Chapter 126: In Retrospect
Du Bai and Gu Li were deeply unconscious, showing no reaction at all. Their spiritual power was severely depleted.
Cheng Zicheng was the only one fully unharmed; thus, she was in charge of keeping watch.
Tang San had no time to explain anything. With Zhang Haoxuan's return, he hurriedly engaged in the Mysterious Heaven Technique to tend to his injuries.
The night was indeed a heart-stopping experience.
The tigress's body had disappeared when Tang San awoke from meditation the following day. He then saw Wu Bingji, with his torso wrapped in bandages and supported by wooden splints, resting against the trunk of a large tree not far away.
Du Bai and Gu Li were still lying there. Cheng Zicheng and Zhang Haoxuan were nowhere to be seen.
After a night of recovery, although he was still feeling some faint pain inside, Tang San's injuries had stabilized.
"You up? Have something to eat." Zhang Haoxuan's voice sounded as he approached from behind Tang San, offering him some fruits.
"Thank you, Master." Tang San took the fruits and began to eat heartily.
The fruits from these mountains were rich in spiritual energy. After eating seven or eight of them, the replenishment of spiritual energy, nutrition, and hydration made Tang San feel much better.
Zhang Haoxuan sat beside him. He was rather pale, but his aura had regained stability. As befitting of a ninth-order powerhouse!
"Tell me, how did you defeat the tigress last night?" Zhang Haoxuan asked.
Tang San replied, "It resulted from everyone's concerted efforts. Didn't the eldest senior brother tell you?"
"He did tell me about the earlier part, but he mentioned that it looked like you were about to be eaten by the Winged Tiger," said Zhang Haoxuan.
Tang San replied wryly, "When I lunged at it, I was actually planning to restrain the Winged Tiger. But as it flung me away, I actually made a breakthrough. The eldest senior brother must have told you the rest. I was lucky during my fall; I landed directly into the tigress's mouth. At that time, it couldn't close its mouth because the eldest senior brother froze it and Gu Li also used Time Freeze, creating an opportunity for me to attack. I released a full-power wind blade inside the tigress's mouth. Thanks to my breakthrough, my attack was strong enough to injure it seriously."
"Attacking from inside its mouth? No wonder," Zhang Haoxuan mused. He had also observed the tigress's condition earlier, noting that the fatal wound was indeed internal, leaving the tiger's hide perfectly intact.
"This time, you almost got into a complete disaster. Never undertake such risky missions again. If it weren't for your luck yesterday, by the time I got there, you would have been torn apart by that tigress," Zhang Haoxuan said, still feeling a shudder of fear.
Tang San smiled. "Luck is also a part of strength! Don't forget why I brought Du Bai along. If I'm not mistaken, his unconsciousness is due to using the Celestial Fox Vision to the maximum, so the power of fortune was on our side. Otherwise, how could it have been so coincidental that I would fall directly into the tiger's mouth for an attack?"
"Hmm?" Zhang Haoxuan was startled. "Are you saying that his third-order Celestial Fox Vision could influence a peak seventh-order Winged Tiger? That's impossible!"
My third-order Discerning Eye of Heaven also possesses the fortune-boosting ability of a third-order Celestial Fox Vision. In addition, two people in our group are at the sixth order, so the gap in cultivation is not that ridiculous. It’s not like Du Bai influenced the Winged Tiger’s fortune by himself, he had help from all of our fortunes, Tang San thought to himself.
Of course, he wouldn't say this out loud, as he didn't want Zhang Haoxuan to know that he had absorbed the Celestial Fox Vision.
"Anyway, that's how it turned out. Otherwise, how could we defeat a seventh-order Winged Tiger under normal circumstances?" Tang San said with a smile.
Zhang Haoxuan looked at him intently, finding it increasingly difficult to see through his newly accepted disciple. Despite being only nine years old, Tang San always gave him the impression of being very mature. It was truly odd, yet even after all the investigations, it seemed that his background was clean.
"Little Tang, are you alright?" Wu Bingji's weak voice called out.
Tang San responded, "Eldest senior brother, I'm fine. How about you?"
"It hurts..." Wu Bingji gasped in pain. He had severe internal and external injuries, which had been somewhat stabilized under Zhang Haoxuan's treatment.
"You deserve the pain, going on such a reckless mission to hunt a Winged Tiger," Zhang Haoxuan said irritably. The mere recollection of last night's events still frightened him.
Wu Bingji's mouth twitched into a bitter smile. "Teacher, shouldn't you be more concerned about someone who's only nine years old but has already broken through to the sixth order? Didn't you hear what he just said? He's already at the sixth order. Is he even human? He's seven years younger than me."
"Uh?" Zhang Haoxuan was momentarily startled. His attention hadn't been on this before, and even though Tang San had just mentioned a breakthrough, he hadn’t really processed the information.
Hearing this, he immediately fixed his gaze on Tang San, "You... you’ve reached the sixth order?!"
"Mm-hmm." Tang San nodded, "Under immense pressure, at the brink of life and death, I made a breakthrough. Didn't I tell you and Teacher Guan before that the best way to break through is when facing great pressure, especially during life-and-death crises? It fully stimulated my potential."
Zhang Haoxuan gasped in surprise. Sixth order! A nine-year-old at the sixth order! This kid...
Among all the students of the Redemption Society, he’s the second one to reach the sixth order! And he’s barely been here for a couple of days! Wait, if I remember correctly, Tang San had just broken through to the fifth order when he arrived. How did he reach the sixth order so quickly? Isn't this rate of improvement a bit too fast?
Zhang Haoxuan looked at Tang San like a monster, making Tang San uncomfortable. "Teacher, don't look at me like that. I'm a bit scared."
"YOU are scared? You dared to fight a peak seventh-order Winged Tiger, and you’re claiming that you know fear?" Zhang Haoxuan raised his hand, really wanting to slap his pupil into the ground, but considering the boy was still injured, he held back.
Tang San chuckled. "It's not just me who's made a breakthrough. I think everyone will give you some surprises. Senior Du Bai and senior Gu Li, after they wake up, should also have the potential for a breakthrough."
Upon hearing this, Zhang Haoxuan shivered. "You mean, the two of them..."
Tang San nodded and said, "Senior Gu Li's final moment of freezing time against the tigress exceeded his normal power. At that moment, everyone was facing certain death, and he fell unconscious after that burst of power. He has been at the peak of the fourth order for quite a while now, unable to break through. I think that moment might have been his breakthrough. Senior Du Bai's situation is probably similar. As you said, can a third-order Celestial Fox Vision affect the luck of a seventh-order Winged Tiger? Tough call. But what if it's fourth-order?"
Zhang Haoxuan's eyes truly lit up.
The Chrono Croc Transformation and the Celestial Fox Transformation are the best bloodlines in the Redemption Society and the most hoped-for. If this time, both of them advance...
Thinking of this, Zhang Haoxuan's entire mood changed, and he clenched his fists.
"If it's really as you say, I'll take responsibility for everything that happened and the dangers you faced."
Tang San shifted the topic from his breakthrough to the sixth order, asking with a smile, "Teacher, what ability does your flame blade have? It's amazing. To think you could even injure a ninth-order Winged Tiger King!"
Zhang Haoxuan glanced at him and said, "That is my lifebound weapon. It's fused with my cultivation, crafted by the top demonic beast weapon master from the spine of a ninth-order Blaze Tiger. I obtained it from the organization in exchange for my years of accumulated merits. It takes a long time to gather the energy I need to use it, but it can unleash a powerful attack. Without it, we would have been in big trouble yesterday. Would you guys have survived to see today's sun?"
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