47. This Is My Evidence... I Am His Father

Seeing Tang Hao tense up at his joking sarcasm, Salas smiled faintly. "Relax. I'm not here to interrogate you. I don't even know who you are. But… seeing you here, watching the boy, I can guess a few things. That's also why I didn't kill you right away... Heh heh."

Tang Hao was indeed formidable. If a head-on battle arose, Tang Hao—with just level 95 soul power—could contend equally with a level 98 if he used his ring blasting technique.

But Salas was certainly not bluffing when he said he could have killed Tang Hao if he wanted.

Although, unlike Tang Hao, who has a bug skill, Salas didn't have one. Even with his level 98 physique, level 99 spiritual power, and level 90 soul power combined, he could only showcase battle power equivalent to a level 96 Titled Douluo, which was far below the level needed to confront Tang Hao directly. But who said he had to confront Tang Hao head-on?

If Salas used his first soul skill, "Mirroring Stealth," to enter stealth and approach Tang Hao from behind, wielding his hammer—which now weighed over 20,000 jin after adding three soul rings—and the right arm soul bone skill granting gravity control, allowing him to increase the hammer's weight tenfold to over 200,000 jin, a single strike would likely reduce Tang Hao to little more than meat paste. After all, with Salas's arm-swinging speed, the impact would produce immense energy. Imagine a 200,000-jin hammer falling from the sky from 50 km—or even 100 km—high.

Of course, the moment Salas used his soul bone skill, his first soul skill would deactivate, potentially giving the other person a chance to react. But even then, if they didn't respond quickly, it would be nearly impossible to defend or offset the damage.

Not to mention, the current Tang Hao was definitely not in his best condition. Though Salas didn't know exactly what had caused him to look so weak, as the person who ate Tang Hao's wife, he could easily guess the reason.

Under such circumstances, if Salas launched a sneak attack, he could truly kill him. Even if the first hit failed, the second would succeed. Then, using his soul ring and soul bone skills, he could easily blast Tang Hao's head into strawberry jam.

Not to mention, Salas also had the Snow Swan Kiss in his Wishful Hundred Treasure Bag. If he wished to watch Tang Hao die slowly and turn into pus little by little, he could simply let him come into contact with that immortal herb.

.....

"But still... I want to hear you openly state your reason for visiting here. What if my guess is wrong? I'm not someone who would let anyone threaten my disciple's life leave alive after learning her secret."

"So, dear… um, senior… hmm, friend, first please tell me why you are here. Then provide valid evidence for me to believe that reason. Afterwards, you may take your leave—I will not stop you."

"Of course, you have a choice. You can decide not to tell me. But the consequence… you may not live to realize it," Salas said, his thin lips curling into a carefree smile.

Tang Hao couldn't help but feel a chill hearing Salas say all this—even mentioning his death—so casually and with such ease.

But what Salas said also made him realize something. Maybe… the situation wasn't quite what he thought. Maybe he didn't have to fight Salas desperately. So, with his heart in his throat, he spoke slowly and cautiously, not even minding how Salas called him senior:

"Senior, I'm willing to tell you the reason. But could you please tell me who that disciple is? Is it that girl, Xiao Wu?"

"Oh, so you do know Xiao Wu... That's right, she's my disciple. Since you know her, you must also know her identity, right?" Salas smiled, clearly unbothered by admitting he took a soul beast as his disciple, as if confident Tang Hao wouldn't live to tell anyone else.

Hearing this, although Tang Hao still had doubts about how Salas took Xiao Wu as a disciple or whether he had any ulterior motive, he chose to explain his reason for visiting and answer Salas's questions, saving his doubts for later.

"Yes, senior… I've known her for a long time since I'm the father of that boy, Tang San. I've also protected her safety until now…" Tang Hao spoke softly and cautiously. The spiritual pressure around him, which suppressed his power by half, was hard to bear. Moreover, as time passed slowly, he could feel his spiritual power gradually being purified. He couldn't stay in this domain for long.

"Oh..." Salas uttered and continued to look at Tang Hao. The meaning behind that look was clear: words alone aren't enough... you also have to provide evidence.

"Alas… senior, I can't bring my son here and use him as evidence. After all... he doesn't know I'm a Titled Douluo. He only thinks I'm a drunkard blacksmithing dad. I don't want him to know about me just yet..."

"But senior, there is another way to prove it. But before I do, I hope to know why you accepted that girl as a disciple. I hope you understand I care for her as well, since she's the dearest person to my son," Tang Hao said.

Before stating his identity and martial soul as proof, he wanted the person in front of him to explain his motive for getting close to Xiao Wu.

"Haha... I understand, I understand now. I don't mind telling you since it's common to be suspicious—especially considering her identity as a soul beast and my identity as a human," Salas said with an understanding smile.

"Haa... It's because I owe my life to her two brothers. By a twist of fate, when I was at my most vulnerable, we became sworn brothers... By that same twist of fate, they left this world—even though it should have been me who died—leaving only a dying wish to safeguard this girl. You may not understand. Actually, human kindness is not as strong as that of beasts... How ironic this is."

For a brief moment, Salas's tone softened into sadness and grief, his eyes clouding with mist.

The next moment, he shook his head, his expression returning to normal. "That's all I can say. She took me as her master, knowing everything about me and honoring her brothers' dying wish. Otherwise, why would she get close to me—a person who could see through her identity?"

Hearing this, Tang Hao found it reasonable and began to believe a little.

Thinking about it now, considering the strength of the person before him, he could have easily kidnapped her long ago and locked her away if he had any malicious intent. There was no reason to let her live happily in front of everyone; only fools would do that. Thinking this way, he almost completely believed Salas's words.

He hadn't expected Salas to have such an experience either... As for what Salas said about Xiao Wu's brothers, he could guess some.

"Now, your turn." Salas raised his eyebrows at Tang Hao, who let out a weary breath.

With a sigh, Tang Hao lifted his hood, revealing his face—overgrown beard, weathered features, unkempt hair tangled like a bird's nest… just like a beggar.

Then he raised his right hand. A large black hammer with a barrel-sized head and a long handle appeared. Under his feet, soul rings began to materialize—yellow, yellow; purple, purple; black, black, black, black; and finally, a blood-red soul ring.

The moment he summoned his martial soul, the space around him distorted, and a heavy, domineering aura filled the area.

When the last red soul ring appeared, Tang Hao felt the spiritual suppression Salas had placed weaken slightly—but only a tiny bit, a minuscule relief. Then, just as quickly, it vanished. He could only smile wryly in his heart.

"My name is Tang Hao, Titled Clear Sky... Martial Soul: Clear Sky Hammer. This is my proof that I am his father... My son has the same martial soul as me," Tang Hao spoke with a helpless tone.

Though apprehensive about revealing that Tang San had twin martial souls to another person, he decided he had to resolve the situation first. Afterwards, whether the man before him had good intentions or not, he would leave with his son to cultivate in seclusion. That was the best option he could think of. There was another option—fight—but he knew, though shameful to admit, he had absolutely no chance of winning.

Tang Hao studied Salas's reaction closely. If Salas showed any malicious intent, he would quickly detonate all his soul rings and whisk Tang San away at top speed—Xiao Wu too, if possible.

But to his surprise, Salas seemed frozen, staring at the martial soul in his hand with shock and disbelief.

Tang Hao even wondered if the man before him had been intimidated by his martial soul, or maybe by his name? That would be almost too good.

He thought of using this moment to run away... but decided against it. So far, their conversation had been fairly calm. He didn't want to anger this suspected Limit Douluo while injured.

Just as his mind spun through possibilities… from the stillness, came a low laugh. Soft at first—but it quickly deepened, rolling through the night like a storm ready to break...