At that, Lin Ye gave the Blue Silver King a meaningful glance, then continued, "Tang Hao went back this time to take Ah Yin to meet his father. And his father was a Titled Douluo."
"What?!"
The Blue Silver King cried out, then said indignantly, "What was Tang Hao thinking? Didn't he know how tempting a shapeshifted Soul Beast was to a Soul Master? He might be able to resist the temptation, but could he guarantee his father would do the same? Wasn't he gambling Empress's life on his father's conscience?"
The others thought the same thing. Tang Hao seemed far too sure of himself.
"So what happened when they went back? Did Tang Hao's father take Empress's life?" the Blue Silver King asked nervously.
Lin Ye shook his head. "No. Before they even reached the Clear Sky Sect, they ran into a Titled Douluo from Spirit Hall.
"Ah Yin hadn't reached maturity yet, but the Titled Douluo recognized at a glance that she was a shapeshifted Soul Beast."
The Blue Silver King hurriedly asked, "Was it that Titled Douluo who killed Empress?"
Lin Ye frowned. "Why are you in such a hurry? Let me finish."
The Blue Silver King choked on his words. "All right, all right. Go on."
"The two sides clashed immediately. Tang Hao was already a Soul Douluo at the time, and his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul was indeed powerful.
"Not only did the Titled Douluo fail to gain the upper hand, Tang Hao even smashed one of his legs.
"Tang Hao took Ah Yin and went into hiding. He was a Sect Slave, and because he feared implicating the Clear Sky Sect, he never returned.
"Not long afterward, the current Pope of Spirit Hall issued a summons, denouncing the Clear Sky Sect and demanding that they hand over Ah Yin.
"By coincidence, Tang Hao's father was gravely ill at the time. When he heard what had happened, he flew into a rage. He couldn't find Tang Hao anywhere, and the anger killed him. That's right—his own son angered him to death."
Everyone fell silent, listening quietly to Lin Ye's story. Even Lin Qiu'er, who had been looking listless, was now listening with rapt attention.
When Lin Ye mentioned that Tang Hao had angered his father to death, everyone could clearly hear the change in his tone. He almost sounded pleased.
"After that, Tang Hao and Ah Yin hid their identities and spent their days moving from place to place.
"Years later, Ah Yin gave birth to Tang Hao's son, Tang San. On the very day Tang San was born, Spirit Hall came for them again—and this time the Pope personally led the group."
"Spirit Hall! Spirit Hall again..." The Blue Silver King was overcome with fury, its entire trunk trembling.
The Blue Silver Grass in the flowerpot swayed incessantly.
Seeing this, Lin Ye said mockingly, "What are you getting so worked up about? You've been taken for a ride and don't even realize it."
The Blue Silver King froze. "Human, what do you mean? Are you saying there's more to this?"
"You're not stupid, at least." Lin Ye chuckled. "At the time, Tang Hao's Soul Power had just reached Level 90. Level 90! He only needed one more Soul Ring to become a Titled Douluo. Just one more Soul Ring. So where was that Soul Ring going to come from?"
His words clearly carried an implication.
"The Pope personally led the group, accompanied by two Titled Douluo. Tang Hao fought all three at once and was soon gravely wounded.
"Then Ah Yin appeared. She chose to sacrifice herself for Tang Hao, becoming his Ninth Soul Ring."
The Blue Silver King's face, woven from vines, crumpled. Turmoil churned within him. He could smell a conspiracy in Lin Ye's words.
He was also straightforward by nature, asking whatever came to mind.
"Was Tang Hao involved in this?"
The others looked at Lin Ye, all feeling that things weren't as simple as they seemed.
Lin Ye didn't answer directly. Instead, he said, "If you want to know who was behind it, you have to look past appearances and get to the heart of the matter. Whoever benefited most from it is the most suspicious."
He had practically named the culprit outright.
Ah Yin swayed back and forth, even using a long, thin blade of grass to swat at Lin Ye's hand.
But to Lin Ye, it was no more than a tickle.
Seeing her like that, Lin Ye could guess without asking that Ah Yin thought he was smearing Tang Hao. She really was blinded by love.
"Fool. You'd been hiding your identities for years, and Spirit Hall never found you. Yet they came right after you'd given birth, and at the same time Tang Hao broke through to Level 90. Was that really just a coincidence?"
Ah Yin wouldn't listen. She kept swatting Lin Ye with her grass blades, but his next words struck her like a bolt from the blue.
Lin Ye said softly, "Spirit Hall was after you. You were doomed. In that situation, you had only two choices.
"First, Spirit Hall could capture you and keep you in captivity until you became another Soul Master's Soul Ring.
"Second, you could sacrifice yourself to Tang Hao and become his Ninth Soul Ring, helping him become a Titled Douluo. With his strength greatly increased, perhaps he could escape his predicament.
"Once you were dead, Spirit Hall would have no reason to keep hounding Tang Hao.
"Either way, you were going to die. Better to help your husband than your enemy.
"More importantly, that would save your newborn child."
At that, Lin Ye sighed. "A woman may be delicate, but motherhood makes her strong. A neat little scheme."
Boom!
Ah Yin was struck as if by lightning. The blades of grass swatting at Lin Ye stopped.
The others felt a chill in their hearts. The way Lin Ye told it, Tang Hao had been scheming against Ah Yin all along—even his own child had been part of the plan.
Xiao Wu trembled. The human world is so treacherous. I want to go back to the forest.
The Blue Silver King was consumed with rage. "Despicable! Vile humans..."
His voice boomed like thunder, deafening and wild, like a ferocious beast roaring. The sound waves surged outward in wave after wave, spreading in every direction.
After cursing Tang Hao for a full ten minutes, the Blue Silver King finally began to calm down.
He looked at Lin Ye again and asked, "Tell me, why did you come here?"
Lin Ye smiled. "Nothing much. I just wanted to tell you the truth. Also, if Tang Hao and his son come looking for you in the future, I hope you won't help them."
As he said this, Lin Ye watched the Blue Silver King's expression closely.
He had come to see the Blue Silver King to sow discord between them.
Without Ah Yin's Soul Bone and the Blue Silver King's support, Little Scumbag could forget about awakening his Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul a second time.
Actually, Lin Ye would have preferred to kill the Blue Silver King outright and be done with it, but Snow Empress and Ice Empress probably wouldn't agree.
There was nothing he could do. They were all Soul Beasts, after all.
Now all that remained was to see what the Blue Silver King chose. If he didn't know what was good for him, Lin Ye would still have to find a way to kill him later.
The Blue Silver King's reaction didn't disappoint Lin Ye.
"Damn humans! You brought Empress to this miserable state, and now you expect me to help you? Dream on!"
Lin Ye nodded in satisfaction, but he still felt a little uneasy.
Should he just find a way to kill him after all?
Before you continue