Join my Patreon to be 30 chapters ahead of the webnovel releases:
patreon.com/ZeroMoney
*****
Five days had passed since the massacre of the Clear Sky Sect. Tang San, dressed in simple cloth garments and using a cloth belt to conceal the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges at his waist, walked with his head lowered beneath a straw hat, his short hair disheveled. He moved quietly, doing everything he could to avoid drawing attention.
After five days of travel, Tang San finally returned to the place where he had grown up—Saint Spirit Village.
Looking at the familiar scenery of the village where he had once lived with his father Tang Hao for six years, Tang San's eyes turned slightly red.
"Dad…"
"According to Dad's letter, Mom is behind the waterfall in the mountain behind the village. She's become a seed, but she still retains her consciousness. If Mom finds out that Dad was killed by the Spirit Hall... how devastated she'll be."
As the words left his mouth, memories of Tang Hao's death and the destruction of the Clear Sky Sect flooded back, and Tang San's gaze once again turned murderous, filled with deep hatred.
---
Saint Spirit Village.
At that moment, Old Jack was directing the women of the village to gently clean the newly erected statue of the Six-Winged Angel Goddess using soft, clean cloths. He also made sure they used the finest brushes and other light tools to gently blow off the dust.
Maintaining the statue of the Six-Winged Angel cost ten gold soul coins annually. Given that one gold soul coin was equivalent to a thousand copper soul coins, the daily cost exceeded twenty-seven copper soul coins.
Because of this, Old Jack was extremely careful with the statue's upkeep. The statue had nearly bankrupted the entire village to build. If it were damaged, he wouldn't even know where to cry.
"Great Angel, please bless my son with innate soul power when he awakens his martial spirit, so he can become a soul master," a few middle-aged men said as they knelt reverently before the statue, kowtowing with devout expressions.
Building statues for the sake of faith alone was pointless. Even the massive angel statue in front of the Pope's Palace of Spirit Hall didn't make many soul masters believe that an actual Angel God existed in the world.
That's why Qian Renhan had Spirit Hall intentionally spread false information—that kneeling and worshipping the angel statue could bring divine blessings. They claimed that with enough devotion, one's descendants would have a greater chance of becoming soul masters.
To those with a God's-eye perspective, this was obviously nonsense. But to the common folk of the Douluo Continent, it was an entirely different story.
Moreover, before the day of spirit awakening, Spirit Hall would secretly arrange for orphans from Martial Spirit City—children whose soul master parents had died for various reasons—to be relocated to small villages across the continent. When these orphans awakened with soul power, it gave even more credibility to the idea that devotion to the angel statue increased the chance of birthing a soul master.
Old Jack looked up at the statue and sighed.
"This is our children's hope for a future. It's our village's only chance to see another Soul Saint born."
From a hidden corner, Tang San silently observed the villagers of Saint Spirit Village tending to the Six-Winged Angel statue with such care and reverence. His eyes were boiling with killing intent.
Tang San had been to Spirit Hall himself—how could he not know what the statue represented? It was the symbol of Spirit Hall. And yet, these villagers didn't just submit to Spirit Hall—they worshipped it willingly!
Activating his Purple Demon Eye, Tang San carefully examined the villagers' expressions. He saw no reluctance, no anger, no signs of inner resistance in their eyes as they knelt before the statue—only sincere belief and devotion. The realization filled his heart with uncontainable rage.
"Great Angel God, please bless the children of Saint Spirit Village to become soul masters," someone prayed aloud again.
Old Jack placed his cane on the ground, then knelt and bowed his head before the statue, just like the others.
"Grandpa Jack… even you?" Tang San murmured.
Tang San's pupils widened as he saw Village Chief Jack—who had cared for him during his childhood—kneeling before the Angel Statue. His chest heaved with suppressed emotion.
"As Uncle and Aunt said… anyone not of our clan is ultimately an outsider. No matter how long we've lived together, they can never be truly trusted."
Tang San gave one last deep glance at the villagers of Saint Spirit Village, then turned and walked toward the rear mountain behind the village. He desperately wanted to kill all these lackeys of the Spirit Hall, but right now, he was completely alone, and his current cultivation was only at the Soul Ancestor level. If Spirit Hall discovered that he—one of the last survivors of the Clear Sky Sect—was still alive, they would surely dispatch powerful soul masters to hunt him down. That would be a death sentence.
Spirit Hall did not yet know that Tang San was still alive. They operated in the light, while he moved in the shadows. That was his greatest advantage for now.
As for the term "second-rate lackeys," Tang San considered soul masters who served Spirit Hall as "lackeys." Ordinary civilians who sided with Spirit Hall and spoke well of them were, in his view, second-rate lackeys.
Tang San took a walk around the thatched cottage where he had lived as a child before heading toward the rear mountain of Saint Spirit Village.
"The sound of the waterfall… it's getting closer. Closer! This is the place Father described. Mother should be just ahead!"
With a heart full of emotion and anticipation at finally meeting his mother, Tang San leaped from tree to tree. Soon, he arrived before a medium-sized waterfall. But before a smile could form on his face, his expression froze.
The waterfall before him had a large gaping hole—clearly caused by deliberate destruction. Inside the gap was a cave, contradicting what his father, Tang Hao, had said: that a hidden mechanism needed to be triggered to reveal the entrance.
"No… No, it can't be… Father must've been mistaken."
Clinging to a final sliver of hope, Tang San rushed into the cave. At the deepest point, where a small hole allowed a beam of sunlight to shine through, the earthen mound that once lay there had been dug up, leaving only a thin, moist layer of soil.
"This is… the root of a Blue Silver Grass."
With trembling hands, Tang San reached toward the remaining bit of soil left behind by Ghost Douluo after he had taken the mound. He picked up the fractured remains of the overloaded root system and whispered, voice shaking,
"The stone chamber was broken into… Someone found Mother… Someone took her away!"
"Only Father knew where Mother was buried, and he told only me. There's no way anyone else could have known her location!"
Sorting through his thoughts, Tang San suddenly remembered—his memories had once been tampered with by Qian Renhan. And Qian Renhan had done the same thing to his father, Tang Hao. That meant Qian Renhan was the third person in the world who knew this place. The one who took his mother… had to be someone from Spirit Hall!
"AAAHHH—SPIRIT HALL—AAAAHHH—!!"
Tang San let out a howl of agony, his blood-red eyes brimming with tears. He had been an orphan in his previous life, never knowing the warmth of family. His only companions were the cold teachings of Tang Sect's outer sect and the constant bullying by inner disciples. He had finally begun to experience familial love in this life, only for it all to be ripped away. His father, his uncle, his aunt, his fellow clan members—all slaughtered by Spirit Hall. Even Xiao Wu...
Even his mother, who had already been driven to death by Spirit Hall and turned into a mere blade of grass, had not been spared. They still came for her. Still tried to destroy her!
Hatred. Murderous intent. Fury. Resentment. A torrent of negative emotions overwhelmed Tang San, who had now lost everything. An overwhelming wave of grievance surged into the heavens.
---
God Realm
In the God Realm, the Rakshasa God—having lost her chosen successor, Bibi Dong, and seen her path of inheritance severed—sat bitterly on her throne.
Suddenly, she sensed an immense surge of resentment from the mortal world. Her expression lit up with excitement.
"What astonishing hatred… Even more intense than Bibi Dong's. If I pass on my godhood to him, it might even elevate the Rakshasa God's divine authority to an entirely new level!"
The Rakshasa God let out a sinister chuckle.
"Heir of the Clear Sky Sect, Tang San. His clan was wiped out, and he alone survived by the skin of his teeth. A twin martial spirit user, no less… Yes, yes, he'll do quite nicely."
(End of Chapter)