"That day, I was stunned. Of course, I knew what a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast meant. But my love for Ah Yin drowned out everything else. So what if she was a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast? As long as she entered her mature stage, she would be a true human — no different from any other human being. And so, I confessed my love to Ah Yin."
"Your mother truly was kind. She had always loved only me in her heart, but because of her true identity, and because she didn't want to hurt your uncle, she never said a word about it. When the time was right, I decided to bring her home to meet my father. I knew that meant taking an enormous risk — your grandfather was a Titled Douluo, and he could very well have seen through Ah Yin's identity. But I didn't want Ah Yin to suffer the slightest grievance. I believed your grandfather was an understanding man. As long as we kept our marriage secret and Ah Yin quickly cultivated to her mature stage, no one would ever be able to tell that she was a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast. By then, she would be a true human."
At this point, Tang Hao's voice paused for a moment. His gaze rested on the Blue Silver Emperor before him, and his heart seemed to tremble ever so slightly.
"But just as we were on our way to the Clear Sky School, we ran into serious trouble. It turned out that long before the three of us had been traveling the continent together, Spirit Hall had already been watching us. After all, your uncle and I represented the new generation of the Clear Sky School — how could Spirit Hall not keep tabs on us? And Ah Yin, who traveled with us, caught their attention as well. That year, I was thirty-five years old, but my Soul Power had already reached the eighty-fourth rank. The one who came from Spirit Hall was a Titled Douluo. Though his Soul Power exceeded mine, under my Clear Sky Hammer, he didn't gain the slightest advantage — in fact, I shattered one of his legs. I fled with Ah Yin as quickly as I could. I knew the Clear Sky School was no longer a place we could return to."
"And sure enough, before long, the current Pope of Spirit Hall issued a decree, denouncing the Clear Sky School and demanding that they hand me and Ah Yin over. By that time, your grandfather was already gravely ill. When he suddenly learned of this — and no one could find me no matter how hard they searched — he died of rage in a fit of grief. I never got to see him one last time before he passed."
As he spoke, Tang Hao's body trembled, and a deep, agonized remorse surfaced in his eyes.
Tang San listened quietly at his father's side, able to fully understand how his father must have felt.
Unable to return home. Lost and desperate. Not knowing how to face his own family.
His grandfather's death had undoubtedly dealt a crushing blow to his father.
After a long silence, Tang Hao's emotions gradually settled.
"Although your uncle had just reached the rank of Titled Douluo at the time, and there was no shortage of powerful elders in the clan, even if we were the number one school in the world, without your grandfather's leadership, the various factions within the clan were already stirring with ambition. Facing Spirit Hall's relentless pressure, your uncle had an incredibly difficult time. Fortunately, the Clear Sky School possessed formidable strength — even Spirit Hall wouldn't dare act rashly."
"Your mother and I got married. But we lived lives of constant hiding. I knew I was making her suffer. I desperately wanted to go back to the school, to pay my respects. But I couldn't. The matter had only just begun to die down — I couldn't bring more trouble to the school. I couldn't even visit your grandfather's grave. Even later, I never went back. I didn't deserve to pay respects to my father. I was a disgrace to the school."
Hearing this, Tang San couldn't help but speak up. "Father, whatever you owe the school, I will repay it double on your behalf."
A trace of warm gratification appeared on Tang Hao's face at his son's words, and he continued: "Back then, at least I still had your mother by my side. Though I gave up everything for her, I never once regretted it. If I had to do it all over again, I would still choose her — but I would also protect the school."
"One day, twenty-one years ago, your mother became pregnant with you. I truly felt happy then. I had long since abandoned any thought of glory or conquest — all I wanted was to live a peaceful life with your mother. I don't know if it was because of being with her, but during those years, my Soul Power advanced by leaps and bounds. The day you were born was the very day my Soul Power reached the ninetieth rank. And your mother, at last, had entered the mature stage of her transformation. But it was on that very day that Spirit Hall's people came for us."
A murderous aura spread between Tang Hao's brows, and his sole remaining left hand clenched into a fist. "Spirit Hall really made quite the show of it. The current Pope came in person, along with two Titled Douluo and a great number of Spirit Hall's elite. They surrounded the place where your mother and I were living. Your mother had just given birth to you and was already greatly weakened, her strength drastically reduced. The Pope offered to spare me and you, but only if he could take your mother away. How could I have allowed that? The battle began, and there was no avoiding it."
By now Tang Hao's eyes had turned bloodshot. Tang San didn't need to ask — he could imagine how brutal that battle must have been. His father had only just stepped into the ninetieth rank and had not yet obtained his ninth Soul Ring, yet he was forced to face three Titled Douluo, including the Pope himself.
Though he still had two pieces of Soul Bones, was the Pope without any of his own?
"Before long, I was beaten to the brink of death. The outcome seemed all but decided. It was then that your mother walked out, carrying you in her arms. In that moment, she was remarkably calm. When the people of Spirit Hall saw her emerge from the house, they stopped their attacks and watched her in silence. Your mother asked them, lightly: Do you know what kind of ability a hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor possesses? Do you know what the highest mystery of the Blue Silver Domain truly is? The Pope was taken aback by her question."
"Your mother told them. The highest mystery of the Blue Silver Domain was immortality. No one could kill her. Nor could anyone claim her Soul Ring or Soul Bones — unless she took her own life. After that, she made the Pope an offer: if they agreed to let you and me go, she would willingly go with them and take her own life to surrender her Soul Ring and Soul Bones. It was me — it was all my fault. I didn't have the power to protect her. The Pope, it seemed, didn't wish to completely offend the Clear Sky School, and so he quickly accepted your mother's terms."
"By then, I was so gravely wounded I could barely stay alive. I couldn't even speak. All I could do was watch helplessly as your mother walked over to me and placed you in my arms. In that moment, I wished I could die right then and there. Ah Yin, you were so foolish — why did you have to make that choice?"
Overcome with emotion, Tang Hao's body shook violently, and tears streamed down his face once more, beyond his power to stop.
"Your mother's voice echoed in my ears. She said she would always belong to me, that she would never let anyone else have her. And the very next moment, she took her own life before my eyes…"
An overwhelming wave of sorrow instantly permeated every inch of the narrow cave. Tang San's body trembled just as violently as his father's. He could all too easily imagine the agony and helplessness his father must have felt in that moment.
Suppressed by three Titled Douluo and countless Spirit Hall elites.
Watching the person he loved most die before his very eyes. Could there be anything more painful than that?
Tang Hao's lips trembled for a long time without producing a single word. He simply reached out and gently caressed the blade of Blue Silver Grass before him — the grass his wife had become.
Tang San, too, said nothing. His face streaked with tears, he kowtowed nine times before the Blue Silver Grass.
He knew his mother had died to protect him and his father. And all of it — every last drop of suffering — was because of Spirit Hall.
After an unknowable stretch of time, Tang Hao's emotions recovered slightly. "When a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast dies, it generates an immense magnetic field. Even Spirit Hall, which didn't possess a single hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring, had no idea about this. Your mother hadn't lied to them. With the Blue Silver Domain, she was truly immortal. The highest mystery of the Blue Silver Domain is called: 'Wildfire cannot burn it away — when the spring winds blow, it lives again.' No matter how grave the wound, she could have revived within forty-nine days of death. But she chose to end her own life, at the cost of her entire hundred-thousand-year cultivation. And without the slightest reservation, she infused the Soul Ring she had become directly into my body. She truly became one with me."
"Under the powerful magnetic field left by your mother's death, all the Spirit Hall elites who attacked simultaneously couldn't so much as touch me. They could only watch as Ah Yin's Soul Ring fused with me. I became the youngest Titled Douluo the continent had ever seen. A Titled Douluo wielding a hundred-thousand-year Soul Ring was an entirely different concept from an ordinary one. In that moment, not only was my body fully healed, but my strength skyrocketed. Ah Yin's death drove me to madness. That battle raged for three days and three nights. With you cradled in my arms, I fought with everything I had. Countless Spirit Hall experts died at my hands — one of the two Titled Douluo the Pope had brought fell, and the other was left critically wounded. The Pope himself was beaten to the point of severe injury. The wounds I carry to this day were all inflicted during that battle."
"Your mother died, but there was no body. She left behind only her Soul Bone and a single seed. After grievously wounding my enemies, I gradually came back to my senses. I knew that if I kept fighting, I might have been able to kill them all. But that was never what Ah Yin would have wanted. And besides — I still had you. I couldn't disregard you. You are the flesh and blood of Ah Yin and me. And so, I took you and left. I dragged my battered body away from that place and found this cave. This is where Ah Yin and I were married — she had brought me here once. I planted the seed she left behind. I know that this is her, just without her hundred-thousand-year cultivation. In this lifetime, I will never see her take human form again. But I will watch over her, always."
(End of chapter)