Late at night.
Most of Nuoding Academy's buildings had gone dark. Teachers and students alike had almost all left the school.
Inside his room, Li Changsheng sat cross-legged on the bed, while Luo Sanpao lay on a small round cushion beside him, eyes tightly shut, a faint platinum glow radiating from his body.
A visible golden bond connected Li Changsheng and Luo Sanpao, with Soul Power constantly surging back and forth along it.
Humm-
The room was silent, save for the humming of Soul Power.
"Woo... luoluo!"
Suddenly, Luo Sanpao's eyes snapped open. His pitch-black eyes fixed on the window, and he began crying out in that direction.
"Hmm? Is someone there?"
Li Changsheng slowly opened his eyes. Luo Sanpao's thoughts reached him through the bond: someone outside the window had deliberately let a trace of their presence slip.
Bang!
As the window suddenly swung open, a tall figure in black robes abruptly appeared inside the room.
He wore a shabby, tattered black robe over a dark brown underlayer. His tall frame was hunched, and he reeked of alcohol.
He simply stood there quietly, without releasing a trace of Soul Power, yet carried an oppressive, heavy presence.
"Li Changsheng."
Before Li Changsheng could react, Tang Hao spoke first, an unreadable emotion in the murky eyes beneath his hood.
"And you are?"
Li Changsheng knew it was Tang Hao. Though he was asking a question he already knew the answer to, and an appropriately grave expression appeared on his face, he had not actually lowered his guard.
With no time to think, Li Changsheng hurriedly opened the system interface before the other man could act. The Peak Strike Experience Card still lay quietly in the system space.
If Tang Hao made a move, Li Changsheng would use it without hesitation.
"My name is Tang Hao. I'm the father of your disciple, Tang San!"
"The Clear Sky Douluo!?"
"Just an empty title. Having met you tonight, I'd say you're quite good. At least from what I've observed, you're a responsible teacher. I'll leave Little San in your care from now on."
"What about you? Little San needs more than just me. As his father, you can't keep disappearing forever, can you?"
Faced with Li Changsheng's question, Tang Hao offered no explanation. He merely took out a token and tossed it to him.
Li Changsheng caught the token and examined it. It was a Pope Token.
"Keep this. If you run into any trouble, bring it out. I'll be leaving this place for a while. Don't try to find me!"
With that, Tang Hao walked toward the window and vanished a moment later. With Li Changsheng's current strength, he could not even detect how the man had disappeared.
Does he think I'm a babysitter?
That fellow Tang Hao's tone had held neither hope nor an earnest request. Instead, it had carried something of a threat.
Li Changsheng looked at the token in his hand, then at Luo Sanpao by his feet. It seemed he still needed to grow stronger...
Outside, Tang Hao had already left Nuoding City. He intended to travel the continent in search of an opportunity to heal his hidden injuries.
"This Li Changsheng's Martial Soul is rather interesting. If he can raise Little San properly, making him a gatekeeper for the Clear Sky Sect in the future wouldn't be bad!"
Tang Hao thought nothing of Li Changsheng whatsoever. In his eyes, the Clear Sky Sect's interests came first. Naturally, it would be best if Li Changsheng could teach Tang San well. If he could not... then he could prepare to taste the Clear Sky Hammer!
Someone with an outside surname had no right to be accepted into the Clear Sky Sect!
Holy Soul Village.
Inside a secluded wooden house on the western side.
"Xiao Wu, time to eat!"
As Tang San brought over the final dish, the table was ready with three dishes and a soup.
"Wow! Little San, you're amazing. You're actually such a good cook!"
Xiao Wu sniffed a bowl of carrots, her two rabbit ears bobbing.
She glanced at Tang San and noticed that, though he was smiling, the desolation in his eyes was impossible to hide.
"Little San, don't be sad. Maybe your father only went away for a while. He'll definitely come back!"
When the two returned to the smithy, they had discovered that Tang Hao had already left. There had been no farewell, only a cold note.
Tang San shook his head, still smiling. Though the smile was forced, Xiao Wu knew he was putting it on for her because he did not want her to worry.
"It's fine. After dinner, let's sit outside for a while, then come back to sleep. There are two beds in my house. You can take mine, and I'll sleep in my father's."
"Okay."
After dinner, the two sat beneath the eaves together, looking at the stars. By the moonlight, Tang San continued reading the Complete Compendium of Soul Beast Theory.
The book contained far too much. Even though Tang San made time to read every day, he had only managed to finish half of it over the past year.
"Hmm?"
Just then, Tang San suddenly saw a Soul Beast that felt incredibly familiar to him.
The Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor lived in an enclosed valley, which was also a gathering place for Blue Silver Grass.
The Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor...
Seeing this Soul Beast, Tang San could not help recalling a question he had asked Li Changsheng some time ago.
"Teacher, can someone really obtain a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring easily?"
"Of course. Soul Beasts undergo a heavenly tribulation every hundred thousand years. If they fail, not even their bones remain. To preserve their lives, some Soul Beasts choose to take human form to avoid the heavenly tribulation."
"There are advantages and disadvantages to this. The advantages are that they gain relatively high cultivation talent and can condense their own Soul Rings. The disadvantage is that, before they reach maturity, a Soul Douluo can see through them with careful observation, while a Titled Douluo can discern the truth at a glance."
Soul Beast Transformation...
Tang San considered the possibilities. Though it seemed somewhat absurd, certain truths often were just like that.
Could his mother have been a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor that had taken human form?
"How could that be..."
The moment this thought appeared in his mind, Tang San immediately rejected it. It was too ridiculous. Surely his father, Tang Hao, could not have fallen in love with a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?
"Little San, this is for you!"
Xiao Wu's voice beside him interrupted Tang San's thoughts. Turning to look, he saw that she was holding a wooden comb in her two little hands, seemingly intending to give it to him.
Isn't this Xiao Wu's most precious wooden comb?
He had heard that her mother had left it to her, and that it meant a great deal to Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, this comb is very important to you, isn't it? Don't just give it away. Hurry and put it away safely."
"No, this comb has a different meaning. Third Brother, can I call you that? Xiao Wu wants to give it to you!"
As Xiao Wu spoke, she lowered her little head. Tang San did not see her faintly flushed cheeks. He only stared blankly at the little comb in his hand.
Xiao Wu, is she...
[Major plot event detected. The relationship between disciples Tang San and Xiao Wu has changed. Reward: increased template progress, Template Relationship Network ×1!]
Back on Li Changsheng's side, he had just been about to go to sleep when the system notification sounded in his mind, leaving him utterly at a loss.