A storm raged in Ah Yin's heart.
She herself was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, the sovereign of all Blue Silver Grass. Her bloodline was among the most noble of plant-type Soul Beasts.
Yet before this man, the Blue Silver Emperor Bloodline she had always been so proud of was trembling uncontrollably in submission!
This meant that this man's Martial Soul was a type of Blue Silver Grass far superior to her Blue Silver Emperor!
How was that possible?
Was there actually an existence of a higher rank than the Blue Silver Emperor?
Ah Yin's mind shook violently, but immediately afterward, an intense desire to survive surged within her.
She could be saved!
Perhaps she truly could be saved!
This man was her only hope of escaping this endless hell!
Slap!
Ah Yin did not know where she found the strength, but she suddenly broke free of Tang Hao's grip.
She scrambled and crawled before Lu Ming, then fell heavily to her knees, tears rolling down like beads from a broken string.
"Please, save me!"
Tang Hao's expression instantly turned incomparably ugly. He felt that this woman had utterly disgraced him.
He rushed forward in two quick strides, fury blazing in his chest.
"Bitch, get back here with me!"
"Have I been too nice to you?"
Tang Hao cursed as he raised his fan-sized hand, about to viciously slap Ah Yin's tear-streaked pretty face again!
Ah Yin shuddered all over and instinctively shut her eyes, her delicate body trembling.
From the way she reacted, it was clear that she had suffered plenty of such beatings and abuse before.
Yet the agony she expected never came.
A slender jade-like hand firmly caught Tang Hao's wrist.
It was Bai Xiuxiu who had acted.
Her lovely face was frosty, her beautiful eyes filled with contempt.
"Striking a defenseless weak woman—can you still call yourself a man?"
At that moment, Lu Ming's gaze also fell upon Ah Yin, who was kneeling on the ground.
That aura of shared bloodline became increasingly clear, stirring a faint ripple in his heart.
He bent down, extended a hand, and gently helped Ah Yin to her feet.
His movements were gentle, and his voice was mild.
"Don't be afraid. Take your time. I won't hurt you."
Lu Ming's voice seemed to carry a soothing power, and Ah Yin's violently trembling body gradually calmed down.
She raised her head and looked at Lu Ming through tear-filled eyes. The grievances and pain she had suppressed for years finally found an outlet in that moment.
"I... I was originally a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast from the Star Dou Great Forest, the Blue Silver Emperor."
Ah Yin spoke through sobs, recounting her past in broken fragments.
"Back then, I took human form and met Tang Hao. I thought he was kind and righteous, a good man worthy of entrusting my life to..."
"But I was wrong. Terribly wrong! Everything about him was an act!"
"He approached me and courted me only to deceive me, to covet my Hundred Thousand Year Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone!"
"Later... later, he got what he wanted. To protect our child, Tang San, I was hunted by Spirit Hall. Without knowing the truth, I willingly sacrificed myself for him..."
"Until Tang San revived me."
At this point, Ah Yin's face was filled with sorrow and self-mockery.
"But the Heavenly Dao has eyes. By a twist of fate, I learned the truth about that year. My heart turned to ashes, and I broke with him, preparing to leave him."
"But how could he possibly let me go?"
"He feared that what happened back then would be exposed, and he was even more unwilling to part with this body of mine, a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! He imprisoned me and watched over me day and night!"
Ah Yin bit her lip hard, endless hatred spilling from her eyes.
"Ever since I learned the truth, he stopped pretending. He either beat me or cursed me!"
She raised a trembling hand and pointed at the body concealed beneath her gorgeous clothes, her voice shrill with anguish.
"There isn't a single patch of uninjured skin on my body!"
"I wanted to escape every moment of every day, but there was no way to heaven and no path into the earth! I even thought of killing myself and ending it all, but it was useless..."
"They... they could even revive me after I died!"
"All that awaited me was endless torture and beatings!"
By the end, Ah Yin could no longer hold herself together. She crouched on the ground, clutching her head as she sobbed bitterly, her cries so grief-stricken that they broke the hearts of all who heard them.
Ah Yin's cries were piercing and despairing. Every word was like a bloodstained blade stabbing viciously into the hearts of everyone present.
Everyone's gazes converged upon that vile and shameless man, Tang Hao.
Those gazes held contempt, rage, and an unfathomable disgust.
"Beast!"
A crisp cry of fury shattered the suffocating silence.
Ye Lingling trembled with rage, her pretty face flushed red from the intensity of her anger.
Her beautiful eyes glared fixedly at Tang Hao, as though she wished she could tear him into a thousand pieces with her gaze alone.
"Tang Hao! You're worse than pigs and dogs!"
"You deceived her feelings, coveted her Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone, and even imprisoned and tortured your own wife! You don't deserve to be called human!"
Ye Lingling's voice also ignited the fury in the hearts of every Ye Family member.
"Well said! How are such actions any different from those of a beast?"
Ye Qingxian's phoenix eyes gleamed with killing intent. As the Patriarch of the Ye Family, she had seen plenty of darkness, but this was the first time she had seen someone like Tang Hao, who had vile shamelessness carved into his very bones.
"Clear Sky Douluo? Pah! He's simply the shame of all Soul Masters under heaven!"
"I used to respect him as a true hero. Who would have thought he was such a shameless scoundrel?"
"He can even be so cruel to his own wife. A person like him deserves to die!"
For a moment, the Ye Family was ablaze with indignation. One killing gaze after another shot toward Tang Hao like sharp swords.
Bai Xiuxiu's lovely face had also turned cold, and her eyes were filled with contempt as she looked at Tang Hao.
She too was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form, so she could best understand Ah Yin's despair and pain at being deceived and used.
The world of Soul Beasts was very simple. Love was love, and hatred was hatred.
Once they recognized someone as their own, they would give everything without reservation.
But Tang Hao had exploited that simplicity and trust to commit such an outrage.
Then she thought of her own master, Lu Ming.
Back when she had been gravely wounded and on the verge of death, her master had saved her and given her a new life. He had never coveted her Spirit Ring or Spirit Bone. Instead, he protected her at every turn and treated her like family.
Compared to each other, one was in the heavens while the other was in the dirt.
No, comparing something like Tang Hao to her master was simply an insult to her master!
Lu Ming gently patted Ah Yin's trembling shoulder, signaling for her to rest assured. Then he raised his eyes and calmly looked at Tang Hao, whose face had turned alternately green and white.
"Who would have thought?"
Lu Ming's voice was calm, yet every person present heard it clearly.
"The renowned Clear Sky Douluo was actually such a despicable, lowly creature behind the scenes."
Those words were like a resounding slap, viciously striking Tang Hao across the face.
He immediately panicked, pointing at Ah Yin as he roared harshly.
"Ah Yin! You bitch, what nonsense are you spouting here?!"
"I think you're tired of living!"
Before you continue