Tang San Awakens

Li Jin's Sea of Consciousness!

The spiritual power here had originally been a chaotic mess.

As Li Jin gathered his spiritual power and brought order to the disorder, it grew increasingly concentrated.

Outside, Li Jin opened his eyes, and a flash of divine light shot out.

He had mastered the Purple Demon Eye!

This eye technique had been the easiest for Li Jin to cultivate.

The Purple Demon Eye was meant to cultivate spiritual power in the first place, and Li Jin had now opened his Sea of Consciousness.

For him, cultivating the Purple Demon Eye was like a high school student solving an elementary school student's problems. It was as easy as turning over his hand.

Not only had he mastered the Purple Demon Eye, but he had also crossed the Overview realm in one go and reached the Minute Detail realm.

A moment later, the divine light receded, and Li Jin got up and stretched.

The meridians around the eyes are the most fragile, yet the Purple Demon Eye, which I saved for last, turned out to be the quickest to cultivate. That's a pleasant surprise.

Just as Li Jin was reflecting on this,

A young woman's shout rang out.

"Li Jin, you're awake! Look how my Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track is coming along!"

Li Jin looked toward the voice. In the little grove, Xiao Wu was using Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, darting and weaving between the trees, her figure as swift as a ghost.

Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Rabbit Martial Soul already excelled in speed. Now, with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, she appeared and disappeared like a ghost, and her combat power had taken a qualitative leap.

He smiled and applauded.

"It's dazzling to watch. Xiao Wu, your Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track is getting better and better. You're even better than Tang San."

"Hee-hee!" Xiao Wu beamed.

"There's Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon too. Li Jin, take this! Come practice with me."

Li Jin had held nothing back from Xiao Wu. He had taught her everything he had learned, including Mysterious Heaven Skill, Purple Demon Eye, Mysterious Jade Hand, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

But Xiao Wu was not very interested in Purple Demon Eye or Mysterious Jade Hand. She was very interested in Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

It made sense when he thought about it. Xiao Wu did not use Hidden Weapons, so Purple Demon Eye and Mysterious Jade Hand were not very practical for her. What could truly improve her combat ability were Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon and Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

"Bring it on!"

"Xiao Wu, I'm no longer a support Soul Master too weak to truss a chicken. Let's see who comes out on top today!"

Li Jin spoke in a ringing voice and used Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track as well. His figure swiftly crossed paths with Xiao Wu's, their two ghostly forms constantly overlapping and separating.

Fortunately, it was broad daylight, and fortunately, no one was nearby.

Otherwise, anyone who saw them would have thought they had run into ghosts.

Smack! Smack! Smack!

The invisible forces of Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon collided in the air, producing a succession of explosive cracks.

The air shuddered.

When the force occasionally struck a tree trunk, it shattered a layer of bark.

Li Jin and Xiao Wu had brought all of Tang San's Tang Sect Secret Arts to new heights, except for the Hidden Weapons.

And what about Tang San at this time?

After lying in the infirmary for some time, Tang San moved a finger that day and soon opened his eyes.

As his eyes focused, Tang San discovered to his horror that his eyesight had deteriorated drastically. Beyond ten meters, he could not tell a person from an animal.

How could this happen? What happened to my Purple Demon Eye?

Tang San tried to activate Purple Demon Eye, only to discover that it had also fallen from the Minute Detail realm to the Overview realm.

Now Tang San was truly beginning to panic.

I remember now. The last time I fought Xiao Wu, Li Jin broke my Purple Demon Eye. My eyes were already injured, and then they were exposed to smoke in the fire... This is bad. This is really bad!

My eyesight has deteriorated, and my Purple Demon Eye has fallen a realm. There's no telling how long it will take before I have a chance to recover.

Thinking of that deadly fire, Tang San also felt somewhat fortunate.

At least I survived. As long as I'm alive, that's enough. If I persevere in my cultivation, it's not as though I have no chance of recovering.

But why wasn't Luo Sanpao's Fart Like Thunder so powerful in the Soul Hunting Forest?

That fart had more than enough power to blast the Mandala Snake to death...

"Argh! It hurts! My body's burning inside and out!"

Tang San shifted, trying to stand up.

But a burning pain came from all his internal organs and limbs, making him bare his teeth as his features twisted together.

Hearing the noise, a physician came over.

The expression on his face was one of considerable surprise.

"Your vitality really is tenacious. After you were burned and suffocated in a fire like that, I thought you'd become a living corpse. Yet you woke up after sleeping for only three days."

"Little fellow, now that you're awake, don't move. Even if the suffocation didn't kill you, the fire poison from the burns has already invaded your internal organs."

"As for me, I'm only a Soul Grandmaster, so my healing ability is limited. Rest and recuperate for three to six months first. Once the fire poison dissipates, you'll be able to get out of bed and walk."

"As for the future, there'll definitely be some lingering effects. You'd better prepare yourself."

Tang San's heart went half cold when he heard that.

It would take three to six months before he could get out of bed. How much time would that cost him?

Li Jin and Xiao Wu's Soul Power was already stronger than his. If he lost another three to six months of cultivation, would he still have a chance to catch up with them?

And there was something else...

Tang San opened his mouth. His throat felt as if it had been burned by fire, making his voice as hoarse as a duck's.

"Physician, are my father and teacher all right?"

The physician picked up the records in his hand and looked through them.

"They're both alive. Your teacher's condition is much the same as yours. Fire poison has entered his internal organs, and he won't be able to get out of bed at all without a long period of recuperation."

"As for your father..."

A trace of pity appeared in the physician's eyes.

"Your father has it the worst. When the fire swept in, he was at the very front, wasn't he? His face has been disfigured, and there isn't a patch of healthy flesh left on him."

"But I have to say, your father's vitality is stronger than yours or your teacher's. His Soul Power is unfathomably profound. I can't gauge its depth."

"But he already had old injuries, and now he's been burned in the fire too. Beset from within and without, your father has only a breath left in him. I can't guarantee whether he'll ever be able to stand again."

???

Tang San's head was full of question marks. Wasn't his father, Tang Hao, just the blacksmith of Holy Soul Village?

Why was his Soul Power unfathomably profound?

Questions filled Tang San's mind, and a thought occurred to him.

Could my father be some peerless expert living in seclusion? My teacher must know him. Otherwise, he definitely wouldn't have been so excited when he learned my father's name was Tang Hao.

This time, my father was beaten into a cripple and thrown into an alley like a beggar. It must have been done by an enemy from back then.

This is bad! My father's enemy threw him out as bait, so he must have been trying to lure me into the trap. He might be watching from the shadows right now.

Keep a low profile! I have to lie low. I can't die yet...

The physician turned to leave.

"I'll go now. I'll come back to apply your medicine later. The dean of your Nuoding Academy advanced the medical fees for the three of you."

"Rest and recover in peace. Don't move around, or you might injure yourselves again."

Tang San did not dare move anymore. He slowly turned his head and, because his eyesight had deteriorated, narrowed his eyes to slits before he could see that there were two more beds beside him.

His teacher, Yu Xiaogang, lay on one bed.

His father, Tang Hao, lay on the other.

A bitter taste filled Tang San's mouth. Misfortunes truly never came singly.

He could not move or cultivate for three to six months.

Sigh...