Poison Douluo, Dead!

Boom!

Every bone in Dugu Bo's body shattered. He collapsed limply onto the ground, lifeless.

Dugu Bo, the Poison Douluo and a ninety-first-rank Titled Douluo, was dead!

Who could have imagined that the Poison Douluo, renowned across the continent, would die in his own Herb Garden? How ironic.

"Caw—!"

Just then, several urgent cries filled with worry rang out in the distance.

Yu Yi, Yu Er, and the others burst through the Poison Miasma, their massive figures appearing above the valley. Clearly startled by the earth-shaking battle moments ago, they had rushed to their master's aid without hesitation.

Only after seeing Xiao Yu unharmed and the powerful human corpse lying on the ground did Yu Yi and the others let out low cries, tinged with awe and relief. They slowly landed beside him, warily surveying the ravaged valley.

"It's all right now." Xiao Yu soothed them through their mental link. "One problem has been taken care of."

His enormous head turned toward the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

The red-and-blue spring water still bubbled steadily, radiating pure ice and fire energy. But the once lush herb plots around it had been reduced to pits and scattered branches and leaves, swept away by the energy blasts. The sight was all the more desolate.

There was not a trace of regret in Xiao Yu's eyes, only a sense of claiming what belonged to his territory.

"This place, along with the core of the entire Sunset Forest, will become the new foundation of our clan."

Xiao Yu's mental presence swept over Yu Yi and the others. "Increase your patrols. Be wary of any powerful beings approaching this place, whether Soul Beasts or humans."

"Caw!" Yu Yi raised his head and let out a clear, ringing cry—a response, and a declaration to the forest that a new ruler had emerged.

Xiao Yu gave one last glance at Dugu Bo's corpse and the valley, which would never know peace again.

He beat his wings, whipping up a gust of wind, and soared into the sky.

"Let's go. Back to our territory."

Yu Yi and the others immediately followed, five enormous figures guarding the king at their center as they broke through the Poison Miasma and flew toward Cliff Territory.

All that remained in the valley of the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well was deathly silence, devastation, and the remains of a Titled Douluo.

Meanwhile, somewhere on the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

Space twisted, and a tall figure wrapped in a battered black cloak staggered into view, carrying a terrified young man in one hand—Tang San.

"Pfft!" The moment Tang Hao landed, he spat out another mouthful of dark-red blood, his aura growing even weaker.

He had forced his Soul Power to withstand Xiao Yu's full-strength attack, placing an immense strain on his already grievously injured body.

"Senior, you... Dad, Dad!" Tang San's voice trembled violently, his words brimming with disbelief and elation, deep concern, and the shock of seeing his father badly wounded.

At last, he had spoken the name he had buried in his heart for years. Tears instantly blurred his vision.

He struggled to rush over and catch his father's unsteady body.

Tang Hao's body stiffened. Beneath his cloak, his weather-beaten face, etched with pain and hardship, twitched sharply.

His son's emotional cry struck his long-numb heart like a heavy hammer, stirring the fatherly love and unspeakable guilt he had buried for years.

He slowly turned around. His hood slipped back, revealing a face somewhat like Tang San's, but lined with deep wrinkles and exhaustion.

He looked into his son's tear-filled eyes. His expression was unbearably complicated: relief, pain, guilt. In the end, it all gave way to a heavy sigh.

"Xiao... San..." Tang Hao's voice was as rough as sandpaper. Each word sent pain lancing through his internal injuries, and another thread of blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.

"You've... grown up..." He reached out as if to pat his son's head, but his arm was too heavy to lift.

"Dad!" Tang San could hold back no longer. He threw himself at his father and hugged him tightly, feeling the coldness and trembling of the body that had once stood as tall and solid as a mountain but was now terribly weak.

His heart swelled with the joy of their reunion, but even more with a piercing anguish—his father was far too badly hurt!

He immediately circulated the Mysterious Heaven Skill, trying to channel gentle Soul Power into his father's body.

"Don't... waste your strength... I know my own injuries..." Tang Hao gently pushed his son away and wiped the blood from his mouth. His gaze instantly sharpened like an eagle's as he looked toward the heart of Sunset Forest.

"That beast... that Soul Beast... is too strong... even more terrifying than the reports said... and... it's still growing stronger!"

Remembering the ice-and-fire torrent that had nearly destroyed everything, and the murderous chill in Xiao Yu's eyes, even Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo, felt a deep wariness rise within him.

He knew that if the Soul Beast's attention hadn't been focused mainly on Dugu Bo, and if his sudden arrival hadn't caught it off guard, there would have been almost no chance of leaving with his son unharmed.

"Dugu Bo... is dead?" Only then did Tang San begin to recover from the shock of meeting his father. He recalled the terrifying clash in the valley, over in the blink of an eye, and Dugu Bo's final, desperate scream.

"Mm... his aura... has vanished completely..." Tang Hao's voice was low, tinged with the sorrow of seeing another fall. "That Soul Beast... is decisive and vindictive... Dugu Bo brought it on himself... He deserved to die..."

He remembered how Dugu Bo had abducted Tang San, and his voice turned cold.

If it hadn't been for his son, he would never have cared whether Dugu Bo lived or died.

"Dad, we need to leave! Your injuries..." Tang San hurriedly supported his father. He could feel his life force flickering like a candle in the wind, ready to go out at any moment.

The Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well, the Immortal Herbs—he had cast them all from his mind. His father's safety came first.

"Let's go..." Tang Hao didn't pretend to be fine. He let his son support him.

He took one last, deep look toward the depths of Sunset Forest, his eyes filled with gravity and warning.

"Xiao San... remember... until you... have enough strength... never... come near here... and don't... provoke that Holy Wing King... It's... beyond anything... you can understand... right now..."

Father and son supported each other as they staggered away, disappearing into the deepening dusk on the outskirts of Sunset Forest.

Alongside his worry over his father's injuries, the names "Sunset Forest" and "Holy Wing King" became etched in Tang San's heart, shrouded in terror and the shadow of death.

Only after they had completely left Sunset Forest did Tang Hao let out a deep breath of relief.

"Looks like that Soul Beast has no intention of chasing us." Tang Hao struggled free of Tang San's support.

"Xiao San, I still can't reveal myself. You'll have to travel the rest of the way alone, but don't worry—I'll always be by your side." Tang Hao spoke quickly. Before Tang San could react, he disappeared from view.