Returning from the Immortal World

Tang Xiu calmly observed the pale and extremely fragile-looking boy on the bed. The boy’s face was red and green veins were protruding on his forehead, while his hair was drenched wet with his own sweat. However, his eyes were very particular and extraordinarily tranquil like a pool of still water that wouldn’t ripple even though it was swept over by the gales.

Is it because of his intelligence?

Tang Xiu took out a cigarette. The clicking sound of a lighter was heard as he lit it up, causing Ah Lang to shift his attention to him. Under Tang Xiu’s gaze, the boy was briefly startled and hesitated, before he sat on the bed with difficulty with Wang Hu’s help. After sitting on the edge of the bed and fixing his clothes, he put on the slippers and paced a few steps towards Tang Xiu.

“Should I address you as Divine Doctor Tang or Boss Tang?”

A smile crept up on Tang Xiu’s face and he asked him, “Which one do you choose to address me, then?”

Ah Lang thought for a short while and then answered, “For me, the most appropriate address to call you is Divine Doctor Tang, whereas it would be appropriate for my brothers to address you as Boss Tang.”

“Care sharing me about the reason?” The smile on Tang Xiu’s face was getting thicker.

Ah Lang raised his hand to cover his mouth before he coughed again. Then, he slowly explained, “I’m ill while you’re the famous Divine Doctor of Chinese medicine. You can cure my illness, so the most appropriate for me to address you is Divine Doctor Tang. But my pitiful brothers have been living miserable lives. For the time being, shelter, food, and clothes wouldn’t be a problem, but their future will be greatly affected due to the delays in their studies. You’re the Big Boss of Magnificent Tang Corporation. With you extending a hand to help them, they will have a bright future, so the most appropriate address for my brothers to call you is Boss Tang.”

Tang Xiu nodded calmly in response and said, “What do you choose to address me, then?”

Ah Lang thought for a moment and then answered, “Divine Doctor Tang.”

The smile on Tang Xiu’s face was getting thicker. The question he just gave Ah Lang was about these two addresses. If this boy addressed him as Divine Doctor Tang, it meant that he respected him highly, whereas addressing him as Boss Tang meant that he valued his brothers.

However, there was also an implicit meaning of exceptions here.

Tang Xiu puffed out a ring of smoke and asked again, “Elaborate.”

“I have no fears of troubles in the rear if my brothers have died. But I could die any time now, and leaving them behind will make me face death in regret and unwillingness. On the other hand, I’m confident I can give my brothers a bright future if you can cure me. It’s much better to have them under me than giving them to others.”

Tang Xiu took out a cigarette from the cigarette box and flicked it to Ah Lang’s hand. Then, he asked again, “The last question. If you can answer it and your answer is to my satisfaction, I can treat you for free. I’ll also give you and those little brothers of yours a huge opportunity.”

Ah Lang’s expression shifted ever so slightly. “Please say it, Divine Doctor Tang.”

“Let’s say that you’ve become an official in a state department where you wield such a high position and powerful authority that your decision can decide the lives and deaths of countless people,” Tang Xiu began speaking. “On one hand, your country is being invaded by enemies, whereas your brothers who’ve been with you through fire and water are being hunted endlessly and may meet their demise at any time. Under such a situation, will you keep defending your country against those foreign enemies, or are you going to save your brothers?”

Ah Lang’s brows scrunched up tightly. It was a problem he never thought before and now he was suddenly faced with a choice. He needed to think about it seriously.

Time fleeted by and more than 20 minutes had passed. Different thoughts kept clashing inside his head during these 20 minutes. He kept thinking and struggling. He would, without a doubt, choose his brothers if he was in the current situation since they were his closest people in the world. However, when he put himself in the shoes of the figure depicted in the world Tang Xiu just mentioned, the clashes between choices he would make inside his heart became more intense.

Puah…

The temperature of Ah Lang’s body kept rising and he finally spurted out a mouthful of blood. If it wasn’t for Wang Hu’s quick response in catching him, he would have fallen to the floor.

Tang Xiu himself was unfazed and he kept observing the increasingly unsightly expression on Ah Lang’s face. Then, he spoke lightly, “I’m still waiting for your answer.”

Ah Lang tilted up his head with difficulty. His eyes fixedly stared at Tang Xiu, then he spoke with a hoarse voice, “If one is in that position, what he must seek is his country. Since it is my duty to protect the country, then I must protect the lives of countless people living in it. I want to save my brothers since they are in danger, but I’ll never ruin the fate of the country just for the sake of brotherhood out of my own selfishness. If my brothers were to die in battle, I’d shoulder the revenge on my own and visit their graves to apologize. I believe they will understand me even if they have died!”

A beaming smile appeared on Tang Xiu’s handsome face. He paced forward and supported Ah Lang’s body with his fingers grasped on his wrist to sense his internal condition. Then, he smilingly said, “Clean up and pack your things. You’re leaving with me! It’s easy to get thousands of troops, but they will never become tough lions without a leader to lead them. Tang Xiu needs someone like you.”

Ah Lang stared at Tang Xiu and asked, “What exactly do you want me to do?”

The smile on Tang Xiu’s face slowly disappeared, replaced by an extremely serious face. “I want you to help lead the army, becoming a commander who deserves the respect of millions. As long as you pass my trial, and so long as you can soar to the sky to the point that your performance can stand up to my satisfaction; glory, splendor, wealth, and rank are just trivial. State anything you want, be it an individual’s peerless might and endless life, I’ll give you everything as long as it is within my capability!”

“Are you teasing me?” asked Ah Lang with a strange expression.

Tang Xiu let out a faint smile and unleashed his power to wrap Wang Hu’s body and instantly sent him outside the room. Shortly after, all the doors and windows in the room were instantly shut. He then took a bottle of Holy Healing pills from the interspatial ring and released his Primal Chaos energy to wrap Ah Lang’s body. He quickly stuffed some Holy Healing Pills into the boy’s mouth and used his power to help him catalyze the efficacy to adjust his physique.

It was the process of adjusting one’s endowment with the best possible auxiliaries.

With his great increase in power, it was easy for Tang Xiu to change one’s physique, and he could tell that Ah Lang’s condition was caused by overworking his brain that also sapped his mental power. It then led to constant high fever, his deteriorating health, and fragile body.

“Endure it! Pain and hardships are your friends if you want to turn into a man with power, and you must persevere no matter how much pain and suffering you face!”

Tang Xiu’s voice was directly transmitted to the depths of Ah Lang’s heart. Although the boy’s body was floating in mid-air and violently trembling, there was no pity nor compassion in Tang Xiu’s eyes. In his eyes, it was actually a great fortune for the boy that even countless humans, immortals, and demons alike would never be able to obtain no matter how eager they wanted it.

Time fleeted by and two hours passed while Tang Xiu’s eyes kept flickering. Amid the miserable screams of Ah Lang, Tang Xiu immediately retracted his hands and ceased releasing his power that attached to the boy before letting him fall on the bed.

A short while passed by without any sound.

Half a minute later, Ah Lang climbed up from the bed with difficulty, feeling dizzy and hazy. The pain that made him wish that it was better dying than living receded fast like a tide. He was shocked that he could feel a surging power from all parts of his body and the temperature in his body kept increasing. Gradually, he jumped off the bed and clenched his fists to deliver some punches and kicks to the air. Afterward, he shifted to Tang Xiu with disbelief and muttered, “My body feels different.”

With a smile that didn’t look like one, Tang Xiu replied, “It’s only natural that you feel different. I went to extreme lengths on you. I’d be upset if you were to stay the same! Holy Healing pills, a drop of ferocious beast’s blood essence, a drop of Body Refining Liquid, and a stalk of Serpent Orchid Herb. Any expert would improve their strength to a higher level after taking all these kinds of stuff.”

Ah Lang suddenly recalled the previous scenes and retreated backward quickly with a face full of vigilance. Then, he asked in a heavy tone, “Who exactly are you?”

“Now, now. Did you forget what you just said?” Tang Xiu chuckled and said, “You called me Divine Doctor Tang just now, didn’t you?”

Ah Lang shook his head and replied, “No. There’s no way you can do such stunts if you were just a Divine Doctor.”

Tang Xiu pondered for a moment and replied, “Take my trial now and I’ll tell you about it if you can pass it. But you’re not qualified to know my real identity if you fail.”

“What kind of test?” Ah Lang looked hesitant for a while before he replied with a nod, “I accept!”

Tang Xiu took a book out of his interspatial ring and threw it to the boy. “You should be able to read. This manual is a cultivation technique record. My request of you is very simple. There are a total of 4,786 characters written in it, excluding punctuations and the likes. If you can memorize all of them in half an hour and can recite them directly, you can consider yourself to have passed the first minor test.”

“Fair enough.” Ah Lang nodded and received the cultivation technique manual. He read the title “Soul, Heart, and Spirit Tempering Art” on its cover. But after he opened and read the first page, he looked dumbfounded and surprised.

“Start… now,” Tang Xiu said.

“I don’t think I can do this.” Ah Lang shook his head and said, “I won’t feel much pressure if this is written in common vernacular and I can do it with some effort. But this is written in classical Chinese and some of them are just… ancient. I can’t do this.”

Tang Xiu’s complexion turned cold and he said in a heavy tone, “You had better remember one thing from now. You’re a man, and a man never says he can’t do it! No matter how hard it is and regardless of how many failures you’ve tasted, you must give it a try!”

Ah Lang stared at Tang Xiu and knelt all of a sudden before he tilted up his head and said, “If… if I can memorize them, could you… take me as your student?”

Tang Xiu gently waved his hand and a stream of energy pulled Ah Lang up from the floor. He then lightly said, “If you can pass this test, I won’t accept you as a student, but I’ll take you as my disciple. A teacher may have many students, but a Master only has a few disciples.”