Once a Soul Beast, Always a Soul Beast

Xiao Wu watched Chen Ling's departing back as he turned away, then lowered her gaze to the Blue Silver Emperor inside the cave, quietly basking in the sunlight and spreading her branches and leaves. Her slender fingers tightened slightly before she finally gritted her teeth and followed him.

What if?

People were always like this. Even when the truth lay right before them, as long as they had not heard it with their own ears, they refused to truly give up hope.

But Xiao Wu knew her limits and did not dare follow too closely. A clash between a Titled Douluo and a Soul Douluo could destroy the heavens and shatter the earth. As a mere Soul Elder, getting close would be nothing but suicide. She could only hide behind them and watch carefully.

Chen Ling slowly walked out of the cave. Through the cascading curtain of water, he vaguely saw a figure standing outside.

Not far away stood a burly middle-aged man.

Tang Hao wore coarse cloth robes and looked filthy from head to toe, as though he had come from a country with dangerously high E. coli levels.

He gripped a huge, blood-red Clear Sky Hammer in his palm. Nine Soul Rings of different colors slowly rose and fell around his feet. In particular, that glaring scarlet Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring steadily exuded a terrifying Soul Power pressure that made even the surrounding air seem to congeal.

Hidden in the shadows behind Chen Ling, Xiao Wu caught sight of that dazzling scarlet glow through the refracted light in the water. Her soft rabbit ears trembled uncontrollably.

She had naturally seen Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer before. Combined with Chen Ling's earlier words, her trust in him had already risen to seventy or eighty percent, while her last shred of hope slowly crumbled away.

"Kid, come out of the cave immediately, and I can spare your life." Tang Hao stared at the blurry figure behind the waterfall. He first carefully sensed the Soul Power barrier around the Blue Silver Emperor in the cave, and only relaxed after confirming that it was unharmed.

He did not dare attack directly either. If he brought that hammer down, the other side would certainly die—and so would Ah Yin.

Faced with Tang Hao's threat, Chen Ling merely casually picked at his ear. His expression remained calm, utterly unmoved.

The system had not sounded, which meant Tang Hao truly did not intend to attack. That surprised Chen Ling somewhat, but going outside was out of the question. He was not an idiot.

Right now, he was using Ah Yin to command Haozi.

Seeing that Chen Ling remained unmoved, Tang Hao grew anxious. Just then, Chen Ling spoke.

"Swear upon your martial soul that I have never touched anything inside the cave, and guarantee that you will let me leave safely."

Hearing this, Tang Hao regretted that he could not hammer this brat to death on the spot, but he also breathed a huge sigh of relief. At least Ah Yin would not be in danger.

"Fine! I agree!" Tang Hao replied in a deep voice, his tone carrying a stern warning. "But if I find so much as the slightest damage to that Blue Silver Grass, I will make sure you die without a burial place!"

But just as his words fell, a playful, ill-intentioned voice came from inside the cave, instantly making him lose his composure.

"So the treasure is this Blue Silver Grass. In that case, whatever is buried beneath it must be extraordinary."

Having said that, Chen Ling made as if to go in and dig up Ah Yin.

Tang Hao: ???

"Stop, stop, stop! Don't touch that Blue Silver Grass. I can tell you where the treasure inside is hidden. Just take it directly, as long as you don't touch that Blue Silver Grass." Tang Hao was truly panicking. Ah Yin might have died, but he could not let someone dig her up. How was that any different from being cuckolded right in front of him?

In truth, Chen Ling had never intended to actually dig anything up. His earlier action had purely been to bait Tang Hao into talking. More importantly, it was meant for Xiao Wu, who was eavesdropping behind him.

He deliberately put on an enlightened tone and slowly said, "It seems the rumors outside are true. The esteemed Clear Sky Crown's beloved wife truly was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast capable of taking human form."

"That's right!" Tang Hao forcefully suppressed the churning fury in his heart and said through gritted teeth, "I can swear upon my martial soul that as long as you do not harm that Blue Silver Grass in the slightest, I will definitely let you leave safely."

"I naturally will not touch this Blue Silver Grass." Chen Ling's voice was calm and flat, without the slightest ripple, as if he were merely making casual conversation. "I only need Your Excellency to answer one question—if another Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast capable of taking human form appears in this world someday, how would you deal with her?"

As he asked this, he appeared casual, but his gaze meaningfully swept over Xiao Wu beside him, who was holding her breath.

Xiao Wu's heart instantly clenched. Instinctively, she held every breath in her body, her entire frame taut as she quietly waited for Tang Hao's answer, as though awaiting a judgment upon her past.

"Naturally, I would keep her in captivity as a future Soul Ring candidate." Tang Hao blurted it out almost without thinking. He loved Ah Yin, but humans were humans and Soul Beasts were Soul Beasts. Being with Ah Yin could not conceal the fact that she was a Soul Beast.

Once a Soul Beast, always a Soul Beast.

The instant the words left his mouth, Tang Hao belatedly realized something was wrong.

Why did it feel like this brat was trying to trick him into saying that?

Then he shook his head. Impossible. Judging by the voice, the other party was definitely young. He could not possibly be a Soul Douluo or stronger, much less possess the eyesight to see through a Soul Beast's true form. He must have been overthinking it.

Upon hearing those words, Xiao Wu's tightly wound body lost all strength. Her legs gave out, and she collapsed straight to the ground.

Her clear eyes filled with incredulous despair, turning hollow and dim in an instant.

So that was it.

For all these years, the sibling bond she had shared day and night with Tang San, even the innocent affection that had quietly begun to grow in her heart—it had all been a ridiculous one-sided fantasy from beginning to end.

In the eyes of that father and son, she had never been family worth protecting. She was merely a womb capable of bearing offspring, a Soul Ring and Spirit Bone candidate ready to be harvested at any time.

She stared blankly at the Blue Silver Emperor basking in the sunlight inside the cave. Countless negative emotions flooded her mind, and an icy, bone-chilling scene forcibly emerged beyond her control.

The grown-up Tang San stood before a cold iron cage. Beside him stood a girl with pink-blue hair, her brows and eyes bright and beautiful.

Inside the cage before them, a Soft Bone Rabbit was eating unidentified pellets off the ground.

"No... no... I don't want to become like this..."

Overwhelming terror and despair instantly shattered all of Xiao Wu's defenses. Her eyes completely lost focus as she weakly leaned against the cold rock wall, muttering incessantly under her breath. Her entire body shook uncontrollably as she utterly broke down.

Watching this scene, Chen Ling was immensely astonished as well.

Being love-brained was terrifying. Good thing he was not.

"Kid, I answered your question. Shouldn't you keep your promise now?" Tang Hao's tone was displeased. The fury and killing intent building within him had reached their peak.

At that moment, a system notification sounded in Chen Ling's mind.

[An invincible enemy has been detected. Overall victory rate: 1%. Anti-Noob Gift Pack has been issued.]

[Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer detected. Basic sword intent acquired: Swordsea Shadowfold.]

[Haotian Nine Absolutes detected. Core sword art acquired: Azure Abyss Nine Forms.]

[Great Sumeru Hammer detected. Ultimate sword path acquired: Myriad Abysses Return to Ruin Sword.]

[Ring Detonation detected. Ring Stacking acquired.]

[Tang Hao's Soul Power detected at rank 94. Host's Soul Power has broken through to rank 95.]

[Tang Hao and Divine Slaughter's Domain detected. Host has acquired Silent Slaughter Domain.]

[Tang Hao detected with a full set of Spirit Bones. Host has acquired the full Spirit Bone set, Abyssal Void Formless Aspect, which can grow through side quests.]