Chapter 17: More Absorption!
After Wang Yanfeng had guided Tang San and the other four in their Wind Wolf Transformation cultivation, he instructed them to return to their rooms to continue cultivating, which they did until dinner.
As they were about to eat, Wang Yanfeng suddenly spoke to Wang Da, Wang Er, and Wang San. "I've been thinking, perhaps it's time to give each of you a name so that you can have your own proper identity. Would you like that?"
"I am willing." Wang Da nodded with a simple grin.
Wang Er blinked and said, "Sure, why not."
Wang San, the tallest among them, even taller than Tang San, was incredibly thin, resembling a bamboo pole. He asked, "Would that be okay?"
"Yes!" said Wang Da, rebuking Wang San with a stern look.
"Uh-huh," Wang San replied. He seemed somewhat afraid of Wang Da, and he could only nod in agreement.
"Then it's settled. I've come up with names for each of you. Wang Da, from now on, you'll be called Wang Chao. Wang Er, your name will be Wang Zhong, and as for Wang San, you'll be Wang Xiaolei," Wang Yanfeng said.
Wang Chao exclaimed with joy, "That's great! Thank you, teacher. I finally have my name."
Wang Zhong blinked but didn't say much. He was also relatively thin, but compared to Wang Da and Wang San, he appeared to be more reserved, though not timid. During the sacrificing ritual, it was only in Wang Zhong's gaze that Tang San had detected a sense of resentment rather than pure fear.
Wang Xiaolei furrowed his brow and said, "I have three characters in my name. Would it be difficult to write?"
"Why are you protesting so much? It's settled. Thanks, teacher," Wang Chao said, giving him a stern look. He was the oldest among them, so it felt natural for everyone that he was taking on the elder brother role.
Among the five children, Tang San was the youngest. Wang Chao was already seventeen years old, Wang Zhong was fourteen, Wang Xiaolei was twelve, Ling Muxue was ten, and Tang San himself was only eight years old.
"Tang San, let the teacher give you a name, too," Wang Chao kindly suggested.
Tang San shook his head and said, "No need, I'm fine with just being called Tang San."
"Alright, let's go ahead and eat," Wang Yanfeng said.
After dinner, they all returned to their rooms to continue their cultivation. The Wang siblings still required Wang Yanfeng's guidance to enter the state of bloodline stimulation cultivation. Tang San, on the other hand, didn't need any assistance. What surprised Wang Yanfeng, however, was that after he guided her once, Ling Muxue was also able to initiate bloodline cultivation on her own.
As the night grew darker, Tang San, sitting cross-legged on his bed, slowly opened his eyes.
On the bed opposite from his, Wang Zhong was still cultivating diligently, and his aura was very stable. Tang San could sense the pulsations of his bloodline and faint fluctuations of wind elemental energy around his body.
Tang San’s gaze grew sharp.
Life had finally changed, at least for the better; he no longer had to worry about becoming food for the demons. Now, the most important thing was to improve his strength. He had given himself three years, just three years. Three years from now would be the moment to leave this place…and it would also be the moment to exact revenge.
He looked out the window in the direction of the Wind Wolf Town square, and he subconsciously clenched his fist. His birth mother had died at the hands of the Wind Wolf Clan. It didn’t matter that he had only seen her for a few moments—what mattered was that the woman who had given him life was now dead. The killing of his mother ensured that there was no room for reconciliation between him and the demons.
Quietly pushing open the window, Tang San slipped out in a flash. He carefully closed the window behind him.
Even though Wang Yanfeng's cultivation level was higher than his in a way, Tang San was confident that he wouldn't be discovered, thanks to the Tang Sect's ultimate techniques that he knew from his previous life.
Tang San slowly stepped away, getting farther and farther from his residence. He didn't head toward the square because he feared not being able to control his emotions if he went there and saw the skeletons beneath the altar.
He followed along the dark corners of the walls, carefully concealing his figure. He had been to Wind Wolf Town a number of times before, so while he couldn't claim to be familiar with every place, he had a good grasp of most of the terrain.
Soon, he arrived near a large stone house. From a distance, he could see that the house was brightly lit and hear the clamor coming from inside.
Tang San wasn’t sure what kind of alcohol existed in this world, or what substance they used instead, but going by his past life’s standard, this was probably a tavern. This place was the favorite gathering spot for the wolf demons of Wind Wolf Town.
It was very late at night, but the place was still busy. The late-night bustle meant that Tang San had chosen the right spot for what he was about to do.
He crouched in a dark corner, silently watching the tavern's entrance, waiting patiently.
Perhaps because it was already quite late, Tang San didn't have to wait too long. Several tall figures staggered out of the tavern.
Their voices were loud but slurred, indicating that they had too much to drink.
As these wolf demons walked, they were laughing and cursing at something. Tang San watched them until they headed into the town. At a crossroads, the wolf demons split up and went their separate ways.
Tang San locked onto one of the wolf demons with a medium build and quickly followed. He moved stealthily, and the wolf demon was too drunk to notice.
The strength of the Wind Wolf Clan members could generally be assessed based on their physique. Smaller individuals were typically second-order Wind Wolves, while the larger ones were third-order. Only powerful individuals had the potential to reach a higher rank, and in Wind Wolf Town, such formidable Wind Wolves were rare. There was only one like the Wind Wolf Lord, who stood over three meters tall.
Tang San's target was a third-order Wind Wolf, the kind of average burly wolf demon commonly found in Wind Wolf Town.
As he followed closely, Tang San silently approached from behind. With a subtle movement of his right hand, he used the gentle Mysterious Heaven Technique combined with the Tang Sect's unique Control Crane Capture Dragon method. The Wind Wolf stumbled in its steps, nearly falling forward.
However, even in its drunken state, the third-order Wind Wolf was agile. It instinctively attempted to push itself up with its hands.
Tang San seized this momentary opportunity. He closed in swiftly and targeted the Wind Wolf's lower back with a light toe tap.
For animals like dogs and wolves, their lower back was one of the most vulnerable spots.[1] While the Wind Wolf was not just a normal animal but a demon, it still shared similarities in anatomy with its wild counterpart.
As Tang San kicked the wolf demon's lower back, it immediately went limp and fell to the side. Although it attempted to curse, Tang San had already grabbed it by its throat with his Mysterious Jade Hands, blocking its blood flow and causing it to faint.
This series of actions happened incredibly quickly, taking only two or three seconds from start to finish. The third-order Wind Wolf was now lying unconscious on the ground.
Tang San observed the situation for a moment, and seeing no disturbances, he dragged the Wind Wolf to a dark corner and placed his right hand on its chest.
After several years of cultivation, Tang San was familiar with the wind element within the Wind Wolf bloodline. As he infused his Mysterious Heaven Technique energy into the Wind Wolf's body, he immediately sensed the presence of wind elements within its bloodline.
What pleasantly surprised Tang San was that the bloodline power of the living Wind Wolf was much richer than that of the two Wind Wolves that had died by his hand two years before. Once the energy from the Mysterious Heaven Technique connected, it didn't hesitate to devour and pull this bloodline energy into itself, merging it with the Wind Blade energy that he had initially absorbed.
The two converging forces immediately showed signs of merging. Although there was some dispersion of energy during the fusion process, Tang San felt that his Wind Blade aura had become more substantial, not because the technique itself had become more powerful, but because the energy imprint that produced the wind blades had become more substantial.
This meant that when he used the Mysterious Heaven Technique to transform his energy into wind blades, he could produce even stronger ones.
What surprised Tang San the most was that he had been stuck at the third bottleneck of the Mysterious Heaven Technique for a long time, but now that he had absorbed and integrated this energy, that bottleneck was actually showing signs of loosening up. It looked as if he was about to break through to the fourth order.
He carefully observed the Wind Wolf, remembering its distinctive features. Instead of killing it, Tang San quickly left the scene and returned to his house.
It wasn’t that he didn't want to kill the Wind Wolf. The problem was that if a random drunkard passed out on the road, no one would bat an eye, but if a third-order Wind Wolf was found dead, that would inevitably cause a serious commotion. It wasn't the right time for that.
1. There’s a saying in Chinese about wolves: head like copper, tail like iron, lower back like tofu. ☜
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