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A few days later, Tang Chuan returned to Noding Elementary Spirit Master Academy. As he stood at the academy gates, looking at the familiar entrance and the bustling crowd, he gave a faint smile. His spiritual power was now far beyond his peers. He had the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone and had absorbed a mutated, thousand-year-old Illusionary Hidden Flower spirit ring. His strength was now incomparably greater than it had been before.
But he had no intention of showing it. He always remembered the saying, "An innocent man is guilty because of his treasure." So, before he returned to the academy, Tang Chuan immediately used the Spirit Ability from his first spirit ring. With his Simulation ability, he suppressed and hid the immense spiritual power within his body. To outsiders, Tang Chuan still appeared to be the same "useless" young man whose spirit was Blue Silver Grass and whose innate spiritual power was only Rank One.
He pushed open the wooden door of Dorm Seven and walked to his bed. After closing the window and exhaling softly, he began to meditate. His breathing calmed, and his consciousness slowly receded inward. The spiritual power within his body flowed gently like a spring. With the added boost from the Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone, it flowed like a clear stream, filled with a rich life aura.
In the next moment, Blue Silver Grass quietly emerged from his palm. It was full of life, with faint blue-gold light shimmering on its surface. "Now that I'm back, Tang Hao shouldn't be able to sense the change in my spiritual power, right?" Tang Chuan silently wondered, gazing at the Blue Silver Grass in his palm. "But... what if he was secretly watching me when I absorbed the 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor right leg bone? Would he have noticed anything?"
Tang Chuan gently brushed the edge of the bed with his fingertips. His eyes were calm, but a sharp insight was hidden beneath the surface. "Even if he found out... what could he do? I'm still his son. No matter how suspicious he is, he wouldn't come and kill me. At most," Tang Chuan's lips curved into a confident, cold smile, "he would be curious why my spiritual power increased so quickly. He would probably suspect that I had a lucky encounter."
With that thought, Tang Chuan slowly opened his eyes. The dormitory was quiet. He could only hear the wind rustling through the trees outside the window. He didn't get up. He lay on his bed, his thoughts drifting back to the memories sealed deep within his mind.
"Heh... Tang Hao, oh, Tang Hao," Tang Chuan's voice was almost inaudible, yet it was full of coldness. "Do you remember? Back in Saint Spirit Village, Tang San and I were both your sons, but did you ever even notice me?" His fists clenched as the faded, but clear, past came back to him.
Before Tang Chuan and Tang San's spirits awakened, Tang Hao spent his days drinking heavily, quiet and withdrawn. He would sleep during the day and forge iron at night. The only sounds were his hammering and his snoring. The two brothers were young. Even when they were starving, they had to go to the fields to find wild vegetables and yams.
Sometimes, they even risked being bitten by wild dogs to steal chickens or catch rabbits. When they came home, they still had to wake up early to cook for Tang Hao. Back then, Tang Hao's temper was as wild as a beast. If the dish was a little too salty, he would slap them. If the food was a little cold, he would kick the table over.
Tang Chuan still remembered one time when he accidentally burned the porridge. Tang Hao grabbed him by the collar, lifted him up, and threw him outside, where he rolled in the mud and was covered in dirt. And Tang San? He was just a child of five or six, just like Tang Chuan.
Everything changed the day their spirits awakened. When Tang Hao found out that Tang San had twin spirits and Innate Full spiritual power, his attitude changed completely. He even hugged Tang San for the first time. From then on, Tang Hao no longer made Tang San cook and even taught him how to forge himself. It was as if he had only just remembered he had a sonâTang San. As for Tang Chuan, in Tang Hao's eyes, he was still "useless," only good for cooking. Tang Hao's attitude toward him never changed.
A "useless" spirit, Blue Silver Grass, and Innate spiritual power of Rank One! Tang Hao sealed Tang Chuan's future with a single sentence: "It's fine for you to stay in the village and be an ordinary blacksmith. Why go to a Spirit Master Academy? It's a waste of time. If you leave, who will cook for me?"
The Blue Silver Grass moved gently between his fingertips, its blue-gold light flickering faintly in the darkness. "Tang Hao, one day I will show you that the 'useless' person you once looked down on will be stronger than your precious son with twin spirits," Tang Chuan whispered. "And that day won't be far." With that, he slowly closed his eyes, his spiritual power quietly circulating within him. The light of the Blue Silver Grass in his palm pulsed like a heartbeat. That night, he meditated without rest, his thoughts unbroken.
A few days later, sunlight filtered through the trees and scattered into the forest behind Noding Academy. Tang Chuan, as usual, sat quietly on a large bluestone, his eyes closed in meditation. Blue Silver Grass emerged from his palm, quietly connecting with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass.
At that moment, not far from the back mountain, Grandmaster and Tang San stood beneath a tree, silently watching him. "Teacher," Tang San said softly, having watched Tang Chuan's daily routine for a few days. "Even though my older brother's aptitude is very poor, he really cultivates diligently. I see him going between the library and the back mountain almost every day... He never slacks off."
Grandmaster nodded, his expression calm. "Your older brother is indeed diligent, and he has a bit of cleverness. He knows his spirit is Blue Silver Grass, so he chose to meditate and cultivate in this forest, which is rich with Blue Silver Grass. For plant-type spirits, a dense plant environment can indeed slightly increase the growth of spiritual power."
Tang San also nodded. "I also think older brother is very diligent. A few days ago, I even saw him in the library reading that book, 'History of Plant-Type Spirit Development.'"
Hearing this, Grandmaster frowned, and a hint of disdain appeared on his face. "Little San, your older brother... it's a shame, a real shame, about his aptitude," Grandmaster sighed, his tone a little mocking. "Innate spiritual power is only Rank One, and his spirit is still Blue Silver Grass. With that kind of aptitude, he's destined to achieve very little in his entire life."
Tang San was startled. He wanted to say something back but didn't know how. After a moment, he said, "Teacher, I think older brother really enjoys researching spirit theories. Maybe in the future, he can also become a Grandmaster of spirit theory, just like you."
A contemptuous smile appeared on Grandmaster's usually calm face. "Heh heh." He shook his head, his voice clearly sarcastic. "With his limited intellect, do you really think he can become a Grandmaster of spirit theory?"
Grandmaster's tone became more arrogant. "Little San, you have to understand, not everyone can be like your teacher. I've read countless books, researched diligently, proposed spirit theories, created a new path, and became a Grandmaster of spirit theory." At this point, he pointed to his head, his voice full of pride.
"The reason your teacher is where he is today is all because of the wisdom up here. What does researching spirit theory depend on? It depends on uniqueness, on a limitless imagination. And your older brother, he doesn't even understand the most basic cultivation direction for Blue Silver Grass. He will never achieve anything great on the path of spirit theory."