"Zhu Zhuqing, what nonsense are you talking about!"
Yu Xiaogang turned around and glared at Zhu Zhuqing in displeasure.
There was not the slightest hint of retreat in Zhu Zhuqing's eyes as she continued:
"Was I wrong? Among the strongest Clear Sky Hammer users throughout history, aside from the Martial Soul Avatar granted by the seventh soul ring, have any of them ever used other soul ring skills?"
Her question left Flender and Zhao Wuji looking at each other, unable to refute her.
There were indeed no records of the Clear Sky Hammer's most famous wielders, Tang Chen and Tang Hao, using soul skills.
They had all relied on self-created secret arts, Ring Detonation, the Nine Absolute Arts of Clear Sky, the Great Sumeru Hammer, Sky-Surpassing Strike, and the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer.
At those words, Tang San and the others turned probing gazes toward Yu Xiaogang.
Yu Xiaogang, however, remained convinced that he was right. Embarrassed into anger, he retorted:
"Bullshit! The Clear Sky Hammer itself is supreme. Secret arts are nothing more than icing on the cake!"
Seeing that an argument was about to break out, Flender hurriedly smoothed things over.
"Alright, alright. Different people see things differently. This Sky Screen was controversial to begin with. Let's keep watching."
Seeing his teacher angered, Tang San hurried forward to comfort him and shot Zhu Zhuqing a vicious glare.
He believed the Grandmaster could not be wrong. Without the Grandmaster's guidance, how could his useless martial soul, Blue Silver Grass, have cultivated this far?
"Hmph!"
Yu Xiaogang snorted angrily and turned away, no longer bothering to argue with a junior.
But as the Grandmaster whose theories were supposedly unrivaled, how could he accept being questioned so publicly?
He raised his head to stare at the Sky Screen again, determined to find an error and prove that it was nothing but some wild ranking.
Zhu Zhuqing did not argue further. She silently stepped farther away, her resolve to leave Shrek Academy growing even firmer.
Watching from the side, Ma Hongjun could not help muttering with a lewd, wicked grin:
"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Not only does she look seductive, she's got quite the mouth too. She's even stirred up my Evil Fire. I really want to..."
"You fat bastard, if you dare look at her again, I'll kill you right now!"
Dai Mubai glared fiercely at him, scaring the fantasizing Ma Hongjun limp.
"Hmph, Zhu Zhuqing will sooner or later become my woman!"
With a cold snort, Dai Mubai gave Zhu Zhuqing a greedy look before turning to the Sky Screen and saying to himself:
"Empires should count as forces eligible for the ranking too, right? With the strength of the Star Luo Empire, it will definitely crush the Heaven Dou Empire and Spirit Hall!"
Clear Sky Sect.
Upon seeing the latest ranking revealed by the Sky Screen, the elders were instantly dumbfounded and cried out in disbelief:
"Th... thirteenth place? Our Clear Sky Sect is third from the bottom and can't even make the top ten? How is that possible?!"
"The total number of Title Douluo on the entire continent does not exceed twenty, yet our Clear Sky Sect alone has six!"
That eye-catching evaluation in particular completely shattered their composure, and they erupted in furious denunciation:
"It even slanders our Clear Sky Hammer as not being a top-tier martial soul, claiming its upper limit was raised by secret arts?"
"Bah! What utter bullshit! Our Clear Sky Hammer martial soul is clearly invincible beneath the heavens and unmatched in the world!"
Tang Xiao was equally unconvinced, but he suddenly noticed something and frowned.
"Elders, calm down first. Look carefully at the two representatives!"
At first, the elders did not think much of it. But after considering it more closely, they felt a chill run down their spines.
"Why isn't our granduncle Tang Chen the sect's representative? Could it be that Granduncle has already..."
The elders, who had been raging with indignation just moments ago, fell into dead silence.
Spirit Hall had not exterminated them back then precisely because it feared Tang Chen's existence.
If Spirit Hall confirmed that Tang Chen was dead, it might gather the strength of the entire hall and attack at any time!
Tang Xiao still clung to a trace of luck and hope.
"Although I am already rank ninety-six, I definitely cannot defeat Brother Hao. Yet Brother Hao was not listed as a representative either, was he?"
"Perhaps Grandfather has not passed away. Maybe, like Brother Hao, he has been absent for many years and the Sky Screen considers him to have left the sect."
The moment he heard the name "Tang Hao," the Seventh Elder immediately roared:
"How can that be the same? That bastard Tang Hao was kicked out of the sect. He is unworthy of being considered a member of our Clear Sky Sect!"
At that moment, a golden pillar of light descended from the Sky Screen and precisely enveloped Tang Xiao.
Vast energy poured into his body, helping him break through his bottleneck. His nine soul rings were also tempered and transformed.
Before the golden pillar of light had fully dissipated, the surging Soul Power around Tang Xiao swept outward like a tidal wave.
"Rank ninety-seven! Four purple soul rings and five black soul rings!"
Sensing the change in Tang Xiao's aura, the elders exclaimed:
"Since Granduncle Tang Chen, you, Tang Xiao, are the first in our Clear Sky Sect to reach such heights!"
Yet there was scarcely any joy on Tang Xiao's face as he said solemnly:
"Grandfather was not listed as the sect's representative. Whether he has truly passed away or not, the outside world may believe that he is dead!"
"We must prepare ourselves. Increasing our strength is the top priority. This is one of the Heaven-Sent Rewards, so elders, decide how it should be allocated and absorbed."
As he spoke, Tang Xiao handed the perfect soul bone he had just received toward the elders.
At the sight of this, greed flashed through the elders' eyes.
Only the Seventh Elder curled his lips in dissatisfaction.
"In my view, our Clear Sky Sect deserves far more than this ranking, and the reward we received should not be limited to this."
"This soul bone may be extraordinarily rare, but it is still far inferior to the two inherited soul bones Tang Hao took away back then!"
At the mention of this matter, the elders' voices were filled with anger and dissatisfaction.
Those two soul bones had been left behind by Tang Chen. Both were over sixty thousand years old and exceptionally compatible with the Clear Sky Hammer.
Tang Hao's cultivation had advanced by leaps and bounds, far surpassing those of his generation, all because of those two inherited soul bones.
Not only had he failed to repay the sect after gaining strength, he had even caused the Clear Sky Sect to end up in its current state.
"Do not mention that beast anymore. The urgent matter now is to prepare for unforeseen changes."
The Second Elder shook his head, took back the perfect Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone, and handed it to the Seventh Elder.
"Seventh has suffered the most because of that beast Tang Hao, and among the five of us, he has the best talent. Give it to him. Any objections?"
The other three elders all sympathized with Seventh and voiced no opposition.
"Thank you, brothers, for granting this to me. I will certainly not disappoint your expectations!"
The Seventh Elder did not refuse. After accepting it, he went aside to absorb it.
Tang Xiao revealed a bitter expression. Brother Hao had only done it for the sake of the woman he loved back then...
"Ah."
Tang Xiao raised his head toward the Sky Screen, wanting to know which forces stood above the Clear Sky Sect.
Or perhaps find some clue about his grandfather, Tang Chen, and save the Clear Sky Sect from its current precarious crisis.
Chang'an City.
Shangguan Wan'er gazed at the Sky Screen, flowing light glimmering in her beautiful eyes as she asked in confusion:
"City Lord, you told Wan'er about Tang Chen's experiences. He is still alive, so why was he not listed as a representative?"
Ye Han casually thought it over and immediately guessed the reason.
"Tang Chen was parasitized and controlled by the Nine-Headed Blood Red Bat King. Having lost his autonomy, he became the King of Slaughter. It is normal that he was not included."
"If Tang Chen were judged to be part of the Clear Sky Sect's foundation, the Clear Sky Sect would not be third from the bottom. He alone is equivalent to several Clear Sky Sects as they are now!"
At those words, Shangguan Wan'er's eyes flickered slightly as she murmured to herself:
"Although the City Lord is only rank ninety-one, his overall strength surely surpasses Tang Chen's. I only wonder how he compares to Lord Sikong? After all... never mind."
She shook her head, casting aside her wild thoughts, then said seriously:
"Now that the Upper Three Sects, the strongest sects, have all been ranked, the next ones should be soul beast forces and imperial forces, right?"
Just as Ye Han nodded, the golden Sky Screen overhead suddenly began to hum once more.
"Rumble—!"
The floating words on the Sky Screen rapidly faded away like a receding tide, slowly forming new words:
[Power Ranking, Twelfth Place: Star Luo Imperial Family...]
Before you continue