On the return journey, they no longer needed to search cautiously for a target, and all three had grown stronger. They traveled much faster than on the way there, and their spirits were considerably lighter.
Tang Feng did not waste his time on the road. Along the way, he carefully identified and gathered some basic medicinal herbs. Blood-clotting grass, ironwire vine, purpleleaf orchid... Tang Feng carefully gathered these herbs, which were fairly common in the forest, sorted them, and placed them in the cloth pouch he carried.
These were all ingredients for refining "Wound Salve" and "Soul-restoring Liquid," the first step on Tang Feng's path of putting pharmacology into practice. No matter how much theoretical knowledge he accumulated, he ultimately had to put it into practice to turn it into genuine ability.
Five days later, the familiar main peak of the ancestral grounds finally appeared in their field of vision.
This Soul Hunting Operation had taken more than half a month from beginning to end. Although the process had been filled with tedious searching, the eventual rewards were undoubtedly exceedingly rich-at least for Tang Feng.
Not only had Tang Feng successfully obtained a first Soul Ring that far exceeded the theoretical limit and matched his attributes perfectly, sending his Soul Power soaring straight to the peak of rank twelve, but he had also gained a tremendously useful first Soul Skill.
When the familiar, rugged outline of the ancestral grounds, built from gray-black stone, finally pierced the last gaps between the trees and came fully into view, an inexplicable sense of reassurance and warmth welled up in Tang Feng's heart, almost like "coming home."
Standing before the mountain gate, Tang Feng glanced back at the vast forest behind him, gradually shrouded in twilight. He knew this was only the beginning.
After entering the ancestral grounds, he went straight back to the crude yet familiar stone room number six. Pushing open the door, he saw his grandfather, Tang Lie, sitting upright inside. His presence was steadier and more substantial than before his seclusion; clearly, he had successfully broken through to rank eighty-seven.
Seeing his grandson return safely, a gleam of relief flashed through the old man's eyes.
"Little Feng, you're back." Tang Lie's voice was gentle and full of concern. "Did everything go smoothly? Did you find a suitable Soul Beast?"
"Grandpa!" A smile spread across Tang Feng's face, carrying the excitement a boy his age should have. "I did! I got a Soul Ring from a King Kong Baboon nearly six hundred years old! The Soul Skill suits me especially well, and its effects are excellent..."
Tang Feng eagerly began recounting his Soul Hunting experience, vividly describing how they had discovered the target and how he had finally killed it with Tang Ding's help.
However, when Tang Lie heard "nearly six hundred years" and "King Kong Baboon," the gratified smile on his face instantly froze, giving way to solemn severity as his brows knitted tightly.
"Reckless!" the old man barked, filled with lingering fear and anger, and seized Tang Feng's wrist without another word.
Tang Lie's fingers were like iron pincers. A strand of pure, gentle Soul Power cautiously entered Tang Feng's body, examining it with meticulous care.
Only after a long while did Tang Lie slowly withdraw his Soul Power. His tightly knitted brows relaxed slightly, but his expression remained grim.
Tang Lie glared at Tang Feng, his tone sterner than ever before. "You're lucky to be alive, brat! Your foundations are unharmed! But taking a risk like that-one slight misstep and you would have been doomed beyond redemption! You were lucky this time. Never act so willfully and recklessly again! Do you hear me?!"
Seeing that his grandfather was truly angry, Tang Feng felt both warmed and guilty. He quickly lowered his head and agreed. "Yes, Grandpa. I understand. I won't dare do it again."
Tang Feng knew his grandfather cared about him and wanted what was best for him. But if such an opportunity presented itself again, Tang Feng would still make the same choice to become stronger. Some paths had to be braved, even knowing how perilous they were.
The next morning, at the training grounds.
Tang Jian had already been waiting for quite a while. As soon as he saw Tang Feng approach, he teased, "I heard you played for high stakes while Soul Hunting and nearly threw your own life into the bargain? Come on, let your big brother weigh you up and see whether that risk was worth it!"
Tang Jian's Soul Power had now reached the peak of rank thirteen. His first Soul Skill, "Mighty Vajra Soul," could increase his physical strength by twenty-five percent, which could only be considered fairly ordinary.
"Then I'll be counting on your guidance, Brother Jian." Tang Feng smiled faintly. He also wanted to test his current strength, and the Clear Sky Hammer materialized in his hand.
"Watch my hammer!" Tang Jian laughed and stepped forward, swinging the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand straight at Tang Feng with a whistle through the air.
Clang!!!
The two dark-gold war hammers crashed together in midair, unleashing a piercing metallic clang as sparks sprayed between their edges!
At the instant of impact, Tang Jian felt a tremendous force that could topple mountains and overturn seas surge wildly up the hammer's handle. A tearing pain instantly shot through the web of his hand, his entire arm became unbearably numb and sore, and the Clear Sky Hammer nearly flew from his grip!
"Hiss!!!" Tang Jian sucked in a sharp breath and staggered back two steps before steadying himself. His eyes were now filled with shock as he looked at Tang Feng, without a trace of his earlier ease.
"Not bad, brat! You've gotten stronger!" Tang Jian growled. No longer daring to be careless, he made the yellow Soul Ring beneath his feet flare abruptly. "First Soul Skill, Mighty Vajra Soul!"
Amid the spreading yellow light, the muscles in Tang Jian's arms visibly bulged, veins rising and coiling like horned dragons. His presence surged in an instant, and his strength shot up by nearly thirty percent!
Tang Jian swung his Clear Sky Hammer again. This time, the blow was heavy and powerful, carrying the might of his Soul Skill's enhancement as it smashed toward Tang Feng with even greater ferocity!
Facing this menacing strike, Tang Feng remained calm. With a slight stir of his intent, the Soul Ring beneath his feet, noticeably brighter yellow in color, also blazed with light!
"First Soul Skill, King Kong's Wrath!"
The dark-gold Clear Sky Hammer seemed to gain a faint coating of golden radiance, and a sense of even more savage, scorching power instantly flooded Tang Feng's entire body! Instead of dodging, he swung his heavy hammer to meet the attack head-on!
Boom!!!
This collision sounded deeper and more earthshaking than the last, like two small mountains slamming into each other! A violent blast of air erupted from the point where the hammers met, sweeping up dust from the ground.
Tang Feng's body merely swayed slightly. He took half a step back and stood firmly, his expression unchanged.
Opposite him, Tang Jian let out a muffled grunt and stumbled uncontrollably several steps backward before landing on his backside. The Clear Sky Hammer slipped from his hand with a clang and crashed onto the ground beside him.
The few scattered clan members watching from the edge of the training grounds also looked astonished.
"I'm done, I'm done!" Tang Jian rubbed his wrist exaggeratedly. "With that Soul Skill boosting you, your strength is completely on par with a Soul Grandmaster's! What the hell is there to fight?!"
The corners of Tang Feng's lips lifted slightly as he reached out and pulled Tang Jian up. "That's because you don't know how much pain I went through back then. I nearly exploded and died."
Tang Jian used the pull to stand and brushed the dust from his clothes. At those words, he rolled his eyes dramatically and muttered, "Madman! An absolute, out-and-out madman!"
Despite his words, alongside the shock in his eyes as he looked at Tang Feng, a hint of admiration had quietly appeared.
The path this younger brother of his walked, the price he paid, and the goals he pursued already seemed somewhat different from his own.
Early in the morning ten days later, Tang Feng sat cross-legged in his stone room. Soul Power surged through his body, finally breaking through the bottleneck to rank thirteen.
That same day, at a quarter to eleven in the morning.
Inside the sect's assembly hall, the atmosphere was utterly different from usual. Normally spacious and solemn, the hall was now packed with a dense crowd of nearly a thousand clan members. Low conversations hummed like a swarm of bees, and the air held a peculiar mixture of unease, speculation, and faint anticipation.
An emergency assembly of the entire clan had been exceedingly rare since the mountain's closure. It had to concern a major matter affecting the sect's fate.
Tang Feng and Tang Jian stood in a corner at the edge of the crowd. Unable to contain his curiosity, Tang Jian craned his neck to look around and asked in a low voice, "Little Feng, what do you think happened? Why did the sect master suddenly summon everyone?"
"I don't know either." Tang Feng looked toward the main dais.
Before long, six figures filed in. Sect Master Tang Xiao led the way, dressed in a dark robe with black patterns, commanding respect without a show of anger. The five elders followed closely behind.
But this time, an elegant, noble-looking woman stood beside Tang Xiao.
She looked like a beautiful woman of twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Her deep eyes revealed the wisdom of someone who had seen through the world. Dressed in a silver court gown, she displayed nobility, composure, and warmth in every movement. Her features bore a sixty or seventy percent resemblance to Tang Xiao's, but with less of his hardness and more of the gentleness of the southern water towns.
Tang Feng had already guessed who she was: Tang Yuehua, Sect Master Tang Xiao's younger sister, a fairly well-known figure within the sect.
When she awakened her Martial Soul, she had undergone a Martial Soul Mutation rarely seen even in the Clear Sky Sect's history. Her Martial Soul was called the "Ruyi Ring," a detrimental mutated form of the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul.
The Martial Soul Mutation had caused her to lose all offensive ability, and her Soul Power remained forever at rank nine, unable to advance or absorb Soul Rings.
However, she possessed a powerful Innate Domain, the "Noble Ring." This domain could release an elegant, natural presence that effectively dissolved others' killing intent, giving it a unique role in cultivating etiquette and bearing.
Thus, she had left the sect and established "Moonlight Pavilion" in Heaven Dou City, also known as the "Heaven Dou Empire Court Etiquette Academy," which she oversaw. It specialized in educating the children of nobles and maintained close ties with the Heaven Dou Imperial Family.
Tang Feng muttered inwardly, Tang Yuehua hasn't returned to the sect in a long time. Could something major have happened for her to come back so suddenly?