Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 96: Refusal

Zhang Haoxuan waved his hand, saying, "It's not what you think. I am just looking for children who haven't awakened the Demonic God Transformation bloodline and whose parents are both completely human to try this out. I want to see if they can generate the kind of spiritual energy you said was produced by your Mysterious Heaven Technique through the most basic cultivation. If they can generate this energy, it will prove that we humans can practice this technique. If not, the significance of the Mysterious Heaven Technique will not be as great. Later, I will try with humans who have a demonic bloodline."

Tang San nodded. "It's fine to try that, I think."

He had considered this issue before. He even had the Wang family's three brothers and Ling Mushu practice some abilities from the Mysterious Heaven Record. As a result, he had already discovered that they couldn't cultivate the Mysterious Heaven Technique, likely due to possessing the Wind Wolf bloodline. He could not just find some random ordinary humans and have them try it, so it was good for Zhang Haoxuan to give it a shot.

Zhang Haoxuan said, "Try devouring my bloodline power."

While speaking, he extended his right hand toward Tang San.

Tang San knew this was Zhang Haoxuan's way of letting him demonstrate how to devour without being detected by the other person. This would decide whether he would be allowed to participate in the sparring tasks.

Tang San didn't grasp his hand. Instead, he suddenly swung out his right fist, aiming a blow at Zhang Haoxuan's head.

Zhang Haoxuan, with his powerful cultivation, instinctively swung his hand in turn, easily slapping away Tang San's hand with his palm.

Tang San stepped back and smiled. "How do you feel?"

Zhang Haoxuan was stunned for a moment. "What?"

He subconsciously looked at his hand. He hadn’t felt anything unusual when he had swatted away Tang San’s fist. It was merely his bloodline power that instinctively acted to protect his hand as he deflected Tang San's strike. There seemed to be no change in the bloodline power within his body.

Tang San said, "I have actually successfully devoured a bit of your bloodline power. It's enough to form a second-order bloodline imprint. But if you were a demon with cultivation similar to mine, and we continued to fight, with each bit I absorb, the total bloodline power I gain after a battle would be significant. If converted into the energy of the Mysterious Heaven Technique, it would surpass a day's cultivation level. And the closer my opponent's cultivation is to mine, the less they would feel during my devouring. I can control this extent."

Zhang Haoxuan looked at Tang San, whose eyes brimmed with confidence, and suddenly felt he understood less and less about this disciple.

The Mysterious Heaven Technique he cultivated was undoubtedly very miraculous. But, after all, he was only nine years old. At such a young age, he had successfully cultivated the Mysterious Heaven Technique to such an extent. Already at the fifth order, despite his tender age, he was not much inferior to Wu Bingji, even in actual combat.

In terms of bloodline talent, he was the weakest among all the disciples of the Redemption Society. But the Mysterious Heaven Technique he cultivated, which allowed him to acquire the abilities of others, actually made him the most talented human in history, in a sense.

Zhang Haoxuan took a deep breath and said, "I disagree."

"Ah?" Tang San was stunned. He thought he had proven how his devouring of bloodline power could go unnoticed. He expected Zhang Haoxuan to allow him to take on sparring tasks, but unexpectedly, he was met with disagreement.

Zhang Haoxuan spoke solemnly, "You continue to prove your abilities to me. Thus, for the Redemption Society, you are increasingly valuable. With the potential of your Mysterious Heaven Technique, I should grant you higher protection. And for that exact reason, I must insist you remain inconspicuous. For now, you can't take sparring tasks; I can't allow you to take risks like that. Wait until you break through to the sixth order. After reaching the sixth order, I believe your control will improve further. You'll also be older by then, so you won’t look conspicuous when you pick sparring tasks. You are only nine now, and you’re very small and thin. If you perform well in sparring at Kali Academy, then please tell me, do you really think you will not attract the attention of demons? Let me be honest to you: our town is already under the gaze of the demon race, and the academy might even have to relocate. So please keep a low profile."

Tang San understood that Zhang Haoxuan's intention was to ensure his protection, but he couldn’t help but be frustrated. Sparring at the academy was undoubtedly the most suitable way for him to cultivate. However, with the mayor's disagreement, he had no other choice.

"Master, what about other tasks? Can I take them?" Tang San asked.

Zhang Haoxuan asked, "Are you in such need of money?"

Tang San replied with a bitter smile, "What else can I do, master? I’m without a penny to my name."

Zhang Haoxuan raised his hand and tossed a small bag to him, "Here are a hundred demonshard coins. Use these for now. Consider it a welcome gift from your master. Don't tell others about it. As for tasks, you can take any except for sparring types. But you must prioritize your safety. When you go on a task, you must be with at least two other people."

"Alright." Tang San agreed, taking the bag of demonshard coins. There was no need for formalities with his master.

Zhang Haoxuan shook his head helplessly, his gaze softening as he looked at Tang San. His feelings towards Tang San were quite complicated at the moment.

Before Tang San's arrival, he had heard from Zhang Tianxiao only about a student with solid control over the wind element, who had cultivated to the fourth order at the age of nine and possibly had a mutation of the Wind Wolf bloodline.

In reality, a student of this level wasn't worth his special attention. However, when Tang San came, he still engaged in routine conversation and testing. As it turned out, Tang San’s actual abilities and potential were far, far beyond what he had expected.

He was not even sure of what he could teach Tang San.

"What if you take more of my bloodline power? What do you think?" Zhang Haoxuan asked.

Tang San said, "That would certainly be helpful for my cultivation, but it would also deplete your bloodline power, and it’d take you a long time to recover. Also, I cannot absorb too much; if I do that, it would really harm your core bloodline essence."

"If you need it, just let me know."

Tang San nodded and said wryly, "There's no room for it now..."

He couldn't possibly tell Zhang Haoxuan that he didn't value his bloodline much because it wasn't particularly suitable for him...

After Zhang Haoxuan left, Tang San went back to Wu Bingji.

The afternoon classes continued; it was time for another practical combat lesson.

By the time he returned, several combat sessions had already passed.

"Teacher, I request another combat session with Tang San to test my insights from the past few days," Wu Bingji said to Mu Enqing as soon as he saw Tang San return.

"Sure," Mu Enqing nodded.

Wu Bingji smiled. “Little Tang, do you need to prepare a bit more?”.

Tang San replied wryly, "Senior brother, aren't you just looking for payback here?”.

Wu Bingji laughed. "Heh, it would be weird if I didn’t. Come on. If you win, I'll give you five demonshard coins.”.

"Ah?" Tang San was surprised. "You can wager money?"

Wu Bingji said, "No, this isn't gambling. If you win, I can still learn more from you."

"So, is it like a thank-you gift then?"

At this, the other students watching couldn't help but laugh.

Wu Bingji glanced at them and said, "Hey, don’t laugh. It really is payment in a way. The things I discussed with Tang San these past few days helped me a whole lot. Also, you should know that when it comes to learning, seniority doesn’t mean anything. Whoever knows more is the teacher."

Mu Enqing looked at Wu Bingji and said, "Begin."

Wu Bingji wasn't as modest this time as in their previous sparring. The icy blue light in his eyes shone instantly, and simultaneously, the ice elemental energy around him became intensely concentrated.

An ice ball began to form in the palm of his raised right hand.

To his surprise, Tang San made a move, but it wasn't to launch a wind blade.