Xiaowu got up and looked at Tang San, showing a face full of reluctance, but she still followed Tang San's father's advice. To avoid causing Xiaosan any trouble, Xiaowu decided to leave Xiaosan's side.
She then headed towards the deep of the forest.
She knew exactly where she was going—to be with her own kind!
They were soul beasts, just like her.
What did it matter if they were human or beast? The affection of beasts could be even more genuine!
The night grew deeper.
At this moment, Tang San slowly regained consciousness from his coma.
The first thing he saw upon waking was his father.
Tang Hao.
It had been a long time since they had seen each other.
Almost half a year.
In truth, Tang Hao had been protecting Tang San from the shadows now and then.
But Tang San was unaware of it.
Now, Tang San stood up.
He looked around the surroundings.
His father could tell that he must be looking for Xiaowu's figure.
When he woke up, he found Xiaowu wasn't by his side.
Usually, Xiaowu would always be guarding him.
But this time, she wasn't there.
Tang San looked at Tang Hao with a puzzled expression on his face.
"Dad, I finally see you!" Tang San said at that moment.
"Sit down, your leg is badly injured. Be more careful," Tang Hao said.
The injury to his leg had been caused by Ye Feng.
In the fierce struggle between Tang San and Ye Feng, Ye Feng had injured Tang San's leg.
That leg was nearly ruined!
Ye Feng was always decisive in dealing with Tang San and never hesitated.
But his face was still red and swollen from Ye Feng's beating—it was a sorry sight!
For Ye Feng, it was quite a thrill.
"Stop looking, she has already left," Tang Hao said.
Tang San was stunned when he heard this.
Why would Xiaowu choose to leave when everything was fine?
It didn't make sense.
"Why did Xiaowu leave?" Tang San asked.
"She had to go. I want to ask you a question, can you protect her with your current state?"
Facing his father's question, Tang San hesitated.
He was unable to respond immediately.
Clearly, he was also unsure in his heart.
"A true man is able to let go when necessary. Believe in yourself. One day, you will have the strength to protect her. It won't be too late to find her then," Tang Hao advised.
"Xiaosan, do you resent me for abandoning you during these years?" Tang Hao then asked Xiaosan.
He felt a sense of guilt in his heart for leaving Xiaosan behind in Holy Spirit Village all those years ago without a word.
Facing the death of his mother, coupled with the departure of his father, his heart was somewhat helpless.
"Why should I hate you? You are my father; you gave me life. Children never have the right to blame their parents," Xiaosan answered.
Tang Hao had never expected his child to be so understanding, which struck a chord of deep compassion in his heart.
He bore no grudge against his father.
Tang San told his father.
Hearing his child personally tell him that there were no hard feelings, Tang Hao immediately drew Tang San into a tight embrace.
They hugged each other and cried.
"I guess you must have a lot of questions to ask me. When you used the Martial Soul real body during the day, the voice you heard was mine."
Stop, regain strength, and return the soul.
So it was his father's voice after all.
He had mistaken it for his mentor, Brock!
Tang San looked utterly astonished.
But he didn't yet know how many more things his father was keeping from him.
And it was difficult for him to inquire.
Even if he asked, he wouldn't be told!
Because he didn't yet have the right to know.
Knowing too much wouldn't be good for him!
It would only bring more trouble.
"From now on, I will arrange for your training. When the day comes that you meet my requirements, I will tell you everything."
Which means Tang San can no longer continue training with Brock, whose abilities are limited.
"The master is undoubtedly a very ordinary teacher, but there are some things he can't teach you!"
Besides possessing the ten core tenets, the master is not comprehensive; he doesn't have the strength to train Tang San to be exceptionally outstanding.
From past situations, Tang San was defeated by Feng several times, which shows that the master's training and teaching abilities are limited; he can't even protect himself, let alone protect anyone else!
He also saw through Brock's capabilities!
"Cough cough!"
Tang Hao coughed a few times.
This scared Tang San badly.
He hurriedly walked over to his father's side.
"Dad, are you alright?" Tang San asked at that moment.
Looking at his exhausted father, one couldn't help but feel heartache.
"Today, I unintentionally aggravated an old injury while using the Hao Tian Hammer's real body. It's nothing serious, don't worry about me. It'll get better in a few days."
Tang San gently touched his chest.
It seemed that using the Hao Tian Hammer's real body today had consumed too much strength, and his old injuries had been affected.
Furthermore, as his age increased, his physical strength declined significantly, and his body couldn't handle it!
But he was still capable of dealing with the people from the Martial Soul Hall!
"Besides, regarding Xiaowu, aren't you puzzled why she, being a hundred-thousand-year soul beast, doesn't have great strength?"
Tang Hao brought up this question, which again bewildered Tang San.
"Soul beasts start cultivating from birth and are categorized into five levels: ten-year, hundred-year, thousand-year, ten-thousand-year, and hundred-thousand-year. When soul beasts cultivate to a hundred-thousand years, their status is like that of a Titled Douluo among soul masters. Then they face a choice between two paths—one is to continue living as they are, but they can only live up to a thousand years, after which they are certain to die. The other path is risky, which is to transform."
Transform!
"Exactly, to transform into humans. Among all creatures, humans possess the greatest potential, so transformed soul beasts must start their cultivation from scratch."
"If they can break through the level-100 threshold, they will become immortal and god-like beings."
Then wouldn't all soul beasts choose to transform!
"Soul beast cultivation is many times more difficult than human cultivation. Transformed soul beasts can't reverse the process, and they must interact with humans during their cultivation, otherwise, they won't progress. Even though they cultivate much faster than ordinary humans and don't need to hunt soul beasts for Soul Rings, they only truly become human once they mature beyond level 60."
Tang Hao explained at that moment.
It was clear now that Xiaowu was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast in her juvenile transformed state.
Now Tang San understood Xiaowu's secret.
Originally, Xiaowu hadn't told him, keeping it from the person she trusted most!
Had it not been for his father's analysis, Tang San would have remained in the dark.
"Then, was my mother killed by the Martial Soul Hall?"
Facing Tang San's question,
Tang Hao's expression became even tenser.
He clenched his fists tightly.
"To know about the past events, you first need to become strong. Others won't bully you easily, so in the upcoming times, once you meet my requirements, I will slowly explain everything to you," Tang Hao said at that moment.
Tang San knew his mother's death was related to the Martial Soul Hall. He had an inkling of the details, but the specifics were still unknown to him, so he had to comply with his father's demands to continue cultivating, grow stronger, and then he would be told.
…