Ah Yin nestled gently in Tang Hao's arms, reluctant to part with the tenderness and care this man gave her.
A long time passed like this. Only when the moon rose in the west did Ah Yin reluctantly straighten up and sigh.
"But if we go straight to the Clear Sky Sect like this, will your grandfather and the elders of your clan really accept me, and the child in my belly?"
"I'm a Soul Beast, after all. I'm different from you. They'll probably be furious, won't they? Ah Hao, I'm not afraid of being discriminated against by humans, but I'm afraid of bringing trouble to you and the Clear Sky Sect."
Hearing this, Tang Hao stroked Ah Yin's smooth, long hair with aching tenderness, his voice firm.
"Ah Yin, listen to me."
He cupped Ah Yin's face, making her meet his gaze.
"Are humans inherently nobler than Soul Beasts? What absurd reasoning! Although you're a Hundred-Thousand-Year Blue Silver Emperor, how are you any different from a human after taking human form? You have feelings and thoughts. You understand loving and being loved. You're countless times nobler than those humans who wear a mask of righteousness!"
"Haven't we seen enough on our journey? Why did those Spirit Hall fellows attack us without cause? Wasn't it all for Soul Rings? They're utterly selfish, stopping at nothing to grow stronger, even trying to kill an innocent Soul Beast like you."
"Their hearts are filthier than those of any Soul Beast."
Tang Hao's voice gradually grew impassioned. The more he spoke, the more worked up he became, his words lofty and high-sounding.
"But you? Ah Yin, although you're a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast, you've never harmed an innocent life. You're kind and pure. For my sake, you willingly gave up a peaceful life to brave danger with me."
"In my heart, you're not a Soul Beast. You're my wife, Tang Hao's wife, and the mother of my child!"
Ah Yin's eyes instantly brimmed with tears. She buried her head deep against Tang Hao's chest, savoring this man's strong, powerful heartbeat as tears slipped down silently.
"Ah Hao..."
Her voice caught with sobs. With these words from Tang Hao, all the hardship and wandering of their journey turned into a swell of emotion at this moment.
Tang Hao gently patted her back, letting her lean against him more comfortably.
"As for Grandfather and the sect..."
He paused.
"I know them. Those elders of the sect will put on a furious front and say a few things for the outside world to hear."
"Grandfather will probably make a show of scolding me, too. After all, he's the sect master. When his own grandson does something like this, he has to put on a proper front."
At this point, Tang Hao's tone grew a little lighter.
"But ultimately, we're all family. The child in your belly carries the Clear Sky Sect's bloodline. That's my own flesh and blood."
"Blood is thicker than water. They understand that better than anyone. If Spirit Hall comes knocking, they won't stand by and do nothing."
"In just one more day, we'll be through the Clear Sky Sect's gates. By then, everything will be settled, and there'll be nothing Spirit Hall can do."
A sharp gleam flashed through his eyes.
"The Clear Sky Sect's sect-protecting formation was laid down through the countless painstaking efforts of generations of our ancestors. It uses the whole of Clear Sky Peak as its foundation, gathering the power of heaven and earth. Once activated, not even several Titled Douluos working together could hope to break through!"
"Besides, Qian Xunji probably doesn't have the guts to let things turn that ugly. The Upper Three Sects are branches of the same tree. If he dares attack the Clear Sky Sect outright, he'll be making an enemy of all the Upper Three Sects!"
"If he weren't wary of that, with his prejudice against the Clear Sky Sect, Qian Xunji would have torn away all pretense years ago."
He tightened his embrace around Ah Yin, his voice turning gentle again.
"Trust me. I'll arrange everything. Our Little San will be born safely."
Tang Hao had already sketched out a picture of the future in his mind: their child growing up happily in the Clear Sky Sect, just like an ordinary human child.
No one would make his child suffer the slightest grievance!
But just as Tang Hao was immersed in his visions of the future,
alarm bells blared in his heart!
An overwhelming sense of mortal danger exploded from the depths of his soul, making every hair on his body stand on end!
"Look out! Dodge!"
Almost through muscle reflex alone, Tang Hao kicked off the ground and shot several meters sideways!
Boom!
A dazzling ice-blue arrow of light tore through the night sky, instantly blasting the spot where he had just stood with devastating force!
The entire valley shook violently. Broken stones flew, dust and smoke surged skyward, and a deep crater was blasted into the ground in an instant!
Shielding Ah Yin, Tang Hao rolled repeatedly, evading the flying rubble. Then he sprang to his feet and swept out his right hand. The Clear Sky Hammer instantly appeared, a fierce blaze of Soul Power surging wildly over its body.
"Who's there?!"
Tang Hao demanded harshly, his eyes bloodshot. Had he not reacted fast enough to that strike, he, Ah Yin, and their unborn child would already have been corpses!
"Oh? Now that's rather interesting."
A languid female voice drifted down from the night sky, carrying a hint of amusement.
"A mere Soul Douluo actually managed to evade my attack unscathed. Although it was only a casual shot, that's still quite remarkable."
"It seems the intelligence reports claiming you have considerable strength weren't entirely empty boasting."
As soon as the words fell, a petite figure descended from the sky, landing lightly on a boulder at the edge of the valley.
Her left eye was covered in ice, lending her entire face an especially uncanny beauty. Waist-length silver-white hair fluttered in the night breeze, and together with her equally snow-white lashes, she looked as though she had just walked out of a land of ice and snow.
She stood on one foot atop the pointed rock. Around her, nine Soul Rings pulsed slowly: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!
A Titled Douluo!
And the most terrifying kind, one who specialized in killing from afar!
Tang Hao's heart instantly sank to rock bottom.
"You're from Spirit Hall?!"
Titled Douluos were among the handful of powerhouses on the entire continent, and only Spirit Hall bore a clear grudge against him.
Damn it, they caught up so quickly! They actually found our secret base!
Tang Hao shifted sideways to shield Ah Yin behind him, ready to fight to the death at any moment.
Seeing this, Light Feather Douluo stretched lazily and said teasingly,
"I'm truly sorry if I interrupted you two lovebirds."
"But you've really opened my eyes. To think a human and a Soul Beast really could get together. You're quite something."
"Unfortunately, though I'd normally be quite happy to have a chat with you, right now, I'm afraid you're certain to die."
As soon as she finished speaking, she balanced on one leg and raised the other high across her body. A longbow inlaid with ice-blue patterns took shape between her legs. This time, the ice-blue arrow of light on its string shone even more brilliantly than before, and even the surrounding space began freezing inch by inch!
The alarm bells in Tang Hao's heart instantly rose to their highest pitch!
That oppressive sense of death was several times stronger than before!
This arrow was a true killing move!
"Guang Ling, that's cheating!"
Just then, Demon Subduing Douluo's laughing voice came from the side: