Soul Land: I Am the True Grandmaster

Chapter 163: The Disgrace of Tang Hao and the Gifted Tang San

With every setback comes a lesson, and sure enough, Tang Hao had wisely avoided coming to Tianxing Village. He had learned his lesson after exposing himself by entering a random village for Ah Yin's childbirth. Even someone as reckless as Tang Hao wouldn't risk settling down somewhere obvious, especially in Tianxing Village, which attracted soul masters annually, eager to visit Master Ye Wen's former home. Crowds meant more eyes, and with them, a higher risk of exposure.

Currently, Ye Wen's divine senses could scan an area within a hundred mile radius, making it the most efficient way to locate Tang Hao. But using this method risked alerting him and drawing attention to Ye Wen's probing, as Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer held the Slaughter God Domain a gift from the Hell Road in the Slaughter City. At its core was a trace of the Shura God's divine sense, a mark used to identify candidates for his godly inheritance. It was precisely this mark that later allowed Shura to brazenly challenge the Sea God over potential candidates.

If Ye Wen were to use his divine senses to search for Tang Hao, it might alert the Shura God in the divine realm. And if that cunning deity got involved, even Ye Wen would feel some dread at the prospect. It would be better to keep a low profile for now and enjoy the local sights. No rush.

Notting City was surrounded by dozens of small villages, which meant finding Tang Hao might require more effort. However, Ye Wen had plenty of time. Soon it would be time for the annual spirit awakening ceremony. Perhaps a quick stop in Notting City would reveal any vine type spirits with innate full spirit power since the Thunderous Hell Prison Vine, despite its mutations, was still essentially a plant spirit.

Ye Wen's search of Tianxing Village hadn't turned up any traces of Tang Hao, but he did stumble upon the secluded waterfall cave where Ah Yin had once hidden. Finding the cave empty, Ye Wen clicked his tongue in disappointment Tang Hao hadn't planted the Thunderous Hell Prison Vine seed here, it seemed. He had hoped to snag a spirit bone from it.

After all, as the wise Tang Buddha once said, "Nature's treasures belong to the virtuous." With Ye Wen's renown, who could dispute that a Thunderous Hell Prison Vine spirit bone rightfully belonged in his hands? But, alas, he would have to pass on it this time. It was just a mere 200,000 year spirit bone anyway; he didn't need it.

Time passed slowly, and Ye Wen was beginning to feel restless. Had Tang Hao moved to a different province altogether?

"Hm?" As he scanned from above, Ye Wen noticed a lone figure sitting atop a hill, gazing at the sunrise. The boy had tanned skin, a lean frame clad in a well worn, patched outfit, and violet eyes.

Yes, it was him Tang San.

"Practicing the Purple Demon Eyes, huh? So that's how it works… Not too impressive, though," Ye Wen muttered to himself. "Even if his previous life's background was from China, it was still a low martial world, not a cultivation one. It's only so so."

Ye Wen watched him for a while, but his interest quickly waned. Next, Tang San began practicing his Xuantian Skill, which was decent but couldn't improve innate talent; level seven spirit power remained level seven, even if it seemed like full innate spirit power.

There were more techniques: Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track for movement, Black Jade Hands for defense, Crane Capturing Dragon for control, and even a host of hidden weapon skills. Although dazzling on the surface, Ye Wen found little of it valuable for a true powerhouse.

But there was one thing he was curious about: How had Tang San managed to engineer hidden weapons in his previous low martial world that could rival a missile's destructive power? Unfortunately, he couldn't exactly use soul searching techniques to satisfy his curiosity, given that the Shura God might be watching.

Now that he had confirmed Tang San's reincarnation, Ye Wen decided not to waste any more time on him. No single person, no matter how skilled, was truly indispensable. When the time came for Tang San to fight Qian Renxue, Ye Wen could always step in, tip the scales, and ensure Tang San ascended to the divine realm no need for him to stick around as a troublemaker.

That wasn't the right word calling Douluo a pile of filth wasn't fair.

"Let's see what Tang Hao's up to now," Ye Wen thought. Judging by Tang San's ragged clothes, he probably wasn't winning any Father of the Year awards.

Sure enough, a rundown blacksmith shop in the village served as home to Tang Hao and his son. "What a waste of potential," Ye Wen muttered. "He's faced defeat before how does that drive him to give up? It's pathetic."

Tang Hao, in the original story, had self righteously proclaimed that being a soul master was useless. If he weren't a soul master, he'd be a laborer making a few silver soul coins a month and would have died long ago. And then he had the gall to squander that gift on drink.

Tang San's life seemed surrounded by odd characters. After all:

"There are only weak spirits, not weak soul masters." Yu Xiaogang

"Being a soul master is useless. I'd rather earn money hammering metal and drinking." Tang Hao

"Gege" Xiao Wu

"A soul master who doesn't stir up trouble isn't a good soul master." Flender

And so on, with Evil Eyed White Tigers and disreputable titles sprinkled among them. Ye Wen shook his head at the cast of absurdities.

Glancing at Tang Hao, who had guzzled most of the congee his son had prepared before stumbling off to sleep, Ye Wen was genuinely exasperated.

What happened to being the so called heir to Tang Chen's legacy? He should be on his feet, training toward rank 99 to exact vengeance! With Clear Sky Hammer techniques like the Exploding Ring and the Grand Xu Mi Hammer at his disposal, what was stopping him? How had he gone from bludgeoning Qian Xunji to near oblivion to wallowing here?

Musing, Ye Wen scrutinized Tang Hao more closely and noted something amiss. "Hmm, something's wrong with his energy," he observed. "It appears that using the Exploding Ring did severe damage."

Tang Hao had clearly overextended himself by employing the Exploding Ring technique after recently absorbing his ninth ring. The toll was visible his weakened body, without the Nine Hearted Begonia to heal him, had clearly slowed his recovery and hindered his progress. Still, Ye Wen thought, that was no excuse for neglecting his son. If he truly loved Ah Yin, how could he treat their child like this? Perhaps he had detected something odd about Tang San.

No, Ye Wen concluded, even an ordinary soul master could sense something off about Tang San, let alone a Spirit Douluo with heightened spiritual senses.

Thank you for the support, friends. If you want to read more chapters in advance, go to my Patreon.

Read 20 Chapters In Advance: patreon.com/Cortez10