"Second brother! Take the children and escape through the secret passage!"
Tai Tan growled without looking back. "I'll hold off this stupid bear!"
"Big brother!!"
"Go!!"
Tai Tan roared. The muscles on his body suddenly swelled, and his clothes burst apart, revealing muscles as hard as granite.
Great Strength Ape Martial Soul, possess!
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black—eight Soul Rings blazed brightly.
Though he was only a Soul Douluo, Tai Tan was confident that in sheer strength, he was no weaker than most Titled Douluos!
"Trying to leave? Dream on!"
Demon Bear Douluo saw through Tai Tan's intentions and sneered. "Those little tricks of yours are laughable in front of me!"
"Sixth Soul Skill—Demon Bear Earthshaking Wave!!"
Demon Bear Douluo plummeted from the sky. His enormous bear paw carried the might to split mountains and shatter rocks as it slammed into the ground!
Rumble—!!!
The earth shook violently. Terrifying shock waves spread out in every direction from him, collapsing the walls around the Strength Clan's front courtyard and sending the Strength Clan disciples who were preparing to retreat stumbling in every direction.
"Bastard!!"
Tai Tan's eyes nearly burst with fury. He roared and charged forward. "I'll fight you to the death!!"
"Seventh Soul Skill—Martial Soul Avatar!!"
A gigantic ape ten meters tall rose from the ground, swinging its enormous fist and smashing it straight at Demon Bear Douluo!
BAM!!!
Fist and paw collided, sending waves of air surging around them.
Tai Tan was knocked back several steps, his feet gouging two deep furrows into the ground. A trace of blood trickled from the corner of his mouth.
Demon Bear Douluo was uninjured, but the impact forced him back dozens of steps before he managed to steady himself.
"Hmph, you overestimate yourself."
Demon Bear Douluo shook his numb hand. "Old Ape, you're strong, but the gulf between our ranks is one you can never cross."
"Today, your Strength Clan is destined to be erased from the Douluo Continent!"
At that moment, deep despair enveloped every member of the Strength Clan.
Their clan leader was no match for the enemy, and powerful foes surrounded them. Could today truly be the day their clan was wiped out?
Just as Demon Bear Douluo prepared to launch a lethal strike and completely break through Tai Tan's defenses—
Suddenly!
A low, muffled rumble came from the distant horizon.
At first, it was faint, like muffled thunder rolling through the clouds, but in an instant it grew deafening, as if the entire sky were trembling!
An incomparably domineering, crushingly heavy aura descended upon the battlefield without warning, as though it could shatter the firmament!
Demon Bear Douluo's expression changed drastically as he jerked his head toward the north.
This aura... It was far too familiar!
"This is..."
Before he could call out the name—
A gigantic phantom hammer, black as ink, burst through the clouds. Carrying an apocalyptic aura, it hurtled down like a meteor toward the Spirit Hall ranks!
"You Spirit Hall scum!!!"
A roar filled with boundless fury and killing intent rang through the heavens!
"You dare lay a hand on someone from the Clear Sky Sect? Did you ask the hammer in my hand for permission?!"
BOOM—!!!
The giant hammer struck the ground, and the earth trembled!
Dozens of Spirit Hall Soul Masters who failed to dodge in time were sent flying. No one knew whether they were alive or dead. Even Demon Bear Douluo was forced back several steps by the terrifying gale, his expression changing drastically.
As the dust settled—
A towering figure, broad as a mountain and wielding a gigantic Clear Sky Hammer, stood in front of Tai Tan.
Nine rings revolved around him!
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!
Sky-Howling Douluo, Tang Xiao!
"Clansman?!!"
Tai Tan, who had already resigned himself to death, stared at the figure before him, as if divine reinforcements had descended from the heavens. His tiger eyes brimmed with tears, and his whole body trembled with excitement.
"Uncle Tai Tan, I'm late."
Tang Xiao didn't turn around. He simply tightened his grip on the Clear Sky Hammer, his killing intent blazing as he fixed his gaze on Demon Bear Douluo.
"Demon Bear, my second brother broke one of your legs back then. Seems you didn't learn your lesson."
"Today, I'll break your other leg for him!!"
Seeing Tang Xiao standing before him, his aura soaring, and the Clear Sky Sect reinforcements racing toward them in the distance, Demon Bear Douluo wasn't afraid. Instead, he quietly breathed a long sigh of relief.
Now that Tang Xiao had come, he had a good enough reason to retreat.
"Retre—"
Before the word "treat" could escape Demon Bear Douluo's throat, a terrifying aura far more chilling and unnerving than the Clear Sky Hammer's suddenly poured down from the heavens!
The clouds of dust kicked up by the Clear Sky Hammer were instantly forced back to the ground, as though an invisible hand had pressed them down.
The air froze.
Even Tang Xiao's domineering Clear Sky aura was forcibly torn apart. The soaring momentum of the Clear Sky Sect was instantly enveloped by a deathly pale domain ring, suppressing them until even breathing became difficult.
Divine Slaughter's Domain!
"Who said you could leave, Demon Bear?"
A cool, languid voice, yet one filled with supreme authority, rang out above everyone's heads.
Everyone looked up instinctively.
A stunning woman clad in purple-and-gold military attire was slowly descending through the air. Behind her, three pairs of purple wings as thin as cicada wings beat gently, each flap sending shimmering purple light streaming through the air.
Two equally powerful figures followed closely behind her.
They were none other than Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei!
But that wasn't the point.
The point was the Soul Rings revolving around the purple-clad woman at the front.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black...
And—
Red!!!
That eerie crimson glow, brimming with death and destruction, looked so dazzling in the night sky—and so utterly despairing!
A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!
"Hiss—!!!"
Gasps rose one after another. The Strength Clan members who had been cheering at their clan leader's arrival were now like ducks with their throats squeezed shut, unable to make a sound.
Their eyes were fixed on that red Soul Ring. All color drained from their faces, replaced by boundless terror.
As for the Spirit Hall side—
"His Holiness the Pope!!!"
"Long live the Pope!!"
The Spirit Hall Soul Masters who had been cowed by the Clear Sky Hammer now roared frantically as if they'd been injected with chicken blood.
This was their Pope!
This was the peerless powerhouse who possessed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!
Amid the frenzied cheers, only Demon Bear Douluo stood rooted to the spot, looking utterly dumbfounded, his head buzzing.
"T-The Pope?"
Demon Bear Douluo blinked hard, wondering if he was hallucinating.
"W-Wasn't she supposed to be at the Speed Clan? Wasn't she supposed to be waiting in ambush over there?"
"How could she be here?!"
"And..."
Demon Bear Douluo glanced at Chrysanthemum and Ghost Elders behind Bibi Dong. Though their faces were still pale, their eyes were fierce.
"How did those two come along too? So the whole lot of them came? Then who's guarding the Speed Clan?"
Demon Bear Douluo couldn't figure it out, but he knew one thing—
The situation had changed.
Completely changed!
The original "lure them in deep" had turned into "catch the turtle in the jar," and the original "strategic retreat" had become "all-out assault"!
Below—
Tang Xiao stared at the woman hovering in the air, at that glaring Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. For the first time, the hand gripping his Clear Sky Hammer trembled slightly.
Cold sweat trickled down his temple.
If it were Bibi Dong alone, he might have been able to fight her using the Clear Sky Sect's secret techniques.
If it were Chrysanthemum and Ghost, he was even confident he could take on both with one swing of his hammer.
If it were Demon Bear Douluo, he could break the man's other leg.
But—
Now it was Bibi Dong + Chrysanthemum Douluo + Ghost Douluo + Demon Bear Douluo!
Four Titled Douluos!!
He couldn't handle this lineup!
"What's wrong, Sect Master Tang? You look surprised."
Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) hovered opposite Tang Xiao, looking down at the once-arrogant Clear Sky Sect master. A playful smile curled her lips.
"Were you thinking I'd be waiting foolishly in some mountain ravine at the Speed Clan?"
"Or were you thinking your trick of avoiding the strong to strike the weak was clever, that you could take out my detached force first?"
"You..." Tang Xiao's pupils shrank. "What have you done to the Speed Clan?!"
"What have I done?"
Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) chuckled and turned to the side, revealing a dozen "rice dumplings" being carried over in a net by five flying Soul Saints.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
Amid the sound of heavy bodies hitting the ground, the Speed Clan's leader, Bai He, along with a dozen elderly people, women, and children whose Soul Power had been sealed, bound into bundles, and gagged with rags, were dumped like garbage between the two armies.
"Mmph, mmph..."
When they saw Tang Xiao, a glimmer of hope for survival flared in their eyes. They struggled desperately, making muffled whimpering sounds.
Bai He's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Tang Xiao, shame and despair in his gaze.
"Uncle!!"
Looking at the old man, beaten bloody and left in a wretched state, Tang Xiao felt a loud boom in his head. His reason nearly snapped.
"Bibi Dong!! You're despicable!!"
Tang Xiao roared, the light of his Clear Sky Hammer surging. "The innocent family members should be spared! You're actually using the elderly, women, and children as hostages! Aren't you afraid of divine retribution?!"
"Divine retribution?"
Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) laughed as if she'd heard the funniest joke, throwing her head back.
"Hahaha! Divine retribution?!"
"What a joke!!"
"The divine retribution you speak of is the greatest injustice in this world!"
"Tang Xiao! All is fair in war, and the victor takes all!"
"Only the winner has the right to define justice!"