In Nuoding City.
In an alleyway of moderate size, three people stared wide-eyed at one another. Compared to the terrified Xiao Wu, Yue Guan was clearly even more panicked.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had rebuilt itself as a human was all well and good, but he had to be alive to claim it. With his strength, encountering Tang Hao alone meant certain death. At that moment, he was thinking of how to escape.
Tang Hao, on the other hand, wore a sinister grin. He had never expected to encounter, in this tiny Nuoding City, one of the culprits who had driven his wife to her death, as well as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast rebuilt as a human!
"Today, no one can save you!"
The moment he saw Yue Guan, Tang Hao had spread out his spiritual power. When he discovered that there were no other powerful beings within several miles, only Yue Guan, he decided that Yue Guan would be buried here today.
Soul Power surged through Tang Hao. He first restrained Xiao Wu, then charged straight at Yue Guan. Realizing the situation was bad, Yue Guan immediately fled.
His figure flickered, and when he reappeared, he was already dozens of meters away. Tang Hao merely sneered. "You can't escape."
Though Yue Guan was fast, Tang Hao was faster. Once the two left Nuoding City, Tang Hao intercepted Yue Guan.
"Run. Why aren't you running anymore?"
As he spoke, Tang Hao directly summoned the Clear Sky Hammer. The silver sledgehammer, mixed with blood-red energy, gave Yue Guan a suffocating sense of pressure. Though they were both Title Douluo, they were not on the same level at all. This was the gap brought about by a Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring.
Seeing the killing intent rise in Tang Hao's eyes, Yue Guan's expression changed drastically. He could not help but curse inwardly, If I'd known I would run into Tang Hao in this backwater, I would've brought Gui Mei with me. Even if we couldn't kill Tang Hao, we could at least escape.
Obviously, that was merely wishful thinking. If he had encountered the injured Tang Hao from before, he might have been able to escape. But the current Tang Hao? It was simply a buy-one-get-one-free deal!
Without another word, Tang Hao swung his hammer. Yue Guan's expression changed again as Soul Power surged from his body and Spirit Rings appeared.
"Yellow, yellow—purple, purple—black, black, black, black, black!"
His first Spirit Ring lit up, and a protective barrier carrying the aura of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum appeared around Yue Guan. This was Yue Guan's First Spirit Skill, Chrysanthemum Protection.
However, such a Spirit Skill was clearly incapable of blocking Tang Hao's pure strength-based attack. With one decisive swing, he instantly shattered the barrier. The Clear Sky Hammer struck Yue Guan in the chest, sending him flying dozens of meters away.
Beyond the ravine gouged into the ground, Yue Guan knelt on one knee. He clutched his chest, blood staining the corner of his mouth, his eyes filled with terror. A single hammer blow had already reduced him to this state. If Tang Hao unleashed a chain of strikes, would he not die on the spot?
The next second, his seventh black Spirit Ring flashed!
"Seventh Spirit Skill, Chrysanthemum Avatar!"
Under this Spirit Skill, all his attributes were amplified by eighty percent. Unfortunately, that eighty-percent boost could not make up for the gap between him and Tang Hao!
Seeing Yue Guan prepare to fight desperately, Tang Hao smiled coldly.
"First Spirit Skill, Titan Hammer!"
The yellow Spirit Ring lit up. The blood-tinged silver sledgehammer flew toward Yue Guan with the unstoppable force of Mount Tai, while Yue Guan's Spirit Rings flashed as well!
"Eighth Spirit Skill, Flowing Light Myriad!"
The enormous petals of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum instantly split apart into countless tiny, sharp daggers, which then rushed toward Tang Hao like a meteor shower. Yet before Tang Hao's absolute power, these attacks were utterly insignificant.
Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer was unstoppable. It easily shattered those petals, then, under Yue Guan's terrified gaze, smashed him into the ground like whack-a-mole.
When Yue Guan was seen again, he was in a miserable state. Blood trickled down from his forehead, and the pain was plain on his face.
Honestly, he had never expected Tang Hao to be this strong. He was completely incomparable to the Tang Hao he had fought before. With only one Spirit Skill, Tang Hao had shattered his Eighth Spirit Skill—and that was while he was in his Martial Soul Avatar state.
Tang Hao's expression was icy as he looked at Yue Guan. Carrying his great hammer, he walked up to him and said, "I will reclaim Spirit Hall's debt to me piece by piece. Today, I'll use your head to ease the pain in my heart."
With one hammer strike, the heavily injured Yue Guan lowered his head in bitter unwillingness, never to breathe again.
Thus, Yue Guan, a level 95 Title Douluo, fell! The one who killed him was Tang Hao, the level 96 Clear Sky Douluo at the peak of his strength! They were only one level apart, yet the difference between them was like heaven and earth!
Tang Hao removed Yue Guan's head. He would send it back to Spirit Hall. He would announce to Bibi Dong that he, Tang Hao, had returned!
At the same time, far away in Spirit Hall's main headquarters, Gui Mei suddenly felt a piercing pain in his heart. His face twisted in agony as he felt that he had lost something extremely important. Bibi Dong frowned at him. "What's wrong?"
Before Gui Mei could answer, a man with an utterly terrified expression rushed into Pope Palace, shouting as he ran, "Your Holiness, this is bad! Elder Yue Guan's—his life plaque has shattered!"
The moment those words were spoken, a bolt from the blue struck both Gui Mei and Bibi Dong. "Yue Guan... is dead?"
Bibi Dong found it difficult to believe, because she knew that Yue Guan was a level 95 Title Douluo. There were only a handful of people in this world capable of killing him, and Yue Guan had gone to a remote region ahead. How could he have died in such a tiny place?
But she quickly recovered herself. She wanted to know who had killed Yue Guan.
Gui Mei finally understood why his heart had hurt so badly just now. For a moment, he could not bear the blow. He staggered and nearly lost his footing, almost falling to the ground.
"Your Holiness, Yue Guan, he..."
Looking at the grief-stricken Gui Mei beside her, Bibi Dong frowned. In her eyes, death was death. Since Yue Guan had died, regardless of the reason, it meant he had not been strong enough. As a dead man who no longer had any value, Bibi Dong would not care too much.
She was only puzzled over who could have killed Yue Guan, a level 95 Title Douluo!
"Enough. Take two Title-level elders with you and investigate Yue Guan's cause of death. If he was killed, bring back that person's head, and bring that prodigy back to me. If you can't bring him back, kill him as well."
Bibi Dong's words stirred a trace of dissatisfaction in Gui Mei's heart. As Yue Guan's close brother for many years, Yue Guan's death pained him deeply. But Bibi Dong? She dismissed it with just a few words, utterly unconcerned with whether Yue Guan lived or died.
But when he thought of Bibi Dong's terrifying strength, his dissatisfaction immediately vanished. There was nothing he could do. Being dissatisfied with Bibi Dong meant death, and he did not have the strength to resist. Besides, Bibi Dong was simply such a cold-blooded woman. Over the years, he had come to deeply understand just what a terrifying Iron-Blooded Pope she was.
"Yes, I understand."
Gui Mei left Pope Palace, while Bibi Dong ruthlessly killed the man below. News of a Pope Palace elder's death could not be allowed to spread, as it would affect Spirit Hall's reputation. Therefore, she had no choice but to kill him!
Gui Mei set off for Nuoding City with two Title Douluo elders, while Yue Guan's head was also on its way to Spirit Hall.
Meanwhile, after dealing with Yue Guan, Tang Hao returned to the place where he had restrained Xiao Wu. Looking at Xiao Wu before him, he wondered what expression Xiao Feng would make if he gave this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast to him. After all, this was a living Hundred-Thousand-Year Spirit Ring and Spirit Bone.
However, what awaited him was...
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