Douluo: I Can Choose My Own Soul Skills

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Tang Hao stared at Liu Qingqing before him and remembered how Ah Yin had sacrificed herself without a second thought to save his life.

He looked down at the infant in his arms, hope flickering in his eyes. He vowed that Ah Yin's child must survive. Now grievously wounded and hunted, he could not risk exposing his location—and the woman before him was Spirit Hall personnel.

Whether she had come seeking death alongside her husband or attempting to flee, Tang Hao would not let her live. She was only a Soul Master; if he, a Titled Douluo, failed to catch her, it would be a disgrace.

He covered the baby's eyes with one hand, then hurled his hammer at Liu Qingqing.

In an instant, silence fell. Liu Qingqing slumped into Ye Tianyang's arms—lifeless, yet with a faint, peaceful smile on her lips.

…

Hidden in the undergrowth, Su Yuntao's eyes widened. Frozen like a stone, he had witnessed everything but made no sound.

He wanted to live. He had to return to Spirit Hall to report what happened and avenge his brother and sister-in-law.

Fortunately, Tang Hao was severely injured, his soul power nearly spent and his senses dulled. Had that not been the case, Su Yuntao, crouched in the darkness, would have shone like a beacon to him.

After killing Liu Qingqing, Tang Hao recalled the Clear Sky Hammer and departed.

Only after Tang Hao was long gone did Su Yuntao's pent-up anguish break free in anguished sobs. He knelt before Ye Tianyang and Liu Qingqing's bodies to prepare them for burial.

When he returned to Spirit Hall and reported Tang Hao's presence, the Hall dispatched countless Soul Masters to scour the countryside around Nuoding City—yet Tang Hao and his son had vanished without a trace.

As reports of the failed search mounted, Su Yuntao fell into utter despair. He had failed to save his brother. He had failed to avenge him.

Every time he saw Ye Lan afterward, Su Yuntao's guilt swelled anew. He should have charged out to save them. The one who deserved to die that day was himself—if only he hadn't gotten an upset stomach.

With mounting remorse, Su Yuntao raised Ye Lan as his own. Fearing the boy could not bear the truth of his parents' deaths, he lied, saying they had merely gone missing. His fear only grew after Ye Lan awakened his martial soul. After all, for a Blue Silver Grass user to seek revenge on Tang Hao was no different from suicide. To prevent him from walking that fatal path, Su Yuntao sealed the secret of Ye Tianyang's and Liu Qingqing's deaths within the sub-hall; only a handful of Soul Masters were sworn to silence.

As Su Yuntao finally spoke this truth, Ye Lan's golden eyes dulled, their sparkle gone. His lips pressed into a firm line; he said nothing.

When Su Yuntao finished, memories of that day crashed over him and tears coursed down his face as he wept.

"Xiao Lan, I am so sorry. If I hadn't been so impatient to eat that roasted meat, if my stomach hadn't given out, your father and mother wouldn't have been waiting there."

"I should have charged at Tang Hao that day, maybe they wouldn't have died."

Su Yuntao's self-reproach poured forth relentlessly.

Hearing it all, Ye Lan's shoulders trembled, and a surge of hot, vengeful blood pulsed through his mind.

"TANG HAO, I WANT YOU DEAD!" Ye Lan roared, a line of bloody tears streaming from his eyes.

Images of his proud father and gentle mother flashed through Ye Lan's mind, igniting his fury. In his past life, he had been an orphan raised by the state. In this life, he had believed he'd been blessed with loving parents—only to have them snatched away by Tang Hao.

Clenching his fists so tightly they bled, Ye Lan spoke: "Uncle Tao, I don't blame you for my parents' death. This is all Tang Hao's fault. There was nothing you could have done."

"And it's for the best that Spirit Hall never found Tang Hao. It means I get the chance to take my revenge with my own hands!"

"I will make Tang Hao die in the depths of utter despair. Do you believe me, Uncle Tao?" Ye Lan's voice was calm, yet his words were venomous as he looked into Su Yuntao's eyes.

Su Yuntao wiped his tears. "I don't ask for revenge—I only wish for you to live on for your parents. If the time isn't right, don't act recklessly, okay?"

Ye Lan nodded. "Until it is time to end this, I will not be impulsive. I am the continuation of my parents' lives; I must be responsible for them."

Then he realized why, upon first meeting Tang San, he'd felt an unnameable rage—because Tang San had witnessed the deaths of his parents and shared blood with their murderer, Tang Hao.

"Uncle Tao… have you ever heard of gods?" Ye Lan asked suddenly.

"Gods? Aren't they just legends?" Su Yuntao blinked in surprise.

"They're not legends. They are real. And I will become a god one day—and bring my parents back to life," Ye Lan said with unshakable resolve.

Staring at the boy's determined face, Su Yuntao felt an unexpected surge of faith. Perhaps he truly could ascend to divinity—and reunite them all with his brother and sister-in-law.

"Xiao Lan, I believe you!" Su Yuntao said, patting his shoulder firmly.

"Uncle Tao, could you give me some time alone?" Ye Lan asked quietly.

"Of course. Tonight I'll have Sister Sisi cook your favorite golden-crisp chicken," Su Yuntao replied, closing the door softly behind him.

Though he seemed strong before Su Yuntao, Ye Lan could not yet accept his parents' deaths. He curled up on the sofa, knees drawn to his chest, and memories of his earliest years flooded his mind:

"Lan'er, what are you looking at now?"

"Lan'er, being a picky eater again?"

"Lan'er, you weren't well-behaved today!"

"Lan'er, stop staring at the ceiling and go to sleep!"

"Lan'er, let Mommy tell you a story!"

"Lan'er, Father made you a wooden sword!"

…

Meanwhile, in Spirit City, the Pope's Chamber.

Beneath a twenty-meter-high throne sat a purple-haired woman of perfect features. A nine-curved purple-gold crown rested upon her head, and in her hand she held a jewel-tipped scepter—the symbol of her absolute authority.

In the solemn hush of the Pope's Chamber, her casual repose seemed almost out of place. She leaned her cheek on one hand, drifting in a light doze.

A shadowy figure appeared silently below the throne.

Half-kneeling with his head bowed, the figure showed his respect to the Pope. The purple-haired woman opened her eyes, her violet pupils radiating a noble air.

"Gui Mei, what is it?" she asked.

"Your Holiness, Platinum Bishop Salas sends word from the Heaven Dou Empire. A genius has appeared."

(End of Chapter)