"But…"
Tang Hao turned his gaze to Tang San, his voice turning cold. "I realized that this child who came back from the dead—is not normal!"
"From a very young age, he never cried or fussed."
"He would even cry in advance to let me know he needed to pee or poop."
"I thought at first he was just gifted, or maybe it had something to do with his soul beast bloodline, which made him so unusual."
"But as he grew older… I realized this child was too sensible and too mature for his age."
"The most important thing is…" At this point, Tang Hao's eyes grew chilling, laced with sarcasm and self-mockery. "This child actually began cultivating on his own. From barely a year old, he started secretly practicing behind my back. Every day, he'd get up early, run all the way up the mountain to stare at the sun and cultivate some bizarre eye technique, among other strange and unnatural things no child should even comprehend…"
"At that point, even if I wanted to lie to myself, the facts were right in front of me. I had no choice but to admit—this resurrected child is some unknown creature that has possessed my son's body!"
Tang San couldn't help but smile bitterly. He had tried so hard to be cautious. But who would've thought his supposedly useless, blacksmithing father was actually a top-tier expert? No matter what he did, he couldn't fool him—not the early morning runs, nor his inner strength cultivation, not even the secret arts of the Tang Sect.
No wonder… No wonder he remembered that when he was still an infant, Tang Hao had treated him so gently. Despite being a burly man, he was patient and even doted on him with unexpected tenderness. He never drank, forged diligently every day, and spent most of his time taking care of him.
But somewhere along the way, this man had fallen into despair, becoming indifferent to him and eventually drowning himself in alcohol.
So… it was because he discovered that he wasn't truly his son?
"Then why," Tang San asked, unable to contain himself, "if you knew I had taken over your son's body, didn't you kill me?"
"Kill you? What's the point of that?"
Tang Hao laughed bitterly. "Killing you won't bring my son back. And it seemed like you genuinely treated me as your father, so I decided to wait and see."
"Wait for what?" Tang San pressed, a horrifying suspicion forming in his heart.
"Wait for your spirit to awaken."
Tang Hao didn't hold back. "If your awakened spirit turned out to be talented, I wouldn't mind accepting you as my son. After all, you didn't kill my boy—you simply took over his body after death. If you truly treated me like a father, I could treat you like a son."
"But if your talent was lacking, or your spirit wasn't either the Clear Sky Hammer or Blue Silver Grass… I would've killed you." His tone turned chilling and filled with murderous intent.
Tang San listened in stunned silence. He never imagined that on the day of his spirit awakening, he had unknowingly walked a tightrope between life and death.
"But after you awakened your spirit, your talent far exceeded my expectations!" Tang Hao's face lit up with joy and fanaticism. "Innate full soul power! Twin spirits! Your exceptional talent gave me hope for revenge against the Spirit Hall!"
At that moment, Tang San couldn't help but recall how, back then, Tang Hao had hugged him in excitement after learning of his spirit awakening, babbling incoherently, "My son! My son!"
That memory had always warmed his heart. But now, after learning the truth, it all felt calculated and transactional.
Because of his outstanding talent, Tang Hao had accepted him as his son. But had he been less gifted, that very same day would've been his end.
Such cold, pragmatic reasoning left Tang San unable to feel moved at all.
"From that day onward, I forced myself to truly treat you like a son," Tang Hao said. "I lied to myself, played deaf and blind, and ignored all your abnormalities. Your talent was the key to my revenge, so you had to be my son. I started watching you in secret, and gradually passed on all my secret techniques to you…"
The truth was laid bare—cold and cruel.
Tang San couldn't accept it. What he once believed to be genuine fatherly love turned out to be hollow. Calculated.
"Then why did you suddenly attack me today?" he asked. If what Tang Hao had said was true, then he should've continued playing the father figure. Why try to kill him now?
"Because you're no longer useful."
Tang Hao's eyes gleamed with fanatical light as he looked at the white bone trident in his hand.
"This is a divine weapon—there's no doubt about it."
"With this in my possession, revenge is no longer a distant dream."
"If becoming a demon is what it takes to exact vengeance, so be it."
He spoke without the slightest remorse.
"Just because of that?"
Tang San's eyes were filled with disappointment. His voice was low and pained. "Father, if you wanted this divine weapon, all you had to do was ask. It's yours. Why attack me? Why?!"
In that moment, all the shadows in his heart erupted. The illusion of familial love shattered completely. His soul resonated with the abyss. The dormant demonic power within him surged with unprecedented strength.
"Because this divine weapon has already acknowledged you as its master. Unless you die, I can't use it!" Tang Hao declared. He had said everything he needed. Raising the Clear Sky Hammer high, he prepared to strike the final blow.
But at that critical moment—
Tang San suddenly laughed.
"Haha! Hahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!"
He burst into maniacal laughter, his expression turning unhinged and deranged.
"What's going on?!"
Tang Hao's eyes narrowed sharply. He had just realized—he couldn't move!
Tang San struggled and slowly rose to his feet. Thanks to his half-demonic constitution, even with his severe injuries, he had already recovered significantly in this short time.
"You did something!" Tang Hao roared.
"You forgot one thing," Tang San said coldly. "Anyone transformed into a demon by the white bone trident is inherently bound by me!"
"From the moment you accepted the Abyss's blessing, you were no longer capable of resisting me!" He stepped in front of Tang Hao, pried open his fingers, and reclaimed the white bone trident.
"Goodbye, Father."
With those words, Tang 'the Dutiful Son' San plunged the trident into his father's chest without hesitation.
"You…"
Tang Hao's eyes bulged wide. He wanted to speak, but no words came.
The bone trident pierced deep into his chest, ruthlessly absorbing his soul and vital essence.
Tang San closed his eyes, savoring the profound sensation flowing into him from the divine weapon. A wild, twisted smile curled on his lips—unrestrained and insane.
At that moment, he fully surrendered himself to the Abyss.
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