Chapter 2

Lan Changsheng turned to stare at a masked figure in black by the roadside. Although Tang Hao had done his utmost to diminish his presence, a Titled Douluo's powerful vitality had nowhere to hide from Lan Changsheng's perception.

Moreover, Lan Changsheng could clearly sense Ah Yin's aura on him!

"Tang Hao." Lan Changsheng appeared behind him and transmitted his voice to Tang Hao.

"Who!"

Lan Changsheng clamped a hand on the man as he prepared to rise. The pressure of someone one step short of godhood concentrated into a mass, pinning Tang Hao in place.

"This is..."

Tang Hao sensed that he could not match this power.

"Don't make a sound. You wouldn't want Spirit Hall to discover Ah Yin's seed, would you?

"And if you want Ah Yin to come back to life, follow me quietly."

Lan Changsheng headed out of the city first, but his aura remained locked on Tang Hao.

He wanted to ask this man whether he knew Ah Yin was a soul beast!

He wanted to ask this man why he had failed to protect his younger sister!

He wanted to ask this man whether Ah Yin had been afraid when she sacrificed herself!

He wanted to ask...

Following behind him, Tang Hao felt his scalp prickle. This powerful man could name him correctly and see through his concealment, yet he had no recollection whatsoever of the person before him!

He could not possibly have forgotten someone this powerful. And were his words true?

The two arrived at a grove outside Nuoding City.

Throughout the journey, Lan Changsheng had been wondering what about this man was worthy of Ah Yin's affection, especially when he saw Tang Hao's dispirited state.

A Level 95 Titled Douluo had reduced himself to a drunkard and raised his child like that. Lan Changsheng simply could not understand it.

Perhaps Tang Hao was the sort who stopped caring about anything once his beloved was gone.

The more Lan Changsheng thought, the angrier he became. The Blue Silver Grass beside him gently touched his fingertips, conveying comforting words with its limited consciousness.

Lan Changsheng walked aimlessly like this, keeping his back to Tang Hao the entire time.

Wherever he passed, the surrounding Blue Silver Grass swayed freely, growing taller at a speed visible to the naked eye. It bowed slightly toward Lan Changsheng, as though whispering, as though paying homage.

Tang Hao found the scene somewhat familiar as he watched the figure with silver hair and silver robes embroidered all over with intricate blue patterns, surrounded by Blue Silver Grass the whole way.

Over the past six years, he had grown accustomed to hiding himself and suppressing his aura, but the moment this man discovered him, he knew he could no longer hide.

The sensation of that aura settling on him was like the weight of an entire continent pressing down. Unlike Qian Xunji, against whom he could still stake his life in a desperate fight, this man gave him the feeling that resistance was impossible.

He took a deep breath and steadied his turbulent heartbeat, but still lost his composure first and asked the questions he wanted answered.

"How did you know Ah Yin was with me? And did you mean what you said about bringing Ah Yin back?"

Lan Changsheng stopped. Moonlight cast dappled tree shadows onto his silvery-white robes, making him appear aloof from the world and cold.

Rather than answer Tang Hao's questions, he asked, "What level were you when Ah Yin sacrificed herself?"

Hearing Ah Yin's name once again, Tang Hao clenched his fists beneath his black robes, his arms trembling. "I had only just reached Level 90 then. Ah Yin... after Ah Yin sacrificed herself, I gained my ninth Soul Ring and broke through to Titled Douluo..."

Lan Changsheng cut him off. "So, what did you do?"

At those words, Tang Hao dejectedly unclenched his fists. His old injuries ached faintly. He did not know why this man was asking these questions.

Tang Hao wanted to say that he and Ah Yin had been surrounded and attacked by three Titled Douluos, two of whom could even unleash a Martial Soul Fusion Skill.

He wanted to say that he had risen to fight them despite not yet being a Titled Douluo.

He wanted to say that Qian Xunji's Angel Holy Sword had pierced his chest, that he had smashed his Clear Sky Hammer viciously into Qian Xunji.

But he knew Lan Changsheng was asking more than whether he had fought. "I... I failed."

Tang Hao's head drooped helplessly.

"Was this the sort of man Ah Yin fell in love with?"

Hearing those words hurt Tang Hao more than Qian Xunji's Angel Holy Sword piercing his chest.

His hands clenched abruptly, his Soul Power surged, and the Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his grasp. Two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red Soul Ring rose from beneath his feet, circling his body from bottom to top as halos of different colors flowed.

His voice seemed to squeeze through his teeth. "What right do you have to say that?"

Even the air churned with the fluctuations of his Soul Power, pressing toward Lan Changsheng.

But before it could touch Lan Changsheng, the surrounding Blue Silver Grass absorbed it. Not a trace reached him.

"What right? You have the nerve to ask me what right I have!"

Lan Changsheng stepped forward. A crack spread from beneath his foot toward Tang Hao, and the surrounding Blue Silver Grass spontaneously formed a grass dragon that roared as it charged at Tang Hao.

Tang Hao swung the Clear Sky Hammer backhanded. His first Soul Ring lit up, and the pitch-black Clear Sky Hammer flashed with red light as it smashed toward the charging Blue Silver Grass dragon.

But the hammer struck without a sound. The grass dragon scattered upon contact, turning into an impenetrable net. Though the Clear Sky Hammer dented it inward, it dissipated all the force.

Lan Changsheng's hand passed through it and pressed against the Clear Sky Hammer.

Countless strands of Blue Silver Grass spread from his fingertips, wrapping around the Clear Sky Hammer layer upon layer.

"Soul beasts haven't fully taken human form before Level 70. Ah Yin spent so long with you. If you'd paid a little more attention, how could you have failed to notice!" Lan Changsheng increased the force in his hand, forcing Tang Hao a step back.

Humiliated into anger, Tang Hao bent his legs to brace himself, the muscles in his arms bulging. Two more Soul Rings lit up behind him before he steadied himself. "That was because I wasn't even a Soul Douluo then. It was only natural that I couldn't tell!"

"You couldn't tell? As an heir to the Clear Sky Douluo title, how many soul beasts have you hunted? Could you really not tell the difference between a soul beast in human form and a human?

"Even if it was because you'd never seen a soul beast that chose to become human, did you never suspect anything when Ah Yin obtained her Soul Rings differently from you? When you hunted soul beasts, did none of you ever notice Ah Yin's expression?

"You chose to ignore it because you were afraid. You were afraid that once you knew the answer, Ah Yin would leave you!"

Lan Changsheng advanced a step with each sentence, forcing Tang Hao to retreat again and again, even though six of his Soul Rings were already lit.

The Blue Silver Grass all around swayed freely against the impact of the Soul Power, rejoicing, reveling!

Tang Hao was forced back against a tree, its trunk creaking behind him. "That was... that was because..."

"Because of what! Wasn't it simply because you were clinging to luck, wondering if you were imagining things? Thinking that even if Ah Yin really was a soul beast, nothing would go wrong with your strength and the Clear Sky Sect's influence!" The Blue Silver Grass under Lan Changsheng's control had already wound around Tang Hao's arms.

"I... I..." As though something had struck home, Tang Hao's face gradually paled, cold sweat pouring out as the Soul Power glow on the Clear Sky Hammer flickered.

"Ah... no! That's not true!"

Tang Hao recalled the Clear Sky Hammer, making the Blue Silver Grass wrapped around his arms suddenly slacken, and broke free of its restraints.

The seventh Soul Ring circling his body lit up, and the Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his hand.

"I said that's not how it was! Martial Soul Avatar!"