Tang San's words were passionate and sonorous, and in his heart, he truly believed them to be so.
If not for him turning the tide, the Divine Realm would have long since been reduced to ashes in the spacetime turbulence; how could there be a rebirth today?
He considered himself to have rendered great service to the Divine Realm and to have bestowed grace upon all living beings, and no one should scrutinize him with a gaze of doubt.
However this time, before Huo Yuhao could speak, Tang Wulin beside him could no longer hold back, suddenly taking a few steps forward to stand in front of Tang San, staring straight at that familiar yet heart-wrenching face.
His chest heaved, his voice trembling uncontrollably, carrying a long-suppressed grievance and anger: "For the safety of the Divine Realm? What about the Douluo Continent?"
"You lured the abyss and plotted your so-called Ten Thousand Years grand plan, causing rivers of blood and countless deaths on the continent for thousands of years. How do you explain this?!"
That last sentence was practically roared out, its hysterical voice echoing over the plaza, mixed with unmasked anger and a bone-deep agony.
He was not only furious at Tang San's actions, but even more furious that such a cold-blooded person turned out to be his own father.
Hearing this, Tang San's heart sank abruptly.
He thought to himself that it was just as expected; something had gone wrong with his plan, and it seemed the problem was not small.
"Little brother, how can you think of Father like that?"
A female voice suddenly came from the side, interrupting the confrontation between the two.
Then two figures silently appeared on the plaza, standing side by side.
The woman who spoke was tall, with striking pinkish-blue long hair.
Among the deities of the New God Realm, except for Huo Yuhao, everyone else was seeing her for the first time.
But upon hearing that cry of "little brother", they instantly guessed her identity. Wasn't this the Dragon Butterfly Douluo Tang Wutong from Ten Thousand Years ago?
However, the crowd's gazes only swept over her briefly before rapidly concentrating entirely on the man beside her.
For no other reason than that man looked identical to Huo Yuhao; his face, physique, and facial features were almost carved from the exact same mold.
Yet there was a distinct difference in their temperaments. Standing there, Huo Yuhao naturally carried an uplifting and confident aura, as if everything was completely under his control.
Meanwhile, although this man looked steady and proper, his brows and eyes always carried a hint of imperceptible restraint and hesitation, looking as though he was accustomed to being careful everywhere.
Huo Yuhao's true identity was long no secret within the New God Realm.
Therefore, when that figure with a face identical to Huo Yuhao appeared on the plaza, the deities of the New God Realm quickly confirmed the newcomer's identity after a brief shock.
This person should be the Spirit Ice Douluo from Ten Thousand Years ago, the founder of the Spirit Pagoda, the Huo Yuhao truly belonging to this World.
However, his name right now should probably be Dai Yuhao.
At this moment, Huo Yuhao's expression was as calm as water, with no ripples deep within his eyes, completely unsurprised by meeting the version of himself from this World.
As for Dai Yuhao, he slightly furrowed his brows, carefully sizing up the person opposite him who was carved from almost the exact same mold as himself, his gaze carrying scrutiny and exploration, as if trying to discern what differences lay between the other person and himself.
Tang Wulin had no mind to care about the subtle eye contact between these two "Huo Yuhaos" right now. He looked at his elder sister Tang Wutong, his voice involuntarily raising a few notches: "How can I think like that? You should ask him what he has done!"
He raised his hand to point at Tang San opposite him, his tone filled with heavy anger and disappointment.
Compared to this blood relative of a father who made him feel incomparably estranged, he felt much closer to the elders and companions who had accompanied him all the way as he grew up on the Douluo Continent.
Those people felt much more like his family.
Huo Yuhao withdrew his gaze from meeting Dai Yuhao's and instead turned it toward Tang San, his tone calm yet carrying an inescapable sharpness: "If you don't want anyone to know, don't do it in the first place. Tang San, regarding the abyss matter, what do you have to say?"
Hearing this, Tang San frowned, an inexpressible sense of discomfort surging in his heart.
In the past, Dai Yuhao was always obedient and never questioned him in front of him; now, the familiar face standing opposite spoke such tit-for-tat words, making him exceptionally unaccustomed to it.
However, he had no mind to delve into these details right now. The situation before him was becoming increasingly dire, and he had no choice but to shift his attention back to his current predicament first.
Looking at Huo Yuhao's calm and resolute appearance, Tang San already understood in his heart.
The backup plans he left on the Douluo Continent had probably long been uprooted by the roots.
He believed that Huo Yuhao must hold conclusive evidence in his hands, and this matter would not allow him to flatly deny it.
Yet with a shift in thought, Tang San had already devised a countermeasure.
His expression sank slightly, and he spoke in a calm tone: "That's right, back then I indeed anticipated the arrival of the abyss."
"My original plan was to let the Douluo Plane swallow the abyss, thereby achieving the plane's advancement."
"Now it seems that although the final result differs somewhat from my plan, the general direction has no deviation."
His gaze swept across this surrounding realm of the New God Realm, his tone even carrying a hint of taking it for granted: "Observing this place, it should have been created by absorbing the energy of the Abyss Plane, right? In the end, the energy of the abyss was not wasted, and the outcome is good after all."
Hearing this, Huo Yuhao couldn't help sneering: "This place is a New God Realm created by my own hands, and it has nothing to do with you. Don't talk as if you have rendered such great meritorious service."
He looked straight at Tang San, his voice sinking: "You stood by and watched the abyss invade the Douluo Continent, and for thousands of years, countless Spirit Masters shed their very last drop of blood on the battlefield. This account... is clearly recorded on your head."
Hearing this, Tang San finally completely understood why the deities of the New God Realm were so hostile toward him.
It seemed this matter had long been known to the entire World, and everyone already knew the truth.
He did not refute; instead, he raised his voice, carrying a righteous and confident sharpness: "Mercy does not command soldiers, and righteousness does not manage wealth! To accomplish great things, there must always be sacrifices."
"You are now enjoying the fruits of victory, yet you turn around to accuse me? How laughable!"
Hearing this, anger churned in Huo Yuhao's heart.
He had seen Tang San from Ten Thousand Years ago; back then, although the other party was shrewd, he still wore a veneer of warmth.
Yet this Tang San before his eyes had stripped away even that disguise completely, wearing a posture of righteous awe and a clear conscience, which made him all the more sickening.
He laughed out of extreme anger, his voice turning cold: "The sacrifices of those people could originally have been avoided."
"They indeed volunteered to go to their deaths, but that 'voluntary' aspect was forced out of them step by step by you."
"In your heart... do you truly not have a shred of guilt?"
Listening to these repeated interrogations, Tang San could finally no longer suppress the anger in his heart, his expression sinking: "You accuse me again and again; do we know each other? Do we have a grudge?"
He stepped forward, the aura around his body suddenly erupting, his gaze as sharp as a knife, pressing directly onto Huo Yuhao: "You look so much like my son-in-law Dai Yuhao, who on earth are you?!"
Upon hearing this, Huo Yuhao did not look at him; his gaze crossed over Tang San and fell upon the furrowed-brow Dai Yuhao in the rear, letting out a heavy cold snort: "Dai Yuhao?"
He ignored Tang San's interrogation and instead pointed at Dai Yuhao, his tone carrying an unquestionable fierceness: "You even changed your surname back? Have you forgotten the humiliation you suffered back then in the White Tiger Duke's Mansion? Forgotten how your mother died? Forgotten that Duke White Tiger Dai Hao didn't remember you mother and son at all?!"
A series of interrogations pounded toward Dai Yuhao like a machine gun, causing his brows to knit tighter and tighter.
He looked at the full display of anger written on that face identical to his own opposite him, secretly wondering in his heart why the other party would be so furious, and why he knew his past so well.
Out of patience for that face similar to his own, Dai Yuhao ultimately still spoke to explain: "Those were all misunderstandings, and they have already been resolved later on."
"Father-in-law reached out and saved my mother, and now both parents are in the Divine Realm, everything is well."
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A/N:
I hope all of you are enjoying this story so far. I would appreciate some Power Stones if you can spare any. Leave a review if you like the story. Thank you.