Tang Hao had known for a long time that his two children were special.
What other three-year-old could wash clothes, cook, and go up the mountain to forage for wild vegetables, yet have no childish desire to play at all? They had picked up a cultivation method and, without anyone keeping an eye on them, practiced every morning at the back of the mountain, day in and day out, for three years.
He knew what hardships the two children had endured over the years for the sake of cultivation.
If he hadn't personally witnessed them being born from Ah Yin's womb and taken them into his arms, he would have suspected they were Soul Beasts in human form.
So, although he had his doubts, he could only attribute their unusual nature to the fact that Ah Yin, a Soul Beast who had transformed into human form, had borne children with a human. The Martial Souls the two had awakened some time ago only confirmed it.
Those two children really were his and Ah Yin's!
"About Tang Yin..." Tang Hao hesitated. He was his son, after all, so it felt wrong to speak about him in front of his aunt. In the end, he gritted his teeth and continued, "He takes after his mother, and he treats his little sister very well, just like my big brother and I do!"
Tang Hao didn't think he was lying. Unlike Third Sister, who had inherited some of Tang Yuehua's features around the eyes, Tang Yin had none of the Tang family's looks. He resembled Ah Yin more than Third Sister did, and he really did dote on his little sister.
"You're making me want to meet them right away."
A strange feeling stirred in Tang Yuehua's heart. She rose with a soft laugh, went to the dressing table, opened a drawer, and took out a white Soul Coin Card.
"I understand why you came, Hao. It hasn't been long since the last shipment of supplies went to the Clear Sky Sect. After covering Moonlight Pavilion's operating costs, I don't have much left that I can actually spare."
Tang Yuehua sat back down opposite Tang Hao. She took his calloused hand and placed the Soul Coin Card in his palm. "There are more than ten thousand Gold Soul Coins on this card. It isn't much, but it should be more than enough to support your two children while they study at a Junior Soul Master Academy."
"Yuehua, that's too much. Those two little rascals can't spend that much!" Tang Hao caught the hand she was about to withdraw, his eyes reddening.
Nuoding City was only a small city. Tuition, meals, and lodging at the Junior Soul Master Academy cost no more than fifteen to twenty Gold Soul Coins a year.
"I know the cost of living across the empire better than you do." Tang Yuehua smiled faintly, a trace of pride flashing across her face.
"I'm giving you this much because I know my niece and nephew must have suffered plenty at your side over the years. The rest is just a little something from their aunt."
"But what about the Clear Sky Sect..." Tang Hao still hesitated.
He already felt guilty toward the Clear Sky Sect because of what had happened back then. Over the years, the sect's decision to close its gates had left its disciples without a livelihood.
It was no exaggeration to say the Clear Sky Sect had survived these years on the support of Moonlight Pavilion, which Tang Yuehua had founded.
At the mention of the Clear Sky Sect, a trace of worry crossed Tang Yuehua's eyes.
Tang Hao had spent all these years holed up in a remote corner of Holy Soul Village. How could he truly know the Clear Sky Sect's current situation?
Moonlight Pavilion brought in a fortune every day, but its expenses were just as high.
She handled nearly one to two million Gold Soul Coins over the course of a year, but after expenses, only five or six hundred thousand actually remained. Most of that went to support the Clear Sky Sect, leaving her with only tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins for herself.
If business turned bad, she couldn't save a thing. Sometimes, she even had to dip into her private funds to cover the shortfall, and when that wasn't enough, she had to borrow from the nobles.
She made it sound easy, but aside from the money needed to keep Moonlight Pavilion running, these ten thousand-plus Gold Soul Coins accounted for most of her wealth.
Few would have guessed that the famed master of Moonlight Pavilion had only tens of thousands of Gold Soul Coins that truly belonged to her.
These thoughts crossed Tang Yuehua's mind in an instant. She naturally wasn't going to tell Tang Hao any of it.
Hiding her worry, Tang Yuehua gave Tang Hao a reassuring look.
"Don't worry. The Clear Sky Sect received supplies just last month. They can hold out for at least three months. This is only a small portion of my private savings."
"Fine! You've had a hard time all these years, little sister!" Tang Hao finally stopped refusing and asked instead about the Clear Sky Sect and his big brother, Tang Xiao.
Tang Yuehua hesitated briefly, then decided there was no need to hide any of it.
"The Clear Sky Sect is fairly stable for now. The Seventh Elder still hasn't let go of his son's death, and over the years he's repeatedly used what our family owes his to demand extra supplies from me."
As she spoke, Tang Yuehua grew angrier, her voice edged with frustration and grievance. "He's even spent these years recruiting disciples who resent our family, and they often challenge my big brother's authority as sect master."
"The Seventh Elder?" Tang Hao first felt guilty, then anger rose in him at the thought of the man opposing his big brother and little sister.
What he had done back then had indeed cost the sect lives. But hadn't his family paid enough over the years?
You lost only one son, while I lost the love of my life!
You can have another son, but my Ah Yin is dead and will never come back!
A trace of killing intent escaped Tang Hao before a gentle aura brought him back to his senses.
At some point, Tang Yuehua had activated her Noble Circle Domain. She was watching him with concern.
"It's fine, Yuehua. Let the Seventh Elder and that bunch who oppose my big brother bounce around for a few more years." Tang Hao's gaze turned cold. Thinking of Tang Sanmei's twin Martial Souls, he eagerly pictured her climbing the Clear Sky Sect with the Clear Sky Hammer in hand, and his heart swelled with boldness.
"Once Third Sister becomes a Titled Douluo, we'll settle accounts with them one by one!"
Just then, Tang Hao suddenly thought of Tang Yin's Sharp-Tailed Swift Martial Soul.
"By the way, how is our uncle, Bai He?"
"He's still in fairly good health. I heard he had a talented granddaughter a few years ago. I think her name is Bai Chenxiang." Tang Yuehua knew these things like the back of her hand.
"Little Yin has an Innate Full Soul Power Sharp-Tailed Swift. I bet that old Bai He has never even heard of one!" Tang Hao sounded rather pleased with himself, even imagining Bai He's expression when he found out.
Innate Full Soul Power was extraordinarily special. Even Innate Soul Power at level nine couldn't compare; the gap was like heaven and earth.
It was like an exam: scoring ninety-nine meant you'd reached the limit of your ability, while someone who scored a hundred had only reached the limit of the test, not their own.
On the Douluo Continent, because of the limitations imposed by Soul Rings, the highest possible Innate Soul Power was level ten—unless you had a God-Bestowed Martial Soul, Innate Full Soul Power, and a God-Bestowed Soul Ring.
Only a God-Bestowed Soul Ring could let someone break through level ten before they had officially begun cultivation.
Thinking of this, Tang Hao laughed at how absurd his own idea was.
Was that even possible?
At the same time, a highly theatrical scene was unfolding at the Spirit Hall in Heaven Dou City while Tang Hao was at Moonlight Pavilion.
Salas, the bishop representing the Spirit Hall in Heaven Dou City, was holding a file.
It had been sent by the Spirit Hall in Nuoding City, which was in Fasinuo Province in the southwest of the Heaven Dou Empire.
"I remember that the one in charge there is that hypocritical old man, Ma Xiunuo!"
"Is this the report on this year's Martial Soul Awakenings among the commoners?"
Salas checked the time. It was nearly the end of the workday. After a moment's hesitation, he decided he might as well finish reading it. After all, he wasn't the sort to let private matters interfere with his duties.
After praising himself rather shamelessly, Salas was about to break open the file's wax seal when a knock came from outside.
"My lord Bishop~ Are you still working? The girls are getting impatient~"
Before Salas could answer, the door opened, and a heavily made-up woman walked in with a cloying voice.
"Ruyan! How many times have I told you not to enter my office without waiting for me to answer?" Salas's face darkened.
"Oh? There's a pair of twin cat-girls tonight!" Ruyan wasn't intimidated. Instead, she smiled sweetly.
"Twins? Cat-girls?" Salas immediately seized on the key point and froze.
"Oh, come on! Who are you trying to fool?" Ruyan said disdainfully, snatching the file from Salas's hand.
Salas, who had been momentarily stunned, panicked. "That's a confidential file. Give it back!"
"Then come catch me! If you catch me, I'll..."
The two immediately began chasing each other around the desk.
"Ah!" Ruyan suddenly slipped while running and twisted her ankle. Her fingers loosened from the pain, and the file traced an arc through the air, landing neatly in the brazier.
Salas had specifically set that brazier aside for destroying confidential files.
"You!" Salas's expression hardened as he glared at Ruyan, who had fallen to the floor.
"My, my lord Bishop, I-I didn't mean to!" Ruyan was terrified, her face pale. Her already lovely features and voluptuous figure only made her more alluring.
"You're such a tease~" Salas's dark expression suddenly melted into a helpless smile.
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