Chapter 96: 113. Insulting Him Is Insulting Me
"Have you heard of the Clear Sky Twin Stars?" one of the soul hunters asked.
The crew-cut man in the corner immediately pricked up his ears.
"Of course," said another. "They were legends destined to become Titled Douluo." Then, he looked curious. "So what kind of vile thing did one of them do?"
"You really don't keep up with the world," the first hunter laughed. "The Twin Stars both fell in love with the same woman and fought over her. In the end, the younger brother, Tang Hao, crippled his brother and stole the woman for himself."
"That's old news," another hunter interrupted impatiently. "I've heard it a thousand times already."
"Oh, but that's just the beginning," the storyteller grinned. "Turns out, that woman was actually a hundred-thousand-year spirit beast in human form. And Tang Hao even had a child with her!"
"What? You mean to say Tang Hao—one of the Twin Stars of the Clear Sky Sect—actually bedded a soul beast and gave birth to a beastman?!" The crowd gasped in disbelief. Among humans, hearing of a man uniting with a soul beast was like saying someone had mated with a dog—and had a half-dog child to show for it.
While scandalous, such strange unions weren't unheard of on the continent; after all, the Wolf Thieves were born from human–wolf bloodlines. But Tang Hao—heir of the mighty Clear Sky Sect, a man of noble lineage—how could he stoop so low?
"And that's not even the best part," the hunter continued, popping a fennel bean into his mouth.
"Oh? There's more?"
"Of course. Later, the sect found him, and Clear Sky Sect began hunting him down."
He proceeded to recount vividly how Tang Hao, for the sake of a woman, killed five Titled Douluo-level elders and countless Soul Douluo and Soul Saints in his rage.
When he finished, the tavern was silent, everyone absorbed in the shocking story.
Then one man broke the quiet. "Wait—among those dead Titled Douluo, wasn't the sect master Tang Tian—the Heavenly Douluo? Tang Hao's own father? You're telling me that for the sake of a soul beast and their beastman child, Tang Hao killed his own father?"
"That's exactly what I'm saying!" the storyteller replied eagerly.
"Unbelievable. Truly unbelievable. The Clear Sky Sect must've been cursed for eight generations to produce a monster like him."
In the corner, the little crew-cut man had listened to every word.
Tang Hao was not an unfamiliar name to him. In his youth, before his martial soul awakening, Tang Hao had been his measure—his rival, his aspiration. But after his martial soul awakened, Tang Hao had become a distant and unreachable figure.
Tang Hao… a man who, before even reaching Titled rank, killed seven Titled Douluo—including masters from both Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall.
The little man thought bitterly of his own fate—how, despite having only 0.5 innate soul power, he never gave up, training harder than anyone, sweating blood to reach the rank of level 29 Grandmaster. Yet the sect gave him no recognition, his father ignored him, and everyone else treated him like a joke.
He recalled the days in Spirit Hall when he offered them his greatest theoretical work, The Ten Core Competencies of Martial Souls. The title "Grandmaster" he earned became nothing but a mockery in others' mouths—a cruel punchline.
He remembered, too, how his martial soul had failed to evolve multiple times, how the Golden Dragon Fruit he had dreamed of was stolen by that treacherous Yu Xiaomen. Even his one successful fusion skill with Liu Erlong—his one pride—had been destroyed by that vile woman and that mutt Flender.
Tears welled from his unwashed, grimy eyes. Tang Hao had done what he longed to do but never dared—lived for himself, defied all. He was… his idol.
In that moment, Tang Hao's mighty image etched itself into the little man's heart.
And as those around him continued slandering Tang Hao, a fire of reverence and outrage burned in his chest. As a fellow descendant of one of the Three Great Sects, how could lowborn peasants dare to insult one of noble blood?
"Silence!" he suddenly shouted. "Tang Hao carries the noble blood of the Clear Sky Sect, a man among men! You filthy commoners have no right to speak his name!"
The hunters all stared at him in shock.
"Hahaha, unbelievable—after all he's done, people still defend him?"
"An inhuman, immoral freak. So what if he's strong? No strength excuses such sins!"
"Murdering your father, consorting with beasts—he's filth."
"Highborn? He's nothing but a degenerate who lay with a soul beast and killed his own kin! What's noble about that?"
"Even his own sect disowned him. Why are you defending him—are you his loyal dog?"
Their laughter filled the tavern.
The little man's protest only made them bolder.
"Shut up!" he roared. "Tang Hao bears the sacred bloodline of the Three Great Sects! You filthy peasants are not fit to speak his name! The nobility of our lineage must not be sullied!"
Hatred flashed in his eyes, his pride burning. To him, Tang Hao wasn't just an idol—he was a reflection of his own nobility. If Tang Hao's honor was mocked, so too was his own.
To insult Tang Hao was to insult him.
He would not allow it.
With a wild glare, he shouted, "Luo Sanpao!"
A muffled pop erupted—and a hideous, purple-black creature appeared, something between a pig and a dog.
Everyone froze.
"Damn it—it's the tavern!"
"Shit, he's about to fart!"
"Ugh, the stench—my drink's ruined!"
"Quick, get me a mask!"
The crew-cut man's eyes gleamed with madness. "Thunderous gas, Heaven-shaking fart—Luo Sanpao!"
Across the continent, Tang Hao's name had spread—from the frozen north of the Heaven Dou Empire to the southernmost reaches of Starfall. None did not know the name Tang Hao—infamous yet awe-inspiring.
He was like the warlord Lü Bu of legend—his might undeniable, his infamy just as great.
The world respected Lü Bu's strength but scorned his character.
Tang Hao was worse. For Lü Bu had killed only a foster father, but Tang Hao… had killed his own.
Both were feared for their power—but few knew the truth: Tang Hao's strength came from more than his own hand. Someone from the divine realm was clearing his path.
(END CHAPTER)
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