The scene shifted to the aftermath of the Spirit Master Tournament. Under Tang Hao's threats and promises, Xiao Wu feigned compliance and married Tang San.
In a thatched hut, they bowed to heaven and earth as husband and wife. For Tang San, that memory was without question the happiest moment of his second life.
But what followed immediately tore his heart apart.
On their wedding night, Tang San entered the bridal chamber, ready to consummate his marriage with Xiao Wu. Yet when he looked into her eyes, a flicker of enchantment flashed within them. For a brief moment Tang San was dazed—and then, Xiao Wu vanished.
The vision split in two.
On one side was Tang San in his bridal chamber. On the other, Xiao Wu had entered another space, where Dai Mubai and the other ten men—those "next-door kings"—had long been waiting. She trained in martial soul fusion techniques together with them.
Thus, Tang San and Tang Hao were forced to witness both sides at once: Tang San's intimacy with Xiao Wu the lizard on one hand, and Xiao Wu's cultivation with ten other men on the other.
After the wedding night, every time Tang San was intimate with Xiao Wu, the visions would exchange like this.
Later, Xiao Wu became pregnant. At that time, Tang San and Tang Hao even felt blessed, and made plans for the child's future.
Now, in hindsight, both father and son could only feel a bitter, mocking irony.
Even without further revelations, Tang San and Tang Hao already understood the truth.
For Tang San, as a man, these truths were the deepest humiliation.
"You—you—Xiao Wu, how could you do this? Even if you hate me, you shouldn't torment Tang San like this!" Tang Hao shouted incoherently, pointing at Xiao Wu.
"Xiao Wu, why… why would you treat me this way? You're not supposed to be like this…" Tang San's anguished cry was full of despair.
Xiao Wu sneered coldly:
"It was your father who killed my mother. It was he who turned Xiao Wu into a vengeful ghost. And you dare to dream of my love?"
Tang San fell silent, unable to speak.
Tang Hao grew furious:
"But even so, you can't do this—you slut!"
"Slut? That's exactly right," Xiao Wu said icily. "From beginning to end, I never liked your son in the slightest. It was you who forced me to marry him. You wanted to use marriage to bind me, to seize the Asura God's position. It was you who schemed against me first. And now, after being cuckolded, you blame me instead?
"And why don't I love the little brat? Do I really need to explain it again? It's because of you, Tang Hao. You are my mother's killer. Tang San is your son. That is his original sin. How could I ever love the son of my mother's murderer?"
"You—you—" Tang Hao was at a loss for words. He turned his head toward Tang San and said urgently:
"Xiao San, you see it now, don't you? This is Xiao Wu. Shameless, without restraint. She's done something utterly immoral and still dares to justify herself. Such a woman—our Tang family doesn't need her, right?"
"Enough!" Tang San roared at Tang Hao, eyes blazing with fury.
Seeing that devouring gaze in his son's eyes, Tang Hao's heart skipped a beat.
Damn it. Could Xiao San actually come to hate me for this?
The more debased and shameless Xiao Wu became in this life, the more Tang San missed the Xiao Wu of his previous life—the Xiao Wu who had only him in her eyes, who gave all her love to her "San-gege." That Xiao Wu loved him to her last breath, willing even to sacrifice herself, bearing the burden of the Asura God's throne with her fragile body, bearing his children, and ultimately sacrificing herself again to shield him from Huo Yuhao's betrayal.
But why? Why, in this life, had Xiao Wu become like this?
Once, Tang San could not answer that question. Now, however, all the clues pointed to one source—his revered father, Tang Hao.
"Tang Hao, you selfish excuse for a father!" Tang San's eyes turned blood-red, his breath ragged like a raging bull as he roared:
"Why? Why, with so many evil spirit beasts in the world, did you—knowing full well Xiao Wu was my beloved—hunt down her mother, that gentle spirit beast, for your ninth spirit ring? Why!"
"I—I… I don't know!" Tang Hao was drenched in cold sweat. He too wanted to know why, after being reborn, he had lost all sense and chosen his own mother-in-law of all targets.
"No—you did know she was Xiao Wu's mother. Yet you still struck her down. Just for a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring? You destroyed my love. It was you who left me without love!"
Tang San's fists clenched, his ape-like arms spread wide, pounding his chest in fury as he unleashed a shrill, bestial cry:
"Ahhhhhhh—!"
Watching the father and son's relationship shatter, Xiao Wu's lips curled into a smile of triumph.
Seeing Tang San's descent into madness, Tang Hao's body dripped with sweat. He was now certain—Tang San had truly come to hate him.
Tang Hao opened his mouth to explain, but before he could speak, all three were suddenly enveloped in a column of light.
The voice of the heavens rang in their ears:
"Asura God's Fourth Trial complete. Reward: +5 Spirit Power Levels, all spirit rings of the Clear Sky Hammer increased by 10,000 years, Asura God Affinity +10%."
At once, Tang San's spirit power rose sharply, reaching level 86. His Clear Sky Hammer's spirit rings emerged—seven black and one red.
Then, the Asura God's sword scabbard flew from Xiao Wu's chest, floating high above the triangular space. From afar, a green light streamed into the scabbard, filling four slots. The once blood-red scabbard now visibly shifted toward green.
Finally, the light transported all three out of the Love Trial Space.
Tang San returned once again to the plaza of the Asura God's Temple.
But in his heart, there was no joy. Only pain. Only rage.
In his previous life, the Tang family had been united, harmonious, one heart and one will. Together, they had transformed the Douluo Continent into the Tang Family Continent, and nearly made the God Realm itself into their dominion.
But why—why had this life become such a farce?
His mother loved Tang Xiao. His father Tang Hao had forcibly taken her, killed Xiao Wu's mother, and in doing so earned not only his mother's hatred, but also Xiao Wu's. That hatred spread to himself as well, destroying his martial souls. Xiao Wu, seeking vengeance, cuckolded him countless times, birthing children not his own.
"Lord Asura God," Tang San raised his head toward the empty divine throne in the center of the temple. "I want to ask you one question. Why has this world become like this?"
Huo Yuhao descended upon the throne of the God of Asura. Looking down at the bewildered Tang San, he explained:
"Many times, reality doesn't unfold in the direction you envision. A tiny ripple in history can trigger waves of change. Do you know the butterfly effect?"
"Butterfly effect?" Tang San looked completely confused.
"A butterfly flaps its wings on the far side of the Sun–Moon Continent, and it may cause a storm here on the Douluo Continent," Huo Yuhao said.
"In other words, the history I've experienced, once a variable occurred in the past, grew bigger and bigger the further it went, and eventually altered the world I once knew?" Tang San asked.
"That's one way to understand it."
Tang San fell into quiet contemplation. Although there were still many unanswered doubts in this lifetime, some of them had already been clarified within the God Trial space.
Because his mother, from the very beginning, had shifted the object of her affection, the reborn "biological father" forced her, which in turn caused her to hate him. Ultimately, the one she sacrificed herself for became Tang Xiao. Since the father did not obtain the ninth hundred-thousand-year spirit ring he so desired, he set his sights on Xiao Wu's mother. This made him Xiao Wu's mother's killer. Xiao Wu then hated him, and extended that hatred to Tang San, the son of that man. From this emerged a long chain of changes—a classic domino-like butterfly effect. The familiar history in his memory collapsed piece by piece because of the father's rebirth.
The selfish father, who hated his mother enough to destroy her talent, and likewise hated Tang San enough to ruin his own talent, even betraying the lover who had once cherished him—all of this emerged from the butterfly effect.
Why did things turn out this way?
He had been reborn once, to correct past mistakes, to rebuild the Tang Clan's continent and its God Realm.
He had been reborn once, to reunite with his beloved Xiao Wu, to have more children with her before attaining godhood. These two joys had intertwined. And these joys should have brought him countless more. He should have had a dreamlike happiness.
But why… why had it turned out like this?
At this thought, anger and resentment surged in Tang San's heart. He wanted to grab his father's sleeve and demand:
"Why? Why did you have to be reborn too—!"
But hatred was now useless. History had already changed.
"No, I will not accept this," Tang San shouted in rage. "I will correct this mistake in reality!"
"If you want to repair reality and make it into the world you once knew, then you must become a god," Huo Yuhao said.
"Then I will become a god," Tang San declared. "Tell me, when does the Fifth Trial begin, Lord Asura?"
"The Fifth Trial can begin at any time. But have you made your resolve?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"Resolve? I am ready!" Tang San answered without hesitation.
"No, you don't understand what I mean," Huo Yuhao said. "The God of Asura is the god of slaughter and judgment, who wields the authority of killing and justice. From on high, judging the sins of others is easy. But what about when the one you must judge is the person you love most, when the one committing grievous sins is someone dear to you? Have you truly prepared yourself for that?"
Hearing this, Tang San's heart sank. Could it be… that the Fifth Trial was…
Huo Yuhao looked upon Tang San with scorn. Why call him hypocritical? Because though he held the power of judgment, he could not be fair or just. He could measure the sins of the world by his own rules, yet when it came to judging the sins of those close to him, he could not do it. A so-called high being, selfish and corrupt, mouthing words of justice and law—it was laughable.
Tang San already guessed what the Fifth Trial entailed. But he was determined to correct this reality, to make the world as he remembered it. Only by becoming a god could he achieve it. He could no longer hesitate.
"Please begin the Fifth Trial, God of Asura. I am ready."
Huo Yuhao sneered. "No hurry, Tang San. Before the trial begins, I must warn you."
"The Fifth and Sixth Trials—you may choose to execute judgment, or to forgo it. But remember this: if you complete the Fifth Trial, you may choose to abandon the Sixth. If you abandon the Fifth, you cannot abandon the Sixth. If you refuse both, you will lose your qualification to become Asura. Because of the Asura God's mark on you, you will instead become the Great Worship of Asura, which means you will never qualify for any other god's inheritance."
Upon hearing this warning, Tang San's heart sank heavily. So this meant that of the Fifth and Sixth Trials, one of them had to be completed?
"Then, are you ready?" Huo Yuhao asked.
"I am ready, Lord Asura. Please begin your trial," Tang San said firmly.
"Very well." Huo Yuhao lifted his head and transported Tang San into another God Trial space.
Tang San arrived on a floating platform. The sky around it was blood-red. The floating island was circular, as if severed from something greater. At its center was a blood pool, bubbling violently. Something within it slowly began to rise.
First appeared a sword hilt. The blade remained sheathed as it surfaced. At one glance, Tang San recognized it—the Asura Divine Sword.
At the far end of the island, another person was transported in—Xiao Wu.
She appeared in the space, looking at Tang San unnaturally.
Suddenly, a cross appeared behind her.
"Xiao Wu, watch out!" Tang San cried.
In the next instant, the cross pressed against her back, and blood-red chains bound her tightly to it.
Then, a grand and majestic voice resounded from above:
Asura God's Fifth Trial: Asura's Judgment I
Description: The Fourth Trial has revealed that the woman you love most is one who despises you, unchaste, unfaithful, corrupt in morality. Faced with someone guilty of such sins, what will you do?
Option One – Execute Judgment: Draw the Asura Divine Sword, judge Xiao Wu's sins, and kill her.
Reward: Asura God affinity +30%, external soul bone "Asura Eight Spider Spears" (100,000 years), Asura Demon Spider torso bone (100,000 years), one god-bestowed spirit ring.
Option Two – Forgive her: Do not draw the Asura Divine Sword. Let Xiao Wu go.
Reward: Asura God affinity +10%, 100,000-year Green-haired Feifei Goat head soul bone.
Kill Xiao Wu? Tang San's mind went completely blank!
The sky itself reminded him:
"Xiao Wu's body is fused with the sheath of the Asura Divine Sword. If she loses her body, her soul will be swallowed by the sword's killing aura, annihilated completely—no reincarnation, no revival. Begin your choice."