150 The Path Ahead
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"Even though I don't know the two of you... at all, Congratulations!" Tang Hao laughed loudly. Injured and drunk during daytime really didn't bring out his better qualities while he gulped down the contents in the bottle as if his life depends on it. Shooting a glare at her brother, Yuehua was left distressed but Oscar and Jun'er accepted the blessing of this merry stranger with a gratified expression, too.
Liu Erlong quietly sipped. She would constantly look at the other couple whom she had inadvertently spied on... audibly. Every time Ah Yin met her gaze, she would look away while Ja Sun knew better than to enter awkward staring contests.
"How do you like the ring?" He inquired with an eager expression.
"It's amazing. Thank you," Jun'er grinned and Oscar gave Ja Sun a heartfelt thumbs-up that could trump any words of gratitude.
"Aahhh," Tang Hao mumbled, "So you made that ring, eh. But that's just gold—"
"It's a storage ring," Ja Sun cut the drunkard off, "I've taken a new profession now."
Tang Hao silently sipped as he gazed at the ring more intently now, making Jun'er hide her right hand behind Oscar while Dai Mu chuckled slightly. Her relationship with Ja Sun was still complicated at best, but at least, she didn't wish to interrupt the cheerful environment with her troubles.
"Elder Brother, are you here for spirit rings, too?" Yuehua inquired as Tang Hao lost his drunk appearance. He nodded with a wide smile. He was never really a drunk. It was hard to be intoxicated at his level but he liked acting as such to reminisce the good old days.
"I need an eighth spirit ring to complete my breakthrough. Dai Mu also broke into the ranks of a Spirit King," He explained as he looked at Tang Yuehua with a proud expression. Not for his own capabilities, but for her growth. How could he miss the fact that Tang Yuehua had overcome her blockades?
"Brother... what happened after I left?" Tang Yuehua inquired with a meek expression as Tang Hao raised his bottle.
"Father praised my decision-making skills saying that you really needed a path of your own and cut mine and Elder Brother's trip in the continent short because he needed my skills in the Sect," Tang Hao grinned but Dai Mu couldn't help look a bit sad.
Tang Yuehua's gaze flickered.
"So... he beat you and house arrested you and Elder Brother Xiao?" Yuehua inquired. She had been with her elder siblings her entire life. She knew what Tang Hao's words meant. Hearing himself being exposed, Tang Hao chuckled.
"Pretty much, but he truly has agreed now. In fact, I pretty much am getting the seat of the patriarchy even if I'm not a Titled Douluo the moment father sees your progress. I'll throw you a special party for that."
Tang Yuehua nodded. What surprised Ja Sun and the others was the fact that Tang Hao didn't keep the knowledge of the Eighth elder of the clan pursuing them and returning with another Spirit Douluo. Tang Hao purposely didn't go into details but he also wanted to let his sister's teammates know about the actual situation and apologized when it wasn't needed. This left Ja Sun wondering if the Spirit Douluo the elder of the clan encountered was the owner of the Blessed Land. Seeing Ah Yin looking in his direction, he knew that she held the same thought to herself.
Still, innocent inquiries didn't net Ja Sun the name of the Spirit Douluo allowing him to realize that Tang Hao was most definitely in control of his mental faculties as opposed to what his appearance suggests.
"Oh, this? I wanted to test my skills against a 100000-year-old beast!" Tang Hao laughed but the group didn't seem to be as shocked as Tang Hao wished them to be. This effect was spread even to Tang Yuehua who revealed more concern than shock. Even though all the surface wounds had been healed, Tang Hao could still feel the violent elements left in his body by the Titan Giant Ape.
"What beast was it?" Ja Sun picked on.
"A Titan Giant Ape," Tang Hao mumbled, "The king of... this section the forest."
"Brother, do you want to see my martial soul?" Yuehua inquired finally, "But since we are going to be competitors, I cannot just display my spirit skills." She had a mischievous smile appropriate for a younger sister at this moment.
"Very eager," Tang Hao smiled.
The Clear Phoenix materialized in front of Yuehua and rested on Yuehua's body seeing that no other action was required. Seeing the dog-sized Griffin with pitch-black feathers and talons and a lush pony's tail, beady golden eyes narrowed in comfort, Tang Hao and Dai Mu couldn't help but feel stunned.
"She is not a Clear Swallow anymore but a Clear Phoenix. This is what Brother Ka-ul helped me achieve and he still guides me often."
Yuehua looked at Ja Sun gratefully to which he returned with a polite nod.
"Clear Phoenix... what a wonderful Martial Soul," Tang Hao smiled but then he shook his head, "Tang Xiao should have come with us. But still, I won't ruin the surprise for others in the clan. However... you won't be participating in the competition, right?"
As much as Tang Hao believed in his sister's prospects, true talents of the current generation under the age of 30 or at this particular age-limit would have reached the ranks of Spirit Sage. Dai Taiyin, one of such individuals. After encountering Ja Sun and losing against him, Dai Taiyin and his fiancee: Princess Zhu Yin, had been training with more fervor than any of their teammates, resulting in a drastic rise of their cultivation. This coupled with the resources of the Empire and the years of research on the best way to cultivate their martial soul made Dai Taiyin's progress quicker, making him reach Rank 65 now.
This was a level of battle Tang Yuehua simply couldn't jump in.
"Regardless, she's going to be our backup member," Ja Sun spoke out, making Tang Hao frown. But he nodded instead of raising an argument.
"Brother Hao... you still need to rest." Dai Mu spoke with a troubled expression and Tang Hao sighed deeply.
"I should. My stomach is aching slightly," he grunted and Ja Sun offered them a place to stay temporarily. As the two of them retreated, the afternoon sun almost reaching its peak, everyone began to busy themselves with their tasks. Yuehua expanded her domain to let Ah Yin and Jun'er control their spirit energy. Liu Erlong, meanwhile, stuttered in front of Ja Sun.
"L-let's spar."
She looked away.
"Would that calm you down?" Ja Sun inquired calmly, standing up from his meditative stance and stretching his body.
For the most part, his combat system was almost completed. He had gentle tactics which suited his methods greatly. He even had a great movement technique and disastrous mental energy forms. When it came to Spirit Skills, the Silver Burst augmented his close combat techniques, the Silver Light Wings served to assist his movement techniques. The Bright World was simply a life-saving skill that countered any lock-on skills.
It could be said that while Bright Goddess Butterfly is not the most resourceful spirit beast out there, combined with the Three-eyed Silver Lion, she became one of Ja Sun's greatest Spirit Souls... well, he only had two.
On the other hand, Nightmare's Fantasy gave him more auxiliary skills aside from his fifth spirit ability: Heaven's Descent. From Illusion to Telepathy and cloning, everything had proved useful at times to Ja Sun and the group as a whole.
What Ja Sun truly lacked now was skills related to the other attribute he has an affinity with— Spatial.
Spirit (Energy), Light, and Spatial. These were his affinities. Out of them, the Spirit had proven to be the most dangerous since even Ja Sun dared not enhance the pace of cultivation of his teammates. The Light attribute was impressive since it helped in more ways than one. Spatial... Ja Sun lacked any specific skills for it aside from Yin-Yang True Illusion.
"Why are you staring at me like that?!" Liu Erlong instantly felt a little insecure, breaking Ja Sun out of his wishes of gaining a spatial skill. Shaking his head and clearing his thoughts, Ja Sun smiled, "Let's just practice. It's been a while since it was just the two of us sparring."
"Don't get any strange idea—" Before Liu Erlong could further fall into this pit of misunderstanding, a punch squarely struck her chest, propelling her back by a few meters as she scowled in pain.
"Are you daft?" Ja Sun inquired coldly, "We're sparring. Take your mind out of the gutter. Sink in it on your own time."
His cold words cleared her head. Instead of getting angered by the sudden strike, Liu Erlong nodded and a grin soon touched her lips.
---
"It is certainly impressive," Qian Daoliu replied calmly. After Qian Xunji's act of harming Ja Sun, the father-son Titled Douluos had separated in their paths despite being in the same organization. Qian Daoliu now strictly controlled all the Priests and didn't let anyone interfere with the political side of the Spirit Hall. Not that they did previously, but they had disciples of their own rooted deeply in the political side.
Qian Daoliu's actions forced the Priests to not assist their disciples in their endeavors. However, the father-son pair didn't shatter faces. They would still calmly exchange points but this time, Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu both would refrain from being personal in their advice.
"It is," Qian Xunji clenched his fists and opened them again. Leaning back on his chair, the Supreme Pontiff couldn't help but sigh in amazement.
"I could have never imagined that faith in itself compensates for enlightenment. It is wondrous how a single difference in a rank can make. As I am now... I could probably challenge the Seventh Priest."
Qian Daoliu silently looked at his son. He had been here but his method of achieving this rank was what made Qian Daoliu a genius in this path blocked only by his heritage instead.
"Father, the Spirit Cores you mentioned that I lack... the faith seems to be covering it up."
"But it is simpler... a core is related to one's personal fortunes and changes one's body permanently," Qian Daoliu replied dryly and continued, "But you're not planning to stop here, I suppose."
"No... now I need to find two individuals."
Qian Xunji removed the mask covering the right side of his face revealing his scar and spoke again, "With the martial soul having an evil attribute that summons Spirit Beasts... that little boy must have grown into quite an individual. However, Redstar and the Hint of Evil have failed to locate him. Most likely, the boy with his experience would have either entered the Slaughter City forever or would have died...
But the Dark Devilgod Tiger roams free. It needs to be taken out."
Qian Daoliu looked at his son and continued, "You're holding a grudge against a Spirit Beast?"
"A spirit beast with a human's intelligence. I feel it is right to hold a grudge," Qian Xunji chuckled as his scar felt warm and aching once again.
---
Being a teacher who liked not to interfere much, to become the Supreme Pontiff of the Spirit Hall, Qian Daoliu had left Qian Xunji on his own devices. While the political leader of the Spirit Hall— The Supreme Pontiff, is a role taken over by anyone capable, the seat of the Grand Priest is always passed down in Qian Daoliu's clan.
It was right to say that before even trying to vie for the position of the Supreme Pontiff, Qian Xunji wished to understand what aspect of the continent did this organization preside over.
The Spirit Masters.
Unlike the Tang Siblings or even Bibi Dong, Qian Xunji had spent his entire youth in the outside world. Except for Slaughter City which proved useless to visit given his Martial Soul's innate talents, Qian Xunji had explored the continent extensively. He came across many groups of spirit masters considered evil by society, but not many of them remain now.
He had his fair share of treachery, too. In fact, one of his greatest fortunes emerged from such a moment that allowed him to reach the ranks of a Titled Douluo, he took the position of the Supreme Pontiff, greatly eradicating the Evil Societies that had been hidden much deeper and changed the structure of the Organization itself.
Qian Xunji is the one who actually communicated with other leaders and it is under his leadership that the Spirit Hall had controlled the greatest number of Spirit Masters since its formation.
His achievements but a greater lack of innate talent made Qian Daoliu impart his son with one final inheritance. The 'Step forward.'
Qian Daoliu now had resources, personal strength, and a clear knowledge of the cultivation path. It was so simple that Qian Xunji had laughed with his father the day he was enlightened on some matters.
The answer was something that came easily to him— Keeping a good image.
That's it.
But Xunji had to start small. He began visiting smaller villages and personally awakened martial souls for others. Coincident or not, he discovered Bibi Dong.
Coincident or not, he, too, discovered Ja Sun.
When a Twin Martial Soul awakens, it is only one of them that reveals itself greatly and the other half is much quieter. Bibi Dong's primary Martial Soul was the Death Spider Emperor.
Ja Sun's was the Evil Title.
Unlike evil deeds, the Evil Attribute is an enigma to many including Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu. But there was a clear reason why Xunji chose to eradicate Ja Sun on the spot and accepted Bibi Dong.
Well, aside from the fact that Bibi Dong's situation was inherently complicated... and a part of something already in Xunji's calculations, the sight of the pitch-black eye tattoo on the back of Ja Sun's right palm made his martial soul...
Well, it did something, but Xunji wasn't capable of giving it a term aside from— disgust.
A great incompatibility was detected. His attack had almost instinctively caused a tiger's claw to pierce his head, something he evaded barely and from then on Qian Xunji had decided to keep the scar. It was a battle that even a Titled Douluo had to escape from. Later, Qian Xunji returned to the village only to find it destroyed but the boy had escaped while he was busy tackling the ravenous tiger at the time.
---
"He was scrawny as they come. Scratched and beaten. Probably bullied by other children of the village. Orphan, too, the Chief said and I remembered," Xunji chuckled, "Truly, dangerous individuals can be born anywhere and as they grow stronger, they would begin to challenge authority. It will lead to conflict and then grudges will be formed. There is no easy answer to conflict... aside from stating the obvious."
"What? Being a God?" Qian Daoliu stated impassively, "You can speak of it. Anybody can. After all, the end of our roads only reveals that there is another path still waiting to be crossed over. Thus, it is as I taught Bibi Dong once and you, too... there are no gods. Only stronger men and women."
"Who are titled gods and prayed to as such," Qian Xunji shook his head.
