Chapter 23 Dissemination
It was the familiar gate of Nuoding City once more.
However, compared to a year ago, Old Jack's expression was somewhat heavier, while beside him, Tang San wore a dazed expression.
The guard clearly knew of the current relationship between Tang San and Young Master Mo, so he did not obstruct them.
Yet, Tang San lingered at the academy gate, hesitant to enter.
Seeing Young Master Mo approaching from a distance and casting his gaze toward him, the guard waved his hands repeatedly, signaling that it was not his fault.
Mo Bai's gaze fell back onto Tang San's face. Just as he was about to greet him, Tang San walked into Notting Academy without paying him any mind.
He looked utterly dejected; it seemed he had been struck hard by Tang Hao's silent departure. He truly believed he was an abandoned orphan.
Could he take advantage of this to control him?
Hmm... probably not. Tang San was not a child, and he had the protection of the Purple Demon Eye, a Tang Sect Ultimate Skill for Spiritual Power. Unless he suffered a complete Spiritual breakdown, it would be very difficult to control him.
Just as Mo Bai thought this, his gaze suddenly shifted to Old Jack, who was sighing and turning to leave. He suddenly called out, "Wait, old sir."
Old Jack turned his head in confusion. The moment he made eye contact with Mo Bai, his smile became radiant. "Young Master Mo wishes to visit Saint Spirit Village? I would naturally welcome you!"
"To be favored by Young Master Mo is a tremendous honor for you all." The guard's tone revealed a hint of envy.
Mo Bai smiled slightly.
Throughout the journey, his suggestions had almost never ceased. Fortunately, thanks to the inexhaustible nature of the 100,000-year Soul Bone in his body, combined with the fact that students, guards, and people like Old Jack possessed either low or zero Soul Power, it did not consume much of his energy.
Before Tang San arrived, only a handful of people in the entire Notting Academy had not been influenced by his suggestions.
Furthermore, his primary objective for this trip was Saint Spirit Village. The old village chief before him was one of the targets; he was a relatively important character in the original Douluo Continent.
His degree of manifestation surpassed Wang Sheng's, reaching 1%, the highest in all of Nuoding City!
"Let's go, Village Chief."
"Yes, Young Master Mo!"
Old Jack responded, then smilingly led the way. Not far off, a carriage was parked—the one they had arrived in.
"I hope Young Master Mo will not mind."
Mo Bai nodded with a smile. "Of course not."
The two boarded the carriage and set off in the direction of Saint Spirit Village.
Meanwhile, the dejected Tang San had unknowingly wandered to the door of Yu Xiaogang's room.
"Little San, what is wrong?"
Yu Xiaogang's voice came from behind Tang San; clearly, he had already noticed that something was amiss with Tang San.
Yu Xiaogang hurried forward. After some questioning, he learned from the dejected Tang San that Clear Sky Douluo had abandoned Tang San without a word, not even leaving a letter.
Upon learning this, Yu Xiaogang let out a long sigh and pulled Tang San's young frame into his arms, resting his head gently upon his shoulder. "It is alright, Little San. You still have me."
As for Clear Sky Douluo, there was no need to worry. The abandonment must have had a reason—perhaps his identity had been exposed during that great battle, and he had been forced to leave temporarily due to being hunted by Spirit Hall.
However, this matter could not be told to Little San just yet.
"Teacher..."
Tang San's voice carried a hint of being moved.
He raised his eyes to look at Yu Xiaogang's face and, without realizing it, felt that it somewhat overlapped with Tang Hao's.
Yu Xiaogang gently met Tang San's eyes and repeated once more, "It is alright, Little San. You still have me. I will take good care of you in your father's stead."
Hearing these sincere, heartfelt words, Tang San could not help but feel dazed. Recalling his various previous wariness, he felt an inexplicable sense of guilt.
"Teacher, I was wrong."
Yu Xiaogang looked at Tang San dotingly, his eyes holding a hint of seeing a prodigal son return. He said gently, "It is alright, Little San."
Elsewhere, evening approached.
The carriage swayed into Saint Spirit Village, a small, pleasant mountain village crisscrossed with gullies.
Saint Spirit Village.
As the sun gradually set, villagers finally returned home from the fields, laughing and chatting along the way, yet they could never escape one topic—a topic every household was forced to face.
"Except for last year, this year once again, not a single child with Soul Power was born. Sigh."
Mentioning this topic, the villagers' faces bore a trace of heaviness. Possessing Soul Power and becoming a Soul Master had been their own ideal when they were young, and they held the same expectations for their descendants.
But reality dealt them a heavy blow.
Although in this small mountain village, it made no difference whether one had Soul Power or not, who did not want to climb higher? To bring glory to one's ancestors!
Thinking of this, the villagers sighed in unison. Suddenly, however, the loud voice of the village chief, Old Jack, reached their ears:
"Everyone, come gather quickly! The Young Master has come to visit us!"
"The Young Master?"
The villagers were puzzled, but the moment they turned their heads and saw that the visitor was the Young Master Mo who was the talk of the city, they could not help but be overjoyed.
"So it is Young Master Mo!"
A smile also hung on Mo Bai's face. "Everyone has worked hard. Leave the rest to me."
...
In the blink of an eye, a month of school had passed.
Throughout this month, Tang San had almost never seen Mo Bai. When he asked the school staff, teachers, and classmates, they all gave the same answer: Young Master Mo had matters to attend to at home and had not yet returned.
Tang San returned to his seat, filled with confusion. Having been promoted to the second grade, not a single classmate had changed—no, there was one small change: it seemed everyone had become more diligent in their cultivation.
Half of those who used to play around had turned to closing their eyes and meditating—a very basic cultivation method.
They likely felt a sense of urgency from advancing a grade.
Tang San nodded, not thinking much of it, and became immersed in his own Internal Skill cultivation. How could basic meditation to become stronger ever compare to his Mysterious Heaven Skill cultivation?
What he did not know was that at this moment, inside the academy, apart from him and a handful of others, most of the students were using a sliver of their Spiritual Power to outline a pink rabbit in their minds.
As the "blueprint" became increasingly concrete and detailed, their internal Spiritual Power and Soul Power were slowly growing, in no way inferior to Tang San's Mysterious Heaven Skill.
Those who made this discovery—who had initially harbored a sliver of disbelief—opened their eyes and excitedly exchanged glances with the companions around them.
What Young Master Mo had said was actually true!
Under the reinforcement of this Breakthrough in common sense, their initially skeptical state gradually shifted toward absolute trust.
...
In the second month of school, Mo Bai finally returned to Notting Academy.
He was lost in thought along the way.
The further people were from Saint Spirit Village and Nuoding City, the lower their degree of manifestation. In Saint Spirit Village, there were still a few at one-ten-thousandth, with most at one-hundred-thousandth; Nuoding City was similar.
Aside from these two locations, most people were at one-ten-millionth, one-millionth, or even one-hundred-millionth.
Although the degree of manifestation was not high, it had the advantage of having many people.
The only drawback was that each person required his personal suggestion; this method of ensuring compliance was effective but time-consuming and laborious.
Perhaps his third Soul Ring could develop in this direction—projection? Linkage? If he were to leave Nuoding City in the future, he could still transmit instructions via spirit abilities.