That faint, sorrowful female voice, steeped in endless humility and pleading, echoed in Ling Xuqing's mind.
Ling Xuqing's absorption of Soul Power paused for a moment.
He lowered his head and looked at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, swaying beneath the moonlight and giving off a faint blue glow. The corner of his mouth curled into an undisguised sneer.
"At a time like this, you're still thinking about your Brother Hao?"
Ling Xuqing's voice rang out in the stillness of the deep night, laced with the cold amusement of someone who saw through everything.
"You really are deeply in love. I just wonder whether he loves you as much as you think!"
At Ling Xuqing's words, the female voice in his mind shuddered, as though an invisible needle had stabbed her hard.
"Y-you... what do you mean?"
Ah Yin's voice was full of confusion and a hint of instinctive fear.
Ling Xuqing did not answer right away. Instead, he crouched down and gently toyed with the withered Blue Silver Grass in the flowerpot with his slender fingers.
"What do I mean? I mean that the cross-species love you're so proud of was nothing but a long-planned scheme."
Ling Xuqing's voice was quiet, but every word cut to the bone.
"Why did you take human form? To become a god, to protect your Blue Silver Clan, right? But what happened? You left the Star Dou Great Forest, abandoned the faith and offerings of Blue Silver Valley, and went to the human world to fall in love with a man."
"You told him you were a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast who had taken human form. You thought that was trust, that it was true love. But in Tang Hao's eyes, what was it? A claim ticket for a priceless Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone!"
"No... that's not true! You're lying!" Ah Yin's voice shot up, crumbling into hysterics. "Brother Hao isn't that kind of person! He gave up even the Clear Sky Sect for me! He shielded me from Spirit Hall's pursuit again and again. He was willing to give up his life for me!"
"Exactly. He was willing to give up his life, so you gave him yours, didn't you?"
Ling Xuqing gave a quiet laugh, his tone full of pity and mockery.
"Think carefully. After you left Blue Silver Valley, how did the people from Spirit Hall find you so precisely? Once was a coincidence, twice was a coincidence—but every single time?"
"As a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, once you reached maturity, not even a Limit Douluo could see through your true form. Other than you, who knew you were a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form?"
"Other than Tang Hao, who would have leaked your whereabouts to Spirit Hall?"
"Boom—"
Ling Xuqing's words were like a heavenly thunderbolt, crashing into the depths of Ah Yin's soul.
Ah Yin felt as if she had been struck by lightning. Her whole body trembled uncontrollably.
She tried desperately to deny it, to cover her ears and shut him out. But the details she had once deliberately ignored now crawled out of the abyss of her memories like venomous snakes, coiling tightly around her throat.
Yes... other than Tang Hao, who knew her true identity?
She had told him everything. She had exposed her most fatal weakness to him!
"It can't be... it can't be..." Ah Yin's voice grew fainter and fainter, filled with endless despair and self-doubt.
"Why couldn't it?" Ling Xuqing continued to twist the knife. "Tang Hao was one of the Clear Sky Sect's twin stars, and the younger brother of the master of Moonlight Pavilion in Heaven Dou City. His father was Tang Chen, a Level 99 Limit Douluo. If he truly wanted to protect you, why not take you straight to the Clear Sky Sect? Why drag you around, hiding from place to place?"
"Even if he didn't return to the Clear Sky Sect, with Tang Hao's abilities, if he truly wanted to keep you hidden, Spirit Hall might not have found you. So why were you surrounded and hunted down so precisely every time?"
"Then, just when he needed his ninth Soul Ring, Qian Xunji's ambush came—and right after that, you sacrificed yourself."
"Isn't it obvious by now? From the very beginning, Tang Hao had treated you as a stepping stone to break through Level 90 and obtain a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring!"
"Ah—!!!"
A bloodcurdling scream exploded in Ling Xuqing's mind.
Ah Yin's faith, the love she had clung to for six years, was torn to shreds by Ling Xuqing in the cruelest way possible!
"Why... why..."
"I only wanted to love someone... I only wanted a home..."
"Why did he have to treat me like this..."
Ah Yin's voice crumbled completely, turning into endless grief and wails.
She had lost the will to live. It felt as if her very soul were bleeding. The pain of being betrayed and used by the person she loved most hurt ten thousand times worse than when Qian Xunji had driven her into a desperate corner.
Looking at the Blue Silver Grass in his hand, its light completely dimmed by overwhelming grief, on the verge of withering and dying, Ling Xuqing felt no pity at all.
He shook his head coldly.
"Human nature can't withstand temptation. Especially not the temptation of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and Spirit Bone."
"Your naivety brought ruin upon you and your people."
With that, Ling Xuqing paid no further heed to the soul fluctuations in his mind, now sunk into complete silence and despair.
He took a deep breath, then abruptly pressed the withered Blue Silver Grass and the piece of Right Leg Bone radiating a lustrous blue light against his chest with both hands!
"Since your heart has turned to ashes, become my nourishment!"
"Boom—"
In an instant, an immense and pure force of life's origin surged into Ling Xuqing's body like a flood bursting through a dam!
The origin of the Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, together with the essence of the 100,000-Year Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone, was forcibly refined and absorbed by the Golden Dragon King's unmatched Bloodline Power!
"Crack, crack, crack—"
A series of crisp sounds rang out as Ling Xuqing's bones grew.
The gentle, enduring force of life and the Golden Dragon King's violent force of destruction complemented each other perfectly within him.
His skin grew fairer and more delicate, glowing faintly like white jade. His features became more refined and defined. His already handsome face now carried an added charm, an uncanny blend of the demonic and the divine.
He became more handsome, more perfect.
At the same time, his Soul Power began to soar!
Level 17, Level 18, Level 19... Level 20!
After breaking through the bottleneck at Level 20, his Soul Power reached the peak of Level 20 before slowly settling down.
At six years old, he had reached the peak of Level 20. As soon as he absorbed another Soul Ring, he could become a true Soul Grandmaster.
Not only that, the Blue Silver Emperor Right Leg Bone had completely fused into his right leg.
Ling Xuqing stood up, feeling the surging power within him, and the corner of his mouth lifted in satisfaction.
"Flight is useless to me. With Dragon Wings, I can already fly."
"But this rich power of life and self-healing is a life-saving trump card!"
With this power of life and self-healing, combined with the Golden Dragon King's terrifying body, he could practically run wild across Douluo Continent!
Before you continue