A deathly silence hung before Pope Palace.
Tang San lay sprawled across the icy stone slabs, his fingers digging into the ground, blood streaming from them. His vision blurred as he watched the pink figure being pulled into Yu Tianyu's arms. The heart-wrenching pain nearly made him faint.
That was his Xiao Wu.
The person he had sworn to protect with his life.
Now she was being toyed with by that demon like a trophy.
"Let her go... Let her go!"
A beastlike growl came from Tang San's throat, but he didn't even have the strength to stand. The people around him looked on with mockery, pity, and, above all, awe for Yu Tianyu's absolute power.
No one would offend a peerless genius who even the Pope had to respect for the sake of a useless wretch.
At that suffocating moment of despair.
Suddenly.
Rumble—!
The sky, clear and cloudless just moments ago, suddenly filled with roiling clouds and rising winds.
A domineering black current, thick with the aura of destruction, swept across the sky above all of Spirit City. Its terrifying pressure forcibly tore open a gap in the auras emanating from Bibi Dong and the Titled Douluo before Pope Palace.
A deep, resonant voice, brimming with boundless fury, boomed across the heavens and earth.
"A chrysanthemum and a little brat dare hurt my son?!"
At the sound of that voice, Tang San, whose heart had been dead with despair, began to tremble violently.
He jerked his head up. A light unlike any he had ever shown before flared in his dim eyes.
That voice...
That aura...
"Dad?!"
Tang San cried out, tears spilling from his eyes.
It was him! He had come!
The disheveled drunk who had worked as a blacksmith in Holy Soul Village, the father who had quietly left, the Clear Sky Douluo said to have struck terror into Spirit Hall!
He had finally arrived!
A figure in a tattered black robe stood suspended in midair. In his hand was an enormous black war hammer. It swelled in the wind, transforming in the blink of an eye into a terrifying giant a hundred meters long, its surface glimmering with a heart-stopping red light.
Clear Sky Avatar!
Its power was enough to shake heaven and earth, leaving every Spirit Master present struggling to breathe.
"That's... Clear Sky Douluo Tang Hao?!"
Someone shouted in terror.
Tang San gazed at the godlike figure in the sky, and his despair was instantly replaced by elation.
He was saved!
His father was so strong—an expert even the Pope feared! As long as his father was here, he would save Xiao Wu, defeat Yu Tianyu, and wash away every humiliation of the day!
Hope blazed in Tang San's chest once more, like a raging fire.
Faced with that world-destroying hammer descending from the sky.
Bibi Dong's expression changed drastically. She slammed her scepter into the ground, and six Spirit Rings rose around her. Ghost Douluo and Chrysanthemum Douluo were even more on guard. The two released their Martial Soul Fusion Skill together, trying to withstand the earth-shattering attack.
Yet amid the chaos.
Yu Tianyu remained where he was.
He still held the struggling Xiao Wu tightly in his arms, and even had the leisure to lower his head and breathe in the fragrance of her hair.
"Third Brother... It's Third Brother's father..." Xiao Wu gazed at the sky, a glimmer of hope kindling in her eyes.
"Oh? The old rat finally decided to show his face?"
Yu Tianyu looked up at the Clear Sky Hammer falling from above and curled his lips in a disdainful sneer.
"Quite a spectacle. Too bad you're past your prime."
Just as the enormous Clear Sky Hammer was about to crash down.
Yu Tianyu moved.
He didn't release his Martial Soul or use a Spirit Skill.
He simply raised his right hand. It had undergone complete Dragon Transformation, covered in dazzling Blue-Purple Dragon Scales, with destructive lightning flickering at his fingertips.
"Get down."
Yu Tianyu gave a quiet command and raised his hand to the sky.
Boom!!!
Under the horrified gaze of everyone present, that seemingly tiny dragon claw forcibly caught the hundred-meter Clear Sky Avatar!
A massive shock wave swept outward. The square before Pope Palace instantly cracked apart, sending countless stones flying.
But Yu Tianyu's feet remained rooted to the ground, utterly motionless.
He hadn't even loosened the arm holding Xiao Wu.
"W-What?!"
Tang Hao's domineering expression froze in midair.
He had held back to some degree to save someone, but that didn't mean just anyone could catch his attack barehanded! Even a Titled Douluo above level ninety-five wouldn't dare withstand it head-on!
What kind of monster was this boy?!
"Is that all you've got, Clear Sky Douluo?"
Yu Tianyu's voice rang clearly through the smoke, carrying across the entire square.
"Seems like hiding in a ditch all these years has left your bones brittle."
Crack!
A crisp sound of breaking rang out.
Yu Tianyu's five fingers clenched suddenly.
The Clear Sky Hammer Avatar, infused with all of Tang Hao's Soul Power, had developed countless cracks in Yu Tianyu's palm!
"Damn it!"
Alarm bells rang in Tang Hao's mind.
An expert could recognize another expert with a single move. In that brief clash, Tang Hao had keenly sensed that this young man's strength was unfathomable!
And with Bibi Dong and the two Titled Douluo beside her watching like tigers...
Escaping unharmed today while taking two people with him would be harder than reaching the heavens!
"Tang Hao! Since you're here, you're not leaving!"
Bibi Dong had recovered by now. She shouted, and the phantom of the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor appeared behind her, locking onto Tang Hao in the sky with its terrifying killing intent.
The situation had turned around in an instant.
What had seemed like a triumphant return of a king turned out to be a trap he had walked straight into.
Tang Hao looked at Tang San, badly wounded and close to death on the ground, then at Xiao Wu, firmly held in Yu Tianyu's grasp.
A flicker of anguished conflict crossed his eyes.
If he stayed, everyone would die here.
If he left... he could only take one of them.
"Dad! Save Xiao Wu! Hurry and save her!!"
Tang San seemed to sense what was coming and roared with all his strength. He didn't care if he lived or died. He only wanted Xiao Wu to survive!
Yu Tianyu seemed to see through Tang Hao's hesitation.
His smile widened, like a demon whispering in his ear.
"Tang Hao, I'll give you a choice."
Yu Tianyu's finger lightly traced Xiao Wu's delicate neck, making her shiver.
"Your son's worthless life is right there on the ground. No one's stopping you from taking him."
"But this rabbit is my trophy."
"Do you want both and end up losing them both? Or will you tuck your tail between your legs and drag your useless son out of here?"
It was a calculated trap.
An unabashed threat.
Tang Hao looked into Yu Tianyu's mismatched eyes, full of amusement. He knew the other man wasn't joking. If he tried to snatch Xiao Wu, Yu Tianyu would crush her throat without hesitation—and Tang San might be caught in the crossfire.
There was no time to think.
Bibi Dong's attack had already arrived.
"Ah!!!"
Tang Hao let out a furious roar, full of humiliation and unwillingness.
"Great Sumeru Hammer—Ring Detonation!!"
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several of Tang Hao's Spirit Rings exploded at once, releasing terrifying energy that temporarily drove back Bibi Dong and the two elders.
Taking advantage of that brief opening.
Tang Hao shot downward like lightning.
His target... was Tang San.
"No... Don't..."
As he watched his father rush toward him instead of Yu Tianyu, Tang San's pupils shrank violently.
"Dad! I'm not leaving! Go save Xiao Wu! Save her!!"
Tang San struggled frantically, refusing the hand Tang Hao reached out to him.
"Shut up! San! As long as the green hills remain, there'll be firewood!"
Tang Hao's heart was breaking too, but he had no choice. He grabbed Tang San by the collar and lifted him like a chick.
"Go!!"
Tang Hao swung his hammer again. Using the recoil, he shot away like a black streak, fleeing at full speed beyond Spirit City.
The wind howled.
Pinned under Tang Hao's arm, Tang San couldn't move.
He could only turn his head with difficulty and look back.
In his vision.
The pink figure he had yearned for remained imprisoned in that demon's arms.
Xiao Wu didn't cry or shout.
She simply watched Tang San's retreating figure. The light in her beautiful eyes gradually went out, until all that remained was a lifeless, ashen emptiness.
She had seen it.
At the brink of life and death.
Both the Third Brother she loved most and the father he revered most.
In the end, they had chosen to abandon her and flee on their own.
Even if it had been unavoidable, even if it had been the rational choice.
At that moment, her heart shattered.
"Do you see, little rabbit?"
Yu Tianyu's voice rang out at just the right moment, dripping with mockery.
He even lifted one hand, caught Xiao Wu by the wrist, and waved at Tang San's retreating figure.
"So this is the man you chose."
"When danger comes, he runs faster than anyone."
"Third Brother... goodbye..."
Xiao Wu closed her eyes, and two tears slipped down her cheeks.
Tang San saw it from afar.
He saw the despair in Xiao Wu's eyes and the victor's taunt on Yu Tianyu's face.
"Pfft—!"
Overcome by rage, Tang San could no longer bear the crushing blow. He spat out a mouthful of blood, his vision went black, and he lost consciousness.
In the final moment before he passed out.
Only one thought remained in his mind:
I hate... I hate this wretched weakness... I hate this wretched fate...
With Tang Hao and his son gone, Spirit City returned to peace.
Two remnants had escaped, but for Spirit Hall, the day was still a great victory.
They had not only crushed the prestige of the Clear Sky Douluo, but also gained a hundred-thousand-year Soul Beast—though this one was currently in someone else's hands.
Bibi Dong withdrew her Martial Soul and looked at Yu Tianyu, her expression dark.
"Yu Tianyu, you let Tang Hao escape."
"Let him escape?"
Yu Tianyu released Xiao Wu, who had gone as limp as a puppet, and casually passed her to Huo Wu to keep watch over.
"Your Holiness, if I'd gone all out just now, Tang Hao would indeed have died. But his last-ditch counterattack would probably have torn down half of Pope Palace, and your two elders here might have ended up dead alongside him."
"I was helping you cut your losses."
Yu Tianyu's words were arrogant, but they were the undeniable truth.
With Ring Detonation active, Tang Hao truly could have taken someone down with him.
Bibi Dong snorted but didn't argue.
"What do you plan to do with this Soul Beast?" Bibi Dong kept her eyes on Xiao Wu. The temptation of a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring was too great.
"I told you, she's mine."
Yu Tianyu walked up to Xiao Wu and looked down at the girl, now emptied of her soul.
"As for the Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone..."
Yu Tianyu smiled and pulled from his clothes the "Wisdom Skull of Mental Cohesion" that Tang San had once treasured like his own life.
"Didn't that useless Tang San want this bone?"
"Since he ran off, there's no use for it anymore."
Crack.
Right in front of Bibi Dong and Xiao Wu, Yu Tianyu casually crushed it in his hand.
The priceless Ten Thousand Year Soul Bone instantly turned into a pile of sparkling powder and scattered on the wind.
"You!" Bibi Dong's pupils contracted. What a waste! This was downright wasteful!
Beside her, Xiao Wu's body suddenly trembled.
That was something Third Brother had dreamed of obtaining... and now it had been destroyed just like that?
"Remember this."
Yu Tianyu brushed the powder from his hands and looked at Xiao Wu, his voice cold.
"In this world, what I want to give is yours."
"What I don't want to give, not even a god can take."
"Take her away."
Yu Tianyu waved his hand.
Huo Wu and Shui Bing'er immediately stepped forward and each took one of Xiao Wu's arms.
Xiao Wu didn't resist. She was dragged away like a soulless husk.
From that day on,
she was no longer the lively, adorable Rogue Rabbit of Shrek Academy.
She was merely a Golden Canary in Yu Tianyu's cage.
A living specimen, meant to torment Tang San's mind.
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