Tang San took a deep breath and clasped his hands behind his back. His expression settled back into calm.
"Teacher, I'm fine."
"Everyone can see how strong my father is."
"Fourteenth place really is too low for him."
"But this also shows that there are more hidden experts in this world than we imagined."
Tang San's voice was soft, yet it carried an unmistakable confidence.
Yu Xiaogang sighed and nodded.
"That's right. The Gold Ranking has appeared, revealing many secrets we never knew about."
"I just wonder what other experts we've never even heard of will make it into the top ten."
Hearing Yu Xiaogang's words, Tang San's lips curved into a faint, arrogant smile.
"Teacher, no matter how many hidden experts there are, I'm bound to take first place on the Strongest Power Ranking."
Tang San's words left everyone from Shrek around him stunned.
But when they thought of Tang San's current strength and trump cards, it all seemed perfectly reasonable.
"Xiao San, you've already obtained the Sea God Inheritance. Your strength is unfathomable."
Flender said with a smile from the side.
"On top of that, you have Twin Martial Souls, and your Tang Sect techniques are all executed with consummate skill."
"No one but you deserves first place."
Tang San nodded slightly, the confidence in his eyes growing stronger.
"That's right. I have Twin Martial Souls, the Sea God Nine Trials, and countless cheats and trump cards."
"Even those old monsters hiding away from the world are nothing but chickens and clay dogs before the power of a god."
Looking at the rankings in the sky, Tang San thought to himself:
Father, once I claim the top spot and receive the Heavenly Dao's reward, I'll surely be able to help you return to your peak.
Then this world will still belong to us, father and son.
Meanwhile, far away on the Sun Moon Continent,
inside the Blue Silver Temple,
the enormous Sky Screen cast golden light throughout the entire temple.
Ah Yin stared blankly at the golden words in the sky. In that instant, all the warmth and curiosity that had filled her beautiful eyes vanished.
"Tang Hao..."
Ah Yin gritted her teeth and spoke the name one word at a time.
Although her body was still in a spiritual state, the violent surge of emotion made the life energy around her churn restlessly.
Scenes from the past involuntarily surfaced in her mind.
The man who had seemed as firm as a pillar of heaven and had cared for her tenderly was, in truth, a hypocrite to the very core.
For the sake of her Soul Ring and Soul Bone, he had forced her to sacrifice herself.
And after she had sacrificed herself, he had coldly abandoned their newborn eldest son on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
If Xiao'er hadn't been lucky, he would have become Soul Beast dung long ago.
Whenever Ah Yin thought of this, her heart felt as if it were being carved up by a knife.
"That hypocrite is still alive—and he's even become a Level 97 Titled Douluo!"
Ah Yin clenched both fists tightly.
"It would have been bad enough if he'd harmed me, but how could he do something so cruel to you?"
Ah Yin turned to Tang Xiao beside her, tears running from the corners of her eyes.
"Xiao'er, don't worry. Mother will never let him get away with this!"
"I'll avenge this myself!"
Seeing his mother's delicate body tremble with hatred, a trace of warmth flashed in Tang Xiao's eyes.
He stepped forward and gently patted Ah Yin's shoulder. A gentle surge of blue-gold divine power flowed into her, soothing the turbulent energy within her.
"Mother, there's no need to be angry."
Tang Xiao's voice was very calm, as if he were talking about something trivial.
"I'll settle the score from back then with him myself."
Tang Xiao turned to look at Tang Hao's name on the Sky Screen, disdain flashing in his eyes.
"A Level 97 peak Power Attack System Titled Douluo. It does sound impressive."
"But in my eyes now, he's nothing more than a slightly bigger ant."
Tang Xiao stood with his hands behind his back, exuding an air of unrivaled dominance.
"What he owes you and me, I'll make him pay back a hundredfold, a thousandfold."
"Mother, what matters most now is for you to rebuild your body and regain your former glory."
"As for Tang Hao, he's just a clown. He isn't worth upsetting yourself over."
Hearing Tang Xiao's words, Ah Yin gradually calmed down.
Looking at the tall, handsome son before her, who radiated supreme majesty, the hatred in her heart slowly gave way to deep guilt and heartache.
Ah Yin took Tang Xiao's hand, and tears streamed down her face once more.
"Xiao'er... how have you been all these years?"
Ah Yin's voice was hoarse, brimming with boundless sorrow for him.
"You were just born when he left you on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest."
"You were so tiny, and your true form was the weakest Blue Silver Grass. Soul Beasts roamed everywhere there. How... how did you survive?"
Hearing Ah Yin's question, Zhong Lingyue glanced over as well, concern showing in her eyes.
Though she knew Tang Xiao's background, he rarely spoke about the details of those days.
Tang Xiao looked at his mother's pained expression and sighed softly.
He led Ah Yin to a blue crystal chair beside the temple and sat her down. Then he stood beside her, scenes from those days surfacing in his mind.
"Mother, when he abandoned me on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest, I really was just one step away from death."
Tang Xiao's voice was soft, as if he were telling someone else's story.
"I had just been reincarnated. Though I possessed human consciousness, my body was only a tender Blue Silver Grass sprout that had just emerged from the soil."
"I had no Soul Power at all, and no means of protecting myself."
At this, Ah Yin's heart leaped into her throat, and she clutched the edge of her clothes.
Tang Xiao continued:
"On the very first day after I was abandoned, a ten-year Nether Wolf set its sights on me."
"It prowled around me for a long time, nearly pulling me out by the roots several times."
"To stay alive, I could only desperately suppress the faint traces of life energy in my body and disguise myself as the most ordinary, most useless weed."
"The Nether Wolf sniffed around for a while. In the end, it decided I was too small to be worth eating, and left."
Ah Yin's face turned deathly pale at this.
Zhong Lingyue clenched her jade-white hands, her face full of alarm as well.
"What happened after that?"
Ah Yin asked in a trembling voice.
Tang Xiao smiled faintly and continued:
"Later, when I was three months old, a great fire broke out on the outskirts of the forest."
"The flames spread fiercely, and countless Soul Beasts fled in terror."
"But I was a blade of grass and couldn't move at all. I could only watch helplessly as the fire came burning toward me."
"That night, most of my body was scorched black. My leaves turned to ash, and all that remained was a broken fragment of root buried in the charred earth."
"That was the closest I ever came to death."
"I could only use my faint consciousness to sense nutrients deep in the earth. I clung to life on the occasional rainwater, struggling for three months before a tender new shoot grew back."
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