Chapter 122: Tang Hao Is Deceived
Hu Liena didn't like being touched by men.
Even Yan, her teammate who had been pursuing her for several years, had never managed to hold her hand. She felt nothing for him, not even enough to let him touch her.
Yet this Qi Tian, whom she had known for less than half an hour, had already grabbed her hand.
If it weren't for the fact that Qi Tian was good-looking and someone the Pope valued highly, she would have already exploded.
As a face-con, Hu Liena liked men who were very, very good-looking. Qi Tian's appearance was exactly her type.
So although she turned cold on the surface, deep down she wasn't truly angry.
She pulled her hand out of Qi Tian's grip and stepped into the cell—but the next second, her face flushed bright red, and she hurriedly backed out.
Even though she hadn't seen the full scene, just their backs were already unbearable to look at.
If she saw it all from the front, she felt she might really need to ask some special-type soul masters to help erase her memory.
She was already sixteen or seventeen years old, which counted as an adult in this world. She wasn't completely ignorant about such things.
"I'm sorry, I misunderstood you!" Hu Liena said to Qi Tian, cheeks burning.
Only now did she realize that Qi Tian had sensed what was happening inside and pulled her back on purpose.
"It's fine," Qi Tian replied calmly.
He didn't go in either. He planned to wait until the men inside were done tormenting Tang Hao before entering.
A scene that was blinding to the eyes—he had no interest in forcibly imprinting it into his mind.
Hu Liena watched the sudden shift in Qi Tian's attitude and felt a bit annoyed.
Why was he so petty?
She hadn't cursed him or hit him, so why was he suddenly acting so cold toward her?
Hu Liena lifted her gaze, staring at Qi Tian's face, not knowing whether she was "washing her eyes" with his looks or just lost in thought.
After a long while, the damp prison finally quieted down. The men inside openly voiced how "satisfying" it had been.
The jailer came over and led those burly men away to another cell. Considering Hu Liena was outside, he had at least asked them to put their clothes back on.
Only then did Qi Tian step into the cell, while Hu Liena remained outside and did not go in.
The cell reeked of a foul, bloody stench. Tang Hao hung there like a corpse, bound within a wooden cylinder, his expression ashen and lifeless, his eyes dull and empty.
He heard movement but didn't even bother to raise his head to look at Qi Tian, assuming he was just another person coming to torment him.
"Just kill me already," Tang Hao rasped. His voice was hoarse and broken.
After several days of torture, Tang Hao was no longer human in appearance. Even Qi Tian couldn't bear to look too closely at him.
"Your Excellency, Clear Sky Douluo, it's me. How did you end up like this?" Qi Tian asked.
Hearing a familiar voice, Tang Hao raised his head, and the person he saw standing before him…
Was the Grandmaster.
"Grandmaster? Why are you here?" Tang Hao felt no joy at meeting an old acquaintance in a foreign place. Instead, he was filled with shame.
For him to be seen in such a state by someone he knew—someone who was even his own son's teacher—
For a moment, a flash of killing intent rose in Tang Hao's heart. Unfortunately, his soul power had been completely sealed. Forget soul skills—even his soul bone skills were unusable.
"Grandmaster, did the Spirit Hall catch you, too? How is Xiao San?" Tang Hao forced down his shame and asked.
This so-called Grandmaster, of course, was Qi Tian in disguise.
After absorbing the Wisdom Skull Soul Bone, his disguises were flawless enough that even a Titled Douluo wouldn't be able to see through them, let alone Tang Hao, whose soul power had fallen to the fiftieth rank.
"Your Excellency, I wasn't captured. I came here of my own will," Qi Tian said.
"You're… one of their people?" Tang Hao was stunned.
Qi Tian shook his head. "You misunderstand, Your Excellency. I merely have some past history with the Spirit Hall."
He then turned Yu Xiaogang's original fate into a story, narrating it to Tang Hao. When truth and lies intertwine, even falsehoods start to sound real. Tang Hao believed it, at least somewhat.
"To think you actually had that kind of relationship with that woman…"
In that story, what felt the most unreal to Tang Hao was the fact that Yu Xiaogang had once been in a romantic relationship with the Pope?
"Yes. That's why I hid and never dared face Bibi Dong again. I was afraid she'd blame me… afraid she'd kill me."
"Sigh. It's all Qian Xunji's fault. He stole my theories, tore Bibi Dong and me apart, and drove me out of the Spirit Hall!"
"If it weren't for him… I might still have the ability to rescue you!"
"But look at me now—just to come here and see you once, I had to use up what little past sentiment I had with Bibi Dong," Qi Tian said with a hateful tone.
Tang Hao's mind drifted, and he looked deeply at Qi Tian.
"Grandmaster, you risked coming here to see me. You must have something important to say, right?" Tang Hao asked.
Qi Tian nodded. "Yes. It's about Xiao San."
"For some reason, Bibi Dong found out the Moon Pavilion's mistress's true identity and has already wiped the Moon Pavilion out."
"Xiao San finally arrived at the small village outside the Clear Sky Sect, but the sect disciples drove him away."
"Your Excellency, the mission you entrusted to me… I'm afraid I can no longer complete it."
Tang Hao's mind went blank for a moment. He suddenly remembered something Tang Yuehua had once told him—that when Bibi Dong was younger, she had gone to the Moon Pavilion to receive treatment for her mental trauma through his sister's domain.
Could it be that she exposed herself back then, and that was how the Spirit Hall locked onto his sister's Moon Pavilion?
"Yuehua! This is all my fault!" Tang Hao was overwhelmed with grief, believing it was his fault that his father and sister had died.
Tang Yuehua had always sided with him. With her mediating, Tang San's return to the sect would have been much smoother.
Now that something had happened to his sister, he knew that the sect would no longer easily accept his son back into the sect.
But if Tang San couldn't learn the Clear Sky Hammer's secret arts, a lot of his potential would be wasted.
'No. Xiao San has to learn the Clear Sky Sect's secret techniques.'
'Father, Grandfather, I'm sorry. I never meant to leak the sect's secret arts. I only want to avenge the sect!' He thought.
'As for the crime of passing down forbidden techniques, I, Tang Hao, will bear it alone!' he declared.
"Grandmaster, this isn't your fault. It's mine. I didn't realize the sect still held such resentment toward me," Tang Hao said bitterly.
"Grandmaster, if Xiao San can't return to the sect, then he won't be able to learn how to truly wield the Clear Sky Hammer."
"I have here some secret techniques for cultivating the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul. Please, you must deliver them to Xiao San and have him hide away and cultivate them!"
"When he has mastered them in the future, have him avenge me, Yuehua, and the sect!" Tang Hao said.
Qi Tian frowned slightly, pretending to be conflicted.
"But these are the Clear Sky Sect's secret arts. Isn't it inappropriate for an outsider like me to pass them on?"
"And I don't understand the Clear Sky Hammer. How can I properly teach Xiao San?"
"It's fine, Grandmaster. In a life-and-death crisis like this, what are a few secret techniques?" Tang Hao said firmly.
"As for teaching Xiao San, I trust in your ability, and I trust in Xiao San's talent."
Hearing this, Qi Tian immediately put on a solemn face and swore, "Rest assured, Your Excellency. I swear that I will teach Xiao San well. If these secret arts are leaked to anyone else, may Yu Xiaogang die a miserable death!"
Tang Hao felt even more at ease with this "Grandmaster" and proceeded to hand over all the secret techniques he had mastered.
This included the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, methods to break through the limits of sealed soul power, the Great Sumeru Hammer, and even instructions on how to use the Death God Domain.
Originally, the Great Sumeru Hammer was a secret art that only the sect master had the right to pass on, but Tang Hao couldn't concern himself with that anymore.
It was just like writing his last will. He dumped everything he knew onto Qi Tian in one go.
At the very end, he finally said,
"Grandmaster, send me off on my final journey."
"I still have two soul bones—one in my skull and one in my chest. Take them as well and give them to Xiao San so he can cultivate properly."
Qi Tian merely looked at him and gave a mysterious smile before turning and leaving the cell.
Tang Hao's heart skipped a beat, and a bad premonition arose within him.
—
End of Chapter