Ma Hongjun's cultivation speed this year was about three and a half levels, reaching peak rank sixteen or early rank seventeen.
This was Ma Hongjun's achievement over the past year. He wondered how it compared to Tang San's current progress.
Speaking of Tang San, he had been living quite comfortably in Heaven Dou City for over a year now.
Not only did he have his aunt, Tang Yuehua, who cared for him, but he also gained the loyalty of the Strength Clan.
A year ago.
As soon as news spread that the Moon Xuan had a nephew, Titan, a devoted follower of Tang Hao, immediately sought him out.
As a former subordinate of the Clear Sky Sect, Titan, the clan leader, was very familiar with the inner workings of the sect.
Tang Yuehua had only two brothers, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao.
Tang Xiao was wife-less and childless, while Tang Hao was rumored to have a wife.
Therefore, in Titan's view, the nephew by Tang Yuehua's side was undoubtedly his master's son.
After meeting Tang San and confirming his identity, Titan immediately recognized Tang San as the young master and pledged the entire Strength Clan to him.
As a result, Tailong became Tang San's follower seven years earlier than in the original story.
The Strength Clan specialized in forging. With their assistance, Tang San entrusted the forging of the hidden weapon parts to them, while he himself handled the assembly.
Consequently, Tang San's progress with the Tang Sect's hidden weapons was leagues ahead of the original story.
Furthermore, the humiliation Tang San endured at the Clear Sky Sect made him realize the power of the Spirit Master system and the importance of his own strength.
Thus, Tang San cultivated his spirit power much more diligently than in the original story.
Two months ago.
Lin Rong had a brief encounter with Tang San at an auction in Heaven Dou City.
They say prosperity and influence shape a person.
At that auction, Tang San showed no trace of a village child; instead, he carried himself like the leader of a major power.
At the time, Lin Rong had used his Life Sense to determine Tang San's spirit power level was sixteen.
In his past life, many believed Tang San's Innate Full Soul Power was a result of cultivating the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
However, with the Mysterious Heaven Skill, even if this Innate Full Soul Power were fake, it would make no difference.
With Tang Yuehua's guidance and Tang San's own personality, his first spirit ring would definitely be around four hundred years old. Therefore, after absorbing the spirit ring, his spirit power level would be the same as in the original story, thirteen.
By this calculation, Tang San had increased his spirit power by three levels in just over a year. His cultivation speed was nearly half a level slower than Ma Hongjun's.
But Lin Rong knew this was only temporary.
As his Mysterious Heaven Skill improved, Tang San would gradually unblock the extraordinary meridians within his body.
With each meridian unblocked, his cultivation speed would increase.
At the auction, the main items up for bid were Tang Sect hidden weapons.
Those powerful hidden weapons, with almost no barrier to entry for use, predictably caught Ning Fengzhi's eye.
And so, Tang San naturally connected with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Similarly, upon learning that Tang San was the "inventor" of these hidden weapons, Ning Fengzhi immediately considered recruiting him.
He even considered marrying Ning Rongrong to Tang San, thereby completely tying him to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
However, soon after, when Ning Fengzhi discovered Tang San's true identity as Tang Hao's son, the admiration and desire to recruit him instantly turned into a barely perceptible killing intent.
But due to various concerns, and without the existing relationship between Ning Rongrong and Tang San, Ning Fengzhi, as in the original story, did not choose to act.
Instead, he reached a deal with Tang San.
Tang San received five million gold spirit coins, and Ning Fengzhi obtained one hundred sets of hidden weapons. Both felt they had profited.
Tang San truly profited.
While the Strength Clan had a substantial foundation, they also had many clan members to support. The income from Moon Xuan also had to cover the Clear Sky Sect's material consumption.
This resulted in Tang San having very little disposable gold spirit coins.
The five million gold spirit coins Ning Fengzhi gave Tang San had a net profit of ninety-nine percent, making it an incredible deal for him.
Conversely, Ning Fengzhi suffered a hidden loss.
This was because he planned to hire skilled craftsmen to dismantle the hidden weapons and then replicate them.
But unfortunately, all the hidden weapons sold externally were insured by Tang San.
Without the Tang Sect's unique dismantling method, anyone attempting to dismantle them would trigger the insurance, causing all critical parts of the hidden weapons to be damaged and rendered un-assemblable.
Even the divine craftsman Lou Gao could not dismantle the hidden weapon parts intact without the Tang Sect's unique dismantling method.
Let alone anyone else.
Therefore, although Ning Fengzhi's plan was well-conceived, he ultimately underestimated the insurance measures of the otherworldly Tang Sect.
In the original story, it could be said that five million gold spirit coins were used to purchase the Beautiful Silk Tulip. Whether the replication of the hidden weapons succeeded or not, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was guaranteed to profit.
However, this time, the Beautiful Silk Tulip was still growing within the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Eye.
Ning Fengzhi spending five million gold soul coins on those hundred sets of hidden weapons was a complete loss.
Because of the hidden weapon insurance matter, although Ning Fengzhi could understand, his killing intent towards Tang San inevitably increased by a few points.
Tang Sect hidden weapons were divided into mechanical hidden weapons and skill-based hidden weapons.
Mechanical hidden weapons, such as the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus, Rain of Pear Blossom Needles, Peacock Plume...
The vast majority of mechanical hidden weapons were laced with potent poison and used by the Tang Sect's outer disciples, considered unseemly things.
Of course, a few mechanical hidden weapons like the Buddha's Fury Tang Lotus were exceptions.
Skill-based hidden weapons, such as Bat Wing Samsara, Bodhi Blood, Guanyin's Tear...
All skill-based hidden weapons required the cooperation of multiple Tang Sect ultimate skills, like the Mysterious Heaven Skill and Mysterious Jade Hand, to be executed.
And Tang Sect ultimate skills like the Mysterious Heaven Skill were only qualified to be learned by the direct disciples of the Tang Sect's inner sect.
Therefore, skill-based hidden weapons were high-end hidden weapons exclusive to the Tang Sect's inner sect disciples.
Among all these Tang Sect hidden weapons, Lin Rong could disregard all of them except for Guanyin's Tear, which he feared greatly.
After all, in the original work, the power of Guanyin's Tear was capable of slaying gods.
But fortunately, as the Tang Sect's foremost skill, the conditions for executing Guanyin's Tear were extremely stringent.
To execute Guanyin's Tear, all Tang Sect ultimate skills, such as Mysterious Heaven Skill, Mysterious Jade Hand, Purple Demon Eye, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, and so on, needed to be cultivated to the highest realm.
Setting aside other conditions, just requiring the highest realm of Mysterious Heaven Skill, Three Flowers Gathering at the Top, alone would necessitate Tang San having at least level ninety-five soul power cultivation.
Coupled with the other harsh conditions, Lin Rong only needed to ensure Tang San could never meet one of them, and then Tang San would never be able to unleash the Guanyin's Tear, which was known as "never missing its mark."
Although Guanyin Bodhisattva was the embodiment of great mercy and compassion.
As a true Buddha who had seen through worldly affairs, how could she shed tears for worldly matters?
Moreover, for ordinary people to make Guanyin shed tears was a great disrespect!
Therefore, it was better for Guanyin's Tear to exist only in the legends of the Tang Sect.
"Breaking a hand, gouging out a foot, digging out an eye – any of these would prevent Tang San from executing Guanyin's Tear. Which one would be more merciful?"
"I'll see when the time comes. If any of them displeases me, I'll cripple it."
Many people speculated that the Mysterious Heaven Skill, as a genuine Taoist cultivation method, should not have appeared in a sect like the Tang Sect.
Logically, it made sense, and I felt the same way.
But the strange thing was that as the core inheritance of the Tang Sect, skill-based hidden weapons all required the internal energy from the Mysterious Heaven Skill to be executed.
Perhaps the Tang Sect originally only had skill-based hidden weapons, and the mechanical hidden weapons were developed later.
Because although skill-based hidden weapons were named "hidden weapons," their essence was more akin to superior martial arts techniques like "Stealing Flowers and Offering Jade" and "Finger Flicking Divine Skill."
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