Chapter 79: Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!
Chapter 79: Happiness Comes Too Suddenly!
Over twenty days passed in the blink of an eye, leaving only three days until the instructors of the Divine Wind Academy arrived for enrollment!
In the woods about a hundred miles from the Tang Family, Tang Jinbiao and his group were training.
Bang bang bang!
Boom boom boom!
At this moment, Tang Jinbiao and Tang Bi were battling back and forth on the open ground.
“Haha, Brother Biao, see my trick grab for your family jewels!”
Tang Bi’s face showed a hint of playful laughter as he dodged to the side to avoid Tang Jinbiao’s fist. Seizing the opportunity, Tang Bi reacted quickly and rolled toward the ground to lunge at Tang Jinbiao’s crotch.
“Oh no!”
Noticing that Tang Bi had dodged his attack and counterattacked instantly, Tang Jinbiao’s expression changed slightly, and he immediately retreated backward. Tang Bi, however, didn’t realize that a lewd grin had spread across Tang Jinbiao’s lips just then.
Boom boom boom!
“Brother Biao, don’t flee!”
Tang Bi agilely pursued him, both hands repeatedly thrusting toward Tang Jinbiao’s crotch, seemingly determined to make him childless and without descendants.
“Ah Bi, don’t push this too far!”
Tang Jinbiao retorted as he backed away, his face betraying nervousness as if he were genuinely panicked.
“Haha, Brother Biao!”
Tang Bi showed no mercy and chased more relentlessly, his focus entirely fixed on Tang Jinbiao’s legs and crotch. His concentration was intense as he kicked his legs rapidly against the ground, advancing in a manner that almost skimmed the earth.
Whoosh!
But suddenly, Tang Jinbiao used forceful thrusts of both legs to propel himself upward into the air.
“Oh no!”
Tang Bi, who had been chasing persistently, suddenly sensed darkness and spied a pile of stones—the practice weights—looming ahead. Seeing he was about to crash into them, Tang Bi’s expression shifted sharply as he scrambled to halt. Just then, Tang Jinbiao had already rushed behind him.
“Rise!”
Tang Bi slammed both hands powerfully against the ground and soared upward.
“Haha, Brother Bi, watch my Sky Kick!”
At that instant, Tang Jinbiao kicked his legs abruptly to dart behind Tang Bi, then delivered a massive kick straight to Tang Bi’s rear.
“No…”
Feeling Tang Jinbiao’s enormous foot speeding toward his buttocks, Tang Bi screamed in alarm. Before he could finish yelling, he was sent tumbling away with a thunderous crash.
“No!”
“Ah, my eyes!”
“Brother Biao!”
Tang Hu and the others witnessed Tang Bi blasted flying by Tang Jinbiao’s kick and shut their eyes one by one out of pity.
Crash!
Tang Bi was unable to dodge in time. The kick sent him flying four to five zhang away until he slammed against a large tree. The trunk shook violently, shedding numerous leaves with a rustling sound.
“Ah, Brother Biao!”
However, Tang Bi was largely unharmed. Rubbing his buttocks as he jolted upright, he leaned against the tree and glared resentfully at Tang Jinbiao.
“Haha, how was that? Still dare to mess with me? Damn it, who’s next? Huh? Weak! Pathetically weak!”
Seeing Tang Bi’s aggrieved expression, Tang Jinbiao smirked triumphantly. After casually scanning Tang Hu and the others, he burst into a frenzied laugh.
…
Over these past two weeks, following Tang Hu’s suggestion, the group had engaged in combat training.
The results were striking. Though none except Tang Jinbiao had advanced in cultivation level, everyone’s combat prowess had risen significantly—Tang Hu most of all. At Second Tier Advanced Stage, he was unmatched among them. Even when the others ganged up on him, it ended with Tang Hu effortlessly trouncing them like children.
As for Tang Bi, Tang Xing, and Tang Bu, while their cultivation levels remained stagnant, their strength now matched their ranks. Facing cultivators of equal rank now, they would no longer be easily overpowered.
Tang Jinbiao, meanwhile, progressed at an astonishing pace. He’d now reached First Rank, Intermediate Grade—equal to Tang Bi and Tang Xing. Among the group, only Tang Hu surpassed him.
The Qingyang Eight Trigrams Formation, however, remained elusive. Repeated attempts ended in explosive failures, leaving them wondering if it was Wang Hanyu’s malicious prank. Eventually, they abandoned the effort and focused solely on physical training. Cheating their way ahead seemed impossible. Fortunately, Tang Jinbiao secured a steady supply of elixirs from the Third Elder, granting the others substantial benefits—their combat abilities multiplied despite stagnant cultivation levels.
…
“Who else? Damn it!”
Tang Jinbiao stood arrogantly, howling defiantly until his boredom finally silenced him.
Tang Hu regarded him with contempt. Tang Xing and Tang Bi watched fearfully. Tang Bu alone still looked upon him with worship.
“Cough… With hearts scattered, the team is so difficult to lead.”
Tang Jinbiao noticed their discordant gazes, feeling a pang of disappointment.
Three months prior, all had admired him. Yet in just ninety days, Tang Hu now dismissed him; Tang Bi and Tang Xing dreaded him; only Tang Bu’s devotion remained. Tang Jinbiao was plunged into bitter defeat.
“Ah Hu, with only three days until the Divine Wind Academy instructor arrives for enrollment, shouldn’t we go somewhere? Panlong City, maybe? It’s just two hundred li away.”
Tang Jinbiao approached Tang Hu with the suggestion.
“Hm? What? I didn’t quite hear.”
Tang Hu’s brow creased slightly as he pretended not to catch it.
“Ah Hu. I’m saying we should go dawdle around somewhere!”
Tang Jinbiao repeated impatiently.
“Ah? Still didn’t hear you!”
Tang Hu feigned bafflement once more.
“Ah Hu, I said… Oh! Brother Hu! Brother Hu! Xiao Biao is respectfully asking—shouldn’t we go dawdle around, Brother Hu?”
Finally grasping the situation, Tang Jinbiao immediately amended his address.
“Oh, that’s what you meant? That’s straightforward. Ah Xing, Ah Bu, any thoughts?”
Only when Tang Jinbiao called him “Brother Hu” did Tang Hu respond heartily.
Undeniably, after barely twenty days of training, Tang Hu’s unrivaled strength had crowned him the undisputed leader—a position he’d held for days now. Tang Jinbiao, meanwhile, was relegated to the background.
“Hahaha… Brother Hu decides! Wherever you say!”
Tang Xing’s habit of laughing before speaking seemed impossible to shake. Once again, he chuckled three times before uttering a word.
“Brother Hu!”
Tang Bu watched Tang Hu with reverence. Only two words were spoken, but they managed to express everything.
“Brother Hu is the one who decides!”
Tang Bi, who had been kicked flying, also stood up. Rubbing his backside, he walked over, his attitude declaring complete deference to Tang Hu.
“Mmm, easy now, easy,” Tang Hu nodded with satisfaction. “Since that’s settled, today Brother Hu will take you to a little gathering at a place popular with the cultured and elegant!”
“Haha… haha… really?”
“Look into our eyes, Brother Hu, you’re not deceiving us, are you?”
“Brother Hu!”
Tang Bi and the others looked wildly excited and thrilled, though buried deep within them was a hefty dose of disbelief.
“Nonsense! See this? What’s this? Hmph! A Mid-grade Spirit Stone! Just this one piece is worth eighteen… no, twenty-eight low-grade stones!”
Tang Hu pulled out of his robe a four-square piece of bluish-green Spirit Stone, about the size of a hen’s egg. He declared this with a look of outright haughtiness.
“What?”
“Oh, heavens!”
When the group saw the Spirit Stone, their eyes lit up. After all these years, they’d never laid eyes on such a large chunk!
They each received only one Low-grade Spirit Stone per year, and of the lowest quality at that. This single Mid-grade Spirit Stone was equivalent to a hundred years worth of their accumulated income! And that was assuming they saved every single piece without using any!
“Damn it, the tables have been turned on me! Damn it! God damn Huang Biaozi, where the hell have you died off to? When I need you, you probably ran off to one of those ‘gathering places of the cultured and elegant’ to get your head washed?”
Watching Tang Hu swagger about and brandish his arms in triumph, Tang Jinbiao cursed inwardly. But the brunt of his insults was reserved for Huang Biaozi.
“Hmph! See that now? Brother Hu wouldn’t deceive others! Come on, let’s go get our heads washed! Bah! I mean, to the gathering place of the cultured and elegant!”
Tang Hu, probably worried they might try to snatch it, quickly stowed the Mid-grade Spirit Stone away. He beckoned to the others, preparing to leave.
However, Tang Bi and the rest offered no further comments, their faces filled with simple admiration as they followed.
“That bastard Huang Biaozi! You good-for-nothing old charlatan!”
Cursing Huang Biaozi once more in his heart, Tang Jinbiao also tagged along.
…
An hour later, deep within a dense forest.
“Brother Hu, did you really ever get your head washed at Panlong City before?”
The voice sounded like it belonged to Tang Bi.
“Hmph! Of course! What sort of man is your Brother Hu? Though I won’t tell you which attendant was named Xiaohong!”
The answer seemed to come from Tang Hu.
“So impressive!”
“Brother Hu!”
“Hmph, no worries! Stick with Brother Hu, and we’ll enjoy the finest delicacies!”
“Mhm mhm mhm, Brother Hu! I want the eighteen-year-old!”
“Brother Hu, I want the eighteen-year-old too!”
“A… A… Brother Hu, I want the twenty-eight-year-old!”
“Haha, easy, easy! Say no more!”
……
Two hours later, the group had ventured much farther from the Tang Family, yet they still hadn’t escaped the Dense Forest, remaining deep within its thick, interwoven trees.
After trekking for these two hours, instead of showing any signs of weariness, each of them radiated excitement on their faces. Even Tang Jinbiao had, for now, cast aside any concerns about being the eldest brother—apparently, as long as he could get that “head wash,” nothing else mattered.
“Brother Hu, how did you get those Spirit Stones?”
Tang Bi seemed like a completely different person now, his face full of anticipation as he asked Tang Hu.
“Yeah, right, Brother Hu. Do you really have enough Spirit Stones for all our head washes?”
Not just Tang Bi, even Tang Jinbiao had capitulated. Although the Third Elder was a wealthy mark, he always only gave Elixirs, never Spirit Stones, which had been endlessly frustrating for Tang Jinbiao. Now, indebted after accepting favors, he had no choice but to also address him as “Brother Hu,” though he kept silently assuring himself: “It’s fine, it’s fine. The best taste is dumplings; the best fun is a… well, nevermind. Calling him Brother Hu isn’t a loss!”
“Ha!… Ha!… Ha!…”
“B-B-B-Bro… Brother Hu…!”
Tang Xing and Tang Bu were so excited they could barely speak clearly.
“Hmph, just a head wash? What’s there to fear? Brother Hu’s got plenty of money. See this? Know what it is?”
Seeing their excitement, Tang Hu got swept up in it himself. He reached into his robes, pulled out a grey Storage Pouch, and waved it triumphantly before their eyes, as if daring them not to see it.
Clink clank!
Though no sound was actually audible, their excitement made them imagine they faintly heard the distinct clinking sound coming from within.
Rustle!
As he spoke, Tang Hu poured out three or five egg-sized Spirit Stones from the Storage Pouch into his palm.
Shimmer shimmer shimmer!
“Oh heavens!”
“Aah! My eyes!”
“Help me!”
“Quick! Put them away! I can’t open my eyes!”
The moment the Spirit Stones appeared, a blinding radiance seemed to erupt from them, so dazzling that the group instinctively averted their gaze, unable to look directly, their eyes squeezed shut as if overwhelmed by the brilliance.
“Hahaha, come on, come on! Master’s feeling generous today! Here, minions, one each!”
Tang Hu seemed in an exceptionally good mood, tossing one Spirit Stone to each of them.
Snatch! Snatch! Snatch!
Tang Jinbiao and the others reacted swiftly, catching the stones with practiced reflexes. They clenched them tightly in their fists, holding on with utmost care, fearing they might slip away.
“Aah, so good!”
“Incredible!”
“So this is what legendary Mid-grade Spirit Stones feel like!”
The moment they held the stones, a surge of potent Spiritual Energy flooded into them. Each closed their eyes, utterly absorbed in the blissful sensation.
“B-b-b-blood!”
But just then, Tang Bu’s terrified scream suddenly pierced the air…