Su Yu hurried along the dirt road through Holy Soul Village, holding Tang Wu's hand.
The whole way, he rapidly worked through his next steps in his mind.
Old Jack's ruthless methods had sounded the alarm loud and clear. This seemingly peaceful novice village was, in truth, a high-risk quarantine zone crawling with overpowered cheats.
Although he had awakened Twin Martial Souls and gained the [Conceptual Eraser], an ability that specifically countered systems, he still hadn't obtained a Soul Ring, and his Soul Power was limited.
If he really went head-to-head with system hosts who had one trump card after another, there was no telling who would win.
Keeping his head down and growing stronger was the way to go.
Nuoding City was the closest city to Holy Soul Village, and it had a junior Soul Master Academy.
Once they got there, with his and Tang Wu's Innate Full Soul Power talents, they would definitely be able to secure the academy's protection.
More importantly, the city was crowded, with eyes everywhere. Even if those system hosts wanted to make a move, they would have to think twice.
The two soon returned to the shabby blacksmith's shop.
Before they even entered, the pungent reek of cheap liquor hit them.
Su Yu pushed open the rickety wooden door and led Tang Wu into the yard.
The moment they stepped inside, the sight before them made Su Yu's brows knit tightly.
Tang Hao lay sprawled in the mud, covered from head to toe in muck and vomit.
His tangled hair stood up like a bird's nest. His beard was unkempt, and his clothes were tattered.
Tang Hao clutched an empty wine gourd so tightly that his knuckles had turned white.
His eyes were bloodshot and bulging. He kept letting out meaningless, beastlike howls, looking like a beggar who had gone completely mad.
"Ah Yin... my Ah Yin... why... why did this happen..."
Tang Hao rolled frantically in the mud, clawing at his hair in agony until he scratched his scalp bloody.
Su Yu watched the Clear Sky Douluo, once feared across the continent, with cold eyes. He felt no sympathy, only deep wariness.
He immediately activated the [Eye of Truth].
Golden light swirled in Su Yu's eyes. A panel belonging to the [Wei Wu Legacy System] appeared in the air above Tang Hao.
The system panel, which should have been pink, was now flashing blinding red error codes like mad.
The entire panel twisted and trembled as if infected by a virus.
Lines of crimson warnings flooded the panel like a waterfall:
[Warning! Critical error! Critical error!]
[Current target: Ah Yin (Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, transformed into human form).]
[Status check: Target has died after sacrifice! Vital signs: zero! Soul has dissipated!]
[Logical conflict: Target is dead and cannot be interacted with.]
[Mission reset failed... Forced reset failed... Underlying logic collapsing...]
[System notification: Ah Yin is dead. Target lost. Logic death loop!]
[Penalty mechanism activated: Host suffering mental backlash. Pain nerves amplified tenfold!]
Looking at the messages popping up like mad, Su Yu gave a cold laugh to himself.
This transmigrator named Zhao Si was quite a character. He'd possessed Tang Hao with a system dedicated to Cao Thief shenanigans.
He'd probably thought he could take advantage of being close at hand, win Ah Yin over, then use the system's rewards to reach the pinnacle of life.
But he never imagined he'd transmigrated at the wrong point in time.
Ah Yin had already sacrificed herself for the real Tang Hao. There wasn't a hair of her left.
The system couldn't find its target, the mission had locked up, and it had fallen straight into a logic death loop.
The backlash from a collapse in the underlying logic was terrifying.
"AAAH!!!"
Tang Hao suddenly let out a piercing scream from the ground.
He jerked upright and clutched his head, digging his nails deep into his flesh with such force that they pierced his skin.
"System! You son of a bitch! Give me a different target! A different target!"
Tang Hao screamed hysterically at the air. His face contorted hideously, his muscles twisted by unbearable pain.
"Shut up! Shut up! I don't want to pursue a blade of grass! I want beautiful women! I want someone alive!"
Like a madman having a fit, he charged blindly around the yard and kicked over the iron furnace, scattering black-gray cinders across the ground.
The sudden madness turned Tang Wu's face deathly pale.
Though she had lost her memories of her previous life, her instinctive fear made her react at once.
She ducked behind Su Yu, clutching the hem of his clothes so tightly that her knuckles went white.
"Brother Yu... Dad... what's wrong with him? I'm scared..."
Tang Wu's voice quavered with tears, and her body shook uncontrollably.
Tang Hao's roars grew louder. Suddenly, he turned around and fixed his bloodshot eyes on Tang Wu, who was hiding behind Su Yu.
Su Yu's Eye of Truth clearly showed a perilous warning popping up on Tang Hao's system panel:
[Female target meeting criteria detected: Tang Wu.]
[Warning: This target is the host's daughter in name, triggering the Ethical Restriction Firewall!]
[System logic conflict intensifying: Forced removal of ethical restrictions... Removal failed... System on the verge of collapse...]
Tang Hao's gaze wavered violently between madness and lucidity.
He stared at Tang Wu and panted like a beast, seeming ready to lunge at her, yet held back by some invisible force.
Tang Wu completely broke down.
Her whole body trembling, she suddenly pressed herself against Su Yu and buried her deathly pale face in his chest.
Her breathing came fast, and her chest heaved violently.
Fine beads of cold sweat appeared on her forehead, dampening her dark blue short hair.
Her soft, slender body clung tightly to Su Yu, as if she could squeeze herself into him. Only then could she find even the slightest sense of safety.
Su Yu could clearly feel her heart pounding against his chest, thump after thump, like a startled fawn.
He lowered his head and looked at the girl trembling in his arms. His eyes turned icy in an instant.
He reached out his right hand and gently stroked Tang Wu's slender back.
Once, twice. His touch was gentle but firm, trying to soothe her terror-stricken heart.
"Don't be afraid, Xiao San. I'm here. No one can hurt you."
Su Yu's voice was low and steady, carrying a magic that put her at ease.
Under his soothing touch, Tang Wu's trembling eased a little, but she still wrapped both arms tightly around his waist and refused to let go.
Su Yu lifted his head and looked coldly at the useless wreck still writhing in agony on the ground.
The fake Tang Hao had already been driven out of his mind by the system's backlash. Even if Su Yu didn't kill him, he wouldn't live much longer.
Ignoring Tang Hao's howls, Su Yu put one arm around Tang Wu and went inside. He swiftly rummaged through the battered cabinet, found a few changes of coarse clothes, and stuffed them haphazardly into a gray bundle.
Then he felt beneath the bed and found a hidden compartment. Inside were the dozen or so Copper Soul Coins the original owner had saved up. He put them in the bundle too.
That was everything they owned.
"Let's go."
Su Yu slung the bundle over his shoulder and took Tang Wu's hand.
He gave one last look at Tang Hao, still twitching in the mud.
The body of the once-arrogant Clear Sky Douluo now looked like a dying stray dog, clinging to life under the system's torment.
Su Yu felt no attachment to the place. He led Tang Wu out of the shabby yard without looking back.
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