The Most Desperate

Tang Hao looked at Liu Qingqing before him and thought of Ah Yin, who had sacrificed herself without hesitation.

Tang Hao lowered his head to look at the child in his arms, hope appearing in his eyes.

He absolutely had to keep Ah Yin's child alive. Now that he was seriously injured, he could not endure being hunted down again.

He absolutely could not take even the slightest risk of exposing his whereabouts.

What was more, the woman before him was also a member of Spirit Hall!

In truth, whether the woman had returned to die for love or to flee, Tang Hao would not spare her. She was only a Soul Master; if he failed to catch her, would he not become a laughingstock among Titled Douluo?

Tang Hao covered the infant's eyes and hurled the Clear Sky Hammer at Liu Qingqing.

Liu Qingqing instantly fell silent, collapsing into Ye Tianyang's arms.

Yet Liu Qingqing, dying in Ye Tianyang's embrace, wore a faint smile at the corner of her lips.

Su Yuntao, hidden in the nearby forest, widened his eyes.

He did not move at all, like a stubborn stone.

Su Yuntao had witnessed everything from within the trees, yet he did not make a single sound.

Su Yuntao wanted to live—to return to Spirit Hall alive and report the news, to avenge his elder brother and sister-in-law.

Fortunately, Tang Hao was severely injured at the moment, with little Soul Power left and his senses almost completely lost.

Otherwise, Su Yuntao lying in the forest would have been nothing more than a beacon in the darkness in Tang Hao's eyes.

After killing Liu Qingqing, Tang Hao recalled the Clear Sky Hammer.

Long after Tang Hao had left, Su Yuntao, who had suppressed his emotions for so long, could no longer hold back his sobs. He fell to his knees before Ye Tianyang and Liu Qingqing and collected their bodies.

Afterward, Su Yuntao returned to Spirit Hall and reported the news about Tang Hao. Upon receiving it, Spirit Hall dispatched a large number of people to search continuously for Tang Hao's traces near Nuoding City.

But Tang Hao seemed to have vanished without a trace.

Even after searching for a long time, Spirit Hall could not find Tang Hao and his son.

As reports of failed searches continued to arrive from Spirit Hall personnel, Su Yuntao, waiting for word, fell into complete despair.

He had failed to avenge his elder brother, and he had failed to save him as well.

Whenever Su Yuntao saw Ye Lan, he thought of his elder brother and sister-in-law.

The guilt in his heart grew ever stronger. Back then, he should have rushed out to save his elder brother and sister-in-law.

The one who should have died was actually him. He should not have gotten diarrhea.

Overwhelmed by growing guilt, Su Yuntao raised Ye Lan to adulthood.

But he feared that Ye Lan would be unable to bear the news of his parents' deaths, so he deceived Ye Lan by saying that his parents had merely gone missing.

A few years later, Ye Lan successfully awakened his martial soul, but Su Yuntao feared that Ye Lan would embark on the path of revenge.

After all, with Blue Silver Grass, seeking revenge against Tang Hao was no different from courting death.

Su Yuntao did not want his elder brother's child to die on the road to avenging Tang Hao, so he decided to keep Ye Lan's parents' deaths secret.

He also ordered everyone in the Martial Soul Branch Hall who knew the truth behind Ye Tianyang and Liu Qingqing's deaths to keep it from Ye Lan.

As Ye Lan listened to Su Yuntao's account, the light in his golden eyes gradually dimmed, losing their former brilliance.

Ye Lan kept his lips tightly shut and said nothing.

After finishing the truth, Su Yuntao recalled that day once more.

Tears streamed uncontrollably down his face as he burst into loud sobs.

"Xiao Lan, I've wronged you. Back then, I shouldn't have been so impatient to eat that roast meat! It was because I got diarrhea that your elder brother and sister-in-law had to wait there."

"Back then, I should have charged straight at Tang Hao. Maybe then your elder brother wouldn't have died."

Su Yuntao continued to blame himself.

Having learned the truth, Ye Lan's shoulders trembled uncontrollably as a surge of blood rushed to his head.

"Tang Hao, I want you dead!!!!!!" A trail of bloody tears flowed from Ye Lan's eyes.

Memories of his dignified father and gentle mother flashed through Ye Lan's mind again and again. As those fragments surfaced, they continually fueled his fury.

In his previous life, Ye Lan had been an orphan, raised by the state.

In this life, Ye Lan was no longer an orphan; he had both parents.

Ye Lan had thought this was a gift from heaven, a reward for saving others.

But now Ye Lan knew that Tang Hao had taken away the thing he longed for most.

Perhaps it had been everything most important to him. Ye Lan clenched his fists tightly, blood continuously flowing from his palms.

"Uncle Tao, I don't blame you for my parents' deaths. This was all Tang Hao's fault. No matter what you had done then, it would have been useless."

"It's fine that Spirit Hall didn't find Tang Hao. I should thank Spirit Hall for giving me the chance to take revenge with my own hands!"

"I will make Tang Hao die in the depths of despair. Uncle Tao, do you believe me?" Ye Lan calmly spoke the cruelest words, yet looked into Su Yuntao's eyes with a gentle expression.

"I ask for nothing. I only want you to live well in Brother Yang and Sister Qing's stead. If the time isn't right, don't act rashly, okay?" Su Yuntao wiped the tears from his eyes. He did not want Ye Lan to die at Tang Hao's hands.

"Mm. Until all of this is over, I won't act rashly! I am the continuation of my father and mother's lives. I have to be responsible for them." Ye Lan suppressed the towering fury in his heart.

Ye Lan finally understood why, the first time he had met Tang San, an inexplicable rage had risen within him. It was because Tang San had witnessed his parents' deaths, and he was Tang Hao's flesh and blood.

"Uncle Tao, don't be too sad. Have you ever heard of gods?"

"Isn't that just a legend?" Su Yuntao found it strange that Ye Lan had suddenly brought up gods.

"This isn't a legend. It's real. In the future, I will attain Godhood and revive both my parents!" Ye Lan said firmly.

Watching the resolute Ye Lan, an inexplicable trust rose within Su Yuntao's heart. Deep down, he believed that Ye Lan would definitely attain Godhood. Perhaps, in the not-too-distant future, he would be able to see his big brother and Sister Qing again.

"Xiao Lan, I believe in you!" Su Yuntao firmly patted Ye Lan on the shoulder.

"Uncle Tao, could you go out for a while? I want to be alone." Ye Lan made his request to Su Yuntao.

"Alright. Tonight, I'll have Sister Si Si make your favorite Golden Crispy Chicken." Su Yuntao looked at the dazed Ye Lan, then turned and closed the door.

Although Ye Lan had appeared strong before Su Yuntao, he could not actually accept the news of his parents' deaths. Sitting on the sofa, he hugged his bent legs tightly as memories from before he was three years old kept flashing through his mind.

"Lan'er, what are you looking at now?"

"Lan'er, why are you being picky with your food again?"

"Lan'er, you weren't being good again today!"

"Lan'er, no staring at the ceiling. Go to sleep!"

"Lan'er, Mom will tell you a story!"

"Lan'er, Father will make you a Wooden Sword!"

Spirit City, Pope Hall.

Beneath the Holy Throne, over twenty meters high, sat a purple-haired woman with flawless features. She wore a Nine-Curve Purple Gold Crown and held a Gem Scepter that symbolized supreme authority.

Within the solemn and dignified main hall of Pope Hall, the woman's lazy, casual manner seemed somewhat distinctive.

She sat quietly beneath the Holy Throne, supporting her cheek with her left hand as she lightly dozed.

A black shadow suddenly appeared beneath the Holy Throne.

The shadow crouched halfway and lowered its head, displaying respect for the Pope.

The Purple-Haired Woman opened her eyes, her Purple Pupils radiating nobility.

"Gui Mei, what is it?"

"Your Eminence the Pope, Platinum Bishop Salas has sent word. A genius has appeared in the Heaven Dou Empire!"