I Can See Your Combat Power

9 : Starting with Tian Hu
Translator: 549690339
Repeating tasks can make one feel bored, like a beautiful piece of writing. You’ve painstakingly accomplished it, only to accidentally knock over a cup during your self-admiration, the spilled tea muddying and destroying the entire piece. Even though you remember every single word and sentence, being asked to rewrite it would still make you feel repulsed, no matter how beautiful the writing is.

But Tang Luo’s road to re-cultivation was different. The swift speed of cultivation in the Mortal Realm was so thrilling, one simply couldn’t stop.

In just fifty days, Tang Luo regained his inner vision ability, having re-attained the Mortal Realm level.

Kneeling on a cushion in his room, the teenager felt somewhat anxious. After two months, he could finally see the condition of his dantian once again.

With a peaceful mind and a relaxed body, he activated his inner vision.

In his dantian, which was originally empty, the Star Core was still there, with a new number above it: 300.action

“So here it is.” The boy was quite satisfied upon finally seeing his number, and he continued to observe with his spiritual sense.

The appearance of his Star Core hadn’t changed. Besides the 300 spiritual energy strands that were developed from recent cultivation, there was even a mini Star Core revolving around the larger core, like a small satellite.

“What’s the connection between the additional small satellite and the Star Core? Where has the spiritual energy absorbed by the large Star Core gone?” Restoring his inner vision allowed Tang Luo to find answers to many questions.Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

“The large Star Core can produce smaller cores by absorbing spiritual energy. About 3000 strands worth.”

“The spiritual energy can create a small Star Core, its function is unknown; it can also create a solid Star Core, whose function is also unknown.”

“And the number above the Star Core represents the quantity of spiritual energy.” Tang Luo was rather certain after carefully counting the strands of spiritual energy hovering around the large Star Core.

This was interesting. If the numbers really did represent someone’s quantity of spiritual energy.

A plethora of ideas crossed Tang Luo’s mind.

……

Supper Hall

Ever since their talk, Xu Shuhui had never brought up the matter of forbidding Tang Luo to practice martial arts. To protect the boy’s pride, his parents too never inquired about his cultivation progress at dinner.

“Family is indeed the best.” Tang Luo sighed in admiration. They took his feelings into consideration.

Even though his parents didn’t fully understand his cultivation progress, Tang Luo had a clear understanding of his family’s cultivation development.

Over almost two months, Tang Sen’s performance remained quite consistent. The number above his head had reached 30315.9 and continued to grow stably by 5.2 each day.

If he had not misjudged, a spiritual energy of around 3000 represented the Mortal Realm. His father, Tang Sen’s spiritual energy, was nearly tenfold of that of the Mortal Realm. Undoubtedly, his father was a warrior in the Fierce Realm.

His mother, Xu Shuhui’s number was interesting. When he first saw it, it was 6130.7. After nearly two months of cultivation, it rose to 6165. If Tang Luo didn’t see the change for himself every day, he might have thought that her talent was just 0.5.

The actual reason was that she wasn’t invested in cultivation. There was no pattern to her practices, with a day or two without progress, followed by a surge of 2.2 the next day. It was evident that if she diligently devoted herself to cultivation, there would’ve been greater achievements.

After observing many people’s numbers, Tang Luo got a clearer understanding of his own talent, which was of an average level.

Frankly, he was just an ordinary person, and there was no difference between his cultivation speed and that of any other person off the streets. This was indeed strange.

Taking a big bite of food, Tang Luo rolled his eyes.

Converting his anger into appetite, Tang Luo started devouring his food heartily. Finishing off five bowls of rice, he left his little brother full of admiration. Even the chubby Nuan Nuan was taken aback.

Having quickly finished eating, Tang Luo said to Tang Sen, “Father, I have something to discuss with you.”

The attention of everyone at the table was immediately drawn to the boy. His mother put down her chopsticks, and even the sound of his little brother’s munching became lighter.

“Yes?” Tang Sen signaled with his eyes that he was listening, but he never stopped eating. There was work to be done tonight, so he needed to eat more.

“I want to join the Tang Clan’s Martial Hall.”

Since he could see others’ spiritual energy, it would be a problem if he continued to cultivate at home. Tang Luo quickly set up a plan.

The only sound in the silent supper hall was Tang Sen forcibly swallowing his food.

“Are you afraid of people pointing fingers and gossiping?” Tang Sen’s voice was somewhat hoarse, but his concern was palpably evident.

The Martial Hall was the core of the clan. All matters related to combat were conducted in it. The purpose of the Martial Hall was to nurture and strengthen the clan’s military power.

There are several methods to train warriors in the Martial Hall.

One of them was to select fighters from smaller dojos in Xiling or freelance warriors willing to join the Tang family. These fighters were ready-made powerhouses. Most of them decided to join for obvious benefits, and their loyalty was not guaranteed hence they only made up a small portion of the Martial Hall.

The Tang martial arts hall’s major source of warriors were orphans adopted by the Tang Clan every year. After long-term indoctrination and training, they pledged loyalty to the Tang Clan and became clan warriors. The most talented ones would marry into the Tang family and become official members of the clan.

The nucleus of the Martial Hall was composed of children of the Tang Clan, clan warriors, and their descendants.

Since the Martial Hall also provides martial arts training, most of the Tang Clan’s children would enter the Martial Hall for cultivation after completing their Foundation Building.

One reason is that cultivating together in the Martial Hall would not feel lonely, and they can also familiarize themselves with their cousins, siblings, and establish relationships. Most important of all, the Tang Clan’s youngsters need to win the followership of several clan warriors so that when they grow up and need to establish their own households, they wouldn’t be utterly clueless and without any assistance.

However, Tang Luo has always practiced alone since he was a child, being incredibly self-disciplined. Therefore, he completed all his cultivation from Foundation Building to transcending the Mortal Realm within the Tang Mansion, without ever visiting the Martial Hall. He only got to see his brothers and sisters during festivals, but Tang Luo, who possesses an adult soul, couldn’t mingle with those children, leading him to always leave by himself.

Over time, most of his siblings developed a terrible perception of Tang Luo. They didn’t think that Tang Luo kept his distance due to not having a common language, but rather, they thought he looked down upon his siblings and was egotistical due to his talents.

This sudden decision to enter the Martial Hall didn’t seem like a bad idea to Tang Sen. After all, a single strong hand is better than three helpers. Associating more closely with his clan siblings would be beneficial for Tang Luo’s future.

However, due to past impressions, Tang Sen was afraid that these children might give Tang Luo a hard time, hence he wanted to give him a heads-up.

“Should be fine, I think.” Tang Luo was a bit helpless too. In fact, he never had any issues with the clan’s children. It’s just that he didn’t see the need to hang out together without a common interest. All he could say was these children were too sensitive.

“That’s good. Xing is about to complete his Foundation Building soon. In a few days, both of you can go to the Martial Hall together.” Tang Sen nodded his head and continued his meal.

“Oh, has he completed his Foundation Building? That’s impressive.” Tang Luo turned towards his younger brother and exclaimed in surprise. Foundation Building cannot be cheated; it is the most direct reflection of one’s aptitude.

Tang Luo took five years to complete his Foundation Building, whereas his younger brother, Tang Xing, managed to complete it in just over three years since he started at the age of six. Now that’s what you call impressive.

Normally, Tang Xing would beam with joy whenever he received praise. However, ever since he pledged to protect Tang Luo, he has been feeling shy whenever they sit together for dinner. He couldn’t even look at Tang Luo, and when he received praise, he would simply bow his head lower and keep gobbling up his food.

After the three siblings finished their meals and left one after another, only their father Tang Sen continued eating, with their mother Xu Shuhui accompanying him.

Everything is great about Tang Sen’s divine bloodline, except for the fact that his food digests too quickly. Thus, he must consume large quantities of food for each meal, otherwise he’ll get hungry soon. That’s something he can’t help.

So, each of his meals has always been the longest and most abundant, leading to the Tang family’s exaggerated meal sizes.

……

The next day

Clan Martial Hall

In this generation, since Tang Sen is the Sect Head of the Martial Hall, the family built the Martial Hall next to Tang Sen’s mansion. The Martial Hall spans over hundreds of acres and consists of martial clubs, weapon rooms, scripture storage, mission buildings, forging rooms, arenas, cultivation rooms, classrooms, dining halls, and dormitories, making it astonishingly large.

The person registering Tang Luo was someone he knew well, but to Tang Luo, it was as if he was seeing him for the first time.

Tang Luo was shocked when he saw Steward Fu. Who would’ve thought that this jovial housekeeper he knew from childhood would be such a formidable person?

The number above his head had reached 7160, which was even higher than his mother Xu Shuhui.

Not only was Uncle Fu the housekeeper of the Tang Mansion, he was also one of the stewards of the Clan Martial Hall, managing the dining hall and the dormitories of the Martial Hall.

“Eldest Master, Young Master,” Uncle Fu greeted the two brothers with a smile. Although he was just a little over forty, he appeared kindly like an old man.

However, Tang Luo, who seemed to be reacquainting himself with the housekeeper, couldn’t casually greet him as before.

“Uncle Fu, you are really a dark horse.” Tang Luo gave the man a thumbs-up, full of admiration.

These days, he’s met many guards of the Clan Mansion. Who would have thought that these warriors in armor and wielding blades were less cultivated than the housekeeper in front of him? This just goes to show how appearances could be deceiving.

“I’m not quite sure what the young master is talking about,” Uncle Fu replied. Having watched Tang Luo grow up, his memory of him was a cultivation fanatic like his father, someone who rarely interacted with people. This sudden friendliness from Tang Luo left Uncle Fu somewhat bewildered.

“Uncle Fu, there’s no need for you to be so formal. Our father always insisted we show our respect to you as to an elder. If you continue speaking so modestly, it’s going to be difficult for us to explain at home.” Tang Luo quickly waved his hands. He didn’t understand this in the past but he now did.

Uncle Fu clearly is a remarkable cultivator. He has always diligently assisted father with various matters and businesses within the house. His assignment as a steward in the Martial Hall was probably also to help father take care of miscellaneous cases.

Such a loyal and reliable person deserved Tang Sen’s constant reminder for Tang Luo to give Uncle Fu the same respect as he would give his uncle.

“Uncle Fu, my brother and I just arrived at the Martial Hall today and we haven’t yet received our room cards.” Tang Luo, with a twinkle in his eye, intended to do some ‘friendship transactions’ with his dear housekeeper while no one was around.

“Could you please find us a room that is high above the ground, with a nice view, insulated from the noise, a standalone unit, but still close to the dining hall for me and my brother to live in?” With a wink and a nod, Tang Luo made his unusual request, which made Uncle Fu break out in a cold sweat.

This young master is nothing like his father. Uncle Fu bent down to search among hundreds of room cards, quickly sorting them out in his head.

“There’s no rush, Uncle Fu. Take your time.” Tang Luo smiled with twinkling eyes, while Tang Xing stood by his side, clueless.

The nine-year-old boy wasn’t aware of the importance of networking and communication. After he greeted Uncle Fu, he just stood beside his older brother. His starry eyes seemed to be filled with admiration for his brother’s ability to chat jovially with Uncle Fu.

“Brother is so amazing!” Tang Xing exclaimed in awe for the umpteenth time after following his brother out of the door.

“A room with such demanding conditions actually exists.” Tang Luo shook the room card with its number engraved on it, somewhat amazed at himself.

First day at the Martial Hall, starting off with a wild card.