Gu Sheng VS Tang Hao!!

Tang Hao's voice was calm, yet it carried an unquestionable air of dominance.

Bibi Dong stood upon the high platform, a cold, chilling smile appearing on her exquisite face.

"Take her away?"

"Tang Hao, what kind of place do you think this is?"

"This is Martial Soul City, right in front of the Pope's Palace!"

"Do you truly believe that, on your own, you can take this Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast from This Seat's hands?"

As soon as Bibi Dong's voice fell.

Inside the Pope's Palace, several terrifying auras surged into the sky.

These were the powers belonging to the Elders and High Priests of Martial Soul Hall.

The combined pressure of several Title Douluo faintly stood in opposition to Tang Hao.

Seeing this, Tang Hao showed no trace of fear; instead, he burst into loud laughter.

"Hahahaha!"

"Martial Soul Hall certainly has many Title Douluo, but if I, Tang Hao, wish to leave, who can stop me?"

Having said that.

Tang Hao took a deep breath, and the soul power within his body began to circulate frantically.

The nine soul rings beneath his feet suddenly trembled violently at this moment.

Especially that ninth red Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Ring, which emitted a light so blinding that it was impossible to look at directly.

With a wave of his right hand, the massive Clear Sky Hammer returned to his grasp.

"Great Sumeru Hammer!"

Tang Hao roared.

The Clear Sky Hammer in his hands expanded several times over as it was infused with his soul power.

The originally pitch-black body of the hammer now faintly radiated a dark red glow.

This strike.

Tang Hao poured his entire essence, energy, and spirit into it.

He knew he could not stay long; he had to tear open a path of retreat in the shortest time possible to take Tang San and Xiao Wu away.

Therefore, this blow was his peak strike!

"Take my hammer!"

Tang Hao bellowed, his figure leaping high into the air.

He gripped the impossibly massive Clear Sky Hammer with both hands and smashed it down toward the crowd at the Pope's Palace!

The target.

It was aimed directly at the gates of the Pope's Palace, as well as Bibi Dong and... Gu Sheng, who stood upon the high platform!

The moment the hammer descended, the air seemed to be drained away.

The terrifying gravitational pressure caused many low-level soul masters on the scene to spray blood and collapse limply to the ground.

Even Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Chen Xin had their expressions change drastically.

"The power of this strike... Tang Hao, this fellow, has grown even stronger."

Chen Xin watched the hammer, his eyes filled with gravity.

Facing this world-destroying blow, Bibi Dong's gaze also turned solemn.

She prepared to circulate her soul power to block it.

After all, this was Martial Soul City; if she allowed Tang Hao to smash the Pope's Palace in full view of everyone, Martial Soul Hall would lose all face.

However.

Before Bibi Dong could act.

A fair, slender hand with distinct knuckles gently pressed onto her shoulder.

"Your Holiness, there is no need to trouble yourself."

Gu Sheng's clear and calm voice slowly echoed in Bibi Dong's ear.

Bibi Dong was slightly stunned.

She turned her head to look at the youth beside her.

She saw that Gu Sheng still wore a faint smile on his face, an expression as if he were looking at a trivial little toy.

"You..."

Bibi Dong hesitated.

"Let me handle it."

Gu Sheng smiled.

His body slowly levitated at this very moment.

He did not release any Martial Soul, nor did any Spirit Rings rise.

Dressed in a simple black robe, he flew straight toward the incomparably massive Clear Sky Hammer, which seemed capable of crushing an entire mountain.

"Is this kid insane?!"

Ning Fengzhi, watching from the stands, was stunned by the sight.

In his view, although Gu Sheng had displayed strange and powerful light-based abilities in the previous matches, he was, after all, only a Soul Grand Master in his twenties!

No matter how unique his Martial Soul might be, or how miraculous his spirit skills were, what difference was there between this and courting death when facing a level 97 Super Douluo known for his offensive power, especially one wielding the Great Sumeru Hammer?

"Hmph, arrogant and conceited!"

Tang Hao, suspended in mid-air, naturally saw Gu Sheng flying toward him. A trace of disdain flashed through his murky eyes.

"A wet-behind-the-ears brat dares to block my Clear Sky Hammer?"

"Since you want to die, then I shall grant your wish!"

The force in Tang Hao's grip increased by another thirty percent.

That sky-covering Clear Sky Hammer, carrying the power to destroy the world, slammed solidly into Gu Sheng's slender frame.

At this moment, everyone's heart leaped into their throats.

Xiao Wu and Tang San stared blankly at the scene. In their eyes, Gu Sheng would surely be reduced to a pulp of flesh under this hammer.

"BOOM—"

The Clear Sky Hammer finally struck Gu Sheng.

The deafening roar was beyond description. In that instant, the ground across most of Martial Soul City cracked into countless spiderweb-like fissures.

The terrifying shockwave of energy transformed into rings of tangible white air, spreading wildly in all directions.

The already dilapidated stands were instantly pulverized into dust under the scouring of this shockwave.

Countless soul masters screamed and retreated, terrified of being caught in the aftermath.

Dust and smoke instantly swallowed the figures of both Gu Sheng and Tang Hao.

"Is he dead?"

Yu Xiaogang widened his eyes, staring intently at the densest part of the dust cloud.

"He should be... reduced to nothingness by now," Flender muttered to himself.

Under such an attack, let alone a Soul Grand Master, even Sword Douluo Chen Xin would not dare claim he could take it unscathed.

High in the air, the violent surge of spirit power continued.

Tang Hao's hand, gripping the Clear Sky Hammer, suddenly stiffened.

Because he discovered that his hammer felt as if it had struck a piece of divine iron that was completely immovable.

The force of the recoil traveled up his arm, shaking his chest and causing his blood to churn.

"What?"

Tang Hao's pupils constricted sharply. His stubble-covered face revealed extreme bewilderment.

The dust and smoke were gradually blown away by the high-altitude winds, revealing the scene within.

When the sight inside became clear, the entire plaza fell into a deathly silence once more.

It was terrifyingly quiet.

Gu Sheng remained suspended quietly in mid-air.

His hands were still casually tucked into his trouser pockets.

Before him, a faint, nearly transparent white curtain of light flickered into existence.

Faint, ancient runes shimmered across the surface of that light curtain.

That was the Seal of Holy Light.

It was a seal automatically condensed from the power of the Holy Spectrum Puni within Gu Sheng's body.

At this moment.

The Clear Sky Hammer, capable of shattering mountains, had its head pressed firmly against that nearly transparent curtain of light.

Yet, this thin layer of light held firm.

No matter how Tang Hao channeled his soul power, he could not advance even a fraction of an inch.

The light curtain did not shatter.

It did not even stir with the slightest ripple.

Even the seals within his own body.

Did not produce a single fluctuation.

Gu Sheng slowly raised his head.

He looked at the horrified Tang Hao before him and sighed with a touch of boredom.

"Is this the renowned Clear Sky Douluo?"

Gu Sheng's voice was soft, yet in the deathly silence of the night sky, it reached everyone's ears with perfect clarity.

"This hammer..."

Gu Sheng extended a fair hand and flicked the massive Clear Sky Hammer before him lightly.

"Clang—"

A crisp sound of metal striking metal rang out.

The Clear Sky Hammer, condensed from pure soul power and weighing a hundred thousand catties, let out a mournful groan and began to tremble violently under Gu Sheng's single flick.

"It doesn't even have enough strength to scratch an itch for me."

Gu Sheng shook his head, speaking with a hint of disappointment:

"I actually thought this hammer might loosen the seals within my body."

"As it turns out, it couldn't even stir up a single ripple."

"It really is... rather dull."

Gu Sheng's indifferent words, laced with a hint of disdain.

To Tang Hao, they sounded like the most terrifying thunderclap.

Tang Hao froze in mid-air.

He looked at his own trembling hands, then back at the youth before him, whose clothes were not even slightly damaged.

His mind went numb in that instant.

"This is impossible..."

"This is absolutely impossible!"

Tang Hao screamed frantically in his heart.

This was a peak strike, channeling his entire soul power and unleashing the Great Sumeru Hammer!

Looking across the entire Douluo Continent.

Even if Qian Daoliu or Bo Saixi were here, they would absolutely have to go all out to defend against this hammer.

Yet this youth before him.

He hadn't even released his martial soul.

He had simply blocked it with such nonchalance, relying only on a nearly transparent defensive seal?

And looking at his expression.

It seemed as if this hammer really was just scratching an itch for him?

"You... what kind of monster are you?!"

Tang Hao's voice trembled for the first time.

His weathered face was now filled with endless terror.

Down on the high platform.

Bibi Dong's eyes, usually calm and noble, widened in this moment.

She watched Gu Sheng in the sky, her jade hand gripping her scepter turning slightly pale from the sheer force of her grip.

"Could it be that even Tang Hao's full-strength strike... cannot shake his seal?"

Bibi Dong felt a tidal wave of shock surging within her heart.

She had always known that Gu Sheng was strong, and even that his origins were mysterious.

But she had never imagined.

That Gu Sheng's strength had reached such a terrifying degree.

That was Tang Hao!

The peerless, ferocious man who had once single-handedly dealt a heavy blow to the previous Pope, Qian Xunji!

Yet, before this youth.

His peak strike was as fragile and laughable as a joke.

In a dark corner not far from the Pope's Palace.

A petite figure dressed in the robes of a Heaven Dou Empire prince was staring intently at Gu Sheng in mid-air.

Qian Renxue!

Although she was still maintaining her disguise as Xue Qinghe.

Her body, hidden beneath her clothes, was trembling violently from extreme shock.

"Is this truly a power that a human can attain?"

Qian Renxue's golden eyes were filled with disbelief.

Flowing through her veins was the noble bloodline of the Angel God.

She had always considered herself the most gifted existence on the Douluo Continent.

But now.

Watching the black-clad youth standing in mid-air with his hands behind his back, not even a speck of dust on his clothes.

For the first time, a deep sense of powerlessness rose in Qian Renxue's heart.

Before this youth.

Whatever God-Level Martial Soul or holy bloodline she possessed seemed so ridiculous and insignificant.

"Brother, we..."

Below, Tang San and Xiao Wu were also dumbfounded.

Especially Tang San.

He had originally thought that with his father's arrival, they would surely be able to retreat safely today.

But now.

Watching the Clear Sky Hammer trembling incessantly from being flicked away by Gu Sheng's finger.

Tang San's heart sank to the bottom of a valley.

He looked at Gu Sheng in mid-air, feeling that the other's figure had become as tall and insurmountable as a natural chasm.

In mid-air.

Gu Sheng looked at the ashen-faced Tang Hao and waved his hand dismissively.

"Forget it."

"Since this is the extent of your power, there is no need to continue playing."

Gu Sheng's voice rang out faintly.

He slowly extended his right hand.

At his fingertip, a wisp of extremely faint, pure white light quietly condensed.

That was the origin purification power of the Holy Spectrum Puni.

Although it was only a sliver.

But the moment this light appeared.

Tang Hao felt as if he had fallen into an abyss, every hair on his body standing on end in an instant.

His intuition told him.

If this seemingly weak light were to land on him.

He would undoubtedly die!

"Go!"

Tang Hao no longer possessed his previous arrogance and dominance.

He dared not hesitate for even a second.

In that instant, he erupted with the fastest speed of his life, grabbing Tang San and Xiao Wu from below.

He didn't even have time to retrieve his Clear Sky Hammer.

Directly transforming into a black stream of light, he madly fled outside Martial Soul City.

That fleeing figure.

Where was there even half a trace of the "Clear Sky Douluo" who once shook the world?

He was simply like a stray dog whose courage had been utterly shattered.

Bibi Dong withdrew her gaze, her eyes regaining their usual arrogance and indifference.

She swept her eyes over the major sects and empire soul masters below, who were still trembling.

"The Grand Competition has concluded."

"As for what happened today, anyone who leaks it will be pursued to the very end by Martial Soul Hall!"

Bibi Dong's majestic voice echoed through the square once more.

The powerhouses from the sects and empires, upon hearing this, felt as if they had received a great pardon.

They hurriedly bowed towards Bibi Dong and Gu Sheng on the high platform, then, with their disciples, their expressions filled with terror, they fled this place of strife that would forever be etched in their memories, without regard for direction.

Ning Fengzhi looked deeply at Gu Sheng.

For the first time, his usually refined face was filled with solemnity.

"Fengzhi, this young man..."

Sword Douluo Chen Xin stood beside him, his voice still trembling slightly.

"Cannot be resisted."

Ning Fengzhi softly interrupted Chen Xin's words, a wry smile on his face.

"Pass down the order, disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, from now on, whenever you encounter this person, you must treat him with the utmost courtesy, and not the slightest disrespect."

"Yes."

Chen Xin responded with a complex expression.

The two then also led the people of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, somewhat disheveled, away from Martial Soul City.

And in the stands not far away.

Qian Renxue watched Gu Sheng's departing back, her beautiful eyes filled with a myriad of emotions.

"Husband..."

"What kind of existence are you, exactly?"

"..."