The Ploy Worked

"Hm? The martial soul's warning stopped! Tang San, just wait for this young master's retaliation!"

Zhu Rong thought about how to retaliate against Tang San, but his expression remained unchanged. With a sorrowful look on his face, he continued:

"Tiger Boy awakened the same martial soul as his father."

"Little Flower awakened the same martial soul as her mother."

"Tao Ge said that martial souls are inherited from either the father or the mother. They all inherited their parents' martial souls."

"Both Tang San and I have this hammer. Could it be..."

Tang Hao nodded from the shadows. The kid's reasoning was sound, and he was pretty sharp. As expected of a descendant of my Clear Sky Sect!

"Could it be that I'm Tang San's father?"

Tang Hao: "..."

The words were earth-shattering.

Tang Hao's stubbled face twisted into a truly spectacular expression!

"He's just a child!"

There were simply no words to describe how he felt. Tang Hao nearly failed to hold himself back from going out there and beating Zhu Rong up!

Couldn't the kid speak properly?!

He had just praised the brat for being sharp, only to find that the brat was completely lacking in common sense!

"No, that can't be right. I'm so handsome, while Tang San is so ugly. I probably can't be his..."

"Sigh, what should I do? Should I still get revenge on Tang San? What if I really am his father..."

Tang Hao: "..."

"I'm Tang San's father! Are you looking for a beating, brat?"

Tang Hao could no longer hold it in. He stepped out from the shadows and roared at Zhu Rong.

If he let this brat keep talking, he would soon become Tang San's grandfather.

Damn it! What had Old Jack been teaching him?!

"The blacksmith?"

Seeing Tang Hao's furious appearance, Zhu Rong was delighted inside.

Outwardly, he put on a startled, panicked expression and hurriedly put away the Clear Sky Hammer, acting as though he were afraid someone would discover it.

"The blacksmith?"

Tang Hao's mouth twitched. He really wanted to beat this brat up right now!

Still, Tang Hao was rather satisfied with Zhu Rong's reaction. It felt perfectly normal.

It was exactly how a child should act and look after having his secret discovered.

Tang Hao did not suspect that Zhu Rong was a fake. Appearance could deceive, and voices could be disguised, but a martial soul could never be faked!

The Clear Sky Hammer was the inherited martial soul of the Clear Sky Sect. Zhu Rong had to be the descendant of a direct branch of the family, or it would have been impossible for him to awaken the Clear Sky Hammer!

Tang Hao also knew that Old Jack had picked up the child before him.

Zhu Rong was only a few days apart in age from Tang San. When Zhu Rong had still been drinking rice porridge, Old Jack had often brought Tang San some as well.

If he asked Zhu Rong who his parents were, wouldn't that make his intelligence seem no better than the kid's?

"Kid, I discovered your secret, and you know Little San's secret. How about this? If you don't tell anyone Little San's secret, then I won't tell anyone yours. What do you say?"

After calming himself down a little, Tang Hao spoke to Zhu Rong as though coaxing a child.

Tang Hao still did not know whose child Zhu Rong actually was, much less what generation he belonged to.

What if the brat was the child of one of his uncles, or perhaps someone from his grandfather's generation...

If he acknowledged their seniority now and turned out to be wrong later, that would be awkward.

Tang Hao also did not intend to reveal the truth to Zhu Rong just yet. Zhu Rong's "background" made his current situation extremely awkward. Publicly, he was wanted by Spirit Hall and had also been expelled from the sect.

In any case, with him protecting the boy in secret, nothing dangerous would happen to him.

Once the time was right, and once Zhu Rong was a little older, it would be safer to explain the sect's affairs to him.

The boy had been abandoned since childhood. If he told him the "truth" now, what if he came to hate the sect?

Kill him?

This was the hope for whether the Clear Sky Sect could rise again and surpass Spirit Hall! Kill him? Like hell!

For now, he only needed to steady Zhu Rong, keep him from cultivating his second martial soul, and stop him from revealing that Tang San possessed a second martial soul.

Later, whenever Zhu Rong acquired spirit rings or encountered difficulties, he could help him out a few times. Then the child would willingly take the Tang surname!

Only schemes could win hearts!

As the former heir of the greatest sect in the world, Tang Hao had more than just brute strength. He had a brain, too.

Otherwise, how could he have obtained a Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring as his ninth spirit ring?

But there had been a tiny accident because of that matter. Qian Xunji had actually died...

Tang Hao did not know that while he was preparing to scheme against Zhu Rong, Zhu Rong had already thoroughly ensnared him!

This was exactly what Zhu Rong wanted!

With a martial soul copier and a bit of acting, he had gained a Title Douluo-level bodyguard.

Behind him stood a former number one sect in the world.

The process had just been a little too thrilling... like a beginner walking a tightrope.

"Blacksmith, you really won't tell anyone my secret?"

Zhu Rong blinked, pretending not to trust him.

Hearing how Zhu Rong addressed him, the veins on Tang Hao's forehead bulged. A blacksmith was a blacksmith, but "blacksmith"...

Tang Hao suddenly had an idea and said:

"As long as you don't use that hammer in front of anyone else, and don't attach even a single spirit ring to it, I won't tell anyone! Of course, if your life is in danger, you may use that hammer."

Zhu Rong: No spirit rings? If my life was in danger, even if I used the hammer, what the hell would it do?

"No, that's not fair! Tang San can't use the hammer either, and he can't attach even a single spirit ring to it. That would be fair."

Tang Hao had frowned when he heard the first part, but he had not expected the brat's demand to be this. It was simply perfect!

"Fine, I agree!"

"Then I agree too!"

Seeing Zhu Rong agree, Tang Hao nodded in satisfaction before vanishing from the hilltop.

Tang Hao did this to show Zhu Rong how powerful he was, so that Zhu Rong would not break his word. It was a form of deterrence.

But he did not leave. He returned to the shadows to see what the brat would say and do after he had "left."

Zhu Rong let out a sigh of relief. The whole process had been far too thrilling, yet it had gone exceptionally smoothly.

From now on, even if he beat Tang San up right in front of Tang Hao, as long as he did not try to kill him, Tang Hao definitely would not interfere!

"Hm? He hasn't left?"

This time was different from before. Zhu Rong truly sensed Tang Hao's location!

He was behind a tree just ten meters away!

Earlier, Tang Hao had intended to get rid of Zhu Rong, so he had naturally restrained his aura and concealed himself.

But things were different now. He only wanted to see what the brat would say after he had "left," and whether he would keep his "promise."

With a different goal, Tang Hao had not concealed his aura, which was why Zhu Rong discovered him.

"Damn! I almost screwed myself over!"

Zhu Rong cursed inwardly. He truly had not expected Tang Hao not to leave!

Fortunately, he had not had time to gloat yet, or Tang Hao might have become suspicious...

"I need to remember this in the future. Without absolute strength or a life-saving Divine Skill, I must never let my guard down!"