This Hat Was a Priceless Treasure

Thump! Thump! Thump!

Urgent knocking outside the door interrupted Yu Xiaogang's fantasy.

His face immediately showed some displeasure at having his lustful fantasy interrupted. He had just been dreaming of frolicking in the water like mandarin ducks with Dong'er and Erlong. Being interrupted like this made him unable to help feeling angry.

Taking a deep breath, he closed the tome. His gloomy expression faded, and his face returned to normal before he called toward the door, "Who is it?"

"Teacher, it's me, Tang San," Tang San said anxiously, pounding frantically on the door. He might have been saddled with a permanent humiliation, and even his normally calm self could no longer remain composed. Now he placed all his hopes in his teacher, Yu Xiaogang. If even his teacher could not help him remove this green hat, he would have no face to meet anyone from now on.

"Little San? What's wrong?" Yu Xiaogang opened the door and saw Tang San with what looked like an old granny's headscarf wrapped around his head. Tang San was bare-chested, both hands holding the cloth on his head. His strange behavior left Yu Xiaogang astonished.

"Little San, what are you doing? Why are you wearing that headscarf?" Yu Xiaogang could not help asking, looking at Tang San with both puzzlement and solemnity. He knew Tang San's temperament. Unless he had encountered something extremely troublesome, he would never look so frightened. Besides, whenever Tang San encountered a problem, he usually tried to solve it himself first and only came to him when he could not.

Clearly, Tang San had run into some very thorny trouble.

And it had something to do with his head.

The wise Yu Xiaogang saw through a great deal at a glance.

"Teacher, I've gone green. I've really gone green," Tang San said in a trembling voice, pulling away the clothing covering his head and revealing the green hat to Yu Xiaogang.

"Little San, what's going on?" Yu Xiaogang blinked, somewhat bewildered. He only thought the hat looked rather nice and did not think of anything else for the moment.

"Teacher, listen to me. This is a Hat of Destiny-no, this is a green hat. Whether it's called the Hat of Destiny or not, whether it has any powerful effects or not, it's still a green hat," Tang San said solemnly. He did not care whether the hat benefited him or could ward off calamities and avert disasters. He only knew that the sight of it filled him with irritation.

This was Xu Ran's humiliation of him.

If he kept wearing this humiliating thing on his head, even if no one saw it and no one misunderstood, he would still go mad himself. Because whenever he looked in a mirror, he would know that he had gone green.

"So?" Yu Xiaogang was still rather baffled. He could not help touching the hat on Tang San's head, finding its texture exceptionally soft and its material of the finest quality. He could hardly be blamed for not knowing such things. Devoted to researching (plagiarizing) theories, he shut his ears to everything outside his window. He had no idea what this green color represented.

"Teacher, don't you know-haven't you noticed anything?" Tang San took a deep breath and looked at Yu Xiaogang. Could even his teacher's intellect not see through this hat?

"I have. The material is quite good, and the style isn't bad either. Remember to buy me one next time you come," Yu Xiaogang said. Touching the hat on Tang San's head, he felt that its material was anything but ordinary. It seemed far superior to every fabric he had ever seen. Even the pelts of high-ranking Soul Beasts fell far short of it.

"It's not about the style. This hat won't come off." Tang San felt himself crumbling inside. Although he knew his teacher was not deliberately making fun of him, his pride had still taken something of a blow.

"It won't come off?" Only upon hearing this did Yu Xiaogang's expression truly turn solemn, and he took a serious look at the hat on Tang San's head. He gripped the brim firmly and tried hard to pull it off. To his astonishment, however, the hat would not budge no matter what he did.

After a long time, Yu Xiaogang had tried many methods, but even scissors could not cut the hat. Even Yu Xiaogang could do nothing about this bizarre hat.

"This... there's no mention of a hat in the tomes either. What should I do?" Yu Xiaogang murmured. He had read all manner of tomes thoroughly and understood Soul Master knowledge well. But when it came to things outside those tomes, he was as good as groping in the dark.

"Teacher, what did you say?" Tang San could not help asking. He had not heard what Yu Xiaogang was saying clearly.

"This hat is far too strange. It seems to have locked itself completely onto your head. Ordinary methods will probably have a very hard time removing it. Even scissors can't cut it. At this point, we can only use that move." Yu Xiaogang shook his head, then turned and fetched a large hammer from the inner room.

The hammer was made of refined iron. Although it did not look large, it weighed at least a dozen jin.

"Teacher, what are you planning to do?" Looking at the hammer, Tang San could not help drawing in a sharp breath. Surely his teacher was not planning to smash the hat apart with a hammer?

"This may be the only method that works," Yu Xiaogang said gravely, holding the large hammer. He had just examined it: the hat felt soft and supple, but it hardened immediately when subjected to damage. That was why even his scissors had failed to cut it.

"In that case, go ahead, Teacher," Tang San said firmly through gritted teeth.

"Little San, bear with the pain. Gather all your Soul Power in your head to reduce the harm the hammer does to you," Yu Xiaogang said.

Tang San released his Martial Soul outright and gathered all his Soul Power in his head. His face was filled with resolve. Even if the impact gave him a concussion, it would be worth it as long as he could break this hat!

He did not want to wear this hat for even another moment!

Clang! The large hammer smashed down hard on Tang San's head. Yu Xiaogang struck with the strength of an ordinary person, while Tang San had released his Martial Soul, so there was no need to worry about causing him overly serious harm. But something neither Yu Xiaogang nor Tang San had expected happened just as the hammer was about to touch the top of Tang San's head!

The previously soft hat instantly became indestructible. Even the hammer striking it did not cause the slightest damage. Yu Xiaogang's arm, however, trembled violently from the force of the rebound.

"There's something fishy about it, just as I thought." Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath and brought the hammer down hard again.

A clang rang out, and the hat remained completely unscathed. After another dozen or so blows, an unusual gleam gradually appeared in Yu Xiaogang's eyes, and towering waves surged through his heart.

A treasure. This was definitely a treasure!

Little San had stumbled upon a treasure!

He had observed very carefully just now. When this incredibly hard hammer struck it, the hat remained completely unharmed, while tiny iron filings flew off the hammer. This proved that the hat possessed tremendous defensive power and was harder than refined iron.

If Tang San could keep wearing such a treasure on his head, his future would hold even more possibilities!

The head was an extremely vulnerable place to begin with. With such a powerful defensive treasure, Tang San would have far more possibilities in battle in the future!

Before Tang San used his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul, Blue Silver Grass was his primary means of attack. As a control-type Soul Master, he had high requirements for mental power. The brain was the key to a control-type Soul Master leading a team to victory. Now that this hat protected Tang San's head, it would naturally benefit his strength.

Yu Xiaogang pondered these things to himself. He had no desire to care whether this hat held any special significance for Tang San. As Tang San's teacher, all he needed to know was that this hat was powerful-incomparably powerful.

If Tang San made it smoothly through his period of growth and became a mighty figure of his generation, he too would enjoy supreme glory then. As for whether that mighty figure wore a green hat on his head, it did not matter. He was not the one wearing it, after all.

"Teacher, what are you thinking?" Tang San could not help asking. He kept feeling that something was wrong with his teacher's gaze, as though he were looking at a supreme treasure. This was no supreme treasure, just a hat, and one with symbolic meaning at that.

"Since this ordinary hammer can't smash the hat, try using your second Martial Soul. Your second Martial Soul is indestructible, and its destructive power is beyond that of ordinary implements," Yu Xiaogang said, a hint of anticipation in his eyes. If even the Clear Sky Hammer could not smash this hat, that would truly prove it was a priceless treasure.