A Soul Beast for a Day, a Soul Beast for Life—Tang Hao, Learn from Your Ancestor

Inside the valley, the forge fire blazed.

Tang Potian stood bare-chested, swinging the Black Iron Hammer one-handed as he brought it down hard upon a piece of glowing Sinking Silver. Sparks scattered in every direction, illuminating his weathered, scarred face.

He did not leave because he could not.

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lay atop a bluestone ten paces away, her golden vertical pupils half-open. The pressure belonging to an imperial auspicious beast had locked down all life within the valley. The moment he dared take even half a step beyond the valley entrance, the Ten-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts lurking outside would tear him to pieces.

Since he could not leave, he might as well stay and forge.

Upon the Sky Curtain, this scene was displayed clearly before Soul Masters across the continent. The atmosphere in the Chat Group became exceedingly strange.

[Ghost: Tsk, tsk. A human and a Soul Beast, a lone man and a lone woman... no, a lone man and a lone beast sharing a valley. Why does this script look so familiar?]

[Yue Guan: Old Ghost, watch your words. The Clear Sky Sect is a renowned righteous sect. Perhaps this is their ancestral method of cultivation.]

[Jiang Mo Douluo: I understand now. The Clear Sky Sect's ancestral craft includes more than just forging—it also includes living with Soul Beasts.]

The sarcastic remarks from Spirit Hall instantly ignited the fury of the Clear Sky Sect.

[Tang Xiao: Outrageous! Spirit Hall's lapdogs, do not slander our sect's ancestor!]

[Tang Hao: Brother, there is no need to pay them any mind. Our ancestor winning the favor of an auspicious beast was proof of his charm! So what if love transcends species?]

In a corner of the tavern, Tang Hao gulped down a mouthful of cheap ale, his eyes burning with fervor. He had always been condemned by his sect and scorned by the world because of Ah Yin. But now, this was perfect—his ancestor had taken the lead twenty thousand years ago! What was this called? If the upper beam was straight, then the lower beam dared to be crooked!

The moment Tang Hao's words appeared, the Chat Group fell briefly silent.

Just then, within the Sky Curtain, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion rose and paced over to Tang Potian's side. She held a crystalline herb radiating bone-piercing cold in her mouth, then placed it beside the anvil.

"The companion leaf of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice echoed within Tang Potian's mind. "Your injuries are severe. Consume it and circulate your Soul Power. Within three months, you can recover seventy percent of your injuries, and your cultivation can break through Rank 60."

Tang Potian's raised hammer halted.

"You need not be so hostile toward me." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's golden eyes carried a calmness that seemed to see through all things. "Those who betrayed you and sent you into a deathtrap were the nobles of the Heaven Dou Empire—your fellow humans. Humans are cunning and greedy. For profit, they can turn against one another. Compared to them, the rules of us Soul Beasts are simple: the strong devour the weak. You teach me Soul Tools; I protect you and provide resources. It is fair."

Rational, objective, and straight to the heart of the matter.

Within the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace, Xue Ye's face turned livid as he stared fixedly at the Sky Curtain, terrified that this ancestor would follow the auspicious beast's words and curse the Heaven Dou Empire's nobles for eighteen generations.

Yet Tang Potian did not look at the precious herb.

He turned around, his one eye meeting the Three-Eyed Golden Lion's gaze.

"Humans truly are cunning, and Heaven Dou's nobles truly deserve to die." Tang Potian's voice was hoarse, yet carried an unyielding hardness. "Once I recover my strength, I will personally smash in the heads of those bastards."

He paused and raised the Black Iron Hammer, pointing it beyond the valley.

"But that is a debt among humans."

"When I was ten, a Thousand-Year Ghost Tiger charged into Tang Family Village. The village chief had half his body bitten off while covering our escape. Of the hundred and thirty-six people there, fewer than ten survived."

"When I was twenty, a beast tide erupted in the Star Dou Great Forest. I followed the guards and fought at the border for three days and three nights. The corpses of civilians and soldiers there piled higher than the city walls!"

Tang Potian violently smashed the Black Iron Hammer down upon the anvil, producing a deafening explosion.

"No matter how wretched humans are, they are still my kin! No matter how friendly Soul Beasts are, they are still man-eating beasts!"

"I teach you Soul Tools because I cannot defeat you. But I, Tang Potian, will never take so much as a blade of grass from you Soul Beasts! Between you and me, we can only ever be mortal enemies. We can never be friends!"

Every word rang out powerfully, striking the ground like iron.

Within the valley, man and beast sank into deathly silence.

Beyond the Sky Curtain, a tempestuous uproar swept across the entire continent.

[Bibi Dong: Well said—no matter how wretched humans are, they are still our kin! With such backbone alone, Tang Potian deserves to be called a powerhouse.]

[Qian Daoliu: In my life, there have been few people I admire. But this Clear Sky ancestor from twenty thousand years ago truly was a tough man. His stance was clear, and he did not betray righteousness.]

[Sword Douluo Chen Xin: This is a true sword heart... This ancestor of the Clear Sky Sect truly is rather different.]

How ironic.

Twenty thousand years ago, the Clear Sky Sect's ancestor had faced an immortal herb that could restore him to his peak, faced the recruitment of an auspicious beast, and still straightened his back, holding fast to humanity's bottom line.

Twenty thousand years later, Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Sect's current inheritor, had dragged the entire sect into the Abyss for a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast. In the end, he even abandoned the sect and hid in the shadows like a stray dog.

Tang Potian had refused even life-saving kindness for the sake of his hatred toward Soul Beasts. Tang Hao, for love, had abandoned even the sect that raised him. You just spoke of love transcending species? Do you deserve the surname Tang?

Seeing the Sky Curtain, Lin Xuan could not help mocking him. Still, he seemed to be able to post anonymously in the Chat Group. Tang Hao was such an absurd fool anyway—so what if he cursed him?

Boom!

Within the tavern, Tang Hao's Soul Power completely spiraled out of control.

His violent killing intent instantly reduced the entire tavern to ruins. His eyes were bloodshot as he stared fixedly at the golden words in the sky, animalistic growls rumbling from his throat.

"Pfft!"

Tang Hao spat out a mouthful of blood, and his aura instantly withered. His Dao heart had shattered.

The love he had been so proud of had become a complete joke before his ancestor's iron-blooded declaration: "Humans are humans, and Soul Beasts are Soul Beasts."

The Sky Curtain continued to shift.

In the valley, the Three-Eyed Golden Lion did not fly into a rage and kill Tang Potian after his harsh rebuke. She merely sighed softly and retrieved the companion leaf of the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass.

"You have only seen the surface." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion lay back down upon the bluestone, a trace of gravity flashing through her golden vertical pupils. "Do you think the ones who launched beast tides and slaughtered humans were the entire Soul Beast race?"

Tang Potian sneered. "Were they not?"

"Of course not." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook her head. "The Star Dou Great Forest is far more complex than you humans imagine. Soul Beasts are divided into three categories."

"The first category consists of ordinary Soul Beasts. They follow nature's laws and reproduce within the forest. So long as humans do not actively hunt them, they will never casually step out of the forest."

"The second category is Beast Kings. They have lived for extraordinarily long years and possess immense intelligence. They hate humans, because every advancement by a human Soul Master requires hunting a Soul Beast to obtain a Soul Ring. In their eyes, humans are the greatest parasites of the Soul Beast race. Therefore, whenever human strength undergoes explosive growth, the Beast Kings join forces to launch beast tides, attempting to wipe out humanity's potential."

Tang Potian clenched his fists. This was the root of the countless tragedies along Heaven Dou's border.

"But there is a third category."

The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's voice suddenly became low, carrying even a trace of undisguised disgust and apprehension.

"We call them Malevolent Beast Kings."

"They neither absorb the spiritual energy of heaven and earth nor feed on ordinary Soul Beasts. Their method of cultivation is to devour the Soul Power and flesh of human Soul Masters."

"To Malevolent Beast Kings, humans are not a threat, but... food."

Tang Potian's pupils abruptly contracted.

"Food."