Tang San was stunned and panicked.
The Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record was gone!
In his memory, he had handed it over with his own hands!
Under the "Elder's" imposing gaze, he had knelt on the ground.
He had knelt there, raised both hands above his head, and respectfully offered up the Tang Sect's greatest secret.
Without the slightest hesitation, without a single question.
The other person hadn't even reached out to take it.
They had simply stood there and watched him kowtow.
Watched as he pulled the manual out from between his legs.
Watched as he offered up his most precious possession in the most abject manner.
Suddenly, he caught the lingering trace of some scent in the air.
A faint aftertaste of medicine, bitter and unfamiliar.
His eyes abruptly narrowed.
He'd been played!
He'd been thoroughly played!
There was no Tang Sect Elder, no redemption or forgiveness.
That person had simply exploited the scar the Tang Sect had left in his heart—a scar he'd thought had long since scabbed over, but which actually broke open at the slightest touch.
A single gentle prod, and he'd fallen apart completely.
Not only had the other person tricked him into handing over his manual.
They'd also made him kneel in an open clearing and slap himself!
"Pfft—!"
At the thought, anger overwhelmed him. Tang San's chest tightened, and he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The bloody froth mingled with stagnant blood from his sudden fit of rage and blood seeping from his gums, splattering onto the fallen leaves in a glaring red.
"Xiao San!"
Tang Hao's expression changed drastically. He lunged forward and caught his son.
Though he was usually harsh and cold toward Tang San,
seeing his son spit blood, his face swollen like a pig's head, still made Tang Hao's heart clench painfully.
After all, Tang San was the only bloodline he had left in this world.
Lying in Tang Hao's arms, Tang San's eyelids grew heavier and heavier, his vision growing increasingly blurry.
Summoning the last of his strength, he murmured a few words: "Someone framed me... He stole my..."
Before he could finish, his head lolled to the side, and he passed out completely.
"..."
Tang Hao froze in place.
Someone had framed Xiao San?
He looked down at his son's horribly swollen face, the bloody froth in his mouth, and the bruising at the corners of his lips.
The scene that had just unfolded flashed rapidly through his mind.
Something had clearly been wrong with his state.
His eyes had been unfocused, his movements mechanical, as if he'd been drugged.
"Clear Sky is a dog"—those weren't words Xiao San would say.
Xiao San had no idea his father was the Clear Sky Douluo, much less that his title was Clear Sky.
Unless someone had deliberately told him to say it.
At that thought, Tang Hao's expression turned as dark as water.
Someone had been here!
Someone knew Xiao San was Tang Hao's son and had deliberately drugged him, making him kneel there, slap himself, and curse Clear Sky as a dog.
This wasn't just aimed at Xiao San. It was aimed at him, Tang Hao.
It was as good as pointing a finger at his nose and telling him: I know who your son is. I can do whatever I want with him.
There were plenty of people in this world who held a grudge against him, the Clear Sky Douluo.
But the number who knew he had a son could be counted on one hand.
Apart from the Clear Sky Sect, there was only—Spirit Hall!
The instant those three words surfaced in his mind, Tang Hao's pupils contracted sharply.
But his first response wasn't anger. It was a deeper kind of fear.
If Spirit Hall had found Xiao San and him, would they also find that place?
He abruptly raised his head and looked toward the depths of the back mountain.
That waterfall!
That valley!
Ah Yin was still there!
"Ah Yin!"
Tang Hao gently laid Xiao San on a pile of fallen leaves.
Then he became a streak of shadow, charging toward the waterfall behind the mountain at the terrifying speed of a Titled Douluo.
He snapped branches, crushed rocks, and left devastation in his wake.
Like a bear gone mad.
"Ah Yin—!"
His voice echoed through the valley, full of fear and despair.
A moment later.
Tang Hao rushed into the dark, damp valley.
Then he saw it—the stone box had been split in two.
The cut was smooth as a mirror, clearly sliced open by some kind of sharp claw.
It was empty inside.
The 100,000-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, which had glowed with a flowing blue light, had vanished without a trace.
In a corner at the deepest end of the valley, where Ah Yin's seedling had once taken root, only a small pit remained.
The soil was fresh, which meant it had been dug up not long ago.
Ah Yin was gone!
The Soul Bone was gone too!
Tang Hao stood there blankly, as if his soul had been torn out of him.
Slowly, he sank to his knees beside the little pit.
His fingers dug deep into the soil, as if he hoped to feel the warmth Ah Yin had left behind.
Unfortunately, there was nothing.
Only cold earth and the sound of water from outside the cave.
He had thought that hiding in this secluded valley would make everything foolproof.
He had thought no one would know what he'd buried here.
He had thought that if he hid it deep enough, no one would ever find it.
Now, it was all gone.
Tang Hao closed his eyes.
Those three words flashed through his mind again—Spirit Hall.
Back then, it had been Spirit Hall's Pope, Qian Xunji, who had led two Titled Douluo to hunt him and Ah Yin, forcing Ah Yin to sacrifice herself.
Only they could have found this place now.
Tang Hao's eyes flew open, bloodshot.
A violent killing intent burst from his body, and nine Soul Rings lit up in succession behind him—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red!
The terrifying pressure of a Titled Douluo swept through the entire valley.
Loose stones fell from the cave walls.
Even the waterfall's current was blasted upward in that instant, its spray exploding into a vast cloud of white mist.
"Spirit Hall—"
Tang Hao's furious roar shook the sky, startling birds throughout the back mountain.
"You'll pay for this!!!"
At that very moment.
Xiao Chenyu, flying at high speed beneath the clouds, suddenly felt a chill crawl down his back.
He glanced over his shoulder toward Holy Soul Village.
Though he was dozens of miles away and couldn't see a thing,
the feeling of someone having him in their sights still made the hairs on his arms stand on end.
Without thinking, he reached over and felt the clay jar holding Ah Yin's seedling inside his backpack.
[Xiao Chenyu]: @Will of Douluo Planet, I suddenly got a chill just now. Could Tang Hao have found out? [Will of Douluo Planet]: Hang on, this baby will try to sense it... [Will of Douluo Planet]: Uh. [Will of Douluo Planet]: Tang Hao really did charge into the cave. He saw the stone box you split in two, and the little pit left behind after you dug up Ah Yin. [Xiao Chenyu]: ... [Will of Douluo Planet]: But don't worry. The Concealment Mark is still working, and he hasn't connected any of this to you at all! (๑•̀ㅂ•́)و✧ [Will of Douluo Planet]: He's currently going berserk on the spot, cursing Spirit Hall to high heaven. [Will of Douluo Planet]: He's saying some really nasty things, like "Spirit Hall, may you die a horrible death" and "Spirit Hall, I'll wipe out your entire clan." I'm too embarrassed to repeat them all. (ˆつ⩊⊂ˆ) [Xiao Chenyu]: Well, Spirit Hall sure got saddled with that blame good and proper. [Will of Douluo Planet]: Spirit Hall: Used to it. Don't @ me. ⸜(>ᰔ<)⸝ [God of Destruction]: Tang Hao's strength is passable on the Douluo Continent, but his brain is a complete muddle. [God of Destruction]: When something happens, his first instinct isn't to investigate who really did it, but to pin the blame on the person he hates most. People like that are the easiest to deal with. [Goddess of Life]: Tang Hao's attention will now be entirely focused on Spirit Hall. Until he completely rules out Spirit Hall as a "suspect," he won't even consider that there might be a third party involved. [Goddess of Life]: Chenyu, you're safe. [Man Faced Demon Spider]: Tang Hao stupid! Spirit Hall takes the blame! Yay! (｡>∀<｡)
Xiao Chenyu breathed a sigh of relief.
He was just about to say something when another message from the Will of Douluo Planet popped up in the group.
[Will of Douluo Planet]: Wow, Tang Hao's lit up all nine of his Soul Rings. The pressure's got half the mountain trembling. [Will of Douluo Planet]: Tsk, tsk, tsk. It's quite the spectacle when a Titled Douluo goes berserk. [Will of Douluo Planet]: But even more spectacular is how he's crying while he goes berserk. His whole face is covered in snot and tears, and he keeps shouting "Ah Yin." It's disgusting. (≖_≖) [Will of Douluo Planet]: Honestly, seeing how he feels about Ah Yin, maybe his love for her wasn't completely fake? [Goddess of Life]: Love and selfishness aren't mutually exclusive, especially in someone like Tang Hao. [Goddess of Life]: He loves Ah Yin, but he loves his imagined "protection" even more—locking Ah Yin away in a dark cave. It looks like protection, but it's really imprisonment. [Goddess of Life]: That kind of love is, at its core, just self-satisfaction and self-delusion. [Xiao Chenyu]: Godmother's right. [Xiao Chenyu]: All right, I'm going to hurry back. Dad's waiting for me to come home for dinner.
He pushed the cloth-wrapped Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record deeper into his backpack.
Then he checked on Ah Yin's seedling inside the clay jar.
Nourished by the Heart of Blue Silver, its leaves had unfurled much more than they had in the cave.
A faint trace of life was beginning to show through its gray-blue sheen.
Then he drove the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone's flying Soul Bone Skill with all his might and streaked beneath the clouds toward Nuoding City.