Chapter 330: Tang Chen's Sacrifice (Part 2)
Tang Hao's old face froze for a moment, a flicker of unease crossing his heart. He asked, "Sorry for what?"
"You damn rat, you think you're worthy to be my father-in-law?" Blue Silver Douluo Qian Geng walked in, pointing at Tang Hao's nose.
"You brat, what do you mean? I paid for your schooling, provided for your food and drink, and this is how you treat me?!" Tang Hao was furious.
Unexpectedly, Qian Geng slapped him across the face, saying, "Why are you so nice to us? Don't you have any self-awareness? You just want to take my mother away from the three of us, don't you? Let me tell you, with me, Qian Geng, here, no way!"
"Throw him out!" Qian Geng ordered.
A group of servants from the Qian family arrived and severely beat Tang Hao, breaking both his legs before throwing him out. As he was being thrown, Tang Hao looked in A Yin's direction. A Yin was looking at him with eyes full of guilt, her red lips slightly parted, and she said,
"I'm sorry."
Seeing A Yin's resentment, Tang Hao's resentment towards A Yin vanished, replaced by hatred directed at Qian Dongxu, Qian Geng, and Qian Xunji, who looked exactly like Qian Dongxu.
Qian thief, villain, traitor, rebel—Tang Hao wanted nothing more than to swing his Clear Sky Hammer and beat this bastard to death.
But thinking about how he had crippled his own martial spirit and soul power, and was already a cripple, he felt a sense of powerlessness.
At this moment, Tang Hao was filled with remorse. Why had he crippled his own soul power and martial spirit when he killed his father? If he hadn't done that, how could Ah Yin have been taken advantage of by that scoundrel Qian Dongxu, and how could she have given birth to these three bastard children?
Tang Hao, with a tattered cloth wrapped around his lower body, silently glanced at the Qian family mansion, and, filled with deep longing for Ah Yin, crawled into the distance.
After the Mid-Autumn Festival, the autumn wind grew colder day by day, and the tavern became very quiet and deserted. There were not many customers left. The bartender, leaning against the fire, had put on a cotton-padded coat and was taking a nap when he suddenly heard a voice: "Warm a pot of cheap ale."
The voice was very low, but the bartender recognized it very well. Looking outside, he saw Tang Hao, the tavern's most popular man, sitting under the counter. His face had become dark and thin, unrecognizable. He was wearing a padded jacket, sitting cross-legged, with a straw mat underneath him, which was slung over his shoulder by a straw rope.
Tang Hao saw the bartender and said, "Warm up a pot of cheap ale."
The bartender also stuck his head out and said, "Tang Hao, you still owe nineteen silver coins."
Tang Hao dejectedly looked up and replied, "I'll pay it off next time. This time it's cash, and the wine has to be good."
The bartender, as usual, smiled and said to him, "Tang Hao, you got kicked out of your home while proposing marriage, didn't you?"
This time, Tang Hao didn't argue much, only saying, "Don't laugh."
"You're making fun of me. Now the whole city is talking about how you, Tang Hao, were kicked out of someone's house while proposing marriage. What is Qian Geng? A high and mighty Title Douluo. You want to marry his mother and be his father? You're really delusional. No wonder you broke your leg." The bartender continued to laugh.
Tang Hao replied softly, "Broken, broken, broken."
His eyes seemed to be pleading with the bartender not to mention it anymore. By this time, several people had gathered and laughed with the bartender.
After finishing his drink, Tang Hao pulled out four copper soul coins from his tattered clothes and handed them to the bartender. The bartender, seeing his muddy hands, knew he had come this far with muddy hands. A short while later, after finishing his drink, he left amidst the laughter and chatter of those around him.
From then on, Tang Hao was never seen again. At the end of the year, the bartender took down the signboard and said, "Tang Hao still owes nineteen copper soul coins."
The following year, at the Dragon Boat Festival, he said again, "Tang Hao still owes nineteen copper soul coins."
He didn't say anything at the Mid-Autumn Festival, and by the end of the year, he was nowhere to be seen.
It seemed that Tang Hao was indeed dead!
How did Tang Hao die?
In the cold, snowy season of winter, Tang Hao huddled under a bridge, shivering. His eyes were glazed, and in his dying moments, he ruminated on his past happiness, reliving it all.
The days he spent with Tang Xiao and A Yin, the time before that bastard Qian Dongxu arrived, the days he and A Yin lived happily together.
Inside the bridge arch, Tang Hao was filled with remorse. Why had he crippled himself to atone for the Clear Sky Sect's actions, leading to his tragic later life?
Finally, amidst the swirling snow and wind, Tang Hao breathed his last.
Later, people found a mangled corpse beneath the bridge, ravaged by wild dogs.
Outside, the Godly Trials were in full swing.
Tang San drew the Asura God Sword and challenged Tang Chen for six minutes. After that, he accelerated his cultivation for the eighth trial, advancing to the Title Douluo level. To gather Tang San's soul bones, Tang Chen simply severed his own limbs and used them to install Tang San's soul bones.
This allowed Tang San to barely complete the eighth trial of the God of Asura. Of course, Tang San's current setup was far inferior to his previous life's, but he couldn't care less.
The hatred in his heart prevented him from immediately completing the Godly Trials and seeking revenge against the Spirit Hall.
In the end, only the ninth trial of the God of Asura remained.
At this time, Tang Hao, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar had all completed their trials.
Tang Hao's accumulated rewards from the nine trials were distributed all at once, instantly elevating his spirit rings to seven black and two red, officially granting him the qualification of a Grand Elder of the Asura God.
Meanwhile, Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and the others' spirit rings also reached the ten-thousand-year limit, resulting in a significant boost to their strength.
Although they had completed the trials and received the rewards of the divine test, none of them felt the slightest excitement.
The experiences of Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Oscar were complicated; the philosophy they explored inside was completely different from what they had imagined.
After being tormented for decades, Ma Hongjun finally completed the divine test and escaped. His eyes bloodshot, he exclaimed, "Damn it! What kind of divine test did the Asura God give us?"
Tang Hao was equally furious. He hadn't expected the Asura God test to force him to kill his brother, father, and sect for Ah Yin, to take over Qian Xunji—oops, that scoundrel Qian Dongxu—and before he could even get on, he'd raised three ungrateful wretches, only to be thrown out of his home.
Was Tang Hao really that pathetic? Was Tang Hao really that useless? Was Ah Yin really that kind of woman?
Seeing the strange expressions on their faces, Tang San asked, "Dad, what happened to your divine test?"
Tang Hao quickly shook his head, saying, "Nothing, nothing."
During the Divine Trial, Tang San absolutely couldn't let Tang San know about the pathetic things he had done.
Ma Hongjun, Dai Mubai, and Oscar, however, shook their heads, clutching their backsides, and said, "No, nothing."
They absolutely couldn't let Tang San know about their philosophical discussions with Scarface and the others during the Divine Trial.
Seeing their state, Tang San became suspicious.
"By the way, Tang San, how's your Divine Trial going?" Tang Hao asked.
Tang San said, "Daddy, I've finally completed the first eight trials, only the last one left."
Tang Hao said with reddened eyes, "Then let's go all out and pass these nine trials, and become a god!"
Tang San nodded.
The group glanced at Tang Chen one last time. Tang Chen was in a terrible state; he had given all his soul bones to Tang San, and could only be carried by Tang San to the Divine Trial altar with great difficulty.
To unlock the Asura God's inheritance, Tang Chen completely burned away his divine power and life force, faintly opening a gate to godhood before Tang San.
Seeing Tang Chen's burning body, Tang San and Tang Hao cried out in grief, "Grandpa!"
Tang Chen comforted them, "Don't grieve for me. This is my mission. Tang San, you are the hope of our Tang family. I am destined not to see you become a god. Please avenge me, you must rescue Poseidon from the Spirit Hall, and restore the glory of our Clear Sky Sect!"
Hearing Tang Chen's words, Tang San nodded heavily and said, "Yes, Grandpa, the day I become a god will be the day the Spirit Hall perishes."
Before Tang San appeared a staircase leading to the sky. As Tang Chen climbed the stairs, he burned himself, transforming everything into life force to help Tang San break through the barrier.
As Tang Chen was about to burn himself out, Tang San said to him, "Believe me, Grandpa, we will meet again. Sacrifice doesn't mean the end of everything. When that time comes, I will send Senior Poseidon to your side." Tang San spoke with confidence; the Asura God and the Sea God loved him dearly, treating him like a precious treasure. Even those around him, after their sacrifice, found a good home.
Poseidon and Tang Chen became divine souls, forever together.
"Silly child, thank you for your comfort," Tang Chen said.
Tang San entered the teleportation portal. Tang Hao watched Tang Chen's sacrifice and Tang San enter the portal. He wiped away his tears and said to the Shrek Three Heroes, "Little San is undergoing his divine trial. Next, we should return to Douluo Continent to prepare for Little San's return as a god."
Thus, Tang Hao went to the City of Slaughter, gathered the evil soul masters, and used his authority to lead them away from the City of Slaughter.
(End of Chapter)