On the shore of the lake in the Star Dou Great Forest, the smell of gunpowder was strong. Broken grass and trees, mixed with a faint stench of blood, were repeatedly swept up by the cool night breeze and permeated the damp air.
Tang Hao's body was firmly locked in place by an invisible Divine Soul shackle, unable to move an inch.
Ordinary people could not see the gray-white barrier surrounding him at all; they could only see that this Level 97 Super Douluo was trembling violently, with tiny popping sounds emanating from the gaps in his bones.
That was the residual, Berserk energy that surged through his meridians after five Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings were destroyed.
The dark red Soul Power, like uncontrolled magma, surged wildly through his limbs and bones, repeatedly crashing against the invisible barrier that imprisoned him.
Each collision is a double tearing apart of the physical body and the Divine Soul.
He was already severely injured, and the repeated Ring Detonation had caused his internal organs to shift and rupture, and his meridians to break apart inch by inch.
At this moment, under the backlash of extreme power, the excruciating pain in his chest felt like being repeatedly ripped apart by thousands of sharp blades, causing his muscles to spasm and tense uncontrollably.
Beneath his bronze skin, bulging veins, like lurking dragons, crawled all over his neck, arms, and back.
Dark red blood kept overflowing from the corners of his taut lips, dripping down his strong, weathered jawline and splashing into the cracked, dry soil at his feet.
Drops of blood fell to the ground, instantly spreading into dark brown, damp stains, layer upon layer, staining the soil beneath their feet a dark, bloody color—a shocking sight.
Those usually calm and domineering eyes were now filled with bloodshot veins.
At this moment, what surged in Tang Hao's eyes was not simply killing intent, but the resentment, grievances, grief and indignation that had been building up for decades, as well as a desperate determination to gamble everything.
He was unwilling to accept it.
I'm so unwilling to accept this.
Today, he dragged his crippled body into the world, risking his remaining life, not hesitating to self-destruct five Soul Rings and burn his life essence, in exchange for this overwhelming peak combat power. What he sought was never personal victory or defeat.
He intends to kill Qian Renxue and Su Zui, thus gaining a decisive advantage over fate by personally participating in the game.
They were just one step away, just one word away from being killed.
But in the end, he couldn't bring himself to deliver that fatal blow.
Tang Hao's chest heaved violently, each breath accompanied by excruciating pain that seemed to tear at his lungs. His hoarse, rough breathing was particularly jarring in the deathly silence of the lakeside.
He stared intently at the thin, grayish-white phantom of Divine Soul in mid-air, a near-mad ferocity erupting from his turbid, scarlet eyes. A broken, hoarse growl, laced with blood and foam, squeezed from deep within his throat, his voice suppressing overwhelming rage and resentment. "Let me go!"
"This is a feud between me and the Spirit Hall, a grudge against me Tang Hao! It's none of your business to interfere!"
He believed that throughout his life, he had acted with clear distinction between gratitude and resentment, and was upright and domineering.
His wife died tragically years ago, his sect has been destroyed, and he has suffered endless humiliation. For decades, he has lived in seclusion in the city, indulging in alcoholism and depravity. All his support and all the meaning of his life are revenge and protecting his son as he grows up safely.
Others didn't understand his obsession, nor the wretchedness and tragedy hidden beneath his rugged and fierce exterior; they simply saw him as a bloodthirsty and insane brute.
But he didn't care.
Those who carry the burden of deep-seated hatred are not worthy of gentleness or yielding.
In mid-air, Electrolux's gray-white Divine Soul floated silently, its thin, ethereal form exuding an ancient sense of vicissitude and indifference under the cold moonlight.
He has experienced thousands of years of ups and downs, witnessed countless obsessions and hatreds in the world, and seen countless lives devoured by hatred and sinking into self-destruction.
Tang Hao's madness, in his eyes, was both ordinary and pathetic.
The old man's ethereal eyes remained completely calm, devoid of contempt, disgust, or the arrogance of someone who would suppress a powerful figure; only a serene compassion born of a profound understanding of the world.
Electrolux's aged, calm voice drifted slowly across the lake, mingling with the gentle lapping of the water against the rocks—gentle, yet chillingly unyielding.
"Resentment?"
"You unleashed the hatred that has been building up for half a lifetime, indiscriminately, at the cost of two innocent descendants' lives. This is no longer just a matter of personal grudges."
"It's an obsession, Inner Demon, a shackle that will ruin your life."
Electrolux gently raised his eyes, his gaze piercing through Tang Hao's ferocious and crazed exterior, reaching deep into the Divine Soul that was already filled with darkness and hatred.
"I can spare your life. I will cripple your soul Soul Power and erase all your cultivation."
"From now on, you will be just an ordinary person, without Soul Power, without Martial Soul, without hatred, without killing. You will never again be able to muster even a trace of murderous intent, and you will live out the rest of your days in peace and quiet."
A few light, casual words, like ice in the dead of winter, crashed down with a deafening roar.
Tang Hao's body stiffened abruptly, his violently trembling body suddenly stopped, and his pupils contracted to the extreme, shrinking to the size of pinpoints.
A chill far more piercing and despairing than the shattering of flesh or the arrival of death swept through his body from the soles of his feet, freezing his boiling blood, freezing all his madness and rage, leaving only a deep-seated fear and despair.
Waste Soul Power?
Erasure of cultivation level?
He is Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo who is renowned throughout the continent!
From his youth, he wielded the Clear Sky Hammer, sweeping aside his peers and rising to prominence in the Clear Sky Sect with unparalleled strength, earning a formidable reputation on his own.
The Clear Sky Hammer is his bone, his Soul Power is his blood, and his cultivation is the only source of confidence for him to live in this world, the only reliance for his revenge, and the foundation of his obsession that has sustained him for half his life.
Without Soul Power and cultivation, how is he any different from a cripple?
Death is simply the end of all suffering, a release from all pain.
But even if you survive, you become a powerless mortal, watching helplessly as your enemy continues to live in glory, with no way to avenge your deep-seated hatred, and the humiliation of your life weighing heavily on your heart, you completely lose even the right to pick up a hammer.
Living is worse than death.
This is a torture a hundred times more cruel than being slowly sliced to death.
"Don't even think about it!!"
A shrill, Berserk roar pierced through his throat, startling the birds in the forest and causing ripples to spread across the lake.
Tang Hao's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, his gaze almost bursting out of their sockets. His once resolute and weathered face was completely twisted and ferocious, and the veins in his neck bulged and throbbed, as if they were about to explode at any moment.
He held nothing back; the remaining power of the Ring Detonation within his body, the nearly depleted life force, and the most Berserk killing intent deep within his Divine Soul exploded forth without reservation.
The dark red Soul Power surged wildly like a tsunami, relentlessly crashing against the invisible barrier time and time again.
"I, Tang Hao, would rather die in battle than waste my achievements!"
"If you want to cripple my cultivation and sever my right to revenge, then first shatter my Divine Soul and take my life!!"
"Nine rings, explode!"
Tang Hao went completely mad, directly mobilizing the Soul Power within his body and blasting away all of his Soul Rings in one fell swoop.
His muscles were taut to the extreme, every inch of his skin and every bone was enduring an unbearable tearing pain, his body twisted and trembled slightly, as if he would be torn apart and blown into bloody pulp by the force he unleashed at any moment.
Within his palm, the illusory image of the Clear Sky Hammer trembled and revived once more. The ancient and mottled totem patterns on the hammer's body lit up with a dazzling red light, and the ancient and domineering divine might of Haotian swept across all directions, attempting to break through the shackles and fight one last time.
He refused to live a life of ignominy, refused to be mediocre, and refused to become a piece of trash that even he himself despised.
Clear Sky Douluo, born with a sharp edge, died with a resounding clang!
Even if he dies here today, he will die standing, leaving behind his pride and unwavering resolve!
Boom--!
The remaining power of the Ring Detonation Berserk, and the killing intent of the Divine Soul surged to its peak, causing the airflow around the entire lake to become chaotic due to the Berserk force.
But the divine Divine Soul imprisonment that enveloped him was like an ancient and eternal cage of heaven and earth, indestructible and unmoving.
No matter how frantically he charged forward, no matter how desperately he struggled, all his Berserk power vanished without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea, unable to even stir up a ripple.
The gap is an insurmountable chasm.
Electrolux watched his futile struggle silently, a faint sigh finally flickering in his unreal eyes.
There's no need to persuade her anymore.
This person has been thoroughly soaked and filled with decades of hatred, his obsession has taken root in his bones, Inner Demons have taken hold of his Divine Soul, leaving him with no room for turning back.
Well-intentioned advice was nothing but humiliation and torment to him.
Since they are so stubborn and refuse to see the truth, there is no need to tolerate them.
The old man said no more; any further advice would be futile.
Withered, ethereal fingertips gently twirled in mid-air.
There was no earth-shattering roar, no sweeping waves of Soul Power, and no breathtaking clash of forces.
Only a tiny, extremely soft, grayish-white necromantic glimmer fell silently from the void, like a drifting morning dew, gently landing on Tang Hao's restless and turbulent Divine Soul.
Silent, without a sound, without a trace.
But the next second, a dramatic change suddenly occurred.
Tang Hao's Berserk trembling, hoarse roars, and frantic struggles abruptly ceased.
It was as if all life and strength had been instantly extinguished.
His wide-open, bloodshot eyes, brimming with ferocity, murderous intent, madness, and resentment, faded rapidly before the naked eye, the crimson disappearing completely, leaving only a deathly emptiness and despondency.
The raging, Ring Detonation power within him suddenly dissipated, vanishing completely as if it had never existed.
The Clear Sky Hammer, which had shaken the continent and accompanied him throughout his life of conquest, had its light completely dimmed, its phantom image shattered, and it crashed heavily into the cracked earth, leaving no tremor and utterly silent.
The overwhelming pressure of a Level 97 Super Douluo, which had swept across the entire area and made the whole forest tremble, vanished in an instant, like a candle flame extinguished by a gale, completely annihilated in the night breeze by the lake.
Tang Hao's vibrant life force rapidly dissipated, withered, and returned to nothing.
His stiff body slowly relaxed, his taut muscles suddenly went limp, and his eyes, which had once seen through the vicissitudes of life and stood proudly on the continent, completely lost their luster and became utterly dim.
A generation of Clear Sky Douluo, half his life was arrogant, half his life was lonely, half his life was obsessed, and half his life was full of hardships.
And so, he fell.
The lakeside fell into a deathly silence.
A deathly silence.
The gale suddenly stopped, the treetops were silent, and the lake water flowed gently. The fierce battlefield, which had just been tense and filled with murderous intent, as if it were about to stain the mountains and rivers with blood, was now eerily quiet.
Only the evening breeze gently swept across the broken grass, stirring up fine dust and fallen leaves, slowly passing over Tang Hao's silent body, raising a wisp of fine smoke.
The gentle lapping of the lake against the shore became crystal clear, yet it only served to accentuate the desolation and solemnity of the place.
Everyone's mind froze completely at that moment.
Su Zui supported the Great Luo Sword Embryo with one hand, the cold touch of the sword penetrating his palm, barely supporting his broken and exhausted body.
His clothes were tattered, his body covered in blood, and his internal meridians were broken in countless places. The severe injuries he sustained in the previous fierce battle had not yet healed.
The effects of the wine he had just drunk were slowly circulating, and its gentle power was gradually repairing his damaged body. At this moment, he felt no pain whatsoever.
At this moment, Su Zui's entire body tensed up instinctively, his back straightened, and his eyes were filled with unprecedented shock and horror.
Seeing Tang Hao's death, Su Zui was deeply shocked and his emotions were Jiujiu turmoil.
Electrolux remained indifferent throughout, finally raising his hand slightly and flicking his fingers together.
This is the only one of its kind.
He then obliterated Tang Hao, the Haotian Douluo who was famous throughout the continent, as if Tang Hao were nothing more than an ant in Electrolux's eyes.
Electrolux's strength is truly terrifying.