Chapter 19: Tang Hao

Tang Hao's eyes widened in surprise. "Nine?" he asked, bewildered.

Her mouth moved without her command. "Nine rings, two Yellow, two Purple, four Black, and one..." Wong Yazhu gulped, "...one Red..."

Suddenly, Tang Hao appeared standing to Wong Yazhu's left. "You can see my rings?" he asked, his tone unchanging.

Wong Yazhu was still staring at the empty stool where Tang Hao had once sat, unable to move her head. She tried to recall what she saw within Tang Hao, but it was a jumbled mess. It was too unusual to describe, beyond words, but the thing she could see and clearly understand was the nine rings wrapped around his Dantian—the nine rings he had absorbed, including one glowing so brightly it almost covered the light of the other eight, a red ring.

"Look at me," Tang Hao said simply.

Not being able to control her body, Wong Yazhu looked up at Tang Hao. The man was looking down on her, his entire face seemingly covered in dark shadows, with only his glowing yellow eyes visible.

"What did you see---" Tang Hao began to ask when suddenly a knock came from the door, and all the pressure disappeared.

Suddenly, Wong Yazhu found herself sitting on her bed in her house, staring at her door. Tang Hao had moved her back to her house so fast that she couldn't even react.

Falling back onto her bed, Wong Yazhu mumbled, "Oh, I fucked up." She chuckled. "I fucked up bad." She realized she had awakened a sleeping giant. "That fucker was actually a level Titled Douluo."

Jumping up from her bed, she decided, "Welp, time to run." Without thinking further, she jumped out of her open window, leaned forward, and burst forward into a full sprint, her arms extended behind her back. Clocking over 35 miles per hour, she quickly left the village behind, entering the grassland that expanded south as she continued sprinting at full speed. She knew Nuoding City was east---

Suddenly, the world shifted, and she found herself sitting on her bed again. "??!" Of course, she knew. "Fucking bastard." She realized she couldn't escape a Titled Douluo. "Ah, damn," she sighed, standing up.

"Welp, it is what it is. Time to help mommy with harvesting." Wong Yazhu chuckled as she skipped out of the room. "Yay, harvesting, here I come!"

And like that, the day passed. Today was when the three hunters, Wong Su, Deng Sai, and Chao Chang, were supposed to go hunting. However, Deng Sai was nowhere to be seen, which was confusing as, even though she was known to disappear sometimes, she had never missed a day for hunting. It was even more confusing for Wong Su since she had never missed a day of training with Wong Yazhu since she seemed to enjoy it more than hunting, but today she did.

"Probably in the city getting some rod," Chao Cheng shrugged, earning a glare from the taller woman.

"Language, my daughter is eating with us," Wong Su said, with Wong Yazhu asking, "Rod? For what?" looking at her mother. "Is she trying to build something?"

Wong An shook her head, shooting a death glare at the large man. He stood at a height of 170 cm with a rather large body; however, he was not fat, with huge muscles around his body, wide shoulders, a thick neck, and big hands, and he wore a simple knee-length tunic with gray shorts and sandals.

"Don't worry. Uncle Cheng is just being a fool," she said as the man shrugged, taking a bite from his meat.

"Oh, and do you want me to train your daughter?" Chao Cheng asked, but both mother and father simultaneously replied, "No is still no." Chao Cheng drank his soup, slamming his empty bowl down on the table, then glancing at the two of them beside him. "That's harsh."

Wong Su had told him about the training he was giving to his daughter the same day he asked Deng Sai to train Wong Yazhu, but he hadn't asked Chao Cheng to train Wong Yazhu because the bigger man, with the martial spirit of an armadillo, is basically a meat shield.

"I want to be a meat shield!" Wong Yazhu declared, grinning widely. "Like you, Uncle Cheng."

The bigger man coughed out a bit of his soup, with Wong An covering her daughter's mouth. "That hurts," Chao Cheng feigned crying, gripping his heart. "I am much better than a meat shield."

Wong Su patted the man's back with Wong Yazhu adding, "But when will teacher Deng finish getting her rod so we can continue training?"

Wong An and her husband looked at Chao Cheng, who then slapped the table with both of his palms, causing Wong Yazhu to jump in shock. "I will see my way out," he said, standing up, leaving his three empty plates on the table.

"Oi, where are you going?" Wong An called out, causing Chao Cheng to freeze. "You are washing the dishes, so get to it." She folded her arms. "You're not eating for free."

The big man mumbled, "Ah, I got caught," as he turned back to face the kitchen duties.

After dinner and attending to the dishes, Chao Cheng bade goodnight to Wong Yazhu's family and returned home. Wong Yazhu's parents then put her to sleep before retiring to their room, where they immediately went to have sex. From her room, Wong Yazhu meditated with open eyes, trying to focus, but she couldn't help but be aware of the sounds emanating from her parents' room.

'With the way they are going at it, they might bring another life into this world,' she thought, slightly amused and a bit disturbed. 'Or is that their plan?' Pushing the sound away, she continued cultivating.

As midnight approached, the sounds continued, but Wong Yazhu used the Qi of the moon to complete the RSPT before returning to her open-eye cultivation technique. She lost track of time, her senses nearly shutting down as she delved deeper into cultivation, but she suddenly felt the cold air and the earth beneath her feet. Surprised, she opened her eyes to find herself standing on the hill where she and Tang San often practiced, facing east.

The landscape before her was quiet and dark; the village torches' lights twinkling faintly in the distance like scattered street lamps. The cold night air brushed against her skin, and she realized she was standing barefoot, clad only in her sleeping gown. Above, the moon shone brightly, half-covered by clouds.

"??? What???" Wong Yazhu exclaimed, confused. It took her a moment to grasp what had happened when she saw Tang Hao sitting on a massive rock beneath a large, 33-meter-tall mature chestnut tree, the night breeze rustling its leaves. He was wearing baggy, heavy dark pants, a black short-sleeve shirt, and a cloak covered with holes.

"You couldn't at least give me some clothes---" Wong Yazhu began, but Tang Hao cut straight to the point.

"How did you see my rings?" Tang Hao asked, his voice calm and direct.

Wong Yazhu pointed at her eyes as she activated the Byakugan. "My martial soul allows me to see far, through things, and aura," she explained, hesitating a bit. "I can see things like the energy in the world, soul energy, meridians, Dantian, and stuff like that."

Tang Hao continued staring at her, waiting for her to go on. After a pause, Wong Yazhu added, "You're not going to kill me, right? I am extremely scared of dying."

Annoyed, Tang Hao responded, "So, I assume you can see the rings in my Dantian?"

"Not now," Wong Yazhu said, looking up at him. 'Ah, so he can hide his rings even from the eyes of the Byakugan.' She chuckled internally. 'I guess even if I had looked at him before, I wouldn't have seen the rings unless he released his aura.'

"What did it look like?" Tang Hao asked, getting back to the point.

Wong Yazhu formed a fist with her right hand, using her left index finger to gesture around it. "Your Dantian is a solid orb, and nine rings were wrapped tightly around it. I can't really explain it, but that's how it is," she explained. "That's the only thing I could understand in your body. A Titled Douluo is really a mess... or did you get injured when fighting the Spirit Hall?"

Tang Hao ignored her question about the injury, shifting the topic. "I assume you can see the elemental power of heaven and earth," he stated more than asked.

Raising an eyebrow, Wong Yazhu asked, "The blue energy around me?"

"Blue?" Tang Hao looked around, pondering. He then pointed to the moon. "What do you see?"

"The moon, but I'm assuming you are asking me what 'aura' it has, and it's blue," Wong Yazhu replied, observing the sky. "But, I noticed it had some silver aura during midnight."

"The elemental power of heaven and earth is the energy present in the world. A Soul Master absorbs these energies to cultivate," Tang Hao explained, looking back toward the village. "I'm sure you already know that."

Wong Yazhu nodded, internally guessing the elements. "In this world, there are five basic elements and four superior elements," Tang Hao continued.

'Let me guess—fire, water, earth, wood, and metal, and the superior elements are Light, Darkness, Time, and Space?' Wong Yazhu thought internally.

"The five basic elements are air, fire, earth, metal, and water," Tang Hao explained, with Wong Yazhu nodding. 'Wood was replaced by air, but I was almost correct,' she shrugged internally.

"And the four superior elements are light, darkness, time, and space," Tang Hao added, confirming her second guess. "Though I can't 'see' the energy of heaven and earth like you can, I can feel them," Tang Hao said, pointing at the moon. "The energy from the moon during midnight is the combination of space, water, and darkness, while the energy of the sun during sunrise is the combination of time, fire, and light."

'Ah.' Wong Yazhu nodded. 'So, Tang San and I are using opposite energy to strengthen our spiritual sea.'

"There are other sub-elements that are combinations of the five primary and four superior elements," he continued. "I won't get into the details, but based on a Spirit Master's affinity, they will absorb one or more of these energies to cultivate."

Looking at Wong Yazhu, he noted, "You, for example, have the highest possible affinity to all five basic elements, the Heavenly Grade Affinity, with zero affinity to the four superior elements."

Wong Yazhu nodded, asking, "Is that why my cultivation speed is so fast?"

"That's the main reason," Tang Hao confirmed. "The second is due to your high innate Soul Power."

Wong Yazhu nodded then stated, "I can't see where this conversation is leading. We went from talking about what I saw in your body, then you are telling me about the energy of heaven and earth." She looked him in the eyes. "What do you want?"

Tang Hao stood up, causing Wong Yazhu to instinctively step back, but he ignored her reaction and continued, "It's rare for someone to have the highest affinity to all five basic elements, as rare as Twin Martial Souls."

"Those with perfect affinity have the cultivation speed of two innate ranks above them." He started walking, with Wong Yazhu following him. "If someone were to awaken with a level five innate soul power, they would be equal to a level seven, or if someone awakened with a level eight, they would be equal to a level ten."

'So I am equivalent to a level eleven innate soul power, higher than Tang San.' Wong Yazhu chuckled. 'I'm starting to feel like the main character.'

Ignoring the girl's laugh, Tang Hao continued. "This is due to the fact that their bodies can freely absorb the five basic elements without needing to remove the elements the heart and the meridians aren't compatible with."

As they reached the other side of the hill, facing west at the vast expanse of forest that stretched as far as the eyes could see, Tang Hao pointed in a seemingly random direction, asking, "What do you see?"

Activating the soul sight of her Byakugan, Wong Yazhu looked in the direction indicated. "Blue?" she asked, confused. "And some green?"

"About 16 kilometers from our location," Tang Hao specified.

"I can't see that far with my eyes; only up to 200 meters," Wong Yazhu replied, still puzzled by the task.

Tang Hao glanced down at the girl and sighed. Then, with one step, they were suddenly above the forest. "Woah!" Wong Yazhu exclaimed as she found an invisible force holding her, keeping her afloat but her body free. "You can fly!?"

"Of course, you can fly." She answered herself. "You are, after all, a Titled Douluo." Looking around, she realized that the hill they were standing on was no longer visible. 'If I assume we are now 16 km away, then this means he moved 16 km faster than I can fucking react.'

She glanced at Tang Hao floating beside her, his hands nonchalantly folded across his wide chest and his cloak fluttering in the wind. 'How fast is this guy?' she thought, then paused, correcting her question: 'No, how fast are Titled Douluos?'

Tang Hao pointed at the forest a few meters ahead of them. "Now look," he commanded, and Wong Yazhu did. Then, she realized.

"!!!" She was stunned. "What is this?"

~~~~~~~~~~~~Authors Pool~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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