"Spirit Hall isn't someone the Clear Sky Sect can afford to provoke right now! We brothers can't breathe a word about Ah Yin being a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast!"
"Otherwise, once word gets out, Spirit Hall could capture her without anyone knowing. And the first to pay for it would likely be the Clear Sky Sect!"
Tang Xiao gave a helpless smile. "A Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast... Even if it were our father who met Ah Yin here instead of Spirit Hall's pope, Qian Xunji, he would never let her go!"
"That's a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring and a Soul Bone. Who wouldn't want them? Who would stand by and let her leave?"
"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring would grant a Soul Master the two Soul Skills best suited to them. And there's a Soul Bone on top of that!"
Tang Hao went limp, his head drooping. His elder brother was right.
Even if it had been some other Titled Douluo who encountered Ah Yin, they wouldn't let a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast go just because of who the two brothers were!
"Right..." Tang Hao gave a bitter smile. The wildness in his eyes finally faded, leaving only resignation. "Even if I could save Ah Yin, what then?"
"On the Douluo Continent, in the Soul Master World, Ah Yin and I might be able to run. We might spend our lives on the run. But what about the Clear Sky Sect?"
"If Qian Xunji can't find us, does that mean he can't find the Clear Sky Sect?"
"I'd become a sinner in the eyes of the entire sect!"
"Brother, I was too impulsive just now. I'm sorry!" Tang Hao had finally accepted it. He and Ah Yin were never meant to be together.
Seeing that Tang Hao finally understood what was at stake, Tang Xiao's tense expression eased.
He had truly feared that his reckless younger brother would take up his Clear Sky Hammer and go after Qian Xunji to save Ah Yin.
If he did, failing would still make an enemy of Spirit Hall. Succeeding would spell disaster for the Clear Sky Sect.
He stepped forward and gently patted Tang Hao's shoulder. "I'm glad you understand. Don't make a terrible mistake or go down the wrong path for a Soul Beast!"
"Brother, there's one thing I don't understand."
Tang Xiao paused, then asked in puzzlement, "What is it, Hao?"
Tang Hao frowned. "How did Spirit Hall's pope find out who Ah Yin was?"
"A Titled Douluo can see through a Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast's human form, but why did he come here? Was he really just passing by?"
After a moment's thought, Tang Xiao said, "Perhaps Spirit Hall's network of informants is simply that vast. They were probably watching us from the moment we left the Clear Sky Sect."
"Given who we are, Spirit Hall couldn't ignore us even if it wanted to."
"And because Ah Yin was traveling with us, she naturally came to their attention..."
Tang Xiao shook his head helplessly. "Forget it. Whatever the truth is, what's done is done. What good will dwelling on it do?"
"Besides, that pope frightened me. His voice was pleasant, but his eyes were cold through and through!"
"If we truly angered him, he might even lead Spirit Hall against the Clear Sky Sect."
The old Qian Xunji might not have done that. Back then, he had listened closely to Qian Daoliu.
And Qian Daoliu had an agreement with Tang Chen of the Clear Sky Sect.
But Qian Xunji was different now. He didn't care what agreement Qian Daoliu had made with Tang Chen. He could bring the Elder Hall down on the Clear Sky Sect first and explain himself afterward.
And once Qian Daoliu found out, what could he do? Kill his own son? Qian Xunji had nothing to fear!
"So, Hao, you and Ah Yin weren't meant to be. Let it go. Humans and Soul Beasts have been irreconcilable enemies since ancient times. Soul Masters must kill Soul Beasts to cultivate, and Soul Beasts killing humans is just as common."
"You and she should never have been together. If you were, this world would never accept it!"
"Ah Yin can't survive in Qian Xunji's hands. Why else would he have captured her?"
"Surely it wasn't for fun?" Tang Xiao said bitterly.
He did his best to talk sense into his younger brother. He admitted that Ah Yin was beautiful, and he liked her too.
But he couldn't understand how his brother had fallen for her so completely in less than half a month.
He had even been ready to risk the sect's survival to save her.
Perhaps love really did cloud the mind. Fortunately, Tang Xiao had kept a clear head. Otherwise, Tang Hao might have brought disaster upon them all.
Tang Hao listened without speaking. He didn't argue with his brother again. He couldn't explain it to him.
Since losing Ah Yin, he had felt as though something had been taken from him by an unseen force. Whatever it was, it mattered terribly to him. That was why he had made such a reckless choice in the tavern.
But his brother was right. He couldn't stake the entire Clear Sky Sect on a Transformed Soul Beast he had known for less than half a month.
Tang Hao wasn't a beast. He was a man of flesh and blood. No matter how important Ah Yin was to him, he would never trade the sect for her!
"You're right. Let's leave and continue our journey. I'll do my best to forget Ah Yin. She and I weren't meant to be!"
Tang Hao slowly rose and pulled himself together.
"That's my brother! That's the future leader of the Clear Sky Sect! How could a setback like this keep you down?" Tang Xiao said happily when he saw Tang Hao rally.
"The Douluo Continent is vast, and the Soul Master World is full of people. With your talent, Hao, you'll have your pick of women someday!"
"You really have grown up. When we get back, how about I ask Father to find you a suitable wife?" Tang Xiao suggested.
His younger brother was old enough to marry. As for Tang Xiao himself? He was in no hurry!
Tang Hao stared at his brother. "Let's not, Brother. I want to focus on cultivating for now. I'll think about marriage once I become a Titled Douluo."
"Fine, fine. Have it your way, as long as you stop thinking about Ah Yin!" Tang Xiao said.
"Ah..."
Tang Hao clutched his chest. The pain there was unbearable. At that moment, he felt with sudden clarity that his connection to that precious, nameless thing had been severed completely!
"Ah Yin..." Tang Hao murmured.
It was a feeling he could not explain. Since leaving that forest, he had never felt it so clearly.
"Hao, what's wrong?" Tang Xiao stepped forward and asked with concern.
"It's nothing, Brother... Just a sudden pain in my chest. Let's go," Tang Hao said.
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