Tang San: You All Have a Path to Death!

Returning to the security team, Guang Long took out his communicator and dialed a number. When the line connected, he asked, "Bro, got time to meet up?" "I'm a bit busy right now. No time. Let's catch up tonight. Why did you suddenly think of calling me, kid? You haven't gone and stirred up trouble, have you?" "How would I dare? This job was assigned by the Spirit Pagoda, after all." Guang Long pressed the communicator to his ear and gave a helpless smile. "You chose that yourself. You could've just paid the money back, but you insisted on working it off. Too late to regret it now." Guang Long glanced toward the window, looking out over the sea of city lights in the distance. A complex look crossed his face, yet his tone remained resolute. "I don't regret it." The types of work assigned by the Spirit Pagoda depended on the strength of the sponsored Soul Master. After all, sending a high-ranking Soul Master to handle spiritual transference duties would be a waste, nor would such a Soul Master be willing to accept such meager wages. However, positions within the Spirit Pagoda were limited, so after coordinating with the Federation, they would sometimes arrange outside placements for people like him. Guang Long belonged to this category. The personnel in the security team were usually ordinary people equipped with Soul Tools. While they could manage disturbances caused by low-ranking Soul Masters, they were useless against anyone stronger; powerful Soul Masters or Mecha Masters were needed to suppress such threats. Yet even if the pay for this kind of work wasn't bad, how could a Soul Ancestor or Soul King ever be willing to do it? This was where the contracts between the Spirit Pagoda and commoner Soul Masters came into play, allowing them to dispatch people to such posts. Even so, such cases were rare; by this stage, Soul Masters were entirely capable of repaying the debt for their Soul Spirits. It was just that... Guang Long wanted to do it. "I've peaked in this life, and I can't compare to you, Big Brother. At least doing this kind of work reminds me of how I got my start, and it stops me from growing jealous of you." "..." Silence hung over the communicator for a moment before Guang Biao's cold snort came through. "It's just that you don't work hard enough." "I don't have your natural talent either," Guang Long chuckled. "Besides, once I actually started doing it, basking in the residents' admiring, trusting gazes felt pretty good." "...Hmph. As long as you're satisfied." Once their casual talk wound down, Guang Biao's voice suddenly turned serious. "I need to warn you about something. Be careful lately. If you run into anyone whose aura seems off, back away immediately and notify the Mecha Battalion as fast as possible. Don't rush in recklessly." Guang Long asked in confusion, "What happened?" "I caught an Evil Soul Master while out on patrol, but I can't be sure whether he has accomplices." Guang Long's eyes went wide. *** That night, Tang Wulin tossed and turned, unable to fall asleep as excitement churned over everything he had experienced that day. By the time he drifted off, it was already midnight. Lying in bed, he felt a faint heat enveloping his body. He trembled slightly in spite of himself, his brows tightly furrowed as that inexplicable thrumming sensation washed over him once more. When Tang Wulin opened his eyes, he found himself no longer in his dormitory. Instead, he had arrived in a realm of darkness, surrounded by pitch black where nothing could be seen. Suddenly, a dazzling golden radiance flared in the distance, catching his attention. The golden light drew close rapidly, expanding into colossal proportions. When Tang Wulin clearly saw what the light truly was, terror seized him—it was an enormous golden dragon! "You've finally come. It seems your body is ready to endure this power." At that moment, Tang San's divine sense manifested before Tang Wulin. A complicated look flickered across his eyes before quickly vanishing. Feigning memory loss, he claimed to be merely a wisp of divine sense meant to help him unseal the Golden Dragon King, and began to explain things to Tang Wulin. A child of this age would inevitably feel fear, if not deep wariness, if an entire conscious person suddenly appeared inside him. It was better to claim he had no memories. When Tang Wulin learned that the essence of the Golden Dragon King was contained inside his body, and that failing to gather the three auxiliary items required to undo its seals would mean death, he was struck dumb. He still had friends, the Spirit Pagoda Master uncle who held high hopes for him, his parents waiting for his return, and Teacher Mang Tian... He didn't want to die! "I will definitely gather them all!" Looking at the resolute boy, Tang San's divine sense did not let him leave immediately. After a long silence, he asked, "How do you plan to gather them? Those things aren't cheap." Though he hadn't kept track of prices in the Federation, one thing was certain: the Soul Beasts in the two major habitats were now in cahoots with the Spirit Pagoda, while the number of Soul Beasts elsewhere had plummeted. Under such circumstances, of the three items, ten drops of blood from a Soul Beast possessing a dragon bloodline would be exceedingly difficult to buy, and the price would undoubtedly be exorbitant. Tang Wulin's family couldn't even afford a Soul Spirit. How was he supposed to buy it? "I..." Tang Wulin was rendered speechless. "Don't think of seeking help from major factions. If the matter of the Golden Dragon King leaks out, dangerous individuals might set their sights on you." "Eh?" Tang Wulin, whose thoughts had just flickered to the Spirit Pagoda, froze. Before he could speak, Tang San's divine sense sent him out. Given that this was their first meeting, Tang San couldn't say too much. He could only drop this warning, and he couldn't explicitly name the Spirit Pagoda. After all, he could hardly just blurt out: *Wulin, you are my son, the son of the Sea God!* Never mind Tang Wulin—even he himself wouldn't believe it under these circumstances. Without a foundation of trust, certain words simply could not be spoken. *What a pity. Had I known things would turn out like this, I would have sent Wulin to be raised by the Haotian Sect, just as I did ten thousand years ago. Now things are tricky.* Tang San frowned inwardly. The path ahead would be troublesome; he needed Wulin to trust him first before he could instill the correct values into the boy. Fortunately, he had already devised a detailed educational approach. Reflecting on the education he had received in the past—from the Tang Sect to Tang Hao, and finally to Shrek—he had concluded that Shrek's methods were the best fit. After all, Shrek had stood tall upon the continent for twenty thousand years, which was proof enough of how sound its educational philosophy was! "Wulin, only by receiving my teachings can you survive in this harsh era!" Whispering under his breath, Tang San cast a brief glance at the outside world, intending to look at Tang Wulin once more, only to find that Tang Wulin's Fortune had diminished again. His expression darkened. Yet he had already prepared himself for such occurrences. Just as he was about to withdraw his divine sense, he suddenly sensed something amiss. Probing Tang Wulin's surroundings carefully, he spotted an obscure spiritual imprint attached to Tang Wulin's body, standing out with utmost clarity to his divine sense. Tang San swiftly erased the imprint, his face turning grim. "Who has targeted Wulin?" *** In the dormitory, Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow slightly. Sensing the feedback from his Soul Skill, he stirred from his meditation and opened his eyes. "Elder Yi gave no warning, and there's no one in the academy capable of detecting my Spiritual Beacon, so it can only be Tang San. He's awake? And he still possesses the ability to observe the outside world..." Spiritual Beacon was a self-created Soul Skill of his. Its underlying principle was similar to the wisp of divine sense power Tang San had left behind, except it was a heavily stripped-down version. Within a certain range, it allowed him to perceive the bearer's position, and its destruction would send back feedback. Concerned about unexpected developments—such as Tang Wulin inexplicably running off to Shrek Academy right now—he had placed one on Tang Wulin. Who would have thought... Tang San actually stepped in to wipe it out? Huo Yuhao wore a peculiar expression. *Logically speaking, wouldn't leaving it be better? Doesn't doing this just tell me you're awake?* *Is Buddha Ancestor Tang even thinking straight?* On the other side, Tang San's divine sense realized his mistake shortly after wiping away the Spiritual Beacon. Leaving it would have allowed him to catch the mastermind without alerting them; he shouldn't have erased it. The moment he cleaned it out, the other party would realize someone dangerous was guarding Wulin and might cease approaching him altogether, leaving Tang San unable to discern why that person was targeting Wulin or nip the threat in the bud. A relentless string of setbacks had ultimately clouded his temper and judgment. After all, this wisp of divine sense was inherently flawed, incapable of matching the calm wisdom of his true self. *Curse them all—the Spirit Pagoda, that useless piece of trash from ten thousand years ago, whoever stole the Fortune, Rong Nianbing who secretly recruited a successor and abandoned the Emotion God Position before fleeing behind my back, the Godking of Destruction who hounded and attacked me, the Golden Dragon King, the Abyssal Monarch...* *Every single one of you has walked into death's path!* The more he thought about it, the more he felt there were countless individuals courting death. Even though some of them were already dead, Tang San's mood remained thoroughly foul...