"Really?"
Tang San looked at himself suspiciously, then leaned in to sniff, "No, I don't smell anything."
He had specifically cleaned up to remove any trace of blood before returning and hadn't used anything scented.
Xiao Wu must have smelled something else—probably the aroma of the food. With that thought, he pulled Xiao Wu into the room.
"Xiao Wu, did you eat dinner too early and get hungry again? Come on, let's eat something together."
Xiao Wu allowed him to lead her into the room, but her eyes remained fixed on his back.
She wasn't lying. She did smell something fragrant of delicious food, and it was very strong.
She even had the strange urge to swallow him whole—to devour Tang San—an instinctive reaction. But she didn't know how to explain it to him.
Moreover, after staring at him for a while, she felt something had changed about him. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but it felt like they were even closer.
"Alright, Xiao Wu, I think you're just tired. Stay with me and eat a little more."
Meanwhile, Tang San had already unpacked the food from the meal box and laid it on the table.
He was genuinely hungry. The earlier excitement had distracted him, but now his stomach was growling.
"Oh, okay."
Xiao Wu snapped out of her thoughts and sat across from him. She could see he was very happy because of his breakthrough.
Maybe she was just tired and mistaken. Besides, hadn't she also felt they were closer now? She decided to stop overthinking and let it go.
"Xiao Wu, you should also focus on your cultivation. I think I'll break through to Soul Ancestor soon."
Tang San picked up a piece of food with his chopsticks and fed it to her, smiling warmly.
"Then I'll listen to you, big brother, and cultivate diligently. I'll catch up to you soon—don't let me surpass you."
Xiao Wu swallowed the food and declined his offer to feed her again, raising her small fists in the air, looking as if she had regained her energy.
Watching Tang San devour his food, Xiao Wu tilted her head. She did need to speed up her cultivation; she couldn't fall too far behind.
In truth, up until now, she hadn't put her full effort into cultivating, always maintaining progress close to Tang San's.
Even so, her soul power level was impressive for her age on the Douluo Continent. If she truly went all out, she might alarm others, which would make hiding harder.
Perhaps she could pick up the pace just a little.
She knew Tang San had secrets too. Otherwise, it wouldn't be possible for him to suddenly break through to level 39, with his soul power still rising. But she didn't think his secret was as big as hers.
Sorry, big brother. I didn't mean to deceive you. Once I reach maturity, I'll tell you everything.
I wonder how that senior soul beast who helped conceal my aura is doing. Has he been in Heaven Dou City lately? There are still things I need to consult him about.
Maybe he knew a way to fully hide her soul beast aura in a short time—so even a Titled Douluo couldn't detect it at close range.
Tang San placed great importance on the Soul Master competition, and she wanted to help him as much as possible.
"What are you daydreaming about again?"
By now, Tang San had finished all the food.
Seeing Xiao Wu sitting with her hands on her face, lost in thought, he couldn't help but reach out and pinch her nose.
"Of course, I'm thinking about cultivating diligently to help you win the competition."
Xiao Wu didn't mind his affectionate gesture and even leaned her head closer.
"Hehe, then you'd better train hard. Sister Xiao Wu's name is destined to be known across the continent."
Tang San, in a great mood, teased Xiao Wu with a smile, something he rarely did.
"Of course! Alright, enough talking. I'm heading back to cultivate. Big brother, you've just had a breakthrough, so you should rest well tonight."
Xiao Wu stood up. She indeed needed to put in more effort; she didn't want to fall behind.
Half a year should be enough time. Xiao Wu silently calculated her full-force cultivation speed and confidently made up her mind.
"Alright."
Tang San was briefly taken aback, then cheered her on.
He hadn't seen Xiao Wu this motivated to cultivate in a long time. This was a good thing. He needed to support her.
"Then I'll go first. Back to cultivating. Big brother, good night. See you tomorrow."
Xiao Wu skillfully tidied up the table, packed the dishes into the meal box, smiled, waved goodbye, and walked out the door.
"Good night."
Tang San watched her enter her room across the hall, then got up and closed his door.
He needed to familiarize himself with his new strength. He hoped to break through to Soul Ancestor soon. Moreover, his body still felt like it was slowly growing stronger. Once that process fully stopped, would he be able to break the limit for absorbing soul rings?
After all, there were rumors that someone on the Spirit Hall team had already acquired a ten-thousand-year-level fourth soul ring.
If someone else could do it, why couldn't he?
He should ask his teacher—or father—about it later. He'd likely know.
As Tang San thought about the possibly hidden Tang Hao, he silently made up his mind. A smile crept across his face as he mused on it.
Perhaps my father doesn't know yet, but I've already sensed his presence. When we finally meet face to face, I wonder how he'll react when he finds out I've suspected something for a long time.
Tang San's eyes reddened slightly as he once again felt the deep love his father had for him.
What he didn't know was that, just above their villa in the second team division, Han Li—who had just returned from escorting Ye Lingling back to her dorm at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy—was observing his every move from mid-air.
Seeing Tang San's inexplicable excitement and reddened eyes, Han Li gave a puzzled look, unsure of Tang San's mental state.
After collecting some of the Blue Silver Emperor's essence that had already leaked out, Han Li silently disappeared.
He couldn't fully absorb it yet and would have to wait, just as he did with Yu Xiaogang until Tang San obtained his next spirit ring, at which point he could extract it all.
By then, Tang San's Blue Silver Emperor martial soul would truly revert to the ordinary Blue Silver Grass.
Moreover, while Yu Xiaogang's changes after his bone replacement were subtle, Tang San's transformation was far more noticeable.
Perhaps it was due to his unique background combined with the extremely powerful soul beast bloodline he had chosen. In Han Li's perception, a faint trace of the gray aura associated with soul beasts had already appeared on Tang San, though it wasn't as pronounced as Xiao Wu's.
At that point, wouldn't Tang San also be classified as a transformed hundred-thousand-year soul beast? Han Li pondered as he flew toward Heaven Dou City.
Then again, what did that have to do with him? If anything, it would make it easier for him to manipulate.
It's worth mentioning that over these past few months, Ye Lingling had gradually mastered her martial soul and had broken through to the Soul Emperor level, reaching rank 63 after obtaining her soul ring.
However, she was still diligently training her spiritual power to compensate for her last remaining weakness. By the time the Soul Master Tournament ended, she would likely meet the minimum standard for condensing a soul core.
As for Zhu Zhuqing, she had successfully broken through to rank 55. Excluding Han Li and a few others, she now had one of the highest soul power levels among the contestants in the Soul Master Tournament, having caught up with Hu Liena.
Meanwhile, Dugu Yan, Xiu'er, and Shui Bing'er had each advanced two levels, reaching ranks 69, 68, and 64, respectively. Shui Bing'er even had a chance to reach rank 65 before the tournament began.
As for Han Li, he had faintly sensed signs of his breakthrough. He figured reaching rank 79 before the tournament wouldn't be an issue.
However, since he was attending as a judge and not a contestant, comparing his level to the others seemed a bit unfair. After all, even Qian Renxue had only just broken through to rank 76.
Hurry up and bring on the Soul Master Tournament, Han Li thought, finding himself unexpectedly excited.
To be honest, when he first started cultivating, he had looked forward to participating in this very tournament as a contestant and dominating the competition.
But as circumstances and his cultivation level changed, he lost interest in competing, though he could still participate. Bullying children no longer excited him.
Still, this tournament would be the most complete gathering of this generation, as depicted in the original story. As the opening act for the dramatic changes of the era, it was not a bad event at all.
This thought popped into Han Li's mind, and with a smile, he shook his head and increased his speed as he flew home.
...
Time flew by, and Tang San finally broke through to the Soul Ancestor level, just half a month before the Soul Master Tournament.
As soon as he broke through, he sought out Yu Xiaogang to propose his idea of obtaining a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring.
Recently, he had secretly tested his strength. After his bone replacement, his body's power had increased rapidly. In just a few days, he had already surpassed Dai Mubai by a considerable margin, which made him ecstatic.
The only thing that bothered him was whether this was a side effect of the bone replacement or due to his strength increasing too quickly.
During sparring, he often felt an overwhelming urge to engage in close combat, and once the fight began, a bloodthirsty impulse surged within him.
Fortunately, thanks to his cultivation of the Purple Demon Eyes, his spiritual power was far stronger than his soul power, allowing him to control these impulses.
With the tournament so close, he couldn't afford to worry too much. Strength was the best remedy, and as long as he continued enhancing his spiritual power, everything would be fine.
When Tang San mentioned his idea of acquiring a ten-thousand-year fourth spirit ring to Yu Xiaogang, Yu Xiaogang's initial instinct was to refuse, advising him not to aim too high.
But before he could speak, he received a message from Tang Hao, instructing him to agree.
Thus, Yu Xiaogang could only force a stiff smile, reluctantly approving Tang San's plan, and suggested that Flender take him to a specific place in the Sunset Forest.
Of course, all of this had been orchestrated by Tang Hao.