The Troubled Tang San

Holy Spirit Village

On a small hill of just over a hundred meters high, adjacent to Holy Spirit Village.

Tang San sat cross-legged on the rocky summit, practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill.

Suddenly, Tang San's spine shivered, his body trembled, and he felt weak in his limbs, dizzy, as if he had lost something in the ethereal void.

Caught off guard, Tang San rolled off the rock, landing face-first in the dirt.

After a while, Tang San came to his senses, spitting out the dirt and grass from his mouth.

"Ptooey! Ptooey!"

For some reason, a sly smile appeared in Tang San's mind. This face was not unfamiliar. It belonged to the brat from the neighboring village who had been pestering him recently, even insisting on being called "Ancestor."

Brushing off the dirt from his hands and body, the more Tang San thought about it, the angrier he became!

"Darn brat! It must have been his harassment recently that caused me to get distracted while practicing the Mysterious Heaven Skill and made me fail.

Hmph, next time I see him, I won't let him off so easily."

Tang San made up his mind that the next time he encountered that brat, he would give him a good beating.

[Ding! Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor bloodline has been taken away. The Blue Silver Grass martial soul has been reduced to ordinary Blue Silver Grass. Hatred level has reached 5%. Tang San despises the host greatly. The host gains 500 hatred points.]

Seeing that stealing Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor bloodline only accumulated 5% hatred, Zuzong was puzzled. He had already prepared himself to be beaten up by Tang San.

"System, I've stolen Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor bloodline. Without it, his Blue Silver Grass is now a useless martial soul. Even with 'scumbag' Yu Xiaogang's theories, its power will be greatly diminished, practically ruining half of his talent. Why has it only reached 5% hatred?"

[Ding! Since Tang San is unaware that he can no longer awaken the Blue Silver Emperor, the hatred level is currently low. When he realizes it, the hatred level will instantly soar above 70%, and he will develop a murderous intent.]

"What's the use of the hatred points then?"

[The host can use the hatred points to actively teleport to worlds that the system has stolen from.]

"I see! So, I can travel across the multiverse and do as I please! If I encounter danger in the Douluo Continent, I can use hatred points to escape to other worlds!"

[Host, theoretically yes, but the teleportation location in the main world (Douluo Continent) is random. Please use it cautiously.]

"Understood!"

Zuzong's mind was filled with the system's prompt again.

[Ding! Host has stolen the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline. Would you like to merge it?]

"Of course, I want to merge it, but first, show me my personal status panel."

[Ding! Opening personal status panel.]

[Host: Zuzong

Gender: Male

Age: 5 years and 11 months (25 years)

Martial Soul: Blue Silver Grass (Not Awakened)

Innate Soul Power: 0

Soul Power Level: 0

Base Strength: 3 (Average adult male: 10)

System Inventory: Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline

Overall Evaluation: Inferior to a piece of trash.

Remaining Steal Attempts: 0

Hatred Points: 500

Stolen World: Douluo Continent

]

Looking at his personal status, Zuzong rolled his eyes.

"I'm not even worthy of being called trash? You've got to be kidding me!"

"System, merge the Blue Silver Emperor bloodline for me."

[Ding! Merging Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline.]

Hmm! It should be very painful, right? But your little ancestor here can endure it. Let the storm come more violently!

A quarter of an hour passed, but the excruciating pain that Zuzong expected did not arrive.

[Ding! Fusion complete.]

"System, why hasn't my body changed? Isn't it said that after awakening the Blue Silver Emperor, the hair turns blue, the body gets better, and the face becomes more handsome?"

[Ding! The host's martial soul needs to awaken. Would you like to view the personal status panel?]

"Yes, show it!"

[Host: Zuzong

Gender: Male

Age: 5 years and 11 months (25 years)

Martial Soul: Blue Silver Emperor (Not Awakened)

Innate Soul Power: Level 10

Soul Power Level: 0 (Not Awakened)

Base Strength: 5 (Average adult male: 10)

System Inventory: None

Overall Evaluation: Barely better than trash.

Remaining Steal Attempts: 0

Hatred Points: 500

Stolen World: Douluo Continent

]

"Haha, the Blue Silver Emperor truly lives up to its reputation, a martial soul on par with the Clear Sky Hammer! It has innate full soul power.

However, it looks like I need to lay low for another month. In the meantime, I'll focus on training my body!"

He walked out of the thatched hut.

I mean the thatched house.

Zuzong felt a lot more relaxed, no longer pretending to smile.

He changed his usual lazy attitude.

Humming a little tune,

He leisurely walked to the house of the village head, Old Tom.

Getting a free meal?

No, you're mistaken.

As the only hope of the Emperor Spirit Village.

How can it be called freeloading?

There were not many entertainment facilities in the countryside, so people went to bed early. Before the sun even set, Old Tom had already prepared dinner.

Seeing Zuzong's uninvited arrival, Old Tom was already used to it! He smiled and shook his head.

Since Zuzong's parents died in a disaster more than five years ago, it was Old Tom who found and adopted him, just two months old. It wasn't until last year, at Zuzong's strong insistence, that Old Tom allowed him to live alone.

That disaster had destroyed more than half of the Emperor Spirit Village, which had originally had over 400 households.

The dead were dead, the escaped had escaped, and only the old, weak, and sick remained.

Old Tom served Zuzong a big bowl of rice and scolded with a smile, "You brat, eat and go to bed early. Remember to get up and train tomorrow!"

Zuzong didn't hold back, grabbed the bowl, and started devouring the food, "Thanks, Grandpa Tom!"

Old Tom watched Zuzong wolf down the food and couldn't help but recall the past.

He turned around and entered the kitchen, tears welling up in his eyes.

"If only my grandson Little Jerry were still alive, he would be about the same age as Zuzong now."

Of course, Zuzong didn't hear this.

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Time flies like an arrow; the years go by like a shuttle.

In the blink of an eye, a month had passed.

Zuzong, having just finished his morning run, leisurely enjoyed the breakfast prepared by Old Tom: sweet potato porridge.

Slurping happily,

Old Tom glared at Zuzong, "You rascal, hurry up and finish. I'll take you to Holy Spirit Village for your martial soul awakening!"

"Got it, Grandpa Tom!"

Zuzong quickly grabbed a piece of pickled vegetable, stuffed it in his mouth, and gulped down the remaining sweet potato porridge.

After breakfast, Old Tom quickly cleaned up and took Zuzong to Holy Spirit Village.

The sweet potato porridge was excellent this morning, and with his martial soul awakening imminent, Zuzong, who had laid low for a month, was in a great mood. He smiled and asked Old Tom, "Grandpa Tom, why are we going to Holy Spirit Village for my martial soul awakening? I heard the martial soul masters usually come here themselves, don't they?"

Old Tom replied sorrowfully, "Things are not what they used to be. Our Emperor Spirit Village declined after that disaster more than five years ago. Most died or fled. This year, you're the only child of suitable age left in the village. We felt it wouldn't be right to trouble the martial soul master to come here for just one child. Since Holy Spirit Village is nearby, we decided to have the awakening there together."

Zuzong nodded, thinking to himself, "That disaster five years ago must have been the battle between Tang Hao and the Martial Soul Hall! My parents died in that disaster. One of the culprits, Qian Xunji, is dead, so the remaining one must be Tang Hao."

At this thought, Zuzong clenched his fists, a flash of coldness passing through his eyes.

He then relaxed his hands. Until he had power equal to his enemies, he would remain hidden!

Old Tom, seeing Zuzong lower his head in silence, thought he was worried about being unable to awaken his soul power. He comforted him, "You brat, if you can't awaken your soul power, it's no big deal. You'll just have to take over as village chief after I'm gone."

Zuzong just rolled his eyes.