Chapter 248: Xiao Wu – "Brother, You Smell So Good"
While Tang Hao and the others were busy carrying out their "Bone Replacement Plan" and Yu Xiaogang was persuading Tang San, in Heaven Dou City, at the luxurious residence owned by the business association, Han Li was standing by the training field, watching a battle unfold.
A few women, without using their soul skills, were surrounding and attacking the golden haired woman in the center, employing modified combat techniques.
After an intense exchange, Qian Renxue was sent flying by a palm strike from Xiu'er.
"Forget it, I'm done. In this situation, I can't win."
Dismissing her Angelic Sacred Sword, Qian Renxue waved her hand to signal the end of the fight and walked toward Han Li. She sat down beside him, picked up the tea from the table, and tilted her swan like neck back, elegantly sipping from the cup.
Beautiful people looked stunning no matter what they did.
Han Li withdrew his appreciative gaze and smiled. "It's normal that you can't win. If you could beat them under these conditions, why would I bother training you? You're already doing great."
He didn't have the heart to tell her that without using soul power, in a pure battle of technique and physical ability, Qian Renxue was actually quite weak.
Xiu'er and the other two had fought their way out of the Slaughter City. If they didn't hold back, Qian Renxue wouldn't even be able to win a one on one fight against them.
She could only really bully Ye LingLing and Zhu Zhuqing the two rookies who hadn't been training for long.
"Hmm, you make a good point."
Qian Renxue nodded. She had noticed that the others were holding back, which was why she had chosen to end the fight herself.
"Alright, let's get to the main topic. I don't believe you came here just for training."
Han Li smoothly shifted the conversation.
Hearing this, Qian Renxue also dropped her playful demeanor.
"I came to confirm your official appearance and whether we need any special arrangements."
"The fact that Crown Prince Xue Qinghe and the Holy Son of Spirit Hall are close acquaintances it naturally falls on me to handle this matter."
She sighed helplessly. She was busy training too, but this kind of task was hard to refuse.
"Just send a symbolic invitation to Salas and leave it at that. No need for any grand arrangements. I don't like unnecessary trouble, and making a big scene will only end up being a hassle for both of us."
Han Li strongly disliked such formalities and refused outright.
"Fine, let's keep it simple. I wasn't in the mood to plan anything big anyway."
Qian Renxue agreed without hesitation. With the shifting situation in the Heaven Dou Empire and her frequent interactions with Han Li, her approach had subtly changed as well.
Han Li even had a mischievous thought what if he shaped Qian Renxue into a version of Gabriel? Always carrying a horn around, ready to blow it and launch a continent wide destruction plan… Now that would be entertaining.
"Hey, hey, what are you thinking about?"
Qian Renxue waved her hand in front of Han Li's face. He always seemed to space out during their conversations.
"Nothing."
Han Li chuckled, abandoning his playful thoughts about her.
"By the way, when do you plan to fully take over?"
He turned to her seriously, wanting to know why she was still delaying.
"After the Soul Master Tournament. Even though many people have their suspicions, Xue Qinghe still needs to have an alibi. That way, the resistance against me will be minimal."
"Besides, I need this opportunity to return and prepare more personnel."
Qian Renxue paused for a moment, her expression turning complicated. Whether it was because the plan was finally nearing its completion or because she would soon return to Spirit City and face certain people, she wasn't sure.
"As long as you're prepared."
Han Li also had some thoughts but chose not to dwell on them.
"Give me a few of those pendants that can change appearances and conceal auras. I'll return them once I'm done. When this is all over, you can take whatever you want from the royal treasury."
Qian Renxue looked at Han Li a bit sheepishly. This was actually the main reason she had come today. She didn't need the items herself, but having them would make the next phase of her plan much smoother.
"Aha, so that's why you came personally."
Han Li laughed. So she had been waiting to ambush him for this. However, he didn't refuse he simply took out a few spare pendants from his wristband and handed them to her without a word.
The Heaven Dou royal treasury didn't interest him at all. He had already scanned it long ago. Even the soul bones there were only of the thousand year level, and their quality wasn't great.
If there had been anything valuable, he would have sent Qian Renxue to take it ages ago there was no way it would still be sitting there.
"Thanks."
Qian Renxue accepted the pendants and carefully stored them away, sincerely expressing her gratitude.
"You're welcome."
With the serious matters settled, Qian Renxue showed no intention of leaving. Since she had taken the time to slip away, she pulled the other women into a casual conversation.
With the Soul Master Tournament approaching, young soul masters were emerging everywhere. Though they didn't particularly care about their competitors' strength, gossip and commentary were always entertaining.
Well, one could also say Qian Renxue was using this time to bond with her future subordinates not exactly slacking off.
Han Li simply watched with a smile, occasionally chiming in. The atmosphere was rather lively.
Meanwhile, on the other side, Yu Xiaogang had finally convinced Tang San.
At first, Tang San had outright refused. He was genuinely repulsed by the idea of altering his own body in such a drastic way.
However, when Yu Xiaogang brought up the fact that achieving good results in the tournament would allow him to see Tang Hao again, he hesitated.
Then, Yu Xiaogang demonstrated his Martial Soul Possession, revealing a soul power level equal to Tang San's. He explained the enhancements he had gained from bone replacement and relayed Tang Hao's argument about how it would strengthen the Clear Sky Hammer.
At that moment, Tang San wavered.
To be honest, Tang San had been questioning himself for a while should he abandon Blue Silver Grass and focus solely on the Clear Sky Hammer?
Yu Xiaogang's words became the final straw that pushed him to make a decision.
For now, he would go along with it and strengthen himself. Once he met his father again, the first thing he would ask about was switching to the Clear Sky Hammer.
Seeing Tang San agree, Yu Xiaogang let out a sigh of relief. However, he didn't mention that he might attempt to obtain the twin martial soul cultivation method from Bibi Dong.
Convincing Tang San was easy. The real problem was Tang Hao. After spending so much time around him, Yu Xiaogang understood that when dealing with Tang Hao, he had to keep some cards hidden.
This was an important piece of information one that might just save his life someday.
"Then go request leave from the academy, but don't mention me. Here's the address I'll go prepare everything first, and you can come on your own later."
Yu Xiaogang handed Tang San a piece of paper with an address written on it, deliberately keeping things vague.
He was just the messenger here. He needed to hurry back and inform Tang Hao. After all, when he left earlier, neither the soul beast nor the healing soul master had been in place. With the Soul Master Tournament approaching, time was of the essence.
"Alright."
Tang San glanced at the address and put it away. He was already familiar with the location there was no need to follow directions.
Watching Yu Xiaogang walk away, Tang San's eyes flickered.
Too many strange things had been happening lately but they seemed to be in his favor.
He was no longer the naive boy from Nuoding Academy, oblivious to the ways of the world.
Since Tai Long transferred schools, he had sensed something was off. To investigate, he had secretly gone to the academy's library.
The Strength Clan, the Clear Sky Clan, the Clear Sky Hammer, Tang Hao one by one, these records shattered his previous understanding.
Sitting in a pavilion, he summoned a small, pitch black hammer in his left hand and smiled.
He had figured everything out. This martial soul was the best proof.
And the Vajra Baboon how could his teacher possibly acquire such a creature? If he truly had that ability, he would have replaced his own bones long ago.
There was only one truth this was all Tang Hao's doing. His father had returned to his side.
But because of past events, he had to remain in hiding. This Soul Master Tournament was his father's way of testing him. As long as he proved himself, his father would reveal himself.
A father and son duo, standing side by side this would be the beginning of their revenge against Spirit Hall.
No wonder he had always felt a natural dislike for Spirit Hall since childhood. It was in their blood. This was a legacy passed down between father and son.
Sorting out his thoughts, Tang San quickly returned to the academy. After telling Xiao Wu that he was going into seclusion, he secretly left Heaven Dou Imperial Academy and headed toward Heaven Dou City.
Meanwhile, at Yu Xiaogang's residence, Tang Hao had already prepared the corpse of the Vajra Baboon, which he had hunted the day before. The healing soul master provided by the Strength Clan was also in place.
Before long, Tang San arrived at the residence, and Tang Hao once again concealed himself in the shadows.
After inspecting the freshness of the Vajra Baboon's corpse, Tang San reaffirmed his suspicions.
He then declined Yu Xiaogang's assistance and personally designed the procedure.
Watching his son's skillful movements, Tang Hao, hidden in the dark, nodded approvingly.
As expected of my son.
With just a brief period of observation, he has already mastered the Bone Replacement Method.
With such talent, the title of "discoverer" rightfully belonged to Tang San.
The entire process went smoothly. Unlike Yu Xiaogang, Tang San, having deduced that Tang Hao was secretly observing, and recognizing the Strength Clan's insignia on the healer's pouch, chose to go all in.
He replaced all four limbs in one go.
Had he trusted the healing soul master a bit more, he would have replaced his chest bones as well.
Even so, his decisiveness earned the admiration of both Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang.
Meanwhile, Han Li, having just seen off Qian Renxue, entered his spiritual domain and cast an intrigued gaze toward Tang San.
So much time had passed without any movement. Given Tang San's past and present experiences, Han Li had assumed he wouldn't go through with it.
Well, no point overthinking it.
Smiling, Han Li adjusted the rules and gladly accepted this unexpected gift.
Looks like LingLing could be strengthened a bit more. He'd take care of that when he dropped her off at the academy.
After receiving careful treatment, Tang San assessed his body's changes and nodded in satisfaction.
The biggest surprise was that after the bone replacement, his Blue Silver Grass martial soul no longer faced rejection.
What could be better than that?
Upon learning of Tang San's transformation, Yu Xiaogang and Tang Hao were equally ecstatic.
This was incredible.
However, Tang San declined Yu Xiaogang's offer to celebrate. He needed to return to the academy he had used "seclusion" as his excuse for leaving, and he didn't want Xiao Wu to worry.
Feeling invigorated, Tang San bid farewell to Yu Xiaogang. He could feel his body's newfound strength and the rise of his soul power, which had reached Rank 39 and was still climbing.
There was still a month left before the tournament. He could advance further. Reaching the Soul Ancestor level was just the beginning!
With that thought, he made his way back to his room.
As expected, he ran into Xiao Wu at his door, placing a food container outside.
"Brother? When did you go out?"
Xiao Wu looked at him in surprise as he approached from outside.
"Not long ago. I had a breakthrough, so I took a walk. Thank you, Xiao Wu."
He took the food container from her, knowing he could finish it all now.
Then, he noticed Xiao Wu staring at him, dazed, before she uttered something completely unexpected.
"Brother, you smell so good."
(End of Chapter)
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