Chapter 100: Tang Hao's Scheme
"Master, what do you mean by impossible?" Tang Hao immediately sensed Yu Xiaogang's loss of composure.
The Grandmaster stared at Bai Yan's martial soul a few more times to confirm he wasn't mistaken. Although it appeared slightly different, it was undeniably Blue Silver Grass.
"I once—at the Spirit Hall…"
"Spirit Hall?" Tang Hao frowned.
The Grandmaster realized he had misspoken and hurriedly corrected himself.
"I once investigated… In the past century, among six hundred and forty-seven people with the Blue Silver Grass martial soul, only sixteen possessed soul power. Not even three percent."
"And even among these sixteen people with soul power, not a single one had innate soul power above rank one."
"With such low innate soul power, reaching the level of a Soul Master is already difficult. Yet your wife cultivated all the way to the four-ring Soul Ancestor. That is why I said it's impossible!"
Tang Hao's brows knitted together. Seeing his expression, Bai Yan felt panic rise in her heart.
Her cultivation reaching its current level relied on two reasons:
First, she had previously devoured the cultivation of others—after all, consuming others was far faster than training herself.
Second, Ah Yin had helped her undergo a second awakening of her martial soul, drastically increasing her cultivation speed.
Tang Hao had trained in the Slaughter City, so Bai Yan naturally understood the existence of "Fallen" soul masters.
After being with him, she forcefully suppressed the devouring instinct of her martial soul.
Thankfully, Ah Yin helped her awaken the Blue Silver King martial soul. That noble king's aura suppressed the fallen aura—otherwise, Tang Hao would have discovered her true nature long ago.
Now that Yu Xiaogang had brought it up, how could she remain calm?
Tang Hao, inheritor of the Clear Sky Sect—how could he ever be with a Fallen one?
"Master, can't Yan'er simply be the special exception?" Tang Hao asked.
The Grandmaster shook his head with absolute confidence. "Impossible!"
In his heart, he thought: How could the Spirit Hall's records be wrong?
At this moment, to prevent Tang Hao from misunderstanding, Bai Yan finally couldn't hold back.
"Hao… Master… My martial soul was originally just an ordinary Blue Silver Grass. It was my teacher who helped me undergo a second awakening."
"All of my achievements today are thanks to my teacher."
Although Ah Yin never acknowledged the three of them as her disciples, they had long regarded her as their teacher.
"A second awakening?" The Grandmaster's eyes widened.
If Blue Silver Grass could awaken again… then could his Luo Sanpao awaken too?
He instantly saw the hope of breaking his bottleneck, becoming a true powerhouse, and slapping the faces of his clan and the Spirit Hall.
"Yan'er, why didn't you ever tell me this before?" Tang Hao asked with interest.
"Sorry, Hao… I didn't mean to hide it. It's just that my teacher prefers seclusion and avoids meeting people."
The real reason Bai Yan hadn't said anything was simple—Ah Yin was far too beautiful.
Even with only one-third of Ah Yin's beauty, she had already captivated Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. If they ever saw Ah Yin herself, their souls would be stolen on the spot.
The Grandmaster asked eagerly, "Madam Tang, how exactly did your martial soul awaken again?"
To clear herself of suspicion as a Fallen one, Bai Yan recounted the events.
"My teacher used her Blue Silver Grass martial soul to resonate with the Blue Silver Grass and other plant-type soul beasts in the forest."
"That power flowed into my body, awakening my martial soul. Oh—my martial soul now is actually the Blue Silver King!"
"Blue Silver King?" The Grandmaster suddenly remembered a soul beast encyclopedia he'd read in the Spirit Hall.
"That's right! I remember now—your martial soul is indeed the Blue Silver King!"
"But if your teacher helped you awaken your martial soul, then what level must her Blue Silver Grass be?" he muttered.
Tang Hao and the Grandmaster exchanged a glance, and both thought of the same possibility.
The emperor among the Blue Silver Grass soul beasts—the Blue Silver Emperor.
Only that level of Blue Silver Grass could help awaken Bai Yan's martial soul.
And someone capable of such a feat… Ah Yin was likely not even human. She might be a legendary human-form soul beast.
Otherwise, how could she command other Blue Silver Grass soul beasts to awaken someone else's martial soul?
Thinking of this, Tang Hao's heart surged with excitement.
He was already above rank eighty. If his ninth soul ring could be a hundred-thousand-year one, how overwhelmingly strong would he become?
Yu Xiaogang only thought of the Blue Silver Emperor but never considered a human-form soul beast—because he didn't even know such a thing existed.
After chatting with Yu Xiaogang for a while, Tang Hao couldn't wait any longer and pulled Bai Yan away in a hurry.
"Yan'er, tell me—what's your teacher's cultivation level?" Tang Hao asked anxiously.
Bai Yan thought for a moment. "I don't know. We haven't contacted her for several years."
Tang Hao pressed further. "Then, when you last separated from your teacher, what level had she reached?"
"I remember she broke through to the Soul Emperor realm, and then she sent us down the mountain to train."
"Hahaha, excellent! Heaven itself is helping me!" Tang Hao burst into excitement.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast in human form needed to reach the Soul Emperor realm to fully mature and conceal its soul beast aura.
And the teacher Bai Yan spoke of matched this condition perfectly.
By borrowing Bai Yan's "popularity," she cultivated to the Soul Emperor realm. After achieving that, Bai Yan and the others were no longer useful, so she drove them down the mountain.
Bai Yan asked in confusion, "Hao, why are you laughing?"
Tang Hao shook his head. He couldn't reveal the truth—it would ruin the heroic image he had in her heart.
"It's nothing! Just remembered something that makes me happy!"
"Yan'er, when we return to the sect this time, let's finally hold our wedding."
"You don't have any family left… why don't we invite your teacher to witness our happiness?"
Bai Yan frowned. She truly didn't want Tang Hao to meet Ah Yin—a woman of such otherworldly beauty.
But she was already pregnant. Surely Tang Hao would take responsibility and not fall for another woman… right?
"Hao, thank you. I'll try to contact my teacher. If I can't reach her… It's fine. I'm already very happy."
"No. We must invite her!" Tang Hao said harshly.
Bai Yan flinched at his raised voice. Realizing his tone was too heavy, Tang Hao quickly softened it.
"Yan'er, there's only one wedding in life. Having your teacher attend would make our union truly complete."
Only then did Bai Yan breathe out in relief. "Hao, you scared me just now."
"I'll make sure my teacher attends our union ceremony!" Bai Yan said.
Her martial soul had been awakened a second time by Ah Yin, so she could sense that Ah Yin was still alive.
This was the Blue Silver Silver's innate connection to the Blue Silver Emperor. If Ah Yin died, all Blue Silver Grass soul beasts would sense it.
Just as the Blue Silver King residing in the Blue Silver Forest always knew Ah Yin's life or death.
However, Bai Yan had no idea where Ah Yin was. Finding her was far from simple.
One month later, after traveling thousands of miles with Tang Hao, Bai Yan finally found her two junior sisters.
They had visited the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well, Heaven Dou City, and many other places, yet there was still no sign of their teacher.
"Hao, having my two junior sisters witness our happiness is good enough. Why don't we stop looking?" Bai Yan suggested.
Tang Hao shook his head. "No. We must find her."
"But… our child is getting bigger every day. Won't all this traveling affect its growth?" Bai Yan asked.
"No. We're soul masters—our bodies aren't that fragile."
A hundred-thousand-year soul ring is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. How could he possibly give up?
Bai Yan couldn't understand. Was her teacher's presence really that important? She felt Tang Hao had changed… as if he no longer loved her as deeply.
'If I'd known earlier, I should've married Big Brother instead,' Bai Yan thought.
Back then, both Tang Xiao and Tang Hao pursued her. She chose Tang Hao only because Tang Xiao said Tang Hao would be the next sect master of the Clear Sky Sect.
With the protection of a Sect Master, she could freely use her martial soul's devouring ability to raise her cultivation in the future.
But now Tang Hao lived like a wanderer, while Tang Xiao had returned to the sect and seemed likely to take over leadership.
It was already set in stone—unless Tang Hao died, she could never remarry.
Thinking this, a flash of ferocity flickered across Bai Yan's heart. She had once walked the path of a Fallen soul master; she was far from the gentle woman she appeared to be.
"Hao, I understand. I'll find my teacher!" Bai Yan said.
Tang Hao nodded. "Good. Let's keep searching. Think carefully—where else might she appear?"
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End of Chapter