Chapter 171: Tang San—Wandering Half a Lifetime, Yet to Find a True Master...
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Liu Erlong’s eyes were filled with utter disbelief.
"Your Spirit... is it truly the Blue Silver Grass?"
Tang San nodded, his expression calm: "It is indeed the Blue Silver Grass."
He raised his right hand, his palm open wide.
A faint blue light surged forth from his palm, rapidly condensing and growing.
Slender strands of Blue Silver Grass sprouted from his hand—their leaves thin, their stems soft—swaying gently in the breeze. They looked absolutely indistinguishable from the common weeds found anywhere along the roadside.
At the same moment, three Spirit Rings rose from beneath his feet.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple.
The standard configuration for a three-ringed Spirit Elder.
Liu Erlong blinked, staring intently at those few blades of Blue Silver Grass for quite some time.
It really is the Blue Silver Grass?
As a scion of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, she had witnessed countless types of Spirits—from the absolute pinnacle Spirits like the Clear Sky Hammer, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon itself, to all manner of bizarre and mutated Spirits.
Yet, never before had she seen anyone manage to cultivate the Blue Silver Grass to such a level.
The Blue Silver Grass was universally acknowledged across the continent as a "waste Spirit."
On the Douluo Continent, almost everyone knew that for a person possessing the Blue Silver Grass as their Spirit, cultivation was simply an impossibility.
This was because the innate Spirit Power associated with such a Spirit was virtually zero, rendering it utterly incapable of absorbing Spirit Power.
Yet, the Tang San standing before her had not only managed to cultivate, but had actually reached the rank of a three-ringed Spirit Elder!
Liu Erlong marveled inwardly: Xiao Gang... it must be because Xiao Gang taught him so well!
Only his theories could possibly allow such a "waste Spirit" to shine with such brilliance!
However...
Suddenly, it felt as though a bolt of lightning had flashed through her mind!
Liu Erlong’s eyes snapped wide open!
Wait... something isn’t right!
A mere twelve or thirteen years of age, yet already a three-ringed Spirit Elder...
Given this rate of cultivation, his innate Spirit Power must have been at least Rank 8 or higher, right?
How could a "waste Spirit" like the Blue Silver Grass possibly possess such a high level of innate Spirit Power? Unless...
Liu Erlong cast a deep, searching glance at Tang San; within those dark eyes, a flicker of complex emotion passed through.
"Tang San, what was your innate soul power level?"
Tang San answered truthfully, "Dean Liu, I possessed innate full soul power!"
Liu Erlong gasped sharply. "Innate full soul power?!"
She froze for a moment, then suddenly came to a realization.
Innate full soul power—combined with reaching the rank of Soul Elder at the age of twelve or thirteen—it all added up perfectly.
But how could a Blue Silver Grass Spirit possibly possess innate full soul power?
This completely defied everything she understood about Martial Spirits.
Could it be... that Tang San’s Blue Silver Grass wasn’t an ordinary Blue Silver Grass at all?
That, at the very least, its quality was far superior to that of a common Blue Silver Grass?
Liu Erlong suppressed the astonishment rising within her and finally remembered the matter at hand.
She looked at Tang San and asked, "By the way, why did you stay behind to find me? What is it you wanted to do?"
Just moments ago, Flander and the others had already departed with the academy staff to arrange their dormitories; yet, Tang San had deliberately chosen to stay behind—clearly, he had something he wished to discuss with her in private.
Tang San did not answer immediately.
He raised his head to look at Liu Erlong, his gaze carrying a blend of scrutiny and tentative inquiry.
He needed to confirm one thing first: was this Dean Liu truly someone he could trust?
"Dean Liu," he began slowly, "may I ask you something first? What exactly is the relationship between you and my teacher...?"
Liu Erlong met his gaze, a flicker of complex emotion passing through her eyes once more.
She neither evaded the question nor attempted to conceal the truth.
"More than a decade ago..."
Her voice was soft, as if she were recounting a tale from the distant past.
"Xiao Gang, Flander, and I formed a group together—we called ourselves the ’Golden Iron Triangle.’ Back then, the three of us roamed the continent together, and we even managed to build up a modest reputation."
"Later..."
She paused, a trace of pain flashing through her eyes.
"Xiao Gang and I fell in love. But it wasn’t until the very moment we were about to perform our wedding rites that we made a shocking discovery... He was my cousin..."
Tang San’s brows furrowed ever so slightly. Liu Erlong continued, "Xiao Gang... he couldn’t bear the blow. He felt it was a disgrace—that the world simply wouldn’t accept us. He chose to run away; he left all alone. Since then, I’ve never seen him again."
She raised her head to look at Tang San, her eyes holding a complex mix of emotions.
"All these years, I’ve been searching for him, yet I never found a single trace. That is, until today—when you arrived."
Listening to her words, Tang San’s eyes grew misty.
He had always assumed that his teacher’s life consisted of nothing but a past filled with mockery and a solitude no one could comprehend.
He never imagined that his teacher had once experienced such a deeply etched romance—that he had once had someone he loved so dearly.
How utterly unfair Heaven had been to his teacher!
It would have been bad enough to strip him of the powerful Spirit he was destined to inherit; yet, it went even further—destroying the very union between him and his beloved!
Damn you, Heaven! You have surely paved your own path to destruction!
He swore a silent oath in his heart: one day, he would make Heaven pay the price!
Taking a deep breath, Tang San turned to Liu Erlong, his gaze sincere.
"Dean Liu... it was Teacher who failed you!"
His voice trembled with emotion.
"It was his own insecurity, his own frailty—his fear of the world’s judgment—that kept him from facing you!"
"Cousins may share close blood ties, but there are certainly precedents for them uniting! In this world, who says there have to be so many rules?!"
His voice rose in volume, charged with the righteous indignation of youth.
"Teacher... he was just too foolish!"
Liu Erlong gazed at him, momentarily taken aback.
This child... why is he reacting so intensely?
A complex mix of emotions welled up within her—gratitude, certainly, but also a sense of being utterly dumbfounded.
After all these years, this was the very first time anyone had ever spoken such words to her.
Even if those words couldn’t actually change anything.
Tang San took a step forward, his voice growing even more earnest. "Dean Liu... no! Please allow me to address you as ’Teacher’s Wife’!"
Liu Erlong was stunned once again. "Huh?"
She was caught completely off guard.
"Well... suit yourself."
Tang San immediately called out, "Teacher’s Wife!"
That single address—"Teacher’s Wife"—was spoken with such genuine sincerity that it sounded as if he were truly her own personal disciple. Liu Erlong shook her head helplessly.
Yet, the corners of her mouth unconsciously curved upward ever so slightly.
"Alright," she said softly. "Do you have anything else? Surely, you didn’t seek me out just to learn these things, did you?"
Tang San nodded.
He took a deep breath, his gaze hardening with resolve. "Teacher’s Wife, actually..."
He paused, then spoke each word distinctly: "I possess a Twin Martial Soul!"
Liu Erlong’s pupils constricted instantly!
"A Twin Martial Soul?!"
She stared at the young boy before her in utter disbelief.
Xiao Gang... he actually managed to find a disciple with a Twin Martial Soul?!
His luck... was simply too good!
One must understand that within the world of Soul Masters, a Twin Martial Soul was a rarity akin to a phoenix feather or a unicorn’s horn.
Throughout the entire history of the continent, the number of recorded Soul Masters possessing a Twin Martial Soul could be counted on a single hand!
Forcing down the shock surging within her, she asked, "Would you mind showing me your second Martial Soul?"
Tang San raised his left hand.
A black radiance surged forth from his palm!
The light was deep and domineering, carrying a sense of immense weight—as if it could crush anything in its path—and swiftly coalesced into a small hammer.
The hammerhead was jet-black and gleaming, the handle thick and sturdy; the entire weapon radiated an aura of ancient, majestic power.
Gazing at this small black hammer, Liu Erlong felt a tempest of shock erupt within her heart!
"The Clear Sky Hammer?!"
She cried out involuntarily!
Tang San was startled. "Teacher’s Wife, you recognize this Martial Soul?"
Liu Erlong took a deep breath, quelling the tremors of shock within her.
She looked at Tang San, her eyes filled with a complex mix of emotions.