With his mind made up, Tang Chuan no longer hesitated.
He immediately chose a dry and flat spot next to the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, took out the small Alchemy furnace he carried with him, and began to prepare for Alchemy.
He first properly set up the Pill Furnace, then took out the Flame Stone from his spirit tool to start a fire, threw it into the furnace, and slowly ignited it by injecting Soul Power.
A moment later, flames rose in the Pill Furnace, and heat waves surged.
Frowning slightly, Tang Chuan looked at the Qiluo Tulip in his hand, carefully plucked a petal from the top of the stamen, and then took out a small amount of stem and root, meticulously separating them.
He then put them into the already heated Pill Furnace.
As soon as a small portion of the Eight Petal Immortal Orchid entered the flames, it transformed into a pink liquid. Immediately after, Tang Chuan used his Soul power to separate the harmful substances from the pink liquid, then threw them onto the ground beside him.
After repeating this several times, this small portion of Qiluo Tulip was completely refined.
Finally, only a small pinch of red powder remained, which no longer contained any substances harmful to the human body. Afterward, Tang Chuan used the same method to refine the other immortal grades.
Several hours later, a colorful Medicinal Pill completely formed in the Pill Furnace.
This Medicinal Pill was specially refined by Tang Chuan for Dugu Yan.
It contained Qiluo Tulip, Qirong Tongtian Chrysanthemum, Narcissus Jade Bone, Earth Dragon Golden Gourd, and some medicinal materials that could strengthen the foundation, detoxify, and improve Physique.
The purpose was to help her improve her Physique, increase her Soul Power, remove the spirit ring poison from her body, and see if it could help her Martial Soul, Bi Lin Snake, evolve into Jade Phosphor Serpent in advance!
...At the same time, in the principal's office of Shrek Academy.
At this moment, the atmosphere in the room was somewhat heavy, and the air seemed to have solidified a bit.
Flender sat behind the desk, his face gloomy, his gaze sharp as he stared at Ning Rongrong in front of him, his voice filled with anger as he questioned:
"Why did you speak that way about the academy's teachers?"
"Moreover, Xiaogang is my good brother of many years. How is his strength? How is his Martial Soul theory level? As the dean, wouldn't I know?"
"What I said wasn't wrong. This Yu Xiaogang really has no skill. Otherwise, why would he vomit blood and faint after I said a few words to him?"
Ning Rongrong stood to the side, arms crossed, her face full of defiance.
"You..." Flender slammed the table, angrily interrupting, "If you continue like this, then pack your bags and get out immediately!"
Ning Rongrong smiled. Although she was only twelve years old, it had to be admitted that her harmless smile at that moment was somewhat unsettling.
"Flender, who do you think you are? You're just a small Spirit Saint."
"You want to drive me away? I won't go. What can you do to me?"
Hearing this, Flender was not angry at Ning Rongrong's words, but smiled slightly and said, "That's right, I'm just a small Spirit Saint, but this is my territory, and I call the shots."
"If you anger me, I'll directly kick you out of Shrek Academy!"
"Flender, you wouldn't dare!" Ning Rongrong shouted proudly, hands on her hips. Although she was only in her teens, she exuded an extremely fierce aura at that moment.
"I've lived this long, and you're the first person who dared to treat me like this."
Flender gave a sinister smile and said, "In the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, your father couldn't bear to discipline you, but that doesn't mean I can't. You're not my daughter, nor are you my treasure. In my eyes, any student here is stronger than you."
"Don't you look down on Xiaogang? But do you know? Tang San is Xiaogang's direct Disciple. If you can defeat Tang San, or if your Soul Power Rank surpasses Tang San's, then I'll agree with you that Xiaogang is a good-for-nothing, and I'll kick him out and keep you."
"Do you dare to compete with Tang San?"
"If Xiaogang is truly as useless as you say, why hasn't your Cultivation surpassed Tang San's? Or are you saying that the people of your Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School are even worse than Xiaogang? All of you are useless."
"You..."
Ning Rongrong's chest heaved violently, and for a moment she didn't know how to retort.
Throughout the Douluo Continent, when it came to sophistry, if Shrek Academy dared to claim second, probably no one would dare to claim first. Ning Rongrong was only a teenager, so how could she be Flender's opponent?
At this moment, in a quiet room at Shrek Academy.
The light in the room was dim. Master lay quietly on the bed, his face ashen, his body wrapped in a quilt, looking extremely weak.
On the wooden table beside the bed, the freshly delivered meal was still warm.
Tang San had brought it himself, and he had only just left the room.
Slightly opening his eyes, Master suddenly heard footsteps outside the door, slow but steady. He thought it was Tang San returning, and with a faint trace of strength, he whispered:
"Little San, you go Cultivate first. I can manage alone; you don't need to take care of me."
However, the footsteps did not stop; instead, they grew closer.
A moment later, the door slowly creaked open.
A tall and upright figure appeared in the doorway.
The newcomer was draped in a worn gray robe, covered in dust and patches, his face unshaven, his eyes deep and cold, exuding a suffocating sense of oppression.
Master froze.
A look of disbelief flashed in his eyes as he instantly recognized the person in front of him as Tang San's father, and he said hoarsely, "Tang Hao?! Why are you here?"
"Master! Long time no see." Tang Hao slowly walked into the room, his voice low as he said, "Ever since Little San encountered Zhao Wuji's bullying when he enrolled, and I beat that guy up, I've been staying near Soto City, just in case something unexpected happened to Little San."
"But it turned out just as I expected; something unexpected really did happen."
Immediately, silence fell in the room.
"Master, do you know? You've been targeted by Spirit Hall." Tang Hao stood by the bed, his gaze sharp and solemn, and slowly said.
Hearing this, Master's face froze, his eyes full of confusion: "What do you mean by that? How could we be targeted by Spirit Hall?"
Tang Hao said no more, simply took out a repeatedly folded letter from his embrace and handed it to Master on the bed.
"You'll understand once you read this letter."
Master took the letter and carefully unfolded it. The paper was a bit creased, but the handwriting was still clear. The sender's name at the beginning was the Bishop of Soto City Spirit Hall, and the recipient was clearly written—Supreme Pontiff Bibi Dong!
He quickly scanned the contents of the letter, his eyes gradually becoming solemn.
The letter clearly stated:
Soto City, a Soul Master with the Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul has been discovered, named Tang San, suspected to be the person His Holiness the Supreme Pontiff is searching for. This has been reported to Spirit City, awaiting further instructions.
Master's heart jolted, his face filled with shock, and he asked in confusion, "The people from Spirit Hall are looking for Little San? Why would they target him?"
"Perhaps the higher-ups of Spirit Hall have already guessed that he is my son." Tang Hao's expression remained unchanged as he slowly said, "But don't worry, I've already dealt with the person who delivered the letter."
"Including everyone who knew about this matter, I've also taken care of all of them."
Hearing this, Master was even more bewildered, frowning:
"That's not right. Little San's Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass. How could they guess he's related to you? Did Little San use the Clear Sky Hammer at some point and get discovered by someone?"
Tang Hao's voice was low, his gaze as sharp as a blade, and he said earnestly, "Since Little San came to Shrek Academy, he has only used the Clear Sky Hammer twice."
"The first time was during his battle with Zhao Wuji, when he accidentally exposed it in an emergency. The second time was when he was hunting a Man Faced Demon Spider in the Star Dou Great Forest. That time... no one saw it except me watching in the dark."
When his voice fell, a brief silence filled the room.
Master on the bed looked solemn, his brows slightly furrowed, clearly deep in thought. A moment later, he murmured:
"Zhao Wuji... I understand him. He's Flender's old brother, straightforward in nature, and disdains to do such a thing as informing. And the teachers present at the time were all people Flender trusted."
"There shouldn't be any problem within the academy. Then it can only be... among the students present at the time, someone might have leaked the fact that Little San used the Clear Sky Hammer."
Slowly sitting up, Master's face was still pale, but a glimmer of wisdom shone in his eyes as he began to analyze, "Xiao Wu, she absolutely couldn't betray Little San. She and Little San are like siblings, and even between them... their bond has long surpassed ordinary friendship."
"Although Dai Mubai and Oscar have different temperaments, they have studied and lived at Shrek Academy for many years, and were both taught by Flender himself. Their loyalty will not be an issue; they can be considered Flender's confidantes, so there will be no problem."
"Then, only two people remain—Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong."
Hearing this, Tang Hao lowered his head in silence, not uttering a word.
Master continued his analysis:
"Zhu Zhuqing comes from the Star Luo Empire. I heard Flender mention that her relationship with Dai Mubai is extraordinary. Her coming to Shrek is mostly for Dai Mubai, and she is consistently quiet, calm, and cautious. She doesn't seem like someone who would actively interfere in others' affairs."
"Then... only Ning Rongrong from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School remains."
As soon as these words were spoken, Tang Hao's brow furrowed, his gaze deep, and he murmured in a low voice:
"Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School..."
Master looked up at Tang Hao, and said slowly:
"Your Excellency Clear Sky, I remember that many years ago, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School has always been dissatisfied with your Clear Sky Sect. They are a pure support system Sect, and your Clear Sky Sect is known as the number one Sect in the world, always suppressing them. You say, could it be..."