The wind was a mournful, howling thing. It whipped through the desolate, rocky canyons where Tang Hao had made his temporary camp, a place as barren and broken as his own heart. For a few long, agonizing months, he had been a ghost, a storm of vengeance flitting across the eastern provinces of the Heaven Dou Empire.
He had been a phantom of destruction. Remote Spirit Hall branches, small, unsuspecting outposts, had been turned to rubble in the dead of night. Patrols of Spirit Hall enforcers had vanished without a trace, their bodies never found. He had been a whisper on the wind, a terrifying legend that made even the most arrogant Spirit Hall elders look over their shoulders.
He had drawn their eyes. He had given them a ghost to chase.
But the rage, the all-consuming fire that had fueled him, had cooled. It had not been extinguished, but had instead solidified into a cold, hard diamond of absolute resolve in his chest. And beneath that resolve, a deeper, more primal emotion was stirring.
Worry.
A deep, gnawing worry for his son.
'It has been long enough,' he thought, his gaze turning west, towards the distant heart of the empire. 'The trail I have left is a confusing, chaotic mess. It will take them months to sort through it. It is time. It is time to go back. To see my boy.'
He did not travel. He flew. He was a dark, sorrowful meteor streaking across the sky, his immense power bending the very air around him. The journey that had taken others weeks took him less than a day.
He arrived in the vicinity of Suotuo City as the sun was beginning to set, a silent, unseen specter descending from the heavens. He landed in the familiar, overgrown woods that bordered the shabby grounds of Shrek Academy.
The first thing he noticed was the silence. It was a dead, unnatural silence. The usual sounds of a school—the distant shouts of training, the murmur of conversation, the clatter of the kitchens—were all gone.
A cold, hard knot of fear tightened in his gut.
He moved through the woods, a ghost in the shadows. He reached the edge of the training field, the place where his son had been so brutally broken. The crater from Zhang Tian's grenades was still there, a grim, ugly scar on the land. But the rest of the academy… it was empty. Abandoned.
The shabby wooden huts were shuttered, their windows dark and lifeless. A fine layer of dust covered everything. Weeds were already beginning to reclaim the training grounds.
'No…' his mind screamed, the cold knot of fear exploding into a full-blown, icy terror. 'They were here. The Spirit Hall… they found him. They took him.'
He thought of his son, his last hope, in the clutches of his most hated enemies. He thought of the dungeons of the Spirit Hall, of the tortures they would inflict. A wave of black, murderous rage, so intense it made his vision swim, washed over him. He raised his hand, the black, domineering form of the Clear Sky Hammer materializing in his grip, ready to turn this entire, cursed city into a crater.
But then, his rational mind, the cold, calculating part of him that had survived for so long, reasserted control.
'Wait,' he commanded himself, forcing the hammer to dissipate. 'Think. If the Spirit Hall had truly captured my son, the son of Tang Hao, they would not be silent. They would shout it from the rooftops. They would parade him through the streets of every major city. They would use him as a tool to humiliate me, to lure me into a trap. Their silence… their silence means he is safe. But… where did they go?'
He moved through the abandoned academy, his senses on high alert, searching for any clue, any sign of what had transpired. He found his way to the Dean's office, the place where his son had been healed. The room was just as he remembered it, dusty and cluttered.
And there, on the center of Flender's desk, was a single, sealed envelope.
It was addressed, simply, to 'His Excellency'.
Tang Hao's hand trembled slightly as he broke the seal. The letter was from Yu Xiaogang. Its contents were brief, concise, and to the point.
'Your Excellency,' it began, the script as stiff and formal as the man who had written it. 'Due to the unfortunate destruction of the Suotuo City Great Spirit Arena, we have found it necessary to relocate the academy. The students require a proper crucible to hone their combat skills and their teamwork. We have departed for Silves City, where the Great Spirit Arena is larger and offers a greater variety of opponents. Your son is with us. He is safe. He is growing stronger.'
A wave of profound relief washed over Tang Hao, so intense it almost brought him to his knees. He was safe. His boy was safe.
The relief was quickly replaced by a familiar, weary frustration. 'Silves City,' he thought with a sigh. 'Another goose chase.'
He did not rest. He did not wait. He turned and left the dusty, silent academy, a dark shadow melting back into the night. His journey was not over.
Silves City was a bustling, vibrant place, a hub of commerce and competition. Tang Hao arrived in the dead of night, a silent, unseen presence that moved through the sleeping city like a phantom. He made his way directly to the colossal, circular structure that dominated the city's center: the Great Spirit Arena.
The arena was closed, its massive gates barred. But a simple lock was no obstacle for a Titled Douluo. He phased through the wall as if it were made of smoke and found himself in the vast, empty registration hall.
He found the manager's office, the door unlocked. He didn't need to search. On the manager's desk, in the exact same central position as the last, was another sealed envelope.
Yu Xiaogang was a man who planned for every contingency.
Tang Hao opened it. This letter was longer, more detailed.
'Your Excellency,' it began. 'Our time in Silves has been… fruitful. The students have been tested, and they have proven their strength. However, a new opportunity has presented itself. An old student of Dean Flender's, a young man named Qin Ming who is now the captain of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy's Emperor Team, has extended an invitation.'
The letter went on to detail the offer: a full merger with the Imperial Academy, access to their vast resources, their state-of-the-art training facilities, and, most importantly, a guaranteed spot in the upcoming Continental Advanced Spirit Master Academy Grand Tournament.
'While Dean Flender was initially hesitant to sacrifice Shrek's independence,' the letter continued, 'I have convinced him of the strategic necessity of this move. The resources of the empire will allow your son to grow at an unprecedented rate. We depart for Heaven Dou City at dawn.'
Tang Hao crushed the letter in his fist, a low growl of pure, unadulterated frustration rumbling in his chest. "Heaven Dou City," he snarled to the empty room. "Of course. The one place in the world I wanted to avoid."
He knew the dangers. The capital was the heart of the empire, a place crawling with powerful Spirit Masters. Dugu Bo, that weak, pathetic poison user, was a Titled Douluo, and while Tang Hao could crush him with a single thought, a battle between two such beings would draw unwanted attention.
And the Imperial Family itself, while it had no Titled Douluos in its direct service, employed a small army of Spirit Douluos, powerful experts who could, if they worked together, become a significant annoyance.
But his greatest fear was the Spirit Hall. Their influence in the capital was immense. A battle, a single, careless display of his power, and he knew they would descend upon him. Chrysanthemum Douluo. Ghost Douluo. Two Super Douluos whose combined power was a threat even to him.
'I must be careful,' he thought, his frustration giving way to a cold, hard caution. 'I will be a ghost. A shadow. I will find my son, ensure his safety, and then I will melt away.'
The journey to the capital was a blur. He arrived under the cloak of a moonless night, a silent specter passing over the high, fortified walls. He made his way directly to the sprawling, palatial grounds of the Heaven Dou Imperial Academy.
He did not try to enter. He simply found a quiet, unassuming tea house across the street, a place with a clear view of the academy's main gates. He sat in a dark corner, his hood pulled low, and he waited.
He made his discreet inquiries the next morning. He approached a low-ranking groundskeeper, a man whose spirit power was so weak he would not register Tang Hao's true strength.
"Excuse me," Tang Hao said, his voice a low, gravelly rumble. "I am looking for a group of teachers and students who recently arrived here. From a place called Shrek Academy."
The groundskeeper looked him up and down, his expression one of bored indifference. "Shrek Academy?" he grunted. "Oh, you mean that bunch of beggars. Yeah, they were here."
He spat on the ground. "Not anymore, though. Got themselves kicked out over a month ago. One of their arrogant brats attacked the Fourth Prince, Xue Beng. Can you believe the nerve? The Director, Prince Xue Xing, had them thrown out on their ears. Good riddance, I say."
He then added, as an afterthought, "Heard they went crawling to the Blue Tyrant Academy after that. Word is, the Blue Tyrant Academy's dean felt sorry for them and took them in. Even renamed the whole place 'Shrek Academy'. Bunch of weirdos."
Tang Hao's hand, hidden in the folds of his cloak, clenched into a fist so tight his knuckles turned white.
Expelled. Humiliated. His son, the heir of the Clear Sky Sect, had been treated like a beggar. The rage, the cold, hard diamond in his chest, began to burn once more.
But his frustration was overshadowed by a profound, weary relief. He had a final destination. The chase was almost over.
He found the new Shrek Academy on the eastern side of the city. It was a proper, respectable institution, a world away from the shabby hovel in Suotuo. He did not approach the gates. He simply melted into the dense woods that bordered the academy grounds, his presence becoming one with the shadows.
He closed his eyes, his immense spiritual sense spreading out like an invisible, omniscient net. He bypassed the auras of the other students, the teachers, searching for that one, familiar signature.
And then, he found it.
It was stronger than he remembered, tempered by months of combat, but it was unmistakably his son's. He was on the main training field, in the middle of a spar.
A wave of relief so profound, so absolute, it was a physical thing, washed over Tang Hao. He sank to the ground, his back against the rough bark of an ancient tree, and for the first time in months, the crushing weight on his soul seemed to lift, if only by a fraction.
He was safe.
His son was safe.
He did not move. He did not reveal himself. He simply sat there, a silent, unseen guardian in the shadows, and he began his long, lonely vigil.
From his hidden vantage point, Tang Hao began the slow, patient process of gathering information. He was a ghost, his senses a subtle, probing tool that allowed him to observe the inner workings of the academy without ever being detected. He listened to the idle chatter of the students, the formal lectures of the teachers, the strategic discussions between Flender and Yu Xiaogang.
And slowly, piece by piece, he began to understand what his son had been through in his absence. He learned of the new additions to the team, the four students who had been recruited to fill the gaps left by the departure of the two girls. Tai Long, Huang Yuan, Jing Ling, Jiang Zhu. He catalogued their names, their spirits, their strengths, and their weaknesses.
But it was the incident of the One Strength Clan that truly captured his attention. He found a detailed, written report in Yu Xiaogang's new, well-organized office, a summary of the events of the past month that the Grandmaster had clearly prepared for his eventual arrival.
He read of Tai Long's foolish, youthful crush on Xiao Wu, a detail that brought a rare, faint flicker of amusement to his grim face. He read of the subsequent challenges, of his son's victories against Tai Long using his Blue Silver Grass and then against his Spirit King father, Tai Nuo, through those strange, deadly mechanical weapons.
And then he read of the arrival of Tai Tan.
The report detailed the wager, the crushing, Spirit Douluo-level pressure that his son had endured. He felt a surge of fierce, paternal pride as he read of Tang San's unbreakable will, his refusal to yield even when his bones were on the verge of shattering.
And then came the climax of the incident. The moment when, at the absolute limit of his endurance, his son had subconsciously summoned his second Martial Spirit to resist the pressure.
The Clear Sky Hammer.
Tang Hao smiled. He read of Tai Tan's profound, earth-shattering shock. He read of the old clan master immediately stopping the match, of his reverent, tearful questions, of his immediate, absolute submission the moment he confirmed that this boy was the son of his master Tang Hao.
He read of the Tai Tan and entire Strength Clan kneeling before his son, pledging their eternal loyalty, hailing him as their Young Master.
A deep, rumbling sound escaped Tang Hao's chest. It was a sound he had not made in many, many years. It was a laugh. A deep, proud, and profoundly happy laugh.
He looked out at the training field, at the son who was now not just a student, but a leader, a Young Master with his own loyal followers. Well, these followers were those that he had subdued long ago and passing them down to his son felt quite natural.
The pride, however, was quickly followed by a fresh wave of cold, murderous rage.
'This is my son,' he thought, his hand clenching into a fist. 'The heir of the Clear Sky Sect. A boy of our noble lineage, with peerless talent, and unshakeable will. And that brat, that upstart commoner Zhang Tian, dared to break and castrate him, to humiliate him, to display him like a piece of meat.'
The hatred, which had been a simmering coal, now roared back to life, an inferno in his soul.
He settled back into the shadows, his expression once again a mask of stone. His vigil would continue. He would watch his son grow. He would watch him become strong.
And he would wait. He would wait for the day when his son was ready. The day when they would, together, repay their debt of blood and humiliation, a hundred times over.
~~
A/N: Check out my other novels like "Harem Master: Seduction System" and the "Villain: Manipulating the Heroines into hating the Protagonist" and I hope you like this story and those stories as well.
Check out more chapters on my P.atreon. The P.atreon will have 20+ Chapters ahead for this story. I hope you like it.
The link of p.atreon is: bit.ly/evildragon