"Nonsense!"
Tang Hao's roar cracked like thunder across the forest. His eyes, red with fury, bore into his kneeling son.
"Ridiculous boy—what makes you think you can protect him? Don't you see? That child already has every guardian he needs. The Pope herself, Spirit Hall's saintess, even his so-called godmother—they all circle him with more devotion than Sense or Justice! Do you think your meager strength means anything among those titans?"
He stepped forward, each word rolling like a hammer, "And you—just a boy. What do you take to argue with them? What do you have, that allows you to stand beside him?"
Tang Hao's lips curled in bitter despair. "What do you amount to, my son? Do you deserve him?"
The words pierced Tang San's chest deeper than any blade.
Then, worse still, Tang Hao's voice dropped, grating with wounded disbelief.
"…Your gaze. The way you look at him. It isn't disciple to master. It's how I once looked at your mother."
His voice broke. "San'er… you've put so much of yourself into him. Too much. Even I—" his fists clenched, "—even I can appreciate his gifts, his beauty. But the way you… you adore him?"
Tang Hao's breath caught. His face blanched at voicing the truth. "Tell me, Junior. Are you truly… in love with him?"
The words rang like verdicts.
Tang San's mind spun. His father's accusation echoed and echoed. He thought of the Teacher's smile, the warmth of his hand on his shoulder, the despair of losing him even for a night. His whole being quaked.
"Love…"
At that single word, it was as if someone struck flint onto Tang San's confusion. Sparks burst; the fog blew away.
"Yes."
He whispered it first, then louder:
"Yes! It is love! Isn't love wanting to stand by his side no matter what? Isn't it wishing his happiness above all else? Isn't it despair at the thought of losing him?"
Tang San's eyes blazed suddenly, brighter than ever, his voice cutting through the forest:
"I love the Teacher! I would abandon everything for him! Even my life!"
The conviction rang like a temple bell.
Tang Hao staggered. His chest clenched like a vise. Old blood spilled up his throat, spraying from his lips.
"Pah—!"
He fell one step, gasping. "You… you're possessed…! My son… has fallen into the broken sleeve's path!"
His heart howled. "The Clear Sky Sect has birthed many geniuses, many heroes—but never an absurd descendant like this!" He swayed under the force of his own grief. "You shame me, you shame your ancestors. You smear Ah Yin with this disgrace!"
His aura erupted, his Haotian Hammer roaring into his palm, nine rings flashing. Duty, rage, heartbreak all surged as he raised his palm over Tang San's head.
"Leave him! Leave that boy, or I shall kill you myself!"
The pressure crushed Tang San to his knees. His bones creaked under the weight, sweat and blood dripping. The barrier of a Title Douluo suffocated him.
But even as his knees buckled, his eyes never wavered.
"I swear," Tang San rasped, each word carved out of fire, "never to betray my Teacher. A gentleman's word is final. Unless you kill me now, Dad, my heart will never turn."
Tears slid unbidden down his cheeks, but they shone with iron defiance. "Better death here, than a life without him."
His father's palm wavered midair. Soul power boiled at his fingertips. With a single strike, Tang Hao could shatter his son's skull. Tang San closed his eyes, whispering his farewell.
Goodbye, Teacher. If another life awaits, let me return still at your side. Better yet, as a girl, so that no one will hinder me again…
"Ah Yin…"
The whisper cracked Tang Hao's resolve. His palm shook. His heart broke.
This was his son. The only surviving bond between himself and the woman he had loved beyond life. How could he strike him down?
Pressure collapsed. The suffocating force dissipated into the night.
Tang Hao staggered back, eyes hollow, and he laughed once—bitter, lost, despairing.
"Gods, what sin have I committed, to be punished so? To raise a son who worships another boy so wildly…!"
He turned, roared at the heavens with cracked voice.
"Ah Yin, forgive me! I failed you. Our son is ruined! He has fallen for a child of seven or eight!"
His body trembled. His shadow stretched thin, carrying only bitterness and shame.
"I cannot accept it. A man's essence crossing blades with essence—it breaks Heaven's law! It betrays the ancestors!"
He looked one final time upon his trembling son, and his voice tremored like mourning bells:
"From this day… you are no son of Tang Hao. No blood of the Clear Sky Sect. Your surname no longer Tang. Dare tell anyone of our bond, and I will return to take your head myself!"
His Haotian Hammer dissolved, his towering figure retreating into the darkness, staggering with grief.
Tang San collapsed, knees striking soil, fists hammering stone until blood seeped through split skin.
His teeth clenched so hard his jaw ached. "Tang Hao… Father… you cast me away."
Then his wet eyes lifted to the stars, resolute as steel.
"But Teacher… my path still belongs to you. One day… we will stand stronger than him. And he will know. He will know I was never wrong!"
The forest swallowed his vow, carrying it skyward like a blade of destiny.
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