Tang Hao! Fight!

On the outskirts of Shrek Academy, deep within the dense forest.

For Tang Hao, the heart-rending agony and heaven-burning fury of this day were second only to the time he had witnessed Ah Yin's sacrifice.

He had entrusted Little San to Shrek Academy, yet he had never truly been able to set his mind at ease.

These past days, he had remained hidden on the outskirts, silently watching over his son from time to time with the vast spiritual power of a Titled Douluo.

But he had never expected that after merely half a day of looking away—

He had vanished!

Little San's presence had been clearly within the dormitory area one moment, only to disappear without a trace the next.

"Little San?" Tang Hao's heart violently clenched as icy terror shot from the soles of his feet to the crown of his head.

His immense spiritual power surged out frantically and recklessly, its range expanding to the limit in an instant, even at the risk of alerting any powerful figures nearby.

Nothing! Nothing! Still nothing!

Tang San's aura seemed to have been forcibly erased from this world by an invisible giant hand.

Panic—an unprecedented panic, enough to make even the Clear Sky Douluo tremble—seized him.

Like a madman, he darted through the dense woods around the academy. His spiritual power plowed across every inch of land again and again, and every fruitless search was like a dull knife savagely carving into his heart.

My son... Little San! Where are you? His silent roar echoed in the depths of his soul.

Finally!

When he once more "caught" that faint aura, so weak it seemed liable to dissipate at any moment—

Tang Hao's spiritual power instantly focused on it, like a dying man clutching his final straw.

Boom—!

It was as though a thunderclap exploded in his mind.

The scene he "saw" froze all the blood in his body in an instant, followed by volcanic fury rushing straight to his head.

His Little San! His son, whom he cherished as his very life! At this moment, he was barely breathing, and the massive hole burned through his chest by terrifying corrosive poison was a horrifying sight.

The mangled flesh around it gave off dead black vapor. Dark purple-black poisonous blood lingered at the corner of his mouth, and the flame of his life was like a candle in the wind, liable to go out at any moment.

The clothes over his chest had been burned through by the terrifyingly corrosive poison, exposing the savage, torn wound beneath, which radiated ominous black vapor. Dark purple-black poisonous blood remained at the corner of his mouth.

Xiao Wu, Dai Mubai, and the others carried him in despair. Every step they took felt as though it stomped on Tang Hao's heart, crushing every shred of his reason.

Tang Hao's burly body shuddered violently, his heart seeming to be viciously clenched by an invisible giant hand.

Pain and rage enough to burn down the world instantly devoured all his reason.

He forced himself to focus, his ears as a Titled Douluo catching the fragments of faint breath below.

"...Poison... Dugu... Bo..."

Broken and intermittent, yet each word was like blood, brutally chiseling into Tang Hao's mind.

"Dugu Bo!"

Endless killing intent exploded in his heart. His eyes instantly turned blood-red. Kill! He had to kill him! He would grind that Old Poison Master's bones to dust in the cruelest way possible.

And Shrek Academy, Flender, Zhao Wuji.

As Little San's dean and vice-dean, the academy's strongest protectors, what the hell had they been doing?

And Yu Xiaogang!

As Little San's teacher, he had allowed Little San to suffer such grievous injuries. They had to receive the punishment they deserved.

"Hmph! When I return... not one of you will escape!"

At that moment, Dugu Bo, wandering aimlessly through the bustling streets of Heaven Dou City, had no idea what kind of terrifying vengeful Slaughter God he was about to face.

He clutched a list provided by the Royal Academy, his brows tightly furrowed as his troubled gaze searched the crowd for a suitable "vessel."

As the capital of the Heaven Dou Empire, Heaven Dou City gathered most of the empire's most outstanding young talents. In theory, there was no better place to search for a vessel for reincarnation.

"Trash! A bunch of trash!" Dugu Bo cursed inwardly. Those so-called "geniuses" on the list were simply unbearable under his exacting standards.

Immortal Reincarnation came at an enormous cost. Not only could he inherit only the vessel's own foundation of strength after reincarnating, but the requirements for soul compatibility were especially harsh.

His martial soul was the Jade Serpent Emperor. Finding a youth with a top-tier venomous snake-type martial soul was merely the most basic requirement.

Unfortunately, the best venomous snake martial soul wielder on the list was only above average, with limited potential. How could he possibly be satisfied?

Just as his troubled thoughts caused him to lose focus for an instant, and his gaze swept past the shadows at the street corner—

A pitch-black streak tore through the air, faster than the limit of vision and carrying the force to destroy everything, crashing down upon his head!

Along with it came another pitch-black streak that tore through the air, faster than the limit of vision and carrying the force to destroy everything, hurtling straight at his head!

"Dugu Bo, surrender your life—!"

Before the roar had even faded, the killing blow had arrived!

Tang Hao's eyes, blazing with heaven-burning fury, were branded into Dugu Bo's abruptly contracting pupils.

Tang Hao? Why is he here? Why? The sudden assassination terrified Dugu Bo out of his wits, and he instinctively erupted with Soul Power!

Martial Soul Avatar—Jade Serpent Emperor.

The phantom of the heaven-devouring giant python instantly solidified. In his haste, he unleashed his strongest single-target soul skill with a roar—his sixth soul skill, Jade Serpent Emperor's Break.

A thick jade-green pillar of light crashed fiercely into the hammer shadow tearing through the air.

There was no stalemate in the collision—only utter devastation.

The Clear Sky Hammer shadow, containing the profound truth of "Piercing," ignored all defenses and struck the massive body of the Jade Serpent Emperor squarely in the center.

Splat—!

Dugu Bo felt as though he had been hit head-on by a towering mountain.

His tough scales burst apart instantly, and the giant serpent's body smashed viciously into the ground like a tattered sack.

Scalding serpent blood sprayed out like a fountain from its mouth and shattered scales.

"Tang Hao! Have you gone mad? When have I ever offended you?" Dugu Bo roared in shock and fury, enduring the tearing pain and dizziness.

Yet Tang Hao's killing intent did not falter in the slightest.

"For hurting my Little San, even dying ten thousand times would not atone for it." His icy voice was utterly devoid of emotion.

Tang Hao turned into an even sharper streak of black light and lunged straight at the falling Dugu Bo!

Great Sumeru Hammer—Explode.

The two yellow soul rings above his head shattered in response.

Like two small suns exploding, torrents of golden light surged madly into the Clear Sky Hammer, which had grown as massive as a mountain.

Ninth Soul Skill—Sky-Rending Strike!

This hammer shadow was several times larger than before.

Destructive golden lightning coiled around the hammer, and its terrifying pressure bore down directly upon the falling Jade Serpent Emperor.

Dugu Bo despaired. All he could do was unleash his strongest life-saving spirit bone skill:

Medusa's Gaze!

Two murky gray beams shot from the giant serpent's eyes.

But it was useless.

The petrifying beams struck the World Annihilation hammer shadow, only shaving away a thin layer of its energy.

The hammer shadow came crashing down with the force to crush everything.

In the original work, Tang Hao had used Explode Ring together with Sky-Rending Strike to utterly overwhelm Chrysanthemum Douluo. Dugu Bo, who had been sent scrambling by Chrysanthemum Douluo, stood even less of a chance.

My life ends here. Dugu Bo was utterly hopeless.

Lightning Release: Rasenshuriken.

At that critical moment, a cool voice rang out.

"Go!" Duanmu Ci flicked his wrist and hurled the violent "shuriken" at the hammer shadow that blotted out the sky.

An indescribably deafening blast erupted above Heaven Dou City, as though two stars had collided head-on.

Lightning and wind blades smashed violently against the destructive hammer shadow.

The explosive shockwave sent Dugu Bo flying once more, slamming him heavily into distant ruins. Even the Soul Power sustaining his Martial Soul Avatar was scattered, forcing him back into human form. His chest had caved in, and blood seeped from all seven orifices.

"Hm?" Tang Hao's figure paused slightly, his crimson eyes fixed tightly on Duanmu Ci.

He had actually managed to block that strike. Although Dugu Bo's petrification had consumed some of its power, it was still not something an ordinary Douluo could withstand.

"Tang Hao?" Duanmu Ci frowned.

Heaven Dou City had violently shaken, and Dugu Bo's Soul Power had abruptly plummeted. He had not even had time to deploy Mental Probe before hastily arriving with Kamui.

This is troublesome... He was only a Shadow Clone at the moment. His true body had long since entered the City of Slaughter, which was subject to the Asura God King's restriction. His true body could not get out at all—not even through Kamui.

This meant that both the total amount and upper limit of Soul Power in his body were far below those of his true body.

Like a water flask with limited capacity, even if it could be replenished quickly, its maximum instantaneous burst of power was severely restricted.

Against an opponent at Tang Hao's level, a Shadow Clone alone would likely be insufficient.

"Who are you?" Tang Hao's voice was colder than ice, killing intent boiling within it along with impatience at being interrupted.

Faced with the question, Duanmu Ci gave a light laugh.

"If you wish to touch Dugu Bo, Clear Sky Douluo, you'll have to get past me first. But surely you wouldn't stoop to slaughtering people in Heaven Dou City and harming the innocent, would you? Let's change locations and let you fight to your heart's content."

He glanced at Dugu Bo, who lay barely alive amid the ruins.

"With him in that state, what difference is there between killing him and crushing a dying bug? Leave him breathing for now and settle things after our fight. Wouldn't that better display your might?"

"You—!" The fury in Tang Hao's eyes nearly burst forth. This brat had not only stopped him, but even dared to needle him with words.

But he was Tang Hao, after all!

He swept his gaze over the street below, now reduced to ruins, and the terrified crowd. Then he looked at the barely breathing Dugu Bo in the distance before fixing his eyes on Duanmu Ci.

"Fine. You want to stand up for him? Let's see how long you can protect him. Today, I'll deal with you too."

Two figures shot into the air in an instant, turning into streaks of light as they flew toward the higher sky.

Above the sea of clouds, the two faced each other in midair.

Tang Hao hovered there, showing no leniency just because his opponent was a youth. On the contrary, his expression was exceedingly grave.

His opponent's ghostly appearance, that self-created spherical soul skill, and... there seemed to be no fluctuation from soul rings on his body?

Just as doubt filled his mind.

Six deep crimson soul rings abruptly appeared around Duanmu Ci, radiating the aura of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts?

"How is this possible... six... six hundred-thousand-year rings?" Tang Hao could not help drawing a sharp breath, growling in disbelief. "Impossible! Who exactly are you?"

Duanmu Ci paid no attention to his shock. His fifth soul ring flashed—Fountain of Light.

A warm, vast torrent of life force and pure Soul Power surged through him in an instant, filling every limb and bone.

"Let's start with a greeting." Duanmu Ci's voice remained calm, though a trace of fighting spirit ran through it.

In the next instant, several energy spheres only half the normal size but spinning at high speed—Rasengans—rained down upon Tang Hao from every direction!

The moment he unleashed them, Duanmu Ci clearly felt more than half the energy within him drained away at once.

Yet under the replenishment of the Fountain of Light, his Soul Power rapidly recovered. Though it could not raise his Soul Power limit, it did make up for the weakness of his Shadow Clones lacking sufficient Soul Power.

Facing the incoming Rasengans, a fierce light burst from Tang Hao's eyes.

"Clear Sky Nine Extremes—Shatter!" With an enraged roar, the Clear Sky Hammer swept up a dark hammer shadow condensed to the extreme.

The hammer shadow struck after yet arrived first, sweeping outward and forming a field of destruction before him.

The energy spheres slammed into it, erupting in a series of dense explosions.

Before the smoke and dust from the blasts could disperse, Tang Hao's voice, suppressing towering fury, pierced through. "Kid, who exactly are you?"