Chapter 246: Angel Plaza, The Angel Statue

Chapter 246: Chapter 246: Angel Plaza, The Angel Statue

Bi Ji fell silent.

She looked at the flames, then glanced toward the carriage in the distance—which had by now shrunk to a mere black speck—and let out a soft sigh.

Jiang Li’er stood to the side, arms crossed over her chest, her expression impassive. She looked at the flames, then at Jiang Bai, but said nothing.

A moment later, the flames died down.

All that remained on the ground was a small pile of ash.

Jiang Bai turned around and gazed into the distance.

"Let’s go. It’s time to attend to our real business."

...

Light and shadow shifted.

Three figures materialized out of thin air directly in front of the speeding carriage.

Jiang Bai raised his hand and gave it a sweep.

A wall of ice appeared out of nowhere, blocking the center of the road.

The ice wall stood a full three meters high and half a meter thick; crystal-clear and translucent, it gleamed with a chilling, bone-piercing light under the sunlight.

Upon seeing the ice wall, Tang San’s pupils contracted violently!

He yanked back on the reins with all his might!

"Whoa—!"

The horses neighed in distress, rearing their front hooves high into the air as they struggled to halt!

But the carriage was moving too fast, and its momentum was too great; it simply could not be stopped in time!

"CRASH—!!!"

The carriage slammed violently into the ice wall!

The carriage body shattered, sending splinters of wood flying in all directions!

With a pained shriek, the horses were knocked off their feet and sent tumbling to the ground by the sheer force of the impact!

Tang San was thrown from the driver’s seat, rolling several times across the ground before coming to a stop—battered and bruised, looking utterly wretched.

Jiang Bai stood before him, looking down with a commanding gaze.

"Tang San... are you ready to die?"

Tang San scrambled back to his feet, glaring fiercely at Jiang Bai.

His eyes were bloodshot, his breathing heavy and ragged, and his chest heaved violently—much like a wounded beast.

"Why?"

His voice was hoarse, laced with bone-deep hatred.

"Why do you pursue me so relentlessly? Why are you so determined to kill me?!"

Jiang Bai looked at him and spoke indifferently, "Because you belong to the Clear Sky Sect."

"Surely you aren’t unaware of the principle that to cut the grass, one must remove the roots?"

Tang San’s body gave a violent shudder.

He fell silent for a moment, then asked again, "Back in the Star Dou Great Forest, you didn’t just capture my teacher—you took Xiao Wu as well."

"My teacher has already been killed by you... but what of Xiao Wu?"

Jiang Bai looked at him, the corners of his lips curling upward slightly.

"Xiao Wu?"

He smiled. "Very well; I shall grant you the peace of mind to die with your eyes closed."

He raised his right hand.

The Nine-Colored Glazed Pagoda materialized in his palm.

Light swirled across the tower’s surface, and a beam of ice-blue radiance shot out from it, landing on the ground.

The light dissipated.

A sculpture of profound ice—standing over three meters tall—appeared in the middle of the road.

Frozen within the layers of ice lay a petite figure.

A long, black scorpion-tail braid; a flowing pink dress; and those signature rabbit-ear hair ornaments.

Xiao Wu.

Her large eyes stared wide, her face pale and motionless. The biting cold radiating from the ice caused tiny, crystalline frost to condense upon her eyelashes.

Tang San’s pupils contracted abruptly!

His eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and his breathing grew as heavy and ragged as a bellowing ox!

"Xiao Wu—!!!"

He let out a heart-rending roar of anguish!

He wanted to rush toward her, but his legs felt as if they were cast in lead; he could not take a single step.

Watching his reaction, Jiang Bai spoke coolly, "She isn’t quite dead yet. Though, I imagine she will be soon."

Having said this, he gave a wave of his hand.

The ice sculpture transformed into a streak of flowing light and vanished back into the Nine-Colored Glazed Pagoda.

Tears streamed uncontrollably from Tang San’s eyes.

Xiao Wu...

Xiao Wu was still here...

She was still alive...

But... he could not save her...

There was absolutely nothing he could do.

Just then, another streak of flowing light flew out from the small pagoda.

The light landed beside Jiang Bai, revealing a figure of breathtaking beauty.

She possessed a head of mystical, long hair—a blend of gold and blue—that shimmered with a dreamlike radiance.

Her eyes, a shifting interplay of gold and blue, held an indescribable allure; with every blink, a profound, unspoken grace seemed to flow within them.

Clad in a long gown of blue and gold, she exuded an aura that was both noble and gentle.

Ah Yin.

Tang San raised his head, gazing at the woman who had appeared so suddenly.

A flicker of bewilderment crossed his eyes.

Who... was this woman?

He had never seen her before, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Ah Yin was watching him as well.

Her gold-and-blue eyes were filled with a complex mix of emotions.

She gazed silently at her son—the boy with whom she shared a blood bond—observing his battered, wretched appearance.

Within her heart, an indescribable surge of emotion rose to the surface.

She said nothing.

She was waiting.

Waiting for Jiang Bai’s explanation.

Jiang Bai looked at Tang San and spoke slowly: "Tang San, I am very curious to know: where exactly did you acquire those so-called ’Tang Sect Hidden Weapons’ of yours?"

"As far as I know, there doesn’t seem to be any such sect on this continent, does there?"

Tang San’s heart gave a sudden jolt.

Tang Sect Hidden Weapons?

Naturally, he had no intention of telling the truth.

"I—I naturally developed them through my own research!"

His voice was firm, as if he were simply stating a fact.

You want to know the secrets behind the Tang Sect Hidden Weapons?

Hmph—dream on!

Reincarnation was his greatest secret; how could he possibly reveal it to anyone else?

Jiang Bai looked at him and smiled.

It was a smile laden with deep significance.

"Developed them yourself?"

He shook his head. "Tang San, don’t you find it strange?"

"Back when Tang Hao and your mother were being hunted down by Qian Xunji, you were still merely an infant in swaddling clothes. I find myself wondering: how did a tiny baby like you manage to survive the destructive aftermath of a battle fought between such powerful experts?"

Tang San’s expression shifted ever so slightly.

Jiang Bai continued: "There is a concept in this world known as... ’Body Snatching’."

"I am curious: could that be the situation you find yourself in?"

"Perhaps... the original infant Tang San died long ago, and the one who took his place... is you?"

As the words fell,

Two people present in the room shuddered simultaneously.

One was Ah Yin.

The other was Tang San.

Ah Yin could scarcely believe it.

Yet, there was an undeniable logic to Jiang Bai’s words.

Back then, with so many Title Douluo and Soul Douluo from the Spirit Hall converging to encircle them—and with such a barrage of Soul Skills raining down—even if she had shielded the infant with her very life, it would have been nearly impossible to ensure his survival.

Yet, Tang San had emerged completely unscathed.

This made it difficult for her to shake the suspicion that the possibility of "possession"—of one soul taking over another’s body—might actually be real.

Once the seed of suspicion is sown, it is incredibly difficult to uproot.

Tang San, too, was utterly stunned.

Possession?

Had he truly been reborn, or had he merely possessed this body?

After leaping from the cliff at the Tang Sect, the moment he opened his eyes again, he had found himself in Holy Spirit Village.

He knew absolutely nothing of what had transpired before he opened his eyes.

Could it be... that he had truly taken over the body of the original Tang San?

His heart sank abruptly; he dared not dwell on the thought any longer.

He raised his head to look at Jiang Bai, his eyes filled with a mixture of stubbornness and resolve.

"If you mean to kill me, then kill me! Why waste words?"

Jiang Bai smiled.

"I was just curious, that’s all."

His gaze settled upon Tang San.

"Judging by those strange, peculiar methods of yours—and those so-called ’hidden weapons’—I’d wager that you are, in fact, a body-snatcher."

Tang San remained silent.

Jiang Bai turned his head to look at Ah Yin.

"Will you do the deed?"

Ah Yin fell silent.

It was happening again.

Earlier, Jiang Bai had made her kill Tang Hao with her own hands.

Now, he was asking her to kill Tang San.

Although she, too, now suspected that Tang San’s body had been usurped—that while the physical vessel might still be her son’s, the soul within likely was not—

Still... it was, after all, her son’s body.

She remained silent for a long time.

Then, slowly, she raised her hand.

Several blue-gold vines erupted from the earth, coiling around Tang San’s limbs, torso, and neck like living creatures.

Tang San did not struggle.

He simply stood there, allowing the vines to bind him.

In his eyes, there was no fear—only a profound, indescribable serenity.

One vine rose high into the air.

Then, with a sudden thrust, it pierced straight into Tang San’s heart!

"Splat—!"

Blood gushed forth.

Tang San’s body went rigid; his eyes widened in shock.

He gazed at Ah Yin, staring into those golden-blue eyes of hers.

Within those eyes, he saw the glint of tears.

He parted his lips, attempting to speak.

But no words would come.

The vines retracted.

Tang San’s body slumped slowly to the ground.

"Thud—!"

Dust billowed up.

He lay there, eyes still open, staring up at the sky.

His pupils gradually lost their focus, growing dim and vacant.

Ah Yin gazed down at his corpse, remaining silent for a moment.

Then, transforming into a streak of flowing light, she vanished into the Nine-Colored Glazed Pagoda. Jiang Bai gazed at the corpse lying on the ground, remaining silent for a moment.

Then, he raised his right hand and gave it a gentle wave.

A wisp of golden-red flame descended upon Tang San.

Whoosh!

The flames instantly surged.

The blazing golden-red fire completely engulfed Tang San.

A moment later, the flames died down.

All that remained on the ground was a small pile of ash.

A gust of wind blew, and it scattered away.

Jiang Bai stared at the pile of ash, falling silent once more.

Then, he turned around.

"Let’s go."

Light and shadow shifted.

Three figures vanished from the main road.

...

Not long after, news of the complete annihilation of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect swept across the entire continent.

The two great empires were left utterly shocked.

For it turned out that this atrocity had been orchestrated by the Spirit Hall, in alliance with the six other major sects.

The Heaven Dou Empire was particularly terrified.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family shared close ties with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and had long relied heavily upon them.

Now that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was gone, the Heaven Dou Imperial Family had lost a powerful ally; facing both the Spirit Hall and the Star Luo Empire, the pressure upon them had doubled.

Yet, the Spirit Hall’s machinations did not end there.

Shortly thereafter, the Spirit Hall announced its intention to construct "Angel Squares"—complete with statues of the Angel God—in front of every Spirit Temple, Main Hall, and Branch Hall across every city on the continent, all for the purpose of propagating the faith of the Angel God.

Moreover, the funding for these projects was to be provided entirely by the local cities themselves.

Failure to comply, the Spirit Hall warned, would result in the unleashing of a "Divine Retribution War" in the name of the Angel God.

The implementation of this decree would begin in the Heaven Dou Empire first, before gradually expanding to the Star Luo Empire.

Upon the announcement of this move, the entire continent erupted in an uproar.

"What exactly is the Spirit Hall trying to do?"

"Was establishing Spirit Halls in every city not enough? Now they want to build Angel Squares? And erect statues of the Angel God?"

"And they expect the local cities to foot the bill?"

"Is there any sense of reason or justice left?"

However, no one dared to step forward and voice their opposition.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had only just been annihilated; the blood spilled in that massacre had not yet even dried.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Family dared not provoke the Spirit Hall’s wrath; left with no choice but to compromise, they announced their agreement to construct Angel Squares and statues in every city throughout the Heaven Dou Empire. Upon seeing this, the other factions tacitly acquiesced.

The situation on the continent was quietly shifting.

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