Yu Xiaogang's gaze was odd as he stared at Tang Lan.
But the moment their eyes met—
He immediately looked away, acting as if nothing had happened, and casually nodded.
Then, he called out—
"Admissions will continue. Please line up in an orderly manner."
—
As soon as the previously empty space opened up, a massive crowd flooded in.
But—
Everyone instinctively kept their distance from Tang Lan.
—
A Soul Douluo got treated that badly—who would be dumb enough to ask for a beating?!
—
Tang Lan, seeing this, rose into the sky and hovered above the crowd, observing Yu Xiaogang from above.
This guy…
Was plotting something.
Right now, Yu Xiaogang had no real value—he was just doing menial tasks.
Maybe it was time to—
'Find a chance to kick him out?'
'Or better yet, let the Spirit Hall take care of him?'
'That way, Liu Erlong would stay in Tang Sect and fight against Spirit Hall in the future.'
—
As he flew toward the inner courtyard,
Tang Lan began planning how to allocate the newly acquired treasures.
The Fire Essence Core—
That was for himself.
Perfect timing—
Ever since he reached Rank 47, all his progress came from Blue Silver Energy converted into soul power.
With this Fire Essence Core—
Even without consuming it, just using it as a cultivation aid would allow him to convert Blue Silver Energy into Nine Yang Divine Skill internal power much faster.
As for the Fire Spirit Left Arm Bone—
It was fire attribute, which didn't match Tang San's abilities.
So, it wasn't his "destined opportunity",
Meaning no bonus rewards from the system.
'I'll give it to Xiao Wu.'
A 12,000-year-old soul bone wasn't much to Tang Lan,
But for others, it was a major upgrade.
—
As he returned to the Sect Master's palace,
Tang Lan spotted Zhu Zhuqing standing straight at the entrance.
The moment she saw him approaching,
She revealed a small smile.
—
For someone as cold as her, this was more meaningful than a thousand words.
—
Tang Lan landed.
Zhu Zhuqing stepped forward, wrapped her arms around him, and hugged him tightly—so tightly that even her curves were flattened against him.
"Hiss—"
That sensation…
Was she… not wearing anything under that?!
"Thank you, Lan." Zhu Zhuqing whispered into his ear, her breath warm. "I've prepared a surprise for you. Let's talk inside."
—
And so, she dragged him into the palace.
Then—
Strange noises began to sound.
—
"Hiss—"
"Ah—"
"Hrrrumph—"
"Cough, cough—"
—
Watching Zhu Zhuqing slip into the shadows and flee the scene,
Tang Lan felt a little dazed.
This cold beauty, when passionate, was almost impossible to handle!
—
Even in his "sage mode,"
His heart still burned at the thought of what just happened.
She must've put in a lot of effort thinking of all those moves, huh?
'So this is what it means to be a cold-outside, warm-inside big cat?'
'I love it! I absolutely love it!'
—
Tang Lan stood up.
His Life Blue Silver Emperor surged forth, cleaning up all traces of the aftermath.
Then, he used the flames of his Thunderflame Haotian Hammer to burn the remains.
Finally, he commanded the Blue Silver Grass to summon servants to redecorate.
—
After calming himself down,
Tang Lan headed to the palace's back courtyard.
Summoning his Life Blue Silver Emperor,
The five black crystal rings reformed into his soul rings.
Then—
An eerie dark blue glow flickered in his right eye.
He activated his soul bone ability, marking himself.
And then—
"Crack—"
His first soul ring shattered inch by inch.
Forcibly destroyed by Tang Lan.
—
At that moment,
A huge burst of soul power scattered outward.
But at the same time, his own body suffered backlash.
"Boom—"
Indestructible Vajra Body activated,
Allowing him to endure the backlash head-on.
Meanwhile, he used his mental power and Nine Yang Divine Skill to forcibly absorb the dissipated soul power back into his body.
But—
The results weren't great.
If the exploded soul ring originally had 10 units of energy…
He could only recover about 3.
—
And worse—
He couldn't do this without damage.
Indestructible Vajra Body was simply tanking it for now.
One or two times was fine.
But after three times,
Even Indestructible Vajra Body wouldn't hold up—
His physical body would start taking serious damage.
Not worth it.
—
'If it's a matter of taking damage…'
'Maybe I should test this method instead!'
—
"Crack—"
Tang Lan's second soul ring shattered.
But this time—
He activated the Undying Seal Art in advance, converting over 30% of the backlash into his own soul power.
The remaining backlash—
He endured with Indestructible Vajra Body.
Then, he gathered the residual energy from the ring explosion.
—
This time—
Based on calculations, he managed to retain about 5 units of soul power.
But—
With the Undying Seal Art added, the upper limit increased from 10 to 15.
His total soul power had increased, but conversion efficiency had decreased.
'Interesting…'
—
Seeing that his self-marking timer only had 40 seconds left,
Tang Lan activated all his external soul bones, stacking as many buffs as possible.
Then—
He detonated his third, fourth, and fifth soul rings in succession!
—
"Ugh—!"
His body trembled violently!
Fine cracks appeared on his skin—
But before they could spread—
A green light surged forth, mending them immediately.
—
Life Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!
—
This time—
Tang Lan incorporated the devouring abilities of his Eight Spider Lances and Life Blue Silver Emperor.
With the increased upper limit of 15 units,
He managed to retain about 7.
A massive surge of blue soul power flooded his body,
Spilling out from his skin, forming a layer of shimmering blue flames.
—
But—
Tang Lan was unsatisfied.
The soul power gained from ring explosions was just pure energy.
It didn't work like the Clear Sky Sect's ring explosion technique,
Where all the energy could be funneled into a Martial Soul for limitless attack boosts.
And worse—
Since his rings were shattered,
He couldn't even use his Fusion Ring ability anymore.
It was—
Useless.
—
Did he even need more soul power at this point?
—
By now—
His self-marking timer was nearly out.
Tang Lan activated his soul bone ability—Reset.
In an instant—
His body "rewound" to the state it was in at the moment of marking.
His soul rings were restored.
His body was fully healed.
The life force consumed by his right leg bone was replenished.
Everything returned to peak condition.
The only downside—
His Evil Eye ability had vanished,
And he'd have to wait twelve hours before he could use it again.
—
'This ring explosion technique really is a profound secret of the Clear Sky Sect… It's incredibly difficult to master.'
'Even with my ability to test it risk-free every day… who knows how long it'll take to develop a usable method?'
'Hmm…'
"Might as well find Tang Hao and learn directly from him."
—
But—
With Tang Hao's stubborn and traditional mindset,
He'd probably need the Clear Sky Sect's approval first.
Only then would they allow him to learn their sect's secret technique.
'Tch!'
'A bunch of old fossils… Don't they understand that knowledge-sharing benefits everyone?'
—
Fine.
Ring explosion techniques could wait.
If the system gave him a direct reward, great.
If not—
He'd just learn it later.
There was no way anyone in the Clear Sky Sect's current generation was more suited to it than him.
—
With that settled—
Tang Lan returned to his room.
Today's hard work was done—time for a nap as a reward.
—Having an auto-cultivation technique was just too good.
—
The Next Morning
Tang Lan felt warmth in his arms.
Opening his eyes—
He saw Zhu Zhuqing curled up in his embrace, sleeping soundly.
—
It reminded him of a psychology concept from his past life.
—People who lack a strong sense of security often sleep in a curled-up position.
—
Even with her Martial Soul evolution…
The shadow of Star Luo Empire still haunted her.
—
'For future plans involving Star Luo, I should have Zhuqing handle them.'
'The best way to build confidence is to confront one's fears head-on.'
—
As if sensing his gaze—
Zhu Zhuqing's eyes snapped open.
Her gaze was razor-sharp, completely devoid of the usual drowsiness one would expect after waking up.
—
A habit formed from years of living under extreme pressure.
It made Tang Lan feel a pang of sadness.
—
Gently stroking her head,
He softly reassured her—
"This is Tang Sect. No one will ever hurt you here."
—
Zhu Zhuqing's sharp gaze softened.
She rubbed her cheek against his palm—
It was the most comforting thing she had ever heard in her life.
—
She started to get up…
But Tang Lan held her down.
And then—
(End of Chapter)