To prevent Tang Hao from attacking him and Xiao Wu, Lin Tian suddenly turned to Tang San and said,
“Xiao San, I’ve always felt that the three of us, you, Xiao Wu, and I, have gotten along exceptionally well.
Why don’t the three of us become sworn siblings?”
“Sworn siblings?”
A confused expression appeared on Tang San’s face.
Before he could answer, Xiao Wu’s eyes immediately lit up.
“Sure!
Sure!
I want to be the big sister!
From now on, both of you have to call me Sister Xiao Wu!”
“Xiao Wu, don’t be ridiculous.
We’re supposed to go by our actual ages.”
The corner of Lin Tian’s mouth twitched as he reprimanded Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu puffed out her cheeks in annoyance and said nothing more.
But inwardly, she muttered, If we’re talking about actual age, I’m eighteen generations older than your ancestors.
Lin Tian naturally knew this but wisely chose not to point it out.
He continued, “Xiao San, what do you think?”
“Sure.”
Although Tang San was jealous of Lin Tian, he had lived two lifetimes and had grown up lacking affection.
Because of that, he possessed an unusually strong desire for love and familial bonds.
So even though his father had never cared whether he lived or died, Tang San still loved him wholeheartedly.
Now that Lin Tian wanted to become sworn brothers with him, and Xiao Wu would be joining them as well, Tang San naturally had no reason to refuse.
The three of them exchanged their birthdays and confirmed their seniority.
Tang San became the eldest brother.
Lin Tian became the second brother.
Xiao Wu ranked third and became the younger sister of the other two.
After settling their order, Lin Tian deliberately took Xiao Wu and Tang San to the area beneath the academy’s dormitory building so that Tang Hao would know about their sworn relationship.
He also found Xiao Chenyu, who was about to graduate, and asked him to gather the academy’s students.
Beneath the teaching building, in front of everyone, the three of them became sworn siblings.
Lin Yuan was standing among the crowd.
As he watched the three of them perform the ceremony, he couldn’t help sighing inwardly.
Lin Tian really does have some brains.
He had actually thought of using his sworn relationship with Tang San to avoid Tang Hao’s threat.
Unfortunately, he had still overestimated Tang Hao’s limits.
A man who was willing to sacrifice even his own wife to achieve his goals—
How could he possibly care about the life or death of his son’s sworn brother?
As long as Lin Tian dared to harbor any intentions toward Xiao Wu, it didn’t matter what his relationship with Tang San was.
He was destined to die.
And Lin Tian was even the classic second brother in Douluo Continent’s famous love triangle—the one who always came out on top.
In the end, Xiao Wu still asked the same classic question from the original story.
“If one day, someone wants to kill me, what would you two do?”
Lin Tian answered first.
“Then they’ll have to step over my dead body.”
Tang San froze for a moment before giving the same answer.
In other words—
It was just that because he had answered a moment later, Tang San’s words inevitably lacked the weight of Lin Tian’s immediate response.
At the same time.
In a secluded corner of Nuoding Academy, a gray figure dressed in tattered robes emerged slightly from the shadows.
He watched from a distance as Lin Tian, Xiao Wu, and his own son became sworn siblings.
A trace of coldness flashed through Tang Hao’s eyes.
Tang Hao had never imagined that his own son would one day repeat the same fate he had experienced.
The difference was that Tang San had taken the role Tang Hao’s elder brother, Tang Xiao, had once occupied.
Lin Tian had taken Tang Hao’s role.
Ignoring the factor of twin martial souls, Lin Tian was superior to his own son in almost every respect.
And Xiao Wu was also much closer to Lin Tian.
This stirred murderous intent in Tang Hao’s heart.
Xiao Wu was the key to his revenge against Spirit Hall.
She was a tool that would eventually be sacrificed for his son, while simultaneously fueling Tang San’s hatred toward Spirit Hall.
Anyone who dared set their sights on her had to die.
Originally, you could have become Xiao San’s right-hand man.
You only have yourself to blame for touching things that you shouldn’t have touched—things that never belonged to you in the first place.
Tang Hao silently muttered these words in his heart before turning around and disappearing into the shadows.
…
Early the next morning, Lin Yuan rented a carriage and waited outside the academy for Xiao Wu and Lin Tian.
Lin Yuan naturally wasn’t going to take any risks.
He chose to stay safely at home instead.
He merely instructed the coachman to tell the two of them that he had suddenly become occupied with something and would need a few more days before returning.
Lin Yuan was only an innate rank 3 soul power nobody.
In front of these two siblings, he was completely insignificant, so no one thought much about his absence.
However, one thing was worth mentioning.
Originally, Lin Tian had intended to accompany Tang San back to Holy Soul Village, or have Tang San accompany them to Bamboo Ridge.
That would have been safer.
But Xiao Wu was afraid to go to Holy Soul Village because Tang San’s father might be a Titled Douluo.
Tang San, meanwhile, couldn’t go to Bamboo Ridge because he was worried about his father.
Thus, the three had no choice but to part ways.
They agreed to meet again once the new term began.
Everything was proceeding even more smoothly than Lin Yuan had imagined.
By evening, Lin Tian and Xiao Wu, who had spent the entire day cultivating in the carriage, had settled down in Bamboo Ridge.
“Lin Tian, come out.”
Night had fallen.
Lin Tian had just finished washing up and was preparing to sit cross-legged on his bed to cultivate when a sudden voice rang out and stopped him.
What was bound to happen had finally come.
Lin Tian’s heart filled with bitterness.
He had already expected Tang Hao to come looking for him.
He simply hadn’t expected it to happen so soon.
Of course, he wasn’t worried that Tang Hao would kill him.
After all, he had already become sworn brothers with Tang San and acknowledged Tang San as his elder brother.
Thinking of this, Lin Tian no longer hesitated.
He leaped out through the window and arrived outside.
Following the direction of the voice, he sprinted away.
Having cultivated the Supreme Holy Qiankun Skill and Five Thunders Heavenly Heart Art, his speed was extremely fast.
Before long, he arrived at the cliff in the back mountains and saw Tang Hao.
“Are you going to jump down yourself, or should I send you down?”
“What?
You want to kill me?”
Lin Tian was badly startled.
Tang Hao didn’t answer.
Instead, he calmly said,
“You could have lived a good life.
You might even have become a Titled Douluo in the future and become my son’s right-hand man.”
“But you made the one mistake you absolutely shouldn’t have made.”
“You set your sights on that rabbit.”
“Now, I’ll have to ask you to die.”
As he spoke, he slowly raised his right hand.
Black light surged within his palm, transforming into a gigantic black hammer.
At the same time, two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red soul rings slowly rose into the air, hovering around different parts of his body.
They completely enveloped him.
Then Tang Hao began walking toward Lin Tian step by step.
The Clear Sky Hammer in his hand dragged across the ground, leaving a deep trench behind it.
When Lin Tian saw that Tang Hao truly intended to attack him, beads of sweat the size of beans instantly slid down his face.
He hurriedly said,
“Wait…
Tang San and I are brothers!
Tang San is my big brother.
You can’t kill me!”
Tang Hao paused for a moment.
“So you’ve already guessed my identity.”
His expression became even colder.
“In that case, you have even more reason to die.”
As he spoke, he continued dragging the enormous hammer toward Lin Tian.
“I can leave Nuoding Academy.
I’ll never appear before Xiao Wu or Tang San again.”
Lin Tian staggered backward while desperately searching for one last way out.
But Tang Hao remained unmoved.
Finally, with unwillingness filling his heart, Lin Tian said,
“I can acknowledge Tang San as my master.”
Only then did Tang Hao stop.
He seemed to be considering whether this was feasible.
Lin Tian had already panicked.
In an attempt to demonstrate his value, he actually raised both hands at the same time.
Thunderous light surged from his left hand, forming a bamboo stalk.
Blue flames rose from his right hand, forming a lotus flower.
His twin martial souls appeared.
Just when Lin Tian thought he had secured his survival—
Tang Hao suddenly disappeared from before him.
By the time Lin Tian realized what had happened, he had already lost consciousness.
His body fell uncontrollably over the edge of the cliff.
End of Chapter