Tang San cursed under his breath, glaring at the opportunistic, grinning man who was taking advantage of him. Despite his annoyance, his curiosity about the so-called "Legend Of Tang San" got the better of him, and he reluctantly handed over the gold soul coins, purchasing the last ticket.
"Hurry up, the show is about to start," the doorman urged as soon as Tang San arrived.
Walking down a long corridor, Tang San entered the "theater," which resembled an auction hall. The seats were arranged in a semi-circular shape, with nearly a hundred seats, and the place was filled with the sound of chatter, but the screen in the middle was pitch black.
Using his Purple DemojMagic Eyes, Tang San noticed that Zhou Sichen and Cao Jinxuan were there, along with many of his classmates from Class One. Even the usually low-profile Han Ruoruo and Han Susu were present.
Coincidentally, they were sitting right in front of his seat.
Tang San sat down and listened to the conversation around him.
"Legend Of Tang San, huh? It's the biography of our ancestor, Tang San, from ten thousand years ago. Although we've seen the written versions of his story at Shrek Academy, this is the first time it's been presented as a movie," Cao Jinxuan said excitedly.
"Speaking of which, we have a Tang San in our class too, don't we?"
"Cut it out, he doesn't even come close to being worthy of sharing a name with our ancestor. Shameless."
"Alright, let's stop talking. The movie's starting."
Tang San remained calm, his mood improving slightly. These people had long been his rivals, but their tone seemed to indicate they were fans of the original Tang San.
With a low hum, the projection crystal illuminated, casting light on the prepared screen.
In the surrounding darkness, the screen looked exceptionally bright and clear, causing some people to gasp in amazement at the novelty of watching something in a cinematic format.
Even Tang San furrowed his brow. For the first time, he felt a sense of uncontrollability, as though this plane was growing wildly like an untamed horse.
The three big characters Legend Of Tang San appeared on the screen.
Then, hurried footsteps echoed, and the screen turned black. Judging from the fragmented voices, it seemed like someone was being chased.
"This must be the scene where Tang San's ancestor was born," Cao Jinxuan said with wide eyes.
"I remember the historical records say that Tang San's father, Tang Hao, and his mother, Ah Yin, were being hunted by the Spirit Hall at that time. This part of the biography is pretty accurate, but… why does it feel so flat?" he added, puzzled.
"Yeah, I remember Tang Hao was a Soul Douluo, and he managed to kill those from the Spirit Hall after receiving Ah Yin's sacrifice. The battle should have been much more spectacular, but this scene feels like it's just a couple of soul masters using only physical strength to fight…" Zhou Sichen also raised a question.
"Could it be the director was trying to save on costs?"
Tang San remained silent, staring at the screen.
For some reason, a sense of foreboding gripped him, and it seemed as though his intuition was about to be proven right. To his surprise, an old and clear voice came from the screen.
"Tang San, you've been surrounded! Why don't you surrender?"
Then a young voice replied, "I know. Breaking into the inner sect and stealing our sect's secret skills is a crime that cannot be forgiven! The sect rules prohibit this, but Tang San swears to the heavens that he has never leaked any of the skills he learned in secret!"
"Tang San is not saying this to gain the elders' approval; he just wants to tell you all that I, Tang San, will never forget my roots!"
Tang San felt as if he had been struck by lightning.
He stared at the screen, his face frozen. The scene before him, looked eerily familiar.
It all came rushing back. Everything was coming back to him!
The memories of his past life surged violently, but the key point was… the secret of the transmigrator should have been his alone! Except... there was also Senior Sister Tang Wen!
She must have betrayed him.
Tang San felt as if he had fallen into an ice-cold abyss. His greatest secret was about to be exposed in front of the entire continent, with countless eyes upon him!
Zhou Sichen and the others began discussing loudly.
"What does this mean? Tang Men's martial arts? Stolen techniques? Outer sect disciple?"
"Could this desperate Tang San be our ancestor, Tang San?"
"But I remember the textbooks said that the Tang Sect's techniques were all created by our ancestor, Tang San. Why now…?"
"Stolen techniques? How is this any different from being a thief?"
"Ah… thinking about it more, it's terrifying. I remember Tang San's… cough cough, his use of hidden weapons was only shown when he was about eleven years old. How could a mere child come up with flying daggers, concealed arrows, and the Zhuge God Crossbow, along with the Tang Sect techniques? Was an eleven- or twelve-year-old really able to create such groundbreaking techniques?"
As the discussions grew louder, Tang San broke into a cold sweat.
He knew that he couldn't afford to dig deeper into this matter. If the truth came out, his reputation would collapse in an instant.
At this moment, he wished he could rush up and destroy the projection crystal, but reason told him that it would do no good. It wouldn't stop the spread of this film.
"Huff…" He exhaled deeply, hoping that the rest of the content wouldn't be too explosive.
The crowd's interest in Legend Of Tang San grew as the screen showed Tang San jumping off a cliff. The scene switched, and a baby's cries were heard. The baby was next to Tang Hao, who was holding a sickly woman on a bed, as she slowly transformed into a Blue Silver Grass spirit, which he gently cupped in his hands.
The screen zoomed in, showing Tang Hao giving one last look at the baby before leaving, his eyes flashing with a trace of disgust.
It seemed that Tang Hao felt the child had brought misfortune to the family.
Tang San's fists clenched tightly. He had fully immersed himself in the scene. When he had first transmigrated, the baby's vision was limited, and he couldn't notice many details. But now, thinking back…
As time passed, six years went by.
During those six years, Tang Hao appeared to be nothing more than a lazy man. When Tang San was hungry, Tang Hao would forcefully open his mouth and pour scalding leftover porridge into it, causing Tang San to scream in pain. This led Old Village Head Jack to come rushing to take Tang San away, while Tang Hao stayed in the house, drinking and living carefree.
The audience couldn't help but frown.
"This Tang Hao is a bastard…" someone muttered, before awkwardly covering their mouth.
After all, Tang Hao, as Tang San's father, was well-known across the continent, and even after thousands of years, stories about him still circulated.
Tang San lowered his head, his face hidden in the darkness. No one could see the pain on his face.
"Filial piety is the foundation of all virtues," this was a principle he had always held dear.
Thus, he didn't want to dwell on these painful memories. He preferred to think of his family as harmonious, with his parents finally reunited, and he was blissfully happy.
Now, unexpectedly, this painful history had shattered his perception of his father's love and the family's harmony, revealing it all to be a lie.
"To think Tang San had such a miserable life, even after transmigrating, he was still betrayed," Cao Jinxuan gasped.
As the plot continued, Tang San practiced his martial arts techniques and successfully awakened his innate full soul power.
And only at this point did Zhou Sichen, watching the screen, say thoughtfully, "Do you think Tang San would have achieved anything if not for the Spirit Hall?"
Everyone shook their heads in unison.
Especially when the screen showed Tang San using the Spirit Hall's new soul master tools (gold soul coins) and completing his initial capital accumulation with their help. The crowd fell into silence.
"So this is the real Tang San?" Cao Jinxuan said, speaking his name directly.
"Could this be the work of the Sun and Moon Empire's conspiracy?" someone whispered nearby, though their tone was uncertain.
---------------------
"What do you mean? Do you want me to help you with your evil fire?" Xu Cheng asked, a little surprised.
"Why are you shouting so loudly?" Ma Xiaotao's face flushed red, and she quickly grabbed Xu Cheng's arm and led him to a secluded spot.
"But I thought the problem with the evil fire had been solved?" Xu Cheng frowned, taking her hand and feeling her condition.
"Your fault! You didn't tell me this would happen!" Ma Xiaotao blushed furiously and pushed Xu Cheng's hand away, glaring at him.
But it looked more like she was pouting.
Xu Cheng's gaze slowly lowered, stopping at her abdomen, and then looked at Ma Xiaotao's reaction. Her face turned even redder.
"Uh..." Xu Cheng clicked his tongue.
Speaking of which, the sealing spell was something he created himself. After all, they were both geniuses, and with his top-tier Martial Soul, creating a Soul Skill wasn't particularly difficult.
So, once the sealing spell was engraved, it indeed forced the person being sealed to behave, as he wasn't just threatening Ma Xiaotao. The power of the spell was not to be underestimated, but...
It seemed to have gotten out of his control.
The sealing spell had... gone awry!
It should be noted that Ma Xiaotao's evil fire was different from Ma Hongjun's from ten thousand years ago. The latter's evil fire could be alleviated by visiting brothels, releasing it to relieve pressure. The difference was that it happened often, and even an ordinary person could endure it. But Ma Xiaotao's fire only had the "fire" part.
When it flared up, it was completely uncontrollable. Relying on fighting to release it wouldn't work, let alone those other ways. Otherwise, in the original story, Yan Shaozhe wouldn't have had to go to extremes like seeking extreme ice or ice-type elements to suppress it, and could have just found a partner to solve it sooner.
But now, with the sealing spell gone awry, it seemed like it was bringing Ma Xiaotao's evil fire closer to the state Ma Hongjun was in ten thousand years ago...
Of course, the recently sacrificed Seventh Soul Skill and a certain hundred-thousand-year-old fairy herb also played a role.
Xu Cheng opened his mouth, feeling a little awkward.
"You chose this, I asked you at the time."
"You! You didn't tell me it would turn out like this!!!" Ma Xiaotao's eyes almost shot fire, but not anger—it was desire.
"But there are some benefits." Xu Cheng coughed twice.
"Speak!" Ma Xiaotao said, glaring at him.
"Do you know Ma Hongjun? He's in a very similar situation to you right now." Xu Cheng tilted his chin, saying, "Originally, your talent was good, but you were still a bit far from becoming a god. But now... you're getting closer."
With the sacrifice of the hundred-thousand-year-old herb and the subtle "transformation" in the Martial Soul Phoenix's evil fire, her potential to become a god seemed to have taken a step forward.
"You mean... my ancestor, Ma Hongjun, cultivated like this?" Ma Xiaotao was stunned. This was never mentioned by her teacher.
"Before level 70, it's pretty much the same." Xu Cheng spread his hands. "Actually, calling both of you 'Evil Fire Phoenix' is a bit inaccurate. He truly deserves the 'evil' part, while you're only really the 'fire' part. Your evil fire is uncontrollable because the fire element itself is too strong, and it's not really about the 'evil' part."
"..." Ma Xiaotao was silent for a moment.
The temptation of becoming a god was indeed great. After all, that was the peak of power and eternal lifespan.
But...
"What if I can't hold on?" Ma Xiaotao's eyes grew even more fiery.
"Two methods: the first is training. Through intense training, you can consume Soul Power and suppress the desires. Originally, you would have to look for ice-type suppression, but now you can substitute it. The second method..."
Xu Cheng turned around, and while speaking, a slender figure pressed up from behind. Her arms wrapped around his neck, and a hot, primal aura slowly began to rise, creating an intimate atmosphere.
"I can't hold it much longer~" Ma Xiaotao whispered into Xu Cheng's ear.
"Uh..." Xu Cheng turned his head and saw her stunning, seductive face so close to his. Her long legs had already wrapped around his waist.
"Sigh, you're a bit too..."
"Take me back to the dorm. Do you still want to stay here?" Ma Xiaotao said with sultry eyes, panting lightly.
"Alright."
Xu Cheng picked up Ma Xiaotao in a princess carry, his figure flashing as he headed toward the dormitory building.
...
"Hold on, I'll try to see if the Extreme Ice can resolve this."
Xu Cheng pushed Ma Xiaotao's hands away from his chest, but she clung to him like an octopus and wouldn't let go.
"You've been holding this in for how long?" Xu Cheng clicked his tongue.
As he spoke, the power of Extreme Ice erupted from his body, and Ma Xiaotao shivered in his arms, her consciousness slowly clearing up a little.
But she still clung to his neck, unwilling to let go.
"Ha, ha... I feel like I can only stay clear-headed when I hold you." Ma Xiaotao didn't care about their intimate contact at all and said, her red lips slightly parted.
"It seems like most of the 'evil fire' accumulated in your body has transformed into this 'desire fire.'" Xu Cheng mused.
"Since that fairy herb sacrifice, my strength has improved rapidly," Ma Xiaotao's beautiful eyes became hazy, her fingers, which were as delicate as tender white onions, painted with a red tint, lightly caressed Xu Cheng's face. "I had a feeling, but I thought I could hold it in. I didn't expect to nearly lose control in front of you."
"Do you hate me?" Xu Cheng suddenly asked.
"Why would I hate you?" Ma Xiaotao gently stroked his face. "You saved me from Shrek... maybe I should thank you instead."
"Then..."
Before Xu Cheng could finish his sentence, the sound of a door opening interrupted him.
"Ah, Xiao Cheng, have you missed me... Ah?! Xiao Tao?!!"
A graceful figure appeared at the door.
It was Zhang Lexuan, who had gone to her mother's house for a while. She stood frozen at the door, staring at the two of them who were embracing each other.
"Ma Xiaotao!"
Zhang Lexuan's anger flared up.
"You said Xiao Cheng wasn't good enough, but now you're stealing my man?!!"
"Senior sister, I'm wronged!" Ma Xiaotao quickly jumped up, her expression flustered, looking around as if... there was no way to explain.
For a moment, her expression became confused, her face flushed red. Originally overwhelmed by desire, she now became the proof...
Tch!
(The end of the chapter)