Tang Hao Steps In

Dawn broke, and the rising sun climbed into the sky!

His long-established body clock had Ye Qiu opening his eyes early.

Looking at Xiao Wu still curled up in his arms, the corners of her mouth slightly damp, her little face still carrying a hint of baby fat because of her age, he pinched her cheeks.

Carefully slipping out of bed, he left as usual, found a secluded corner, climbed onto a tree branch, and watched the purple qi radiating from the east.

"Phew." Another session of cultivating Purple Demon Eyes had come to an end. It was time to make preparations!

Returning to Dormitory Seven, he wrote down where he was going and placed the note beside Xiao Wu's pillow.

Just four simple words: "Hunting spirits. Don't worry."

Not just anyone could enter the Soul Hunting Forest. The Spirit Beasts within were all raised in captivity, and one needed the proper token to enter.

That was a Spirit Hall permit, which had to be purchased with Gold Soul Coins from the Nuoding branch of Spirit Hall.

When he arrived outside the Martial Soul Hall Branch, he was stopped the moment he entered.

"This is an important Spirit Hall facility, not somewhere just anyone can enter! Show your Spirit Master certificate!"

"I've just reached level ten and came to purchase a permit for the Soul Hunting Forest. Please show me the way, big brother."

Ye Qiu did not want to cause unnecessary trouble. He took out his Nuoding Academy enrollment certificate and casually released some of his Soul Power.

"Hunting spirits? You're just a kid." The guard frowned. "I'd advise you to hire some people first."

"Thank you for the reminder, big brother. I will."

"Mm, follow me!" The guard did not say much else. He had seen plenty of commoner children like this, and who knew how many had been buried in the Soul Hunting Forest.

Good advice was wasted on those determined to die. He could only offer a suggestion.

Spirit Hall handled matters quite efficiently. Before long, Ye Qiu had completed the necessary procedures. It was just rather expensive, consuming nearly ninety percent of his savings from all these years.

Putting away the permit, he spent some time making his way to the street. He needed to go to his workplace and retrieve the gunpowder he had prepared long ago.

In the distance, somewhere Ye Qiu did not notice, a pair of weathered eyes watched his every move.

As he passed through a small alley, there were fewer and fewer pedestrians around him.

Whoosh! A black figure drifted down and landed in front of Ye Qiu.

"Wha—" Before Ye Qiu could finish speaking, he froze in place.

Pressure. An immensely powerful pressure that made even moving his limbs difficult.

The eyes beneath the Black Silk stared fixedly at the figure before him. A black conical hat, a burly build, a face covered in stubble—his features could not be fully seen.

But Ye Qiu knew him. Tang San's deadbeat father, the Clear Sky Douluo—Tang Hao!

Cold sweat trickled down his forehead, and panic rose in his heart. Damn it, is he going to make a move already?

A hoarse voice rang beside his ear. Tang Hao's lips barely moved, yet the voice resounded throughout Ye Qiu's mind.

Sound transmission! "Outside the city. Eastern forest!"

Tang Hao stood quietly where he was. After giving Ye Qiu one more glance, he vanished!

Thud! "Huff... huff..." Ye Qiu collapsed to the ground, greedily sucking in fresh air.

Before Tang Hao, he had even forgotten to breathe. Like someone drowning, he was drenched from head to toe, sweat sliding from his chin and dripping onto the ground.

"Heh. The Clear Sky Sect line really is protective of its own. This old man actually has to personally step in to clear away a love rival for his son!"

Muttering bitterly, he shakily got to his feet. After hesitating for a moment, he headed toward the forest east of the city to keep the appointment.

Since Tang Hao had not attacked him directly, the chances of danger were much lower. Before a Title Douluo, he was nothing more than an ant.

Even if he wanted to flee, he lacked the ability to do so.

He also wanted to see whether Tang Hao was doing this for his future daughter-in-law, or for the Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring!

Nuoding City was neither particularly large nor small. After leaving the city gates and walking for another half hour, Ye Qiu finally reached Tang Hao's location.

Tang Hao had been waiting for a long time. He stood ramrod straight, his black conical hat fluttering in the wind, looking rather imposing.

"May I ask what instructions Senior has for summoning this junior here?" Ye Qiu remained fairly respectful.

Tang Hao did not even turn his head, as though he could not be bothered to spare Ye Qiu a glance. He simply ordered in a completely emotionless voice, "Kid, leave that girl. She is not someone you deserve."

Ye Qiu played dumb as well. "Does Senior mean Xiao Wu? Is Senior one of Xiao Wu's family members?"

To prevent Tang Hao from considering silencing him, Ye Qiu tried his best not to connect Tang Hao and Tang San through his words.

"You do not need to know!" Tang Hao turned around, his voice growing much colder. "Leave this place! Never appear before that girl again!"

"Why?" Ye Qiu frowned. Even if it was an act, he was somewhat curious about the reason Tang Hao would give.

"You are merely a coward." Tang Hao answered indifferently. "You broke through to level ten months ago, yet you still dared not hunt a Spirit Ring. You are nothing but trash!"

"..." Ye Qiu had not expected someone to have overheard his conversations with Xiao Wu.

After Xiao Wu learned that Ye Qiu's Soul Power had reached level ten, she had repeatedly offered to help him hunt a Spirit Ring. Yet he had always refused using one excuse or another.

Unexpectedly, Tang Hao had witnessed this behavior and concluded that he was a coward.

"Is that all? Senior, I think I can do it too."

Of course, that was not the only reason, but Tang Hao had no obligation to explain. "Enough! I have already said it. You are not worthy of her!"

The pressure radiating from Tang Hao descended upon Ye Qiu once more.

Ye Qiu endured the pressure and stood straight, sneering inwardly. Heh. When you say 'her,' do you mean her... or it?

The rugged man beneath the conical hat frowned, gradually increasing the pressure. Seeing Ye Qiu still struggling desperately, killing intent suddenly rose in his heart! He changed his mind.

"Heh. Let this be the price for hurting my son, Xiao San!" Tang Hao sneered, his tone as casual as if he were crushing an ant.

"What?!" Hearing Tang Hao expose their father-son relationship himself, Ye Qiu was horrified!

Tang Hao intended to silence him!

In Ye Qiu's vision, a faint bloody light seemed to appear beneath Tang Hao's conical hat, and terrifying killing intent surged toward him.

Not good! A mental attack! And... Divine Slaughter's Domain!

He had thought Tang Hao would not ruthlessly kill him, yet he had not expected him to be so vicious.

A powerful mental attack could kill someone in severe cases, or turn them into a fool and leave them as a living corpse in lighter ones.

Within Ye Qiu's consciousness, a torrential rain of blood poured from the sky. Mountains of corpses and seas of blood churned, raising enormous waves that crashed toward him!

The Sharingan beneath the Black Silk had already been pushed to its limit, resisting frantically as bloody tears streamed from the corners of his eyes.

Unfortunately, the gap between them was too great. After barely holding out for a moment, Ye Qiu's mind went blank in an instant.

In the final moments of his consciousness, he seemed to see Xiao Wu following her original fate and sacrificing herself to Tang San, and boundless hatred surged within him.

His body stiffened and fell straight to the ground. His breath was faint as a thread.

Tang Hao stepped forward and kicked Ye Qiu's head. There was no response. A mere ant could not even withstand a single look from him.

The Clear Sky Douluo had acted personally, so there was no need to inspect anything. Such was the pride of the strong. In the end, Tang Hao left alone, satisfied.