"Teacher Xin, please accept me as your disciple! I will definitely perform well and not disappoint you."
Seeing that his great-grandfather was also speaking up for him, Tang San, whose nose was crooked and eyes were askew from the beating, and whose drool couldn't stop flowing from the corner of his mouth, felt a glimmer of hope and looked eagerly at Xin.
His current appearance was far from dignified, almost comical even, but the desperation in his eyes was real. Pain throbbed through his body, yet he endured it without complaint. Compared to the opportunity before him, such suffering was nothing.
As long as he was willing to give him a chance, he could climb step by step to the very top, surpassing all other disciples!
This belief rooted itself deeply in his heart, refusing to waver.
Ambition.
Xin saw ambition in Tang San's eyes.
Not the fleeting kind born from impulse, but something far more persistent—something that had been tempered through setbacks and failure. It burned steadily, quietly, yet intensely.
Xin neither praised nor rejected it immediately. To him, ambition alone meant little without the proper foundation to support it.
"When I accept disciples, I always value the word 'fate' rather than anyone's face."
"What's more, you have not helped me, nor have I helped you. The Asura Demon Sword willingly chose its master. On the contrary, I have shown kindness to you, Senior. If I hadn't forced out the Nine-Headed Bat King, I'm afraid you would have been completely worn away by the Bat King, eventually leaving no remnant soul behind."
"I call you Senior, but do you truly believe you are my Senior?"
Xin said indifferently.
His words were calm, yet they struck with precision. There was no attempt to soften the truth, no concern for how it might be received. To Xin, clarity mattered more than comfort.
"This... you!"
Hearing this, Tang Chen's words choked, and he couldn't speak.
For the first time in a long while, he found himself unable to respond. The authority he once wielded held no weight here, and the logic presented left no room for rebuttal.
When had he ever suffered such indignation?
If he were at his peak, anyone who dared to talk back to him like that would surely be hammered into a meat paste by his Clear Sky Hammer.
But now...
Now, even anger felt hollow.
"Fine, if you're unwilling to accept him, this old man won't force it. The men of my Clear Sky Sect stand tall and proud, majestic and domineering. Each possesses the grand demeanor of this old man. Since he doesn't think highly of you, you, boy, should diligently learn the Clear Sky Sect's unique skills in the future, and you won't be inferior to anyone."
"Come, great-grandson, this old man will transmit to you the true meaning of the Great Sumeru Hammer!"
Tang Chen laughed loudly and tapped Tang San's glabella. Immediately, a majestic hammer intent surged into Tang San's mind, looking truly like a Grandmaster's domineering aura.
In that instant, Tang San's entire body stiffened. His consciousness seemed to be pulled into a vast, boundless space filled with the echoes of hammer strikes. Each movement carried overwhelming force, yet also an indescribable rhythm. It was not just strength—it was understanding, a lifetime of mastery condensed into a single transmission.
He felt as though he stood before a towering mountain, realizing just how far he still had to go.
However, in the next moment, Tang Chen coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, and his remnant soul completely separated from his body, flickering indistinctly as if about to vanish at any moment.
The powerful aura that had filled the space moments ago began to dissipate rapidly.
Tang San quickly went to support him, but his hands passed through Tang Chen's soul, and his face was full of confusion:
"Great-grandfather, what exactly is going on?"
"It's nothing, it's just time to leave... Boy, don't ever disgrace this old man. One must be upright and honorable, winning against everyone openly and fairly. Make him understand that his refusal to accept you today is his loss, understand?"
Tang Chen's voice was no longer domineering, but it still carried weight. It was the final advice of someone who had walked the path to its peak.
These were Tang Chen's last words. After speaking, his soul vanished into the sky above Slaughter City.
No grand spectacle followed, no lingering presence—only emptiness remained where he once stood.
Tang San froze, his hands still suspended in the air. The moment felt unreal, as if everything had happened too quickly for him to fully grasp. Just moments ago, he had gained a great-grandfather… and now, he had lost him.
A complicated emotion welled up in his chest, difficult to name.
Regret, perhaps. Or something deeper.
Tang San saw that Xin was calm and composed, showing no emotional change due to Tang Chen's appearance and departure. He quickly knelt forward and asked:
"Teacher Xin, Great-grandfather spoke without restraint, please don't take it to heart. You must know what's going on with Great-grandfather, right? What exactly happened to my Great-grandfather?"