On the Douluo Continent, martial souls are inherited from one's parents. Tang San and Xiao Wu had martial souls of Clear Sky Hammer, Blue Silver Grass, and Soft Bone Rabbit. No matter how they mutated, none of them could possibly produce a White Tiger martial soul. Which meant—
"Xiao Wu, tell me, why does Wubai's martial soul happen to be the White Tiger?" Tang Hao pressed, his voice like a blade. He could not accept that the grandson he had loved so dearly all this time was actually a bastard.
"Xiao Wu, I want an explanation!" Tang San also turned his head, his gaze painful and conflicted as it fell upon her, his eyes brimming with accusation.
If it had been anyone else, he would have made sure she died without a burial place. But the one before him was his life's greatest love—Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu's eyes reddened instantly. She too whispered with her voice like a thin thread:
"A-San giegie… why must you two force me like this in front of everyone?"
Tang San opened his mouth to say something, but deep within his consciousness the mark of the Shura God Trial flashed a warning: Warning. Xiao Wu's satisfaction level is dropping!
The flames of rage within him were doused at once.
He had nearly forgotten—this martial soul awakening ceremony was the First Trial of the Shura God Exam.
So Tang San turned his head slightly and gave his father a signal, tapping his own forehead. Tang Hao understood the hint and forced himself calm, leaving only a cold parting line:
"I expect, when we return, you will give me and Xiao San an explanation for this."
On the awakening altar, Ning Fengzhi wiped the sweat from his forehead and reluctantly tested Tang Wubai's innate soul power.
White Tiger martial soul. Innate full soul power.
Such astonishing talent! If this had appeared in the Dai family of Star Luo, Dai Tianfeng would have been overjoyed. Even if the boy was illegitimate, Dai Tianfeng might well have broken tradition and given him a chance at the succession.
But the problem was—this White Tiger martial soul belonged to Tang San's son. What did that imply?
That Dai Mubai, that bastard, had cuckolded Tang San!
If Tang San were just an ordinary man, then fine, he'd been cheated on. But Tang San was destined to become a god! Dai Tianfeng could already imagine the rivers of blood that would flow in the Dai clan the day Tang San ascended.
After the test, Tang Wubai's gaze swept challengingly toward Tang San and Tang Hao. The look made both men seethe with fury—yet they could do nothing.
Now, only the last child remained—Tang Wuheng. But Ning Fengzhi had already been shocked enough today. He wiped his forehead again and carefully suggested to Tang San:
"Tang San… perhaps we should postpone the ceremony?" He only wanted to wash his hands of this mess.
Tang San's face was dark. "No. The awakening continues. Sect Master Ning, please awaken Wuheng's martial soul."
By now, Tang San had already accepted the reality that Tang Wule and Tang Wubai were not his sons, but bastards. His only hope lay in his final child.
He couldn't understand—under his father Tang Hao's supervision, Xiao Wu should only have had relations with him. How then had she borne children of Bu Le and Dai Mubai?
But that no longer mattered. What mattered was this: after so many times together with Xiao Wu, surely this last child must be his. Surely!
If he awakened the Clear Sky Hammer, or even the Blue Silver Grass, Tang San swore he would cherish him above all, raise him as his heir, and grant him at least the seat of a God King.
Ning Fengzhi now fully regretted ever accepting this "honor." Why hadn't they just let some random soul master do the awakening?
"Next, Wuheng, come up," he called.
Tang Wuheng walked to the altar and stood there, looking at Tang San.
At that moment, Tang San suddenly realized—Wuheng's face overlapped strangely with that of Yu Tianheng.
No, impossible. Just a coincidence. This child is mine. He must be mine. Tang San could not accept that all three children were not his. He kept repeating this to himself.
Ning Fengzhi, sweating buckets, said:
"Child, stand in the center of the altar. Uncle will awaken your martial soul."
"Alright." Tang Wuheng stepped into the center.
Ning Fengzhi activated the formation, silently praying: Heaven, earth, I, Ning, have done good deeds all my life. Please, let it be the Clear Sky Hammer! At worst, let it be Blue Silver Grass, or even Soft Bone Rabbit!
The light of the awakening formation flashed. Inside the glow, Tang Wuheng felt his martial soul emerging.
Everyone watched intently—Tang San and Tang Hao included.
Clear Sky Hammer, Clear Sky Hammer—please, let it be the Clear Sky Hammer! Tang San roared in his heart. This is my last child. He must be mine!
Finally, Tang Wuheng opened his eyes.
Ning Fengzhi almost couldn't bring himself to ask, but there was no escaping. Bracing himself, he said:
"Child, what martial soul did you awaken? Can you show everyone?"
Tang Wuheng nodded, spread his hands, and released his soul power. From his back came a dragon's roar.
Blue lightning snakes flickered, then fused into the image of a massive blue dragon. On its head gleamed a tiny, adorable white rabbit mark.
This was—the world's number one beast martial soul, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon!
With that, all hope died.
Ning Fengzhi was ashen.
Yu Yuanzhen was drenched in sweat.
Tang Hao's old face contorted with unrestrained rage.
Tang San's face was so dark it couldn't be seen, as if covered in a thick green haze.
After a moment of stunned silence, everyone in the square turned meaningful gazes upon Tang San and Xiao Wu.
Everyone knew martial souls came from the parents.
But none of Tang San's three children had inherited either his or Xiao Wu's martial souls.
Instead, their martial souls were: White Tiger, Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon, and Heavenly Net Double Dome. Clearly not from the same father.
Even more shocking—the three were triplets.
Which meant that Xiao Wu had borne three children, each with a different father. Three children, three fathers!
Was there anything in this world more explosive than that?
The sheer weight of this revelation was too much; the old feudal lords' "CPUs" could barely process it.
Dai Tianfeng and Yu Yuanzhen exchanged uncertain glances, their minds already spinning with new schemes.
"I understand now!" Huo Qiqiang suddenly shouted, shattering the silence.
Everyone turned to him in confusion. What do you understand?
"This must be a martial soul mutation!" Huo Qiqiang declared, as though discovering a new continent.
Martial soul mutation?
Everyone present who had been at a loss for words after hearing Huo Qiqiang's statement began to weigh the pros and cons in their minds.
On the altar, Ning Fengzhi seized on this like a drowning man clutching at a straw and hurriedly said:
"Exactly! God of the Future, since you and your divine wife Xiao Wu are so devoted to one another, these three children must surely be the result of martial soul mutation."
"Yes, yes!" Yu Yuanzhen chimed in: "Who says the Clear Sky Hammer can't awaken as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon? In the past, the Yu and Tang clans had intermarriages. A martial soul awakening as the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon isn't strange at all!"
"That's right, this is martial soul mutation. The Dai clan of the Star Luo Empire also once intermarried with the Clear Sky Sect. That's why Tang Wubai awakened the White Tiger martial soul—it must be martial soul mutation," said Dai Tianfeng.
"Yes, yes, this must be martial soul mutation."
"Exactly, this is martial soul mutation."
"After all, twins or triplets are still three children from one father. How could they possibly be from three fathers? This has to be martial soul mutation."
Voices affirming martial soul mutation spread like a domino effect. In that moment, everyone pointed to the three children, declaring they must be Tang San's own flesh and blood—everything could be explained by martial soul mutation.
Tang San's expression softened slightly. He stood, bowed to Huo Qiqiang and the gathered crowd, and said:
"My thanks to Sect Master Huo, and to all of you for the reminder. Otherwise, I might have wrongly doubted my beloved!"
He then took Xiao Wu's hand, pulled her to the front, and declared:
"Xiao Wu is the love of my life. I will believe in her without reservation. Although Wubai, Wuheng, and Wule's martial soul awakenings resulted in martial soul mutations, I believe they are the crystallization of my love with Xiao Wu. They are my sons."
"Yes!" Tang Hao stood, came before Tang San and Xiao Wu, and said firmly:
"When Xiao San married Xiao Wu, I was witness to it. So many years have passed, and Xiao Wu has always been by Tang San's side. The only man around her is my son. That is why I believe in my daughter-in-law, Xiao Wu."
Xiao Wu said softly:
"Thank you all for your trust. Brother San, Xiao Wu doesn't know why, but these three children truly are your sons."
"I believe you, Xiao Wu." Tang San said this and leaned in to kiss her.
Xiao Wu did not resist. Instead, she used the sheath of the Shura God Sword to cast an illusion. In that instant, she swapped places with a giant lizard. Tang San passionately kissed the beast, then when they parted, Xiao Wu switched back with the lizard.
In the eyes of the crowd, though, Tang San was kissing Xiao Wu deeply.
Immediately, Ning Fengzhi led the applause, and the hall resounded with thunderous clapping and cheers.
Just when everyone was convinced that the children must indeed be Tang San's, explained away as martial soul mutations, and everything seemed settled—
A young man with a crew cut stepped forward, face full of doubt:
"No, it's not like that. No matter how the Clear Sky Hammer and Blue Silver Grass mutate, they could never turn into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon or the White Tiger martial souls!"
This was Yu Xiaogang. When Tang San's child awakened the Heavenly Net Double Dome martial soul, he had been stunned. At first, he guessed it might be mutation (after all, Wule's martial soul was obscure), but afterward, when the White Tiger and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon appeared, he realized: these martial souls could never come from mutation.
Even if there had been intermarriage generations ago, it was impossible.
Clan martial soul inheritance was clear-cut: Clear Sky Hammer should pass on as Clear Sky Hammer, White Tiger as White Tiger. Even if mutation occurred, the Clear Sky Hammer would only mutate into a variant hammer-type soul, not into a White Tiger!
Such a simple truth—and yet not even a Rank 99 Titled Douluo on site acknowledged it. They still insisted it was martial soul mutation. It was absurd!
At that moment, Yu Xiaogang felt an overwhelming sense of intellectual superiority over everyone present.
He thought he should stand up and enlighten Tang San—make him realize he might be raising another man's children. Then Tang San would care less for the three children, love Xiao Wu less, and devote more energy to honoring his teacher.
Moreover, if he used this incident to "remind" Tang San, then Tang San would feel gratitude toward him and uphold his promises in the future.
All eyes turned to Yu Xiaogang. Being stared at by the entire assembly, he instantly felt as though he were sitting on needles.
"Yu Xiaogang, are you trying to say my three grandsons aren't mine?" Tang Hao strode up, face twisted in rage.
"A-aren't they?" Yu Xiaogang asked weakly.
Smack!
Tang Hao's slap cracked across Yu Xiaogang's crew-cut head, knocking him flat.
Clutching his swelling face, Yu Xiaogang looked up at Tang Hao in disbelief.
"Gangzi, I've tolerated you long enough. You dare say my grandsons aren't mine? Let me tell you—Xiao Wu and Xiao San married under my witness, they shared a bridal chamber, and I've watched Wuheng, Wubai, and Wule grow up with my own eyes.
They are Tang clan children! Yu Xiaogang, how dare you sow discord between my son and my grandsons? Even if you are my son's teacher, you cannot do this!"
"Am I… am I wrong?" Yu Xiaogang said pitifully.
Another resounding slap answered him.
One wasn't enough—Tang Hao struck him dozens more times, swelling his face until it looked like a pig's head. As he struck, Tang Hao used sound transmission to whisper harshly into Yu Xiaogang's ear:
"Gangzi, you think you're so clever, don't you? You think everyone here is a fool and only you see the truth, isn't that it? You're eager to prove Wubai, Wule, and Wuheng are bastards not sired by my son, to show your brilliance and wisdom.
And then what? You want my son to admit before the whole world that he's been cuckolded? That the ones who cuckolded him were from the Star Luo imperial family and the direct line of your Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? You think that's brilliant?!"
At first Yu Xiaogang felt wronged, but after hearing this, realization dawned on him. He understood why Tang Hao had beaten him.
Xiao Wu then came forward with her three children, fury in her voice:
"You are Brother San's teacher, and I respect you. You may insult me, but Xiao Wu will never allow you to insult my children, nor will I let you question my love for Brother San!"
Tang San approached Yu Xiaogang, helped him up, and set him down on his seat. Solemnly, he said:
"Teacher, I respect you greatly. But you cannot say such things. Wubai, Wuheng, and Wule are the fruit of my love with Xiao Wu. As a husband and a father, I cannot allow you to doubt them."
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