"The main meridians have recovered. I can circulate some Soul Power now, so I should be able to absorb a white Soul Ring."
Yang Hao replied earnestly. The gratitude in his eyes had grown, along with a yearning—a yearning for strength.
"What a shame. With your talent and six levels of Innate Soul Power, you could have obtained the optimal Soul Ring Configuration."
Tai Wuji said regretfully. The child had pretty good talent; if he trained diligently, becoming a Spirit Emperor someday wouldn't be a problem.
The two of them traded performances of unclely kindness and filial affection until Zhao Min walked in. Then they stopped and promptly set out by carriage.
Along the way, Yang Hao asked Tai Wuji about the outside world, including the White Tiger Duke, hoping to pin down the timeline.
Though he was certain this was the era of Peerless Tang Sect in Douluo II, he didn't know exactly which year it was. In his previous life, he hadn't paid much attention to that when reading the novel.
Tai Wuji continued to show the affection of an uncle, answering every question.
They needed to display this relationship to the outside world. Only then could they bring things to a perfect close.
The carriage moved quickly, and the distance wasn't far. They reached Star Dou Forest in just one day.
The carriage stopped at a small town outside Star Dou Forest. After resting for a night, Yang Hao put on a suit of heavy armor made of Iron Essence and carried a long spear made of the same material. He was armed from head to toe.
Tai Wushuang showed his disdain for this, but Yang Hao didn't care.
The heavy armor wasn't meant to protect him from Soul Beasts. It was to shield him from the weapon of mass destruction he'd made.
If Tai Wuji and his wife tried to make a move against him, he would take out that weapon and set it off.
The couple glanced at him but paid little attention. They took Yang Hao and Tai Wushuang with them and hurried onward, reaching their destination the next day.
It was a Soul-Devouring Demon Spider's lair. The strongest one there was over ten thousand years old.
But that was nothing to a Spirit Emperor like Tai Wuji. He led the way, blasting every Soul-Devouring Demon Spider that didn't meet their requirements to death.
Zhao Min followed at the rear, keeping watch behind them while also keeping an eye on Yang Hao to prevent him from escaping.
Yang Hao and Tai Wushuang walked between the two adults. Compared with Tai Wushuang's excitement, Yang Hao was remarkably calm. He swept the light of his Soul Tool lamp over their surroundings, memorizing the lair's tunnels.
They killed their way inside, finally reaching a cavern thirty meters across. Tai Wuji unleashed his six Soul Rings and killed the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider, which was over ten thousand years old, with a single punch.
The Strength Clan had always followed the extreme-strength path, choosing only power-type Soul Beasts when hunting for Soul Rings. This made their strength exceptionally formidable. With all his Soul Rings boosting him, Tai Wuji's strength and attack power rivaled those of a Soul Saint. Naturally, killing a ten-thousand-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider was no problem.
In the end, they left only one spider alive: a little over a thousand years old, but the strongest in terms of bloodline and power.
"Wushuang!"
Once he'd confirmed there was no danger, Tai Wuji signaled to his son.
"Become my Soul Ring!"
Tai Wushuang had been itching to do this for ages. He thrust a Black-Veined Iron spear into the head of the thousand-year-old Soul-Devouring Demon Spider. It twitched, then streams of Soul Power rose from its body, condensing into a pale purple Soul Ring.
Tai Wushuang swallowed a pill and activated Martial Soul Possession. His body quickly swelled until he stood two meters tall, and another eye appeared in the middle of his forehead.
This was his Martial Soul: One-Eyed Vajra!
Once he was ready, he drew the power of the pale purple Soul Ring into his body and circulated his Soul Power with the Mysterious Heaven Skill to refine it.
Tai Wuji and his wife watched tensely. Tai Wushuang performed well, too. Though absorbing the Soul Ring was difficult—even painful—he held on.
Much of that was thanks to the Whale Rubber he'd taken over the past three years, which had strengthened his body and meridians, as well as to the refinement of that ninety-thousand-year-old Head Soul Bone.
Though a Head Soul Bone mainly enhanced mental power, it could still temper and improve the body.
Besides, the Soul Power he'd cultivated over the past three years was comparable to that of a twentieth-level Soul Master, which greatly aided his absorption. The Mysterious Heaven Skill was also wondrous beyond compare.
All those preparations came together to make the absorption a success—and even brought an unexpected gain.
The clothes on Tai Wushuang's back burst apart, and eight dark green spider legs extended from his body, making him look like a giant spider.
"An External Soul Bone?"
Tai Wuji froze, then erupted with joy. Could this be the legendary External Soul Bone?
"Eight Spider Lances?"
Yang Hao, who'd been quietly watching, also froze. He thought of God King Tang's Eight Spider Lances from the era of Douluo I.
What incredible luck!
He glanced at Zhao Min, who'd been keeping an eye on him. Her attention was now entirely on Tai Wushuang. Yang Hao took a hemisphere out of his Storage Soul Tool, gently set it on the ground, then slowly backed away while pulling on a wire.
The cavern was already dark, and the couple's attention was fixed on their son. They didn't notice Yang Hao's little maneuver at all.
Once he'd backed out of the cavern and reached the tunnel, Yang Hao took out a massive Iron Essence shield and held it in front of himself. At the same time, he yanked hard on the wire.
Boom!
Before Tai Wuji and his wife could react, the hemisphere exploded with a roar, spraying countless tiny fragments of weapons in every direction.
That's right. Yang Hao's weapon of mass destruction was a land mine, packed with a full twenty kilograms of explosives.
The purity wasn't high due to the limitations of his equipment, but the explosion was still incredibly powerful.
The explosives merely provided the force. The real killing blow came from the weapon fragments: every one of them made of Iron Essence, hard and sharp.
Propelled by the blast, they flew with astonishing speed and force.
The explosion came without warning. Tai Wuji and his wife were blown away before they could react, and even their Martial Soul Possession couldn't stop the weapon fragments.
A swarm of shards pierced their bodies; some even went straight through. Their Martial Soul Possession was forcibly broken.
The only thing the couple managed to do was shield their son with their bodies. It was a parent's instinctive reaction.
Tai Wushuang, who was almost done absorbing the Soul Ring, was caught in the blast as well. His parents blocked the weapon fragments with their bodies, but the shock wave still hurled him away.
Worst of all, the blast disrupted his Soul Ring absorption. The Soul Ring's power rampaged through his body, tearing his meridians apart and leaving him in unbearable pain.
And that wasn't all. A short spear flew from the tunnel and struck Tai Wuji squarely, pinning him to the ground.
A second short spear shot out and pinned Zhao Min. Then came a third, a fourth...
Only after three short spears had been driven into each of them did Yang Hao enter the cavern with his shield.
That still wasn't enough. As soon as he got close, he used his spear to sever the tendons in all six of their limbs. He even pierced Zhao Min's throat in particular. He remembered that she had a sound-wave-type Soul Skill.
Finally, he took the Storage Soul Tools from all three of them. Only then did he feel at ease.
Chapter 3: Feeding the Demon with My Body
"Setting off explosives in an enclosed space really does a number on your body."
Yang Hao, his ears ringing, grumbled. The explosion had been too powerful, especially in a confined space like this. It was lethal.
He'd blocked some of it with a massive shield, but his ears were still ringing. That was even with earplugs in, and the shock wave had still sent him flying.
Fortunately, he'd used the shield to block the worst of the blast, and his armor had protected him. He'd escaped without serious injuries.
"You little bastard!"
Tai Wuji had recovered enough to glare furiously at him, regret filling his heart.
He'd underestimated the little bastard.
Zhao Min glared at him, too, just as regretful. They should've killed the little bastard long ago.
But it was too late for regrets now!
Yang Hao couldn't be bothered with them. He searched their Storage Soul Tools for anything valuable, and soon found a pleasant surprise.
"Well, look at that. The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. The Strength Clan still has this treasure?"
Yang Hao's grin nearly reached his ears as he looked at the yellowed book in his hands.
He wasn't surprised that the Strength Clan had the Tang Sect Secret Arts. The Strength Clan had once been part of the Tang Sect, and had followed it for nearly ten thousand years. When the Tang Sect fell into decline, there was no reason they would have resisted the temptation to peek at the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
He just hadn't expected to get his hands on it so easily.
He'd found the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record in Tai Wushuang's Storage Soul Tool. Clearly, they'd let him study and practice it. Now it had fallen right into Yang Hao's hands.
Unlike Yang Hao, who was delighted, Tai Wuji and his wife were consumed with rage. Not only had the little bastard outsmarted them today, he'd also taken the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record.
That was worse than death.
"Now that I have this treasure, you can go in peace. Don't walk too fast on the road to the Yellow Springs. I'll send the rest of the Strength Clan along to join you as soon as I can."
After flipping through the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record to make sure nothing was amiss, he put it away.
Yang Hao took out the family portrait and incense burner, lit the incense, and bowed.
This was revenge. It needed a sense of ritual, so his parents and older brother could watch.
"Your time is up!"
He stood and raised his spear, ready to thrust it down.
"Stop!"
"If you kill my parents, I'll kill you!"
Tai Wushuang, who'd recovered a little, shouted to stop him. Out of habit, he even put on the lofty airs he'd always displayed.
That attitude left Yang Hao momentarily stunned. Was this guy blind or brain-damaged?
Couldn't he see the situation he was in?
"Damn it, the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider actually dared to possess our young master!"
With a shout, he thrust his spear forward without hesitation and pierced Tai Wushuang through the chest.
The young master must have been possessed by the Soul-Devouring Demon Spider. Otherwise, he could never have said something so stupid.
"Wushuang!"
Tai Wuji cried out in grief. He and his wife struggled to get to their son, but three short spears had pinned their bodies to the ground, and the tendons in their limbs had been severed. They could do nothing.
For Beast Martial Soul Soul Masters, every Soul Skill required the body as its foundation. With the tendons in their limbs severed, even their strongest Soul Skills were useless. They could only watch helplessly.
"So even the wicked have a bit of light in their hearts."
Seeing the couple's grief-stricken faces, Yang Hao marveled at the complexity of human nature, then couldn't help adding,
"Why do I feel like I'm the villain here?"
He looked down at the couple coldly, killing intent rising.
"My parents must have looked about the same when you had them killed."
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