...
Tang Hao stood frozen in place, his fists clenched so tightly that his nails dug deep into his flesh, and blood dripped onto the rocks, but he seemed oblivious to it.
"not to mention..."
Xuan Hao looked at the silent Tang Hao and said,
"A 100,000-year soul ring and soul bone are incredibly tempting and irresistible to any soul master!"
"No matter how beautifully or eternally one speaks of love, when faced with the immense pressure of ruin and the ultimate weighing of pros and cons... even the noblest human heart will inevitably give rise to some dark and selfish thoughts."
"Tang Hao, do you dare to swear on your own conscience that you really... never even had the slightest thought of coveting the Blue Silver Emperor's 100,000-year soul ring?!"
"..."
Tang Hao lowered his head, his disheveled hair obscuring his face, making it impossible to see his expression.
However, the suppressed, increasingly heavy and tragic killing intent emanating from him was enough to reveal the turbulent struggle and collapse he was experiencing inside.
Xuan Hao, however, paid no attention to whether Tang Hao would completely lose his temper, and coldly continued to deliver the finishing blow.
"You must have considered it too. But she is, after all, your lover.
You just couldn't bring yourself to kill her to get the ring."
"However, the opportunity soon came.
The Blue Silver Emperor was about to give birth and was extremely weak.
The aura of a 100,000-year-old soul beast inevitably began to leak out."
"At that time, were you frantically plotting in your mind:
If you deliberately create some 'accident,' if you deliberately leak some information, so that the Spirit Hall people can follow the clues and come to your door, you can put the Blue Silver Emperor in a desperate situation with no chance of survival..."
"At that point, the only way for her to protect you and the child will be through sacrifice!"
"In this way, you won't have to bear the guilt of killing your wife with your own hands, and you can obtain that coveted 100,000-year soul ring legitimately, even with a clear conscience, to achieve your supreme fame as the Haotian Douluo?!"
"Shut up! I didn't!!!"
Tang Hao let out a shrill roar.
"You have it! You hesitate, you struggle! This is the ugly yet incredibly real human heart!"
Xuan Hao pressed on, "But you were too clever for your own good.
The moment the Blue Silver Emperor truly sacrificed himself for you and vanished into nothingness, seeing your lover lifeless, you were filled with regret!"
"Because you suddenly realize that although you have gained power and a 100,000-year soul ring, you have forever lost the last bit of love and light in your heart!"
"You regret it, but it's all in vain!"
"What's even more ironic is that Qian Xunji later died from his severe injuries, and the Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect completely broke off relations.
The two sides fought fiercely, and the Clear Sky Sect suffered heavy losses, even being forced to close its doors and live in seclusion, barely surviving.
And you, the culprit, were disgraced and expelled from the sect!"
"You want to go back to your sect, but you can't; you want to stay with your lover, but you forced her to her death with your own hands."
"You've lost everything, like a pathetic clown.
So you start escaping reality, numbing yourself with cheap alcohol, trying to cover up the selfish, cowardly guilt deep inside you!"
"Tang Hao, this is you!
A hypocritical, selfish coward who only dares to wield a hammer against the weak!"
In the deep valley, only the mournful sound of the night wind whistling through the cracks in the rocks remained.
Tang Hao stood frozen in place.
Xuan Hao's words were like daggers to the heart, tearing apart the fig leaf he had maintained for over a decade of self-deception.
After an unknown amount of time, Tang Hao slowly raised his head. His eyes, which had been cloudy yet exuded an air of authority, were now filled with bloodshot veins.
He stared intently at the boy wiping blood from the corner of his mouth.
"Who...who exactly are you?
How do you know these secrets so clearly?"
"Who am I?
You've been hiding in the shadows for the past few months, you should have already found out everything by now, right?"
Xuan Hao dusted himself off and smiled nonchalantly.
"As for how I would know your dirty, shady thoughts... it's actually quite simple."
He extended a finger and tapped his temple, his eyes gleaming with amusement:
"I can read minds."
Seeing Tang Hao's incredulous gaze, Xuan Hao continued, "Don't look so ignorant. You traveled the continent back then and have seen a lot of things.
You must have heard of the legends of Seagod Island, right?
The mermaids in the deep sea are born with the spiritual talent to see into people's hearts.
Unfortunately, I also have a similar little skill in this area."
Xuan Hao narrowed his crimson-gold vertical pupils slightly.
"For example, right now... I can clearly sense that you are very panicked. You are not only panicked, but also extremely angry.
The urge to immediately swing the Haotian Hammer and smash me into mincemeat and kill me to silence me is almost overflowing."
"But you hesitate to take action. Because you are afraid."
Xuan Hao stepped forward with a cold smile.
"You're worried that you failed to kill me just now, and what if you fail to silence me this time?
You're even more wary of me.
Since I could see through your scheme against the Blue Silver Emperor back then, just how much more do I know about you?"
Xuan Hao paused deliberately, "For example... Tang San?"
Upon hearing this name, Tang Hao's pupils constricted sharply, and the nine soul rings on his body trembled violently.
Even the surrounding air whistled sharply because of his soul power, which he lost control of in an instant.
"It seems I was right."
Xuan Hao ignored the terrifying aura that could erupt at any moment, "You escaped reality, got drunk in that shabby blacksmith shop in Holy Soul Village for six whole years, and didn't even care that your own son couldn't get enough to eat.
Why is it that when Tang San was six years old, after awakening his martial soul, you, this good-for-nothing, suddenly perked up again?"
"Is it because of an awakening of fatherly love? Don't be ridiculous!"
Xuan Hao shook his head with disdain.
"Because you saw the Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand and the Blue Silver Grass in his right.
You saw a twin martial soul that appears only once in a hundred years!"
"In that six-year-old child, you saw the hope of revenge against the Spirit Hall, and the possibility of you returning to the Clear Sky Sect with this unparalleled talent to make amends for your past mistakes!"
"You're like a gambler who's lost everything and suddenly gets a winning hand in a desperate situation.
That's why you just pack up and leave, even secretly following me to Nottingham City, where you start plotting like a dutiful bodyguard."
Tang Hao's chest heaved violently, his teeth grinding together, but he couldn't utter a single word in rebuttal.
"But deep down you're still a coward."
Xuan Hao's eyes grew increasingly contemptuous. "You dare not tell Tang San about the past grievances, you don't even dare to reveal a single word of your true identity as Haotian Douluo to him.
You only dare to be like a rat hiding in a stinking ditch, hiding in the shadows, coldly watching him grow step by step, becoming stronger along the path you expect."
At this point, Xuan Hao suddenly laughed.
"Actually, Tang Hao, you don't love Tang San at all."
"You don't love this clever and bright son.
What you love is only the hope of revenge that you place on him and that perfect twin martial soul 'tool'."
Xuan Hao lowered his voice, "You are a titled Douluo, even if you are drunk every day, your perception is far beyond that of ordinary people.
Would a normal one or two-year-old child stand on a stool and cook for you, his drunkard father, without crying or making a fuss?
Would he run to the mountaintop every morning to practice some inexplicable technique?
Would he have that deep look and meticulous mind that only adults have?"
Xuan Hao stared intently into Tang Hao's eyes, pressing him with each word distinct and deliberate:
"Tang San has exhibited so many strange behaviors since he was a child that are completely unlike those of a normal child.
Are you really blind and can't you see it?"
"No, of course you can see it. But you pretend you don't!"
"Because you don't care what's inside that body at all!
As long as he's surnamed Tang, as long as he has twin martial souls, as long as he can become your weapon of revenge, even if he's a monster in human skin, you don't care at all."
Xuan Hao spread his hands mockingly:
"Am I right, the great Haotian Douluo, Tang San's...good father?"
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