The Fool Who Shook the Heavens

Chapter 4

"I'm a soul trapped inside that piece of jade. At last, I'm free!"

The white-haired old man threw both arms into the air. His face was radiant, as if he had just walked out of a prison after serving a sentence of a thousand years. After being sealed in the pendant for so long, he could finally see the outside world again.

But his joy didn't last.

The moment he sensed Tang Hao's aura, the smile vanished from his face. His eyes flew wide, and his whole body went rigid.

"The True Dragon Body!"

Tang Hao tilted his head. He had no idea why the old man had suddenly shouted, but curiosity quickly won out over confusion. He circled the old man, studying him from every angle, then stopped and turned over his own hands.

"Grandpa, why are you glowing and I'm not?" he asked innocently. "Did you eat something that makes you shine? I want some too!"

Ouyang Jun took a deep breath and decided to ignore the strange question.

"Listen carefully, boy. My name is Ouyang Jun. I was once one of the mightiest experts in the cultivation world. My name commanded respect, and my reign lasted for thousands of years."

He lifted his chin proudly. But his pride soon gave way to anger as he recalled his past.

"Unfortunately, the man I trusted most betrayed me. My body was destroyed, and only my soul survived."

His fingers curled into fists, trembling slightly with rage. After a moment, he loosened his grip and turned back to Tang Hao.

"But now, I have a chance to rise again!" he declared. "A True Dragon Body is incredibly rare. It may appear only once in several thousand years. Become my disciple, and I will guide you until you rule the Three Realms!"

'If I can train this boy, someday I'll be able to rebuild a body and take revenge on my enemies!'

Tang Hao just hugged the rest of his drumstick tightly and backed away a step.

"No way!"

Ouyang Jun froze. "What?"

"You want to steal my fried chicken!"

The old man was nearly speechless. He had just offered the boy dominion over the Three Realms, and this brat was worried about a piece of chicken.

"I've feasted on delicacies from every corner of the continent. Your fried chicken doesn't interest me in the slightest!" Ouyang Jun waved a hand. "Keep your food!"

Tang Hao nodded in satisfaction. Once he'd made sure his chicken was safe, he went back to chewing with gusto, as if the conversation were over.

Ouyang Jun could only rub his temples.

'What kind of kid is this?'

Before he could continue, several disciples in blue robes passed by on the stone steps, swords swaying at their hips as they walked. One of them glanced at Tang Hao and slowed down when he saw the boy chattering to himself, waving a chicken bone at empty air.

"Look, the idiot's talking to the wind!" he said with a laugh.

His companion glanced over and shook his head with amusement. "Forget him. If we're late, the Elder will punish us. I don't want to run laps around the mountain over something this stupid."

They hurried off, snickering.

Ouyang Jun didn't react at all. He had long since grown used to being invisible to everyone else. But one word from that conversation made him frown.

"Idiot?"

Slowly, he turned to Tang Hao.

"Boy, don't tell me you really are an idiot?"

Tang Hao stopped chewing. His face puckered into a pout.

"You're the idiot, Grandpa!"

Ouyang Jun was about to snap back, but Tang Hao had already pointed toward the steps where the disciples had disappeared.

"They can't see you, right? Are their eyes broken?"

The old man sighed. "I'm merely a soul awakened by your blood. In this world, you're the only one who can see me."

Tang Hao blinked twice. A moment later, his face lit up.

"So you're really good at hide-and-seek, Grandpa?" He clapped his hands. "Teach me! I want to hide somewhere nobody can ever find me!"

Ouyang Jun's shoulders sagged.

He had waited years for a chance to rise again. And when that chance finally arrived, it came in the form of a boy whose mind held nothing but food and games.

'Hopeless! How am I supposed to get my revenge with a kid like this?'

Tang Hao burst into laughter, thinking the old man was telling a joke.

His laughter faded when an Elder's voice drifted down from a distant hill.

There, a group of disciples sat cross-legged on a stretch of flat rock. The air around them shimmered faintly, and the leaves on the trees swayed in an invisible flow of energy.

"Absorb the energy of heaven and earth to nourish your souls," the Elder said. "When your body begins to merge with spiritual energy, you will enter the Qi Gathering Stage. Don't rush. Feel the flow, and let the energy enter naturally."

Tang Hao turned to look at them.

"Spiritual energy..."

Ouyang Jun snorted at the murmur.

"What do you know? You probably don't even know where your dantian is. You likely can't manage the most basic breathing exercise!"

He folded his arms across his chest and added mockingly, "If you can actually cultivate, I'll take your name. From now on, call me Hao Jun!"

Tang Hao didn't answer.

Instead, he set the rest of his drumstick down on the step and sat cross-legged, back straight, hands resting on his knees. He looked exactly like the disciples on the distant hill.

"Absorb the energy of heaven and earth... nourish the soul... merge with spiritual energy..."

He repeated the Elder's words in a low voice, trying to make sense of each one.

At first, Ouyang Jun paid him no attention. But a moment later, he sensed a change in the air around them.

The wind sweeping across the steps suddenly stopped. The dry leaves rolling along the ground went still. Then spiritual energy from every direction began flowing toward Tang Hao, forming a small vortex around his body.

"What's happening?"

Ouyang Jun straightened at once. He watched the energy pour into the boy's body and gather in his lower abdomen.

At first, he thought it was a coincidence. But the vortex only grew stronger.

In his lifetime, Ouyang Jun had watched thousands of experts cultivate. He knew how hard it was to draw in spiritual energy, especially for beginners who didn't yet understand the fundamentals.

Yet Tang Hao had simply sat down and repeated a few sentences he'd overheard.

One breath passed.

Then two.

The vortex of energy grew denser. Tang Hao's gray robe fluttered gently as spiritual energy kept seeping into him without the slightest sign of slowing.

On the hill, the disciples were still struggling to gather their energy bit by bit. None of them realized that the boy they called a fool was absorbing a vast amount of it on the stone steps.

Before ten breaths had passed, a wave of energy rippled outward from Tang Hao's body and dissolved into the air.

Everything fell calm again.

Tang Hao opened his eyes and scratched his cheek.

"Grandpa, I'm hungry again."

Ouyang Jun didn't answer. He was still staring at the boy, rooted to the spot.

In such a short time, Tang Hao had absorbed spiritual energy and broken through to the first level of the Qi Gathering Stage!

The boy who didn't even know where his dantian was possessed an astonishing talent for cultivation.