Tang San watched from the side as Xiao Yan and Old Jack enjoyed each other's company, a trace of envy flashing in his eyes.
Unfortunately, he and his father...
"Grandpa Jack, I'll head home first, then."
All Tang San wanted at that moment was to hurry home, see his father, and share his joy with him.
They had not seen each other for a year, and Tang San had missed him terribly. He also wanted to show his father his talent and feel his father's warm hand.
He hoped to hear his father laugh heartily and say he was proud of him.
He also hoped to show his father what he had accomplished over the past year at the blacksmith's shop in Nuoding City, so his father could see that he had not neglected the hammer technique he had taught him.
"Little San..."
Old Jack looked at Tang San and suddenly called out to stop him. He sighed, then took a letter from inside his clothes.
"I knew your vacation started today, so I wanted to ask your father to come with me to pick you up this morning."
Old Jack spoke calmly, watching Tang San's reaction with care.
"But your father wasn't home. All I found was this letter."
Old Jack handed the letter to Tang San. His face full of disbelief and his eyes slightly red, Tang San looked at Old Jack, took a deep breath, and accepted the sheet of paper.
"Little San, by the time you read this letter, I will have left. You don't need to look for me, and you won't be able to find me..."
When he finished reading the letter, Tang San looked despondent, his face full of sorrow.
In the letter, his father had said that Tang San had his own path to walk, while he himself had to go and reclaim what belonged to him.
"Father, we'll meet again someday!"
Tang San silently resolved himself. He bowed to Old Jack and said, "Thank you, Grandpa Jack. I'll head home first, then."
With that, Tang San turned and headed deeper into Holy Soul Village. Xiao Wu waved to Xiao Yan and Old Jack and followed him.
"Little Yan, go comfort Little San too, would you? Sigh..."
Old Jack sighed. With Tang Hao gone, he ached for Tang San, but he also had to start thinking of a way to recruit a new blacksmith for the village.
After all, Tang Hao had been the only blacksmith in Holy Soul Village. Now that he had left, the village could not do without one.
Xiao Yan made his way to Tang San's house with practiced ease and found Tang San and Xiao Wu cleaning the dust-covered house.
Xiao Yan silently joined them in tidying up.
It was not until late in the day that Tang San's house was completely cleaned.
"Little San, you and your father will see each other again someday. Cheer up. You should focus on cultivating now, and when you meet again, you'll be sure to give him a big surprise!"
"Mm, Senior Brother, I will!"
Tang San nodded firmly, his eyes full of determination.
After Xiao Yan invited them several times, Tang San and Xiao Wu went back to Old Jack's house for dinner with him. After the meal, the two returned to Tang San's house.
But when Xiao Yan saw them again the next day, he felt that the two seemed a little closer-not physically, but in the resonance between their hearts.
Meanwhile, inside Nuoding Academy.
Grandmaster stared blankly at the badge on the table, the symbol of Spirit Hall's highest standing. Only a Titled Douluo could possess one.
"Oh, right. I've already erased the memories of this matter from the deacon who tested Little San and your disciple. After all, twin Martial Souls are a matter of great importance. If she were to find out, she would certainly turn her attention here."
The forlorn figure, just about to disappear from sight, suddenly spoke, drawing Grandmaster out of his thoughts.
Then the figure, looking every bit a drunkard, walked away into the distance, one step at a time.
Looking at the greatly changed Tang Hao, Grandmaster's expression was complicated. This man he had once idolized was now...
After Tang Hao left, Tang San's life did not change much. He still cultivated every day, except now a girl with her hair in a scorpion-tail braid followed him everywhere.
During vacations back in Holy Soul Village, Xiao Yan often invited Tang San and Xiao Wu to eat at Old Jack's house. After several visits, sweet-talking Xiao Wu had Old Jack chuckling with delight.
Time slipped by, and another three years passed quietly.
Xiao Yan was now ten years old!
His Soul Power Level had also reached level 21. Half a month earlier, he and Xiao Yan had set out together under Grandmaster's guidance, and both had slain their second Soul Beasts and obtained their second Soul Rings.
A familiar dizziness came over him, and Xiao Yan's soul seemed to fall into a vortex, sinking deeper and deeper...
When the Xiao Yan from the Battle Through the Heavens World opened his eyes, a trace of unease showed on his face.
"What's wrong?"
Within this space, the two Xiao Yans from different worlds could resonate mentally to a certain degree. He could sense that the Xiao Yan from the Battle Through the Heavens World was full of uncertainty and unease.
"I... I've reached the tenth stage of Dou Qi!"
The Battle Through the Heavens Xiao Yan spoke without the slightest excitement in his voice.
"That's a good thing!"
The Douluo Xiao Yan looked at Xiao Yan in surprise and said, "I remember you telling me about the cultivation levels in your world."
"Tenth stage of Dou Qi... You should be ready to condense a Dou Qi Vortex next, right?"
The Xiao Yan from the Douluo World could not help feeling a little excited.
"I successfully condensed my Dou Qi Vortex a few days ago."
There was a trace of pride in the Battle Through the Heavens World Xiao Yan's voice as he said:
"At ten years old, I reached the tenth stage of Dou Qi and condensed a Dou Qi Vortex, becoming the youngest genius in the Xiao Clan's history."
"Then why do you look like that?"
Hearing the Douluo Xiao Yan's question, the Battle Through the Heavens Xiao Yan's face darkened. His voice held a trace of confusion and unwillingness.
"I don't know either. The day after I successfully condensed my Dou Qi Vortex, I... the Dou Qi Vortex inside me mysteriously vanished. There was no warning at all. It just disappeared from my body."
"More importantly..."
"After the Dou Qi Vortex vanished, I discovered... the Dou Qi inside me had also begun to gradually disappear at an extremely slow rate. No matter how I investigated, I couldn't find the source of the change."
A trace of unwillingness appeared on the Battle Through the Heavens Xiao Yan's face, and his eyes reddened slightly.
Hearing this, the Douluo Xiao Yan joined him in analyzing the possible causes.
After all, in the history of the Dou Qi Continent, they had never heard of anyone's Dou Qi mysteriously disappearing.
Feeling the space around them gradually begin to fluctuate, the Douluo Xiao Yan could not help sighing.
"If only I could go to your world and help you take a look..."
The Battle Through the Heavens Xiao Yan nodded at that.
The two could only meet in this space once a year. If they could go to each other's worlds, perhaps he could observe the Battle Through the Heavens Xiao Yan while he cultivated and see what was causing the strange change.
"Buzz..."
The space gradually grew indistinct, and a black shadow appeared behind Xiao Yan. It was his Soul Division Martial Soul. Before the space vanished, the Soul Division Martial Soul merged into the Battle Through the Heavens Xiao Yan's body.
Xiao Yan opened his eyes, his gaze full of astonishment.
Before him was not his room in Old Jack's house, but an unfamiliar building with an antique charm. He looked down to find that the clothes he wore were unmistakably the Battle Through the Heavens Xiao Yan's.
"Could it be..."
Disbelief rose in Xiao Yan's heart. He looked at the bronze mirror on the table and picked it up. One glance left him frozen on the spot.
"Brother Xiao Yan, you promised yesterday that you'd go shopping with Xun'er today..."
At the same time, a voice came from outside the room, sweet with laughter.