"You know me?"
Tom looked startled at having his true name exposed, and much of his hostility faded.
By then, Tom had withdrawn from his Martial Soul Avatar state, and its side effects began to show.
All his attributes had fallen by fifty percent. On top of that, Tom was an Evil Soul Master who cultivated by devouring toxins.
Even though he had not cultivated that way in recent years, the backlash still descended upon him like karmic retribution.
As a result, Tom could not even use his martial soul.
If he invoked Martial Soul Possession now, the poison would flare up and kill him.
"My teacher, Yu Xiaogang, once studied a little pharmacology under you. But don't misunderstand-I'm not going to let you go."
His muffled voice came through his faceplate as Tang San studied Tom and the Calamity Flower Demon beside him. That was the source of the Five-Stone Powder.
No wonder its toxicity was so potent. The raw ingredient had been right here all along.
The Calamity Flower Demon had fully grown into human form, resembling a gentle woman. She was not particularly beautiful, but there was something about her as soft as flowing water.
It was easy to feel fond of her.
"Beautiful, isn't she? This is my wife, Annie..." Tom smiled dreamily, but as he thought of the ending that awaited him, that smile gradually turned bitter and resigned.
Tang San sighed softly at the sight. This man had gone mad.
Still, out of respect for that love, Tang San tossed him a black pearl.
"This... is a water-aligned yin poison?"
Tom caught the Poison Spirit Pearl, looking somewhat surprised. This was precisely the final ingredient he had been searching for, the one that could transform his wife into a hundred-thousand-year soul beast.
"That's right. It's a deadly poison to you, but it can also help your wife reach the hundred-thousand-year level."
Tang San had discerned what modifications the Calamity Flower Demon had undergone, which poisons had been used to accelerate her growth, and what she still lacked.
As luck would have it, the Poison Spirit Pearl in his hand could serve that purpose.
And it was also a lethal poison specifically suited to Tom.
The Jade Phosphorous Five Poisons were the Jade Phosphorous Scorpion, Jade Phosphorous Serpent, Jade Phosphorous Toad, Jade Phosphorous Centipede, and Jade Phosphorous Gecko.
They corresponded respectively to metal, wood, water, fire, and earth.
The Jade Phosphorous Toad belonged to water, so its poison was like water that "moistened all things silently"-slow, yet deadly.
This Poison Spirit Pearl had been formed by a Dewdrop Spirit Clam over countless days of swallowing impurities and harmful substances in the water. It was deadly poison to anything aligned with water.
"You now have two choices. First, swallow the Poison Spirit Pearl. It'll give you a quick death."
"Second, use it on your wife and turn her into a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. Then Miss Qian Renxue over there, who's having a wonderful time playing around, will suddenly spring into action and hack us all to pieces."
"Little Tang San, you certainly have a sharp eye. You could tell I was only pretending to be poisoned?"
Qian Renxue's voice came from behind him, curiosity in her tone.
Tang San sighed. Of course. If the wielder of an angel martial soul could be controlled by Five-Stone Powder, then he could kill a Titled Douluo with Blue Silver Entanglement.
"When I was treating you, I noticed that although you'd withdrawn your martial soul, your soul power remained steady, and your armor stayed on guard."
"Besides, Sister Qian Renxue, you're brilliantly clever and always cautious. How could you fall for something like that so easily?"
Taking advantage of his young age, Tang San smiled and put on a cute act for Qian Renxue.
Qian Renxue smiled, clearly pleased.
Her senses had detected Tang San's actions long ago. Since he was Grandmaster's disciple, she had wanted to see what he intended to do.
She had never expected to witness such a juicy revelation.
She knew Tang San was not planning to turn against them. He was merely offering the man a little comfort before his death.
Thus, Qian Renxue would not interfere. She also had a secret mission of her own. Her moth... the Pope had said this mission would aid the crackdown on Five-Stone Powder, and that she should pay close attention.
"...Heh." Tom laughed at himself. So his retreat had been cut off long ago. That woman had been hiding her true strength all along.
An angel martial soul was the bane of Evil Soul Masters. He had felt something was wrong earlier when he had actually been able to trade blows with her evenly.
The only reason he was still breathing was that Qian Renxue wanted to give the other young people some experience.
Now, the choice seemed to lie in his hands, but either way, he would die.
"So hurry up and decide, Evil Soul Master. Will you end your own life, or let me purify you?"
Facing an Evil Soul Master, Qian Renxue's expression turned cold and stern. Whatever tragic story he might have, his death was already sealed.
A force of Wolf Bandits that large could not have been created with a mere flick of the fingers. The cave was filled with resentment.
Considering how the Wolf Bandits bred and survived, it was easy to imagine how many innocents had suffered at Tom's poisonous hands.
"...Blue-haired boy, there's a laboratory of mine somewhere in this cave. Take your time finding it. All the knowledge I've gathered throughout my life is in there."
Understanding his fate, Tom spoke through gritted teeth.
After all, Tang San was one of the few who knew what he had been like before his fall. He might as well leave the boy an opportunity.
"Annie..."
As these thoughts ran through his mind, tears streamed down Tom's face. That he had failed to see the moment his beloved returned to life was a pain that pierced his heart.
Then he immediately swallowed the Poison Spirit Pearl.
"Croak! I can't accept this!"
But he did not stop there. With a roar, Tom lunged toward the Calamity Flower Demon and kissed the flower demon who had grown into Annie's likeness.
He poured out his regrets and his love.
Along with all his soul power and the medicinal potency of the Poison Spirit Pearl.
"Tom..."
A terrifying presence surged out of the cave, sending a shudder through Hu Liena and the others outside.
A hundred-thousand-year soul beast-the Calamity Flower Demon!
Tang San and Qian Renxue immediately went on guard, but she did not attack. Instead, with clear awareness, she looked at Tom, who had breathed his last.
Her eyes were filled with tenderness and sorrow.
"Please don't worry. I won't hurt you. Tom had fallen so far, and you were the ones who gave him release."
The Calamity Flower Demon-no, Annie!
Her consciousness had awakened, and she quickly grasped the situation, for her soul had been trapped inside this body all these years.
The reason it had neither dissipated nor become twisted was that Tom had expressed his love to her every day, apologizing and repenting for his past mistakes.
Annie had desperately wanted to answer, but the realm of a ten-thousand-year soul beast had not been enough to let her respond. Yet now that she had reached the hundred-thousand-year level, Tom was already dead.
Tang San and Qian Renxue were stunned. Tom had actually succeeded in resurrecting his beloved by letting her possess a soul beast!
Sadly, Virus would never see it. This was karmic retribution. Having harmed so many innocents, he had no fortune left to enjoy this hard-won happiness.
But perhaps the true spirit belonging to Tom himself could witness this scene from heaven.
Tang San could not help thinking rather sentimentally that good was rewarded with good, and evil with evil. What a simple principle.
Yet good and evil could always shift with changing perspectives and the passage of time.
He believed Virus did not deserve happiness, yet he still hoped Tom himself could find solace for his soul.
"Calamity... no, Miss Annie, do you know what state you're in now?"
Qian Renxue was not as sentimental as Tang San. She intended to obtain more information from Annie.
Information about Tom-about Virus himself.
"All right. I'll tell you what I know."
Annie recounted the past, her face filled with anguish and remorse.
"If I'd been a little more resolute and patient back then, perhaps things wouldn't have come to this."
"That's everything I know. You should be able to find the rest in my darling's diary. He once told me that if he died before completing his work, that diary would be proof he had existed."
"Now, farewell, both of you. I'm going to follow Tom."
Tang San's hands tightened, but he still chose not to say anything.
Qian Renxue noticed Tang San's emotions, then made her own judgment.
"Very well. I won't reveal your existence, and I hope you can have your wish."
"Thank you, my lady angel." Annie smiled and nodded, then gathered her power.
A powerful magnetic field erupted, but it was not directed at anyone.
An existence like Annie was truly shocking, and Qian Renxue knew she would inevitably become an object of research.
Out of sympathy for her tragic fate, Qian Renxue allowed Annie to take her own life.
Even if she had not actively harmed anyone, a hundred-thousand-year Calamity Flower Demon was, by its very nature, an evil second only to a ten-thousand-year Man Faced Demon Spider.
Tempting others in mind and body, then devouring them, was this kind of soul beast's instinct.
And since Annie herself no longer wished to live, Qian Renxue granted her wish.
Looking at the red soul ring before them, Qian Renxue nudged Tang San with her elbow.
"Little Tang San, this soul ring has no owner. You're already at level thirty. Aren't you tempted?"
"No. A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and a soul bone are certainly tempting, but the love and regrets between Tom and Annie compel me to respect them."
Tang San shook his head. "But I won't bind others with my own standards. If you want that soul bone, Sister Qian Renxue, I won't stop you."