The killing intent went from formless to tangible. A moment later, its icy tide receded.
A sharp slap rang out.
Tang Hao slapped Xiao Yan out of his shock and threatened, "Remember what I told you today. If you ever dare join Spirit Hall, I will personally purge you from the Tang Family."
"Rest assured, no one will come to pick you up in three days."
With that, Tang Hao lifted the door curtain and left the Blacksmith Shop. No one knew where he was going.
Xiao Yan stood rooted to the spot, stunned. His face was expressionless, and a self-mocking smile curled his lips. He clenched his fists so tightly that his slightly sharp nails dug deep into his palms, sending piercing pain through him.
"Tang Hao, you've gone too far... I, Xiao Yan, will remember today's humiliation. Someone like you doesn't deserve to be my father."
Outside Holy Soul Village.
On a secluded country road, a Spirit Hall deacon was hurrying toward the next village to awaken the children's Martial Souls.
Su Yuntao was thinking that once he finished awakening the Martial Souls of the children in the remaining villages, he would return to Holy Soul Village, pick up Xiao Yan, and take him to report to Spirit Hall. Then he would surely earn a promotion and marry Sisi. A delighted smile spread across his face.
"Heh." Just then, a cold chuckle froze the smile on his face.
"Who's there?" Su Yuntao demanded, a cold gleam flaring in his eyes.
At the same time, he immediately completed his Martial Soul possession. Two Soul Rings pulsed up and down around his body.
A tall, imposing figure stepped out from behind a large tree. He was a middle-aged man wearing a tattered robe covered in patches, with disheveled hair and bleary, sleepy eyes.
"Who are you?" Su Yuntao asked coldly.
The Man in Black did not answer his question directly, merely saying flatly, "Just an unknown blacksmith."
Hearing that the other man was a blacksmith, Su Yuntao greeted him with a smile. But in the very next instant, the Man in Black was already in front of him.
A scream rang out. Only a heap of mangled flesh remained on the ground.
That night, on the Back Mountain of Holy Soul Village.
The moon hung like a silver platter, and stars filled the sky.
Atop the cliff, Xiao Yan reclined on the grass with a blade of Blue Silver Grass between his lips. He chewed it gently, letting its faint bitterness spread through his mouth.
He raised his rather pale hand before his eyes and gazed through the gaps between his fingers at the enormous silver moon in the sky.
"Ugh..." The memory of Tang Hao's slap that day filled Xiao Yan with fury. He buried all ten fingers in his black hair and bit his lip hard, letting the faint taste of blood spread at the corners of his mouth.
"Tang Hao, I won't forget that slap. You won't let me join Spirit Hall? Then that's exactly what I'll do. I'm still young. As long as I devote myself to cultivation, I'll surpass you one day." Xiao Yan's voice was hoarse but resolute.
"Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west! Never look down on a youth because he's poor!"
Just then, a clear voice with a hint of aged strength rang out in Xiao Yan's mind:
"It's been many years, but your temperament hasn't changed at all."
"Who?" Xiao Yan spun around, his gaze sweeping behind him with an eagle's keenness, yet he found not a single soul...
"Stop looking. I'm the Martial Soul in your hand."
Just as Xiao Yan began to think it had all been an illusion, that familiar voice once again sounded in his mind, seemingly from nowhere.
Xiao Yan's pupils contracted. He slowly opened his right hand, and a dazzling, multicolored flame appeared in his palm.
"Are you the one speaking?" Xiao Yan felt that the voice was familiar and tried hard to calm himself.
"My name is Emperor Flame. In that other world, I was formed through the fusion of you and the Twenty-Two Heavenly Flames. You could say that you created me."
"Emperor Flame? I created you?" The name felt very familiar to Xiao Yan, but he could not remember where he had heard it.
"It seems you really don't remember anything. But there's no need to worry. I mean you no harm. Strictly speaking, I am you, and you are me. I wasn't born on this continent. I drifted here with your soul and only managed to awaken briefly after you awakened your Martial Soul." Seemingly sensing Xiao Yan's bewilderment, Emperor Flame patiently explained within his mind.
"You weren't born on this continent? Does that mean I don't belong to this continent either?" After a brief silence, Xiao Yan enunciated his question clearly.
"That's right. You belong to another plane. After your Flame Emperor Body shattered, you were unfortunate enough to be swept into a stream of space-time turbulence. Because of its interference, some of your memories from that world merged into me. Unfortunately, those memories were then scattered across the Douluo Continent along with the heavenly flame origin core flames."
"Space-time turbulence? My memories? Heavenly flame origin core flames?" Xiao Yan blinked in confusion, finding it all rather unbelievable.
"Then how can I recover my memories?" Xiao Yan continued.
"Your situation is very unusual. I am both Emperor Flame and the Martial Soul you now possess, but I lack the twenty-two origin flames. I have the name of Emperor Flame, but none of its substance."
"If you want to recover your memories and strength, your only option is to find the Twenty-Two Heavenly Flames that drifted to this continent with your soul, then devour and refine them."
"Heavenly flames? Origin core flames?" Xiao Yan faltered slightly. The terms felt both familiar and foreign to him.
"Only by obtaining the origin core flames of the heavenly flames can I unleash my true power. When that happens, forget a mere Tang Hao-even ten or a hundred Tang Haos won't be able to do anything to you," Emperor Flame said with a derisive chuckle.
"Since I don't belong to this world, how can I return to the world where I truly belong?" Xiao Yan voiced the question in his heart.
"Don't worry. Once you've gathered the Twenty-Two Heavenly Flames and recovered your memories and strength, you'll naturally be able to return to your world."
"All right, my soul power is almost exhausted. This is all I can tell you for now. Only after you obtain a heavenly flame's origin core flame will I be able to awaken again. From here on, you must walk the road yourself."
Emperor Flame's somewhat ethereal voice faded from Xiao Yan's hand.
The night had grown deep. Xiao Yan gazed silently at the bright moon in the sky. Perhaps, in that other world, he had family who loved him dearly!
Rather than someone like Tang Hao, who left him feeling so bitterly chilled.
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