Xiao Wu: Third Brother, If One Day You Need a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone, Will You Kill Me?

Countless Soul Masters stood with their mouths agape, unable to make a sound.

Their minds seemed to have crashed under the impact of one shocking reversal after another.

The atmosphere on the Shrek Academy examination grounds had frozen solid.

Tang San's defense caught in his throat. Faced with his father's greedy gaze on the Sky Screen and his cold inner monologue, any words seemed feeble and powerless.

All he could do was watch as Xiao Wu trembled more and more violently, as the light in her eyes slowly went out, replaced by boundless fear and chill.

High in the tree, Tang Hao's body shuddered violently. After spitting out that mouthful of blood, he seemed to age by decades in an instant.

The schemes he had prided himself on, the deep love he had imagined himself to possess.

The "protection" for which he had languished for half his life was torn to shreds by the Sky Screen at that moment, exposed as a colossal farce that made him a laughingstock.

He was finished.

Not physically dead, but utterly bankrupt in spirit and reputation.

In the oppressive silence, all the images on the Sky Screen slowly faded, leaving behind only a deep, dark void.

But the reckoning was not over.

The next second, golden light more dazzling than any that had come before burst forth from the endless darkness!

The light gathered, finally forming several lines of solemn, merciless final judgment at the center of the Sky Screen.

These words rang out like divine judgment, echoing deep in the souls of every person.

[Clear Sky Douluo · Tang Hao · Final Judgment]

[In the name of love, he built a cage; what he called revival was, in truth, control.]

[In the name of a father, he forged a weapon; what he called family was, in truth, inheritance.]

[In the name of protection, he raised a sacrifice; what he called fate was, in truth, calculation.]

[He was no hero, but the director of a tragedy;

He was no paragon of love, but a selfish actor.

Everything he did in his life was for his own benefit;

All that deep affection of his proved false in the end.]

[Overall assessment: Utterly selfish, with a hypocrite's tender affections.]

Boom!

Every one of those words fell like a heavy hammer, pounding into the hearts of everyone across the continent!

They shattered Tang Hao's "tragic hero" mask once and for all, exposing the selfish, cold, calculating face beneath.

All the emotion, sympathy, and reverence from before turned into endless ridicule and disgust.

"So... this is the truth!"

"He loved Ah Yin because she sacrificed herself for him, letting him soar to the peak and become a Titled Douluo. He loved the tool she was!"

"He loved Tang San because he could inherit his Martial Soul and finish his revenge for him. He loved the tool he was!"

"And when he took an interest in Xiao Wu, he saw her as nothing more than a 'tonic' to level up his tool!

From beginning to end, the only person he loved was himself!"

"Beast! He's worse than a beast!"

Curses, scorn, and denunciations erupted from every corner of the continent, swelling into a roar powerful enough to drown out everything.

Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo, a mighty powerhouse who had once given even Spirit Hall a headache, had been utterly disgraced that day, nailed to history's pillar of shame!

The Sky Screen's light slowly faded. Only then did the reckoning of Tang Hao truly come to an end.

On the examination grounds.

Tang San stood there in a daze, feeling as if his entire worldview had crumbled.

He wanted to take Xiao Wu's hand and explain, but he realized he had no idea where to begin.

How could he explain?

Say the Sky Screen was fake?

Say his father wasn't that kind of person?

Even he couldn't convince himself.

Just then, Xiao Wu, who had been trembling all along, suddenly went still.

Xiao Wu slowly raised her head. In those eyes that had once been so lively and spirited, only a heartbreaking calm and distance remained.

Xiao Wu looked at Tang San. Her voice was soft, yet every person there heard her clearly.

"Third Brother..."

"...If one day, you also needed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring to grow stronger..."

"Would you... kill me?"

Faced with Xiao Wu's heartbreaking question, delivered with such composure, Tang San heard a loud buzz in his mind, as though something had exploded.

The cruel truth revealed by the Sky Screen had already shaken him to the core, and the collapse of his father's image had left him completely disoriented.

Now Xiao Wu's question pierced straight into his soul, throwing him into utter panic. The calm and quick wit he usually prided himself on vanished without a trace.

"No! Xiao Wu, that's not it! Listen to me!"

Tang San seized Xiao Wu's shoulders, speaking in a rush, with a hint of pleading and panic he didn't even realize was there.

"How could I... How could I ever hurt you!

You're the person closest to me. You're the one I swore to protect with my life!

I've always thought of you as... as my own little sister!

Those things on the Sky Screen were my father's thoughts. They have nothing to do with me. I would never think that way! You have to believe me!"

Tang San's words tumbled out in his desperation, and fear filled his eyes.

He was terrified that if he was even a second too late, the girl who had long since become part of his life would disappear forever.

Xiao Wu listened quietly. She neither pulled away nor argued.

Her once-lively, beautiful eyes seemed veiled in ash, hollow and numb.

Xiao Wu merely gave a slight nod and answered in a voice so faint it was almost inaudible. "Mm."

That "Mm" was light as air, yet it landed on Tang San's heart like a boulder. It held no warmth, and none of the dependence or closeness she had once shown him.

Then Xiao Wu slowly, but with unusual firmness, pried Tang San's hand from her shoulder and turned to leave.

"Xiao Wu! Where are you going?"

Tang San's heart clenched. He hurriedly called after her, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.

Xiao Wu paused, but didn't turn around. Her silhouette stretched long beneath the setting sun, steeped in an exhaustion and sorrow too heavy to dispel.

Xiao Wu's words were feeble, as if all the life had been drained from her:

"I... I'm a little tired. I want to find somewhere to rest by myself for the night."

Seeing her so utterly lost, Zhu Zhuqing and Ning Rongrong both looked at her with worry and sympathy.

They were shocked, even frightened, by what Tang San's father had done, but Xiao Wu's state right now worried them far more.

"Xiao Wu, I'll go with you."

Zhu Zhuqing's cool voice rang out. She stepped forward and took Xiao Wu's wavering arm.

Her movements were decisive, offering wordless support.

Ning Rongrong quickly came to her senses and hurried to Xiao Wu's other side, taking her other arm as she said gently,

"That's right, Xiao Wu. The academy dorms may be shabby, but they're safer than outside.

Let's go together. We wouldn't feel right leaving you alone."

Xiao Wu didn't refuse or respond. She simply let them support her, like a puppet whose strings had been cut, numb as they led her away.

Nearby, Zhao Wuji watched it all unfold, his rugged face shifting through a range of expressions.