"You've got some nerve!"
Seeing Qin Hao attack, Bai Tianyang roared angrily.
He had not expected this brat to refuse to flee and instead dare to continue attacking him. Bai Tianyang was instantly consumed by rage.
"Let this old man show you his Ghost Claw!"
With that, he transformed into a streak of black mist and charged at Qin Hao.
The two moved with astonishing speed. A distance of several hundred meters vanished in the blink of an eye, and Qin Hao's and Bai Tianyang's claws collided.
With a tremendous boom, lightning and ghostly qi intertwined ceaselessly, crashing together violently.
However, the difference in their strength was simply too great. Qin Hao could not hold on for long before he was soon sent flying backward from the black mist.
It was obvious that Qin Hao had lost this exchange against Bai Tianyang. Yet he was not injured; after flying back a hundred meters, he came to a stop in midair.
Still, the impact had left Qin Hao's hands slightly numb.
Qin Hao hovered in the air, lightning radiating from his entire body as he stared at Bai Tianyang within the black mist. There was indeed still an obvious gap between their strength.
At this moment, Bai Tianyang slowly emerged from the black mist as well, but there was not the slightest joy on his face.
Instead, he stared fixedly at Qin Hao. During their recent exchange, he had clearly sensed that Qin Hao's power had received an immense boost, just as he had suspected.
More importantly, Qin Hao had actually remained uninjured after that clash!
He had never expected Qin Hao's defensive power to become so formidable as well! Bai Tianyang's expression grew increasingly grim.
"No way! That brat actually survived Father's Sky Splitting Claw!" Watching the scene before him, Bai Hu found it utterly unbelievable!
Just moments ago, this person had suffered severe injuries from his father's casual strike, though he had recovered quickly.
But that could only mean Qin Hao's recovery ability was incredibly strong! So what was this before his eyes? Could a short-term increase in strength really allow him to contend with his father?
"Could this be the boost brought by a bloodline?"
Bai Hu muttered. He could only link everything to the bloodline; aside from that, he truly could not think of any other explanation.
"Hah! What a joke. For power and immortality, I gave up everything that belonged to humanity."
"Yet what I gained is still inferior to what a child can obtain in a short time. Heh, how ironic." Jiang Yin also watched the scene and muttered. Not a ripple could be seen in his pitch-black eyes; he merely stared blankly ahead.
The county office.
Just as Qin Hao and Bai Tianyang clashed, the county office where Ge Wengong was located was also caught in the aftermath. By now, it had become utterly dilapidated.
Ge Wengong raised both hands with all his strength to block the shockwaves generated by Qin Hao and Bai Tianyang's battle, his gaze locked on the two figures in the sky.
That scene, filled with terrifying auras, was truly earth-shaking. The pressure they radiated alone made people unable to look directly at them.
By now, Qin Hao and Bai Tianyang's battle had razed one-fifth of Qingshi County to the ground.
It had even affected the county office where Ge Wengong was.
"Sigh! How long will it take for Qingshi County to return to how it was?" Ge Wengong gazed at the ruins in the distance, his face full of sorrow.
"But Qin Hao really is extraordinary."
"Several enemies came one after another, and he drove every last one of them back. I truly underestimated him."
Ge Wengong had witnessed all of Qin Hao's battles. Every ghost cultivator who had come would have been more than enough to leave him without even a burial place.
Especially that old man who had just arrived—Ge Wengong could sense his terror even from very far away!
He guessed that the man's strength might already have reached the Spirit Transformation realm.
"I only hope that kid Qin can hold him back. Otherwise, Qingshi County will have no hope."
"Sigh..." Ge Wengong said helplessly. The Imperial Capital of the empire was now in dire straits, and the empire's experts had all returned there to provide aid. Other than Qin Hao, he could not think of any way to save Qingshi County.
"Old man, you're not all that impressive either, hahaha! Were those claws of yours just scratching an itch for me?" Once Qin Hao confirmed that Bai Tianyang truly posed no mortal threat to him, he became a little cocky and taunted him.
"Hehe, then have a taste of this young master's hammer!" As he spoke, Qin Hao took out the Black Fiend Hammers, preparing to give this old fossil a hammer blow and loosen his bones.
Bai Tianyang did not react much to Qin Hao's taunts.
However, when Qin Hao took out the Black Fiend Hammers, he noticed a trace of ghostly qi on them.
Sensing that aura, Bai Tianyang recalled how Ghost Immortal City had sent a group of people to Qingshi County some time ago to unseal a lair containing the ghost race.
Ghost Immortal City's original plan had been to sacrifice all the people in several counties and prefectures of the Dragon Mountain Empire in order to open a rift to the Ghost Realm.
He himself had been responsible for Qingshi County and several nearby counties. Yet the failure of that mission had caused the sacrifices in Qingshi County and those surrounding counties to fail as well.
Because there were not enough sacrifices, they had been unable to further open the rift to the Ghost Realm, and he had been harshly criticized by the other elders of Ghost Immortal City.
In a fit of rage, he had killed every person responsible for that unsealing mission.
Seeing Qin Hao holding the Black Fiend Hammers, he guessed that this brat was the one who had ruined their plan.
"Brat, you really do have quite the fated connection with us. Were you the one who dealt with that sealed ghost clansman?" Bai Tianyang stared at the Black Fiend Hammers and spoke indifferently.
Qin Hao, who had been about to step forward and hammer Bai Tianyang, froze when Bai Tianyang suddenly said that while staring at his Black Fiend Hammers.
Only when he saw Bai Tianyang staring at his hammer did Qin Hao realize what he meant.
"Oh? You mean Gui Wuya?" Qin Hao guessed that Bai Tianyang was referring to Gui Wuya. He had likely sensed the lingering ghostly qi Gui Wuya had left on his hammer.
"Hehe, that guy really was strong. I had to put in a great deal of effort to take him down back then." Qin Hao nodded as he spoke, acknowledging Gui Wuya's strength.
Compared to Jiang Yin and the others, he had been stronger by more than just a little.
When Bai Tianyang saw Qin Hao admit that he had killed the ghost clansman and caused his mission to fail, he could no longer suppress his rage.
"Brat, you're courting death!"
Filled with fury, Bai Tianyang charged at Qin Hao with killing intent soaring to the heavens.
"Perfect timing!"
"This young master hasn't had enough yet!"
Seeing Bai Tianyang rush at him, Qin Hao did not dare be careless. Knowing that Bai Tianyang was coming at him with the intent to kill, Qin Hao began to activate his Bloodline Power.
Lightning burst from Qin Hao's body. Pillars of lightning shot straight into the heavens, and his entire body brimmed with violent electricity as his speed, strength, and defense received an astonishing boost.
Feeling the explosive power within his body, Qin Hao grew even more excited.
"Hahaha, come on!" With that, he gripped the Black Fiend Hammers and faced Bai Tianyang head-on.
The two figures rapidly closed in amid flashes of lightning. Then, a world-shaking boom tore through the sky.
It was a clash of brute force and power, a collision between a martial cultivator and a ghost cultivator.
The two powerful forces crashed fiercely together in midair, releasing a blinding flash, as though a tiny sun had exploded.
It was a battle that shook heaven and earth.
Qin Hao swung his hammer of lightning, every strike carrying endless might and roaring thunder.
Bai Tianyang, meanwhile, unleashed profound killing intent—a cold, dark, destructive force.
The collision of killing intent and lightning produced devastating shockwaves that instantly destroyed the surrounding buildings. Even the entire county trembled.
The aftershocks spread outward, terrifying beyond measure.
The residents who had fled beyond the county walls trembled in fear. Never before had they witnessed such a terrifying battle.
Before you continue