In the outer region of the Star Dou Great Forest.
Tang Hao sat wearily on a tree stump. His condition was terrible—his left leg was broken, his entire body was covered in wounds torn open by sword aura, and his tattered clothing was soaked in blood. His breathing was weak, his presence fragile to the extreme.
Nearby, Tang San and Xiao Wu lay unconscious, though they bore few visible injuries. It was clear that Tang Hao had taken the brunt of the damage.
After a while, both Tang San and Xiao Wu awoke at nearly the same time.
When Tang San saw the state his father was in, his voice trembled with emotion.
"Dad… your… your leg… your wounds…"
His eyes burned with fury.
"Damn the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and that Xuyang! All of you have brought this upon yourselves!"
The last sentence was spoken through clenched teeth, overflowing with hatred.
"Don't worry. These injuries won't kill me."
Tang Hao weakly shook his head, then turned to Xiao Wu. His voice was deep and gravelly.
"You should leave now. This is the outskirts of the Star Dou Forest. You should be able to return home soon."
Tang San immediately grew agitated.
"Why, Dad?!"
"Because you don't have the strength to protect her,"
Tang Hao said bluntly.
"And right now, she's in a vulnerable rebirth state. She won't be able to hide her identity from a Spirit Douluo. Why do you think Ning Fengzhi set his sights on her in the first place? It's because the Spirit Douluo secretly protecting that little girl noticed what she really was."
Tang San fell silent. Because it was true—he was too weak to protect Xiao Wu.
"We're lucky it wasn't Spirit Hall that came this time. If it had been a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall, even I wouldn't have been able to save all of you."
"What do you mean?!"
Tang San frowned.
Tang Hao said slowly,
"Due to the auxiliary nature of their martial spirits, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan is different from other sects. Their actions tend to be measured and restrained. That's why they only sent Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin this time—not both Sword and Bone Douluo."
"At first, they only wanted to negotiate. They offered me conditions that any other power would have accepted in exchange for giving up Xiao Wu."
"But you're my son. As your father, I didn't want you to repeat my fate. That's why I refused. And that's how the battle broke out."
"Chen Xin has already reached Rank 98. I'm only at Rank 95. I'm no match for him—not even with the Great Sumeru Hammer, a technique akin to a divine skill."
"Had I not lost my temper and attacked that young man first, Chen Xin might not have retaliated with such a destructive strike."
"In the end, the blame still falls on me."
"No, Dad!"
Tang San shouted, deeply upset.
"This isn't your fault! If Xuyang hadn't tried to capture Xiao Wu, you wouldn't have had to attack him in the first place!"
Tang Hao looked at Tang San, then shook his head.
"If I weren't your father… if it weren't for your mother… then even I, upon seeing a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast like Xiao Wu, would've made the same choice as Ning Fengzhi."
Xiao Wu lowered her head at those words. She understood too well the temptation a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring and spirit bone represented to a Spirit Master.
Maybe Tang San's father only spared me because of the bond between me and San-ge…
But the next moment, she realized she was wrong.
"You may not have noticed it earlier,"
Tang Hao said slowly,
"But the moment that sacrifice formation appeared, your mother's image flashed through my mind, along with memories of what happened back then. That's what truly enraged me."
"I don't know how that boy managed to interrupt the sacrifice ritual, but I still attacked him immediately—and I used the Great Sumeru Hammer. From another's perspective, it was a despicable act."
Tang San's mind spun. He thought back to that gentle, warm sensation he'd felt after his reincarnation and couldn't help blurting out:
"Dad, who was my mother? And what really happened back then?"
Hearing this, Tang Hao froze slightly. It seemed his emotions had made him talk too much. His face turned serious.
"Until you meet the standard I've set for you, I won't tell you the truth about what happened."
Xiao Wu, on the other hand, had already guessed Tang San's mother's identity.
"Enough. Xiao Wu, it's time for you to leave.
As for you, San… you'll train with me. You won't be allowed to leave until you reach the standard I demand."
Meanwhile, at the top floor of the Seven Treasure Hotel in Suotuo City…
Xuyang sat at a desk, carefully transcribing the contents of the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record into simplified characters. Every stroke was meticulous—he couldn't afford to make a mistake.
As for the mechanical hidden weapon blueprints included in the record, he had already handed all of them over to Ning Fengzhi to take back and arm the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
Tang San, perhaps due to his desire to rebuild the Tang Sect, had recorded everything in the Treasure Record in full detail—even human meridian charts and descriptions of every acupuncture point.
There were also numerous widely circulated martial arts techniques like Golden Bell Shield, Iron Shirt, and Arhat Fist.
But the things that thrilled Xuyang most were:
Mysterious Heaven Skill
Mysterious Jade Hands
Purple Demon Eye
The Mysterious Heaven Skill went without saying—it was vital to whether Xuyang could complete his inner alchemy technique before reaching Rank 70. The ninth stage, in particular, which included Three Flowers Gather at the Crown and Five Qi Towards the Origin, was key.
The Purple Demon Eye needed no introduction either. Not only could it strengthen his Sun Golden Eyes, but once cultivated to the mustard seed level, it would greatly enhance his perception on a microscopic scale.
Maybe, just maybe… with this technique, Xuyang could achieve control comparable to the terrifying fourth stage of the Gene Lock.
What truly surprised him, however, was the Mysterious Jade Hands.
At first, he'd thought it was just a basic hand-conditioning technique. But after seeing the complete training method, he could only scold Tang San for wasting its potential.
The true nature of Mysterious Jade Hands was actually a bone-forging technique. It strengthened the hands, made them as tough as stone and as resilient as cold jade, and even conferred resistance to all poisons.
Before reaching mastery, using the technique would tint one's hands with a jade-like sheen. Once mastered, the hands would look entirely normal—just like those of an average person.
The hallmark of mastery was bones refined like jade.
Xuyang considered it foolish that Tang San had treated this as merely a technique to strengthen his hands—never thinking to apply it to his entire skeleton.
If hands could be trained this way, then the whole body could be. To Xuyang, Mysterious Jade Hands was one of the most advanced physical conditioning techniques he had ever seen.
As for Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Xuyang would learn them, but not study them in depth like the others.
He also planned to learn the hidden weapon techniques recorded in Hundred Techniques of Hidden Weapons, especially the top five ranked methods. Not only would they expand his arsenal, they would also help him defend against Tang San's future attacks.
After transcribing the entire Treasure Record, Xuyang double-checked every character to ensure accuracy, then began his research.
Of course, he wouldn't abandon his Sun spirit power for the sake of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
His plan was to treat Sun spirit power as the foundation—then integrate the principles of the Mysterious Heaven Skill into it, ultimately refining it into a completely new cultivation technique.
PS: Read Advance Chapters at https://www.patreon.com/c/ReadJin