Forget the Tang Sect and All That

Tang Ya smiled and said, "You really are bold. You actually dared to come alone to this crisis-ridden Star Dou Great Forest?"

Qian Chaoguang put on a slightly embarrassed smile and explained quietly, "There were just a few hiccups compared to what I'd expected, but the result wasn't too bad."

There had indeed been a few hiccups.

Qian Chaoguang had estimated how difficult breaking through would be, but he had never imagined that the changes to his body afterward would be this great.

Compared with other Spirit Masters, two words were enough to describe his breakthrough process.

Suicide.

Oh, what?

Qian Chaoguang wasn't a normal Spirit Master?

Then never mind.

As he spoke, the Soul Power cyclone inside Qian Chaoguang spun rapidly, and surging Soul Power ran wildly through his broad meridians.

A ring of luminous white Spirit Ring rose from beneath Qian Chaoguang, slowly moving upward and encircling his entire body.

At the same time, the Extreme Ice Light Martial Soul underwent some changes as well.

After the Sky Dream Ice Silkworm fused with it, the Extreme Ice Light, whose temperature had originally risen somewhat, grew icy once more. Even within the warm Star Dou Great Forest, its influence was extremely obvious.

Bei Bei and Tang Ya sensed a chill appear around them almost instantly.

The ice-blue halo in front of Qian Chaoguang's chest shone even brighter than before. Even through his clothes, that ring of deep blue could be seen with ease.

"This is... an ice-attribute light-type Martial Soul?"

Even the usually composed Bei Bei could not help his expression from shifting slightly.

An ice-attribute light-type Martial Soul?

This almost violated the common sense of Martial Souls. How could two attributes that could be called contradictory possibly form a Martial Soul?

And...

Why was his Martial Soul still located at his chest?

Could this be a kind of Body Martial Soul?

Bei Bei and Tang Ya looked at each other, and both saw the shock in the other's eyes.

Tang Ya could not help asking, "Little brother Chaoguang, what Martial Soul is this? Why... why is it like this?"

Qian Chaoguang chuckled honestly. "I don't know either. It's been like this since it awakened. I gave it a name myself: Extreme Ice Light. If possible, I want to study at Shrek Academy. When my grandfather was alive, he always praised Shrek as the best academy in the Entire Continent. I think they should know what kind of Martial Soul this is, right?"

"When your grandfather was alive..."

Tang Ya subconsciously repeated it, but before she could finish, Bei Bei hurriedly pulled her back from the side.

"Of course they can. Shrek is the holy land of all Spirit Masters under heaven. If there's any place that can fully understand your Martial Soul, it has to be Shrek."

Tang Ya also realized she had misspoken and quickly tried to make up for it. "Right, right. Shrek is the holy land of all Spirit Masters under heaven. They'll definitely be able to solve your problem."

"Then I'll borrow brother and sister's good words. But with my talent, I'm just afraid they won't accept me..."

Qian Chaoguang forced out a smile, deliberately looking regretful.

"My grandfather told me that Shrek's admission standard was being under twelve years old and having cultivation above Level 15, but even if I count everything, I'm only Level 13 right now."

Seeing the regret and frustration in his eyes, Tang Ya secretly rejoiced and gave Bei Bei a look.

Henpecked Bei Bei instantly understood and asked, "Little brother Chaoguang, besides you, who else is in your family?"

Qian Chaoguang's gaze changed in an instant, hatred flashing through his eyes.

"Only me and my younger sister."

Bei Bei continued asking without batting an eyelid, "Then is your younger sister home alone right now? Do you live nearby?"

"No, I sent her to Shrek City ahead of time. Her talent is much stronger than mine. She'll definitely be accepted."

At this point, Qian Chaoguang remembered Huo Yutong's little movements before she left, and he smiled despite himself.

"If nothing unexpected happened, she should already be a student of Shrek by now, right?"

The enthusiasm in Tang Ya's eyes grew even stronger. Since Qian Chaoguang said his younger sister could enter Shrek, that proved she should already have surpassed Level 15.

If she could draw both siblings into the Tang Sect...

Thinking of this, she hurriedly said, "Little Chaoguang, why don't you join our sect?"

Qian Chaoguang pretended to be surprised and asked, "Sect? What sect? Something like the Body Sect? My grandfather told me before that if Shrek didn't want me, I should go to the Heaven Dou Empire and try my luck with the Body Sect, to see whether they recognized this strange Martial Soul of mine. But they've always been secretive in their movements, so I don't know whether I can find them."

Tang Ya nodded seriously and said, "Yes, exactly that kind of sect. Our sect was once number one on the continent, you know. You won't lose out if you join. And our sect has several unique skills too. Once you master them, they're quite powerful."

"And don't you want to enter Shrek Academy? Perfectly enough, our sect has one quota every year that allows someone to enter Shrek without taking the entrance exam. You can use this quota to join Shrek. As long as you work hard enough, reaching the standard to stay at the academy shouldn't be difficult."

"Once number one on the continent..."

Qian Chaoguang muttered quietly, seeming to recall something.

Suddenly, as if inspiration had struck, he asked tentatively, "Sister Tang Ya, your surname is Tang. Is the sect you belong to called the Tang Sect? The Tang Sect founded by Senior Tang San?"

This time, Tang Ya and Bei Bei were truly surprised.

He had never expected that in this day and age, there would still be people who recognized the Tang Sect's great name.

Ten thousand years had passed, and the Tang Sect, once at the height of its glory, had declined beyond measure. Now, only Tang Ya and Bei Bei remained.

Being recognized now by a "little kid"—of course they were shocked.

"Little Brother Chaoguang, you've heard of the Tang Sect?"

Qian Chaoguang nodded seriously. At the same time, his gaze changed, becoming incomparably firm and filled with deep apology.

"Of course. My ancestors had quite a bit of history with the Tang Sect ten thousand years ago. If... Sister Tang Ya and Brother Bei really are members of the Tang Sect, then I can't join. Although I'm the only one left in my family now... an ancestor's command cannot be disobeyed. Sigh."

Join the Tang Sect?

No way he was joining. Not in this lifetime.

If he really joined the Tang Sect, wouldn't that mean he had to acknowledge Tang San as his founding master?

If he went against him in the future, then in terms of righteousness, it would count as betraying his master and destroying his ancestors.

He couldn't do that.

He might as well find some random excuse and bluff his way through.

Tang Ya's expression shifted slightly, and she asked calmly, "Why is that? Do you have a grudge against the Tang Sect?"

"No, no, no, it's not that serious. It's just some historical baggage that turned into an unsettled account."

Qian Chaoguang waved his hand and immediately began putting his grand art of deception to work.

"You could say it was a difference in ideals. Ten thousand years ago, Ancestor's attainments in forging could be called top-tier, but during one forging exchange, his ideals clashed with Senior Titan, the Hall Master of Strength Hall, when the Tang Sect was at its peak. Some unpleasantness occurred during the exchange, and he was even verbally mocked by a few Strength Hall disciples."

"Because of that, Ancestor, in a fit of anger, made a bold declaration that ten years later, he would compete with Senior Titan at that place called... I think it was Gengxin City. At the same time, he wrote a family precept: no descendant was ever to join the Tang Sect unless Senior Titan could surpass him in forging."