That meant one of the Tang Sect's sect master and deputy sect master was a woman!
Hu Jie quickly took out a new soul communicator, then paused at the dialing screen.
Who could it be? Ruthless Douluo Cao Dezhi or Amorous Douluo Zang Xin?
Cao Dezhi had vanished from the public eye sixty years ago.
As one of the Tang Sect's higher-ups, Hu Jie knew he had been stationed with the Blood Dragon Army Corps all this time.
He ate and lived alongside over ten thousand members of the Blood Dragon Army. If it were him, some word would have leaked out.
Then it had to be Zang Xin, that elusive dragon whose head and tail were never seen. No wonder everyone said Amorous Douluo played his way through the mortal world. So it had all been a smokescreen.
Why send the child to the Star Luo Empire? Could being in the Federation affect their identities?
Hu Jie pondered for a moment. He had also just learned that the child's information was highly classified. Even when he used his highest-level Tang Sect clearance to investigate, all he got was a blank page.
Only two people in the Tang Sect had clearance higher than his.
At that thought, Hu Jie felt thoroughly reassured and decisively dialed.
You two hall masters! You've even sent your child here for me to raise. Just watch me squeeze a few extra tuition payments out of you.
The call soon connected.
Amorous Douluo's flippant voice drifted over.
"Hall Master Hu, I trust you've been well."
"What put you in the mood to call me today?"
"I already know about you two. Don't worry, I'll take good care of him."
"But shouldn't the resources allocated to the Star Luo Tang Sect be increased a little?"
Zang Xin was, of course, utterly at sea. He had no idea what Hu Jie was talking about, but he had heard the request for resources clearly enough.
"The Tang Sect is at a crucial stage of development right now. Resources are allocated uniformly. I can't play favorites."
Beep, beep, beep.
A busy signal sounded from the soul communicator.
Hu Jie flew into a towering rage, mentally offering his regards to every relative of Zang Xin and Cao Dezhi.
But curses were one thing; he couldn't really leave the child unattended.
After confirming Yan Qing's Martial Soul on-site, Hu Jie accepted him as his direct disciple on the spot.
Two years passed in a rush.
By then, Yan Qing had already reached two-ring cultivation.
After repeated tactful hints from Yan Qing, Hu Jie specially opened the Hall of Heroes to him for a test of his practical combat abilities.
"Welcome to the Hall of Heroes. Initial trial, advanced difficulty. Name: Yan Qing. Age: 8."
Hearing the exact same notification as in the original novel, Yan Qing nearly burst into tears. He had slogged away at the first mission for almost two years, and at last, he could see hope of completing it.
He had diligently studied and trained in the Tang Sect for the past two years. Although his cultivation had risen quite quickly, he still had a Martial Soul loan hanging over him.
If he kept cultivating at this rate, he would kick the bucket in a few years.
Completing the system mission was now a matter of pressing urgency.
"Test requirement, first round: last 60 seconds."
Once the announcement ended, light flickered, and a pale blue figure appeared opposite Yan Qing.
Dressed in a blue training outfit, with the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges belt fitted around his waist, he was none other than the Tang San Yan Qing had been longing for.
"Begin!" The electronic voice sounded again.
Two yellow rings of light rose from beneath Tang San's feet. Soul Master cultivation!
Tang San raised both hands, and Blue Silver Grass shot out like lightning. Blue Silver Entanglement!
Yan Qing's gaze sharpened. It actually isn't Blue Silver Pole Vaulting. The original novel truly didn't lie to me.
He swiftly took his stance as well and summoned his longsword, light flowing along its blade like a stream.
Two purple rings of light circled the blade.
Swiftly severing the Blue Silver Grass winding toward him, Yan Qing retreated two steps. Then his first Soul Ring lit up.
[Once]: Arouse the purest feelings deep within the heart, returning all actions to one second earlier.
This was precisely the skill that had made Amorous Douluo famous.
Back then, Amorous Douluo's trump card had been his first Soul Skill, [Once], combined with his fifth Soul Skill, [Traceback].
By forcibly teleporting onto an enemy and then applying hard crowd control, he could smack his opponent around like a spinning top.
But a fifth Soul Skill was far too distant for Yan Qing. Fortunately, half of his Martial Soul counted as the Passionate Sword.
There was also the other half, the Ruthless Sword.
One Soul Ring granted him two Soul Skills. In a sense, he counted as having Twin Martial Souls, too.
The Soul Skill from the Ruthless Sword half was called [Future].
Its effect was the opposite of Once, bringing an enemy's actions to one second later.
With the two Soul Skills working together, he could smack an opponent around like a spinning top with just one ring.
Sensing the fluctuation in spiritual power, Tang San's phantom flashed purple in his eyes and activated Purple Demon Eye.
Purple light shot straight toward Yan Qing's eyes.
At the very instant Purple Demon Eye fired, Yan Qing finished activating his Soul Skill.
[Once]
The purple light froze in midair, then was forcibly drawn back into Tang San's eyes.
Sensing that his attack had missed, Tang San's phantom decisively abandoned further use of Extreme Purple Demon Eye.
Without the slightest hesitation, he pushed off the ground with both feet, switching to Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track to close in on Yan Qing.
Yan Qing's first Soul Ring lit up again.
Ruthless Sword, first Soul Skill, [Future].
Tang San's steps abruptly accelerated, the movement that should have come with his next step appearing ahead of time.
This made him appear out of thin air in front of Yan Qing.
This was the very moment Yan Qing had been waiting for.
He had transmigrated less than a year ago, so his combat experience certainly couldn't compare with Tang San's. Ending the battle quickly was the most advantageous approach.
He had spent these two years carefully planning, all for today's battle.
His second Soul Ring blazed with light, and the sword became deep and weighty.
His second Soul Skills were entirely damage boosts, while Tang San's physical capabilities were not yet high.
The longsword smashed down ferociously.
Despite this being a virtual projection, it was still easy to see the shock filling Tang San's eyes.
Even in his haste, Tang San still brought out the Clear Sky Hammer to block.
Clang-
Yan Qing pressed him step by step, giving him no chance to use Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.
Before long, Tang San exhausted his Soul Power, and his phantom was beaten to the ground.
The moment he knocked Tang San down, the electronic voice sounded in Yan Qing's mind again.
Congratulations to the host for defeating Tang San, who has just left the newbie village, and completing the beginner mission. Please choose your reward. [1. Directly increase Soul Power by five levels.] [2. Obtain level-three proficiency in a basic profession.]
Yan Qing thought for a moment. This wasn't a difficult choice.
Five levels of Soul Power were something he urgently needed. After all, he had a loan hanging over him.
But he had only just advanced recently. If his Soul Power suddenly skyrocketed, let alone Hu Jie, he wouldn't be able to hide it even from-
To save himself a great deal of unnecessary trouble, he decisively chose the increase in basic profession proficiency.
The system even thoughtfully divided it into several options: [Forging], [Mecha Design], [Mecha Manufacturing], and [Mecha Maintenance].
Delight stirred in Yan Qing's heart. The rewards finally matched the version he was in.
If it had offered him things like [Blacksmith] or [Carpentry], he really would have cried in frustration.
Without even thinking, Yan Qing selected the forging option.
Forging undoubtedly had the highest ceiling.
[Selection successful. Your understanding of metals has increased!]
On the system screen, the beginner mission occupying the main position slowly faded away, and a random second mission popped up.
[Yu Xiaogang, astonished by Tang San's talent, has decided to accept him as a disciple. Host, please improve your strength, gain Yu Xiaogang's approval, and become his disciple.] Mission reward: one beginner gift pack!
No, system, haven't you updated your version yet? Yu Xiaogang never became a god. After ten thousand years, he would've rotted long ago.
Where am I supposed to go to become his disciple?
The system continued to insist:
[Host, please become Yu Xiaogang's disciple as soon as possible.]