Tang San's cultivation session lasted a long time this time, with only a brief break to grab a quick dinner with Xiao Wu. The extended training had two reasons. First, his Mysterious Heaven Skill had already reached the late stages of what was equivalent to Soul Power level twenty-nine, and he was on the cusp of breaking through to level thirty. So he trained with extra diligence, hoping to advance to level thirty as quickly as possible so he could set out to find his third Soul Ring.
The second reason was closely tied to his encounter with Dai Mubai. Dai Mubai had effectively reminded Tang San that no matter how refined one's techniques, they needed solid strength to back them up. In their fight, before either had summoned their Martial Soul, Tang San had used the subtlety of his Crane Control Dragon Catch and the unique properties of his Mysterious Jade Hand to give Dai Mubai a bit of trouble. But once Dai Mubai summoned his White Tiger Martial Soul and merged with it, Tang San's Crane Control Dragon Catch could hardly make a difference. That was the gap in raw power.
After carefully analyzing and assessing Dai Mubai's strength, Tang San realized that if he wanted to truly defeat him, the best approach was to raise his Soul Power as quickly as possible, bringing it closer to Dai Mubai's level. At the very least, he needed a third Soul Ring skill before he could hold his own. Even his Hidden Weapons would see a dramatic boost in power with the support of a higher level of the Mysterious Heaven Skill.
"Little San, Big Brother, come out and play with me, won't you?" Xiao Wu couldn't help but complain one morning while Tang San was eating breakfast. "Staying cooped up in the room all the time — don't you get bored out of your mind?"
Tang San smiled. "I'm not like you. You're blessed with extraordinary talent — you can keep getting stronger even without much training. I'm just a slow bird that has to fly early. You saw it yourself, Dai Mubai is also a student of Shrek Academy, and look at his level. If there's one student like him, there could easily be a second or a third. Shrek Academy is nothing like our old Nuoding Academy — it's not going to be a place where you can call all the shots anymore. If I don't push myself to get stronger, how am I supposed to keep my promise of protecting you?"
Xiao Wu pouted unhappily without another word, simply clutching Tang San's arm and staring at him with her large eyes full of grievance. Her expression made it perfectly clear — if he didn't agree to take her out, she wasn't letting go.
Tang San truly had no way of dealing with her. He nodded helplessly. "Fine. We're not registering at Shrek Academy until tomorrow anyway. I'll take you out for a stroll, but we have to be back by noon. You can't interrupt my cultivation again this afternoon."
"Deal." Xiao Wu's crisp voice rang with delight, and the look of grievance in her eyes vanished as if by magic. Her acting skills had long since reached a level of masterful perfection.
The service at the Rose Hotel was excellent. When Tang San and Xiao Wu headed out, they happened to see a server pushing a cart full of fresh roses. Upon asking, they learned that the red roses in their Red Ocean suite were actually replaced every single day. Roses might not be worth much individually, but in such quantities, the cost added up to quite a sum. Tang San casually inquired about the room rates and only then realized just how wise his decision had been yesterday to let that Manager Wang have the room free of charge for a few days.
Once outside the Rose Hotel, Tang San asked Xiao Wu, "Where do you want to go?"
Xiao Wu made a carefree expression. "Anywhere is fine. Just wandering around, doesn't matter where. As long as I'm not stuck in that room."
Back in Nuoding, she'd always had a whole entourage of followers around her — she'd been like a little queen. The former student boss, Xiao Chenyu, had long since graduated and moved on to an intermediate Soul Master academy, but his family had considerable influence in Nuoding City. He'd been genuinely impressed by Xiao Wu and had naturally asked his family to look out for her. So in Nuoding, Xiao Wu had lived like a fish in water.
Accustomed to the bustle, she was now stuck with only Tang San for company, and naturally found it a bit hard to adjust.
The two strolled leisurely toward the city center. Sotuo City truly deserved its status as a major city — even though it was still morning, the streets already buzzed with prosperity and life.
The pace of life here was noticeably faster than in the leisurely Nuoding City. Most of the passersby wore hurried expressions.
Shops of every variety lined the streets in dazzling profusion. After Xiao Wu dragged Tang San through several clothing stores, he was already feeling a bit dizzy.
Fortunately, Xiao Wu fully embodied the spirit of window shopping — looking at everything and buying nothing — so their shared wallet didn't take too much of a hit.
Prices in Sotuo City were at least thirty percent higher than in Nuoding City, particularly for goods, though the quality was correspondingly better. This was partly because Nuoding was a border city; any small inland town would have even less to compare with Sotuo City.
"Hey, Little San, look over there!" Xiao Wu suddenly exclaimed with surprise. Outside, she usually called him Little San — only when they were alone did she call him Big Brother, which she called their little secret. Tang San didn't mind either way and just let her be.
"Another clothing shop? Miss, shouldn't we find somewhere to eat lunch and head back?" Tang San pointed at the sun, which was nearly at its zenith.
Xiao Wu tugged his hand, bouncing along happily. "Just look — look! That place seems to be related to Soul Masters."
Only then did Tang San follow her pointing finger. Not far ahead stood a small shop — modest in size, but its hanging signboard was quite unlike anything else.
The sign displayed a circular emblem with several distinctive symbols engraved upon it. An ordinary person might not understand their meaning, but Tang San and Xiao Wu did. Those symbols were identical to the ones on Spirit Hall's tokens.
A sword, a hammer, and a Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon. Together, the three symbols matched the Spirit Hall authorization token the Great Master had shown them. Tang San couldn't understand why they would appear on a shop's signboard.
(End of Chapter)