Gu Xuan naturally would not do something as foolish as distributing Soul Bones directly on the Spirit Hall plaza, as in the original story. Thinking about it, that would just be too brainless.
By dividing the Soul Bones under the watchful eyes of everyone, wouldn't all the high-level officials of Spirit Hall know exactly who had what? At that point, a simple assassination would be all it took to snatch them back.
In fact, this was precisely why Gu Xuan couldn't understand why the Shrek Seven Devils weren't assassinated after making their five-year promise in the original work. These were three ten-thousand-year Soul Bones, all top-tier specimens. For any soul master, obtaining one would lead to a terrifying increase in strength!
Gu Xuan stowed the Soul Bones into his storage soul tool and said, "We will distribute the Soul Bones later."
No one had any objections. After all, these three Soul Bones were essentially won by Gu Xuan alone; otherwise, with a Soul Saint like Qian Renxue on the Spirit Hall team, they wouldn't have stood a chance at victory.
One day ago, within the borders of the Heaven Dou Empire, deep in an unnamed mountain range.
At night, a refreshing breeze brushed against the leaves. Under the moonlight, the shadows of the trees lay scattered and swaying on the ground. Tang San slowly woke from his coma. Almost instinctively, he sat up abruptly, his gaze scanning the surroundings.
The first thing he saw was a campfire. The flames crackled as they licked the firewood, and small sparks burst out as it burned. Beside the fire, there was only one figure.
"Dad." Seeing Tang Hao at a glance, Tang San jumped up from the ground in excitement. Eight years—it had been over eight long years. Seeing his old father again, how could Tang San not be moved?
"Sit down." Tang Hao pointed to the ground in front of him.
Tang San did not dare to disobey his father and hurriedly sat before him. He looked around, but failed to find the figure he hoped to see, and the excitement on his face faded slightly.
"No need to look, it's just us here," Tang Hao said indifferently.
"I..." Hearing his father's words, Tang San couldn't help but recall the promise he had made to Meng Yiran: to protect her for a lifetime.
However, with his current strength, how could he protect her? Faced with truly powerful soul masters, his meager power was nothing. When he was intercepted by the Devil Bear and Ghost Leopard Douluo, Tang San nearly believed it was a certain death sentence. He just hadn't expected...
Tang Hao frowned as he saw Tang San's distracted state. "She is safe. A real man must be able to pick things up and put them down. When the day comes that you truly possess the strength to protect her, it won't be too late to be together."
After saying this, Tang Hao added calmly, "I know you have many questions to ask me."
Tang San nodded. But just as he did, Tang Hao coughed twice and spat out a mouthful of dark red blood.
"Dad, you're hurt?" Tang San wanted to stand up, but Tang Hao held him down.
"It's nothing, just the movement today stirred up some old injuries." Tang Hao's face returned to a calm state, as if the injured person wasn't him.
Tang Hao was already living with a heavily injured body. If it weren't for the sacrifice of the Blue Silver Empress, granting him vast life force, he wouldn't have survived until today. Forcing himself to take the Ninth Soul Skills of two Rank 95 Super Douluos in their Martial Soul Avatar forms had undoubtedly worsened his condition.
In the original story, seven Titled Douluos confronted Tang Hao, but none of them used their full strength or even released soul skills. This time was different; Tang Hao's current state was no better than in the original work. Without timely treatment, he wouldn't have much longer to live—or rather, if he forced himself to fight again, he might kill himself before the enemy could.
Tang San began to talk with Tang Hao, telling him about his experiences over the past few years. Although Tang Hao had protected Tang San from the shadows most of the time, he had been away for significant periods, so he truly was unaware of some events, such as Tang San adding soul rings to his second Martial Soul.
Tang Hao was both angry and helpless regarding this, but when he learned it was a suggestion from Gu Xuan and that Gu Xuan had provided a ten-thousand-year torso Soul Bone, he listened seriously. As Tang San explained Gu Xuan's theories, Tang Hao's anger shifted into contemplation. He realized the theory was sound; even though he wasn't a twin martial soul user, he knew the vital importance of physical constitution.
Finally, Tang Hao sighed. "From now on, you will temporarily focus on your Blue Silver Grass. As for the problem of it not being able to keep up with your pace, I will take you to resolve that."
He paused, then added, "That Gu Xuan is truly sincere toward you. To provide a ten-thousand-year torso Soul Bone to assist you is something I truly did not expect." Even for Tang Hao, such a gift was an immense favor. Though it was only slightly over ten thousand years old, it had laid a rock-solid foundation for Tang San.
Tang Hao then revealed Tang San's heritage—the fact that his mother was the 100,000-year soul beast Blue Silver Empress. This served as a reassurance to Tang San and was Tang Hao's way of ensuring Tang San wouldn't add more rings to his second Martial Soul for now. Tang San now understood that Spirit Hall was responsible for his mother's death, and his hatred for them grew even deeper.
The next morning, Tang San followed Tang Hao into a rolling mountain range. From their position, they couldn't see the full extent of the mountains, but even the outermost peaks pierced the clouds.
After two hours, the father and son reached a serene spot with a clear, deep spring that looked like a giant sapphire. On one side of the valley, a twenty-meter-wide waterfall hung like a jade belt on a two-hundred-meter cliff, creating a thunderous roar.
Tang Hao stood there silently, his gaze fixed on the cascading water. Suddenly, his expression turned fierce. He lunged toward the middle section of the waterfall and dove right in. Without his Eight Spider Lances, Tang San couldn't climb that high and could only wait anxiously below.
About five minutes later, Tang Hao's furious roar erupted from within the waterfall:
"Spirit Hall! What a Spirit Hall! I, Tang Hao, am irreconcilable with you!!!"
Hearing Tang Hao's roar, Tang San was stunned.
'Spirit Hall? Why Spirit Hall again? What did Dad see up there?'
(End of Chapter)
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