Chapter 2: Chapter 1: Soul Land, Otherworldly Tang San (1)_1

Translator: 549690339

“`

Soul Land, in the southwest of Tiandou Empire, Fasno Province.

Sanctuary Soul Village, if one were only to hear its name, would certainly find it quite astonishing. However, in reality, it’s just a small village with a little over three hundred households located to the south of Nordin City in Fasno Province. The reason for being named Sanctuary Soul is because, according to legend, a Soul Sage level Soul Master emerged from this place a hundred years ago. This has always been Sanctuary Soul Village’s everlasting pride.

Outside Sanctuary Soul Village lies vast expanses of farmland, whose grain and vegetables are supplied to Nordin City. Although Nordin City is not considered a large city within Fasno Province, its proximity to the border with another empire makes it one of the starting points for trade between the two great empires, contributing to its prosperity. Consequently, this also enhances the living standards of civilians in the surrounding villages compared to other areas.

Dawn was just breaking, with a hint of pale fish-belly white rising in the east, when a slender figure appeared atop a small hill, only a hundred meters high, near Sanctuary Soul Village.

It was a child, no more than five or six years old. Clearly, he often basked in the warmth of the sun, as his skin was a healthy wheat color, complemented by short black hair that looked neat and tidy. His clothes were simple, yet clean.

For a child his age, climbing a hundred-meter hill was no easy task, but curiously, when he reached the summit, he showed no signs of flushed face or shortness of breath, appearing completely at ease.

The boy settled down at the top of the hill, his eyes fixed intently on the gradually brightening fish-belly white to the east. He breathed slowly in through the nose and out through the mouth, inhaling and exhaling gently to form a beautiful cycle.

All of a sudden, his eyes widened as a faint purple qi seemed to flash across the fish-belly white on the distant horizon. If one did not possess exceptional eyesight and concentration, it would be impossible to notice its presence.

The appearance of the purple qi brought the boy’s attention into sharp focus. He didn’t even exhale anymore but continued to inhale slowly and softly while keeping his eyes locked onto the fleeting purple hue.

The purple qi did not last long. As the pale fish-belly white was gradually overpowered by the rising sun’s hues, the purple qi had completely vanished.

Only then did the boy slowly close his eyes and let out a long breath of turbid air. A stream of white breath, like a ribbon, exhaled from his mouth and slowly dispersed.

After sitting in meditation for a while, the boy opened his eyes again. Perhaps because of the contact with the purple qi in the sky, his eyes showed a faint layer of purple light. Though this purple hue did not linger long before fading quietly away, it was very clear while it lasted.

Letting out a dejected sigh, the boy made an expression of helplessness that should not have been on someone his age. Shaking his head, he muttered to himself, “Still no success, my Mysterious Heaven Method still cannot break through the first bottleneck. It’s been three full months already. What could be the reason? Even my Purple Demon Eyes, which can only be cultivated in the morning with the aid of the purple qi from the east, have been improving steadily. If the Mysterious Heaven Method can’t break through the bottleneck, my Mysterious Jade Hands can’t be improved further. When I first cultivated this technique, I don’t seem to recall encountering such a problem between the first and second levels. The Mysterious Heaven Method has nine levels; why is this first one proving to be so troublesome? Could it be because this world is different from my original one?”

Having arrived in this world for over five years now, this child was none other than Tang San, who had leapt off the cliff at the Tang Sect to make a statement. When he regained consciousness, he found himself unable to do anything except feel warmth. Contrary to his expectations, death did not come. Soon after, he arrived in this world through a compressing process.

It was much later that Tang San understood what had happened. He hadn’t died, but he was no longer the Tang San from before.

After being born, it took Tang San nearly a year to learn the language of this world. He still remembered that at his birth, although he couldn’t open his eyes to see, he heard a deep male voice crying out in heart-wrenching grief. When he finally learned the language of this world and recalled with his extraordinary memory, he could only remember that the man seemed to be shouting, “Ah Mei, don’t leave me.” That man was his father, Tang Hao. His mother in this world had already died from complications during childbirth.

Whether it was fate or sheer coincidence, the name Tang Hao gave him in memory of his late wife was miraculously still Tang San.

The children of the same age in the village often teased him because of this, but Tang San was quite content with it. After all, it was the name he had used for nearly thirty years in another world. The familiarity alone made him fond of these two characters.

Having come to this world, after the initial shock, fear, excitement, and now calm, Tang San had fully accepted his new reality. In his view, it was as if the heavens had given him another chance. Perhaps, the greatest wish of his previous life could be fulfilled in this one.

He arrived in this world with nothing, but Tang San possessed the greatest treasure: his memories. As the most outstanding talent of Tang Sect’s outer sect, the creation methods of all kinds of mechanical hidden weapons were imprinted in his mind. Moreover, after he had stolen the secret manuals of the inner sect, he had studied them with yearning for many years, and the Mystic Sky Records, the pinnacle of the inner sect’s teachings, was also firmly embedded in his memory. Tang San hoped to recreate the glory of the Tang Sect in this world.

“It’s time to go back,” Tang San said to himself, glancing at the sky. His slender body leaped up and he ran down the hillside. If anyone had been there to see him, they would have been astounded; with each stride, he covered nearly ten feet, and the uneven terrain of the mountain had no effect on him. He easily dodged and weaved through, moving even faster than adults.

What is the essence of the Tang Sect? Hidden weapons, poisons, and light-body skill (Qinggong). The greatest difference between the inner and outer sects of the Tang Sect lies in the use of hidden weapons. The outer sect mainly relies on machinery, while the inner sect employs true skill. Poison is generally used by the outer sect, as official disciples of the inner sect rarely poison their hidden weapons because they simply don’t need to.

“`