Ever since he had learned to speak, he had liked asking his parents all sorts of questions, taking a particular interest in their Martial Souls.
His father, Yang Zhentian, had the Soul Breaking Spear as his Martial Soul and was at Soul Power level 71. His mother, Niu Jinfeng, had the Plate-Armored Giant Rhinoceros as her Martial Soul and was at Soul Power level 63. His grandfather, Yang Wudi, had the Soul Breaking Spear as his Martial Soul and was at Soul Power level 77.
Grandpa Yang Wudi was already at Soul Power level 77? How was that possible? I remember his Soul Power Level being 82 in the original story, but that was decades later. Did that mean his Soul Power had barely increased in all those years?
Just thinking about it made his head ache. The enemies outside were extraordinarily powerful, yet everyone seemed rather content to stop striving.
Moreover, his father was just like his grandfather, utterly obsessed with refining medicine. To both men, refining medicine mattered more than cultivation. Especially since his grandfather was an outer sect elder of the Clear Sky Sect, hardly anyone dared provoke him.
And so, by the time he was two, he finally gained a rough understanding of the current timeline.
That day, Yang Podi was chatting with his parents-or perhaps it was simply a child asking random questions.
"Dad, Mom, is the Clear Sky Sect really that powerful now?"
Both his parents looked full of pride. "Of course! Our Clear Sky Sect is known as the number one sect in the world."
Yang Podi asked his father with a puzzled expression, "Dad, since the Clear Sky Sect is the number one sect in the world, it should have lots of experts, right?"
"Naturally. The Clear Sky Sect's former sect master was a level 99 Limit Douluo, invincible under heaven."
"But Dad, hasn't the old sect master been missing for years?"
"Podi, there's something you don't know. They say the old sect master is cultivating in seclusion. That's why he handed his position over to the current sect master."
"Dad, how strong is the current sect master, then?"
"The current sect master, Tang Zhen, is incredibly powerful. He's already a level 95 Titled Douluo."
"Titled Douluo? What's a Titled Douluo? Are they very powerful?"
"Of course. Titled Douluo are all extraordinarily powerful. Every one of them can overawe the present age and stand invincible under heaven."
"Since Douluo are so powerful, does our Clear Sky Sect have lots of Titled Douluo?"
His father, Yang Zhentian, smiled. "Son, since Titled Douluo are so powerful, they're naturally very rare too. Our Clear Sky Sect only has four Titled Douluo altogether. Aside from the former and current sect masters, only the first elder and second elder are Titled Douluo."
Meanwhile, Yang Podi silently pondered, Four Titled Douluo. Excluding the old sect master, Tang Chen, that means the Clear Sky Sect only has three Titled Douluo, and the strongest is only level 95. Isn't that far too weak?
Something important seemed to occur to him. "Dad, I think I heard you mention something about the Clear Sky Twin Stars. What are the Clear Sky Twin Stars?"
"Son, where did you hear about the Clear Sky Twin Stars?"
"Dad, I just happened to hear people mention them, so I was a little curious."
Hearing that, Yang Zhentian's face filled with envy. "The Clear Sky Twin Stars people outside talk about should be your Uncle Tang Xiao and Uncle Tang Hao. They even held you when you were just born."
"Dad, how are they doing now? Why are they called the Clear Sky Twin Stars?"
"The brothers Tang Xiao and Tang Hao are exceptionally talented. They've already made their names across the entire continent at a young age. With their talent and ability, they'll both become Titled Douluo very soon. That's why people call them the Clear Sky Twin Stars."
At last, Yang Podi reached the crux of his questions that day. "Since they're both so talented, how old are they now?"
"Your Uncle Tang Xiao is fifty-six this year, and your Uncle Tang Hao is forty-one. Both are Soul Douluo now. Within ten years, our Clear Sky Sect will have two more Titled Douluo."
"Dad, are they both in the Clear Sky Sect now?"
"No. When they came two years ago for your birth, Tang Xiao returned to the sect, while Tang Hao seemed to have taken his wife out to gain experience."
After chatting with his parents a little longer, Yang Podi returned to his room alone. Although he was only two, he could already sleep on his own. Of course, his bedroom was a small room partitioned off from his parents' room, and his mother still came to check on him several times every night.
After returning to his room, Yang Podi began to ponder by himself.
By his calculations, Tang Hao had become a Titled Douluo at forty-four. In other words, Tang San would be born in another three years, and likewise, three years from now, Spirit Hall's Pope Qian Xunji would be gravely wounded at Tang Hao's hands.
That meant that in just over three years-four at most-a great war would erupt between the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall. After the war, the Clear Sky Sect would withdraw into seclusion and abandon the Four Single-Attribute Clans, ultimately causing them devastating losses that nearly wiped them out.
Tang Xiao would probably also break through to Titled Douluo within the next two years.
When it came to cultivation, Yang Podi could not help grumbling inwardly. Grandpa is already level 77 now, and he even bore a grudge over his clan's near extermination, yet by the battle at Jialing Pass almost twenty-eight years later, he was only level 82.
Though fighting above your level looks pretty exciting, what was going on with his Soul Power growth? Could Grandpa's talent only take him to level 82?
As for his parents, neither of them had even existed in the original story. He wondered whether they had died in the battle that nearly exterminated the clan.
No matter how he looked at it, Yang Podi felt as though he had started in a bottomless pit. The battle that would nearly exterminate his clan hung over his head at all times like a sharp sword. As for revealing future events ahead of time, he would probably be sliced up for research the moment he opened his mouth.
At that thought, Yang Podi could not help marveling at the Tang family's talent. Tang San went without saying: Twin Martial Souls, a son of destiny, and practically perfect connections. His father belonged to the Clear Sky Sect, his teacher came from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, his classmate was the daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's sect master, and he was a comrade-in-arms and benefactor of a Star Luo Empire prince. His teacher was even an old flame of Spirit Hall's Pope. None of the major powers would move against him lightly.
The Clear Sky Sect's Tang Xiao had risen from an ordinary Titled Douluo to a level 97 Super Douluo in a mere twenty years. That speed could hardly be called slow. Just look at Bone Douluo, who had only reached level 95 in his entire life, or the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's old dragon, Yu Yuanzhen, who had likewise spent his life at level 95. Both were considerably older than Tang Xiao, to say nothing of Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo.
The Clear Sky Sect's Tang Hao was even more outrageous. After absorbing his wife's Soul Ring, he had spent fifteen years wallowing in dejection, yet somehow shot up to level 95. Even after severing an arm and a leg, he had still rapidly advanced to level 96, and even his injuries had healed. He truly was a freak among freaks.
At that thought, Yang Podi could not help sighing. Whatever happened, he first had to find a way to escape the calamity of his clan's near extermination. He was just a little brat, even if he was the clan leader's own grandson. His say in the clan probably amounted to zero.
If his Martial Soul had not even awakened three years from now, people would be even less inclined to listen to anything he said.
After turning it over and over, hiding was his only option. He would see whether he could find a way to hide from the battle that would nearly exterminate the clan three years later.
Exactly where to hide, along with his plans afterward, all required careful thought. After all, the great battles ahead would come one after another. In particular, Spirit Hall would launch its Soul Hunting Operation in just over twenty years. If he ended up on its target list, he would really be screwed.
As for the later battle at Jialing Pass, what did that have to do with him?