Feeling the considerable pressure on his shoulder, Tang San pursed his lips—he had reason to suspect Chu Chengzhou was doing this intentionally.
Then, Tang San bowed to Tang Xiao and the five elders, stepped forward a few paces, looked around at the Hao Tian Sect members, and clasped his hands saying: "I am Tang San. I humbly request your guidance!"
After Tang San finished speaking, no one immediately stepped forward.
Though they were all third-generation disciples, the age gap was considerable.
The youngest third-generation disciple of the Hao Tian Sect hadn't even awakened their martial soul yet, while the oldest was already in their forties.
Tang San appeared to be under twenty years old—right in the middle age range.
If an older third-generation disciple came out to fight, it might seem like an unfair advantage.
Usually, winning through unfair advantage wouldn't matter, but who let Tang San have such a good uncle-in-law?
The prospective husband of Aunt Yuehua was so powerful—if they defeated Tang San and lost face for the uncle-in-law, how would they handle this overwhelmingly strong uncle-in-law giving them trouble in the future?
But if someone too young came out, they would likely just get beaten up. After all, Tang San was the biological son of the Hao Tian Douluo and a hundred-thousand-year human-form spirit beast. Both parents were extraordinary—his talent and strength couldn't possibly be poor.
This led to the situation where no third-generation disciple of the Hao Tian Sect immediately stepped forward to accept the challenge.
Seeing this, Second Elder Tang Bo frowned, scanned the third-generation disciples, and called out: "Where is Tang Hu?"
"Second Great-Uncle."
A gray-robed, burly man who appeared to be over thirty years old stepped out from the crowd.
This was Tang Hu, the father of the little girl Tang Tiantian who had teased them earlier, and also the current chief disciple of the Hao Tian Sect's third generation.
"Tang Hu, Level 58 Strong Attack Soul King. Please!"
Tang Hu suppressed the reluctance in his eyes upon being called, materialized his Hao Tian Hammer martial soul in hand. Five soul rings—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black—blossomed around him as he gestured for Tang San to begin.
'Yuehua, this Tang Hu looks almost forty, but his soul power level hasn't even reached the sixth ring. How can he be the Hao Tian Sect's third-generation chief?'
Glancing at Tang Hu, Chu Chengzhou couldn't help but ask Tang Yuehua through transmitted sound.
Almost forty years old and still not advanced to sixth-ring Soul Emperor—though his talent couldn't be called terrible, this undoubtedly seriously diminished the value of being the Hao Tian Sect's chief disciple.
After all, the Hao Tian Sect had only sealed their mountain and retreated from the world—they hadn't experienced martial soul degeneration.
'What do you mean almost forty? Tang Hu just has a mature appearance! He's only thirty this year!!'
Tang Yuehua replied unhappily.
Chu Chengzhou: "."
Alright, he really does have a mature appearance—perhaps like Uncle Sausage when he doesn't shave?
"Tang San, Tang Hu is our Hao Tian Sect's third-generation chief disciple. If you can defeat Tang Hu, I believe all third-generation disciple will be convinced by you."
Glancing at Chu Chengzhou, Tang Bo said calmly to Tang San.
Tang San nodded slightly. A dark light flashed in his left hand as his Hao Tian Hammer martial soul materialized. He bowed to Tang Hu: "Tang San, Level 56 Soul King. Please!"
Since this was about recognizing ancestors and returning to the clan, and everyone's martial soul was the Hao Tian Hammer, Tang San hadn't planned to use his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul—he intended to defeat his opponent with the Hao Tian Hammer martial soul.
Moreover, defeating an opponent with a martial soul that hadn't been given soul rings would better demonstrate his strength.
My Hao Tian Hammer martial soul hasn't even been given soul rings, yet I can defeat the chief disciple of my generation in the sect—imagine how powerful I'll be after adding soul rings?
'Level 56 Soul King?'
Tang Hu couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. Tang San looked at least ten years younger than him, but unexpectedly, his soul power level wasn't much lower.
"Wait, Tang San, your soul rings—"
Suddenly, looking at Tang San whose martial soul had materialized but no soul rings had blossomed around him, Second Elder Tang Bo beside him couldn't help but say in surprise.
One must understand, all soul masters had soul rings—how come Tang San didn't have any?
Moreover, martial souls would undergo subtle changes as soul rings were added. Different soul rings would cause certain differences in the martial soul's appearance. Tang Bo could tell that Tang San's Hao Tian Hammer martial soul was the original version—it showed no signs of having soul rings added, only some strange white patterns.
"Second Elder, haven't you heard of the specialized term 'twin martial souls' in the soul master world?"
Beside him, Tang Yuehua said calmly.
"Twin martial souls? You mean, Tang San is like the current Spirit Hall Pope Bibi Dong?!"
Tang Bo's pupils contracted as he looked at Tang Yuehua with a shocked expression.
Although the Hao Tian Sect had sealed their mountain and retreated from the world, this didn't mean they were completely isolated from the continent. While they might not pay attention to intelligence from other powers, they definitely monitored important intelligence about their number one enemy—the Spirit Hall.
He not only knew that Bibi Dong was a twin martial soul soul master, but also knew that Bibi Dong with her twin martial souls was one of the few strongest experts on the continent.
Tang Yuehua nodded and said: "Correct. Xiao San inherited his father's Hao Tian Hammer martial soul and his mother's Blue Silver Emperor martial soul."
"Additionally, Xiao San had full innate soul power. He has been cultivating his Blue Silver Emperor martial soul all this time."
"Elders can imagine—if Xiao San cultivates to Titled Douluo level and then adds high-cultivation-year soul rings to his Hao Tian Hammer martial soul, how powerful will he become in the future?"
"I believe even reaching the peerless realm like our former ancestor Tang Chen wouldn't be impossible, right?"
Her eldest nephew was recognizing ancestors and returning to the clan—as his aunt, she naturally needed to praise her nephew to the heavens.
Setting aside other matters—the more excellent the nephew, the more likely he was to restore the sect's glory, the higher the recognition from sect elders and disciples would be, and the less resentment they would harbor in their hearts.
At these words, the five elders' eyes flashed with sharp light.
For the Hao Tian Sect, which already had several Titled Douluos, adding one more Titled Douluo wouldn't change the overall situation. But if they could gain a peerless Douluo, everything would be completely different.
Why did the Spirit Hall dare to force the Hao Tian Sect to seal their mountain and retreat from the world back then, but after the sect sealed their mountain, they didn't completely exterminate them?
Was it because the Spirit Hall didn't understand the principle that "to eliminate weeds, you must pull out the roots"? Impossible! This was entirely because the Hao Tian Sect had an ancestor—Tang Chen—who had cultivated to the peerless realm and was nicknamed "Invincible on Land."
Unfortunately, ancestor Tang Chen had gone missing. Without his presence, the Hao Tian Sect was far from being a match for the Spirit Hall, which was why they were forced to seal their mountain and retreat from the world.
But because the ancestor was powerful and there was no confirmed news of his death, the Spirit Hall—fearing retaliation—didn't dare to completely exterminate them. Otherwise, when the ancestor returned one day, the Spirit Hall couldn't withstand the bloody revenge of a supreme expert who had nothing left to lose.
However, ancestor Tang Chen had been missing for many years, and whether he would return in the future was uncertain. If the sect could produce another peerless Douluo—not to directly overthrow the Spirit Hall and avenge past humiliations, but to definitely restore the Hao Tian Sect's glory—that would be no problem.
Thus, a trace of barely perceptible fervor flashed in the five elders' gazes as they looked at Tang San.
If not for the fact that Tang San was the son of Tang Hao—that criminal of the sect—the five elders would definitely have treated Tang San like an ancestor to be worshipped.
Geniuses were always favored after all—everyone still hoped that when the genius grew up, they could follow along and rise to prominence too!
Protecting geniuses (×), being carried to success in the future (√)!
The way of clinging to strong legs was nothing more than this.
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