Chapter 246: The Unlucky Wind Baboons, Attempts and Ambitions
"Where's Xiaosan? Has he seen you?"
Catching up to Tang Hao, Old Jack nagged again, "I'm telling you, Tang Hao, you're not young anymore. How could you just abandon Xiaosan and leave? He was still a child back then! Do you even know "
"Shut up."
Tang Hao, irritated by the noise, stopped in his tracks and glared at him. His fierce expression left Old Jack momentarily speechless. "That's my son. How I treat him is none of your concern. And stop calling him Xiaosan who do you think you are? Let me make it clear: he will never return to Holy Soul Village. You'd better give up on that hope."
With that, he ignored the stunned Old Jack and strode away.
It took a while for Old Jack to snap out of it. Staring at the empty road ahead, he muttered, "That's impossible… he must be joking. Xiaosan is such a good child he will definitely come back."
"Yeah… Tang Hao's words don't count for much."
Forcing himself to perk up, Old Jack headed home. Whether he was trying to console himself or if he truly believed it, only he knew.
Now free from the bothersome Old Jack, Tang Hao felt a little better. He headed into the mountains to search once again after all, that soul bone was Ah Yin's relic, a hundred thousand year soul bone meant for him and his son.
Soul beasts couldn't absorb soul bones. This was the last bit of self consolation he had left.
As for those Spirit Hall patrols, he didn't even care. If he didn't want to be found, there was no way those people could detect him.
For two whole days, Tang Hao searched the forests around Holy Soul Village, growing more and more silent. He found nothing. Not even a single Wind Baboon.
Aside from some Soft Bone Rabbits, there were no significant soul beasts in the area. Forget the soul bone he couldn't even find traces of the Wind Baboons.
Sitting on a rock for a long time, Tang Hao finally stood up, taking a deep breath before heading toward the Star Dou Forest.
Ah Yin was gone, but he was certain that Xiaosan's martial soul problems were connected to this.
He had never been to the Blue Silver Forest, but he had heard of it from Ah Yin. He remembered her final words before sacrificing herself if Tang San inherited the Blue Silver Grass martial soul, he should be taken to the Blue Silver Forest at the right time, as it would greatly benefit him.
Now, this was Tang Hao's only hope. His plan was to locate it first and bring Tang San later.
However, after wandering around the Star Dou Forest, he was completely lost. He couldn't find the Blue Silver Forest.
He was bewildered. How could such a massive forest just disappear?
Could Ah Yin have lied to him? No, impossible.
Not only would Ah Yin never deceive him, but even without her, he knew there was a forest here. It wasn't well known because there weren't many soul beasts, but it certainly existed.
Refusing to accept defeat, Tang Hao searched for another three days, marking paths and even scouting from the air but he still couldn't find it.
In the end, covered in blood and his face dark with anger, he left the Star Dou Forest.
The blood belonged to the Wind Baboon tribe. He had wiped out an entire small soul beast settlement.
Since he couldn't find the Blue Silver Forest, he had to go back and find another way to solve Xiaosan's problem. For now, this was just collecting a bit of interest.
Such inherently evil soul beasts should not exist. One day, he would slaughter them all to bring solace to Ah Yin's spirit.
Meanwhile, Han Li and Zhu Zhuqing had returned to Heaven Dou City.
At the same time, he received a message from Spirit City the organization had decided that he would be the highest authority in the Heaven Dou division for the upcoming Soul Master Tournament in six months.
Han Li wasn't surprised by the news. He simply smiled and accepted it, then delegated all the work to Salas.
This was a job Salas was familiar with. Why should the Holy Son handle such trivial tasks himself?
Besides, just look at how happy Salas was. Being entrusted with such an important responsibility meant the Holy Son valued him highly.
As for Han Li himself, he had more important matters to attend to such as cultivation.
A few days later, Tang Hao also arrived in Heaven Dou City, looking weary from travel.
As for Tang San's martial soul issue, Tang Hao didn't say a word, and Yu Xiaogang didn't dare ask.
He could only watch as Tang Hao left early and returned late each day, his expression growing darker every time.
Yu Xiaogang braced himself and visited Tang San repeatedly, trying to maintain the increasingly strained teacher student relationship.
Several times, he was tempted to suggest that Tang San do what he had done consider replacing his soul bone.
But with Tang Hao around, and knowing the method, he never brought it up. Tang Hao's brutality was terrifying, and Yu Xiaogang chose to remain silent. Still, his anxiety grew by the day.
Notably, after Tang Hao's return, during one of his visits to conceal Xiao Wu's aura, he accidentally overheard a conversation between Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Tang San and Xiao Wu were still troubled by Tai Long's persistence, and the additional team members assigned to the second team by the academy were undeniably weak. Worst of all, one of them was a complete fool who only hovered around Ning Rongrong.
Upon hearing the news, Tang Hao silently left.
Three days later, shocking news spread Tai Long, originally a core member of Blue Tyrant Academy, had voluntarily left his team and joined Heaven Dou Imperial Academy instead.
This caused an immediate sensation.
Tai Long, now sporting a face still marked with fresh palm prints, joined the second team, showing uncharacteristic respect toward Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Liu Erlong, furious, was about to storm the academy, but after Flander spoke with her privately, she left in silence, much to the disappointment of those who had been eagerly anticipating a spectacle.
By now, there was less than a month left until the Soul Master Tournament.
Yu Xiaogang was having trouble sleeping. The closer the tournament got, the worse his insomnia became.
Without the benefits of the Mimicry Environment, even though Tang San had thrown himself completely into training, with far better resources and conditions than before, he had only just broken through to Rank 37 half a month ago.
Rank 37. Yu Xiaogang's smile was bitter.
Tang San's cultivation speed was already impressive, but his martial soul's innate limitations still held him back. His young age, coupled with the lack of truly powerful teammates, made Yu Xiaogang wonder was Tang San doomed to play a supporting role in this tournament?
He was unwilling to accept that. His relationship with Tang San had already reached an all time low due to his failure to identify the martial soul's underlying issue.
This tournament was crucial. As long as Tang San stood out, Yu Xiaogang could still bask in the reflected glory.
But at this rate, there was no telling if Tang San would even participate in the next Soul Master Tournament. And even if he did, it would likely have nothing to do with Yu Xiaogang anymore.
At this point, he wasn't even an assistant instructor at the academy. Would the academy or Tang Hao really continue to allow him to stay close to Tang San?
Just then, his door was abruptly flung open.
Tang Hao, still reeking of blood, stood in the doorway.
"Your Eminence… what ?"
Yu Xiaogang shuddered, shrinking into the corner of his bed, looking fearfully at the man standing in the center of the room.
Tang Hao cast him a cold glance, then pulled something out from his coat still stained with blood and tossed it onto the bed.
"A soul bone. A thousand year soul bone from a Wind Baboon. Left arm. Absorb it."
Yu Xiaogang froze for a moment, then his eyes burned with greed as he stared at the object on the bed. Forgetting the bloodstains, he lunged for it like a starving dog, clutching it in his hands and inspecting it eagerly.
Tang Hao observed his reaction with a flicker of disdain in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it.
"Stop wasting time. Absorb it."
Yu Xiaogang snapped out of his daze at Tang Hao's command. Glancing between Tang Hao and the soul bone only half an arm's length he paid no attention to Tang Hao's tone.
To him, even a damaged, low quality thousand year soul bone was an incredibly rare treasure.
Hurriedly assuming a meditative position, he pressed the soul bone against his left arm, fearing that Tang Hao might change his mind.
Standing in the middle of the room, Tang Hao watched as the soul bone gradually merged into Yu Xiaogang's body. A satisfied expression finally appeared on his face.
Now, there was no problem.
For half a year, he had tried countless methods but had been unable to resolve the issue of Tang San's martial soul being rejected by the Blue Silver Grass. In the end, he had no choice but to turn to Yu Xiaogang's bone replacement theory.
He had spent his days constantly on the move, sometimes disappearing for several days at a time searching for a suitable soul beast in the Sunset Forest while also avenging himself on the Wind Baboons.
Despite Yu Xiaogang's theory, Tang Hao had one last concern would replacing bones affect the future absorption of soul bones?
If it did, then no matter how much he wanted to fulfill Tang San's wish, he would never allow his son to take that risk.
Thus, he had been searching relentlessly for any soul bone, regardless of quality or age, to use Yu Xiaogang as a test subject.
But as a lone individual, obtaining a soul bone was no easy feat. He had no choice but to keep hunting soul beasts. Finally, after mercilessly slaughtering a Wind Baboon tonight, he had unexpectedly obtained a thousand year soul bone.
He had rushed back immediately, eager to confirm its effects through Yu Xiaogang.
As he had hoped, the process was successful, and his last worry was put to rest.
Yu Xiaogang's bone replacement theory involved physical transplants, whereas absorbing a soul bone was different. Though soul bones appeared solid, their essence was energy that fused into the original skeleton, enhancing and transforming it rather than simply replacing it.
Now, with a month left before the Soul Master Tournament, and considering the duration of the tournament itself, Tang San still had time to grow stronger.
As for his martial soul issue, once he achieved decent results in the tournament, Tang Hao planned to take him back to the Clear Sky Clan. With the bone replacement method now perfected, those people would have no choice but to support him.
Watching Yu Xiaogang absorb the soul bone, Tang Hao's eyes flickered in the darkness his future plans already set in motion.
(End of Chapter)
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