Tang Hao Makes a Move, Gu Sheng Intervenes!

In an instant.

A massive, pink, rabbit-shaped phantom, carrying an aura of supreme nobility, slowly coalesced above Xiao Wu's head.

In the eyes of that phantom, a light of wisdom flickered, no different from that of a human.

Beneath Xiao Wu's feet, rings of eerie red light began to shimmer and fade across her body.

That was the primal radiance unique to a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

"This... this aura..."

Ning Fengzhi's pupils shrank to the size of pinpricks in an instant.

For the first time, his face, usually gentle, refined, and unflappable, revealed an expression of extreme shock, even horror.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Staff in his hand trembled violently, nearly falling to the ground.

"This is not the aura of a human!"

At this moment, the soul power of Sword Douluo Chen Xin and Bone Douluo Gu Rong nearly spiraled out of control.

Chen Xin gripped his Seven Kill Sword with his right hand, standing completely frozen in place, his eyes filled with terror.

"How is it possible... she, she is actually..."

Gu Rong also widened his eyes, his withered palms trembling slightly in the air, unable to utter a single word for a long time.

Meanwhile, in the Heaven Dou Empire's seating area.

Xue Qinghe, who had been sitting upright, could not help but lean forward slightly the moment she felt this aura.

On her exquisitely disguised face, a complex shock was revealed.

She had never expected that.

After lurking in Heaven Dou City for so long, the Shrek Team actually harbored such an existence!

The entire Martial Soul Hall plaza fell into a deathly silence in that instant.

It was so quiet.

One could even hear the sound of a needle dropping on the ground with perfect clarity.

Then, a mountain-toppling, sea-draining uproar erupted!

Yue Guan stared fixedly at Xiao Wu, his breathing as rapid as a terminally ill patient, his hands shaking violently from extreme excitement.

"That's right! Hahahaha! That's right!"

"This is the aura of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! And it is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that has transformed into human form and is currently in its juvenile stage!"

Yue Guan's shrill voice sounded exceptionally jarring in the silent plaza, yet it struck like a heavy hammer, slamming deep into the soul of every person present.

"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"

"She... she is a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?!"

The soul masters from various academies in the surrounding stands, the officials of the Heaven Dou Empire, and countless spectators were plunged into extreme confusion and shock after hearing Yue Guan's shout.

To ordinary soul masters, the five words "Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast" existed only in ancient texts and legends.

They were the supreme rulers of the soul beast world, terrifying existences possessing heaven-defying power, capable of destroying a great empire with a wave of their hand.

But now, what had they heard?

That lively, adorable, pure young girl who represented Shrek Academy in the tournament.

That girl who had been fighting for her life on the arena just moments ago.

Was actually a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

And a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that had transformed into human form, with a soul power of only level forty-something!

What did this mean?

It meant that as long as one killed her.

One would obtain, with one hundred percent certainty, a hundred-thousand-year red soul ring, the symbol of the highest honor in the soul master world!

As well as an incomparably precious Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Bone!

In an instant, countless eyes in the previously calm spectator stands began to glow with a scorching red light.

It was undisguised, naked greed.

Everyone present, including those long-renowned Soul Douluos and even Titled Douluos, found their breathing becoming heavy at this moment.

The way they looked at Xiao Wu no longer held the previous indifference or sympathy.

Instead, it was as if they were looking at a peerless treasure pile of gold and silver mountains.

"Xiao Wu..."

Flender felt as if he had been struck by lightning.

He stared blankly at Xiao Wu, who stood pale-faced behind Tang San.

Then, he looked at the Soft Bone Rabbit phantom gradually solidifying above her head.

His usually sharp mind ground to a halt in this instant.

This girl was someone he had watched grow up!

She was the student he and Zhao Wuji had carefully protected along the way, treating her as if she were their own daughter!

How, in the blink of an eye, had she turned into a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?

"This is impossible... how could this be?"

Flender muttered incessantly, looking as if he had aged ten years in a single moment; his body swayed, and he nearly lost his footing.

Zhao Wuji's copper-bell eyes were also wide with shock.

His typically explosive temper had been completely crushed by this earth-shattering revelation.

He scratched his large head, looking at Xiao Wu, then at his own hands, standing there completely stunned.

"Grandmaster, is... is this true?"

Zhao Wuji's voice trembled as he looked toward Yu Xiaogang.

And Yu Xiaogang, at this moment, was unable to speak.

His brain, which he prided on being omniscient, had turned into mush.

"Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast... human form..."

"My disciple, the girl he brought back... is actually a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast?"

Yu Xiaogang's body went limp, and he nearly collapsed.

Having spent his life researching Soul Spirit theory, he naturally understood the conditions and implications of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast taking human form.

But when this existence, which had only ever existed in theories and legends, appeared right beside him—and was someone he had been nurturing by his side all along—the absurdity and horror nearly shattered his mental world.

He turned his head to look at Tang San, who was shielding Xiao Wu.

"San... did you, did you know all along?"

However, Tang San paid no heed to Yu Xiaogang.

In his eyes, there was only Xiao Wu.

When that pink rabbit phantom had emerged, Tang San already knew that everything was beyond saving.

His background and his experiences gave him a different understanding of Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts.

"Xiao Wu, no matter what you are, you are still my sister."

Tang San reached out, pulling Xiao Wu's shoulders tightly into his embrace.

Those eyes, once clear, were now filled with madness and bloodshot veins.

"Brother..."

Xiao Wu leaned into Tang San's chest, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

Her body trembled violently; the gazes cast upon her from all sides were like sharp blades, piercing her dignity and hope until they were riddled with holes.

The thing she feared most had finally come to pass.

In Martial Soul City, before the Pope's Palace, under the watchful eyes of so many Titled Douluo.

Her identity was exposed.

She knew that today, she likely would not be able to walk out of Martial Soul City no matter what.

Meanwhile, on the high platform, Gu Sheng stood calmly by Bibi Dong's side.

Dressed in black, he looked like a god watching the scene with cold detachment.

Watching the chaos and the utter shock of the crowd below, his heart did not even ripple.

"Gu Sheng, you don't seem surprised."

Bibi Dong's voice was soft, yet carried a keen sense of inquiry.

She tilted her head slightly, her noble, beautiful eyes lingering for a moment on Gu Sheng's handsome, flawless profile.

At a time like this, facing a living Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, even she could not help but feel a stir in her heart.

Yet this youth beside her—not only were his eyes as calm as still water, but the soul power fluctuations within him had not changed by even the slightest margin.

Gu Sheng smiled faintly.

The corners of his mouth curled up slightly, his eyes tinged with a shallow smile as he spoke as if to himself:

"A mere rabbit that hasn't even fully grown, what is there to be surprised about?"

"In the face of absolute power, whether human or beast, they are nothing more than playthings to be crushed at will."

Gu Sheng's understated words caused Chrysanthemum and Ghost, the two Douluo standing behind Bibi Dong, to feel a sudden jolt in their hearts.

A soul master of only the twentieth rank, facing a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast in human form, actually dared to describe it as "a mere rabbit" and "a plaything to be crushed at will."

Just what kind of arrogance was this?

But when they recalled how Gu Sheng had relied on his own strength to purify the entire arena earlier, even triggering a God Trial seal to summon that phantom of the Holy Spectrum Puni that made souls tremble, the two Title Douluo fell silent.

This youth truly possessed the capital to utter such words.

"Well said."

Bibi Dong withdrew her gaze, her eyes filled with admiration.

"What Martial Soul Hall desires is precisely this domineering spirit of yours, viewing all living beings under heaven as mere ants."

Having said this, she looked back down at the Shrek members below.

"Sect Master Ning, Your Majesty."

"Now, do you still intend to stop This Seat from taking these people?"

Bibi Dong's voice rang out once more.

"A Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast that has transformed into human form is the common enemy of all human spirit masters across the continent. Anyone who harbors such a creature is equivalent to betraying humanity!"

"What is it? Does the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect intend to stand with this beast, or are you saying the Heaven Dou Empire wishes to wallow in the mire with an animal?"

Faced with Bibi Dong's soul-piercing interrogation, Ning Fengzhi, who had originally intended to say something, was rendered speechless for a moment.

He opened his mouth, yet found he could not utter a single word.

On one side stood Martial Soul Hall, representing the pinnacle of the human spirit master world; on the other, a little girl who was a transformed Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

There was simply no comparison between the two.

Ning Fengzhi took a deep breath, slowly retracted his Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Staff, and cast a helpless look toward Sword Douluo Chen Xin at his side.

Seeing this, Chen Xin could only let out a soft sigh.

The Seven Kill Sword intent that had been hovering in the air quietly dissipated into the atmosphere.

Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire looked even more livid.

Although he was the sovereign of a nation, when faced with such a matter of principle, he could absolutely not afford the infamy of "harboring a soul beast."

This concerned the ruling prestige of the Heaven Dou Empire across the entire continent.

Emperor Xue Ye flicked his sleeves and turned away, sitting back down in his seat and closing his eyes, no longer speaking.

His attitude was self-evident.

Shrek Academy, at this moment, was reduced to a lone force.

"Dean, Aunt Erlong, Teacher Zhao..."

Tang San looked at the gazes around him that were gradually retreating, his heart filled with desolation.

He knew that no one could help them now.

"Brother, just go."

Xiao Wu tugged at the corner of Tang San's shirt, her voice carrying a desperate, tearful tone.

"They want me, don't worry about me anymore."

Tang San turned around abruptly, pressing both hands onto Xiao Wu's shoulders.

"Nonsense!"

"I said it before: if they want to take you, they will have to step over my corpse!"

Tang San's eyes turned frantic at this moment.

He raised his right hand, and a small hammer, entirely pitch-black and radiating a heavy aura, slowly emerged in his palm.

Clear Sky Hammer!

When this small hammer appeared, Bibi Dong's eyes on the stage narrowed slightly.

"Someone from the Clear Sky Sect..."

Bibi Dong snorted coldly, the killing intent in her eyes undisguised.

"Since you wish to die, then This Seat shall grant your wish."

"Elder Chrysanthemum, Elder Ghost, take these two rebels down!"

Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a glance and hesitated no longer; the light from their spirit rings flared brilliantly as two large hands reached straight toward Tang San and Xiao Wu.

The terrifying pressure of the Title Douluo caused the ground around Tang San to shatter inch by inch.

Tang San gritted his teeth, preparing to fight to the death.

Just at this critical, hair-trigger moment:

"BOOM--"

A thunderous roar suddenly erupted from the sky.

This loud noise came without warning, shaking the entire Martial Soul Grand Plaza violently.

The previously clear sky suddenly darkened in that instant.

A massive black cloud shrouded the sky above the Pope's Palace without any warning.

"A chrysanthemum, a little ghost."

"Do the two of you really think you are worthy of touching the son of this Tang Hao?"

An arrogant, incomparably domineering voice crashed down from the black clouds like rolling thunder.

This voice contained an unparalleled, tyrannical soul power.

It shook Yue Guan and Gui Mei, who were charging forward, causing their figures to stagger violently; their expressions changed instantly as they hurriedly circulated their soul power to protect their bodies.

"Tang Hao?!"

Bibi Dong's expression sank abruptly the moment she heard that name.

Her beautiful eyes stared fixedly at the sky.

She saw a massive black shadow rapidly enlarging within the black clouds.

It was an incomparably enormous black hammer!

The giant hammer was pitch-black, carved with countless ancient and intricate patterns, radiating a heavy aura capable of destroying the heavens and extinguishing the earth.

Wherever the giant hammer passed, the air emitted ear-piercing sonic booms, unable to withstand that immense pressure.

"Fall!"

A loud shout echoed from the void.

That black hammer, resembling a small mountain, brought with it endless pressure as it slammed toward the center of the Pope's Palace plaza.

Yue Guan and Gui Mei's expressions changed drastically, and they retreated frantically.

"BOOM!!"

As the giant hammer landed, the ground of the entire Pope's Palace plaza shattered instantly.

Countless fragments of stone flew in all directions like bullets, whipping up a massive storm of dust and smoke.

And atop that giant hammer, a man stood quietly.

He was a middle-aged man who looked somewhat slovenly.

He wore a tattered gray robe, his hair was messy, his beard was unkempt, and he even carried a faint scent of alcohol.

Yet, even this seemingly down-and-out man, standing there, gave everyone present a sense of oppression that made them look up as if at a towering mountain.

Beneath his feet.

Rings of soul rings rose slowly.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red!

When that final ring—the hundred-thousand-year red soul ring, symbolizing the supreme pinnacle of the soul master world—lit up, the entire plaza fell into a deathly silence once again.

"Dad..."

Tang San stared blankly at the figure standing atop the giant hammer, his eyes instantly turning red.

He had always believed his father was merely an ordinary blacksmith.

He never imagined that his father was actually the Clear Sky Douluo, who had once shaken the world!

Tang Hao did not look at Tang San.

His somewhat murky eyes swept coldly across the surrounding members of Martial Soul Hall.

Finally, his gaze landed on Bibi Dong.

"Bibi Dong, the debt Martial Soul Hall owes me from back then, I will come to collect sooner or later."

"Today, I am taking these two children with me."