Sea Dragon Douluo's Seventh Soul Ring suddenly lit up. Deep-blue Soul Power gathered into the phantom image of a colossal sea dragon, which crashed into the Clear Sky Hammer.
"Clang!"
The clash of metal rang deafeningly. A shockwave swept outward, sending fallen leaves skittering several yards across the ground.
Tang Xiao and Tang Hao each staggered back three steps, their arms tingling slightly as alarm stirred in their hearts.
The power of this Titled Douluo was astonishing!
Sea Dragon Douluo nodded inwardly as well.
The Clear Sky Hammer truly deserved its reputation as the strongest Tool Martial Soul in the world. No wonder they had dared challenge a Titled Douluo while still Soul Douluos.
"Do you think two Soul Douluos can stop me?" Sea Dragon Douluo snorted, and his Soul Power surged again.
He hadn't wanted to make an enemy of the Clear Sky Sect, but he had no choice. For Ye Qing, and for the future Sea God, he absolutely couldn't let this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast go.
Killing intent suddenly surged in Tang Hao's eyes, his dark pupils seeming to turn blood-red.
To the brothers, it didn't matter whether Ah Yin was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form. They couldn't let the other side take her away.
If she wasn't, that meant their opponent was trying to suppress the Clear Sky Twin Stars' rising reputation.
But if she really was a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, letting her go was even more out of the question.
After all, both brothers were close to becoming Titled Douluos. How could they watch a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring and Soul Bone slip through their fingers?
This was no joke.
"If you want to touch Ah Yin, you'll have to get past us first!"
At that thought, a bone-chilling aura of killing intent burst from Tang Hao. It was the Divine Slaughter's Domain he had recently obtained in Slaughter City!
The air seemed to freeze wherever the domain spread.
Sea Dragon Douluo felt his mind falter, and his cultivation was partially suppressed.
"A domain?"
Sea Dragon Douluo immediately understood. His eyes narrowed, then he sneered. "Parlor tricks!"
A pale-blue halo lit up around him. It was his own domain: Demon-Breaking Domain!
Demon-Breaking Domain had no offensive power, but its effects were uncanny.
The halo spread, and Tang Hao's Divine Slaughter's Domain melted away like snow beneath the sun. The bone-chilling killing intent vanished without a trace.
"What?!" Tang Hao was stunned. He had never seen an ability that could directly dispel a domain.
Tang Xiao seized the opening and swung his hammer, the Clear Sky Hammer crashing toward Sea Dragon Douluo's flank with the weight of a thousand jun.
Tang Hao reacted in an instant, attacking with both hammers. The brothers' coordination was flawless.
Though the two brothers had him surrounded, Sea Dragon Douluo remained unruffled.
After all, he was a Titled Douluo.
But as time passed, a trace of concern gradually rose in his heart.
This wasn't the ocean, after all. His water-element Soul Power was restricted here.
And the brothers' Clear Sky Hammers were overwhelmingly powerful. Working together, they were making it difficult for him to keep up.
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The three clashed again and again, locked in battle.
Tang Xiao was steady as a mountain, keeping pressure on him from the front.
Tang Hao was a tiger hurtling down a mountain, his attacks fierce and unpredictable.
Sea Dragon Douluo had the advantage in rank, but the terrain and their teamwork put him at a disadvantage. He was gradually beginning to struggle.
"Little Qing, go!" Spotting an opening, Sea Dragon Douluo abruptly forced the brothers back, turned, and grabbed Ye Qing, who had still been watching the show. Without hesitation, he raced off into the distance.
If they kept fighting, he wouldn't just fail to gain the upper hand; he might also expose more of his trump cards. It wasn't worth it.
Tang Hao and Tang Xiao watched the two disappear into the distance but didn't pursue them.
They weren't sure who their opponents were.
"Big brother, what do we do now?" Tang Hao asked, turning to Tang Xiao.
Tang Xiao's gaze fell on Ah Yin, whose face had gone pale. After a moment's thought, he said, "Let's find out what's going on first."
Tang Hao walked up to Ah Yin, trying to soften his voice and sound reassuring. "Ah Yin, you saw what just happened. We want to know—are you really a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form?"
Ah Yin trembled all over, fear filling her eyes.
She hadn't expected a Titled Douluo to see through her identity. Even more, she feared the two men who had traveled alongside her for days might turn against her because of it.
Tang Xiao spoke up as well, gently reassuring her. "Don't be afraid. With us here, we'll keep you safe. Our Clear Sky Sect may not be able to stand against Spirit Hall, but we're not someone people can push around, either."
Feeling the sincerity in their voices, Ah Yin hesitated for a moment, then bit her lip and nodded. Her voice was as faint as a mosquito's. "I... I really am a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form."
"It's true!" Unconcealed excitement flashed in Tang Hao and Tang Xiao's eyes.
A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form!
That was an incredible opportunity for any sect!
If they could keep her in the Clear Sky Sect, it would bring immeasurable benefits to both Tang Hao and Tang Xiao.
Tang Xiao suppressed his excitement and asked, "Ah Yin, would you be willing to come back to the Clear Sky Sect with us? With the sect protecting you, even Spirit Hall wouldn't dare touch you lightly."
But Ah Yin shook her head.
Right now, she only wanted to return to the Lake of Life in the Star Dou Great Forest as quickly as possible and seek Ah Rou's protection.
That was the place where she felt safest.
"Thank you for looking after me all this time, but I should return to the Star Dou Great Forest first. Perhaps we'll meet again."
With that, she turned to leave.
"Wait!" Tang Hao's eyes narrowed.
If he let this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form simply walk away, wouldn't that be an enormous loss?
Without another thought, he darted behind Ah Yin, raised his hand, and struck the back of her neck with an overpowering burst of Soul Power.
Ah Yin's body went limp, and she lost consciousness at once.
Tang Hao hoisted the unconscious Ah Yin onto his shoulder and said to Tang Xiao, "Big brother, there's no time to lose. Let's get back to the Clear Sky Sect as quickly as possible!"
Tang Xiao nodded. Without further delay, he raced toward the Clear Sky Sect.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Ye Qing looked at Sea Dragon Douluo and froze for a moment. Then he couldn't help bursting into laughter, and once he started, he couldn't stop.
Sea Dragon Douluo no longer looked anything like a dignified Titled Douluo.
His left cheek was swollen high, marked by a clear bruise.
The tip of his nose was red, and there was even a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Apparently, in the heat of battle, he hadn't been paying attention and had taken a glancing blow from Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer.
And with his face already less than handsome, he looked especially ridiculous now.
"Laugh! That's all you know how to do!"
Sea Dragon Douluo was already seething with frustration. Ye Qing's laughter only made him feel more humiliated.
He couldn't help snapping, his voice full of vexation. "What's so funny? Those two brats caught me off guard. I was careless for a moment, that's all!"
In all his years, he had never suffered such a loss at the hands of Soul Douluos.
And to make matters worse, his opponents were members of the Clear Sky Sect, wielding the Clear Sky Hammer that had left such a deep impression on Sea God Island.
What galled him most was that they'd forced him to flee. If word got out, the other Sacred Pillar Douluos would laugh at him for two and a half years.
"I'll stop laughing, I'll stop."
Ye Qing tried to hold back, but when he saw Sea Dragon Douluo's bruised and swollen face, the corners of his mouth still kept lifting. "It's just that, Uncle Sea Dragon... you look so different from your usual self."
"Different?"
Sea Dragon Douluo didn't understand the unfamiliar expression. He took it as mockery of his disheveled state and immediately glared, his beard bristling. "Keep laughing! If you laugh again, I'll leave you here as Soul Beast fodder!"
His threat carried little conviction.
How could he actually leave the Sea God's successor behind on his own?
If anything went wrong, Bo Saixi would never forgive him when he got back. The Sea God's divine will might even strike him down.
"What do we do now?" Sea Dragon Douluo asked.
"Don't you want revenge?" Ye Qing countered.
"Of course I do. It's not as if I can go back to Sea God Island and ask the Grand Pontiff to come here." Sea Dragon Douluo felt helpless and miserable.
He'd lost the fight, and he wasn't happy about it. He didn't have the face to go back, either.
"That won't be necessary."
Ye Qing grinned and looked toward the direction of the mainland's famed sacred ground for Soul Masters. "The Clear Sky Sect isn't the strongest on this continent. As long as we're willing to start a fight, someone else will be willing to join in!"