Nuoding Academy, in a dark corner!
A middle-aged man lay there, his clothes in tatters, his face sallow, his body withered.
He was Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao!
Ever since yesterday, when he had harbored murderous intent toward Li Jin.
His old injuries had inexplicably flared up. Stagnant blood had surged straight into his brain, blocking his nerves and robbing him of control over his body. He had collapsed in this dark corner and spent a freezing night there.
His mouth was crooked and his eyes askew. His mind was perfectly clear, yet he could not feel his body at all.
Over the course of that night, Tang Hao had thought about many things.
There had been the high spirits of his youth in the Clear Sky Sect, and the days of roaming the continent as a young man with his elder brother Tang Xiao and their third sister Ah Yin, freely repaying kindness and settling grudges.
There had also been the tragic, heroic struggles of his middle years, when he had made an enemy of Spirit Hall.
He had known glory and destitution in his life, but he had never imagined that he, the mighty Clear Sky Douluo, would collapse in a dark corner because his old injuries had flared up.
He could not move his body at all. Was he really going to die here, unknown and unnoticed?!
Grief and indignation filled Tang Hao's heart.
In his view, with his status, even if he died, his death should shake the heavens and earth. He should not die so pathetically.
Hatred, regret, pain, guilt...
All manner of emotions flashed through his mind, tormenting him until he was utterly drained.
Not until Li Jin left Nuoding Academy, and even left Nuoding City.
Tang Hao's fingers twitched, and a brilliant gleam instantly burst from his eyes. The stagnant blood seemed to have dispersed, and he gradually began to feel his body again.
"Hngh!"
Tang Hao grunted and rose from the ground, swaying a little.
The stagnant blood blocking his nerves dispersed, and his formidable rank-94 Soul Power circulated through his meridians. The feeling of regaining what he had lost made him so excited that he wanted to let out a long cry.
He had never imagined a day would come when simply being able to move freely would make him so happy.
"I can't stay here!"
"There's something very wrong with my body now. Those hidden injuries from back then, and the stagnant blood, are still lodged inside me. I need to rest quietly for a while and focus on recovering."
"Little San shouldn't run into any major problems at Nuoding Academy. That Grandmaster, one of the Golden Iron Triangle back then, has some reputation on the continent. If he's only teaching Little San basic Soul Master knowledge, he shouldn't make any major mistakes."
In a flash, Tang Hao rose into the air and flew out of Nuoding Academy.
He was going back to the valley in the mountains behind Holy Soul Village. Ah Yin was still there, and he wanted to stay with her.
If he had simply left without making trouble, perhaps nothing serious would have happened.
But he insisted on asking for trouble.
"That Li Jin from Nuoding Academy actually dared to compete with my son for a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. Once I've recovered, the first thing I'll do is smash him into meat paste..."
Before he finished speaking, Tang Hao's eyes widened. The rank-94 Soul Power that had been circulating normally through his meridians suddenly ran wild, charging and crashing in every direction.
It battered his internal organs and aggravated his old injuries, making his body convulse as he once again lost control of it.
Thud!
Tang Hao's body slammed heavily into a dark alley somewhere in Nuoding City.
He was a Titled Douluo, after all, and his physique was still formidable. Falling from over a hundred meters only made him vomit great mouthfuls of blood and violently shook his internal organs; it was not enough to kill him.
Half his body had gone numb. Only one arm and one leg could still move.
"How could this happen?"
"My body had clearly recovered. Why would my Soul Power suddenly go berserk for no reason?"
"Damn Qian Xunji! Damn Spirit Hall! The old injuries they left me with are too severe. They've seriously affected my physical condition."
"Once Little San grows up and equips his Clear Sky Hammer entirely with Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings, I'll make him destroy your Spirit Hall to vent the hatred in my heart!"
Tang Hao cursed viciously.
Just then, his stomach growled loudly.
From yesterday until now, he had not drunk a mouthful of water or eaten a bite of food. Even a Titled Douluo felt hungry by this point.
He gritted his teeth, his eyes bloodshot, panting like an ox as his hatred for Spirit Hall soared.
Dragging his crippled body, he crawled toward the mouth of the alley like a caterpillar, inching forward with each contraction.
"Qian Xunji... Spirit Hall..."
Through sheer tenacity, Tang Hao wriggled his way to the entrance of a restaurant called Truly Full of Flavor.
He was just about to crawl inside to get something to eat.
"Where did this filthy beggar come from? Get lost! If you interfere with my business, I'll have you dragged outside the city and beaten to death!"
A middle-aged man as fat as a mountain came out of the restaurant, taking one step and panting twice, and viciously addressed the filthy, stinking Tang Hao crawling along the ground.
Tang Hao was Clear Sky Douluo. Now that an ordinary person dared call him a filthy beggar, his fierce pride stirred his murderous intent.
"You dare call me a beggar? I'll kill you!"
Tang Hao tried to mobilize his Soul Power, but the moment it left his dantian, it rampaged uncontrollably through his body, battering his internal organs and turning his face several shades paler.
"Hey! This filthy beggar even dares curse at me!"
"Boys, someone's causing trouble! Get out here and beat him!"
At a call from the owner, Liangzi, a whole crowd of burly men poured out of the restaurant.
They were not professional thugs, but they were strong and sturdy.
At Boss Liangzi's orders, they rained punches and kicks on Tang Hao as he lay on the ground.
Tang Hao howled in pain. He was severely injured, and his Soul Power ran wild whenever he tried to use it. Now he was filled with both grief-stricken indignation and furious rage.
He, the mighty Clear Sky Douluo, was being beaten by a bunch of ordinary people without being able to fight back.
How he hated it!
Even though he was a Titled Douluo, without his Martial Soul or Soul Power, he was not much stronger than an ordinary person.
Before long, they had beaten him unconscious.
Seeing this, Boss Liangzi waved his hand in disgust and had the filthy beggar dragged away so he would not affect the restaurant's business.
Two burly men dragged the unconscious Tang Hao away and tossed him back into the alley.
A long time passed!
With an ingratiating smile, Su Yuntao invited Sisi to Truly Full of Flavor. His heart was brimming with excitement. He had finally managed to get a chance to spend time alone with Sisi, and he had to seize it.
By chance, Su Yuntao caught sight of Tang Hao in the alley out of the corner of his eye.
As a grassroots member of Spirit Hall, Su Yuntao was still kindhearted.
Or rather, there were actually very few bad people in Spirit Hall's entire grassroots organization.
He took two steamed buns from Truly Full of Flavor and placed them in front of the unconscious Tang Hao.
Su Yuntao shook his head. This was all he could do.
When Tang Hao woke up, he felt pain in every inch of his body.
He looked in front of him, where two cold, dust-covered steamed buns lay.
His features twisted, and he slapped the two buns away with his only usable hand.
"I'm not a beggar!"
His pride as Clear Sky Douluo would not allow Tang Hao to pick food up off the ground like a beggar.
But his body was honest, and his stomach growled with hunger.
Just then, a stray dog appeared from somewhere, snatched up one bun in its mouth, and went for the other.
Tang Hao instantly grew frantic. Yelling wildly, he struggled mightily before finally driving the stray dog away and clutching the sole remaining bun tightly in his hand.
His heart was filled with anger and anxiety, sorrow and grief.
He, the mighty Clear Sky Douluo, had actually fought a stray dog over a steamed bun like a beggar.
What a humiliation!