Chapter 128: 145. Tang Hao Prepares to Hunt a Soul Ring
So after being reborn, should Tang San still take Yu Xiaogang as his teacher?
Deep down, Tang San didn't want to.
He thought of his humiliating past life, how he had been fooled by that useless trash Yu Xiaogang into kneeling down on the spot and calling him "Teacher for a day, father for life." He remembered how Yu Xiaogang had taken advantage of his ninth-grade Purple Ganoderma, reaching the 93rd level and becoming a Titled Douluo, how he'd freeloaded his way into a royal title as Imperial Tutor, and then had the audacity to hope that Tang San would bring him into the Divine Realm. Even more nauseating was that after his death, for ten thousand years, the people of Douluo Continent still sang his praises, calling him "the man who trained a god." Just the thought made Tang San feel sick.
However, from a perspective of practicality, Tang San really did need to maintain at least a superficial master-disciple relationship with that piece of trash Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang himself had little to no real value. His greatest asset was that Bibi Dong—the enemy he feared most—was a hopeless romantic, and her love interest happened to be him.
Bibi Dong was a patient and ruthless woman who could bide her time and strike with deadly precision. She was Tang San's greatest enemy in this era, and one of only two people who had ever given him the true feeling of death.
He thought back to himself—dual spirits, both with ten-thousand-year rings, the Clear Sky Hammer's ninth ring even reaching the million-year level. As the Sea God, his power had been no weaker than the Rakshasa Angel. And even with this configuration, he had ultimately fallen into the hands of that woman Bibi Dong.
Her greatest weakness, though, was that waste of a man—Yu Xiaogang.
If he hadn't been Yu Xiaogang's disciple, Bibi Dong probably would have killed him outright during the Soul Master Tournament.
In other words, if Yu Xiaogang was alive, the Spirit Hall "instance" was set to beginner difficulty. Without him, it jumped straight to nightmare mode.
And although the Asura God had his back—even if he died, the god would resurrect him—Tang San had no interest in owing such a being a favor.
He knew the Asura God's temperament well. The god had chosen countless inheritors before, only to discard them all. His standards for successors were brutally strict; those who failed were abandoned without hesitation.
If Tang San needed resurrection from the Asura God just to defeat a mortal Bibi Dong, the god might well decide he was unworthy and drop him as a successor entirely.
So having Yu Xiaogang as a "protective umbrella" wasn't such a waste after all. That was the one role he was good for.
In this new life, Tang San resolved that he would indeed acknowledge Yu Xiaogang as his teacher—but he wouldn't allow the man to profit from it. He would decide his own spirit ring configuration, refusing to let Yu Xiaogang's theoretical nonsense create unnecessary karma between them.
Before he became a god, he would gradually reduce their relationship, cutting the parasite away little by little so Yu Xiaogang could never cling to him again.
As for the ninth-grade Purple Ganoderma, that was out of the question. Yu Xiaogang could wait obediently as a 29th-level "theory master" for life.
Just imagining the man forever stuck in despair at that bottleneck made Tang San feel a flicker of delight.
Tang San and Huo Yuhao—two sons of destiny from different eras, standing on opposing sides—were united in one thing: their complete disdain for Yu Xiaogang.
After plotting out his new future, Tang San drifted off into a deep sleep.
Meanwhile, Tang Hao turned to Old Jack and said, "Village chief, I want to ask a favor of you."
"What could a drunk like you possibly need my help with?" Old Jack replied.
"Nothing big," Tang Hao said. "I just want to leave Xiao San with you for a few months. I have something I need to take care of."
"What could be more important than your child?"
"My own affairs. Don't ask too much," Tang Hao said curtly.
Tang Hao had been stuck at level 90 for a long time. If not for the hunt for Ah Yin's spirit ring back then, he would already have been a Titled Douluo. But since that soul ring had gone to Tang Xiao, there was no hope for it now. Then came that string of tragedies, leaving him no time to obtain his ninth ring. Now that things were finally calm, it was time to address that.
Before leaving, Tang Hao looked deeply at Tang San, who was now being fostered in Old Jack's home.
He recalled that, before his rebirth, Tang San had been an orphan. Because of that, family bonds meant a great deal to him. In the earlier timeline, Tang San had spent so much time with Old Jack that they'd nearly formed a grandfather-grandson bond—absurd, considering that back then, Tang Hao had still been alive and Tang San knew exactly who his father was.
That worried Tang Hao. He couldn't bear the thought of his son recognizing some peasant as his grandfather. Old Jack didn't deserve that!
When he returned, Tang Hao decided, he would carefully observe Tang San and Old Jack's relationship. If it looked too close—well, then he would simply arrange an "accident" for Old Jack.
After leaving Holy Soul Village, Tang Hao began planning which soul ring to hunt for his ninth ring.
Across all of Douluo Continent, the Titan Giant Ape's soul ring would have been the most suitable. But that was reserved for his son.
And besides, without a sect or allies, hunting a hundred-thousand-year soul beast alone was simply impossible.
Still, having had such a ring in his previous life, Tang Hao found it hard to accept that this time he'd have to settle for a lesser, ten-thousand-year beast.
Then suddenly, a thought struck him—Titan!
If he could enlist the Strength Clan to assist him in finding and hunting a beast, his chances of safely obtaining the ninth ring would rise drastically.
Would the Strength Clan refuse him? He doubted it. In his past life, he hadn't realized just how loyal Titan was—but now he knew. Truly, that was one good dog.
With that thought, Tang Hao set out toward the clan's territory.
Under the moonlight, Tang Hao stood on a stone platform, his back to an old one-armed man.
The elder saw his silhouette and immediately burst into tears. Falling to his knees, he cried out in excitement, "Master, is it really you?"
"Yes," Tang Hao said, his voice heavy with years of weariness as he turned around. Seeing the elder's missing arm, he frowned. "What happened to your hand?"
The old man was Titan, leader of the Strength Clan. His people were famed for their might, but losing an arm was a tremendous blow to his strength. Just how much help could such a wounded Titan provide in hunting a soul beast?
Titan then told Tang Hao everything that had happened to his clan recently.
"The Body Sect?" Tang Hao's frown deepened. In his memory, that sect, much like the Star Crown Sect, should have been in seclusion during this era. (Memory altered by Huo Yuhao.) So why had they come out of hiding?
(END CHAPTER)
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