Boom!
Those words struck her like a bolt from the blue.
The pain and despair were beyond description.
Back then, after giving birth to her first child, her body had not yet fully recovered when she soon became pregnant with Tang San.
But just then, her eldest son had suddenly vanished without a trace.
Tang Hao had told her that, to evade Spirit Hall's pursuit, he had sent their eldest son to a remote, hidden village where he would be safe, and left him in the care of ordinary people.
She had believed him all along.
Through countless days and nights, she had even prayed silently, hoping that child could live a peaceful life.
But she had never imagined the truth could be so cruel!
Not long after he was born, that child had been heartlessly abandoned by his own father in the wilderness, where Soul Beasts roamed, as if he were nothing but garbage!
"Why..."
"Why would you do this?!"
"He's your son too!"
Ah Yin's true form thrashed wildly in the stone basin.
Looking at Ah Yin struggling in a frenzy, Tang Hao showed not the slightest trace of guilt.
"You're asking me why?"
"Because he was a Soul Beast!"
"When he was born, his body reeked of that disgusting Soul Beast aura. He barely had any human features, and he hadn't even inherited the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul!"
"How could I, the dignified Clear Sky Douluo, let a Soul Beast be my eldest son?"
"Only Xiao San is perfect. He inherited my Clear Sky Hammer, and he's destined to stand at the pinnacle of humanity!"
"As for that bastard, he doesn't deserve to live in this world!"
Seeing the leaves of Ah Yin's true form begin to wither from her violent struggles, Tang Hao furrowed his brow.
He sent out a stream of Soul Power, which formed a faint barrier and pinned Ah Yin's true form firmly inside the stone basin.
"Looks like your mind still isn't clear enough."
Tang Hao's voice returned to its calm, but it was utterly cold.
"You actually dared to resent me over a bastard who died long ago."
"In that case, it seems I can't let you come back to life so soon."
"Stay here and reflect on what you've done."
With that, Tang Hao swept out of the room and left, without giving so much as another glance to the Blue Silver Grass that was nearly snapped in two.
Tang Hao walked out of the secluded valley.
The sunlight outside was blinding.
He instinctively lifted his head and looked toward the enormous golden Sky Screen in the heavens.
The reward for first place had just been bestowed. Though separated from it by an immeasurable distance, the emerald glow and golden radiance filling the sky still made his heart pound.
"Blue Silver Empire..."
Tang Hao murmured the name under his breath, his brow tightly furrowed.
"Why would the number-one power on the Sun Moon Continent bear the name Blue Silver?"
"Could that place really be home to countless Blue Silver Grass Soul Beasts?"
He couldn't make sense of it.
"Hmph. All smoke and mirrors."
Tang Hao forcibly pushed the jumbled thoughts from his mind.
"No matter what this Blue Silver Empire is, in the face of a god's power, it's nothing but a pack of clay chickens and pottery dogs."
"Once Xiao San has a free hand, everything will become clear."
He took a deep breath, then stamped his foot and shot into the air. His figure became a streak of light, swiftly leaving the territory of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Above a barren plain in the far eastern reaches of Douluo Continent.
The still, empty space suddenly twisted violently.
Then—
Riiip!
A pair of invisible hands tore open an enormous rift in space.
A tall figure strolled leisurely out of the rift.
Tang Xiao hovered high in the sky, his black hair dancing in the wind.
He wore a simple blue robe, and not the slightest ripple of Soul Power escaped him. He seemed utterly untouched by the mundane world.
But a closer look revealed that the space around him was faintly collapsing, as if it could barely withstand his presence.
"Douluo Continent, I've finally returned."
Tang Xiao looked down upon the vast land below, a faint smile on his lips.
He felt as if he were inspecting his own backyard.
He closed his eyes, and his powerful divine sense spread out like a tide.
With a million years of cultivation and a Blue Silver Supreme Body that had already transformed to the divine level, his divine sense covered nearly half of Douluo Continent in an instant.
The mountains and rivers below, every blade of grass and tree, even the path of the wind as it blew, were all clearly reflected in his mind.
"Before I go see Xue'er, I have to rescue Mother first."
Tang Xiao murmured to himself.
At a certain moment—
Tang Xiao's tightly shut eyes flew open.
Within his divine sense, a faint but familiar power, rooted deep in his bloodline, was surging violently in a distant place.
"Found you."
"This is... Mother's aura."
"Her location is toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
But before he could show any joy, his brow furrowed sharply.
He sensed that his mother was in terrible condition.
Her bloodline fluctuations brimmed with endless pain and sorrow, along with a deathly aura that was gradually fading away.
"How could this be?"
"Mother's soul... is crying?"
Tang Xiao's voice was calm, but the temperature around him plunged in that instant.
He didn't need to think twice. A name immediately surfaced in his mind.
"Tang Hao..."
"That has to be his doing."
He felt no affection whatsoever for that so-called father of his, only boundless revulsion.
"Back then, you abandoned me for your own benefit. Now you're tormenting Mother like this too?"
"In that case, let's start settling our score today."
Tang Xiao snorted coldly.
His body flickered faintly in midair, then vanished without a trace, like a bubble popping into nothing.
He left not even the slightest ripple in space.
Just as Tang Xiao raced toward the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect at full speed—
After a long silence, the enormous golden Sky Screen in the heavens once again let out a deafening rumble.
The [World Power Ranking], which had been suspended at the very top, slowly faded away.
Golden mist churned, and an even grander, more ancient aura slowly stirred to life deep within the Sky Screen.
The sight immediately drew the eyes of everyone across the continent.
"Look! The power ranking's over, and the Sky Screen is stirring again!"
"What ranking will it be this time?"
"Could it be the Soul Bone Ranking? Or the Soul Ring Ranking?"
Countless Soul Masters and ordinary people buzzed with discussion, their eyes brimming with curiosity and anticipation.
Hum!
Golden light converged wildly across the Sky Screen, eventually forming eight enormous characters, forceful and majestic, radiating boundless authority.
[Taking Stock of the World, the Pinnacle Powerhouses!]
Beneath the eight great characters was another line of smaller text:
[This ranking records only the fifteen most powerful people. Those who make the list will receive supreme rewards bestowed by the Heavenly Dao.]
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