The stone chamber was empty, without a single furnishing. Directly beneath the opening overhead, however, stood a small mound of earth. A slender stalk of Blue Silver Grass swayed in the breeze atop it. Its blades looked somewhat longer than ordinary grass, and most striking of all were the fine golden veins running along them.
"Huh? The Blue Silver Emperor? Can she really survive here?" Wang Qiu'er frowned as she looked at the surroundings and the Blue Silver Emperor.
"As you can see, the conditions are a little poor, but she's still alive." Lin Changgeng spread his hands.
Lin Changgeng had no idea what Tang Hao was thinking. Ah Yin had told Tang Hao that no one could kill her, and that even after sacrificing herself, she could revive in forty-nine days. Yet after arriving at Holy Soul Village, Tang Hao had planted the Blue Silver Emperor here. Who knew what he was scheming?
Regret? Perhaps Tang Hao felt it. Judging by his actions, Tang Hao loved Ah Yin, but his desire for a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring ran deeper. After all, he came from the Clear Sky Sect and was the Clear Sky Douluo. In his heart, the sect came first, and his wife second.
He clearly knew that the Blue Silver Emperor was a plant that needed sunlight, yet he had placed her in a stone chamber that never saw the light of day, where sunlight reached her only briefly each day. Perhaps he feared Ah Yin would condemn him after reviving, so he had planted her here to leave her to fend for herself and perish.
As for claiming he had done it for Tang San, Lin Changgeng certainly did not believe that. The fact that Tang Hao made Tang San cook showed that he did not really care about him. More precisely, Tang San's behavior did not seem like that of his own child. Wasn't it all "What useless trash is Blue Silver Grass," only to become "My son!" the moment the Clear Sky Hammer appeared? That proved whether Tang San was truly his son no longer mattered to Tang Hao.
Hearing this, Wang Qiu'er approached the Blue Silver Emperor, intending to tease her a little.
Sensing someone approaching, the Blue Silver Emperor immediately began swaying.
"There's really no helping you." Lin Changgeng sighed as he watched Wang Qiu'er. She was already a Super Douluo, yet she still loved playing around.
Then he began feeling around for a hidden compartment.
Before long, Lin Changgeng discovered something unusual.
Crack.
With a forceful slap, a dark lead box fell out. It was long and narrow, about a meter and a half long and a foot wide. It felt extremely heavy in his hands, weighing over a hundred kilograms.
When he opened it, he found a soul bone lying inside the lead box. Its entire surface was a crystalline, translucent blue-gold, with what looked like specks of starlight flickering within. Its life attribute was exceptionally vigorous.
"As expected of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. Even after six years, it's barely lost any soul power." Lin Changgeng stared at it, momentarily entranced.
Soul bones were exceedingly rare in this era. Although everyone in the original story's protagonist group had one, that was only because they belonged to the protagonist's camp. Hadn't plenty of Titled Douluos gone without even a single soul bone? Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones were rarer still. There were only a handful of hundred-thousand-year soul beasts in this era, excluding those in the sea.
"Are you going to absorb it now?"
Turning around, he found that Wang Qiu'er had come to his side without him noticing.
"Yes. Keep watch for me," Lin Changgeng said softly. Tang Hao was gone, and no one else would come here. Besides, with Wang Qiu'er beside him, he had no need to worry about his safety. He might as well absorb it here.
With that, Lin Changgeng sat cross-legged on the ground and began absorbing the soul bone.
Meanwhile, at Nuoding Academy.
"Pfft!"
Tang San, who had been cultivating, suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood.
"Little San, what's wrong?" Xiao Wu asked with a frown when she saw him coughing up blood.
"I don't know." Tang San looked bewildered. "I feel like I've lost something. Something very important to me, but I don't know what it was."
"Very important?" Xiao Wu blinked in confusion. "Didn't you say your home was in the countryside? There shouldn't be much there, should there?"
Tang San thought she had a point. His home was just a smithy, with nothing particularly valuable. Perhaps he was overthinking things.
Shaking his head, Tang San continued cultivating.
Seven days later.
"Mmm." Lin Changgeng woke from absorbing the soul bone.
"You're awake? How do you feel?" Wang Qiu'er asked from beside him.
"Pretty good." Lin Changgeng stretched. "My soul power rose by four levels. The soul bone skills are Regeneration and Flight. As long as an attack doesn't directly hit a vital spot like my heart, I can heal no matter how serious the injury."
Lin Changgeng felt that this trip had yielded quite a haul. Although he had failed to kill Tang Hao, he had obtained two soul bones, and his soul power had increased considerably.
"Those are good soul bone skills. Let's go, then." Wang Qiu'er offered her praise, then changed the subject, pointing at the Blue Silver Emperor nearby. "What are we doing with this Blue Silver Emperor?"
Hearing that, Lin Changgeng glanced at Ah Yin on the ground. She had curled into a ball.
He felt it was a waste to leave the Blue Silver Emperor here. There was no sunlight, which was bad for her growth, but she was of no use to him. Tang San did not know him, and Tang Hao's whereabouts were unknown. Besides, the Douluo Continent was where the God of Love had fallen. He was not certain whether she would be loyal to him if he took her away. At most, taking her would only serve to disgust Tang San and Tang Hao in the future.
Strictly speaking, Tang San and Tang Hao were not his enemies, either. He had only attacked Tang Hao for the Blue Silver Emperor's soul bone, for the sake of his own interests and cultivation. In a sense, he had benefited from them.
Having received a favor, how could he leave it unreturned?
At that thought, Lin Changgeng rubbed his chin, then approached the Blue Silver Emperor.
Sensing Lin Changgeng's movements, the Blue Silver Emperor immediately began swaying incessantly, telling him not to touch her.
But Lin Changgeng ignored that. He pulled her straight out by the roots, dug up some soil, and put her in a flowerpot.
Once everything was taken care of, Lin Changgeng said, "Let's go. To Heaven Dou City."
The two then left the waterfall and hurried toward Heaven Dou City.
Meanwhile, three hundred li east of the Heaven Dou Empire.
A small village stood here, with mountains encircling it from behind. Cooking smoke rose from the village, and several young children were playing in the clearing by its entrance. Suddenly, they saw a streak of blood-red light fall from the sky and crash into the woods nearby.
"What's that?" one child asked, pointing at the sky with a face full of curiosity.
"It looks like a person!" another sharp-eyed child said, having spotted a faint human figure within the light.
"Come on, let's go look!"
The children rushed over in a swarm.
When they drew close, they all jumped in fright.
A man lay on the ground, covered in blood. His left leg had been torn off at the hip, and blood was still flowing from the wound. His face was as pale as paper, and his breathing was faint.
"It's... it's a man with his leg torn off!" One child recoiled in fright.
"There's so much blood..." another said, his voice trembling.
"Quick, get the adults!" The oldest child snapped out of his shock and turned to run back to the village. "Go get the village chief!"
The children scattered, running back to summon help.
Before long, several adults came running with the children.
At their head was a man in his fifties, the village chief. He crouched down and examined the man on the ground, and his expression changed abruptly.
"This... this is..."
His hand trembled as he reached out to wipe the blood from the man's face, revealing his features.
The village chief sprang to his feet, his voice shaking.
"It's... Tang Hao!"
"What? Tang Hao?" Everyone beside him froze.
The village at the foot of the Clear Sky Sect's mountain was home to the sect's outer disciples and their families.
They knew the name Tang Hao all too well: one of the Clear Sky Twin Stars, the younger brother of the Clear Sky Sect's current sect master, and the Clear Sky Douluo personally designated by the former sect master, Tang Chen.
Back then, he had vanished after inflicting fatal injuries on the Pope, forcing their Clear Sky Sect to retreat into seclusion here. Now he had appeared before them in this state.
"Quick, report this to the sect master!" the village chief urged. "Tell him Tang Hao has returned, gravely injured and missing a leg!"
A young man immediately turned and ran up the mountain.
Before long, the young man returned with others.
A middle-aged man hurried down the mountain with several elderly men.
The middle-aged man at their head was tall and powerfully built, with resolute features. His brows bore some resemblance to Tang Hao's, but he possessed a greater air of composure and authority.
He wore a blue-green robe, and his aura was unfathomable.
He was none other than Tang Hao's elder brother, the current sect master of the Clear Sky Sect, Howling Sky Douluo Tang Xiao.
Several elderly men followed him, all elders of the Clear Sky Sect. Every one of them was a Titled Douluo.
The group moved swiftly, reaching the village entrance within a few breaths.
Tang Xiao immediately spotted Tang Hao on the ground.
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