"Hm???"
"Where is this???"
Tang San let out a hoarse murmur and began looking around.
He soon realized he was in an unfamiliar cave behind a waterfall, surrounded by the trickling of water and the thunderous roar of the falls.
The air was fresh with the scent of mountain plants and water, utterly unlike the smoke and blood stench amid the ruins of Shrek Academy.
When Tang San saw the Blue Silver Grass with golden patterns growing in the middle of the cave, his body trembled slightly. His blood seemed to rush through his veins, and even his heart pounded.
"Why does this Blue Silver Grass make me feel so close to it?"
Noticing the strange changes in his body, Tang San struggled to get up and touch the Blue Silver Grass, but a tearing ache swept through him, turning his face pale as cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
The pain made him think of the Shrek Seven Devils slaughtering one another, and of the agonizing sight of Qian Wuyou controlling Xiao Wu and forcing her to sacrifice herself.
Just then, a low, hoarse voice came from the cave entrance.
"Xiao San, if you're awake, don't move around."
Tang San looked in the direction of the voice.
He saw Tang Hao wearing a tattered gray robe, a jug of strong liquor in his hand, his gaze fixed on the Blue Silver Grass with golden patterns.
"Dad... Father..."
Hearing that familiar voice, Tang San was overcome with emotion.
Tang Hao still looked as disheveled and unruly as ever, but after the battle at Shrek Academy, Tang San knew that his father was a powerful Titled Douluo.
And one with a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, no less.
At the thought of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, Tang San's eyes turned bloodshot and his breathing grew ragged.
Qian Wuyou—that despicable bastard had cost him the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone that should have been his...
Bah! No, no!
He had cost him his beloved Xiao Wu!
And that girl, Qian Wulu—she'd also obtained the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone after Xiao Wu's sacrifice.
Whether it was Qian Wuyou or Qian Wulu, those siblings both deserved to die.
Seeing Tang San's bloodshot eyes and ragged breathing, Tang Hao took a drink and spoke.
"Xiao San, don't dwell on what happened before. You were unconscious for three days and nights. Focus on recovering first; the rest can wait."
"A battle between Titled Douluo is beyond anything you can contend with right now. Even if you want to avenge that little rabbit Xiao Wu, you'll have to wait until you reach the Titled Douluo level. Only then will you have the strength to go to Spirit City and get revenge on Qian Wuyou and his sister..."
Although Qian Wuyou was incredibly powerful, having reached Level 96 Peak Douluo at such a young age, with a Soul Ring Configuration of three black and six red rings, Tang Hao still believed Tang San would surpass him one day.
So what if Qian Wuyou's Soul Rings were astonishing?
Once Tang San unlocked the potential of his Twin Martial Souls, his second martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, could also receive a Soul Ring Configuration of three black and six red rings...
If he had enough Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts, perhaps he could give Xiao San's Clear Sky Hammer nine unprecedented red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings...
To achieve this, while at Moonlight Pavilion, Tang Hao had even sent his younger sister, Tang Yuehua, back to the Clear Sky Sect. In private, he'd told his idea to his elder brother, the sect master, Tang Xiao.
"I wonder if Yuehua made it back to the Clear Sky Sect safely. I wonder if Big Brother can persuade those old geezers in the sect..."
Thinking of his younger sister, Tang Yuehua, Tang Hao couldn't help feeling relieved, and anticipation stirred in him as well.
Fortunately, he had arranged for Tang Yuehua to leave Heaven Dou City and secretly return to the Clear Sky Sect. That had allowed her to escape disaster.
Otherwise, Qian Wuyou's terrifying attack, capable of wiping out a city with a single strike, would have been enough to kill Tang Yuehua, who had only 9 Soul Power. Even with powerful Soul Masters protecting her, she likely wouldn't have survived.
Seeing that his words hadn't done much to calm Tang San, Tang Hao brought up something else.
"Xiao San, there's something I've kept from you for a long time. It's time I told you."
"That Blue Silver Grass with golden patterns is your mother, Ah Yin. Just like that little rabbit Xiao Wu, she was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, the Blue Silver Emperor, who had taken human form..."
As Tang San stared in shock, Tang Hao embellished the story as he recounted everything that had happened back then.
For instance, he blamed the Spirit Hall for everything, claiming that the previous Supreme Pontiff, Qian Xunji, had coveted Ah Yin's Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone. That was what had torn the couple apart and left Tang San motherless from childhood.
Qian Xunji: "Hm???"
What the hell, everything was my fault?!
You ran all over the continent with the Blue Silver Emperor, exposing her identity as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, and you don't say a single word about how that was your fault, Tang Hao...
"Th-this is my mother?"
After hearing Tang Hao's story, Tang San was completely dumbfounded.
He had never imagined that his mother wasn't human either, but a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor...
"Ah Yin, our son has grown up. I've brought him to see you."
Tang Hao gazed at the Blue Silver Grass with golden patterns, his face full of tenderness.
"Xiao San, come over and kowtow to your mother."
Before Tang San could recover from his shock, Tang Hao roughly grabbed him and dragged him in front of the Blue Silver Grass.
"Thud—!"
As Tang San stared in bewilderment, Tang Hao pressed down hard on his head. His forehead struck the ground with a dull thud, and Tang Hao forcibly made him kowtow to Ah Yin's true form.
Tang San: "Damn it! You dare force me to kneel and kowtow? Tang Hao, you deserve to die..."
Tang Hao: "How dare you! I'm your old man!"
Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin: "How dare you! I'm your mother!"
With Tang Hao holding his head down, Tang San obediently kowtowed three times to the Blue Silver Grass with golden patterns, his eyes full of reverence and respect.
He, Tang San, knelt to Heaven, Earth, and his parents. Kneeling to his mother and kowtowing a few times was no big deal.
Just as Tang San finished kowtowing, the Blue Silver Grass with golden patterns suddenly seemed to react to something and instantly wrapped itself around him.
"Ah Yin..."
Tang Hao was startled at the sight.
He was just about to make Tang San kowtow a few more times when he sensed several powerful Soul Power fluctuations rapidly approaching.
"Hm???"
"Those powerful auras... They seem to belong to Qian Wuyou and the two women who used the Angel Martial Soul Fusion Skill..."
"Damn it, how did they find this place?"
As soon as Tang Hao spoke, he acted without the slightest hesitation.
He snatched up the Blue Silver Grass with one hand, clamped Tang San under his other arm, then turned and bolted toward an exit deeper in the cave, fleeing for his life without looking back.
He had no chance of winning against Qian Wuyou and the others!
And just one second after Tang Hao left the cave, two melodious voices rang out across the mountains behind Holy Soul Village.
"Angel Martial Soul Fusion Skill: Six-Winged Elemental Angel Descent!"
Before you continue