A sudden inspiration struck Tang Lan!
Since spiritual power could be freely converted, could it be used directly for energy charging?
Tang Lan attempted to channel spiritual power directly into his Blue Silver Life Right Leg Bone.
—Failure.
Despite its high quality, spiritual power and life force were fundamentally different and could not be directly exchanged.
However!
He made an unexpected discovery—
With his Ultimate Life Attribute, the boost from spiritual power made his life force exceptionally strong.
And—
His recovery speed skyrocketed!
So, he tried something new—extracting his own life force for charging.
—Success.
Then, he used spiritual power to restore his lost life force.
—Also successful!
Just like that, he exploited a loophole—using his body as a conversion station, exchanging spiritual power for life force!
And the efficiency was insane—he was fully charged in just half a day!
Even though his Nine Yang Divine Art wasn't progressing in cultivation, its mana regeneration effect was still solid.
He still had more than half of his spiritual power left!
'Tsk!'
'Did I just become a human power bank?'
'But this is super convenient.'
With that thought, Tang Lan walked satisfied toward the entrance of Sunset Forest.
Arrogance at the Entrance
As he approached—
A noisy commotion reached his ears.
"What the hell are you arguing about?"
A loud, cocky voice shouted—
"Our Tang Sect Master is the great Tang Master, the creator of soul spirits!"
"Sealing off Sunset Forest for a few days of research—so what?"
"If you can wait, then wait. If you can't, then scram!"
"A bunch of trashy three-ring and four-ring soul masters—believe it or not, I'll blast you all with soul cannons!"
Tang Lan: (▄—▄)
How long was I gone?
And my Tang Sect is already 'corrupt' like this?
With a dark expression, Tang Lan flew over.
There, he saw two groups of Tang Sect disciples.
One group—about twenty people—sat meditating.
Their average rank was around 40, making them the backbone of the Tang Sect.
The other group blocked the entrance of Sunset Forest, preventing several times their number of soul masters from entering.
Some Tang Sect disciples had even set up Fire God Cannons.
Meanwhile, the blocked soul masters, though visibly furious, didn't dare speak up.
Tang Sect was at its peak.
How could scattered individuals dare to challenge it?
This only fueled the arrogance of the leading Tang Sect disciple, making his expression even more smug.
Even when someone tapped his shoulder, he brushed them off impatiently.
"Can't you see I'm disciplining these nobodies?"
"If you've got something to say, wait till I'm done!"
He didn't even turn his head, raising a hand to push the person away—
Only for his arm to be twisted behind his back, forcing him onto one knee!
"Ow, ow, ow!"
"Who the hell dares touch me?!"
"What are you all looking at?! Drag him away already!"
No matter how loudly he screamed,
The surrounding Tang Sect disciples remained silent.
Those manning the Fire God Cannons even hurriedly put them away in a panic.
Because the one holding him down was—
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
"Greetings, Sect Master!"
The chorus of respectful voices made the arrogant man go pale!
He struggled to look up—
And saw that handsome face he had only glimpsed from afar before.
His other knee hit the ground instantly.
"S-Sect Master! It's you!"
Tang Lan's face remained cold.
"What, do you plan to discipline me as well?"
"Who gave you the guts to act so arrogantly? Which Hall are you from?"
"I-I wouldn't dare!" He panicked. "I am Long Aotian, a Rank 54 Battle Soul King, from the Hidden Weapons Hall! I was personally promoted by Vice Sect Master Tang! I led the team to Sunset Forest for you, Sect Master!"
Long Aotian?
Hidden Weapons Hall?
Promoted by Tang San?
Suddenly, everything made sense.
Tang Lan couldn't even be bothered to talk anymore.
He injected spiritual power into Long Aotian's body—
Crushing his meridians effortlessly.
Then, with mental power, he shattered his soul power foundation, making recovery impossible.
And just like that, he tossed him aside like garbage.
Sweeping his gaze across the trembling disciples, he sneered—
"The Tang Sect has never been a place for bullying the weak!"
"Anyone who participated in today's oppression—go back to the Forging Hall and work for ten years!"
"Or, be expelled from the Tang Sect and have your meridians destroyed like him."
"You have thirty seconds to decide."
The guilty Tang Sect disciples shrank back like quails, heads hung low, too afraid to speak.
—After all, forging work was exhausting.
Tang Lan narrowed his eyes at the guilty Tang Sect disciples.
They might be punished, but at least they could stay in the Tang Sect and continue cultivating.
Naturally, none of them dared to resist.
Then, Tang Lan turned to the blocked civilian soul masters.
"Apologies, everyone."
"The Tang Sect has grown too quickly, and our disciple selection process has been lacking. We will be more strict in the future."
"As compensation, everyone present today may take this message to the Spirit Transmission Pagoda in Star Dou Forest and receive one compatible soul spirit for free."
As his words fell—
A series of beeping sounds echoed.
Tang Lan had used his personal account to send each of them a permit.
—License No. 0001.
No one could fake it.
Instantly—
The civilian soul masters were stunned.
They never expected that the legendary Tang Master would be so approachable and kind!
"Ah, it's really not a big deal…"
"Exactly! If anything, we should be thanking Tang Master—his Tang Sect Encyclopedia helped me break through!"
"Being eligible to receive a soul spirit… what incredible luck!"
"Tang Master has the heart of a true leader! We deeply admire you!"
Amidst the flood of praise—
Tang Lan suddenly noticed tiny wisps of faith energy drifting toward him!
Huh?
Right direction!
Immediately, he said—
"The Tang Sect will never condone bullying. I will personally add this to the Sect Rules."
"Additionally, we will establish a complaint department. If any Tang Sect disciples act unrighteously in the future, you may anonymously report them at any Tangli Newspaper sales point."
"All disciplinary actions will be publicly announced in the Tangli Newspaper."
"I hope everyone will help supervise and build a better Tang Sect together!"
The crowd froze.
…Wait.
Was he for real?
Tang Lan proved his sincerity with action.
He looked at the group of guilty disciples, sneering—
"Take these new sect rules back. Engrave them outside the Tang Sect compound."
"Leave enough space—we'll be adding more in the future."
"Now get lost."
The group fled as if granted amnesty,
Leaving behind a stunned crowd of onlookers.
He was serious?!
Ah, this…
The faith energy floating toward Tang Lan tripled in an instant!
—How could people not love such a righteous and fair Tang Master?
A Little Fan's Wish
"Tang Master."
A young, admiring voice called out.
"I love your Tang Sect Encyclopedia! I've memorized the first two volumes. Can I have your autograph?"
Tang Lan turned—
To see a small girl, about 8 or 9 years old.
The faith energy radiating from her was the strongest among everyone present.
A hardcore fan, no doubt.
"Oh?" Tang Lan smiled. "Then let me test you—what is whale gum used for?"
The crowd chuckled.
Wasn't this a freebie question?
Sure enough—
The little girl answered fluently, nearly reciting the original text.
"Not bad, not bad." Tang Lan nodded in satisfaction.
He took out his personal collector's edition of the Tang Sect Encyclopedia—
A special edition made by the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, its cover inlaid with gemstones.
He quickly signed his name and handed it to the girl.
"Take this book and enroll at the Tang Sect Academy."
The little girl's eyes sparkled with joy!
She clutched the book tightly, unable to believe her luck.
Her elder beside her, however, realized it instantly—
—This was a life-changing opportunity!
"Child, kneel and thank Sect Master Tang!"
The little girl immediately dropped to her knees and bowed to Tang Lan.
Tang Lan was about to stop her—
Until he noticed—
The faith energy radiating from her surged even more!
His eyebrows lifted!
It seemed… he had found a way to quickly accumulate faith energy.
So far—
Most of the faith energy he had received came from direct, face-to-face interactions.
If it came from farther away, it seemed to have some sort of limitation.
This called for further testing to figure out how to harvest even more faith energy.
(End of Chapter)
Notes-You can read advanced chapters in patreon.com/Shadow_D_X