Spirit Hall: Don't Cue, Thanks

Tang San was stunned and panicked.

The Xuantian Record was gone!

In his memory, he had handed it over with his own hands!

Under the majestic gaze of that "Elder," he had knelt on the ground.

He knelt on the ground, hands raised high above his head, respectfully offering up the Tang Sect's highest secret.

Without a shred of hesitation, without a single question.

The other party hadn't even reached out to snatch it.

He just stood there watching him kowtow.

Watching him pull the secret manual out from his crotch.

Watching him surrender his most precious possession in the most humble posture.

Suddenly, he caught a lingering scent in the air.

A faint, ghostly trace of medicine, bitter and unfamiliar.

His pupils constricted sharply.

He had been played!

He had been thoroughly and completely played!

There was no Tang Sect Elder, no atonement, no pardon.

That person had simply exploited the scar the Tang Sect had left on his heart—a scar he thought had long since scabbed over, but which shattered at the slightest touch.

With a gentle poke, he had completely collapsed.

The other party hadn't just swindled him out of his secret manual.

They had also made him kneel in the clearing and slap his own face!

"Pfft—!"

At this thought, overcome with rage and frustration, Tang San felt a tightness in his chest and spat out a mouthful of blood.

The blood foam, mixed with stagnant blood from his fury and crimson streaks from his bleeding gums, landed on the fallen leaves, a blinding, piercing red.

"San!"

Tang Hao's expression changed drastically as he lunged forward to support his son.

Though he was usually fierce and cold toward Tang San.

Seeing his son spitting blood and his cheeks swollen like a pig's head, his heart still gave a sharp, painful tug.

After all, he was the only bloodline he had left in this world.

Tang San lay in Tang Hao's arms, his eyelids growing heavier, his vision blurring.

He used his last ounce of strength to murmur a few words: "Someone framed me... he swindled me out of my..."

Before he could finish, his head lolled to the side, and he passed out completely.

"..."

Tang Hao stood frozen in place.

Someone framed San?

He looked down at his son's hideously swollen face, the blood foam in his mouth, and the bruises at the corners of his lips.

His mind rapidly replayed the scene from moments ago.

That state was clearly wrong.

His eyes had been unfocused, his movements mechanical, as if he had been drugged.

"Haotian is a dog"—that was not something San would say.

San didn't even know his father was the Clear Sky Douluo, let alone that his title was Haotian.

Unless someone had specifically told him to shout it.

At this thought, Tang Hao's expression turned as dark as water.

Someone had been here!

Someone knew that San was Tang Hao's son, deliberately drugged him, and made him kneel here to slap himself and curse Haotian as a dog.

This wasn't just targeting San; it was targeting him, Tang Hao.

It was the equivalent of pointing a finger at his nose and saying: I know who your son is, and I can play with him however I please.

There were no shortage of people in this world who held a grudge against the Clear Sky Douluo.

But those who knew he had a son could be counted on one hand.

Aside from the Haotian Sect, there was only one possibility—Spirit Hall!

The moment those three words surfaced in his mind, Tang Hao's pupils constricted violently.

Yet his first reaction was not anger, but a deeper, more profound fear.

If Spirit Hall had found Little San and him, would they also find that place?

He snapped his head up to look toward the depths of the back mountain.

That waterfall!

That valley!

A-Yin was still there!

"A-Yin!"

Tang Hao gently placed Little San onto a pile of fallen leaves.

Then, his entire body transformed into a black shadow, rushing toward the back mountain waterfall with the terrifying speed of a Title Douluo.

He snapped tree branches and shattered rocks, leaving a trail of devastation in his wake.

He was like a crazed bear.

"A-Yin--!"

His voice echoed through the valley, laden with fear and despair.

A moment later.

Tang Hao charged into the dark, damp valley.

Then he saw it--the stone box had been split in two.

The cut was as smooth as a mirror, clearly sliced open by the claw of some sharp blade.

The inside was completely empty.

That 100,000-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, which had once shimmered with blue radiance, had vanished without a trace.

In the deepest corner of the valley, where A-Yin's seedling had originally taken root, only a small pit of dirt remained.

The soil was fresh, indicating it had been dug up only a short while ago.

A-Yin was gone!

The spirit bone was also gone!

Tang Hao stood frozen in place, as if his soul had been ripped from his body.

He slowly knelt beside that small pit of dirt.

His fingers dug deep into the soil, as if trying to feel the lingering warmth of A-Yin.

Alas, there was nothing.

There was only the cold earth and the sound of water drifting in from outside the cave.

He had thought that hiding in this secluded valley was foolproof.

He had thought that no one would know what he had buried here.

He had thought that as long as he hid it deep enough, no one would ever find it.

Now, everything was gone.

Tang Hao closed his eyes.

Those three words flashed through his mind once more--Spirit Hall.

Back then, it was the Spirit Hall Pontiff Qian Xunji who had led two Title Douluos to surround and kill him and A-Yin, forcing A-Yin to sacrifice herself.

Now, they were the only ones capable of finding this place.

He snapped his eyes open, his pupils bloodshot.

A violent killing intent erupted from within his body, and nine spirit rings lit up behind him in succession--Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red!

The terrifying pressure of a Title Douluo swept through the entire valley.

Loose stones fell from the cave walls.

At that moment, the waterfall's flow was even forced to surge backward, and the water mist exploded into a vast, white haze.

"Spirit Hall--"

Tang Hao's roar resounded through the heavens, startling the birds across the entire back mountain.

"You all deserve to die!!!"

At this very moment.

Xiao Chenyu, who was flying at high speed beneath the clouds, suddenly felt a chill down his back.

He glanced back in the direction of Holy Soul Village.

Although it was dozens of miles away and he could see nothing, he felt a shiver.

Still, that feeling of being targeted made the hair on his arms stand up.

He subconsciously reached out to touch the clay pot in his backpack containing the A-Yin seedling.

[Xiao Chenyu]: @Will of Douluo Planet, I just suddenly shivered. Could it be that Tang Hao found out?

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Hold on, this baby is trying hard to sense it...

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Uh.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Tang Hao did indeed rush into the cave. He saw the stone box you split in two, and the small pit left behind where you dug up A-Yin.

[Xiao Chenyu]: ...

[Will of Douluo Planet]: But don't worry, the Concealment Mark is still in effect. He hasn't connected this to you at all! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧

[Will of Douluo Planet]: He's currently throwing a tantrum on the spot, cursing Spirit Hall at the top of his lungs.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: He's using such foul language—things like "Spirit Hall will die a horrible death" and "Spirit Hall, I will surely exterminate your entire clan." I'm too embarrassed to even repeat it. (ˆつ⩊⊂ˆ)

[Xiao Chenyu]: Good grief, Spirit Hall is carrying this scapegoat quite firmly.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Spirit Hall: Used to it, don't @ me. ⸜(>ᰔ<)⸝

[God of Destruction]: This Tang Hao fellow, his strength is passable on Douluo Continent, but his brain is a mess.

[God of Destruction]: When something happens, his first reaction isn't to track down the real culprit, but to pin the blame on the person he hates most. This kind of person is the easiest to deal with.

[Goddess of Life]: Now that Tang Hao's attention will be completely shifted to Spirit Hall, he won't even consider the existence of a third party until he has completely ruled out Spirit Hall's "suspicion."

[Goddess of Life]: Chenyu, you are safe.

[Human-Faced Demon Spider]: Tang Hao is stupid! Spirit Hall takes the blame! Yay! (｡>∀<｡)

Xiao Chenyu let out a sigh of relief.

Just as he was about to say something, a message from the Will of Douluo Planet popped up in the group.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Wow, Tang Hao has revealed all nine of his spirit rings now. The pressure is shaking half the mountain.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Tsk tsk tsk, a Title Douluo going crazy is truly a spectacle.

[Will of Douluo Planet]: But what's even more spectacular is that he's crying while going crazy, snot and tears all over his face, still shouting "A-Yin." How disgusting. (≖_≖)

[Will of Douluo Planet]: Honestly, looking at his feelings for A-Yin, it seems like it's not entirely without sincerity, right?

[Goddess of Life]: Love and selfishness do not conflict, especially in someone like Tang Hao.

[Goddess of Life]: He loves A-Yin, but he loves his own imagined "protection" even more—locking A-Yin in a dark, sunless cave; it looks like protection, but it is actually imprisonment.

[Goddess of Life]: This kind of love is, in essence, just self-satisfaction and self-delusion.

[Xiao Chenyu]: Godmother is right.

[Xiao Chenyu]: Alright, I need to speed up and head back. Dad is still waiting for me to come home for dinner.

He shoved the cloth-wrapped Xuantian Record deeper into his backpack.

He checked the state of the A-Yin seedling in the clay pot once more.

Nourished by the Heart of Blue Silver, its leaves were already much more unfurled than they had been in the cave.

The grayish-blue luster also faintly revealed a touch of vitality.

Then, he fully activated the flight spirit bone skill of the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, streaking across the sky beneath the clouds like a ray of light as he sped toward Nuoding City.