The Wretched Tang San and His Father, Prelude to the Elite Tournament

Tang San and his father were now like stray dogs.

Tang San had also inherited Tang Hao's fine tradition: he simply did not care whether those around him lived or died.

The people around him were utterly unimportant to him!

Yu Xiaogang was nothing but a fraud.

He was not all that familiar with people like Flender, either.

Now, he only needed to stay by his father's side and bring Xiao Wu along!

He had actually anticipated long ago that Xiao Wu was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

What he had never expected was that his old man had also found himself a Soul Beast!

Now everyone across the continent was saying he was a bastard, perhaps even capable of producing Soul Rings!

Even he himself was dumbfounded. Was he human or a Soul Beast?

Did Tang Hao really have to give in to that moment of lust?

Father and son each had different thoughts at this moment.

They continued deeper into the Star Dou Forest.

There was no longer any place for them among human settlements. Their portraits had long since spread everywhere.

Now, everyone across the continent recognized them!

Only by coming to a place where Soul Beasts gathered could they barely find somewhere to hide.

"Once this blows over, I'll disguise you. Then we can find somewhere to hide. We can still go back," Tang Hao consoled him.

But Tang San and Xiao Wu exchanged a look, both feeling helpless.

Disguise?

Tang Hao had already disguised himself as a beggar!

If Tang Hao was the one changing their appearances, wouldn't that turn them into three beggars?

A Title Douluo leading two people around as beggars?!

Tang San could not help thinking of his previous world. It had not only the Tang Sect of Shu, but also the Beggars' Sect!

He did not want to join the Beggars' Sect!

He, Tang San, might have been a thief from the Tang Sect, but he was still exceptionally talented.

After coming to Douluo Continent, he should have swept through everything in his path and earned the admiration of countless people.

Every major sect should have invited him, and the two great empires should have become playthings in his hands.

Which part had gone wrong for him to suffer such a disaster?!

In the end, Tang San arrived at one terrifying conclusion!

If Tang Hao had not married a Soul Beast and betrayed the Clear Sky Sect, then he would now be the Clear Sky Sect's successor!

That was the number one sect under heaven!

And if Xiao Wu had never approached him, he would not have had to hide like this.

Tang San gritted his teeth and sighed. "Such is fate!"

Tang Hao looked at the prematurely world-weary Tang San, unease stirring in his heart.

At Three Gorges Pass, he had heard every word Dai Yunzhao said.

He had thought his son was pure-hearted, yet Dai Yunzhao's few words had pointed straight at his true nature!

He had once read legends about body possession somewhere. Though such a thing had never appeared on Douluo Continent, who was to say it could not happen...

Was this Tang San, who had never been like other children his age, really his son?

Tang Hao was now consumed by deep suspicion!

And then there was Xiao Wu beside them. She was clearly a hundred-thousand-year-old monster, yet she insisted on following behind him, calling him "Daddy" and "Uncle" at every turn.

By age, Xiao Wu could have been his ancestor!

The more he looked at this group, the stranger it seemed!

Following behind the two of them, Xiao Wu also sensed that something was wrong.

This father and son pair were clearly acting strangely today.

It was as though they were both wary of each other!

Upon returning to the Star Dou Forest, Xiao Wu instead felt as though she had returned home.

She shook her head.

Third Brother won't abandon me...

But honestly, in their current situation, even she could no longer remain firm in her heart.

Only when several figures appeared ahead of Tang Hao were the three pulled back from their thoughts.

"Oh! Isn't this Tang Hao, the great protector of flowers and plants, along with his good son who loves little animals so dearly?"

"And the one behind you must be the legendary Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"

Tang Hao had not expected that even after fleeing deep into the Star Dou Forest, people would still find them.

Tang Hao let out a breath. "Come!"

For several days straight, Dai Yunzhao had been reading in the Eastern Palace.

The Star Luo Emperor did not immediately hand power over to him. Instead, he first had Dai Yunzhao gradually handle government affairs and slowly adapt to the position of Star Luo Emperor.

Dai Yunzhao also received reports about Tang Hao and his son one after another.

The entire continent was now hunting the two of them.

However, because Tang Hao possessed the strength of a Title Douluo, many people could only skirt around the edges.

Now, any information about Tang Hao and his son could fetch an astronomical price anywhere!

Dai Yunzhao could not help sneering. "They still haven't been caught. Those two have some tenacity, at least."

The matter of the next Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament was also submitted before Dai Yunzhao.

Though the event was nominally hosted by the two great empires, with Spirit Hall assisting.

In recent years, however, Spirit Hall had risen abruptly and was faintly showing signs of using the event to win over Soul Masters across the continent.

The ambition they displayed was enough to win over most Soul Masters.

The major Soul Master Academies competed for the title of first place, while Spirit Hall itself used the tournament to demonstrate its sincerity toward Soul Masters.

Dai Yunzhao pressed down the memorial and spoke softly. "Father Emperor, what do you think of this?"

Nearby, the Star Luo Emperor was fighting crickets.

With Dai Yunzhao assisting him, he had indeed become much more relaxed.

At his age, it was difficult to make further progress in cultivation.

The crickets in the jar were far more interesting.

Hearing Dai Yunzhao's words, the Star Luo Emperor turned around.

Holding the cricket jar, his gaze was extremely cold.

"The competition itself is a means of winning over Soul Masters across the realm. Spirit Hall's support for Soul Masters truly exceeds that of the two great empires."

"Star Luo and Heaven Dou divide the realm between us. Spirit Hall knows it cannot stand against us as a third power through territory and population, so naturally, it has focused its efforts on Soul Masters."

"Back then, they made the sects throughout the realm shut their doors and isolate themselves, creating the current situation where they stand alone above all others. It is only natural for them to reap a harvest now."

At that moment, one cricket in the Star Luo Emperor's jar was bitten to death alive.

This was, in itself, raising venomous creatures against one another!

"What difference is there between a Soul Master tournament and cricket fighting? The way Spirit Hall views the realm's geniuses is no different from how I view these two insects."

"For Star Luo and Heaven Dou, trying to enter the field now would be immensely difficult. In matters concerning Soul Masters, Spirit Hall holds an innate advantage!"

The corners of Dai Yunzhao's mouth rose slightly.

"What if we heavily fund Spirit Hall?"

Dai Yunzhao's words changed the Star Luo Emperor's expression somewhat.

Fund Spirit Hall?

How would that differ from aiding the enemy and betraying the nation?

The Star Luo Emperor's expression shifted.

"If we fund Spirit Hall, what do we need to say?"

Dai Yunzhao waved his hand.

"There is no need to say anything. Let the people of the realm guess for themselves! Let Spirit Hall and the Heaven Dou Empire think it over themselves!"

"They want to use the tournament to show off their strength, so we will train an elite force of Soul Masters!"

"The reason Soul Masters choose Spirit Hall is simply because what Soul Masters across the realm see in us is not as plentiful as what they see in Spirit Hall."

"Star Luo only needs to place its bet. Leave the rest to me!"

Dai Yunzhao's words brimmed with confidence.

The Star Luo Emperor was skeptical, but afterward, he stopped worrying about it altogether.

"Star Luo's future will be yours. Do whatever you want with it!"