Douluo Continent: I'm writing a diary, and something's not right with you guys.

If anyone were suddenly told that they had a child they had never met, and that the child was created without their knowledge or the ability to express their wishes, their first reaction would hardly be one of overwhelming joy.

The problem is that while he understands, that cannot be the sole reason for his neglect of Xu Yunhan.

He could hate Orange, he could never forgive Orange, and he could never see Orange again for the rest of his life.

But Xu Yunhan is his bloodline, a living person, a child who has done nothing wrong.

Huo Yuhao could choose to have nothing to do with Ju Zi, but he should at least fulfill the most basic responsibilities of a father to this child, even if it's just by meeting her once.

Even if it's just letting the child know who his father is, or even just protecting him secretly so he won't be bullied.

But Huo Yuhao did nothing.

He chose the easiest way to handle it: deny it.

It seems that as long as he doesn't acknowledge the child, he has nothing to do with him, and he can continue to be the radiant Spirit Ice Douluo with a clear conscience, continuing to write his legendary life.

As for that child struggling to survive amidst the harsh realities of the Sun Moon Empire's royal family? Out of sight, out of mind.

This is why many people criticize Huo Yuhao for being shameless.

He kept saying he hated Dai Hao for not acknowledging him, but after becoming a father himself, he did even worse than Dai Hao.

Dai Hao didn't admit it because he didn't know; even if he had known, he still wouldn't have admitted it.

After the truth came out, Dai Hao tried his best to make amends, but after knowing everything, he chose to stand by and do nothing.

The boy who slayed the dragon eventually grew dragon scales, and the man who hated his father eventually became a father even more indifferent than his own.

This is probably the most ironic black humor in the entire history of Douluo Continent.

Shrek Academy, Inner Court Training Room.

Flames danced at her fingertips as Ma Xiaotao leaned against the wall of the training room in the inner courtyard of Shrek City.

She's always been straightforward, her emotions written all over her face, and right now her expression screamed "displeasure."

"I really misjudged Huo Yuhao."

She gave a cold laugh, and her fiery red ponytail swung as she moved.

Ma Xiaotao is the leader of the inner courtyard. She led Huo Yuhao's batch of freshmen back then, and she has always thought highly of this junior.

Diligent, intelligent, and loyal, he made outstanding contributions when Shrek Academy was besieged by the Sun Moon Empire.

Judging from her diary, she always felt that Huo Yuhao was the pride of Shrek Academy and the most outstanding junior in the future.

But seeing these things now, she suddenly felt that something had changed.

No matter how talented or accomplished a person is, if they are unwilling to acknowledge their own son, then there is a serious problem with their character.

Having fought her way in and out of evil spirit masters for so many years, what kind of villains hasn't Ma Xiaotao seen?

What she hates most are those guys who are cold and heartless to their own people.

Evil spirit masters may be evil, but at least they are evil in a righteous way. However, Huo Yuhao, who appears to be a gentle and refined hero praised by everyone, is actually indifferent to his own flesh and blood. This makes Huo Yuhao even more disgusting than evil spirit masters.

"Being ruthless to the enemy is not a skill,"

Ma Xiaotao's voice was filled with anger: "Only being good to one's own people counts."

They don't even care about their own son, yet they talk about protecting the continent and saving the people—it sounds like a joke.

She stood up, paced back and forth in the cultivation room a few times, then suddenly stopped, a complex look in her eyes.

She thought of Huo Yuhao back then, the boy who walked out of the Star Dou Great Forest, covered in wounds but stubbornly refusing to bow his head.

At that time, Huo Yuhao's eyes had a light in them, a light that showed a desire to become stronger and to change his destiny.

But Huo Yuhao now, or rather, Huo Yuhao in the future, seems to have changed.

They became powerful, but also indifferent.

Can people really become the very thing they hate most?

Ma Xiaotao asked herself in a low voice, the flame flickering uncertainly at her fingertips.

She couldn't think of an answer, but she knew one thing: if she ever met Huo Yuhao in the future, she would definitely ask him in person, "Do you still remember those words you used to hate Dai Hao back then?"

Will the dragon slayer become the dragon himself?

……

After finishing writing, Lin Ye picked up his teacup and took another sip.

Ultimately, Huo Yuhao's greatest enemy in his life was not Dai Hao, the Holy Spirit Cult, or the Sun Moon Empire, but himself.

He spent twenty years hating an absent father, but after becoming a father himself, he chose to take the same position as that absent father.

Dai Hao's absence was unintentional; his absence was deliberate.

An unintentional mistake can be forgiven, but a deliberate act is a matter of character.

Of course, Lin Ye wasn't going to completely deny Huo Yuhao's abilities.

His achievements in establishing the Spirit Pagoda and ending the blood feud between humans and beasts cannot be erased by anyone.

His legendary ascension to godhood at the age of nineteen is truly unique in ten thousand years.

But merits are merits, and demerits are demerits; one thing at a time.

Merits cannot cover up flaws in one's character, just as flaws cannot erase merits.

In Lin Ye's view, however, a person's attitude toward their own bloodline is often the most direct standard for measuring their bottom line.

Faced with this standard, Huo Yuhao lost to the person he hated most in his life.

This is the cruelest and most realistic part of the whole story.

Chapter 296 Getting Rained

Orange snapped out of her daze; she had just finished reading the entire diary.

Her face was expressionless, but her fingers were trembling slightly, and she was filled with a complex and indescribable emotion.

She saw her own name, Xu Yunhan's name, and Lin Ye's assessment of their fate.

She made no attempt to defend herself when she was described as the one "plotting behind the scenes," because that was indeed the case.

She never regrets what she does. From the moment she used that method to get pregnant with Huo Yuhao's child, she was prepared to bear all the consequences.

But she didn't expect that the most hurtful thing in the diary was not the evaluation of her, but the evaluation of Huo Yuhao.

"estrangement"

"Disassociate"

"Watching coldly"

Every word struck her heart precisely.

When my future self makes that decision, deep down I actually harbor a sliver of expectation, hoping that Huo Yuhao might be a little different after learning the truth.

After all, he was such a gentle person, and he was so kind to everyone around him.

But Huo Yuhao in the future provided the answer through his actions.

He denies it.

A bitter smile curved at the corners of Ju Zi's lips as she looked up at the dark night sky outside the window.

She suddenly felt a little sorry for Yun Han, for the child who hadn't been born yet.

She gave him life, but she couldn't give him a father.

She had considered that Huo Yuhao might be angry, furious, or completely break off with her, but she could bear it all.

What she didn't expect was that Huo Yuhao would even turn a blind eye to the child, who was his own flesh and blood, his own son.

"Huo Yuhao..."

She murmured the name softly, her voice as light as a sigh: "You can hate me for a lifetime, I don't care, but Yun Han..."

She didn't finish her sentence because tears were already streaming down her cheeks.

She never regretted her choice, but she began to wonder if her initial choice was cruel to Yun Han.

……

To delve deeper, Huo Yuhao's attitude towards Xu Yunhan actually reveals a deep flaw in his character: he possesses a selective empathy at his core.

He can be completely open and honest with those he wants to empathize with, such as his teammates, the girl he likes, and the soul beasts in the Spirit Pagoda, even at the cost of his own life.

But for those he excluded from his "one of his own" circle, his indifference was chilling.

Although Xu Yunhan shares his blood, because the child's mother is Ju Zi, and Ju Zi has been categorized as an "enemy" or "schemer" in his mind, he also excludes this child from his empathy.

He subconsciously regarded Xu Yunhan as part of the Orange Conspiracy, rather than as an independent, innocent life.

How is this way of thinking different from Dai Hao's back then? Didn't Dai Hao exclude Huo Yuhao from the category of "his own child" because he didn't know about Huo Yuhao's existence?

The only difference is that Dai Hao's lack of knowledge was unintentional, while Huo Yuhao's rejection was a deliberate choice.

After learning the truth, Dai Hao crossed that threshold and included Huo Yuhao in the category of "one of his own".

Huo Yuhao knew the truth, but refused to move on, forever shutting Xu Yunhan out.