"Is that really true?!"
At those words, Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Bone Douluo all wore expressions of shock.
After all, the sudden appearance of someone who had vanished for over a decade really did catch them off guard. What was more, this was no ordinary person, but Tang Hao!
Just how great a stir had that incident caused back then?
The Pope of Spirit Hall had been gravely wounded by the Clear Sky Sect's successor and died after treatment failed.
Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect, two of the continent's foremost powers, had stood at daggers drawn. Only when the Clear Sky Sect finally withdrew from the world and Tang Hao vanished without a trace had the matter subsided.
And now Gu Yang claimed to have discovered traces of Tang Hao. That truly was shocking.
Sword Douluo was the first to react.
"Gu Yang, could you have sensed it wrong? Tang Hao had already entered the Titled Douluo realm back then. After all these years, with his talent, his strength is probably beyond measure. If he wanted to hide, how could you possibly discover him?"
After all, having hammered the Pope of that time to death, Tang Hao's entry into the Titled Douluo realm was common knowledge across the continent. Otherwise, he would not have deserved the title of His Excellency Haotian.
Moreover, Tang Hao was the continent's youngest Titled Douluo. The caliber of his talent needed no further explanation.
"Grandpa Jian, I didn't actually discover Tang Hao himself. I deduced it."
"Deduced it?"
"Yes, because I discovered Tang Hao's son! His son also entered Shrek Academy this time. I could sense a powerful expert watching from the shadows, so I suspect that expert is Tang Hao!"
"Tang Hao's son? You little brat, how does any of that follow? Since when did Tang Hao have a son?" Bone Douluo was completely lost.
Sword Douluo also frowned slightly, not quite understanding.
Ning Fengzhi, on the other hand, looked interested and asked with a smile, "Oh? Then tell us, Gu Yang. How did you discover and determine that the child who entered Shrek Academy with you was Tang Hao's son, and then conclude that Tang Hao was by his side?"
Gu Yang looked utterly confident as he said, "There are three reasons I concluded that child was Tang Hao's son!"
"First, his surname is Tang, and his name is Tang San. Second, his Martial Soul is the Clear Sky Hammer, but the Clear Sky Sect has sealed its mountain for a long time, so any Clear Sky Sect disciple outside can only be connected to Tang Hao. Third, his Martial Soul is Blue Silver Grass, and his age also matches. He's twelve this year, and exactly twelve years have passed since that incident!"
Bone Douluo was even more bewildered. "Wait, you said he was a Clear Sky Sect disciple with the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul. Why are you suddenly saying his Martial Soul is some damned Blue Silver Grass?"
Sword Douluo was somewhat puzzled as well.
Then Ning Fengzhi spoke calmly. "Gu Yang, are you saying that this person named Tang San has twin Martial Souls?"
At those words, Bone Douluo and Sword Douluo were thoroughly shaken as well.
Twin Martial Souls were far rarer than innate full Soul Power.
Across the entire continent, only twenty-odd people possessed twin Martial Souls.
The most famous wielder of twin Martial Souls at present was that person in Spirit Hall!
"But how could the Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Grass form twin Martial Souls?"
The conditions for twin Martial Souls to appear were extremely demanding. Usually, only when both parents had exceptionally powerful Martial Souls, neither capable of suppressing the other, did a child born of their union have a chance of awakening twin Martial Souls.
The Clear Sky Hammer's power was beyond question.
But what qualified Blue Silver Grass to stand alongside the Clear Sky Hammer, let alone appear in the same person?
Ning Fengzhi could not understand it at all either.
"Uncle Ning, Grandpa, Grandpa Jian, I happened to read a passage in the fourth section of volume nine of the sect's Clear Sky Secret Records."
"At the time, the previous sect master still led the Clear Sky Sect. Tang Xiao and Tang Hao went out to gain experience, making their names across the continent with their Clear Sky Hammers and earning the reputation of the Clear Sky Twin Stars."
Ning Fengzhi and the other two silently nodded. They had lived through that time and had heard of this.
"And according to the secret records, a woman accompanied them during their travels, and that woman's Martial Soul was Blue Silver Grass!"
"Later, Tang Xiao returned to the sect, leaving only Tang Hao and that Blue Silver Grass woman together. It would be perfectly natural for feelings to develop between them."
"The key is, why did Spirit Hall suddenly start hunting Tang Hao?"
Ning Fengzhi and the other two did not fully understand that either. They only knew that Tang Hao had severely wounded the Pope of the time, Qian Xunji, but they were not very clear on what had caused the conflict between them.
Everyone had been drawn to the outcome of their battle and instead overlooked the cause of their conflict.
"According to the information from that time, Spirit Hall and Tang Hao seemed to have been fighting over something," Ning Fengzhi said thoughtfully.
Gu Yang nodded. "You're right, Uncle Ning. The two sides did indeed fight over something, and the source of it was that Blue Silver Grass woman!"
"Oh? What was that Blue Silver Grass woman's background? What did she have that Spirit Hall coveted so much that they would even attack the Clear Sky Sect's successor?" At this point, Ning Fengzhi's interest was thoroughly piqued.
"Uncle Ning, it wasn't that the woman possessed some treasure Spirit Hall coveted. That Blue Silver Grass woman was herself a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast! A hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Grass!"
"A hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast?!" Ning Fengzhi and the other two instantly lost their composure and cried out.
Such was the shock a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast could cause!
Looking back, if things really were as Gu Yang said, then Spirit Hall launching a major assault on Tang Hao, despite his status as the Clear Sky Sect's successor, seemed perfectly reasonable.
After all, who could ignore the allure of a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast?
"And I suspect that by then, Tang Hao had already truly gotten together with that Blue Silver Grass woman. They might even have had Tang San."
"This would also explain why Tang San's Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul can coexist with his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul. Since his mother was a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Grass Soul Beast, it's understandable that his Blue Silver Grass would be somewhat special."
Naturally, Gu Yang could not say that she was the Blue Silver Emperor, because he had no source for the concept of the Blue Silver Emperor and could not make his story hold together.
As for everything else he had said, although he had not actually witnessed it himself, it was all true, so Gu Yang could state it openly now.
He believed that once the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect investigated, they would certainly be able to verify whether it was true.
"Holy shit, a human and a Soul Beast?"
"..."
This was rather too much to take in. Ning Fengzhi and the other two needed a moment.
Gu Yang continued, "I can even venture a bold guess that Tang Hao's ninth Soul Ring is currently a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, and he very likely also possesses a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone. At the very least, the Clear Sky Sect's two inherited Soul Bones are on him!"
At those words, a gleam appeared in the eyes of Ning Fengzhi and the other two.
Were the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect on good terms?
In the original story, that was because the Clear Sky Sect had sealed its mountain and withdrawn from the world for many years, with Tang San also mediating between them.
But before that, among the Upper Three Sects, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect supported the Heaven Dou Empire, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan remained neutral, and the Clear Sky Sect supported the Star Luo Empire.
So how could the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect possibly have been on good terms? Their relationship could be described as extremely delicate.
Hearing this, Ning Fengzhi considered only briefly before making his decision. "Uncle Jian, Uncle Gu, whether what Gu Yang said is true or false, it seems we need to make a trip in person."
"If it's true, then the Clear Sky Twin Stars should lose a star. After all, sealing their mountain doesn't mean they'll never come out."
Thinking of how the Clear Sky Sect had possessed two Titled Douluo at once back then, Ning Fengzhi felt considerable pressure.
All the more so if Tang Hao truly possessed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone. That would make him even more dangerous.
Moreover, Tang Hao himself was a walking treasure vault. Whether it was the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone or the Clear Sky Sect's two inherited Soul Bones, either was worth the trip.
"Gu Yang, return to Shrek Academy first and keep watch in secret. Be sure not to make it too obvious. We'll follow shortly," Ning Fengzhi said.
Gu Yang nodded at those words, then used his Fifth Soul Skill to return to Shrek Academy ahead of them.
"Fengzhi, how much truth do you think there is in what that little brat Gu Yang said? Could it really be Tang Hao?" Bone Douluo asked after Gu Yang left.
Ning Fengzhi let out a soft breath. "Uncle Gu, Gu Yang's words were well reasoned and supported. I'd say there's an eighty percent chance they're true!"
Sword Douluo smiled beside them. "Before, I only noticed Gu Yang's outstanding cultivation talent. I never expected him to be so clever, reaching such an astonishing conclusion from fragmentary information within the sect. He's no ordinary boy!"
Yet Ning Fengzhi smiled and shook his head. "Uncle Jian, the fourth section of volume nine of the sect's Clear Sky Secret Records contains nothing of what Gu Yang mentioned."
"Huh? Then he...? And you still believe him?"
Ning Fengzhi shook his head without speaking. He had long since noticed that Gu Yang was unusual; he simply had not exposed it.
After all, just as Bone Douluo had said, as long as they could be certain Gu Yang belonged to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, that was enough.
The more outrageous and astonishing Gu Yang was, the more brilliant and secure the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's future would be!