Chapter 505

As expected, Tang Sect acted swiftly, just as Zang Xin had said; early the next morning, Tang Wulin discovered a package at his door.

Opening it, he found it was the identification documents Tang Sect had made for him and Huo Yutong.

With this, many things become much more convenient.

Soon after, Tang Wulin bought a soul communication device for himself and another for Huo Yutong.

Since soul communication devices are personally bound and require relevant identification, the two had not purchased them these past few days.

Now they not only have soul communication devices; when they parted yesterday, Zang Xin also gave them a large sum of money, so naturally they immediately equipped themselves with a soul communication device.

After obtaining the soul communication device, Tang Wulin immediately called his childhood forging teacher, Máng Tiān.

It was Máng Tiān who originally informed him of his parents' departure, and that very news led him to firmly decide to break the first seal.

In the blink of an eye, he has grown ten years older; he is no longer the weak little boy who could not resist a great soul master, yet here less than half a month has passed.

He believes Máng Tiān should still have news concerning his parents.

After all, he had studied under this teacher for three years; even after ten years, Tang Wulin still remembered Máng Tiān's soul communication number, and the call was quickly connected, with Máng Tiān's voice coming from the other end.

"Who?"

Tang Wulin took a deep breath, somewhat nervously saying, "Teacher, it's me."

However, unexpectedly, Máng Tiān's tone was full of impatience.

"Who are you? Have you got the wrong person?"

Tang Wulin froze for a moment, then realized that after ten years his voice had changed greatly, so it was normal for Máng Tiān not to recognize him.

He couldn't help but give a bitter smile.

"Teacher, are you currently in your workshop?"

He heard the sound of metal being worked.

A blacksmith's work is not limited to forging iron; sometimes machining small, not-too-complex parts also falls within a blacksmith's duties.

However, in ancient times ten thousand years ago, these tasks belonged to soul engineers, and Tang Wulin had not concerned himself with them since.

The sense of impatience in Máng Tiān's tone grew even stronger.

"Although I don't know who you are, you know I'm working and yet you bother me? I'm going to hang up."

"Just wait a moment."

Tang Wulin quickly called for a halt; he looked at Huo Yutong, who gave a slight nod, and then an enormous mental detection net appeared in his mind.

With Huo Yutong's current mental power, covering a single city is trivial; now, when she employs mental detection, her net can directly encompass more than ten cities.

Àolái City naturally falls within her mental detection range.

Tang Wulin instantly locked onto Máng Tiān's workshop in Àolái City; then his silver and gold wings unfolded behind him, space twisted slightly, and he and Huo Yutong arrived at Máng Tiān's location.

Máng Tiān was seated in a blacksmith's office chair, with small metal parts on the desk before him, holding a soul communication device in one hand, and exuding an irritable aura.

"Hey? Why aren't you speaking!"

Tang Wulin smiled helplessly.

Máng Tiān's soul power level is not high; apparently he did not sense the change in spatial power, and was completely unaware of their arrival.

He stepped forward and lightly patted Máng Tiān's shoulder.

"Teacher."

Máng Tiān was startled, quickly turned his head, and then froze.

"You are... Wulin?"

His voice was filled with disbelief.

Tang Wulin has indeed grown up, but his overall appearance remains unchanged; one can still see the image of that little disciple of his in him.

More importantly, Tang Wulin addressed him as "Teacher," leaving Máng Tiān with only one possible answer.

Tang Wulin gave a slight nod.

"Mm, teacher, I'm back."

As he spoke those words, his eye sockets genuinely felt hot.

Among the people he has interacted with these days, the one he knows best is Wǔ Chángkōng; although Wǔ Chángkōng treated him well, they had actually only spent three months together ten years ago, and due to Wǔ Chángkōng's personality, they were not particularly close.

But Máng Tiān is different; after Tang Wulin completed his martial soul awakening, he studied forging under him for a full three years, with constant daily contact; in his heart, Máng Tiān is not only his introductory forging teacher, but also like a half‑father, and facing this father‑like figure now, his emotions became somewhat uncontrollable.

However, to Máng Tiān, Tang Wulin's behavior seemed somewhat inexplicable.

No, rather than being inexplicable, he even felt a bit frightened.

"You, you're saying you're Wulin? No way, Wulin was clearly, clearly only this tall—who exactly are you!"

While making a slight gesture in front of him, Máng Tiān asked in fright.

Huo Yutong slightly furrowed her brows and softly said, "Stay calm."

Her voice seemed to contain a wonderful magic, and instantly Máng Tiān felt his emotions settle down.

But his emotions calming down did not mean he could accept the rapid developments; he heavily sank into his chair and spoke weakly:

"Can you explain what's going on, Wulin?"

"Of course."

Tang Wulin naturally would not refuse.

Next, he recounted to Máng Tiān the same story he had told Wǔ Chángkōng.

Since Máng Tiān knows less than Wǔ Chángkōng, Tang Wulin even had to explain many points to him in greater detail.

Thus, this explanation took several hours to finish.

After listening, Máng Tiān's expression had already become somewhat numb.

From the initial doubt, to later disbelief, then to immersion, and finally to the present numbness, he himself did not know what he was feeling now.

In the end, thousands of words could only be condensed into a single sentence.

Wulin, it's truly... thank you for your hard work.

He actually didn't doubt Tang Wulin's words.

Not only because Tang Wulin could say many things only he and Tang Wulin knew, but also because he could produce the silver hammer he had given him back then, and even more because of Tang Wulin's strength.

Tang Wulin is now an Honored Douluo-level powerhouse, and his girlfriend is too—let alone in a small city like Aolai City, even in a big city like East Sea City, Honored Douluo can walk sideways.

If two Honored Douluo-level powerhouses were to spend this much time just to tell him stories, trying to make fun of him, he could only say he felt quite honored.

Tang Wulin shook his head vigorously.

I'm not suffering, Teacher. I just want to know about my parents' situation. As you can see, I've fully grown up now; I'm not lacking money at all, and I no longer need their protection.

That's true.

Mang Tian sighed and asked again:

But how did you know that my earlier claim that I didn't know your parents' whereabouts was a lie?

He clearly remembered that in the communication half a month ago, he had told Tang Wulin that he didn't know the exact location of Tang Ziran and his wife.

Tang Wulin gave a bitter laugh, then turned his gaze to Huo Yutong.

This is all thanks to Yutong.

Those involved are confused; in fact, Tang Wulin originally hadn't realized the loophole in Mang Tian's words.

After all, when he first learned of this news he was only nine, he didn't think Mang Tian would deceive him, so he subconsciously overlooked the odd parts of his words, and this mental inertia has carried over to the present.

But Huo Yutong is different; she doesn't know Mang Tian at all, and her impression of him is limited to 'Tang Wulin's teacher'.

Therefore, when he told Huo Yutong about this earlier, she instinctively raised a question: If Mang Tian truly didn't know the specifics of Tang Wulin's parents' situation, why would he urge Tang Wulin to become strong?

This is merely a suspicion; many clues indicate that there is definitely a connection between Mang Tian and Tang Ziran.

Therefore, when Tang Wulin wanted to find his parents' whereabouts, his first choice was to seek out Mang Tian.

As for why he waited until the Tang Sect finished his identification before coming, aside from wanting to give himself a few days to relax, another important reason is that with the Tang Sect's credentials, his credibility would increase greatly, making it easy to convince Mang Tian.

After Mang Tian finished listening, he let out a long sigh and gave a wry smile: 'I never expected you to have gone through so much. Well, I do indeed have news about your parents.'

He leaned back in his chair, rubbed his forehead, and said: 'Your parents have been sent to a research institute. As for that institute, I actually don't know much about it; I only know it's related to the Spirit Transmission Tower. According to your father, the related items of this research are extremely important, so it must be kept secret and cannot be conducted on the Douluo Continent. In about ten days, once everyone is gathered, they will set off for the Spirit Ling Continent.'

What?

Tang Wulin was startled. He hurriedly asked: 'Teacher, can you contact my father now?'

Mang Tian shook his head.

'No, it's said that his situation is extremely tense now; every time we communicate there is danger, so I absolutely cannot initiate contact with him.'

'This...'

Seeing Tang Wulin's complexion quickly deteriorate, Mang Tian hurriedly comforted:

'Don't worry; fortunately he basically calls me once a month, so timing-wise it's these two days. Wulin, just wait a bit.'

'... Alright.'

Although Tang Wulin felt somewhat anxious inside, he still gently nodded.

Thus, over the next three days, he spent them in a state of uneasy anticipation.

To improve Tang Wulin's mood, these days Huo Yutong voluntarily took charge of the kitchen, borrowing the school's kitchen to prepare dish after dish of delicious food for him.

Although this actually didn't help much, Tang Wulin still deeply appreciated her thoughtfulness.

But unfortunately, a decade of longing cannot be erased by just a few tasty meals.

To be honest, if Mang Tian hadn't said that Tang Ziran would contact him in these days, Tang Wulin might have dragged Huo Yutong to perform a full-continent mental detection.

With her mental detection, scanning the entire continent wouldn't take long at all, and finding a person would be easy.

Finally, three days later, Tang Wulin's soul-guided communicator finally rang.

When he answered, his voice was somewhat trembling.

'Hello?'

Mang Tian's voice came from the other end.

'Wulin, your dad called; he heard you had an accident, he's extremely worried, and finally agreed to talk with you—come to my place.'

'Okay.'

Tang Wulin hurriedly nodded heavily.

At that time Huo Yutong was outside buying vegetables, not by his side; fortunately, after visiting Mang Tian's forging room once, Tang Wulin had already mastered its spatial coordinates, so even without Huo Yutong's Mental Detection Sharing to help locate, he could still teleport there.

Unfolding his dragon wings, he became more adept at using his spatial movement ability, and in the blink of an eye Tang Wulin arrived at Mang Tian's forging master.

Seeing him arrive, Mang Tian handed over the soul-guided communicator; he quickly took it, and a long-unheard familiar voice came from within.

'Wulin, what's wrong? What happened? No matter what happens, don't be afraid—tell Dad, Dad will definitely sort it out!'

——

Tang Wulin originally thought he could control his emotions, but upon hearing that voice he couldn't help but cover his mouth, tears bursting from his eyes.

Ten years, he had been an orphan for a full decade; he originally thought he would never see again the father who taught him how to be a person. Faced with this long-awaited reunion, how could he possibly control his emotions?

It seemed that upon hearing his voice, Tang Ziran's voice also paused, then after a brief silence of two seconds, he softly said: 'Sorry, Wulin, I know my decision has caused you great pain, but it's fine—I'm okay. Tell me what trouble you've run into; your teacher said he couldn't explain it over the phone, insisting you come and tell me in person.'

Tang Wulin gave a light cough, struggling to imitate his voice from when he was nine, and asked: 'Dad, where are you now?'

It would be too difficult to explain clearly over the phone what he's experienced these years; to avoid trouble, it's better not to let Tang Ziran know about his changes yet.

Tang Ziran's voice sounded somewhat troubled.

'Dad can't say, Wulin, don't do anything.'

Tang Wulin quickly said: 'Don't worry, Dad, I won't do anything foolish; actually, I've been noticed by the Tang Sect and become a member.'

'Huh?!'

This time Tang Ziran was genuinely startled.

He knew all too well how formidable the Tang Sect was; although it was slightly inferior to the Spirit Transmission Tower, it was still an extremely powerful organization.

Although he had always been proud to have a son like Tang Wulin, his son's martial soul was the useless Blue Silver Grass, and his soul spirit was still a defective ten‑year soul spirit—how could he possibly have earned the attention of a colossal organization like the Tang Sect?

However, out of trust in Tang Wulin, he did not immediately conclude that Tang Wulin was lying; instead, he asked:

"Wulin, you say you've been noticed by the Tang Sect and become one of their members—what evidence do you have?"

Tang Wulin said urgently: "I have the evidence, but I can't produce it over the phone. How about this, Dad—you just need to say the general area where you are; you don't have to name the specific city. Is that okay?"

"Um..."

Tang Ziran's defenses instantly loosened.

Just stating his general location, even without mentioning the city, really isn't a big problem.

Thus, after hesitating for a moment, he said:

"I am in the western coastal region of the Federation."

"Understood."

Tang Wulin said firmly:

"Dad, rest assured, I'll come find you right away—just wait for me."

"Wulin, don't do anything stupid."

Hearing Tang Wulin's words, Tang Ziran instantly became even more worried.

Tang Wulin smiled and said:

"Don't worry, Dad—I will definitely not do anything stupid."

Because the ones blocking his reunion with his father are the truly foolish ones.

After chatting a bit longer with his father, Tang Ziran hurriedly said his time was up and then hastily hung up.

After ending the call, Tang Wulin let out a long sigh and handed the soul‑tool communicator to Mang Tian.

Mang Tian took it, curious, and asked:

"Wulin, you only know the region but not the exact city—how do you plan to find your father?"

Tang Wulin gave a hehe smile; having obtained a clue about his father, his expression became extremely relaxed.

"Don't worry, Teacher—have you forgotten who my girlfriend is?"

"Er..."

Upon hearing that, Mang Tian immediately understood.

Indeed, having a Spirit Ice Douluo as a girlfriend makes finding someone utterly effortless.

It is said that the Spirit Ice Douluo's first martial soul is the spirit‑attribute Spirit Eye, so there are certainly plenty of ways to locate a person.

He slapped Tang Wulin's shoulder hard and said earnestly:

"Wulin, you've grown up now, and I won't say more—just tell me when you'll marry your girlfriend. She's a Spirit Ice Douluo, so surely many will pursue her; don't let her be snatched away."

Tang Wulin's mouth twitched involuntarily.

"Teacher, are you cursing me? …But rest assured, Yutong isn't that kind of person, and besides, I have indeed already made plans to marry."

"!"

Mang Tian's eyes widened suddenly.

"Are you serious?"

He was just trying to make a joke; he never expected Tang Wulin to actually be serious.

This kid's expression now shows no sign of joking at all.

"Hmm."

Tang Wulin nodded lightly.

"This is my promise to her."

He had promised her that they would marry after the war ended.

Although an accident brought him to this era ten thousand years later, that is no excuse for breaking his promise.

After finding his parents, he will discuss the wedding date with them and then propose to Huo Yutong.

As for the acquaintances from ten thousand years ago who missed their wedding—what should be done about that? Who says a wedding can only be held once?

One important function of a wedding is to announce to the world that the two are officially together; if worse comes to worst, he can simply hold another one when he returns.

Having never divorced yet holding two weddings—perhaps they are the only couple in the whole world like that. Tang Wulin thought amusingly.

(End of chapter)