Old Crow Delivers a Letter

The village next to the Sea God Hall is called Tide Sound Village. Because it is close to the sea, you can hear the sound of waves crashing against the rocks at night.

Tang San set up a dozen or so low tables under the Old Huai at the east end of the village, which became his school.

The table was made of planks cobbled together by the villagers, and it was of uneven height. The paint on the tabletop had long since worn away, revealing the grayish-white wood grain.

The blackboard was a thin stone slab coated with soot from the bottom of a pot. When Tang San wrote on it with chalk, there were more than twenty teenagers sitting below.

The youngest is six years old and has just awakened his Martial Soul. The oldest is already sixteen, but his Soul Power is stuck at level twenty-nine and he's so anxious that bubbles are forming at the corners of his mouth.

"Once your Soul Power reaches level ten, you can't level up without absorbing Soul Ring. That's an ironclad rule."

Tang San put down the chalk and dusted off his hands.

"But how to inhale it and for what period of time—there are specific rules involved."

A little girl with pigtails raised her hand.

"Teacher Tang, my dad says the higher the age of the Soul Ring, the better. He wants me to hunt one that lasts for ten thousand years."

Tang San chuckled.

"Your dad is bragging. Absorbing ten thousand years' worth of energy in the first ring? Unless you have something inside your body to suppress it, your meridians would explode on the spot."

As he said this, Nan Feng's face flashed through his mind.

That guy's first ring was over nine hundred years old, the second over two thousand years old, and the third over twelve thousand years old; he shot upwards like a rocket.

But the Nan Feng is suppressed by the Bronze Tower, while these children in front of us are not.

It took him some time to understand this principle. Although Yu Xiaogang's theory on the limits of Soul Ring was wildly wrong, the most basic line was absolutely true.

Physical strength must match the age of the Soul Ring.

"The new chapter of the Mysterious Heaven Skill states that it takes thirty-six nodes for Soul Power to circulate throughout the body for one complete cycle."

Tang San pulled a handwritten scroll from under the table. The paper was rough, but the handwriting was neat; he had written it word by word.

"Each node corresponds to a different body part. You need to figure out where your node is first, and then decide which direction to guide your Soul Ring."

He held up the booklet and waved it.

"Go home today and memorize the first three pages. I'll test you one by one tomorrow."

The children wailed in despair.

Tang San waved them away and squatted down under the tree to collect the chalk scraps.

The little girl with pigtails lingered, not leaving, and leaned closer to ask in a low voice.

"Teacher Tang, you used to be a god, right? My dad said you were incredibly powerful back then, like golden light would fall from the sky."

Tang San paused for a moment, then put the chalk stub into his cloth bag and tied it up.

"I used to be. But not anymore. Now I'm Teacher Tang from Tide Sound Village."

"Then do you still want to be a god?"

Tang San thought about it seriously for a moment, then shook his head.

"In no mood."

The little girl tilted her head and stared at him for a long time, probably finding his answer too boring, then pouted and ran away.

Tang San chuckled as he watched her retreating figure, then picked up his cloth bag and headed home.

The house was a pair of mud-brick houses at the west end of the village. One room was for living and the other was for storing miscellaneous items. A row of Blue Silver Grass was planted in front of the door.

The grass wasn't tall, its leaves were slender and swayed in the wind. The purple flower spikes shimmered softly in the sunlight.

Xiao Wu squatted by the edge of the grass field, watering the plants. The wooden bucket was thicker than her waist. She held the bucket by the rim with one hand and used a gourd ladle to scoop water with the other, watering the plants one ladleful at a time, humming an off-key tune.

Tang San walked over and squatted down next to her, taking the gourd ladle to water her.

Xiao Wu didn't look up, but handed him the ladle and then pulled out a cloth bag from behind her waist and stuffed it into his hand.

"The pancakes I made this morning, did the kids at your school leave you any food? I saw they weren't touched when you left."

A kid stuffed half a steamed bun into my hand.

Tang San took a bite of the biscuit and said as he chewed.

"Among this year's batch of children, there's a good one. He has the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul, is at the third level of the Innate Realm, his Soul Power is increasing steadily, and he's also quick-witted."

"Level three innate?" Xiao Wu looked up at him. "Isn't that your setup back then?"

"Back then, I Innate Full Soul Power, while he was at level three."

Tang San chuckled.

"However, there are advantages to being at level three. Back then, my Soul Power was too full, and I went straight for high-limit Soul Ring, missing a large part of the foundational refinement in between."

"His weak foundation actually allowed him to steadily climb the ranks step by step."

Xiao Wu put down the water ladle, sat cross-legged on the edge of the field, and watched Tang San eat a pancake.

She hasn't changed much over the years; her scorpion braid is still the same, her face is still the same, and her eyes crinkle when she smiles.

But now that she's a god, the Asura Jade Rabbit's divine position is as stable as iron. Occasionally, she'll return to the Shrek Academy for a stroll, startling the younger students so much they almost lose their footing.

Back in Tide Sound Village, she was still the same girl squatting in the fields watering the plants.

"You just told that girl with the pigtails that you didn't want to be a god anymore," Xiao Wu suddenly said.

You were eavesdropping.

"You speak so loudly in class, the whole village can hear you."

Xiao Wu kicked the top of his shoe with her foot.

"You really don't want to anymore?"

Tang San swallowed the last bite of the biscuit, patted the crumbs off his hands, and looked intently at Xiao Wu.

"When I was at the Sea God Hall, every day I woke up to the affairs of the Divine Realm. I was busy with the work of both the Asura God and the Sea God, and after that, I still had to deal with the formalities of those priests and servants."

"Back in the palace, I lay down on the bed, but my mind was a mess, and I couldn't fall asleep at all."

He reached out and brushed aside the leaves of the Blue Silver Grass at his feet.

"Now, after teaching every day, I water the plants, eat the pancakes you make, and then go straight to sleep and sleep soundly until dawn."

Xiao Wu looked at him, remaining silent for a long time.

Of course she knew about Tang San's dissipation of his divine status. The dual divine energies of the Asura God and the Sea God repelled each other after the battle at Jialing Pass. Tang San's Soul Power dropped from the God Level all the way down.

He only stabilized after falling to the peak of the Titled Douluo.

Tang San hadn't told anyone about this, and Xiao Wu hadn't asked him about it either.

But she always kept a close eye on him when she made him pancakes and watered the grass, checking if he was in good spirits, if he ate well, and if he turned over in bed at night.

At first, Tang San was indeed acting strangely. He would often sit on the doorstep in the middle of the night and look at the sky until dawn.

Later, I don't know when, I stopped watching it and stopped Divine Realm. I focused all my attention on the Xuan Mysterious Heaven Skill.

"So you really don't want your divine position anymore?" Xiao Wu asked again.

"No, I don't want it."

Tang San spoke frankly.

"The Goddess of Life and Gu Yuena are keeping an eye on things in the Divine Realm. They don't need me, the Asura God or the Sea God. Nan Feng's Immortal Dao Alliance is the real big player in the future. I shouldn't get involved in this mess."

He paused for a moment, as if suddenly remembering something.

"By the way, Nan Feng wrote in his last letter that there's been some commotion in the Far North again. Black smoke is billowing from the Abyssal Rift, and the Ice Empress and Snow Empress are having a hard time keeping an eye on it. He's planning to go there to reinforce the seal."

Xiao Wu frowned.

"What does that have to do with us?"

He said that a group of Abyss moles had been unearthed in Heaven Dou City, and he was worried they might migrate elsewhere.

"Let's keep an eye out for unfamiliar faces in Tide Sound Village as well, and ask them a few questions."

Xiao Wu stood up and patted the dirt off her skirt.

"Then you'll have to talk to the village chief. Those old men in the village do nothing but play chess and dry their nets all day long."

"They'd gather around and stare at even a peddler for ages. But if someone from the Abyss were to sneak in, they'd practically take them to the village chief's house for tea."

Tang San was amused by her.

"Okay, I'll talk to them this afternoon."

Tang San did not go to the village chief's house in the afternoon.

There was a knock on the door right after I finished eating. It was Shi Zhu, that boy from the academy whose Soul Power was stuck at level 29.

Shi Zhu stood at the doorway, sweating profusely, clutching a broken shovel handle in his hand, his face flushed red.

"Teacher Tang! A strange man has appeared on the beach at the east end of the village. He's dressed in tattered clothes and is sitting on the rocks without moving."

"When I asked him what he was doing, he ignored me and just glared at me."

"I noticed he had an iron badge on his belt, and the pattern engraved on it looked a bit like the hidden stake marker you drew on the blackboard in school last time..."

Tang San took the shovel handle and glanced at it.

The break was clean; it was as if someone had cleaved it in two with a single palm strike.

Although Shi Zhu's level 29 Soul Power wasn't high, the shovel handle remained intact in his hand. The person who broke the shovel handle was at least a Soul King or higher.

"What does that strange person look like?"

"He was dark-skinned and thin, his hair was a mess like a bird's nest, and there was a black cloth strip wrapped around his left arm."

Shi Zhu swallowed hard.

He saw me staring at the metal plaque on his waist and smiled at me. His smile sent chills down my spine.

Tang San put the broken shovel handle on the table, turned around and went into the inner room.

Inside the inner room were several iron rods he had collected over the years. He picked out a handy two-foot-long short rod and tucked it behind his waist, along with a few Soul Power talismans he had drawn himself.

When Xiao Wu rushed back from the fields, Tang San had already reached the village entrance.

She quickly caught up and asked in a low voice.

"Aren't you going to call some help?"

"Let's find out where they came from first."

Tang San didn't stop walking.

"Go around from behind the village and block the other end of the beach. Don't rush to act, observe first."

Xiao Wu nodded, and in a flash, she disappeared from the Houtu slope behind the village.

The speed of the Asura Jade Rabbit makes circling the village seem like child's play.

Tang San walked alone to the beach at the east end of the village.

As the tide receded, the dark rocks were revealed, and the sea breeze, carrying a salty, fishy smell, slapped against our faces.

There was indeed a person sitting on the farthest rock. He was dark-skinned and thin, with messy hair, a black cloth strip tied around his left arm, and a palm-sized iron tag hanging from his waist.

Tang San recognized the pattern engraved on the iron plate at a glance. It was exactly the same as the hidden stake marker described in Nan Feng's last letter.

When the man saw Tang San approaching, he grinned, revealing a mouthful of yellow teeth.

"Teacher Tang, I've heard so much about you. My name is Old Crow, I'm a deliveryman, here to deliver a letter."

He pulled a brown paper envelope from his pocket and placed it on the rock.

He stood up, brushed the sand off his backside, and turned to walk into the sea.

Tang San didn't move, but simply said something.

"I'll accept your trust. But you have to keep that badge on your waist."

The Old Crow paused, then turned around. Its smile remained, but its eyes narrowed.

"Teacher Tang, I'm just a gofer. The tag was issued by higher-ups; it would be difficult to explain if I lost it and had to return it."

"Then don't go back."

Tang San took a step forward. His Soul Power seeped into the sand from beneath his feet, encircling a three-zhang radius around him with his sensory network.

Level 29? He's not that anymore.

When the Soul Power of a peak Titled Douluo was unleashed, Old Crow could no longer maintain his smile.

A wave rippled in the shallow water behind the reef, and Xiao Wu emerged from the water.

Her hair was wet and clung to her face, and she had one hand on the back of the Old Crow.

"Don't move, or I'll snap your neck."

The Old Crow remained frozen on the reef, its hands raised.

Tang San walked over, picked up the brown paper envelope, and tore it open.

Inside was a piece of paper with only one line of text written on it.

The Divine Realm Hub has eyes, the Heaven Dou City has roots, and the Tide Sound Village has a road. The Nan Feng blows north to the Far North, just in time to dig up the roots.

Tang San turned the note over and looked at the back; it was blank.

He folded it and tucked it into his sleeve, then turned to look at the Old Crow.

Where is the road?

The Old Crow looked miserable.

"Teacher Tang, I'm just a mail carrier. I really don't know the way. My orders are just to deliver the mail and then head out to sea; someone will meet me there."

When will you answer?

The sun sets.

Tang San looked up at the sky; the sun was already setting.

He winked at Xiao Wu. Xiao Wu down on the back of the Old Crow's neck with one hand, and the Old Crow's eyes rolled back and it went limp.

Tang San helped him behind the reef, sealed his meridians with his Soul Power, and then pulled the iron plate from his waist and put it away.

"Go back and prepare."

Tang San said to Xiao Wu.

"The sun will set in half an hour. I reckon not many people will come to pick him up, but there will be at least one Soul Douluo leading the team."

"You guard the east side of the village, I'll guard the west side. Don't let them into the village."

Xiao Wu shook the seawater off her hands.

What if the one who comes is more capable than you?

"If you can't win, then run away."

Tang San pulled the short stick from behind his waist and weighed it in his hand.

"But I don't think the Abyss sent to scout Tide Sound Village would immediately unleash Titled Douluo. They're still testing the waters."

Xiao Wu glanced at him and suddenly smiled.

"You've been a teacher for so long, but you haven't lost your fighting skills."

"The new chapter of the Mysterious Heaven Skill states that once you've mastered Soul Power control, fighting is just like teaching."

Tang San slung the short stick over his shoulder and walked toward the west end of the village.

"Let's find out first, then make a move. Come on, let's call all the children home and stop them from running around on the beach."

Xiao Wu muttered something as she followed behind him.

"I've never seen you so attentive even when I was a father."

Tang San didn't even turn his head.

"Well, he hasn't become one yet."