Inside the grand hall of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, silence reigned. The two Titled Douluos were filled with both admiration for Ning Fengzhi's wisdom and surprise at the information brought by Tang San.
Finally, it was Gu Rong who broke the silence. "Fengzhi, why do you say Tang San is Tang Hao's son? Just because his surname is Tang?"
"Of course, it's not that simple," Ning Fengzhi replied, shaking his head as he delved into his memories. "This relates to a very famous event in the Soul Master world."
"Six years ago, the former Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall led two Titled Douluos to hunt a soul beast, but they failed. The news that they were gravely injured by the Clear Sky Douluo and died from their wounds spread like wildfire."
"At the time, I wondered, what kind of soul beast required such a powerful team? And more importantly, why did they fail? Everyone was saying that Tang Hao defeated them and took the soul beast for himself, thereby achieving the rank of Titled Douluo."
"But I think the sequence of events was wrong. Back then, Tang Hao only had eight soul rings. No matter how strong a Soul Douluo is, they couldn't possibly defeat three Titled Douluos. So, the sequence must have been that he achieved the rank of Titled Douluo first, and then defeated them."
"However, how could a Soul Douluo possibly wrestle victory from three Titled Douluos? There's only one possibility!" Ning Fengzhi speculated.
"Sacrifice!" Chen Xin and Gu Rong exclaimed in unison.
"Exactly. Only the voluntary sacrifice of a soul beast could explain everything. I once investigated Tang Hao and found out that he had married a woman with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul. This happened at a critical period just before he became a Titled Douluo. Back then, I naively mocked him for being blinded by beauty. But now, I think that woman wasn't a Blue Silver Grass soul master at all—she was most likely a 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor soul beast in human form!"
"Tang San, surname Tang, six years old, Blue Silver Grass martial soul, innate full soul power... When so many coincidences come together, they are no longer coincidences!" Ning Fengzhi concluded with confidence.
At this point, the two Titled Douluos no longer doubted. Bone Douluo even said directly, "If that's the case, shouldn't we nip this child in the bud? Twin martial souls, innate full soul power—if he grows up, I'm afraid even Old Sword and I won't be able to contend with him!"
"No need. Though the Upper Three Clans occasionally have disputes, we are fundamentally part of the same lineage. The Clear Sky Douluo is powerful, and we have no reason to make an enemy of him," Ning Fengzhi stopped him. "Besides, Uncle Bone, have you forgotten? Tang Hao has Tang San, but we have Tianlin."
Hearing this, Gu Rong calmed down. "That's true. With Tianlin's two fearsome martial souls, let alone that boy, even the Clear Sky Hammer isn't superior to him."
"More than superior!" Chen Xin, though a man of few words, spoke with absolute confidence in Tianlin's abilities.
...
Meanwhile, the child these three great figures placed so much trust in was quietly meditating in his room, diligently practicing a new meditation technique.
As soul power completed a full cycle within his body, Tianlin exhaled a breath of impure air.
"What an incredible Nuwa Emperor Meditation Method! Not only has my cultivation speed increased by nearly half, but it also purifies my soul power automatically. This saves me so much time refining messy soul power," Tianlin said excitedly as he opened his eyes.
With the combination of the Nuwa Emperor Meditation Method and the Holy Spirit Pearl's cultivation bonus, his current training speed was equivalent to over twenty-seven years of practice for an ordinary soul master with innate full soul power. This gave him a huge confidence boost—after all, time was what he lacked most at the moment.
"Hungry... It's about time for dinner, isn't it?" Tianlin pushed open the door, only to realize that the sky had already turned dark. He had unknowingly meditated for the entire afternoon.
Dinner time had passed, and the dining hall was likely closed. With no other choice, Tianlin decided to head to the orchard to pick some fruit to eat.
As he left his room, a few small figures secretly followed him.
When Tianlin arrived at the orchard, he found some ripe fruit, picked it, and was about to wash it when something long shot toward him. Sensing danger, Tianlin dodged to the side, but the fruit in his hand fell. Another object then shot out, pinning the fruit to the treetop.
Tianlin finally saw clearly: it was a bone.
"Who's sneaking around? Come out!" Tianlin shouted.
As his voice fell, a few figures emerged from the trees. Leading them was Ning Rongrong. "Hmph! Come out? As if this miss is afraid of you!"
"Little witch, what are you up to? Bullying a fellow disciple for no reason?" Tianlin teased.
"You dare call me a little witch? Outrageous! I'll teach you a lesson today!" Ning Rongrong gestured to the people behind her, and they surrounded Tianlin.
"Are you planning to gang up on me?" Tianlin asked.
"Hmph, scared now? I've been waiting for this chance for a long time. Because of you, Sword Grandpa scolded me for the first time. I'll give you one last chance: agree to be my follower and listen to me from now on, and I'll let you go today!" Ning Rongrong said smugly. This little girl held grudges, remembering even the smallest slight.
Tianlin shook his head. "Sorry, but as I said before, I don't have the habit of being anyone's follower. So my answer is still no."
"How dare you! Teach him a lesson!" This was the second time she'd been refused, and by the same person no less. Ning Rongrong couldn't hold back her anger.
"Sorry, kid. You brought this on yourself by crossing the young lady," said the boy at the front. He looked about eleven or twelve years old and had the highest soul power among them.
Tianlin looked at the boy and asked, "Was it your bone that flew at me earlier?"
"Yeah. My name is Gu Ran, martial soul: Skeletal Warhorse, Level 22 Assault System Soul Master!" Gu Ran introduced himself, his two yellow soul rings glowing as he spoke.
"Gu Ran... I thought Bone Douluo didn't have any children?" Tianlin guessed that Gu Ran might be related to Bone Douluo and wondered if he should go easy on him.
"I have no blood relation to the esteemed Douluo. I'm just an orphan adopted by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Since my martial soul is skeleton-related, Bone Douluo took me in as his unofficial disciple and let me join the Defense Hall," Gu Ran explained. "Kid, you're too young to be my opponent. I don't want to hurt you. If you just agree to the young lady's terms, we can all leave peacefully."
Gu Ran tried to persuade him, but Ning Rongrong was impatient. "Gu Ran, why are you wasting so much time talking? Just take him down already!"
"You have good intentions, but unfortunately, my martial soul is a sword, and my sword heart won't allow me to yield. So, I must decline your kindness," Tianlin said as his soul rings lit up and his Suppressing Demon Sword appeared in his hand.
"Tianlin, martial soul: Suppressing Demon Sword, Level 15 Assault System Soul Master. Please enlighten me!"
PS: As expected, this girl needs correction first.