Tang San had been training diligently, never stopping for even a moment. This new method of training—sensing the wild Blue Silver Grass—made him feel as though he had stumbled upon some kind of cipher. What exactly it was would only become clear after a period of cultivation and the changes that followed.
The Great Master listened to Tang San's explanation and smiled. "Very well, you should head back first. As for the others, let them be. The competitions these past days have been exhausting enough. Let them rest. Remember to change your clothes before going out, and be careful on the road."
"Alright." Tang San smiled and agreed. The Great Master's words brought him a fatherly warmth and concern. He bowed slightly to the Great Master, and without disturbing anyone else watching the competition, quietly slipped out through the back.
The students of Shrek Academy were all engrossed in watching the competition, and no one noticed Tang San's departure.
On the other side of the competitors' viewing stand, however, a pair of gloomy eyes had been fixed on Tang San the entire time. When Tang San vanished from the stand, those dark, brooding eyes vanished along with him.
After changing, Tang San quietly slipped out of the Tian Dou Grand Spirit Fighting Arena.
Outside the arena, it was relatively quiet apart from a few spectators who hadn't managed to buy tickets and some scalpers peddling their wares.
Leaving the arena, Tang San strode quickly in the direction of Shrek Academy. His mind was occupied with thoughts of how to grow even stronger, and with the mystery behind the transformation of his Blue Silver Grass.
It was still morning, the sunlight bright and warm, casting a pleasant warmth over his body. Tang San enjoyed this feeling of bathing in the sun, walking and contemplating matters of cultivation at the same time. His whole body relaxed, giving him an indescribable comfort.
For some reason, the road felt a bit longer than usual today. Even though he was immersed in thoughts about the split-attention control technique, he had the feeling that he should have already reached the academy by now.
But when he looked up, it seemed there was still a considerable distance to go before he arrived at the academy.
Could it be that I'm walking slower today? Tang San furrowed his brow and quickened his pace.
As he walked, Tang San's steps gradually slowed. Deep down, he had already sensed something amiss.
The sunlight was clearly falling on him, yet the warmth had vanished. Instead, a faint chill seemed to be creeping in silently from all directions.
He slowed to a stop, and a sharp, alert gleam flickered in Tang San's eyes. Everything around him seemed unchanged—pedestrians passed by in an unbroken stream. He wasn't far from Shrek Academy from here.
Was I overthinking things? Tang San turned to look back at the road he had traveled, his sharp gaze sweeping over the surrounding pedestrians, but he found nothing out of the ordinary. Everything seemed perfectly normal.
Composing himself, Tang San resumed walking forward, though the Mysterious Heaven Skill had already begun to gather unconsciously within him.
He trusted his instincts deeply. Ever since his trial within the Ice-Fire Yin Yang Eye, this intuition had become especially acute. His keen senses caused the thread of unease in his heart to grow steadily larger.
But his composed temperament kept him from speeding up again. Instead, he advanced at a slow, measured pace while extending his perception as far as possible, searching for any clue of what might be lurking nearby.
After a short while, Tang San suddenly halted. His expression had turned grave. Something was wrong. There was definitely something wrong.
Though his perception had detected nothing, Tang San's mind was extraordinarily meticulous. From the first time he had stopped to now, he had taken exactly six hundred and five steps. Under normal circumstances, he should have arrived at the gates of Shrek Academy by now.
Yet from the looks of it, there was still a fair distance to the academy's gates. A person's stride might vary somewhat, but the difference should never be this great.
Although he didn't know why this was happening, Tang San immediately went on high alert. The Zhuge Divine Crossbow appeared in his grasp in an instant. Ignoring the fact that there were still passersby around him, he directly summoned his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul.
From that faint aura of chill, a subtle killing intent was seeping through. It was the kind of killing aura that could threaten a person's life.
The surroundings suddenly fell silent. The sounds that should have been present on the street had all vanished at the same moment.
The scenery before his eyes seemed to be shrouded in a thin veil, everything becoming hazy and indistinct.
A faint, ghostly figure gradually became clearer about ten meters in front of Tang San.