punish him for it?
"Oh no! Ah Yin!"
Suddenly, Tang Hao remembered his wife.
He had already planted the Seven Seeds. If divine punishment really descended, wouldn't Ah Yin be the first to suffer?!
He instinctively started toward Holy Soul Village, but when he looked at Tang San, Tang Hao forcibly stopped in his tracks.
A plague that even Poison Douluo Dugu Bo and Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu could not resolve...
His father, who had died of anger, his sect, which had been forced into seclusion, and the hope of the Clear Sky Sect's revival.
Everything flashed through Tang Hao's mind. Finally, he gritted his teeth, turned, and rushed into Yu Xiaogang's library.
Ah Yin! Don't blame me.
Once I've taken our child somewhere safe, I'll come back and face this with you.
If it's you, surely you'll understand?
"Who's there!"
Tang San, who had been watching the Celestial Screen intently, saw the black-robed man suddenly rush in and instinctively moved to fire his Sleeve Arrow.
But when his Purple Demon Eye recognized the newcomer, his hand faltered, and he accidentally fired it.
Whoosh!
The sharp arrowhead grazed Yu Xiaogang's crotch and embedded itself hard in the chair beneath his bottom.
With its force not yet spent, the trembling arrow shaft gave off a buzzing sound that sounded especially loud in the silent office.
"Teacher! Are you all right?!"
Before Yu Xiaogang could react, Tang San, who honored his teacher and respected his teachings, screamed first and hurriedly lunged over.
"I... I'm fine."
Looking at the sharp little arrow that had barely missed his privates, Yu Xiaogang swallowed hard.
Just a little closer, just a little closer and...
Silently pressing his legs together, Yu Xiaogang forced a stiff smile onto his face, trying to preserve his dignity as a Master of Theory.
"The Celestial Screen hasn't finished yet. Has His Excellency Haotian appeared now because you intend to take us away to escape the disaster?"
Yu Xiaogang could more or less guess that Tang Hao might be worried the plague would kill Tang San.
He could also guess that the plague probably had something to do with the god behind Ye Wuhen.
But Ye Wuhen was still perfectly fine at present. At most, they had offended him over the matter of taking a teacher. Surely the god behind him would not go so far as to vent his anger on others?
Naturally, neither Tang San nor Tang Hao could reveal that they had taken the seeds. After all, it would damage the reputation of the Tang Sect or the Clear Sky Sect.
Tang Hao hoped all the more that the Celestial Screen would not reveal the cause of the plague's outbreak in the footage. Otherwise, he would have brought another great calamity upon his sect.
"There's no time for nonsense!"
Not bothering with Yu Xiaogang, Tang Hao simply grabbed Tang San by the collar with one hand and clamped the other around Yu Xiaogang's neck.
Picking a random direction, he smashed through the roof and flew away.
"Wait! My manuscripts! My theories!!!"
Tang Hao's actions were hardly out of the ordinary, because all of Nuoding City had fallen into chaos. In fact, he was relatively slow.
Every Soul Master who saw the Celestial Screen's footage mention that Nuoding City had suffered a plague had already thought of fleeing.
After hearing Xiao Wu's description and seeing those plague-related images on the Celestial Screen-available on Google i-the nobles and wealthy had already begun packing their luggage.
By now, the streets of Nuoding City were already in complete disorder.
The Celestial Screen was playing overhead, but almost no one here was watching intently. Most were packing their luggage while stealing an occasional glance at it.
Nuoding City descended into chaos, but the Celestial Screen continued.
["An Emerald Swan, huh? Sounds pretty rare."]
["Probably going to be a little hard to find."]
[The green-haired youth stood by a signpost, gazing at the endless forest. After a sigh, he plunged into the Star Dou Great Forest anyway.]
["Grandfather isn't forcing me, anyway. I'll just treat it as a trip. If I take my time searching, I'll find one eventually."]
[A few days later, a carriage entered the Balak Kingdom along the main road.]
[It eventually made a brief stop in Suotuo City, which could be considered close to the Star Dou Great Forest.]
["The people from the carriage company need to rest. I've heard the Soto Great Soul Arena is pretty good. Maybe the person I'm looking for will be there."]
[With that thought in mind, Li Shaobai headed straight toward the city's landmark.]
["Huh? He just left Sister Xiao Wu behind and went off on his own?"]
[At the entrance to the carriage company's posting station, Xiao Wu stared dumbfounded at Li Shaobai's departing figure.]
[She had thought that after getting acquainted over the past few days, the two of them could at least be considered friends.]
["Hmph! For the books' sake, Sister Xiao Wu won't hold it against you."]
["Oh no! I need to find something fun to do too, or there won't be much to do once I get home."]
[Stamping her little high-heeled foot, Xiao Wu gave a humph and followed him into the city.]
["I wonder if they sell the latest volume of Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng's 'The Real and Fake Heiresses: The Real Heiress Is Hated by Everyone' series here in Suotuo City..."]
[...]
[There were many things Li Shaobai could not understand.]
[Why was Dugu Feng such a monstrous talent? Why had his sword been called "unsteady," and why did Yu Tiansheng's novels sell so well?]
[They were all roughly the same age, and just as Dugu Feng outclassed him as both a Soul Master and a swordsman so thoroughly that he accepted it wholeheartedly.]
[Yu Tiansheng likewise outclassed Li Shaobai in writing so thoroughly that he accepted it wholeheartedly.]
[At the very least, he could not understand why Yu Tiansheng could write novels about real and fake heiresses or young masters, substitutes, Heart-and-Body-Wrenching Abuse, Abuse His Wife, Then Pursue Her, Abuse Her Husband, Then Pursue Him...]
[They even seemed to sell better than the Martial Soul Theory he wrote.]
["Could he be more talented at writing novels than at writing research on Martial Soul Theory?"]
[Outside the Soto Great Soul Arena, Li Shaobai looked at the bustling bookstore a few streets away from the enormous building and once again felt Yu Tiansheng's influence firsthand.]
[Well, his influence among female Soul Masters, of course.]
[Heaven Dou City was one thing, but his books were actually selling like hotcakes even somewhere like Suotuo City.]
["Wow! So many people!" Xiao Wu, who had followed Li Shaobai along the way, was startled by the bookstore packed with people.]
["Li Shaobai, could you help me buy some? In exchange, I can help you track down the Sword-Controlling Soul Master in Suotuo City."]
[During their journey together, Li Shaobai and Xiao Wu had also exchanged a few words.]
[Naturally, Xiao Wu knew that Li Shaobai had left his sect to find a Soul Master skilled at controlling swords so he could improve his Swordsmanship.]
["If you want them..."]
["Hey, little bunny. If you're willing to keep me company, I could give you these books by Lanling Xiaoxiaosheng."]
[Li Shaobai was interrupted by an arrogant voice. Looking toward its source, he saw a golden-haired youth with a pair of twins in his arms, one on either side, watching them with a face full of mockery.]
[His mismatched eyes made no attempt to conceal his desire as he stared fixedly at Xiao Wu's long, jade-like legs.]
Before you continue