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Tang Hao's presence made Grandmaster's body instinctively tense up, and his spirit power subconsciously spread through him.
"Who are you?" Grandmaster's gaze instantly sharpened. He stood ready and asked in a low voice.
The newcomer didn't rush to answer. He slowly lowered his hood, revealing a rugged face that looked vaguely familiar to Grandmaster.
"Grandmaster," the man in gray said faintly, "we haven't seen each other in over twenty years, have we? It's no wonder you don't recognize me like this. I am Tang Hao!"
"What did you say? You... you're Tang Hao?!" Grandmaster's face changed dramatically, his pupils instantly focused. He spoke in disbelief: "How did you end up like this? You are the famous Clear Sky..."
Before he could finish, Tang Hao waved his hand, his tone cold and weary. "Those old titles don't matter anymore. I'm just an ordinary blacksmith now."
The air in the room seemed to freeze. Grandmaster's expression was complex, his heart filled with a storm of emotions. After a moment, he finally spoke. "You came here for... Little San?"
Tang Hao nodded, walked slowly into the room, and closed the door behind him.
Grandmaster's expression softened slightly. He took a deep breath and said, "It seems I was right. You really are Little San's father. He just left this morning to go back to Saint Spirit Village to see you. Why are you here instead of in the village?"
Tang Hao looked up, his expression complex. "I'm here precisely because Little San went home. I know you've already taken him as your disciple. As his father, I should have come to see you a long time ago." He looked out the window, his voice low. "I came this time to tell you that I'll be leaving for a while, and I want to entrust Little San to you."
Grandmaster's face instantly showed his clear dissatisfaction and anger.
"Leave? Where are you going?" he demanded. "Tang San is only a few years old! As his father, you aren't by his side, and now you're leaving? Do you even know what your departure means to him right now?"
Tang Hao remained expressionless, but his voice was chillingly cold. "There are some things I must do. I can't avoid them any longer."
"You make it sound so easy, just shifting all the responsibility." Grandmaster sneered and slammed a book on the table. "You're his father! But your actions aren't what a father would do!"
Tang Hao frowned slightly, his gaze deepening. He didn't argue. Instead, he spoke slowly.
"Little San calls me father because of our bloodline. But he once said, 'A teacher for a day is a father for life.' From the moment he became your disciple, you, Yu Xiaogang, are also his father. That's why I dared to entrust him to you."
The room fell into a dead silence.
After a long time, Grandmaster pursed his lips and let out a heavy sigh. "You... you, ah... Don't worry. I'll take good care of Little San."
Seeing that Grandmaster had agreed, Tang Hao turned to leave, but Grandmaster suddenly remembered something. He raised an eyebrow and added coldly:
"Wait, Tang Hao. I can promise to take care of Tang San, but I won't bother with your elder son, Tang Chuan. That child has low cultivation talent, lacks wisdom, and is incredibly stubborn and rebellious. I don't have the time to teach him."
Tang Hao paused slightly but didn't turn around. He stood at the door and responded in a faint voice, "You mean Xiao Chuan? That child has always been like that." His tone held a hint of memory and emotion. "After his Spirit Awakening, I told him to stay in Saint Spirit Village and be a blacksmith, but he stubbornly refused. We argued more than once about it. One time, he even secretly packed his things at night and tried to go to Nuoding City by himself. Luckily, I found him."
Grandmaster nodded lightly, his face uncharacteristically showing no mockery. He looked puzzled. "I've been watching him closely. Even though Tang Chuan's talent isn't good, and his spirit is only Blue Silver Grass with an innate spirit power of Rank 1, his spirit power increase is... a bit too strange." Grandmaster said, "Could it be... that his Blue Silver Grass isn't ordinary Blue Silver Grass?"
Grandmaster was puzzled by Tang Chuan's quick cultivation. Even though Tang Chuan had hidden his true strength by only revealing his spirit power to be around Rank 7, 8, or 9, it was still a huge jump from his initial Rank 1. Grandmaster himself had an innate spirit power of only half a rank and had to use countless Heaven and Earth Treasures from his sect to reach Rank 10 in his teens. How could Tang Chuan cultivate so quickly? It made him question his own theory of there being "no useless spirit, only useless spirit masters."
The air became quiet.
Tang Hao lowered his head, silent for a moment. He thought of a beautiful woman in blue. Her eyes were gentle, and when she released her spirit, a blue light surged like ocean waves.
"That's right... you're right," he said. "Xiao Chuan's Blue Silver Grass spirit isn't the ordinary Blue Silver Grass you see."
His pupils contracted slightly, and his expression was very complex. His voice held a hint of something suppressed as he continued, "So, a faster cultivation speed is normal."
Grandmaster's brow instantly furrowed. "What do you mean by that?"
Tang Hao shook his head, his expression a little downcast. "I can't explain this to you clearly right now. You'll understand naturally when Little San's spirit power breaks through Rank 50 in the future. Both of their Blue Silver Grass spirits aren't ordinary."
With that, Tang Hao didn't linger any longer and turned to walk toward the door. Without stopping, he suddenly raised his right hand as his gray robe swirled and waved it behind him.
"Clang!"
A jet-black token flew from his sleeve, landing heavily on Grandmaster's desk with a dull, crisp sound. The token looked the same as the one Grandmaster had shown when he first took Tang San to the Soul Hunting Forest, but this one had six figures on its pattern.
"This is... Pope..." Grandmaster stood up abruptly, his gaze fixed on the door with surprise and uncertainty. But the tall figure in the gray robe had already disappeared into the night, as if he had never been there.
In reality, Tang Hao had noticed the abnormality in Tang Chuan's spirit power not long ago. His Rank 1 spirit power had instantly jumped to Rank 10! At that moment, even Tang Hao, who had experienced countless life-and-death situations, frowned fiercely.
'He went to the Soul Hunting Forest with Tang San and Grandmaster and came back? My elder son's spirit power actually soared directly from Rank 1 to Rank 10? Even with diligent cultivation, this is unreasonable,' he thought.
But then he thought of the name he had never truly let go of for many years—Ah Yin. Both of his sons' spirits were Blue Silver Grass, or to be more precise, Blue Silver Emperor! This was also Ah Yin's spirit.
Perhaps the problem was here. In Tang Hao's opinion, it was very likely that influenced by Ah Yin's Blue Silver Emperor bloodline, his elder son's Blue Silver Grass could cultivate so quickly. Or perhaps, the Spirit Hall test had an error when they tested his innate spirit power rank.
After all, in Tang Hao's view, no matter what, a Blue Silver Emperor spirit's innate spirit power could not be Rank 1. These were all conclusions Tang Hao came up with after much speculation.
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Author's Note:
Thanks for reading today's chapter! I'd also like to recommend two books from fellow authors:
📖 Douluo Dalu: My Harassment System by GregariousLion
📖 Douluo Dalu: Tang San Suffering Is My Success by Mythic_Muse
Check them out and show some support! 💙