Tang Hao turned his gaze to Xiao Yan and said with great confidence, "Yan, Old Jack told me earlier that people from Spirit Hall would come to take you away in a few days. I imagine your martial soul must be a hammer too, right?"
Tang San's martial soul was Blue Silver Grass, so naturally, no one paid him much attention. After Xiao Yan awakened his martial soul, however, he had caught the attention of Spirit Hall.
Given Tang Hao's understanding of this world, there was only one possibility: Xiao Yan's martial soul was the Clear Sky Hammer.
If it were Blue Silver Grass, Spirit Hall would never have taken an interest in him.
Before Xiao Yan could speak, Tang San answered first. "Dad, you guessed wrong. My brother's martial soul isn't a hammer or Blue Silver Grass. It's a strange kind of flame."
"What? A strange kind of flame?" For some inexplicable reason, upon hearing that Xiao Yan's martial soul was a flame, Tang Hao became utterly bewildered, unsure of what to do.
"Release it and let me see." Tang Hao froze for a moment before speaking, still half doubtful.
As soon as he finished speaking, Xiao Yan slowly raised his right hand. Multicolored light gathered in his palm, and in an instant, a rather peculiar flame appeared in his hand.
The magnificent flame burned at an extremely high temperature. Its terrifying heat caused the surrounding space to warp slightly. What surprised Tang Hao even more was that the flame in Xiao Yan's hand turned green one moment, milky white the next, then sea blue... It seemed to be a martial soul that had never been recorded before.
On the Douluo Continent, a person's martial soul was directly related to those of their parents. Under normal circumstances, they would inherit the martial soul of either their father or their mother.
There could be exceptions, of course. A degree of variability in the parents' martial souls could cause the child's martial soul to mutate.
But no matter how Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer mutated, they could not possibly turn into a flame martial soul.
Tang Hao could not make sense of it, no matter how hard he thought. Had Ah Yin secretly put a cuckold's green hat on his head back then? At that thought, his right fist clenched, and an intensely icy air appeared on his weathered face.
Just then, Tang San could not help saying, "Dad, the hammer in my hand is so heavy. I can't hold on much longer."
Hearing this, Tang Hao immediately released his arms. "Put it away."
The dark light dispersed, and the little hammer vanished from Tang San's hand.
A tangle of emotions crossed Tang Hao's face. He found it difficult to accept that Xiao Yan's martial soul was a flame. Only after a long while did he slowly speak:
"San, remember this. In the future, you must use the hammer in your left hand to protect the grass in your right. Remember-forever."
"As for you, Yan, from today onward, you'll cook all the meals at home by yourself. San won't need to cook anymore. I'm going to teach him forging."
At that moment, Tang Hao felt that Xiao Yan might very well not be his son. Whether Ah Yin had cuckolded him back then or not, he could not accept the reality that Xiao Yan's martial soul was Heavenly Flames.
Xiao Yan's martial soul being a strange flame was like a paternity test in modern society stating that Tang Hao was not Xiao Yan's biological father.
No man could accept that.
Thus, Tang Hao now felt intense disgust toward Xiao Yan.
"You want me to cook for both of you by myself?" Xiao Yan's gaze turned cold at those words. "Why should I!?"
Although Xiao Yan had temporarily lost his memories, he had been accustomed to wielding overwhelming power in his previous life. Though he had been born in a small mountain village in this life, the pride and unyielding spirit in his bones had never faded.
During these years since his rebirth, Xiao Yan had merely hidden that pride and defiance deep within him. That did not mean Tang Hao could bully him.
Make him cook for the whole family alone? What a joke!
Seeing Xiao Yan refuse, Tang Hao said nothing more. He simply rose and walked toward the inner room without looking back.
Too much of his sleeping time had already been wasted today.
Tang Hao did not want to expend much thought on a child who was not his own flesh and blood.
Just then, Xiao Yan spoke again. "There's absolutely no way I'll cook for both of you by myself. But none of that matters. People from Spirit Hall will come to get me in three days. If there's no room for me here, there'll be somewhere else that welcomes me!"
At those words, Tang Hao flew into a rage. He turned around, a cold gleam flashing through his eyes, and roared, "You unfilial brat! If you dare join Spirit Hall, I'll break your legs!"
"Heh." Xiao Yan sneered. He had not the slightest affection for this "father" of his, and said resolutely, "You spend every day dead drunk without trying to better yourself. Are you going to stop me from becoming a Soul Master too?"
"At least if I become a Soul Master, I'll have enough to eat!"
Seeing Xiao Yan dare to talk back to their father, Tang San's expression abruptly changed.
"Brother, how can you defy Father?"
Xiao Yan calmed himself for a moment, then argued, "San, is your brain not working? Since our earliest memories, has this man ever fulfilled his responsibilities as a father for even a single day? Someone who brings children into the world but doesn't raise them is unworthy of being called human. He has the title of our provider without ever actually providing for us. He can forget about ordering me around just because he's our father."
Hearing this, Tang Hao waved a hand at Tang San. "San, go outside first. I want to speak with Yan alone."
"Dad, but..." After a moment's hesitation, Tang San finally walked out of the Blacksmith Shop.
Only Xiao Yan and Tang Hao remained inside the Blacksmith Shop.
"Yan, I admit I haven't been a competent father in the past. But you absolutely cannot join Spirit Hall. Otherwise, I'll personally purge you from this family one day." Tang Hao stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes icy. His killing intent condensed into a chilling gleam that flashed past.
Perhaps because Xiao Yan might not be his biological son, Tang Hao was already harboring murderous intent toward him. He simply could not yet be sure whether the boy was his or not.
After all, Heavenly Flames had descended from the sky on the day the two children were born.
Perhaps that was why Xiao Yan's martial soul had mutated? Regardless, if Xiao Yan dared to join Spirit Hall, he would be touching Tang Hao's reverse scale-something Tang Hao would never permit.
"Whether I join Spirit Hall or not is none of your concern," Xiao Yan replied coldly, unmoved by Tang Hao's words.
Yet the instant his words fell, Tang Hao's pupils abruptly contracted.
In a flash, an intensely icy killing intent emerged from Tang Hao. Though it lacked any explosive force, it made Xiao Yan feel as though he had fallen into an ice cellar.
Every hair on his body stood on end.
Cold, sinister, evil, terrifying-a murderous aura powerful enough to make one tremble lunged at Xiao Yan like a savage giant beast.
Xiao Yan could clearly feel everything around him growing sluggish beneath that immense killing intent. The terrifying pressure nearly forced him to the ground.
Normally, Tang Hao could move and forge a chunk of iron weighing over a hundred jin without the slightest effort, despite being a chronic drunkard. Xiao Yan had already found all of that rather strange.
Now, judging by the pressure erupting from Tang Hao, Xiao Yan was even more certain that his so-called "father" was a powerful Soul Master, not some useless man who knew only how to drown himself in cheap ale.
Xiao Yan gritted his teeth, deeply bewildered. He did not understand why Tang Hao had reacted so strongly upon learning that he wanted to join Spirit Hall.
Could Tang Hao and Spirit Hall have a feud so deep that they could not live beneath the same sky?
P.S. Please send monthly votes and recommendation votes.
The next two chapters involve Heavenly Flames and memories, which makes them a little difficult to write. To maintain quality, I'll slow down updates today and tomorrow, posting just one chapter each day for now. Two chapters a day will resume the day after tomorrow!
Before you continue