As Tang Shan revealed the two martial souls in her hands, Tang Hao froze mid-motion. Looking at the blade of Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer, his body slowly began to tremble.
"Ah Yin..."
He murmured softly. His angry gaze softened, and tears slipped from the corners of his eyes. He had thought of his beloved, the Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin. It was this Blue Silver Grass martial soul that had stirred his memories.
Looking at the weeping Tang Hao, Tang Shan also breathed a sigh of relief. Sure enough, Brother Lin Huan had been right. Awakening her martial soul truly was a crucial turning point that could change her entire life. Clearly, her father's attitude toward her had changed.
Just as Tang Shan thought she was safe, however, Tang Hao clenched his fists again. He had recalled all the unusual things about Tang Shan.
Clearly, his daughter had long since been possessed. If only Ah Yin had given birth to a son. Only a son could carry on the family line. If this child had been a boy, his son would have possessed twin martial souls and given him hope of taking revenge on Spirit Hall.
At the thought that everything that should have belonged to his son had been stolen by this possessed daughter, Tang Hao's eyes instantly turned red.
Slap!
The next instant, an exceptionally crisp sound rang out. Tang Shan felt a searing pain across her face, and her head involuntarily turned to the side.
The slap stunned her outright. Her mind went blank for a moment, and then Tang Hao's furious curses reached her ears.
"Why are you a girl! Why aren't you a boy! Why were you born! If Ah Yin hadn't been pregnant with you, she wouldn't have died! It's all your fault!"
Tang Hao's eyes were bloodshot, and he panted like an ox, roaring with a savage expression. He blamed everything on this monster that had possessed his daughter. In any case, she was merely a monster possessing his daughter, not his daughter herself. What did it matter to him whether she lived or died?
As his words fell, he suddenly lashed out with a kick. Sensing mortal danger, Tang Shan immediately activated Mysterious Jade Hand to protect herself, while using the Tang Sect secret art Controlling Crane Capturing Dragon to neutralize part of the attack.
Bang!
With a tremendous crash, Tang Shan flew out of the wooden house, smashing straight through the wooden wall before falling to the ground. Countless splinters scattered everywhere. Her back was instantly a bloody mess, her arms twisted at unnatural angles, and blood spurted from her mouth.
"It's all your fault! You jinx! You monster that possessed my daughter! You deserve to die!"
Tang Shan had no idea what had happened. Too much had happened in an instant for her to react, leaving her mind utterly blank. Then she saw two yellow, two purple, four black, and one scarlet, blood-colored soul ring appear beneath Tang Hao's feet.
"A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!"
For a moment, Tang Shan forgot her pain as she recalled the basic knowledge Brother Lin Huan had taught her. She had never imagined that her father was actually a powerful Titled Douluo!
Then came even more questions. Why did her father hate her so much? If he was so powerful, why had he fallen into such a wretched state, even needing her to support him? Why?
She had no answers to these questions. Then Tang Hao roared and brought the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand crashing down toward her.
Tang Shan remained on the ground, the pain leaving her without the slightest strength to resist. Watching the enormous hammer descend, she saw her life flash through her mind.
In her previous life, she had been taken in by members of the Tang Sect. They believed that women could never master the Tang Sect Secret Arts, and a Tang Sect elder had even assigned her to an inner disciple as a concubine.
To avoid becoming someone else's concubine, she had no choice but to prove her talent, successfully mastering the Tang Sect's secret techniques. Afterward, the Tang Sect hunted her down, and she ultimately leaped off Hell's Peak.
She had thought that after reincarnating, she could experience the familial affection she had never known in her previous life. Instead, reality had dealt her a crushing blow.
Throughout her life, she had never felt a father's love. If Grandpa Jack, the village chief, had not helped her out from time to time, she might have starved to death long ago.
Only two people had ever made her feel warmth. One was Old Jack, the village chief, and the other was Brother Lin Huan.
Just as those memories flashed through her mind like a revolving lantern, a figure in a luxurious white robe embroidered with golden thread appeared before her and reached out to catch the incoming hammer.
Rumble!
Fierce winds swept out, brushing against her face. She raised her head in a daze and saw that Lin Huan, whom she had been thinking of, had appeared before her, even catching the Clear Sky Hammer with effortless ease.
She stared blankly at the figure who had stepped in to save her. She had never imagined that the person who ultimately saved her would be a stranger she had met only once that afternoon.
Looking at the young man who had blocked his attack, shock flashed through Tang Hao's eyes. At the same time, intense terror swept through his heart. It was a fear from the depths of his soul, as though this person had tortured him to death countless times in his previous life.
"Who are you!"
Tang Hao shouted, then hurriedly retreated. His eyes filled with wariness as he gripped the Clear Sky Hammer and stared fixedly at the figure before him.
"Me? Heh... just a passing Kamen Rider."
Faced with his questioning, Lin Huan sneered, then revealed a playful expression. Haozi, oh, Haozi. You're the one pushing Shan'er into my arms. You can't blame me for this.
Then a scarlet soul ring appeared around Lin Huan. The moment Tang Hao saw it, his gaze grew solemn. A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring! It seemed this was another powerful Titled Douluo.
But the very next second, a second Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring slowly descended from above. Tang Hao's pupils instantly contracted, and his voice trembled.
"No! Your first and second soul rings are both Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings! How is that possible!"
He stared at the two blood-colored Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings around Lin Huan as though he had seen a ghost. But that was far from the end. A third and a fourth Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring descended.
The four scarlet soul rings bore down on Tang Hao's nerves. He looked as though he had witnessed something that shattered his entire worldview, his face filled with disbelief.
After the four Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings came orange-gold soul rings. Four orange-gold soul rings descended, followed by a final red-gold god-level soul ring.
The two types of soul rings Tang Hao did not recognize at all made his brain crash outright, leaving him speechless for a time. At the same time, Lin Huan drove the knife into his heart by returning his memories of his previous life.
At that moment, Tang Hao clutched his head and howled in agony, catching up on the whole show in a single second. Once he understood that the person before him was a First-Level Main God, his arrogance vanished.
He also turned his gaze toward the weakened Tang Shan. She was the starting point for his return to godhood, yet he had pushed that opportunity to the other man's side forever.
Under Tang Hao's astonished gaze, Lin Huan slowly turned around, crouched down, and gently reached out to help Tang Shan up. Then a bottle of instant healing potion appeared in his hand, and he crushed it.
Liquid splashed all over Tang Shan's face. It soaked into her wounds, letting her feel a tangible warmth.
"Brother Lin Huan..."
Tang Shan struggled to rise, tears slipping from the corners of her eyes. As though she had found someone to whom she could pour out her grievances, she staggered into his embrace, her body trembling nonstop.
"Don't be afraid. Scum like this are exactly who we beat up. Anyone who bullies little girls will be brought to justice!"
Looking at little Tang Shan, who had thrown herself into his arms with tear-filled eyes, Lin Huan's expression turned solemn. There was no one he despised more than people who bullied little girls.
Sure enough, he should have tortured Tang Hao to death a few more times before. Meanwhile, although Tang Hao was somewhat puzzled that his son had become a daughter, he knew exactly what that meant.
The father of the Sea God, the father of Asura, and the position of Plane Master-beneath one person and above hundreds of millions.
Question: Why didn't Tang Hao pay when he bought things in the Divine Realm?
Answer: Because he was the father of the Sea God, the father of Asura, and the father of Tang San-payment.
Explanation: "Father of" and "payment" sounded similar in Chinese, making it hard not to laugh.
Now, with his own hands, he had pushed away this position above countless millions, even pushing it into the arms of the person he currently hated most. At that instant, Tang Hao was so furious that his eyes turned bloodshot and he panted like an ox.
"Are you all right?"
Lin Huan reached out and gently stroked Tang Shan's red, swollen left cheek. Specks of divine power gathered, healing her.
Tang Shan felt only warmth. She could not help rubbing her cheek against his large hand, her eyes full of attachment.
"I'm all right... thank you, Brother Lin Huan."
She took the initiative to hold his large hand in both of hers, rubbing against it like a kitten. Having just experienced such drastic ups and downs, all she wanted now was an emotional anchor. Clearly, Lin Huan before her was precisely that anchor.
"Little San! I'm your father! Get over here! He's our enemy!"
Just then, a furious roar rang out. Both Lin Huan and Tang Shan turned to look, only to see Tang Hao roaring with a savage expression.
Faced with Tang Hao's savage roar, Tang Shan's eyes filled with fear. He had just tried to kill her, and that hideous expression terrified her. She could not help shrinking further into Lin Huan's embrace.
"Why are you yelling at a child? Venting on children is all you dare do, you useless thing."
Lin Huan scooped Tang Shan up and seated her on his arm. Then he circulated the divine power around him, turning it into countless gold-red chains that bound Tang Hao in place.
**"God of ! May you die a miserable death!"
Tang Hao angrily spoke Lin Huan's title, but those two characters were obscured. Throughout every area of the Douluo Realm, Star Luo Realm, Dou Ling Realm, Martial Soul Realm, and Abyss, including the gathering places of soul beasts-
Without his permission, no one could recite his name or reveal information about him. This was the underlying code he had established. Only beings above God Kings could forcibly utter his name.
"Little one, hit him back."
Holding Tang Shan, Lin Huan walked up to Tang Hao and stroked her head, indicating that she should hit him back.
"But... he's my father..."
Faced with this request, Tang Shan fell into a dilemma. Tang Hao was her father, after all, and a child striking their father was unfilial. Seeing this, Tang Hao also grew smug.
He knew how filial his child was. In their previous life, no matter how little concern he had shown for his child's survival, even making his child support him from the age of three, his child had never hated him.
He also knew that his child held thoroughly feudal beliefs: striking one's father was unfilial. Tang Hao was counting on precisely that.
"Then how can you be sure he's your father? For all you know, he might be a human trafficker who abducted you and brought you into these remote mountains and forests. After all, I've never seen a father treat his child this way."
Faced with Tang Shan's hesitation, Lin Huan immediately brought up some examples. After all, human trafficking was extremely common on the Douluo Continent.
Hearing these examples, Tang Shan felt as though wisdom had been poured straight into her head. Now it made sense. She had wondered why Tang Hao never cared whether she lived or died. So she was not his child after all.
"Nonsense! Little San is my child! Blood is thicker than water! Her Clear Sky Hammer martial soul is proof!"
Hearing Lin Huan interfere, Tang Hao instantly panicked. His past conduct had been so beastly-or rather, it had not resembled a human's conduct at all.
What adult made a child support them from the age of three? There was simply no explaining it. And Tang Shan had already become certain that this Tang Hao was the human trafficker who had abducted her and brought her here.
You wretched, innately evil human trafficker, Tang Hao! How dare you pose as my father! I see you already have a path to death!
In an instant, Tang Shan's gaze toward Tang Hao turned icy, her eyes brimming with killing intent. The thought that she had spent all these years calling an enemy her father made her feel sick.
"Go ahead. I'll back you up."
Lin Huan also noticed the look in the little girl's eyes as she sat on his arm, and immediately urged her to act.
At Lin Huan's instigation, Tang Shan raised her small hand without hesitation. A faint, pure-white jade glow rose from her palm, and then she struck down fiercely.
Slap!
A clear slap rang out as Tang Shan's palm struck Tang Hao's face without mercy.
Though it did little damage, it was immensely humiliating. This slap marked the beginning of her venting all her past grievances.
"You damned human trafficker! You still dare claim to be my father! I see you already have a path to death!"
As Tang Shan spoke, she slapped him again. Slap, slap, slap! Several slaps landed on Tang Hao's face in succession, stunning him outright. Clearly, he had never expected his daughter to actually strike him in such a heinously defiant manner.
"You unfilial son! You dare hit your father! This is unfilial! You unfilial son!"
Tang Hao once again attacked her on the grounds of being unfilial. He knew this mattered most to Tang Shan and intended to make her stop. But Lin Huan, never one to mind stirring up more trouble while watching the fun, said:
"Unfilial son? Little Shan, look. After all these years, he hasn't even figured out your sex. He's definitely a human trafficker."
After hearing this, Tang Shan's gaze grew even colder. Sure enough, he was a damned human trafficker.
Looking at Lin Huan sowing discord once again, Tang Hao was also beside himself with rage. His eyes bloodshot and his breath coming like an ox's, he roared as though he were about to breathe fire.
**"You bastard God of ! Stop sowing discord!"
Faced with Tang Hao's fury, Lin Huan grew even happier. Right in front of Tang Hao, he lowered his head, planted a kiss on Tang Shan's forehead, and said:
"Tang Hao, oh, Tang Hao. Even before she died, your daughter was still thinking of you as her father. I only mentioned your name, and she submitted."
As Lin Huan's ambiguous words fell, Tang Hao felt as though a bull were bellowing beside his ears. He nearly ground his teeth to pieces. Why was it still NTR!
Meanwhile, Tang Shan froze outright after being kissed on the forehead. Disbelief flashed through her eyes, and then her cheeks flushed red at a visible speed. She covered her face, her eyes filled with bashfulness.
In all her years, her father had never held her. He only ever spoke cruelly to her, beating and cursing her as well.
By contrast, Brother Lin Huan did not disdain her filthy state. He held her in his arms like a precious treasure and even kissed her.
One was a drunken, dispirited, useless domestic abuser who needed a child to support him. The other was a considerate, handsome older brother who had changed her life. Wasn't it obvious who her biological father was?
I, Tang Shan, can tell what's genuine at a glance. Brother Lin Huan is someone who could become my father! As for Tang Hao? He can go die. Once I'm strong enough, I'll kill him sooner or later.
The fifth and sixth updates for November 1, combined into one large four-thousand-character chapter, bringing the total to twelve thousand characters.