Tang Hao on Trial

At those words, Tang Hao no longer dared to flee and could only stay where he was.

But he did not simply sit and wait for death. Instead, he released his martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, along with his nine Soul Rings.

When Liu Hao brought Xiao Wu into the woods, a dangerous gleam flashed in Tang Hao's eyes. He asked through voice transmission, "Boy, who exactly are you? How do you know my son-and me?"

"Heh, the mighty Clear Sky Douluo doesn't even dare speak aloud and has to resort to voice transmission. What, are you afraid this little rabbit will hear something she shouldn't?" Liu Hao's lips curled into an amused smile.

Hearing this, Tang Hao clenched his teeth, his expression terrifyingly dark.

"Hmph! Junior, enough talk. Let me see just how much you're worth!"

The moment the words left his mouth, Tang Hao attacked.

"Clear Sky True Body!"

With an enraged roar, the pitch-black Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Hao's hand swelled in the wind, becoming enormous as dark-gold patterns emerged across its surface.

Not only that, but a blood-red mist erupted around Tang Hao the next instant.

The mist reeked of blood and murderous malice, sending chills down the spine.

Even the originally pitch-black Clear Sky Hammer was stained scarlet by the mist, making it look all the more savage.

This was the special ability Tang Hao had obtained from Slaughter City-Divine Slaughter's Domain.

Tang Hao raised the scarlet hammer high, its overwhelming aura surging, then brought it crashing down.

At a glance, it looked like a small mountain falling from the sky.

Beside Liu Hao, Xiao Wu had already been scared witless. She stood frozen, at a complete loss. The sight of Tang Hao's Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring stirred even more complicated feelings within her, for it represented the death of one of her kind who had attained great cultivation.

Yet Liu Hao's expression remained unchanged. He merely summoned his Heaven-Reaching Ambrosial Arbor Wooden Stick Martial Soul and swept it casually sideways, sending Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer flying back.

"How is that possible?"

Tang Hao cried out in disbelief.

After all, once he activated Clear Sky True Body, his Clear Sky Hammer weighed more than ten thousand jin.

Yet the terrifying force of that massive hammer's downward strike had been knocked away with a casual swing.

Just how heavy was that weapon, and how terrifying was the force behind it?

Tang Hao swallowed nervously, ready to flee at any moment.

"Stop testing the waters. Just use your Clear Sky Nine Absolutes and your Ring Detonation secret art. Let me see what they're all about," Liu Hao said, looking utterly relaxed.

Tang Hao narrowed his eyes. "You certainly know a lot. It's hard to imagine who you really are. Could you be from Spirit Hall?"

"Heh, if I were from Spirit Hall, would you and little Tang San have been able to live peacefully in Holy Soul Village for six years?" Liu Hao countered.

Tang Hao fell silent, a deeper fear of Liu Hao rising from the bottom of his heart.

All these years, even Spirit Hall had been unable to discover his whereabouts, yet the man before him knew everything in such detail.

It was truly eerie.

Still, that was indeed true. If this man really belonged to Spirit Hall, then given Tang Hao's enmity with them, wouldn't they have sent people to hunt him down long ago upon learning that he and little Tang San were hiding in Holy Soul Village?

In that case, the man before him most likely did not belong to Spirit Hall. But aside from Spirit Hall, what other force could nurture someone so terrifying?

Could there be some powerful hidden force in this world?

Poor Tang Hao had been hiding alone outside the sect, cut off from information. He had yet to hear the latest news that Spirit Hall had added a new Ninth Elder who was a Limit Douluo.

Otherwise, he would never have been fooled so easily.

"Listen, old Tang, a man shouldn't be too greedy. Scheming your way into one Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring wasn't enough, and now you want to scheme another one for your son? Isn't that going too far? Don't soul beasts' lives count as lives?" Seeing that Tang Hao had fallen silent and stopped attacking, Liu Hao could no longer be bothered to fight either. He became an emissary of judgment and began his scathing denunciation.

Beside him, Xiao Wu's heart was a jumble of conflicting emotions.

She was already seventy or eighty percent convinced of Tang Hao's identity.

The Clear Sky Hammer, identical to Tang San's Second Martial Soul, was the strongest evidence.

Her only lingering doubt was whether Liu Hao had deliberately brought him here to put on an act, but that possibility seemed slim.

"What nonsense are you spouting?! Who schemed anything? It was just an accident!" Like a cat whose tail had been stepped on, Tang Hao bristled instantly.

"Heh, old Tang, that's just like you. When you're ruthless enough, you'll even lie to yourself."

Liu Hao sneered and clapped his hands before continuing, "Back then, you lusted after Ah Yin's beauty and took the initiative to invite her to travel the continent with you and your elder brother, Tang Xiao. You were lucky that the innocent Ah Yin didn't refuse. That gave you the chance to spend every day together and develop feelings over time."

Hearing these all-too-familiar events, Tang Hao's expression shifted slightly.

But Liu Hao ignored him and continued, "Yet just when Ah Yin fell for you and revealed her identity as a soul beast who had undergone Soul Beast Transformation, you harbored evil intentions. You wanted a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, something no disciple of the Clear Sky Sect had ever obtained! You wanted to become the sect's new glory and legend."

At this, Tang Hao's face flushed red, and he roared, "No! That's bullshit! I never did!"

Having the secret hidden deep within his heart exposed left him burning with shame and anger.

"Heh, getting worked up already?" Liu Hao sneered. "Then explain this: knowing full well that Ah Yin hadn't fully matured and couldn't conceal her aura from Soul Masters at the Soul Douluo level or above, why did you deliberately take her wandering through Spirit Hall's territory instead of having her cultivate in the Star Dou Great Forest until she matured?"

"I..."

Tang Hao was at a loss for words.

"Then explain why, after Spirit Hall discovered Ah Yin, you still didn't let her return to the Star Dou Great Forest to seek shelter. Instead, you kept taking her from place to place, dressing it up as 'hiding'?"

"Stop talking... stop talking..." Tang Hao covered his ears, his face contorted with pain, as though unwilling to hear any more.

"Heh, do you think covering your ears will help?" Liu Hao sneered, channeling his soul power to send his voice straight into Tang Hao's ears. "Then explain this to me: after Ah Yin worked so hard to reach maturity, why were you so impatient to marry her and get her pregnant? Didn't you know that even a mature soul beast who had undergone Soul Beast Transformation would become unable to conceal her aura during pregnancy?"

Tang Hao could no longer maintain his composure. Huge tears spilled from his eyes as he choked on his sobs. "I really loved her! I really loved her... I was suffering too..."

"Heh, you loved her? You just craved her body! Not only her human body, but her soul beast body too! You craved her Soul Ring!" Liu Hao pointed at Tang Hao and angrily rebuked him.

"You coveted her Soul Ring, but you didn't want to do the dirty work yourself. You didn't want to bear the infamy, so you went to every length to get Spirit Hall to target her, dragging her step by step into the mire. You exploited Ah Yin's feelings for you, and finally, when you reached rank eighty-nine, you got exactly what you wanted. Not only did you gain a child with heaven-defying talent, but you also obtained a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!"

Crack-

As the sudden snap of a branch rang out, Tang San appeared before them.

"Brother San!"

Xiao Wu cried out in surprise.

Liu Hao's lips curled slightly. He thought that the fellow had finally lost his patience.

What interesting things might happen if Tang San learned that his mother had been killed by his own father? This really was something to look forward to~

"Dad!" Tang San roared.

"Is what he said true? Did you cause Mom's death?!"