The Unrivaled Tang Sect Chapter 3.3: The Million Year Soul Ring

As Huo Yuhao listened to the Skydream Iceworm's explanation, he suddenly felt a strange feeling. Could it be that the Skydream Iceworm's name was because it had dreamt everyday?

“Although I wasn't able to leave the icy cave, eating the ten thousand year Ice Pith simply felt too good. Thus, I was lucky to not be able to find a way out, because I found another large lump of ten thousand year Ice Pith whilst crawling around to look for one. I slept again, but I didn't even know how long I'd slept for this time—yet the first set of golden patterns had appeared on my body by the time I woke up.”

“A golden pattern has an extremely important meaning to us Iceworms. It signifies that our cultivation has reached a hundred thousand years. From what I remember, our Iceworm clan has never had an existence possess a cultivation of a hundred thousand years. I was the first to do this! This was unprecedented in history! At that time, I evolved into a Gold-patterned Iceworm. I also had sufficient power to break through the ice and leave. However, at that time, I didn't know that hundred thousand year soul beasts would suffer enormous restrictions, which would make it harder for them to increase their cultivation. Perhaps it was because I was lucky, or perhaps it was because our Iceworm clan has a deficiency of combat strength, but I miraculously didn't attract any Heavenly Tribulation.” The Skydream Iceworm sighed. “I decided to continue sleeping, since I was too lazy to leave anyway. Thus, I continued to sleep in the icy caves. Because my cultivation had reached a certain level, I was able to break the ice and enter areas which I previously couldn't. This allowed me to find even more top quality Ice Piths, all of which became my food. “Just like that, I repeated the cycle of sleeping after eating, and eating after waking up. I didn't even know how much time had pa.s.sed. Only the golden patterns on my body were able to tell me how long I'd lived for.”

“In the end, I finished eating all of the Ice Pith within the icy caves one day. I then dug myself out from the bottom of the icy caves, arriving at the ocean. I floated in the ocean, and moved with the tide; I floated along the edge of the continent, eventually moving towards the south. I also encountered my first enemy during this journey.”

“At that time, I already had nine golden patterns, which meant that I was a powerful nine hundred thousand year soul beast. I originally thought that I was an unequalled existence within this world. However…”

As he continued to speak, the Skydream Iceworm clearly became somewhat embarra.s.sed, “However, I'd never done anything nor fought with anyone when I was awake. In the end, I had to rely on my enormous spiritual energy to scare that enemy away. This finally roused my caution, which made me attempt to cultivate the ability to attack. However, I discovered that my cultivation lifespan didn't mean that I was strong. I was indeed a million year soul beast, but my combat power was in fact inferior to some ten thousand year soul beasts. Those ten thousand year soul beasts that were good at fighting were simply opponents I couldn't hope to achieve victory over. The outside world was truly too dangerous. However, I didn't know the way back.”

“I thought that since the ocean was dangerous, perhaps the continent would be safer. Thus, I went ash.o.r.e. However, I discovered that the continent wasn't very peaceful either. Maybe it was an effect of absorbing too much Ice Pith, but my body had a special smell that could attract the attention of any and all soul beasts. It caused them to see me as food.”

“In the end, I was captured by a strong hundred thousand year soul beast from the Great Star Dou Forest. However, it didn't immediately kill me; Instead, it brought me to the Great Star Dou Forest. Only after listening to him did I understand what was going on. As it turned out, I possessed too much Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi. As long as they were able to absorb and transform my energy, any soul beast could become a hundred thousand year soul beast, and any hundred thousand year soul beasts could break free from the limit of their cultivation lifespan. But, it took a long time to absorb my energy, since the energy I'd cultivated for a million years was too enormous. Thus, it brought me back to its nest.”

“However, that fellow underestimated how awesome this Brother is. Although I wasn't too good at fighting, I was able to increase the strength of my aura. Thus, I was able to attract all of the hundred thousand year soul beasts in the Great Star Dou Forest. Hehe.”

“The huge battle royale that ensued included nearly every single soul beast in the Great Star Dou Forest whose age exceeded ten thousand. They fought so desperately! I originally thought that I now had a chance to escape. However, who could've known that they'd be so crafty? Once the battle had almost ended, they actually stopped and negotiated with each other. In the end, a tragedy occurred to this Brother. They finally came to an agreement, deciding to absorb my power together, since the soulforce in my body was large enough. After that, they trapped me in the centre of the Great Star Dou Forest and forced me to release the Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi from my body for them to absorb. The stronger soul beasts would be closer to me, and the benefits they obtained would thus be greater. These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds practically took this Brother as food.”

“Ai, since I had no way to resist them, I could only let them order me around. I tried to think of a plan to break free from their control whilst having my energy drained by them. My Yuan Qi was very pure, thus there was enough for them to absorb it for over ten thousand years. After a few thousand years of pondering and observing, I discovered that I'd not only need to escape from them, but would also need to conceal my aura to successfully break free from their control. You humans then appeared in my line of sight. There were a few times when some especially strong humans entered the depths of the Great Star Dou Forest to hunt those hundred thousand year soul beasts. Unfortunately, they were struck by a tragedy. Under the nourishment of this Brother, the high ranking soul beasts within the Great Star Dou Forest had definitely become the strongest soul beasts on the Douluo Continent. Although those humans had extremely strong weapons, they could only suffer a big defeat. However, this allowed me to understand the advantages you humans had.”

“Brother is a spiritual and ice dual-attribute soul beast. After thinking about it for a long time, I decided to think of a way to become a human's soul ring. If this happened, that human would definitely become extraordinarily strong, and I could rely on my spiritual-type attribute to preserve my own consciousness. Thus, I would become an unprecedented intelligent soul ring. Humph, once that happened, Brother would definitely get revenge, and would help that human kill all of the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds who persecuted this Brother. Hence, I started carrying out my plan. However, who could've known that I'd fail on my first attempt? The guy that I chose was what you humans call a t.i.tled Douluo, and he was rather strong. However, he was truly rubbish. He actually exploded immediately, before even seeing my real body. He couldn't even withstand the shock of my spiritual energy. Only then did I discover that becoming my host wasn't something so simple. They would first need to have a spiritual-type attribute as well, and be able to sustain the energy of my soul power. This was something that was even harder. Hence, I had no results, even after searching for a few thousand years. At that point, my soulforce had almost been fully drained by those hundred thousand year soul beasts. This Brother would've soon become akin to a candle that had no wax left.”

“However, the Heavens still took care of Brother. When Brother had already despaired, the tenth golden pattern appeared on my body. I'd finally become an unprecedented million year soul beast. After the tenth golden pattern appeared, I finally possessed the power to resist those combat-oriented hundred thousand year soul beasts, and I could also conceal my own aura. Thus, I renamed myself as the Skydream Iceworm; I was no longer a Gold-patterned Iceworm. However, I was definitely unable to beat so many hundred thousand year soul beasts. Furthermore, my Heaven and Earth Yuan Qi had almost been fully absorbed by them. The only energy that I still had was my origin soulforce, which was what would provide the greatest aid to them. These were my two great attributes, which had yet to be absorbed. Revenge was something currently unattainable for me. Hence, I found an opportunity, and used the energy that I had obtained after breaking through to conceal my aura. Then, I escaped by burrowing through the earth.”

“Aih——” The Skydream Iceworm sighed. “Unfortunately, Brother still suffered a tragedy. Breaking through to a million year soul beast was actually a double edged sword. Although I managed to barely break free from their control, my lifespan suddenly reached its end due to the Heavenly Tribulation that abruptly arrived. If I wasn't able to preserve my life with other methods, I would've died soon from exhaustion; it was also at this moment when Brother met you, a young fellow. Although you were pitifully weak, Brother had no other choice! Yet, you also had a spiritual-type attribute. Hence, Brother could only work hard to merge with your body. No matter which way you look at it, those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds can't obtain this Brother's most precious thing.”

Huo Yuhao had already forgotten his fear from earlier as he listened to the Skydream Iceworm's story. He felt righteously indignant as he said, “They're too despicable. How could they be like this? They actually trapped you for almost ten thousand years!”

The Skydream Iceworm felt that his anger gave them common ground as he said, “Exactly! Although Brother is quite cute, quite handsome, and quite strong, they simply can't treat Brother as food! Things are good now though. On the whole, I've managed to escape and not allow them to obtain Brother's body. Huo Yuhao, although you're young and your abilities are still lacking, it's fortunate that you're still pure. Brother will treat this as a plan to raise you up. When you're strong in the future, you must help Brother get revenge! Didn't they rely on my soulforce to evolve? In the future, turn them into your soul rings and soul bones! Humph!”

Huo Yuhao had no hesitation at all as he answered, “I'll definitely help you get revenge after I grow up.” This relations.h.i.+p between man and beast had rapidly deepened due to this slightly odd yet miraculous story.

In reality, although the Skydream Iceworm had lived for a million years, it had only met with a few soul beasts after all. Even though its intelligence wasn't inferior to that of a human's, how could it know that humans had sinister hearts? If a human had encountered fortunate events like the Skydream Iceworm had, he would absolutely not reveal his story so easily. Choosing a kid like Huo Yuhao, who was practically as white as a sheet of paper, was actually quite lucky for it.

“Brother Skydream, I still don't understand a few things. Since you're so strong, you had to seal your own power to become my soul ring. Just what's the matter with this? Can you still bestow a soul skill to me?” After losing his fear, an even greater sense of curiosity filled Huo Yuhao's heart.

The Skydream Iceworm laughed cunningly as he said, “Brother naturally has a way. Since I've been planning this for so long, I've already prepared the proper arrangements. After obtaining some experience from blowing those humans up, I realised that all of my help will have to focus on your safety. I already have no way of retreat now; if you die, I die too. My original soulforce was almost fully drained by those soul beasts from the Great Star Dou Forest. Otherwise, your body wouldn't have been able to withstand my power, even if I'd sealed it. When I merged with your body, most of the energy that entered you was my origin energy and my spiritual energy. Can you see those ten b.a.l.l.s of light? They're the ten seals that I've set up. If you look at it from another angle, it can be said that I've already bestowed you the power of your first soul ring. However, you're temporarily unable to use it.”

“This also means that, although your first soul ring is a million year soul ring, it currently doesn't have the might of a million year soul ring. However, the energy that I've sealed within your body will gradually disperse as your cultivation improves, which in turn will increase the might of your soul ring. It might even increase the might of your future soul rings. After all, the energy that I've acc.u.mulated over a million years is simply too enormous for you.”

Huo Yuhao blinked his eyes and said, “I still don't fully understand what you're saying.”

The Skydream Iceworm unhappily said, “Idiot. I'll repeat the simple points again. Your body, which has currently obtained its first soul ring, can only withstand the soul ring of a four hundred year old soul beast at most. Thus, the realistic might of your first soul ring is a four hundred year soul ring. After you make a breakthrough you'll be able to withstand the might of a thousand year soul ring, so your first soul ring will become a thousand year soul ring. Your first soul ring will follow the amount of energy that your body can withstand, and will increase accordingly. In other words, your first soul ring can evolve at any time, and your future soul rings will also have this benefit. Of course, this evolutionary energy that I can bestow upon you is limited. The stronger the soul ring you obtain in the future, the more energy you save for me. Using the energy that I sealed within your body, it can at most help increase ten of your soul rings reach the hundred thousand year soul ring rank.

“Ah? So many? We soul masters can only possess nine soul rings at most, no?” Huo Yuhao spoke with a startled tone.

The Skydream Iceworm snorted coldly and loftily said, “That's only true for ordinary people. You're already no longer an ordinary person—ever since Brother merged with you. A single martial soul can naturally only absorb only nine soul rings. However, you currently don't just have a single martial soul. After killing a hundred thousand year soul beast, you will both obtain a soul bone and a hundred thousand year soul ring that contains two soul skills within it. You should know this.”

Huo Yuhao nodded his head.

The Skydream Iceworm said. “As a million year soul ring, and an unprecedented intelligent soul ring, I'm obviously stronger than them. Not only can my incarnation, which is your first soul ring, undergo unlimited evolution according to the condition of your body, it can also bestow four soul skills to you. However, I have no soul bones that I can give to you—instead, I can give you another martial soul.”

Huo Yuhao had already predicted that a million year soul ring would benefit him greatly, but he'd never thought that it would be to this extent. A soul ring that could undergo unlimited evolution had already caused him to be ineffably happy. Yet, the greater surprise was actually in its other benefits. Four soul skills and an extra martial soul, just what kind of concept was this?

Since the four soul skills belonged to the first soul ring, their might would inevitably evolve as his first soul ring evolved. They were abilities that could be used forever! And, an extra martial soul could simply be described as a miracle. It was equivalent to turning him, who only had the Spirit Eyes martial soul, into a genius who had twin martial souls. Adding another martial soul would mean that he would have at least nine additional soul rings, which would give him nine more soul skills. How could a hundred thousand year soul ring even compare to the strength amplification of this million year soul ring? Although his own strength was still weak even after obtaining these amplifications, and required him to slowly increase it, this million year soul ring undoubtedly opened a great door to the heavens for Huo Yuhao, allowing him, who'd originally had mediocre talent, to have a future of unlimited possibilities.

“The martial soul that I've bestowed you with is Ice, but it's Ice that currently doesn't have a soul.” The words that the Skydream Iceworm said next pulled Huo Yuhao back from his happiness.

“Ice that doesn't have a soul? What's that?” Huo Yuhao had a look of doubt on his face.

The Skydream Iceworm said, “This means that the martial soul I've bestowed you currently only has an attribute, but not a form. When you absorb your first ice-type soul ring, the form of your second martial soul will be finalized. The soul beast of the soul ring you absorb then will thus become your second martial soul. This also means that your second martial soul will definitely be a beast soul. You don't have to worry about this, I've already thought about it for you. However, your current cultivation isn't sufficient. Once your strength is higher, I'll take you to complete your first ice-type soul ring. Now you should understand why I said that I wouldn't have enough energy to amplify your soul rings. Because of this, you must be extremely careful when choosing your soul rings, and you should listen to my suggestions.”

“Fine.” Huo Yuhao excitedly agreed, “What are my four soul skills?”

The Skydream Iceworm replied, “You'll have to rely on yourself to comprehend them. Something that you comprehend on your own will always be clearer than something I tell you directly. However, don't be happy so early. You're right, I've given you four soul skills, and they're all spiritual-type soul skills; however the energy that I've sealed within your body is also very enormous. Thus, you must remember a few things. Firstly, the energy that I've sealed inside of your body can only help you increase the age of your soul rings—which is also their might—when your cultivation has reached a sufficient stage. However, it can't increase the strength of the soulforce that you cultivate. Secondly, the four soul skills that I've bestowed you with are, due to the fact that they're from me, auxiliary soul skills that don't have much attack power. Because of this, you're still quite weak right now. You still have a long way to go if you want to become strong, do you understand?”

“I understand. My mother taught me that n.o.body could reach the heavens in a single step, that one step could only leave a single footprint. The only way for one to become a man above all other men is to rely on one's own hard work and diligence. Brother Skydream, you can rest a.s.sured; I'll definitely work hard.”

“That's good. However, your natural apt.i.tude is truly poor. Ai… if there's a chance in the future, I'll find some heavenly treasures for you to eat. Your Spirit Eyes martial soul was caused by a mutation, but your potential isn't bad. However, the mutation process has greatly affected your bodily functions since you were young. Your pa.s.sageways are now narrow and rough, causing your cultivation to be slightly challenging. Let's take it slowly, we can't rush this. Oh right, there's something I have tell you.

“Can you see that grey ball up there?”

Huo Yuhao said, “I can see it. Is that also your power?”

The Skydream Iceworm said, “No, I don't know either. It happened when I fused with your body. I think your soulforce may have caused this. That grey ball of light seems to be a spirit, and also seems to not belong to our world. I don't even know where it came from. However, although this spirit was weak, it's a very high ranked spirit, so I don't have any methods of dealing with it. However, I can sense that it doesn't have any evil intentions. Right now, it's currently in a deep sleep. It might not wake up during your entire lifetime, but if it does, it could be slightly troublesome. Don't worry, if it doesn't move, then that's that; If it truly does do anything harmful to you, I'll protect you—it won't be a problem.”

“Alright, you should go back to your body now. The two humans outside have been waiting for you this whole time, and they don't have any evil intentions towards you.”

“Two humans?” While Huo Yuhao was astonished, the scenery in front of him suddenly turned blurry. He felt like he'd instantly been sucked into an enormous whirlpool, and everything turned dark. …… “Why haven't you woken up yet!” Tang Ya patted Huo Yuhao's face and shot an inquisitive glance towards Bei Bei, who was next to her.

Bei Bei gently smiled and said, “Both his qi and blood are completely smooth, and his body's soulforce is very normal. Furthermore, it's very vigorous. If I'm not wrong, he must've just broken through the soul Scholar realm, and this is the sign of him entering the Soul Master realm. His body needs to harmonize with this power right now, thus he naturally needs a certain amount of time to get used to the soulforce that he's obtained after breaking through. Unfortunately, it was only a ten year Wind Baboon.”

Tang Ya humphed and said, “How is that very unfortunate? It's normal for someone's first soul ring to be a bit weaker than the rest. The fact that he was able to kill a Wind Baboon by himself is already quite good.”

Bei Bei chuckled and said, “The way to capture a woman's heart is through her stomach, much less for a person like you, whose heart and stomach are conjoined.”

Tang Ya's charming face turned slightly red, “Pah, you're the one who's heart and stomach are conjoined. You're impudent; don't forget that I'm your teacher!”

Bei Bei didn't retort. He only looked at her and warmly smile.

“Ugh…” Huo Yuhao let out a light groan, and slowly opened his eyes.

“Little Yuhao, you've finally woken up! You worried me to death.” Tang Ya was immediately exhilarated when she saw Huo Yuhao open his eyes.

Huo Yuhao felt some confusion in his mind, and only became clear-headed after composing himself. He clearly recalled the conversation that he'd previously had with the Skydream Iceworm, causing him to be unable to help but subconsciously mutter to himself, “Was I really not dreaming?”

Tang Ya giggled and pinched Huo Yuhao's arm for a moment, causing him to immediately cry out in pain. “Sister Xiao Ya, what're you doing?”

Tang Ya smiled. “I'm helping you check whether or not you were dreaming! How are you? Are you more awake now? You really have some guts, actually daring to travel into the Great Star Dou Forest by yourself.”

Huo Yuhao was slightly embarra.s.sed as he scratched his head. Held only just learned how weak he was, and how much he'd overestimated his capabilities, after meeting the Wind Baboon. However, an eager feeling quickly rose up from his embarra.s.sment. He jumped up from the ground, and roused the soulforce in his body.

A scene that made Huo Yuhao indescribably happy immediately appeared.

His soulforce, which had originally reached a bottleneck, had undergone a qualitative change—even the strength of his body seemed to have slightly increased. Gentle soul power surged out, and everything that he saw with his Spirit Eyes became clearer. Furthermore, many instinctive marks had appeared in his mind, and each and every one of them were skills. Four, there are actually four soul skills! Brother Skydream truly exists! I wasn't dreaming! Everything's real, I actually possess a million year soul ring!

Only now did Huo Yuhao believe that everything he'd experienced earlier was real. The ecstasy in his heart surged out unceasingly, and he couldn't help but let out a loud shout, “I've succeeded!”

Bei Bei and Tang Ya saw a jade-white soul ring rise from Huo Yuhao's feet. It slowly moved upwards, all the way until it reached his head. Then, it slowly moved downwards with a rhythmic pace. It was his first soul ring.

Bei Bei subconsciously thought to himself, “Sure enough, it's a ten year soul ring.” Only, he had a slight feeling of doubt in his heart. Why did the colour of Huo Yuhao's ten year soul ring seem to have a sort of sparkling, translucent feeling—as if it were slightly different from an ordinary ten year soul ring? Could it be that the Wind Baboon had had a higher cultivation? However, how could he have known that a million year soul ring was also jade-white?

The change that had occurred to Huo Yuhao wasn't limited to just his soul ring; a faint gold sheen had also appeared inside of his deep blue eyes. Bei Bei and Tang Ya could both sense undulations of soulforce from his eyes, as well as a spiritual undulation, which caused them to be distracted for an instant.

Previously, the powerful spiritual energy that had been released by the Skydream Iceworm had caused them to temporarily lose the ability to think. However, they had been unable to sense it due to the enormous difference between it and them. However, Huo Yuhao was currently very close to them. He'd changed, and the spiritual undulations that were being released from his eyes caused them to be shocked.

“A spiritual-type martial soul? A spiritual-type martial soul that's merged with a Wind Baboon as its first soul ring?” Bei Bei, who'd been calm until now, couldn't help but have his expression slightly change. According to the theory of soul masters that he understood, this seemed to be something impossible! However, the facts were right in front of him.

The faint golden sheen quickly vanished from Huo Yuhao's eyes. He'd also recovered from his surprise. He excitedly jumped up, “Succeeded, I've truly succeeded! I'm a Soul Master now!”

Bei Bei and Tang Ya both looked at each other and saw the shock in the other's eyes. Tang Ya couldn't help but ask, “Little Yuhao, is your martial soul a spiritual-type? I sensed a strong spiritual undulation earlier.”

Huo Yuhao finally recovered from his excitement, and he was slightly embarra.s.sed as he said, “Yeah! My martial soul is the Spirit Eyes. It's a mutated martial soul that has the spiritual attribute.”

Tang Ya's eyes brightened, “Spirit Eyes? A body soul? Good.”

Bei Bei had clearly realised something too, causing him to nod his head and say, “I really didn't know about it. What a pity that we arrived late. If we hadn't, we would've found little brother Huo a better soul beast to merge with.”

Huo Yuhao's mind had already cleared up from his earlier surprise. Although he was young, the experiences that he'd had in his youth had caused him to be somewhat vigilant. He immediately guessed that Bei Bei and Tang Ya must've thought that the soul ring he'd just absorbed had been from the baboon. Even though he didn't understand why a million year soul ring was white, this was undoubtedly his current best way of concealing it. Naturally, he wouldn't go and explain anything.

“Big brother Bei, sister Xiao Ya, did you guys chase after me? Are there any problems?” Huo Yuhao asked probingly.

Tang Ya replied, “We only guessed that you were here to enter the Great Star Dou Forest, but I didn't think that you'd really do it. Your guts are too big. Don't you know that the Great Star Dou Forest is called a forbidden area for mankind? Even some Soul Masters with extremely high cultivations don't dare to enter the inner parts of the forest. And if it's a little guy like you, a teacher must accompany you for you to even be able to move around the surrounding areas of the Great Star Dou Forest. The reason why we chased after you was to protect you, since Bei Bei and I are Soul Masters. However, your luck is quite good. Although the first soul ring you've obtained isn't too strong, you've suffered no injuries on the whole.”

After hearing her words, a thick warm feeling immediately surged through Huo Yuhao's young heart. He was young, but he'd experienced far, far too much of the hypocrisy of the world. When Tang Ya was talking, he could tell that there were no traces of falsehood within the sincere look her eyes held.

“Sister Xiao Ya, I…” Huo Yuhao almost brought up the issue of the Skydream Iceworm, due to impulse. However, at this moment, a cough echoed out in his mind. Under the attack of a certain refres.h.i.+ng aura, he immediately swallowed his words.

Tang Ya giggled and said, “Look at your dim-witted appearance. Fine, I won't talk about that anymore. Little Yuhao, since you've already obtained a soul ring, what do you plan to do next?”

Huo Yuhao was stunned by her question. Yeah! What plans did he have for himself? Before coming to the Great Star Dou Forest, his aim all along had been to become a Soul Master, and obtain a soul ring that belonged to him. The difference between Soul Masters and Soul Scholars was indeed as vast as the heavens and the earth! Becoming a Soul Master also signified that he'd stepped through a door, one which would allow to him travel through the wide seas and skies from now on. However, he'd truly never thought of what to do in the future. After all, he was only eleven, and this was the first time that he'd left home.

Tang Ya was secretly happy when she saw the blank look in his eyes. She sent a glance towards Bei Bei.

Bei Bei nodded towards her and said, “Little brother Huo, what kind of people does your house have?”

Huo Yuhao's gaze instantly froze for a moment. Following that, he shook his head decisively. “There's no one else, I'm the only one that's left.”

Tang Ya was exulted. She blurted out, “Then that's really too good.”

Huo Yuhao was immediately stunned, while Bei Bei had a speechless expression on his face. He knocked her head, “What're you saying?”

Tang Ya had also realised her slip of the tongue. She glared at Bei Bei and said, “I didn't do it on purpose! Little Yuhao, since you don't have any ideas right now, why not join our sect?”

“A sect?” Huo Yuhao had heard of sects when he was in the Duke's Mansion. On the Douluo Continent, the strengths of sects were extremely high, especially some Soul Master sects that had long histories. From the meaning of the word 'sect', the Duke's Mansion in itself could be considered a large sect.

Tang Ya nodded her head and said seriously, “It's a sect, and was previously the number one sect in the continent. If you join, you definitely won't be at a disadvantage. Furthermore, our sect's secret techniques are very suitable for you to cultivate. Since you're all alone and you're so young, it'd be better for you to join our sect, since everyone will take care of each other, rather than you being so bold by yourself. After all, luck can't always be with you. What if something happens when you're moving by yourself?”

Huo Yuhao subconsciously asked, “Sister Xiao Ya then, what is your sect called?”

Tang Ya resolutely said, “The Tang Sect. It was previously the number one sect in the continent.”

After hearing the two words 'Tang Sect', Huo Yuhao's body couldn't help but tremble. Even though the Tang Sect had started to decline, the Tang Sect still had an important place within the Douluo Continent's history. It could even be said that there had never been a sect that could compare with it.

When he was very young, his mother had told him the many legends of the Tang Sect. The Tang Sect had been founded ten thousand years ago, and it could be said to be one of the oldest sects in history. Supposedly, the first sect master of the Tang Sect, Tang San, had changed the entire structure of the continent, establis.h.i.+ng the future development of the continent's Soul Masters. The Tang Sect, at that time, had truly been the number one sect under the heavens, and not just in name. Furthermore, the legends said that Tang San had broken through the highest realm of Soul Masters, t.i.tled Douluo, to become an existence that was on another level, one that wouldn't die from then on. However, in the end, no one knew how he'd done it.

After ten thousand years, the legends of the Tang Sect still remained, but the sect itself had already left the stage of history. Very few people knew that the Tang Sect still had later generations of disciples; even the details of some of the Tang Sect's legends had already become vague. However, there was someone who had once said that, if it weren't for Tang San establis.h.i.+ng the future development of the Soul Masters within the Douluo Continent ten thousand years ago, the Douluo Continent might not have been able to achieve victory over the experts of the Sun Moon Continent, and thus unify the two continents when the Sun Moon Continent had collided with the Douluo Continent four thousand years ago.

“Little brother Huo, you've heard of the Tang Sect?” Bei Bei asked.

Huo Yuhao nodded his head and said, “I've heard some of the legends about the Tang Sect. Only, I don't know where the Tang Sect is.”

The rims of Tang Ya's eyes suddenly turned red. “The Tang Sect doesn't have its mansion anymore, and our foundations were s.n.a.t.c.hed away. Currently, the only people of the Tang Sect remaining are Bei Bei and I. I'm the current sect master of the Tang Sect, and Bei Bei is my founding disciple.”

“Ah?” Huo Yuhao looked at them with an astonished expression. If you just looked at their ages, Tang Ya wasn't that much older that Bei Bei, and from their conversations, you couldn't tell that they were master and disciple at all.

Bei Bei coughed twice and said, “You've also seen our situation now, little brother Huo. The Tang Sect only has the two of us right now, but we'll definitely work hard to let the Tang Sect rise again. If you're willing, you're welcome to join. There's one point that Xiao Ya was right about: The Tang Sect has a secret technique that should be completely suitable for you to cultivate, and will have many benefits towards your future development.”

After hesitating for a while, Huo Yuhao asked, “Then, what do I have to do after I join the Tang Sect?”

Tang Ya replied, “You need to unceasingly raise your cultivation, and become even stronger. When the sect needs you, you need to exert yourself for the sect. I won't boast or lie to you, our Tang Sect has truly declined as of now. However, we still have our secret techniques. Also, another thing. Our Tang Sect was once the number one sect in the continent, so we still have a few privileges. You should've heard of the number one academy on the continent, Shrek Academy. Shrek Academy is extremely strict when it recruits students, but they're willing to give our Tang Sect an exempted spot every year. Bei Bei and I have already joined Shrek Academy, and it just so happens that there's a s.p.a.ce available this year. If you're willing to join our Tang Sect, this s.p.a.ce will belong to you. As for whether or not you can stay in Shrek Academy, that will rely on your hard work. I can give you this much. However, little Yuhao, I have a request. Once you've joined the Tang Sect, you're a man of our Tang Sect for your entire life. If you decide to leave one day, you'll have to return all of the Tang Sect's secret techniques.” Tang Sect…Tang Sect. Huo Yuhao's eyes gradually brightened, and he looked seriously at Tang Ya. “Sister Xiao Ya, I agree; I'm willing to join the Tang Sect.”