"Xiao San already promised you, and yet you still want him to humiliate himself in front of everyone?" Tang Hao looked at Xiao Wu with grief and anger.
"Don't say that, Father!" Tang San looked firmly at Xiao Wu. "I promise you, Xiao Wu."
"Don't just talk the talk. I'll take the children to another room. When you've fulfilled it, that's when Xiao Wu will return to sleep with you." Xiao Wu, holding her children, marched off arrogantly.
This time, father and son did not try to stop her.
Once Xiao Wu was gone, Tang Hao slammed his fist against the wall, fury in his voice. "That slut… when has Tang Clan ever suffered such humiliation!"
Taking a deep breath, he forced his voice into a low, cutting line: "Xiao San, listen carefully. Xiao Wu is no longer pure. A woman like that is unworthy to step through the Tang family's gates.
We'll use her to complete the divine trial, but once you ascend as the Asura God, she'll be worthless. Tear up that humiliating treaty, erase her consciousness.
Xiao San, you're outstanding—once you reach the God Realm, there will be no shortage of partners. At the very least, the Silver Dragon King or the Three-Eyed Golden Lion on this continent are far more suitable. Don't tie yourself to that crooked tree, that rabbit."
Tang Hao might be ruled by his feelings in love, but only toward the one he loved—Ah Yin. When it came to Xiao Wu, he remained pragmatic.
In his previous life, Xiao Wu had been a qualified daughter-in-law. She brought enormous benefits to the Tang family when she married in: three hundred-thousand-year spirit rings and bones,allowing Tang San to start with a hundred-thousand-year ring as his sixth; she had been the sheath of the Asura Divine Sword, bearing a second godhood for Tang San; and she had borne him children to continue the Tang family line.
The firstborn might have been a girl, but the second was a treasured boy. In Tang Hao's eyes, last life's Xiao Wu had been a proper wife.
But this life? Xiao Wu had birthed seven children by seven fathers. Triplets by three fathers, quadruplets by four. Never in history had there been anything so outrageous.
Thus, in Tang Hao's heart, Xiao Wu was no longer worthy of being his son's wife.
"No, Father, Xiao Wu is not a slut!" Tang San calmly corrected him. "I won't allow you to say that about her."
Tang Hao grew anxious. "Xiao San, do you hear yourself? Xiao Wu gave birth to seven children, not one resembling you. That's the truth! She's no longer worthy of your love!"
"Xiao Wu isn't like that! She is pure, she is beautiful. She loves me deeply, and I love her. She sacrificed herself for me, bore the Asura godhood for me, gave me children…" The more Tang San spoke, the more nostalgic he became, drowning in past memories.
He defended her: "She isn't like this. The only reason she is like this must be because something changed in this life that was different from the last."
A grim determination twisted Tang San's face. His eyes flashed with ferocity as he gnashed his teeth. "Yes, that's it. Something unknown happened that turned Xiao Wu into this!"
"I believe, at her core, Xiao Wu is still kind and beautiful. She is still the Xiao Wu in my memories. Something must have changed her."
Drawing a deep breath, his eyes bloodshot, his breath heaving like an ox, Tang San roared: "I must become a god. I must find the culprit who caused this change in Xiao Wu. I'll tear them to pieces—and return Xiao Wu to the gentle, beautiful, pure girl I knew!"
Words spoken with no intent—but Tang Hao, hearing them, froze. His mind began racing. What was different between this life and the last? Suddenly, realization struck—
He remembered his ninth spirit ring. Last life, it had been Ah Yin. This life, with Ah Yin not having sacrificed herself, his ninth ring came from Xiao Wu's mother. Could this be the "variable" Tang San spoke of?
Thinking this, Tang Hao looked at his son—face twisted like a demon, ready to tear the culprit into pieces—and Tang Hao broke out into a cold sweat.
Damn it. Why did I have to hunt Xiao Wu's mother's ring back then? Even a random ten-thousand-year spirit beast would've been better than that ring!
But why had he hunted her mother specifically? Why—
(And in the void, Huo Yuhao snapped his fingers. A sealed memory packet in the depths of Tang Hao's mind was unlocked.)
Tang Hao's mind cleared. I remember now. Last life, Xiao Wu's mother was killed by Spirit Hall's Pope Bibi Dong, becoming one of her spirit rings. Ahhh! How could I forget something so crucial until now?
Sweat poured down his back. He tried to console himself: No, no, that might not be the cause. Back then, there were no other hundred-thousand-year beasts nearby.
And Spirit Hall took her mother's spirit bone. Xiao Wu must have misunderstood Spirit Hall as her mother's killer. No—it isn't a misunderstanding. Spirit Hall is her mother's killer. I, Tang Hao, only carried the black pot because I didn't know the truth.
"This shouldn't be the reason," Tang Hao muttered nervously.
"Hm? Father, what are you saying?" Tang San glanced at him suspiciously, noticing his cold sweat.
"N-nothing, Xiao San. Just… some thoughts." Tang Hao quickly waved it off, then urged, "Xiao San, Xiao Wu is already like this. Seven children, each by a different man. Do you really still want her?"
Although Tang Hao had convinced himself that Xiao Wu didn't know he was her mother's killer, he knew this truth would explode sooner or later. Better to cut ties now—have Tang San treat her only as a tool for the divine trial.
But Tang Hao underestimated the mind of a man hopelessly in love—
"Father," Tang San said resolutely, "amid the vast waters, I take but one scoop. In my past life, I chose only Xiao Wu. In this life, I choose only Xiao Wu. I will become a god, and I will restore her to the gentle, beautiful, pure Xiao Wu I know."
Tang Hao: "…"
Strange… Tang San noticed his father's odd behavior, but out of trust, he didn't press further.
Instead, he summoned Yu Xiaogang, instructing him to gather all the factions, preparing to fulfill his promise to Xiao Wu.
Meanwhile, the martial soul awakenings in the morning had already stirred undercurrents by night.
"Get on your knees!" Dai Tianfeng roared furiously at his two sons.
Dai Weisi and Dai Mubai immediately dropped to their knees.
Looking at his two sons, Dai Tianfeng's anger surged. He said, "What, the young ladies of my Star Luo Zhu Clan aren't good enough? Or does that hundred-thousand-year-old Soft Bone Rabbit have some special charm that has you brothers bewitched? Do you even realize—Xiao Wu is a hundred-thousand-year soul beast. A hundred-thousand-year soul beast!"
"So what if she is?" Dai Mubai retorted boldly. "I believe love can overcome the gap between species. Besides, Zhu Zhuqing is already dead, I don't have a partner anymore. Can't I pursue the woman I like?"
Slap! Dai Tianfeng struck him across the face. "Shameless! Is that what you call liking someone? Xiao Wu is a temptress, a harlot. You men clustered around her like servants—it's disgraceful!"
He continued angrily: "And that's not all! Don't you know whose wife Xiao Wu is? She's Tang San's wife. Tang San!"
Other men's wives bearing children with spirits that don't resemble their husbands but instead awaken with someone else's martial spirit—on the Douluo Continent, it might sound like a joke.
But if the cuckolded husband is a divine candidate, someone who upon completing the God Trials will become a god—then it's not a joke anymore. It's a horror story.
Dai Tianfeng could already imagine: once Tang San ascends, what would become of the Star Luo Empire? In the worst case, blood would flow through the streets, and in the "best" case, the Dai family line would be erased by a god.
"You have brought unimaginable disaster upon our Dai Clan! Do you understand?" Dai Tianfeng bellowed.
"But…I like her!" Dai Weisi argued.
"Bullshit! That's not love—you're just lusting after her body. You're despicable!" Dai Tianfeng jabbed a finger at Dai Weisi and Dai Mubai.
"Stay kneeling here. Without my permission, you don't get up."
With that, Dai Tianfeng summoned his advisors and withdrew to a hidden chamber in the Star Luo Empire to deliberate.
Troubled, he said: "Gentlemen, disaster has already been set in motion. What is to be done?"
Advisor A stepped forward. "Your Majesty, the reason we are gathered here is because Spirit Hall and Xinghuo threaten our eternal foundation. That is why we welcomed Tang San's rise—because he protected our order.
But at the end of the day, Tang Clan's success is theirs alone, not ours. We only followed them because there was profit in it. Now? To follow Tang Clan brings not gain but mortal peril.
Three children, three fathers, and not one belongs to him—such humiliation no man could endure. Tang San only holds back for now because he's restraining himself. He's only a divine candidate, not yet a god. Once he becomes one, he'll settle accounts with us."
He paused, then added: "Therefore, we cannot wait to be slaughtered. We must strike first. Kill him, sever his path to godhood, and preserve Star Luo's legacy."
Advisor B agreed. "Exactly! Tang San is still only a divine candidate. He's merely at the Soul King level, and his father is a cripple. If we don't kill him now, do we wait until he grows strong enough to crush us like ants?"
"Correct, Your Majesty!"
"Your Majesty, kill him, and safeguard the Star Luo Empire for eternity!"
As the voices rose in agreement, Dai Tianfeng nodded. "I share this intent. But how shall it be done?"
Advisor A said: "That's simple. Others share our situation—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, for one. And though the Heaven Dou Empire doesn't have a child awakening with a Swan Spirit, the fact that Xue Beng sits on the throne likely means Heaven Dou too is on Tang San's blacklist.
We can ally with them. Strike now before Tang Clan departs. A divine candidate who dies before completion is no god."
Zhu Tiancai added: "Your Majesty, we must also placate the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, the Clear Sky Sect, and other factions that still have ties with Tang Clan. If they learn of our conspiracy, they may sell us out to win favor with this future god."
Dai Tianfeng nodded, and began dispatching envoys to establish contacts.
---
Meanwhile, Yu Tianheng knelt on the ground, stiff-necked as he declared to Yu Yuanzhen: "But, I like her."
Yu Yuanzhen slapped him hard across the face. "Bullshit! That's not love—you're lusting after her body. You're despicable!"
At that moment, Yu Luomian approached Yu Yuanzhen, lowering his voice. "Sect Master, an envoy from Star Luo has brought a secret letter."
Yu Yuanzhen ignored Tianheng and opened the letter. After reading, he gathered the four Grand Elders and Yu Xiaomen, the clan leaders of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, and passed the letter around.
When it returned to his hand, Yu Yuanzhen burned it to ash.
"What do you all think?" Yu Yuanzhen asked.
Yu Luomian replied: "Tang Clan's success is their own, not ours. In the past, we had no conflict, so following them preserved our status. Now, after this mess, if we take no action, our Yu Clan is doomed. We should follow the plan in this letter."
The other elders all agreed.
Yu Yuanzhen nodded. "That was my thought as well."
---
"Tell me the truth—are you entangled with that Xiao Wu?" Emperor Xue Ye shouted at Xue Beng.
Xue Beng kept silent, but his expression gave him away.
"You worthless brat! I should've spilled you on the wall instead of raising you. Your usual debauchery is one thing, but do you realize what you've done to our Heaven Dou Empire? Do you know what kind of woman Xiao Wu is? She's the wife of a god candidate—and a hundred-thousand-year soul beast! And you dared to touch her?" Xue Ye fumed.
"But…I like her," Xue Beng muttered.
Slap! Xue Ye struck him across the face. "Bullshit! That's not love—you're just lusting after her body. You're despicable!"
At that moment, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe entered. "Father, an envoy from Star Luo has brought a secret letter."
Xue Ye took the letter, read it, and passed it to Qinghe. After reading, Qinghe burned it.
"Qinghe, what do you think?" Xue Ye asked.
"Father, Tang Clan's success is theirs alone. At this point, for the eternal survival of our Heaven Dou royal family, we must let them suffer, even if it means hardship for them," Xue Qinghe replied.
Xue Ye nodded in agreement.