Finding Mom

Lanba Academy.

Tang Hao stood on the academy's martial arts arena, his weathered face etched with gravity.

Opposite him stood Tang San, who had just learned of his true heritage and remained immersed in shock.

"Little San."

Tang Hao's voice was hoarse.

"Your mother was a hundred-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Emperor who had taken human form. Back then, Spirit Hall discovered her identity and persecuted her. To save us, father and son, she sacrificed herself."

"I planted the seed she left behind in a mountain cave in Holy Soul Village. For all these years, I guarded it daily, waiting for it to sprout and grow again. But..."

His voice suddenly choked with emotion: "Just a year ago, that Blue Silver Emperor plant vanished without a trace. I searched the entire continent, scouring every inch of land, but found no information at all."

Tang San regained his senses: "So, Father, you are a Titled Douluo? And Mother was a soul beast in human form?"

Tang Hao nodded, his cloudy eyes filled with pain and self-reproach: "Yes, it is my incompetence. I failed to protect your mother. Now, even her seed has been lost."

He took a deep breath, forcing down the grief in his heart: "Now, come with me to find your aunt, Tang Yuehua. With her current strength and her relationship with that Brother Cao, perhaps she can help find your mother's whereabouts."

Tang San remained silent for a moment, then nodded.

At the edge of the arena, Liu Erlong leaned against a pillar, watching the two figures as they walked away, her expression peculiar.

Ah Yin? Of course she knew her.

To be precise, she was very familiar with her in her dreams.

The Blue Silver Emperor in human form, gentle as water and understanding—in the Dream Space, she was a good sister who shared everything with her.

The three of them cultivating together was a truly satisfying experience.

Now Ah Yin was missing? The corner of Liu Erlong's mouth twitched slightly.

She shook her head and turned to leave.

Tang Hao, oh Tang Hao, you had better not look for her; if you find her, I fear you will only be more miserable.

Heaven Dou City, Yuexuan.

Tang Yuehua sat upright in the main seat of the pavilion, her long silver palace gown trailing on the floor, the white jade hairpin in her hair glowing with a warm luster under the candlelight.

Tang Hao and Tang San entered side by side.

The father and son's faces were full of urgency and anticipation.

"Yuehua," Tang Hao went straight to the point, "Little San's mother, Ah Yin, went missing a year ago. I have searched the entire continent and found no news. You possess formidable strength now, and your relationship with that Brother Cao is profound; could you help me find her whereabouts?"

Tang Yuehua frowned slightly, a trace of hesitation appearing on her cold, elegant face: "Second Brother, I do not know the whereabouts of my sister-in-law. However..."

She paused, her tone softening: "I can help you look."

Tang Hao was just about to express his gratitude.

"BOOM!!!"

A golden pillar of light descended from the sky, piercing directly through the roof of Yuexuan and enveloping the graceful figure behind the screen.

Tang Hao and Tang San looked up simultaneously, only to see golden light surging wildly across the Sky Screen as new ranking information suddenly appeared!

[Combat Power Ranking, 12th Place: Ah Yin.]

[Identity: Hundred-thousand-year-old Blue Silver Emperor in human form, wife of the Haotian Douluo.]

[Strength: Level 99 Titled Douluo.]

[Cultivation Technique: Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique, Heavenly Demon Chaotic Dance.]

[Reward: Teleportation Talisman x8, can teleport to any location on the Douluo Continent; Soul Power increased by one level; Divine Skill: Thousand-Lady Hundred-Change—can change one's body at will.]

Tang Hao froze. He stared blankly at the two characters "Ah Yin" on the Sky Screen, his body beginning to tremble violently as tears streamed down his face.

"Ah Yin! It's my Ah Yin!"

He grabbed Tang San's shoulders, his voice trembling: "Little San, do you see? It really is your mother! Thank the heavens, she is safe! She is safe!"

He was so excited he became incoherent, completely immersed in the ecstasy of an impending reunion with his wife.

A moment later, he finally noticed Tang San's complexion.

Ashen.

Tang San's entire face had turned a bruised, sickly purple.

"Little San, what is wrong?" Tang Hao asked, confused, "We found your mother, why do you have that expression?"

Tang San stared fixedly at the Sky Screen: "Father, surely you know what the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique represents?"

First Xiao Wu, and now even Mother...

This was simply too much bullying; he was being treated like a fool!

The hatred of having one's wife stolen, the hatred of having one's mother taken—this was an irreconcilable grudge!

Tang Hao's smile froze instantly.

Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique, Brother Cao.

Those young women on the Genius Ranking, those women on the Combat Power Ranking—which one of them hadn't cultivated the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique? Which one of them hadn't followed that Brother Cao?

His Ah Yin had also cultivated the Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique!

"Ah!!!" Tang Hao let out a heart-wrenching scream. "No! It can't be! Ah Yin would never do such a thing! She must have been forced! She must have been!"

He charged madly toward the source of that golden pillar of light, with Tang San following closely behind.

The screen was flung aside.

Within the golden light, a figure slowly emerged.

She wore a blue-gold gown, her luxurious and elegant temperament accentuating a delicate face that seemed not of this mortal world.

Her azure eyes were as pure as crystal, her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, and her skin was as smooth as cream; she was breathtakingly beautiful.

It was Ah Yin, the woman who had haunted Tang Hao's dreams for over a decade, the wife he had believed to be dead.

Tang Hao froze.

He stood there, staring blankly at that face, both familiar and strange, his lips trembling, unable to utter a single word.

The golden light gradually dissipated.

Ah Yin tucked the Sky Screen reward into her sleeve and slowly opened her eyes, those azure orbs as calm as still water.

Only then did Tang Hao walk forward tremblingly, reaching out his hand, wanting to embrace the person he had missed day and night: "Ah Yin, my Ah Yin... I have finally found you. But... what is this Yin-Yang Reincarnation Technique about?"

Although he already knew the answer, he still clung to a shred of hope.

What if, what if Ah Yin had been forced? What if she had been controlled by that Brother Cao?

Ah Yin did not let him get close; a surge of soul power flowed from her palm, gently pushing Tang Hao away.

"Tang Hao."

Her voice was soft, yet cold.

"Between you and me, it ended long ago. I like Brother Cao now; do not come looking for me again in the future, for I fear Brother Cao might misunderstand."

Tang Hao stiffened, looking at her in disbelief.

How could that gentle and kind Ah Yin, who had willingly sacrificed her life to save him, say such heartless and shameless words?

"Mother!" Tang San lunged forward, his eyes filled with anger and confusion. "How could you treat Father like this? Are you going to abandon us, father and son, for that wild man?"

Ah Yin turned her head to look at Tang San, her gaze devoid of the maternal love it once held.

"You are not my son."

"You are merely a visitor from beyond."

Tang San's face turned deathly pale in an instant.

How did she know? He had never told anyone about this.

Ah Yin said nothing more; she simply waved her hand to activate a Teleportation Talisman. Amidst Tang Hao's desperate cries, her figure turned into a stream of light and slowly vanished.

"No!!!" Tang Hao's heart-rending wail echoed through Yuexuan. "I don't believe it! Ah Yin must have been forced! She must have been! I will go find her! I will find her and ask her clearly!"