Chapter 40 — Section Forty: Meeting Zhou Peng Again

"Tang Tang, you must be careful. These Black Soul people, they're dangerous." Nannan's mother was full of worry. She turned and ducked into the house, and when she came back out she held a small clay jar. "You've done so much for us, and you even saved Nannan. I don't have anything else to give you. Take this bamboo-bee royal jelly—it should be enough to last you a while."

"Nannan, say goodbye to the big brother. We have to go now." Nannan's mother's face was set with resolve.

Nannan burst into loud wailing.

Tang Duo felt a pang of sorrow too. He could only rub Nannan's head, his throat tight as if something were lodged in it. They had not known each other long, but Nannan's lovable innocence had won Tang Tang's heart completely.

Nannan's mother was also grieved, but she steeled herself, scooped Nannan up, said a final word to Tang Tang, and turned to vanish into the sea of bamboo.

Listening to Nannan's crying fade further and further into the distance, Tang Ke felt a hollow sense of loss.

Then he looked at the corpse on the ground, and fury surged in his heart. Black Soul, that damned lot—he'd remember this debt. Seething, Tang Tang stripped the man in black completely bare, leaving not a single item behind, and sank the stripped corpse into the swamp.

With a large bundle on his back, Tang Tang returned to Shaqima Academy.

Wei Zheng had come back at some point and was happily roasting meat, while Amori crouched to one side, staring at it with longing. Tang Tang, his face black as thunder, walked up to the two of them and slammed the bundle down on the ground with a thud.

Its contents scattered across the earth.

Wei Zheng's gaze fell on the bronze token, and his hand froze in midair. He rose, walked over to the pile, and crouched down, poking through it for a while.

"Looks like you've stirred up big trouble."

There was no telling joy or anger from Wei Zheng's words; his eyes were deep and dark.

"Hey, old man, you know about Black Soul too, don't you?" Tang Tang stared hard at Wei Zheng.

Wei Zheng caught the ferocity in Tang Duo's eyes, and suddenly smiled. "A little. Black Soul is a very ancient organization—hmm, you could say one of the oldest in the world. Their ranks are tightly knit, their connections tangled and complex. You can see their shadow throughout the entire history of the Sky Road. They walk in darkness and stop at nothing. If they set their sights on you, ten to one you'll die a miserable death. Young man, you've landed yourself in something big!"

"They're looking for me." Tang Tang did not conceal it. "It should be over my mother's relic—the Southern Cross Ascetic Token."

The Southern Cross Ascetic Token had already merged with him, so he had not the slightest worry that anyone could take it from him.

"The Southern Cross?" Wei Zheng was taken aback. "The Southern Cross is the smallest constellation. Why would Black Soul be interested in it?"

Seeing Tang Yi's blank face, Wei Zheng explained, "The more powerful the constellation, the more powerful the stellar secret treasure it can nurture. The Southern Cross is the smallest constellation, so its stellar secret treasure shouldn't be very strong either. Black Soul's people only take interest in powerful stellar secret treasures and powerful martial arts. Could it be that there's some secret hidden in the Southern Cross Ascetic Token?"

Tang Tang shook his head. "I don't know. I ran into Di Han. He didn't show his face, but it was definitely him."

"Di Han?" Wei Zheng looked surprised. "A Black Soul man entering the martial tournament? Hmm, that really is strange. Interested in the Southern Cross Ascetic Token, and interested in the tournament as well?"

Amori was huddled off to one side, gnawing ravenously at the roast meat, paying no attention whatsoever to the conversation between Wei Zheng and Tang Duo.

Tang Tang clawed at his hair, his face dark, in a foul mood. Nannan's departure had left him somewhat sad. Black Soul's involvement with the Southern Cross Ascetic Token stirred no fear in him, no matter how Wei Zheng described their power.

If the Southern Cross Ascetic Token really did hide some secret, as Wei Zheng said, then these Black Soul people might actually help him find it.

As for everything else—well, he'd settle it with his fists.

He need only train hard and make himself stronger, and those Black Soul people would naturally help him "find" the secret of the Southern Cross Ascetic Token.

At that thought, Tang Ke's mood brightened again. No need to think too hard—just train with all his might. That sort of thing was exactly what he was good at!

"This Jia Duo doesn't seem all that impressive." Tang Tang pointed at the bronze token on the ground. This real combat had convinced him that the Lightning Kill was, of all his martial techniques, the one best suited to a sneak attack—fist speed like lightning, and for an ambush it never failed.

"He was nothing but a Black Soul foot soldier." Wei Zheng glanced at it. "In Black Soul, they don't even count as the outer circle. Black Soul's power exceeds your imagination. Within Black Soul there are all kinds of martial techniques and all kinds of secret treasures. Every Black Soul member need only complete the corresponding missions to earn points. With enough points, you can exchange them for anything. Why is Black Soul so keen on stellar secret treasures and collecting martial techniques? Because such things hold a fatal attraction for martial artists. And that's not all—anything you can think of, anything at all, can be provided inside, so long as you have enough points."

"Don't worry too much either." Wei Zheng consoled Tang Tang. "The factions within Black Soul are more numerous and complex than any other organization. Often their actions can't truly represent Black Soul's intentions. If Black Soul were really interested in the Southern Cross Ascetic Token in your hands, they wouldn't have sent just a few foot soldiers."

Tang Yu looked disappointed. "No way. The Southern Cross Ascetic Token is amazing—and they actually look down on it?"

In his heart he had already accepted Wei Zheng's words. The Jia Duo he had killed was probably about as strong as Di Han. But if that were so, wouldn't the "brilliant plan" he had just come up with come to nothing?

"Damn! And here I was thinking so highly of these Black Soul people," Tang Tang muttered.

Wei Zheng was speechless. "Aren't you afraid at all?"

"Why should I be afraid?" Tang Yi looked at Wei Zheng with contempt, hands on his hips, chin lifted haughtily to the sky. "I'm a youth determined to become a god. Black Soul—well, they're destined to be one of the enemies I defeat on my great conquest."

Wei Zheng stared at Tang Duo's face for a long while, then covered his face with his hand. "The ignorant know no fear. I really miscalculated—how would this idiot ever know fear..."

Tang Duo's attention shifted to the spoils, and he said quickly, "Hey, old man, help me look—is there anything useful in here?"

"Hmm, you can keep this bronze token. Black Soul recognizes the token, not the man. If you kill someone and take their token, Black Soul won't care at all. Though I'd guess this Jia Duo was poor as dirt—there won't be many points in it. You'll learn later that many things in Black Soul are very convenient. Intelligence, for instance—no faction has better intelligence than Black Soul. The twin blades aren't bad; about on par with your Heaven Furnace Black Iron series. Oh, oh, now this is a good one—a Sagitta miniaturized hidden-sleeve arrow, a Black Iron secret treasure. You've trained in hidden weapons, so you can use it. These few star stones aren't high grade—hmm, use them for buying things." Wei Zheng looked for all the world like a crooked merchant.

Tang Tang strapped the miniaturized hidden-sleeve arrow to his wrist and tried channeling true force into it.