Ah Yin Had Been Taken Away

Tang San took the bowl and gulped down its contents.

The medicinal broth was so bitter that his brows knotted together as it slid down his throat, but he did not spit out a single mouthful. He forced himself to swallow it all.

His hand was still shaking when he lowered the bowl.

Tang Hao took it from him, set it back on the low cabinet, and turned to look at his son.

"Don't worry." Tang Hao's voice was low and steady.

"I will avenge you. That much is certain."

"I just need to wait for an opportunity. That Qin Chuan is only a control-type Soul Master, after all."

"His weakness is long-range attacks. His Game Domain has a limited range. As long as we keep our distance and stay outside his domain, he can't do anything to us."

Tang San raised his head. "No."

His voice was hoarse but clear.

"Dad, leave this revenge to me. I'll make that man suffer so much he wishes he were dead."

Tang Hao looked into his son's eyes and saw hatred without the slightest attempt at concealment.

Inwardly, Tang Hao nodded.

"Good. The more you hate him, the more driven you'll be."

He stood and walked to the window. The wooden cabin's window was small, and the light streaming through it fell across the side of his face.

"Next, I'll personally raise you to godhood."

Tang San looked up at him.

Tang Hao turned around. "We'll go to the forbidden grounds on the back mountain in a moment."

"The forbidden grounds on the back mountain?"

"There's a secret buried there." Tang Hao paused. "A gift I prepared for you."

Tang San asked no more questions. He nodded.

"Once that's done, I'll take you straight to Slaughter City."

"Slaughter City?" Tang San's brows twitched.

"Yes. The most dangerous, bloodiest killing ground on the continent. It's a place worthy of tempering you. You'll accumulate killing aura there and obtain the Divine Slaughter's Domain."

Tang San nodded.

Tang Hao walked to the door and glanced back at him.

"All right. Let's head to the back mountain first."

Tang San threw off the covers and got out of bed. His legs were still somewhat weak, and he braced himself against the edge of the bed for a while before slowly finding his footing.

The two left the wooden cabin and followed the path behind the village into the mountains.

The path up the back mountain was narrow, with dense brambles on either side that rustled as they scraped against their clothes.

Tang San followed behind Tang Hao, climbing one step at a time. His body had not fully recovered, and he began panting before even a quarter of an hour had passed.

Tang Hao slowed ahead of him, but did not stop.

After roughly another half an incense stick's worth of time, they reached a hollow in the back mountain.

Mountains enclosed the hollow on every side, with a level clearing at its center. Blue Silver Grass covered the clearing, each plant bearing slender leaves with a faint blue sheen.

Tang Hao walked to the center of the clearing, crouched, and reached out to part a clump of Blue Silver Grass.

His hand froze in midair.

Beneath the grass lay an excavated pit. It was shallow, roughly two feet deep, and the soil around its edges was still fresh and damp. The pit itself was completely empty.

Tang Hao's expression changed.

He instantly released his soul power to probe the surrounding traces.

The lingering traces were clear. Someone had been here and had left only recently. Two distinct sets of footprints remained, along with extremely faint fluctuations of soul power.

One of those fluctuations was profoundly familiar to him.

Bibi Dong.

There was another person's presence as well. Much fainter, but not unfamiliar.

Qin Chuan.

Tang Hao sprang to his feet.

"Tang San, go back and stay in the cabin."

Without another word of explanation, he flashed away, hurtling straight out of the hollow. Following the lingering traces, he pursued them at ever-increasing speed.

Tang San stood in the clearing, staring in the direction Tang Hao had vanished, his face full of confusion.

He lowered his head to look at the empty pit.

Someone had gotten there first and taken whatever had been buried inside.

Tang Hao had pushed his speed to its limit.

As a level ninety-five Titled Douluo flew at full speed, the woods raced backward on either side of him, branches and leaves shredded by the fierce winds of soul power surrounding his body.

He pursued them for a full half hour.

Their traces were growing stronger.

It was not just the presence of Bibi Dong and Qin Chuan, but also the soul power emanating from that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

He had remembered that presence for over a decade. He could never forget it, not even in his dreams.

It was something Ah Yin had left behind.

Everyone had already departed after leaving Spirit Hall. They all thought the turmoil had subsided and both sides had called a temporary truce.

Only Tang Hao knew that he would never swallow this bitter humiliation, much less stand by and watch Ah Yin's memento be taken away.

He pursued at breakneck speed. Just as he swept past a fork in a dense stretch of forest, two familiar figures suddenly darted out of a side path, meeting him head-on.

They were Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong, who had not gone far.

The two had intended to take a nearby route back. Seeing Tang Hao racing along as though his life depended on it, murderous fury surging around him and his expression utterly grim, they both stopped. He looked nothing like a man who considered the matter settled.

Gu Rong frowned slightly and asked, "Brother Tang, where are you going in such a hurry?"

Chen Xin also spoke in a low voice. "Yes, are you heading to the Star Dou Great Forest?"

Tang Hao did not stop, merely turning his head. "This isn't over. Qin Chuan has already left Spirit Hall and is far from Spirit City's protection."

His gaze was sharp as a blade as he said in a deep voice, "That brat has left Spirit Hall's stronghold. This is our best chance to kill him. Come with me!"

With that, Tang Hao said no more. He accelerated again, his figure becoming a black afterimage as he continued his frantic pursuit toward the strongest traces.

Chen Xin and Gu Rong exchanged a glance, hesitation on both their faces. In the end, however, they made their decision and followed close behind Tang Hao.

Tang Hao pursued them all the way from Holy Soul Village's back mountain to the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.

At the forest's edge, an open stretch of grass lay among the sparse trees.

Two people stood in the center of it.

Qin Chuan stood in front, holding something wrapped in cloth.

The bundle was small, about the size of a fist, but the fluctuations of soul power it emitted were extraordinarily strong.

Bibi Dong stood behind Qin Chuan, fully dressed in her Pope Robe, her Nine-Curved Purple Gold Crown gleaming coldly in the sunlight.

The two were about to leave.

"Stop!"

Tang Hao's voice thundered behind them.

He landed fifty paces away. The instant he touched down, the Clear Sky Hammer was already in his hand.

Behind him, Chen Xin and Gu Rong landed one after the other, taking positions to his left and right in a three-pronged formation. The two Titled Douluos slowly spread their soul power outward.

All nine of Tang Hao's Soul Rings blazed at once, their alternating black and red light washing the surrounding grass in shifting brightness and shadow.

At the same time, he activated his Martial Soul Avatar.

The Clear Sky Hammer rapidly expanded, swelling from its ordinary size to twenty feet long. Black patterns flowed ceaselessly across its head, and a crushing pressure spread in every direction.

His Divine Slaughter's Domain activated simultaneously.

A visible surge of dark red killing aura spread from beneath his feet, blanketing the ground.

But Tang Hao remained cautious.

He kept his distance at fifty paces, refusing to take even one more step forward.

The lesson he had learned in Spirit Hall's Council Hall not long ago had cut too deeply.

His body remembered the range of Qin Chuan's Game Domain.

As long as he did not step within its range, Qin Chuan could do nothing to him.