Chapter 4: Hundred Thousand Years Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone
Xiao Wu was curled up in bed, sound asleep.
Moonlight streamed through the window onto her cheek, soft and serene, like a sleeping Soft Bones Rabbit. At that moment, it seemed no one knew her true identity except for Tang Chuan—she was a 100,000-year Spirit Beast, a Soft Bones Rabbit.
The Spirit Bone of a 100,000-year Spirit Beast was a top-tier existence on the entire continent, capable of bestowing two supreme Spirit Bone skills upon its absorber!
Tang Chuan's gaze lingered on Xiao Wu for a moment before he suddenly froze.
Reason abruptly returned to him. He suddenly realized what he was thinking, and his heart felt as if it were clutched by a cold hand, a chill running straight up his spine to his brain.
"No…",
"My current spirit power is only Rank One. If I wanted to kill her, I probably couldn't win."
Even if he did succeed through a sneak attack.
Suddenly, an even more terrifying figure flashed through Tang Chuan's mind—Tang Hao.
Tang Chuan jolted, a deep sense of dread appearing in his eyes.
"No… the original work made it very clear that after Tang San entered Noding Academy, Tang Hao secretly protected him the entire way."
"If Tang Hao were to discover that I killed Xiao Wu to absorb her Spirit Bone, how would I explain it to this convenient father of mine? How did I know Xiao Wu was a 100,000-year Spirit Beast? And all my strange behavior over these past few years?"
Thinking of this, Tang Chuan finally calmed down, and the distracting thoughts in his eyes also dissipated.
"Directly hunting Xiao Wu for her Spirit Bone, in my opinion…",
"At least for now, I can't."
Under the covers, Tang Chuan lay on his side, gazing at the solitary moon outside the window.
His mind, however, remained restless for a long time.
He suddenly recalled the days he had lived with Tang San and Tang Hao in Saint Spirit Village over the years.
The dilapidated wooden house, with drafts through its walls and a leaky roof. Every winter, when the cold wind blew into the house, he and Tang San could only huddle together under tattered blankets for warmth.
From the age of three or four, when he and Tang San were just barely tall enough to reach the stove, the family's meals… were cooked by the two brothers themselves.
They would build fires, cook rice, wash wild vegetables, and even had to catch wild rabbits and pick mushrooms in the back mountains just to barely fill their stomachs.
And the man called father—Tang Hao.
Every day, he either drank or was dead drunk.
When he was awake, he was taciturn; when he was drunk, he would either break things or collapse on the floor, unconscious. It was as if only he could be decadent in the entire family, while the two brothers had to learn to survive early on.
"Heh…"
Tang Chuan let out a soft sneer, a hint of never-before-spoken sarcasm appearing in his eyes.
"Is this the so-called Clear Sky Douluo?"
"As a father, he doesn't care about his sons' lives or deaths. As a Titled Douluo, he can't even maintain three meals a day, relying on two children to barely get by."
"If it weren't for Old Jack, the village Elder, occasionally helping with some grain and rice, plus the fact that both Tang San and I are Transmigrators with adult consciousness and abilities, we would probably have starved to death long ago."
Tang Chuan's gaze gradually grew cold, and the emotions that had been suppressed for years within him were completely ignited.
"A man who begets but does not raise his children is not worthy of being human. Tang Hao simply doesn't deserve to be a father."
"In my opinion, having such a father or not having one makes no difference."
Thinking of this, a look of determination flashed in Tang Chuan's eyes.
"Since this father has not given me any nurturing grace, then my path forward will be walked by myself. No one has the right to arrange my destiny."
The night deepened, and Tang Chuan slowly closed his eyes, his mind clearer than ever before.
The sky was faintly bright, and the morning glow had just risen. The streets outside Nuoding City were still deserted, with only a few wisps of morning mist drifting on the bluestone road.
At the Academy gate, Yu Xiaogang, dressed in a gray robe, looked solemn. Beside him, Tang San carried a satchel filled with the white radishes they had just bought.
The carriage rumbled to a stop at the intersection. Yu Xiaogang and Tang San tacitly boarded the carriage, and the wheels rolled over the flagstones, slowly heading towards the eastern part of the city.
The Soul Hunting Forest was there.
And within the high walls far from the Academy, a figure had already stood in the faint morning light.
Tang Chuan stood by the window, half-clad in his school uniform outer robe, quietly watching the carriage gradually disappear into the distance. He said nothing.
He merely let a meaningful, cold smile slowly spread across his lips.
"You all, in the end, still followed the original plot's route."
"Tang San, oh Tang San, for all your two lives, you actually let yourself be fooled into this state by a stupid pig. But this is good too; everything that originally belonged to you now belongs to me."
Although the path of directly hunting Xiao Wu to obtain a Spirit Bone was temporarily unfeasible, after a night of contemplation, Tang Chuan had already found another Dao to rapidly increase his spirit power Rank.
No one noticed that Tang Chuan's figure had already quietly vanished on the small path behind the Academy's back gate, where the morning light had not yet fully dawned.
He didn't alarm anyone, carrying a simple satchel, treading on the dew-moistened earth, following a winding path, all the way towards Saint Spirit Village in the southeast direction.
The sun gradually rose, and birds chirped repeatedly.
After a long journey, Tang Chuan's steps were firm. By noon, he finally passed through a maple forest and distantly saw the familiar mountain silhouette.
"Almost there…"
Muttering to himself, Tang Chuan's eyes suddenly became resolute.
Saint Spirit Village, that was where he and Tang San had lived together for many years.
Now, he returned, but not to go home.
But for that 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone!
Passing the path outside the village, Tang Chuan did not enter the village but instead went straight around the main road, deep into the forest on the east side of the village.
This place was rarely visited, the forest was damp and quiet, and snakes and insects often scurried through the bushes.
But Tang Chuan's mind became even clearer. He whispered to himself:
"If I remember correctly…"
"In the original work, Ah Yin's seed of life was secretly buried by Tang Hao in a secluded cave outside Saint Spirit Village. In that cave, there was also a 100,000-year Spirit Bone."
"And that cave, it seems, was hidden behind a waterfall."
"Now Tang San has gone to the Soul Hunting Forest, and Tang Hao is aware of Yu Xiaogang's strength. Given his personality, he should have followed to escort them, right?"
His gaze slightly cold, Tang Chuan quickened his pace, pushing aside dense vines and moss, following the sound of flowing water, and climbing a steep hillside.
A moment later, the rumbling sound of water ahead gradually grew louder.
A few more steps—
And it suddenly opened up!
In front of a massive rock face, a waterfall plunged from several tens of feet high, mist pervading the air, and sunlight scattering through it, casting a seven-colored glow.
Tang Chuan stood before the waterfall, slightly out of breath, a glint of light flashing in his eyes.
"Found it…"
Slowly walking forward, Tang Chuan's fingers gently traced the rock wall around the waterfall, as if searching for some hidden mechanism.
"The cave entrance is behind the waterfall, the rock wall is slightly concave, and its surface is covered by a thin layer of moss. If one didn't know beforehand, it would probably be very difficult for anyone to discover this place."
Without seeming to hesitate, Tang Chuan pushed aside a corner of the waterfall and swiftly slipped into the curtain of water.
[end of the chapter]