Douluo Dalu: Lucky Star

Tang San was terrified, his body trembling like a leaf.

Even though his soul power had vanished and his perception had greatly diminished, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, who stood beside him, could easily sense his fear.

To Tang Xiao, Han Li had merely said some inexplicable things, yet Tang San looked as if he had seen a ghost. Tang Xiao couldn't understand it.

But Tang Hao's eyes widened. The Tang Sect, and those items that clearly resembled Xiao San's hidden weapons... This...

Tang Hao had always known that Tang San was different from other children. Whether it was his precocious, somewhat awkward personality or the little quirks he had even before his martial soul awakened, how could such things escape the notice of a Title Douluo who interacted with him daily? Still, Tang Hao had chosen to ignore it all.

Or perhaps, at the time, he simply didn't care anymore. He was merely living on instinct.

When Tang San's martial soul awakened—and not just one, but two martial souls—Tang Hao's attitude shifted, and he began to have new thoughts.

After all, the body was still his son's. Tang Hao often comforted himself with this thought.

As Tang San displayed more talent, becoming increasingly exceptional, Tang Hao deliberately forced himself to forget those suspicions. Life had to go on, after all. And more importantly, it seemed that Tang San truly did see him as his father.

But now, things had come to this point, and Han Li was no longer hiding anything. The veil was lifted, and long-buried memories flooded Tang Hao's mind.

"If we think about it, he might only be five or six years younger than you," Han Li said coldly. He looked at Tang Hao, then waved his hand to release the seal on Tang San's mouth.

"Dad, it's not like that. Let me explain…"

At that moment, Tang San looked as panicked as a child. The way he gazed at Tang Hao was full of love—the love a son has for his father.

However, when Tang Hao met his gaze, he felt as if he had been struck by lightning. He instinctively recoiled. A deep chill ran through him, a primal reaction.

If Tang Hao could have spoken, it would likely have been something like, "Don't come any closer!" like a gif of someone backing away in fear.

Tang Xiao remained bewildered, completely in the dark.

But it didn't matter whether he understood or not. A pure white light suddenly enveloped the three of them, freezing their expressions at that moment forever.

Tang Hao's face was especially vivid because, in that final instant, he caught a glimpse of an ice-formed Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Pagoda out of the corner of his eye.

Within the ice tower's range, crimson flames burned fiercely. The two extreme forces clashed, erasing everything within.

In the next second, the ice shattered, flames burned in the void, and eight soul bones fell to the ground.

Four belonged to Tang Hao, three to Tang Xiao, and a single black soul ring hovered in mid-air alongside a ten-thousand-year soul bone connected to it.

There are soul bones!

And he even exploded with soul bones—this was a bit too ridiculous.

Han Li awkwardly rubbed his face. Well, no need to guess anymore. Although the origin of the Blue Silver Emperor had been lost, Tang San's existence didn't seem to have changed much. After all, when Ah Yin gave birth to him, she hadn't fully matured yet.

In the courtyard, several figures had already rushed toward the scene, having noticed the commotion.

When Han Li made his move, he hadn't concealed his aura. Although his attack had been brief, the energy was intense enough to ensure success. He had even erased the mental energy that would have dispersed after Tang Hao and Tang Xiao's deaths.

As for Tang San, due to his soul ring and soul bones, a faint trace of his consciousness remained. But that didn't matter. Han Li decided to wait until the soul ring dissipated, intending to scatter the soul bones as well.

Tang San was indeed dead. His luck had completely collapsed, and this time, Han Li didn't even feel the gaze of the divine realm.

Abandoned completely, it seemed.

At that moment, Han Li felt completely relaxed. His soul power broke through to level 80 naturally, everything falling into place as if it had always been meant to be.

The door had been open all along.

Outside the door, Guang Ling and the others looked at the scattered soul bones and the solitary black soul ring, speechless for a long time.

After a long while, Han Li opened his eyes, his aura quickly stabilizing. This could be considered a double blessing.

He gathered the soul bones belonging to Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, retrieved the soul bones from Tang Hao's fallen arms, and handed them to his master outside the door.

"Master, Martial Uncle, take a look and see if there's anything you need. Pick what you want, and I'll join you later."

He pointed at Tang San's soul ring and soul bones, not intending for them to step into the room. They had been cautious for so long; a bit more time wouldn't hurt.

Guang Ling looked at the soul bones in his arms, shimmering with rainbow-colored light, momentarily dazed.

His own set of soul bones was already complete, the last piece filled by Han Li in their previous encounter. But now, holding nearly two full sets of soul bones in his hands, the impact was undeniable.

He glanced again at the scene in the room, shook his head, and led the others away. He understood his disciple's temperament well enough—this was just to ease his mind.

Meanwhile, Han Li remained quietly in place.

Of course, he wasn't idle. The soul bones on the ground had already fallen into his hands. One was a rare head soul bone, glowing with black and purple light. But even so, Han Li dismantled it ruthlessly, piece by piece.

Only when it had been reduced to fragments, its rule-based power almost entirely erased, did he throw it into the flames, burning it to ashes.

The soul ring also gradually faded, disappearing without a trace. In its final moment, only a faint trace of resentment rose, which Han Li promptly extinguished.

Han Li stood up, sighed inwardly, gave the room one last glance, and headed to the other courtyards.

Dust to dust, ashes to ashes. He had returned to the mortal world, and his enemies had been buried. His goal was achieved, wasn't it?

When he returned to the central courtyard, a few people were gathered around a table, chatting idly. There were still plenty of soul bones, with even more added to the pile.

Shui Bing'er and the others had also brought out the three soul bones they'd won in the Soul Master Tournament, along with those acquired while hunting souls but hadn't yet absorbed.

"All done?"

Guang Ling asked casually as Han Li arrived.

"Yeah, it's settled. Not even dust remains."

Han Li nodded sincerely.

Guang Ling blinked, catching the hidden meaning in his words. So, even the soul bones had been scattered.

Over the years, the two had often discussed how to clean up after dealing with enemies. Oh well, it didn't matter anymore. (ツ)/¯ The people were dead, after all.

"Are you guys having a treasure-sharing event?"

Looking at the dazzling array of soul bones on the table, Han Li sat down and teased.

"There's too much! It's hard to choose. Besides, your Martial Uncle is only missing one piece, and we didn't expect to get so many."

Guang Ling sighed. Some of the soul bones on the table were of higher quality than the ones he had on him, yet he had no intention of self-harm.

"Just take Tang Hao's."

Han Li handed over the torso soul bone, a legacy soul bone from the Clear Sky Sect, to his Martial Uncle. Azure Luan had always been missing a high-quality torso bone.

"Don't worry about Bing'er and the others. They still have a few soul rings to acquire, so there will be something suitable," Han Li said casually. His Martial Uncle's hesitation, under the guise of timing, was only a pretext; he had other plans in mind.

"Let's also complete a set for Grandpa. As for you guys…"

Han Li paused, his gaze settling on Zhu Zhuqing and Ye Lingling.

"Wait until tomorrow. Come with me out of the city, and we'll first condense your soul cores. After that, you'll quickly advance to the Soul Sage stage."

He didn't elaborate much. It was already late, and leaving some anticipation for tomorrow would be good.

It was time to rest, and soon everyone dispersed. Han Li also headed back to his room.

Tonight, he chose not to cultivate. Although it seemed easy, today had drained him mentally, and his soul power had been depleted once. He needed a good night's sleep.

...

Han Li slept until nine the next morning, fully recovered, and leisurely made his way to the front hall.

Inside, there were sounds of laughter and conversation, and it seemed that quite a few people were present. However, his master's and Martial Uncle's auras were absent.

"Xiao Li, they're here to say their goodbyes."

At the corner, Han Li encountered Xiu'er, who had been waiting for him.

"Mm."

Han Li didn't say much, taking her hand and heading to the front hall.

An hour later, he smiled as he saw the group off, watching them disappear into the crowd before returning to the hall.

With the group from Skywater Academy leading.

Among them, Ning Rongrong had also joined.

The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect hadn't left with the Heaven Dou Empire's group yesterday. Instead, they'd stayed until today, sending Ning Rongrong to say goodbye to Zhu Zhuqing and to discuss a point Han Li raised during the preliminaries: the flaw in the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's martial soul. They had expressed their desire to welcome him.

When faced with Ning Rongrong's curious questions, Han Li simply smiled and nodded, not answering directly. Both sides left with a reason to stay in touch.

But Han Li wasn't in the mood to discuss this now.

Grandmaster had slipped away. He hadn't shown his face during the entire Soul Master Tournament, hiding in Yu Yuanzhen's attic with no intention of coming out.

After yesterday's events, he left Spirit City overnight with Yu Yuanzhen, seemingly planning to return to the clan. Han Li couldn't help but laugh. He had indeed dodged a bullet.

However, it wasn't Grandmaster's time to appear yet. Even if Han Li didn't deal with him, Bibi Dong would pull him out sooner or later.

After organizing his thoughts, Han Li looked at the people around him.

"Alright, let's head out of the city first."