Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

Tai Tan's face was deathly pale, as though he had been a corpse for several days. When he opened his eyes again, they were filled with terror as he looked at Chen Ming. His feeble mind couldn't comprehend why someone in the world could be so malicious, capable of devising so many cruel and torturous methods.

Tai Tan was fiercely protective of his own, the kind who would call in the elders if the younger ones were attacked. To him, his kin—especially his son and grandson—were second in importance only to his loyalty to Tang Hao. As he aged, his love for his only descendant had grown into outright indulgence.

Tai Tan did not doubt that Chen Ming would show no mercy. After all, Tai Tan himself had committed his fair share of massacres. Now that the tables had turned, he didn't doubt for a moment that this familiar-looking demon would grind his entire clan into dust.

No.

Grinding them into dust would be merciful. What truly terrified Tai Tan was the thought that this devil might string up his clansmen one by one, slice them into pieces before his very eyes, and then force him to eat the flesh.

Suspended like a roast duck in a furnace, Tai Tan clenched his teeth, bloodshot eyes darting between Chen Ming and Lou Gao. Finally, he bowed his head in defeat and sighed.

The excitement Tai Tan had briefly worked himself up to was snuffed out in an instant. His face turned pale once more, and he appeared fragile and broken.

"Ask what you want. I dare not lie. Just… if you must act, give me a quick death," he said helplessly.

"I want to know where the three elders of the Clear Sky Clan are," Chen Ming replied.

"You?! How do you know about that? This is something that even within my Strength Clan, only a few are aware of!" Tai Tan's head shot up in disbelief.

"Oh, isn't it because you left the correspondence with the Clear Sky Clan elders in your storage soul tool?" Chen Ming said, glancing at Lou Gao, who looked equally surprised.

As the two wondered if this was part of someone's scheme, Tai Tan lowered his head again, his voice shrinking in acknowledgment.

"True. I did keep the letters in my storage soul tool, locked with a mechanism box to prevent others from seeing them. But in my current state, my storage soul tool has already fallen into your hands, so it's understandable that you found them. The mechanism box wouldn't have stopped a divine craftsman from breaking it open."

"I can tell you what you want to know, but you must swear to let the rest of my clan go. Kill me, torture me—I won't resist. I lost because I was not skilled enough. But you cannot harm the others in my Strength Clan," Tai Tan said firmly.

Had Tang Hao still been with the Clear Sky Clan, or if this matter had involved Tang Hao, Tai Tan might have gritted his teeth and taken the secret to his grave, even if it meant seeing his entire family slaughtered.

But the problem was, this had nothing to do with Tang Hao anymore.

The Clear Sky Clan elders had coerced him into working for them, claiming it was a way to atone for Tang Hao's sins. Even though they had abandoned him once before, Tai Tan had reluctantly agreed to help.

Tai Tan's relationship with those three elders was terrible at best. He had nearly come to blows with them several times because of their disrespect toward Tang Hao. This time, their violent orders to pressure the Blacksmith Association had been entirely at the elders' behest.

If not for their pressure, Tai Tan felt he would never have ended up in such a miserable state.

Now that someone was forcing him to reveal their secrets, he figured, why not? They were just his master's relatives, not his master himself.

Under Chen Ming's relentless interrogation, Tai Tan confessed everything about his recent interactions with the Clear Sky Clan elders. Using interrogation techniques he had learned in his previous life, Chen Ming repeatedly confirmed Tai Tan's information. By the time Tai Tan was on the verge of death but too afraid to die, Chen Ming finally stopped and turned to Lou Gao, who had been diligently recording the interrogation in a notebook, to verify the information.

Just when Tai Tan thought the questioning was over, he saw Chen Ming approach him, place a hand on his head, and unleash a wave of mental force. The excruciating pain caused blood to pour from Tai Tan's seven orifices, and he fell unconscious from the agony.

"Hmm, the information checks out," Chen Ming remarked calmly, sensing Tai Tan's emotional fluctuations.

While he possessed a soul-bound ability, Chen Ming had only developed it over a few years without formal training. The current Douluo Continent was not like the later era when the Angel Clan was nearly wiped out. Evil Soul Masters who practiced soul-searching and ghost-refining techniques had no place in this world, and mental research was highly conservative and underdeveloped. Spiritual-type Soul Masters relied on their soul skills to perform tasks like mind-reading or illusions.

Chen Ming had primarily studied poisons and medicines over the years, with no access to techniques for soul-searching or memory extraction. His approach had been crude, forcibly delving into Tai Tan's mind to extract a few days' worth of fragmented memories. The questioning was a secondary method, not the main one.

After probing Tai Tan's thoughts, Chen Ming confirmed that most of what he said was true. However, Tai Tan had concealed the soul power levels of the Clear Sky Clan elders, downgrading the second elder from level 93 to level 91.

Don't be fooled by the seemingly small difference; in reality, this could translate to a 30% disparity in combat power. Tai Tan's deception was deliberate, hoping the Clear Sky Clan elders might turn the tables on Chen Ming.

Chen Ming was displeased by Tai Tan's dishonesty. He retrieved a small vial from his storage soul tool, handed it to Lou Gao, and whispered something in his ear.

The vial didn't contain poison—it held a potent aphrodisiac. The concoction wasn't meant for Tai Tan but for the other members of the Strength Clan.

Don't ask why Chen Ming carried such things or how the process would unfold. Just understand: it was self-explanatory.

A restrained Tai Tan, suspended like a roasted duck, and four hulking men—this combination was… classic.

Hearing Chen Ming's plan, Lou Gao visibly shuddered. He hadn't imagined such a horrifying form of ultimate humiliation could exist. Yet Chen Ming noticed that instead of wavering in his loyalty, Lou Gao's faith in him grew even stronger.

Sensing this shift, Chen Ming sighed inwardly. He finally understood why institutions like churches from his previous life paired their teachings with threats against non-believers and heretics. They relentlessly hunted down apostates because sometimes, divine mercy had to be paired with divine wrath.