Soul Land 5: The Rebirth of Tang San

Chapter 128: Next Time? There Will Be No Next Time.

Chapter 128: Next Time? There Will Be No Next Time.

Zhang Haoxuan said, "A minor issue, but it's okay. Indeed, they've overextended their spiritual power and are now resting."

Guan Longjiang became visibly anxious. "What happened, exactly?”

Zhang Haoxuan smiled wryly. "These kids are quite a handful. But it's not their fault, probably just bad luck."

Mu Yunyu frowned. "Weren't they with Du Bai? Although the third-order Celestial Fox Vision doesn't have a direct effect, it should be able to influence luck, right? How could they be unlucky?"

Zhang Haoxuan's mouth twitched. "Is it excellent luck to encounter a Winged Tiger King right at the edge of its territory? It wasn’t just the kids. I myself almost didn't make it back either."

He then broadly recounted the experiences of Tang San and the others on their journey, without omissions.

As the head of the Redemption Academy and the mayor of Kali Academy Town, he had to make sure that everyone in his team was well aware of everything that was going on.

Listening to his story, Mu Yunyu's face lost color, and the others also showed drastic changes in their expressions.

"Almost...they were almost completely wiped out!" Guan Longjiang said with a trembling voice.

Mu Enqing remained silent, while Mu Yunyu exclaimed, "How could you agree to let them go in the first place? If that had happened..."

Si Ru snorted coldly. "The main issue is that a certain someone here is rather useless. If it had been me, even if it were the Winged Tiger King, I'd still bring back its corpse. It's just that I prefer not to reveal myself. We can't just dispose of a ninth-tier demonic beast's corpse easily. It would raise too many suspicions."

He was one of the few god-level powerhouses in the entire Redemption Society, and there were no god-level beasts among the demonic beasts, so his claim wasn't an exaggeration.

Zhang Haoxuan replied irritably, “Then, you should go next time."

“Next time?" Guan Longjiang's voice instantly became agitated, "Zhang Haoxuan, what kind of foolish decision is this? Do you realize, this time..."

Guan Longjiang's roaring voice was like a stormy baptism for the mayor. Despite his twitching lips, Zhang Haoxuan could only listen in silence.

***

Cheng Zicheng stuck out her tongue and turned to Tang San, asking, "Tang, do you think Brother Gu Li and Du Bai will wake up? They won’t..."

Tang San shook his head, "They'll be fine. It's just spiritual exhaustion. Their Demonic God Transformation is not just physical, and their abilities require spiritual power. It’s not like they were hit by a spiritual attack, all they did was overexert their Demonic God Transformation. That means they've just drained themselves, and their essence was not harmed. I think the reason they’re sleeping right now is just their instincts acting so they can heal faster. Haven’t you noticed their pulse and breath are very stable?"

"Right, it would be great if they could wake up. Just hope nothing bad happens!" Cheng Zicheng clasped her hands and prayed to the sky.

Tang San said, "Praying to the sky is useless. Whoever or whatever is there doesn’t really seem to love humans."

Cheng Zicheng paused for a moment. "That's true. So, what should we do?"

Tang San said, "When the opportunity arises, we'll break through this sky and write new rules."

Cheng Zicheng rolled her eyes. "You're really talking big, aren’t you? I'm heading back. I don't want to get caught and scolded by the teachers."

With these words, she turned and ran off.

Wu Bingji, who had been silent by the side, spoke up after she left, "Little Tang, how should we handle our spoils from this time? Should we take inventory?"

Tang San smiled. "No need, no need. Senior brother, you handle it. Just convert it all into money and distribute it among the team. We can do it this way: although we killed both Winged Tigers, the mayor saved us by holding off the Winged Tiger King. Without him, we would have been goners. Let's give him half of the earnings from the tigress. The rest, we can split equally among the five of us."

Wu Bingji thought for a moment. "That sounds good. I'll handle it these next few days. We need to divide it properly. I think we don't need to sell everything. Let's keep the Winged Tiger meat for ourselves. Tiger meat is very nourishing. Tiger bones can be used for medicinal wine or soup to strengthen muscles and bones. We can use it for everyone. What do you think?"

"That sounds great. Let's all eat the tiger meat together."

Although Wu Bingji was fond of money, he was not greedy. As the eldest senior brother, he always considered the whole picture. This adventure was indeed thrilling, and the rewards were also immense. Among these gains, Tang San undoubtedly contributed the most, by teaching them the Flicking Dart and Disorder Wind Splitting Hammer techniques during their journey and turning the tide in dire situations. Next to Tang San, the one with the most significant contribution was naturally Wu Bingji, who had the highest cultivation level.

Thus, Wu Bingji first sought Tang San's opinion when dividing the spoils. Seeing Tang San's generosity, he was also happy to go along.

Of course, it wouldn't be fair to the five who risked their lives to distribute all the gains among all the students in the academy. However, setting aside a portion of the demonic beast's meat and bones to nourish everyone was a sensible decision. After all, the Redemption Society was exactly what its name said, a society. A community. In the face of the demons and nymphs, humans were too weak. Only by progressing together could they enhance their survival capabilities.

After parting with Wu Bingji, Tang San noticed the ongoing commotion near the distant cafeteria. Poor mayor, he thought with a hint of amusement.

Returning to his room, Tang San reflected on the unexpected nature of their recent adventure. He was willing to take risks because he wanted to enhance his strength rapidly, but if he had known they would encounter an eighth-order and a ninth-order demonic beast on the same expedition, he would not have taken that particular risk. Did they really have such terrible luck or was it something else?

Fortunately, the outcome was in their favor.

He had advanced to the sixth order through this experience—the second time that the result of a close brush with death had brought him from the verge of a breakthrough into the next level. The first, of course, was defeating the Lord of Wind Wolf Town, which allowed him to break through from the fourth order to the fifth. His advancement speed was phenomenal.

However, Tang San was acutely aware that he would no longer be able to make such significant advancements, at least for a while. Not because he couldn’t cultivate anymore or that his normal cultivation rate would slow down, but rather because his body was beginning to struggle to keep up with his current cultivation.

After all, he was only nine years old, and his body was not fully developed, especially since he had suffered from malnutrition in his early years.

Looking to break through from the sixth to the seventh order represented a significant leap. It was a qualitative transformation that would allow him to enter the realm of high-order Demonic God Transformation. To achieve this transformation, he needed to reach the necessary level of strength and ensure that his body could withstand this power.

Thus, Tang San’s focus in the following period was to consolidate his existing abilities and better coordinate them. He aimed to elevate the tiers of his bloodline imprints and, most importantly, to toughen his body. He needed to develop his physique further and strengthen his bones and muscles, ensuring a more robust constitution capable of sustaining the tremendous energy he would acquire in the future.

The Mysterious Heaven Technique offered excellent nourishment, and the demonic beast meat and bones they had acquired were also highly beneficial for bodily nourishment. Tang San had already planned how to use the money they earned. Part of it he intended to give to someone he cherished, and the other portion would be used to purchase spiritual herbs for body tempering.

The small store in the Redemption Academy had quite a few good items, and although he had lacked the funds before, and he couldn’t reveal the money he had anyway, he would soon have even more money and an excuse to spend them. With sufficient funds, he could acquire some valuable items.

During the two-day journey back, Tang San had recovered substantially from his previous injuries. His cultivation at the sixth order had also stabilized. His body was now filled with a robust amount of energy, and his meridians felt full. This was another reason why Tang San realized that he might not be able to make another breakthrough quickly.