Just as Tang San was at a loss for what to do,
"I never expected to find a half-demon here. Granny is truly surprised."
"Who's there?!" Su Mingyue spun around, only to see a brightly dressed old woman standing behind her. She had no idea when the woman had appeared.
Behind the old woman lay several Primordial Sect disciples who had already collapsed and could no longer get up.
"When did you get here?!" Su Mingyue's face was full of shock. She was at Golden Core Perfection, yet she had failed to sense the slightest trace of the woman's presence. She did not even know when the disciples had fallen.
"Little girl, you're that old fellow Yan Song's disciple, aren't you?" The old woman recognized Su Mingyue's identity with a single glance.
"Don't worry. I, Granny Baihuaxiang, have no intention of making an enemy of the Primordial Sect within its territory. I merely put them to sleep." Baihuaxiang spoke calmly, but Su Mingyue did not lower her guard.
"You're the Hundred Flowers Demon Saint?!" Su Mingyue repeated the name, looking at Baihuaxiang in surprise.
Baihuaxiang was a demon cultivator at the Early Nascent Soul Stage and the clan leader of the Flower Demon Clan in the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons.
The Primordial Sect was situated within the Great Qin Dynasty, while the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons bordered the dynasty. The two had always kept out of each other's way, like well water and river water. Su Mingyue had never expected Baihuaxiang to appear in this desolate city.
"Are the Primordial Sect's disciples all so ill-mannered these days? You don't even know to address me as senior." Baihuaxiang frowned slightly, looking displeased.
"Hundred Flowers Demon Saint? Could she be a Soul Saint?" someone among the people of the Douluo Continent wondered as they watched Baihuaxiang's sudden appearance.
But someone beside him quickly retorted, "What are you thinking? That's another world. How could their seniority and standing be judged by the standards of our world?"
"Judging by that woman's reaction, she must be some big shot. But what's a demon?" someone asked in confusion.
Everyone knew that "saint" was a title of respect, but they had no idea what "demon" meant. There were no records of a demon race on the Douluo Continent.
"Demon-could it mean a Soul Beast?" Others might not know Tang San's circumstances, but how could Tang Hao not know?
Tang San was the child born to him and Ah Yin, and Ah Yin was a transformed Soul Beast. The woman had just called Tang San a half-demon, which should mean that Tang San was half demon.
Tang Hao was not the only one who understood. Ning Fengzhi, Bibi Dong, and the others who knew Tang San's background also grasped the meaning.
"If I'm not mistaken, this 'demon' should mean a Soul Beast," Ning Fengzhi said. Under everyone's puzzled gazes, he slowly recounted what had happened back then.
"Tang San is actually the child born from the union of Tang Hao and a transformed Soul Beast-that is, a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast."
The moment those words came out, all the Soul Masters present looked at one another. A hundred-thousand-year transformed Soul Beast was a legendary rarity on the continent. How could one have anything to do with Tang San?
Ning Fengzhi continued, "More than ten years ago, Spirit Hall sent a large number of experts to hunt down a transformed Blue Silver Emperor. That Blue Silver Emperor was the beloved of the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao."
"With no way out, the Blue Silver Emperor sacrificed herself to Tang Hao, directly helping him break through several levels to become a Titled Douluo."
"Tang Hao used the Clear Sky Sect's secret technique, Ring Detonation, to kill Spirit Hall's previous Pope, Qian Xunji. Then he took his newborn child into seclusion, and his whereabouts became unknown."
"I think the Hundred Flowers Demon Saint called Tang San a half-demon because he was born from the union of a human and a Soul Beast. The word 'demon' means a Soul Beast."
Some hot-blooded young Soul Master in the crowd blurted out without thinking, "Then isn't he a bastard born of a human and a Soul Beast?"
As soon as he said that, quite a few people burst out laughing.
Yu Xiaogang's already flushed face instantly turned the color of purple pig liver. He practically leaped up, pointed at the Soul Master who had spoken, and cursed him out.
"How dare you! You're spouting utter nonsense! Even if Blue Silver Emperor blood flows through Tang San's veins, he has never done the slightest thing to harm the continent in all his life!"
"He's my most outstanding disciple! If you dare smear and slander his reputation again, I, Yu Xiaogang, will be the first to make you pay!"
He trembled all over with anger, no longer caring about maintaining the dignity he usually displayed as Grandmaster. Flender and Liu Erlong hurried over to pull him back by the arms, but the looks cast their way by the people around them were all subtly uncomfortable.
Many Soul Masters who had once regarded Tang San as the continent's future hope now looked at his bedraggled figure in the sky screen with an estrangement they could not shake.
After all, the conflict between humans and Soul Beasts was impossible to resolve. It was a conflict between races, and as the product of a union between a human and a Soul Beast, Tang San would naturally face many a cold look.
Meanwhile, in Spirit Hall's Worship Hall, Qian Daoliu, who had been wearing a cold expression, suddenly went rigid in his chair.
He had guarded Spirit Hall for most of his life, and his only son, Qian Xunji, was the person he had cherished most in the world.
Back then, Qian Xunji had led a group to hunt down the transformed Blue Silver Emperor. It should have been a simple matter, but no one had expected things to turn out that way. It was a pain Qian Daoliu would carry in his heart forever.
Now, Tang San's identity had brought the matter to mind, and a dull ache stirred in his heart. His gaze toward Tang San grew increasingly hostile.
"That accursed bastard!"
Bibi Dong, however, did not care about the matter. Instead, after learning that Baihuaxiang's true form was also a Soul Beast, she was even more surprised by her.
"Are even Soul Beasts this powerful in another world?"
"From what the elder said, does there seem to be something special about this half-demon?" Bibi Dong looked curiously at the sky screen.
"Senior Baihua, what brings you here?" Su Mingyue changed the way she addressed Baihuaxiang as she looked at her, secretly activating a talisman to prepare to inform the sect about Baihuaxiang.
Sect cultivators naturally had ways to contact their sect when they were away from home.
Baihuaxiang had clearly seen through Su Mingyue's intentions, but she did not stop her. After all, if she made a move, it would be no different from offending the Primordial Sect.
This was within the Primordial Sect's jurisdiction. If she offended the sect, the other old demons of the Forest of Ten Thousand Demons would not help her; she would be lucky if they did not drop stones on her while she was down.
"Little girl, don't worry. I said I don't intend to offend the Primordial Sect. I have only one purpose: hand this half-demon over to me."
As she spoke, Baihuaxiang looked at Tang San with great interest. "Granny has never seen a mixed-blood of human and demon before. I'm truly curious."
Tang San's eyes lit up at those words. Although he did not know what the old demon woman wanted to do with him, it seemed he would not have to hand over his cultivation technique or die. Hope immediately appeared in his eyes.
"Well? Hand him over to Granny, and I'll leave at once. I won't linger." Baihuaxiang looked at Su Mingyue.
Seeing Su Mingyue hesitate, Baihuaxiang's expression changed slightly. "Little girl, Granny has never spoken so pleasantly to a Golden Core cultivator before. You're the first. I advise you to think carefully before you speak."
Su Mingyue composed herself and answered, "Senior Baihua, this man has many lives on his hands. As a true disciple of Law Enforcement Peak, how could I let someone like him walk away before my eyes? Forgive me, but I must refuse."