After father and son made their vow, Xiao Wu lowered her head to look at her own belly, the corners of her lips curling into a check-mark-like smile.
That night, Xiao Wu used her pregnancy as an excuse to refuse to sleep in the same room with Tang San. She then returned to the Shura Divine Sword Scabbard space and summoned her ten martial soul fusion partners.
"Little Sister Xiao Wu, are we going to continue cultivating Martial Soul Fusion Techniques today?" Yu Tianheng was the first to ask upon entering.
Dai Mubai added with a playful tone: "Little Sister Xiao Wu, who have you arranged to serve our San this time?"
Ma Hongjun impatiently blurted out: "Little Sister Xiao Wu, a day apart feels like three autumns! Hurry up, I also want to practice Martial Soul Fusion Techniques. The more the better!"
The group chattered noisily—some teasing dark-skinned Ah San, others eager to practice fusion with Xiao Wu.
"Silence!" Xiao Wu said sternly.
Her authoritative voice immediately quieted the place.
"Today, we won't be practicing Martial Soul Fusion Techniques." After she spoke, her face flushed red as she continued: "Today I want to tell you something— I'm pregnant."
"Xiao Wu… you're pregnant?" Dai Mubai exclaimed in shock.
"Mhm." Xiao Wu nodded.
"Then… whose is it?" Yu Tianheng asked.
Xiao Wu rolled her eyes at him. "How should I know? After all, I've been practicing Martial Soul Fusion Techniques with you every day. In this situation, only after the child is born can we know. But—"
Her tone shifted: "What can be certain is— it definitely won't be that little bastard's."
All ten pairs of eyes focused on Xiao Wu's belly, each hoping the child inside was theirs.
At this moment, Bu Le raised a concern: "The child is there, but what if that little bastard realizes the child isn't his? What then?"
Xiao Wu replied: "They've already made their vow, and under the Shura Scabbard no less. Even if they realize the child isn't theirs, so what? He'll just have to hold his nose and keep being the child's 'wild father.' Hahahahaha—"
"I'm afraid they won't know. Otherwise, how could I torment them properly?"
Thus, the group gathered around, fussing over Xiao Wu's belly, each pretending concern.
Ever since Xiao Wu conceived, Tang Hao had been hammering iron with more vigor, and the gloominess in Tang San's nature from his earlier setbacks had dissipated. His eyes now shone with light.
Tang San carefully tended to and served Xiao Wu without complaint.
One day, in a rare moment of leisure, Tang Hao asked Tang San:
"Xiao San, after your child is born, how do you plan to arrange his future?"
Tang San answered: "Once I inherit the position of Shura God, I can stay in the Douluo Continent for a while. That will be enough time for me to raise my son. Father, I will have him inherit the Sea God's godhood. As a first-tier deity, the Sea God is just barely worthy of my son's exalted status. In this way, the positions of Sea God and Shura God will both belong to the Tang family."
Tang Hao nodded, then asked: "But what if there's another possibility?"
"What possibility?" Tang San asked doubtfully.
"What if Xiao Wu's child turns out to be a girl?" Tang Hao asked.
"A girl?" Tang San's expression froze. He realized calling it a son was premature, but the thought made him deeply uncomfortable.
In Tang San's view, a son was the rightful heir to carry on the family line and inherit his great legacy. A daughter? A daughter was nothing more than a liability to be married off. Even if he raised her, she would eventually belong to someone else.
In his previous life, Tang San had eagerly awaited Xiao Wu giving birth, hoping for a chubby little boy. But when the child turned out to be a "liability," he had nearly thrown the daughter away in fury. Yet, with Xiao Wu present, he could only put on an act as a doting "daughter slave."
From the standpoint of "waste not, want not," Tang Hao used that daughter as a snare to capture the child of destiny, Huo Yuhao, ten thousand years later. But the useless liability couldn't even serve as a proper snare—Huo Yuhao turned from loyal dog to white-eyed wolf, stabbing Tang San in the back at a critical moment. Truly useless liability.
Thus, deep down, Tang San utterly rejected the idea of his first child being a girl.
"If it's a daughter… the Sea God's position would be too heavy. I fear she wouldn't be able to handle it. Forget it, when I bring her to the Divine Realm later, I'll arrange a second-tier or third-tier godhood for her. That way, she can at least have a suitable partner to rely on in the future." Tang San said.
"That's true enough." Tang Hao nodded.
On this point, the father and son held different schemes regarding the unborn child.
Tang San naturally wished his first child to be a son. With his protection, the boy could inherit the Sea God's godhood. That way, Tang San would be a God-King, his son a first-tier deity, and once they entered the Divine Realm, father and son would work together, unstoppable.
Then Tang San could pass on the Sea God's experience, helping his son rise to God-King, and have Xiao Wu bear him another son to seize the Dragon God's position.
But Tang Hao thought differently. Although he had come to accept Tang San as his son, he still felt uneasy knowing Tang San's soul had taken over his original child's body.
Thus, he wanted to open another line outside of Tang San's. He secretly planned that after Tang San resurrected Ah Yin, he himself would have more children with her.
The Sea God's godhood could then be given to that child. After all, Tang San was inheriting the Blue Silver Emperor godhood—why couldn't another son of his inherit the Sea God's? He even had a name in mind: Tang Yin. In his vision, Tang Yin and Tang San would ascend together—one as God-King, the other as a first-tier deity.
United as brothers, they'd be unstoppable. With Tang San teaching Tang Yin the Sea God's experience, Tang Yin could also rise to God-King. The Tang family would then boast two God-Kings.
If Tang San's first child turned out to be a son, Tang Hao's request would be harder to make. So, in truth, he secretly hoped Xiao Wu's first child would be a girl.
Still, for this father and son, it didn't matter much.
Their main goal was to have Xiao Wu bear a child, thus tying her down, and letting Tang San safely head to the Slaughter City to inherit the Shura Godhood. With this goal achieved, all they needed to do now was wait for the child to be born.
During this time spent caring for Xiao Wu, Tang San's cultivation advanced smoothly to the fiftieth rank. This time, Tang Hao accompanied Tang San on the soul hunt, preventing any previous mishaps. Tang San successfully obtained a spirit ring suitable for his Clear Sky Hammer.
The hunting trip also reminded Tang Hao and Tang San of "Brother Hai," still roaming free outside. The father and son wanted to settle scores with him, but current matters delayed them. They decided to wait until after Xiao Wu gave birth, Tang San began the Shura God Trials, and then go find Brother Hai to settle the account.
Spring passed and autumn came, and Xiao Wu's belly grew visibly larger.
One day, Xiao Wu, with her big belly, walked alongside Tang San.
Suddenly, Xiao Wu asked:
"Ah San giegie, what do you think we should name our child?"
Tang San replied:
"Xiao Wu meimei, how about this — we each take one character from our names to form Tang Wu, and then you can choose the final character. What do you think?"
Hearing this, Xiao Wu nodded.
"Alright, Ah San giegie."
Finally, as Xiao Wu neared childbirth, Tang Hao, just in case, grabbed a midwife from a nearby village and kept her on standby.
At last, the day of labor came. From inside the birthing room came Xiao Wu's cries of pain, while father and son paced anxiously outside.
Tang San thought nervously:
"It has to be a boy. It must be a boy. I don't want a useless daughter."
After a while, the sound of a baby's cry came from inside.
Just as father and son were about to enter, the midwife's voice called out from within:
"Wait, Soul Master, it seems… there's more."
"What? Twins?" Tang San and Tang Hao were both stunned.
They waited nervously outside.
Before long, another baby's cry came, and after a little more time, yet another cry followed.
Finally, the door opened. The midwife, drenched in sweat, congratulated them:
"Congratulations! Madam has given birth to triplets — and they're all boys!"
"Triplets, and all boys…" Tang San was stunned, then overwhelmed with joy. He threw his head back and laughed loudly:
"Hahahaha! Triplets, and all boys! I, Tang San, am a father now — father of three sons! Hahahaha!"
At the side, Tang Hao sighed in regret.
If Tang San had three sons, then his own biological son would have no chance at the Sea God position. But then again, this was also good.
With three grandsons, the Tang family lineage would flourish. Once Xiao San ascended to godhood, he would not treat his sons poorly. The divine positions he arranged for them would at least be first-class gods. When all was settled, the Tang family would hold the configuration of one God King and three first-class gods.
As for his own future son — he would find a way to have Xiao San assign him one as well.
Father and son, filled with excitement, walked into the room.
Inside, Xiao Wu lay weakly on the bed, while beside her, in the cradle, lay three infants.
Tang San walked up and looked at the three children.
Among them, one child had slightly darker skin, protruding buckteeth, and looked a bit unattractive. His appearance wasn't very pleasing, causing Tang San's brows to furrow slightly. But then he thought: This is still my child after all. And those little buckteeth — clearly inherited from Xiao Wu. After all, she's a rabbit.
Tang San then turned to the second child. This one had fair skin. As his little arm shifted, his eyelids opened, revealing heterochromatic eyes. Those lively, dual-colored pupils instantly won Tang San's favor. He couldn't help but feel his heart lean toward this one.
Lastly, Tang San looked at the third child — this one had golden hair and blue eyes.
On the Douluo Continent, the stronger one's achievements, the lower the birth rate. Thus, many powerhouses often had only one heir.
When he and Xiao Wu later ascended to the God Realm, even though Xiao Wu, as a rabbit, had high fertility, it still took him decades of cultivation with her fertile "field" to produce just one son and one daughter.
But now, even before becoming a god, he already had three children — and all of them boys. Tang San's heart was beyond elated.
Thinking back on his reborn past life — full of hardships: no Eight Spider Lances, the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well lost, his Blue Silver Emperor bloodline stripped away, his Clear Sky Hammer soul rings destroyed, and his brothers betraying him — his life had been nothing but rough.
But hardships in the first half didn't mean he lacked fortune. Look — heaven had still favored him, granting him two extra sons, better than his past life.
With three boys, there were endless possibilities.
The distant Dragon God was not to be considered yet — he couldn't sacrifice his children's growth for a god position. He could always have another son with Xiao Wu in the future, like Tang Wulin. As for these three children—
First, one would take the Sea God position. Even if he, Tang San, didn't want to inherit it himself, it belonged to the Tang family and couldn't fall into another's hands.
For the second divine position, Tang San thought of Ma Hongjun's first-class god — the Fire God.
Fire God would do nicely. One of his children could take that seat. As for Ma Hongjun, that traitor — in this life, he wouldn't even touch the title of Fire God, let alone Phoenix God. With Tang San here, he could only dwell on the glory of his past life and die quietly in Douluo Continent.
What, you say that neither Xiao Wu's Soft Bone Rabbit nor my Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer fit the Fire God? Didn't you see Lie Yang Douluo? His Clear Sky Hammer had fire attributes. Then let one of my sons wield a fire-attribute Clear Sky Hammer and inherit the Fire God seat.
As for the third child, there were no more vacant first-class god positions in Douluo Continent. He would have to look toward the God Realm. Right — once the Spirit Hall was defeated, he could strip Qian Renxue of the Angel God position.
The Angel God, like the Sea God, was a comprehensive god position, ranking at the peak of first-class gods, stronger than elemental or sin gods, and holding the potential to ascend to God King. Thinking of this, Tang San's eyes flashed with greed. He swallowed and thought:
Leaving such a position with the Qian family is wasteful. Such a fine god seat should go to my son. Compatibility doesn't matter — with my Shura God position, I can grant my son an Angel Spirit.
Thus, his three sons would be: one Sea God, one Fire God, and one Angel God. When they entered the God Realm, Tang San would have his own faction — far stronger and more stable than the Shrek Seven Devils ever were.
Just one glance at these three children, and Tang San had already mapped out their entire futures.
Tang Hao, meanwhile, happily embraced his three grandsons and said to the weak Xiao Wu on the bed:
"Xiao Wu, who would have thought you could give birth to three boys at once? You're the great merit-holder of our family."
Tang San came to Xiao Wu's bedside and asked:
"Xiao Wu, have you thought of names for our sons yet?"