Tang San's "Truth"

At Holy Soul Village, Tang San walked down the hillside over the damp earth and pushed open the familiar, dilapidated wooden door.

The light inside was dim, and the air reeked of liquor. Tang Hao lay sprawled across the table, an empty wine jar pinned beneath his arm. His hair clung in disarray to his stubble-covered face, and his heavy breathing made it clear he was dead drunk again.

"You're back. Hurry up and make dinner." Tang Hao didn't even raise his head. His voice was hoarse, and he couldn't be bothered to lift his eyelids.

Tang San stood in the doorway, looking at his father like this, his heart a tangled mess.

He fell silent for a moment, but in the end, he spoke. "Father, I know what happened between you and Mother, Ah Yin."

"Whoosh—"

Tang Hao jerked his head up. His eyes, bleary a moment ago, instantly sharpened like blades, and the alcohol seemed to vanish without a trace.

He stared hard at Tang San and asked, each word deliberate, "Who told you?"

"Father, I'm a reincarnator." Tang San met his gaze without backing down.

"You were the Clear Sky Sect's once-in-a-century genius, the former Clear Sky Douluo. Mother, Ah Yin, was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor who took human form."

"Back then, Spirit Hall wanted Mother's Soul Ring and Soul Bone. Pope Qian Xunji personally led the pursuit against you both."

"In the end, Mother sacrificed herself for you. As the youngest Titled Douluo, you fought Spirit Hall's three Titled Douluo alone, killed two, and gravely wounded Qian Xunji..."

"Who the hell are you?" Killing intent surged in Tang Hao's eyes. A terrifying pressure burst from his body. The empty wine jar on the table shattered with a crack, the table and chairs shook violently, and dirt sifted down from the walls.

Tang San felt a tremendous force slam into him. His body staggered backward several steps, his chest tightened, and he could barely breathe.

Over the past three years, Tang Hao hadn't been without his suspicions.

The child had been strange ever since he was three, secretly practicing every day. His physical strength far surpassed that of children his age, and the cultivation method he used—one Tang Hao couldn't understand—was no ordinary technique.

For a time, he'd even wondered whether some evil spirit had taken over his son's body.

But the child carried his and Ah Yin's blood. He couldn't bring himself to investigate further, so he'd used drinking and cold indifference to hide his inner turmoil.

As time passed, he watched the child serve him tea and water, wash clothes, and cook every day. That filial devotion gradually eased his suspicions, and he'd thought it might be best to let things drift on as they were.

But now... how could he not be shaken?

"Father, I'm your son, Tang San!" Tang San steadied himself, a trace of urgency flashing in his eyes. He flipped his hands, and a pitch-black Clear Sky Hammer and a tall, emerald Blue Silver King appeared together, floating above his palms. "Look. These are my Martial Souls!"

"This is... this is..." Tang Hao's pressure instantly receded. He stared at the miniature Clear Sky Hammer, then at the Blue Silver Grass radiating a kingly aura. His whole body trembled uncontrollably.

He dropped to one knee with a thud, his eyes instantly reddening. Grabbing Tang San's wrist, he choked out, "Son... my own son..."

Hot tears ran down the furrows of his face and fell onto the back of Tang San's hand.

Tang San drew his Martial Souls back into his body and let his father hold him tight.

A long-missed warmth spread through his chest. He'd already pushed the killing intent from moments ago to the back of his mind.

He understood his father's fury. Anyone who learned that their child might have been "taken over" would lose their head.

But he was different. From the moment he was born, he had been one with this body, inseparable from it.

By revealing his Martial Souls, he could finally put his father's fears to rest. Only by earning his father's trust and support could he walk this road of rebirth with greater certainty, gather enough strength to face the future, and stop that world-destroying sword strike.

"Remember," Tang Hao said as he released him, placing both hands on his shoulders. His gaze was solemn beyond words.

"In your future, you must use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right. Always."

No matter what the child had been through, as long as he possessed the Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Grass, he was Ah Yin's son and Tang Hao's son!

Ah Yin, do you see? Our son is a peerless genius with Twin Martial Souls!

"I will, Father." Tang San nodded firmly, his gaze resolute.

He had kept that promise in his previous life, and he would keep it in this one, too.

Only then did Tang Hao remember something. His brows furrowed. "How did you awaken your Martial Souls? The people from Spirit Hall aren't coming to Holy Soul Village to conduct Martial Soul Awakening until tomorrow. How did you..."

"Father, I'm a reincarnator," Tang San repeated.

"A reincarnator?" Tang Hao's heart clenched again, and his eyes turned complicated. "You... aren't my son?"

If this "reincarnator" didn't even consider him his father, then he...

"Father, you'll always be my father, in my previous life and this one." Tang San hurried to explain. "A reincarnator is someone who lives another life."

"I returned to the moment I was born. Once I could move on my own, I began cultivating with a technique I created myself. Only today did I deliberately trigger my Martial Soul Awakening."

"Wait... my thoughts are all jumbled." Tang Hao pressed a hand to his throbbing temple, his gaze dazed.

Rebirth? A previous life? The words exploded in his mind like thunderclaps, leaving him unable to take them in.

"Father, it went like this." Tang San slowed down and recounted the course of his previous life.

"In my previous life, you lived in seclusion in Holy Soul Village. When I was six, I awakened Twin Martial Souls with Innate Full Soul Power. After that, I went to Notting Academy, met Grandmaster, and made friends. Later, I joined Shrek and competed in the Soul Master Tournament..."

"We faced countless brushes with death together, revived Mother, overthrew Spirit Hall's rule, and in the end, I inherited a godhood and ascended to the Divine Realm... Then the Great God Circle was destroyed, and I was reborn."

Tang Hao listened, dumbfounded, his head feeling ready to split open.

His son had become a god? His daughter-in-law was a Soul Beast? His grandchild and great-grandchild had become gods, too?

They'd even founded something called the "Great God Circle," and the Divine Realm had become the Tang family's domain?

It sounded like a tall tale, but the Clear Sky Sect secrets Tang San mentioned—Ring Detonation, Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer, the Nine Absolutes of Clear Sky...

Every single detail was exactly right. There was no way an outsider could know them. Tang Hao opened his mouth, only to find himself unable to say a word.

"Son... my good son..." It was a long time before Tang Hao came to his senses. He pulled Tang San into his arms again, this time with unmistakable love and pride.

This wasn't some monster. He was his son, his real son!

Half an incense stick later, Tang Hao had finally calmed down.

He got up, shut the front door, and pulled Tang San over to sit by the table. His eyes were full of guilt. "Xiao San, why did you only tell me now? If you'd told me sooner, I wouldn't have... wouldn't have spent every day drinking and made you suffer so much."

"Father, that was my choice." Tang San shook his head. "I hadn't planned to tell you, but something changed when I awakened my Martial Souls today."

"What changed? Is it serious?" Tang Hao immediately leaned forward, his eyes full of worry.

Tang San took a deep breath and said slowly, "My Innate Soul Power is twenty levels now."

"Boom—"

Tang Hao's brain went "buzz," as though countless bees were swarming inside his skull. His mind went completely blank.

He stared at Tang San, his lips trembling. "X-Xiao San, did you hear me right? Innate Soul Power at level twenty?"

In all his life, he'd only ever heard of Innate Full Soul Power—that was level ten. What did level twenty even mean? It was utterly unheard of!

"Father, I'm not lying." Tang San nodded firmly. "The power of the Seed of Godhood pushed my Soul Power straight past the level-ten limit."

"Hahaha! Heaven favors the Clear Sky Sect! Heaven favors me, Tang Hao!" Tang Hao slapped the table and burst into laughter, his eyes shining.

"Xiao San, today we're going back to the Clear Sky Sect and reclaiming our place in the clan! I'll show those old fogies what kind of genius my son is!" As he spoke, he started to pull Tang San toward the door.

"Wait, Father," Tang San called after him.

Tang Hao stopped and turned back in confusion. "What is it?"

"Father, the road to godhood is full of hardships, and one change can set everything in motion." Tang San looked at him gravely.

"I want to walk the same road as in my previous life, step by step. If we rashly alter the course of events, it could trigger unforeseen changes."