"What do you mean?"
Xiao Wu backed several meters away, her body already trembling.
Had her identity actually been exposed?
Once her identity as a transformed soul beast was exposed, her safety would no longer be assured.
Countless soul masters would come to hunt her down!
Holding the Phantom God’s Heart, Lin Xiao said slowly, "I know you transformed from a hundred-thousand-year-old Soft-Bone Rabbit. Don't be nervous. I mean you no harm."
"On the contrary, I'm saving you."
Sure enough, Lin Xiao knew her identity!
At that moment, overwhelming panic seized Xiao Wu's heart.
She had even begun imagining Lin Xiao killing her.
That seemed to be the fate of transformed soul beasts, one no one could change.
Lin Xiao sighed and shook his head. "Xiao Wu, do you think I have any reason to harbor ill intentions toward you? My soul rings come from heaven-bestowed soul rings. I don't need yours."
"On the contrary, someone has had their eye on you for a long time."
"This is the Phantom God’s Heart, a special divine artifact that can conceal your soul beast aura."
"Other than Tang San and Tang Hao, who already know your identity, absolutely no one else will find out."
With that, he tossed the Phantom God’s Heart over to her.
It was a pale pink necklace.
It looked exquisite, adorned with dazzling jewels.
Its pendant was a pink gemstone, shimmering with divine light.
Xiao Wu caught the Phantom God’s Heart instinctively, her mind somewhat blank.
When she regained a little of her composure, she took two steps forward of her own accord.
Lin Xiao was right. His soul rings came from heaven-bestowed soul rings, so he truly had no need to hunt her.
And a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone?
To a soul master, it was a supreme treasure.
But to Lin Xiao, it did not seem particularly important.
Because the Phantom God’s Heart Lin Xiao had given her truly was a genuine divine artifact.
Just holding it in her hand, she could feel the divine power contained within.
That power was even vaster than that of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
This divine artifact alone was worth more than a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone.
Had Lin Xiao given her this thing just to scheme for her soul ring and soul bone?
No one would believe that even if she told them.
"Can you tell me what's really going on?"
"You must know a lot."
Xiao Wu felt somewhat downcast.
She remembered what Ning Rongrong had said earlier.
Tang San's father was a Titled Douluo.
So she had entered a Titled Douluo's sights long ago.
Perhaps it had happened not long after she first met Tang San.
But why had he never made a move?
Weren't the soul ring and soul bone of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast priceless treasures?
Why hadn't Tang Hao killed her?
Upon hearing that, Lin Xiao immediately hit upon a plan.
What a perfect opportunity. Maybe I can use this chance to raise her affection for me while lowering her affection for Tang San.
He quickly put together an explanation.
"Actually, there's a secret I've never revealed. I came here from the future."
"In the future, I awakened a martial soul too, but because I was a commoner, life wasn't easy."
"But the root cause of it all was Tang San..."
Someone from the future?
Xiao Wu's eyes widened. She could hardly believe such a claim.
In Lin Xiao's account, he had come to this era from the future.
In that future era, Tang San waged war against Spirit Hall, eventually destroying it.
But with Spirit Hall's destruction, all soul master resources fell under the control of soul master factions and the nobility.
The good days of commoner soul masters came to an end.
Awakening a martial soul required Gold Soul Coins, and the price was steep.
Even if they scraped together enough Gold Soul Coins to awaken their martial souls, attending school required exorbitant tuition fees.
Although the empire also offered soul masters some subsidies in Gold Soul Coins, those were not given to them directly.
Instead, they had to obtain them through various means.
The Gold Soul Coins they finally received amounted to less than what Spirit Hall now gave them directly.
Take the Soul Elder rank, for example.
Under Spirit Hall's current policy, they could receive a subsidy of one hundred Gold Soul Coins every month.
In the future, however, they would have to put in considerable effort before they could obtain any subsidy.
And even after working themselves to the bone every month, they would receive only fifty or sixty Gold Soul Coins.
They also wasted a great deal of time they could have spent cultivating.
Noble soul masters had no trouble with that. They had no need for those few Gold Soul Coins.
But commoner soul masters needed them!
The eventual result was an ever-widening gap in cultivation between commoner and noble soul masters.
Lin Xiao was one of those commoner soul masters. After witnessing that injustice, he spent a long time planning before using a secret art to travel from the future to this era.
His purpose was to stop Tang San from destroying Spirit Hall and ruining the future of commoner soul masters.
It sounded unbelievable, but Lin Xiao's account contained so many details that she could not help believing it.
"Now, back to your situation. You met Tang San at Nording Academy, and Tang Hao had his eye on you that very day."
"It wasn't that Tang Hao didn't want to kill you. The time simply hadn't come yet."
"He was already a Titled Douluo and had no need for another soul ring."
"By 'the time hadn't come,' I mean he intended to let Tang San obtain your soul ring and soul bone, through sacrifice."
"To make you sacrifice yourself willingly, he needed to nurture your feelings for Tang San."
"Tang Hao had already tried that before, because his ninth soul ring came from a hundred-thousand-year transformed soul beast, the Blue Silver Emperor!"
"Back then, he used similar methods to win the Blue Silver Emperor's love. After his schemes played out, she ultimately sacrificed herself to him."
Lin Xiao revealed many things in one breath.
He even took the initiative to explain some of the details.
But these were things Xiao Wu did not want to believe.
How could the brother who had said that anyone who wanted to kill her would have to step over his corpse first harbor such thoughts?
"Tang San actually learned your identity long ago. The Purple Demon Eye he cultivates can see through illusions and disguises."
"And... Tang Hao told him about the plan long ago."
"I know this is hard for you to believe right now, so you can test him."
"For example, ask him about Tang Hao's identity. Naturally, he won't tell you. Even the name he gives you for his father won't be real."
By this point, Xiao Wu had completely panicked.
In truth, she had already begun to believe him when Lin Xiao mentioned the Blue Silver Emperor.
Because she, too, had come from the Star Dou Great Forest.
Xiao Wu even knew her!
So the reason the Blue Silver Emperor had vanished without a trace all these years was that she had already sacrificed herself-and to Tang Hao, no less.
The legendary Clear Sky Douluo!
Now her mind was in turmoil, utter, complete turmoil.
Yet what she had not expected was that what Lin Xiao said next would frighten her most of all.
"Xiao Wu, Tang San is twelve now, but is he really twelve?"
"There's nothing wrong with his bone age, but his soul is far more than twelve years old."
"He's a transmigrator who came here from another plane."
"He brought all that knowledge of hidden weapons from another world."
"In that world, he belonged to an evil faction called the Tang Sect."
"Mysterious Jade Hand, Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon, Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track, Purple Demon Eye, hidden weapons, Mysterious Heaven Skill-all those methods came from the Tang Sect."
Before you continue