Douluo: I Can Choose My Own Soul Skills

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Twelve years ago, in the countryside of Nuoding City, Fasino Province, Heaven Dou Empire.

"Big Brother, my stomach is killing me. You and Sister-in-Law wait here—I'll catch up as soon as I can," Su Yuntao said, doubled over and clutching his belly. Cold sweat beaded on his forehead, and his face was as pale as if it were coated in frost.

"Yuntao, hurry back!" a man with long black hair and a commanding presence called out.

"Tianyang, Yuntao must have been too hasty with his roasted meat at lunch. That piece of soul beast meat probably wasn't fully cooked before the fool scarfed it down!" a sweet-faced woman with dark blue hair said.

"Qingqing, he's likely suffering from mild poisoning. We should buy him some antidote when we get back to Nuoding City," Ye Tianyang said, his concern for Su Yuntao evident.

"I'll listen to you, Tianyang. I can't wait to get back and see Lan'er—I hope he's been eating properly," Liu Qing said, suddenly missing Ye Lan.

"Yuntao, be quick! This mission from Spirit Hall is important—the martial soul awakenings of all the children in this region depend on the three of us."

"Soul beasts often appear in this area. If anything happens, just shout!" Ye Tianyang instructed Su Yuntao.

Ye Tianyang cared deeply for this junior. After spending so much time together, he had come to see the younger man as a brother, despite their lack of blood ties, and often brought him along on missions assigned by Spirit Hall.

Clutching his stomach, Su Yuntao mumbled his agreement as he ran, disappearing into the forest moments later.

Once Su Yuntao was gone, Ye Tianyang and Liu Qing rested in place. While chatting, they never let their guard down, remaining vigilant against the sudden appearance of lurking soul beasts.

After a while, just as Liu Qing was growing concerned about Su Yuntao, a sound came from behind them.

Ye Tianyang spun around, expecting a soul beast.

He saw only a man dressed in a black robe, his head partially concealed by a hood that left only the lower half of his face visible. The man's physique was extremely robust. Strangely, he cradled an infant in his left arm, yet there was no sign of the child's mother.

The infant was very well-behaved, not making a sound, without the crying typical for its age.

The man looked up, his gaze falling upon Ye Tianyang and his wife.

Only then did Ye Tianyang see the man's face clearly: his sharp eyes were tinged with exhaustion, and there was a smudge of blood at the corner of his mouth.

It's him?! Ye Tianyang's heart pounded. The man on Spirit Hall's wanted list, the murderer of the Supreme Pontiff—the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao.

After the Pontiff's death, wanted posters for Tang Hao had been distributed to every corner of the continent, including the Nuoding City Spirit Hall sub-branch. Having recently reviewed the notice, Ye Tianyang's memory of Tang Hao's face was fresh. This was, after all, the man who killed Supreme Pontiff Qian Xunji. Ye Tianyang had never imagined their paths would cross.

"Is this your child? Where is his mother?" Ye Tianyang asked, his palm slick with sweat as he feigned ignorance.

"Ah Yin..." At Ye Tianyang's words, Tang Hao's heart trembled as he thought of her. But he did not answer, his mind clearly elsewhere.

"This area is a soul beast habitat. Would you like to travel with us?" Liu Qing asked, having never seen the wanted poster. She was genuinely concerned for the man's safety.

Ye Tianyang instinctively tightened his arm around Liu Qing's waist.

Tang Hao remained silent. He merely glanced at the infant in his arms before continuing forward, brushing past Ye Tianyang.

"What a strange man, completely ignoring people!" Liu Qing complained to Ye Tianyang.

Ye Tianyang didn't respond to his wife, merely letting out a silent, relieved sigh.

Just as he thought the danger had passed, Tang Hao stopped.

He turned to face Ye Tianyang, his eyes filled with certainty. "You know who I am, don't you?"

"We've never met. How would I know who you are? So, who are you?" Ye Tianyang's expression revealed no flaw.

"Although your expression is impeccable right now, your shoulder trembled slightly the first time you saw me."

"And when I walked past you, your shoulders relaxed just a little bit," Tang Hao said, utterly confident in his own perception. His eyes had witnessed countless battles and had long been trained to see the truth. If he couldn't see through a mere Great Soul Master, he wouldn't be called the Clear Sky Douluo.

Ye Tianyang was shocked that Tang Hao could observe an instinctive reaction he himself hadn't even noticed. Cold sweat broke out across his skin.

"Tianyang, who is he?" Liu Qing asked, not understanding the meaning of their conversation. Was his identity that important?

"Qingqing, you don't need to know who he is! Run!" Ye Tianyang shoved Liu Qing behind him as a flash of light enveloped his body—his martial soul possessed him!

In the final second before he charged Tang Hao, he looked back at Liu Qing one last time, as if to etch her face into his very soul.

In his eyes, Liu Qing saw a love that was carved into his bones.

"Tianyang!" Liu Qing cried out. She didn't fully understand what was happening, but she knew the situation was critical, and she didn't want him to take such a risk.

"Qingqing, don't look back! Run!"

The two yellow soul rings on Ye Tianyang's body lit up. He unleashed his greatest power and charged at Tang Hao with all his might.

Tang Hao stood motionless, watching impassively as Ye Tianyang, now transformed into a tiger-man by his martial soul, lunged at him. He seemed to view the man as no threat at all.

Though Tang Hao's soul power was nearly depleted after being hunted by Spirit Hall for days, and he had numerous internal injuries, he was still a Titled Douluo who possessed a one-hundred-thousand-year soul ring and the continent's number one tool spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer. No matter how severe his injuries, for a Great Soul Master to attack him was no different from an egg striking a stone.

"All of you from Spirit Hall deserve to die!" Tang Hao's voice was thick with hatred.

A black light flashed in his hand, and a black hammer materialized. The hammer was three meters long, with a head the size of a water vat.

Facing the yellow afterimage, Tang Hao swung his right arm. The ten-thousand-jin Clear Sky Hammer slammed heavily into Ye Tianyang's chest.

Like a kite with a broken string, Ye Tianyang was instantly smashed into the nearby hillside. He tumbled up the slope, crashing through countless bushes as shattered green fragments flew through the air.

The tremendous noise caught Liu Qing's attention.

She turned to look, and her pupils instantly shrank to pinpoints.

Tianyang lay halfway up the slope, his life unknown.

Though the robed man's strength was unfathomable, at this moment, Liu Qing's eyes saw only Ye Tianyang. She completely ignored the man standing not far away.

Forgetting Ye Tianyang's final instruction, Liu Qing, who had always listened to him, now threw caution to the wind and ran desperately toward him.

She picked up Ye Tianyang's broken body, the shattered figure in her arms no longer resembling a human. It was as if a dam had broken in Liu Qing's eyes.

Tears streamed down her face, large drops splashing onto the dirt below.

"TIANYANG!!!!"

(End of Chapter)