Xiao Wu was curled up in bed, fast asleep. Moonlight streamed through the window and onto her face, soft and serene, like a sleeping Soft Bones Rabbit. At that moment, it seemed no one knew her true identity except for Tang Chuan—she was a 100,000-year Spirit Beast, a Soft Bones Rabbit. The
Spirit Bone of a 100,000-year Spirit Beast was a top-tier treasure on the entire continent, capable of giving its owner two supreme Spirit Bone skills.
Tang Chuan's gaze lingered on Xiao Wu for a moment before he froze. Reality suddenly set in, and a cold feeling clutched his heart, a chill running from his spine all the way to his brain.
"No…," he thought. "My current spirit power is only at Rank One. If I wanted to kill her, I probably couldn't win." Even if he succeeded with a sneak attack, a far more terrifying figure suddenly appeared in Tang Chuan's mind: Tang Hao.
Tang Chuan jolted, a deep sense of dread in his eyes. "No… the original story made it very clear that after Tang San entered Noding Academy, Tang Hao secretly protected him the entire way. If Tang Hao were to discover that I killed Xiao Wu to absorb her Spirit Bone, how would I explain it? How did I know Xiao Wu was a 100,000-year Spirit Beast? And what about all my strange behavior over the past few years?"
Thinking of this, Tang Chuan finally calmed down, and the distracting thoughts in his eyes disappeared. "Hunting Xiao Wu directly for her Spirit Bone is… not possible for me right now." Lying under the covers, Tang Chuan lay on his side, looking at the solitary moon outside the window. His mind, however, remained restless for a long time.
He suddenly remembered his life with Tang San and Tang Hao in Saint Spirit Village over the years. The rundown wooden house had drafts through the walls and a leaky roof. Every winter, the cold wind would blow into the house, and he and Tang San could only huddle together under tattered blankets for warmth.
From the age of three or four, when they were just tall enough to reach the stove, they cooked the family's meals themselves. They built fires, cooked rice, washed wild vegetables, and even had to catch wild rabbits and pick mushrooms in the mountains just to fill their stomachs.
And the man they called father, Tang Hao, either drank or was completely drunk every day. When he was awake, he was quiet, but when he was drunk, he would break things or collapse on the floor, unconscious. It was as if he was the only one in the family who could be so decadent, while the two brothers had to learn to survive early on.
"Heh…" Tang Chuan sneered softly, a hint of sarcasm in his eyes. "Is this the so-called Clear Sky Douluo? As a father, he doesn't care if his sons live or die. As a Titled Douluo, he can't even provide three meals a day, relying on two children just to get by.
If it weren't for Old Jack, the village elder, occasionally helping with some grain and rice, plus the fact that Tang San and I were both reborn with adult minds and abilities, we probably would have starved to death long ago."
Tang Chuan's gaze grew cold, and the emotions that had been suppressed for years ignited completely. "A man who gives birth to children but doesn't raise them isn't worthy of being a person. Tang Hao simply doesn't deserve to be a father. In my opinion, having a father like him or not having one makes no difference."
A look of determination flashed in Tang Chuan's eyes. "Since this father hasn't given me any nurturing, I'll walk my own path. No one has the right to decide my destiny." The night deepened, and Tang Chuan slowly closed his eyes, his mind clearer than ever before.
The sky was faintly bright, and the morning glow had just risen. The streets outside Nuoding City were still deserted, with only a few wisps of morning mist drifting on the cobblestone road. At the academy gate, Grandmaster stood solemnly in his gray robe.
Beside him, Tang San carried a satchel filled with the white radishes they had just bought. A carriage rumbled to a stop at the intersection. Grandmaster and Tang San silently boarded, and the wheels rolled over the stones, slowly heading toward the eastern part of the city. The Soul Hunting Forest was in that direction.
And within the high walls, far from the academy, a figure was already standing in the faint morning light. Tang Chuan stood by the window, his school uniform half on, quietly watching the carriage disappear into the distance. He said nothing. He simply let a cold, meaningful smile spread across his lips.
"In the end, you all still followed the original plot. Tang San, oh, Tang San, for all your two lives, you actually let yourself be fooled by a stupid pig. But this is good, too; everything that was supposed to be yours now belongs to me.
"Although the path of directly hunting Xiao Wu for a Spirit Bone was temporarily not possible, after a night of thought, Tang Chuan had already found another way to rapidly increase his spirit power rank.
No one noticed that Tang Chuan's figure had already quietly vanished from the small path behind the academy's back gate, where the morning light had not yet fully dawned. He didn't alert anyone, carrying a simple satchel, treading on the dew-moistened ground, and following a winding path all the way toward Saint Spirit Village in the southeast.
The sun gradually rose, and birds chirped. After a long journey, Tang Chuan's steps were firm. By noon, he finally passed through a maple forest and saw the familiar silhouette of the mountains in the distance.
"Almost there…" he muttered to himself, his eyes suddenly resolute. Saint Spirit Village was where he and Tang San had lived together for many years. Now, he was returning, but not to go home. He was going for that 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone!
Passing the path outside the village, Tang Chuan didn't go in. Instead, he went straight around the main road and deep into the forest on the east side of the village. This place was rarely visited; the forest was damp and quiet, and snakes and insects often scurried through the bushes. But Tang Chuan's mind became even clearer.
He whispered to himself: "If I remember correctly… in the original story, Ah Yin's seed of life was secretly buried by Tang Hao in a secluded cave outside Saint Spirit Village. In that cave, there was also a 100,000-year Spirit Bone. And that cave, it seems, was hidden behind a waterfall."
"Now Tang San has gone to the Soul Hunting Forest, and Tang Hao is aware of Grandmaster's strength. Given his personality, he should have followed to escort them, right?"
His gaze slightly cold, Tang Chuan quickened his pace, pushing aside dense vines and moss, following the sound of flowing water, and climbing a steep hillside. A moment later, the rumbling sound of water ahead grew louder.
A few more steps and it suddenly opened up. In front of a massive rock face, a waterfall plunged from several tens of feet high, mist filling the air, and sunlight scattering through it, casting a seven-colored glow. Tang Chuan stood before the waterfall, slightly out of breath, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"Found it…"
Slowly walking forward, Tang Chuan's fingers gently traced the rock wall around the waterfall, as if searching for some hidden mechanism. "The cave entrance is behind the waterfall. The rock wall is slightly curved inward, and its surface is covered by a thin layer of moss. If you didn't know beforehand, it would probably be very difficult for anyone to find this place."
Without seeming to hesitate, Tang Chuan pushed aside a corner of the waterfall and quickly slipped into the curtain of water.