Mountain Collapse, Wave Breaking, Heaven Propping's Gaze!

Time was like grains of sand, becoming smooth and scorching under constant grinding.

Over the next half month, the reef clusters along the coast of Aolai City became the Tang brothers' sacred ground for training.

Every morning, before the first ray of sunlight pierced the sea's surface, two small figures were already standing atop the reefs battered hardest by the waves.

Tang Wulin practiced with hammers—or rather, he practiced strength.

Bare-chested, his lean yet well-defined muscles exposed, he wielded two hundred-pound iron hammers specially made by Mang Tian and swung them again and again against the roaring waves.

Whenever a wave crashed toward him, he had to stabilize his stance and split the wall of water with his hammers.

He was adapting to the terrifying brute strength brought by the Golden Dragon King Bloodline.

Tang Linyuan, meanwhile, was being "beaten up."

He sat cross-legged atop a black reef submerged beneath seawater year-round, allowing waves carrying the force of a thousand pounds to slam viciously into his back again and again.

He was cultivating the Primordial Body Casting Chapter.

He carefully guided the baleful qi of the Tyrant Profound Divine Spear into his meridians. Like countless tiny files, it continuously scraped against his bones and muscles, removing impurities and compressing their density.

Pain—pain that pierced deep into his marrow.

Yet he did not utter a sound.

Whenever the baleful qi entered his body, a faint dark-golden sheen surfaced on his skin. It looked less and less like flesh and blood, and more like divine iron being tempered through countless hammer blows.

Aside from tempering his body, he devoted all his remaining energy to a single movement.

Thrust.

It was not a soul skill, merely the simplest basic thrust.

He was comprehending the first style of the Nine Calamity Annihilation Styles—Mountain Collapse.

"Mountain Collapse is not achieved through great strength alone. A mountain's form lies in cohesion; the meaning of collapse lies in a single point."

The true intent within the Tyrant Scroll echoed continuously through Tang Linyuan's mind.

Over the past half month, he had thrust more than ten thousand times. Every thrust could easily pierce through reefs, yet he always felt that something was missing.

The "form" was there, but the "spirit" had yet to arrive.

On this day, a storm was approaching.

The sea off Aolai City had turned dark green. Black clouds pressed down overhead, and violent winds whipped up waves several meters high, smashing them against the shore with thunderous roars.

Tang Wulin retreated fearfully to the safer stretch of shore. "Brother! The waves are too big! Come back!"

Tang Linyuan did not move.

He stood atop the reef that was about to be swallowed by the towering waves, his white training clothes snapping loudly in the sea wind.

He watched the massive wave toppling toward him like a mountain. There was no fear in his eyes, only an unprecedented realization.

"Water has no fixed form, yet it can pierce stone. Mountains stand lofty, yet they can be destroyed by an ant hole."

"Mountain Collapse... isn't about smashing an entire mountain apart. It's about finding what supports that mountain—that singularity."

As long as that point was shattered, even a towering building would collapse in an instant.

This was the ultimate principle of strength penetrating a thousand pounds, of breaking a surface through a single point.

"I understand."

A relieved smile curved Tang Linyuan's lips.

At that moment, a terrifying wave over ten meters tall descended upon him like the claw of a deep-sea beast, carrying the momentum to destroy everything in its path!

Even a four-ring Soul Ancestor would have to avoid the edge of such heavenly might.

But Tang Linyuan moved.

"Buzz—!"

The Tyrant Profound Divine Spear appeared in his hand out of thin air.

At that moment, he neither summoned Xiao Mo for Armor Transformation nor lit up that purple Millennium Soul Ring.

He merely mobilized the strength of every muscle and every bone in his body, compressing and collapsing the Spear Baleful Qi he had cultivated for half a month together with his own essence, qi, and spirit, until all of it converged upon a single point at the spear tip.

That was absolute "weight."

So heavy that even the surrounding space let out overloaded creaks.

"First Style of Calamity Annihilation—"

Tang Linyuan's eyes suddenly widened, and it seemed as though stars were exploding within his dark pupils.

Facing the monstrous wave, he delivered an utterly ordinary thrust.

"Mountain Collapse!"

BOOM!!!

There were no dazzling effects, only an incredibly muffled explosion that seemed to rise from the depths of the earth's crust.

Time seemed to freeze in that instant.

In the distance, Tang Wulin's mouth fell open in horror as he witnessed a scene he would never forget—

The ten-meter wave did not explode into spray the instant it touched the spear tip.

It stopped.

Then, centered on the spear tip, a black crack instantly spread across the entire wall of water.

The next second.

Crash—!

It was as if the wave had been stripped of its "bones," instantly collapsing into countless fine droplets of mist!

Yet that terrifying Spear Intent did not dissipate. It pierced through the wall of water and, without losing momentum, blasted into a lone reef peak protruding from the sea behind it.

The small reef island, nearly three stories tall, did not even make a sound before half of it was directly vaporized!

A smooth, mirror-like semicircular cross-section was left on its remaining base.

The sea itself was forcibly plowed into a vacuum trench over a hundred meters long by that thrust. Seawater rolled back to either side and could not close for a long time.

One thrust broke the waves; one thrust collapsed a mountain!

Such destructive power was no less than the full-force fifth soul skill of a five-ring Soul King!

And this had merely been the attack of a six-year-old boy.

"Phew... phew..."

Tang Linyuan withdrew his spear and stood still, his face pale as paper and his body swaying precariously.

That thrust had drained all his essence, qi, and spirit, yet the light in his eyes shone even brighter than the lightning in the sky.

He had succeeded.

This was the path belonging to the Tyrant Profound Divine Spear.

At the same time.

High in the sky, above the clouds.

A man dressed in white stood with his hands behind his back, stepping upon the void.

His features were almost perfectly handsome. There was not the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power around him, yet he stood there quietly as though he were the master of the entire sky.

Sky-Propping Douluo, Yun Ming.

The current Pavilion Master of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion, publicly recognized as the number one person on the Douluo Continent and the undisputed Spear God.

He had merely been passing through the East Sea to investigate fluctuations from a planar rift.

But the Spear Intent that had erupted a moment ago made him stop in his tracks.

Yun Ming lowered his gaze. His eyes, which seemed to contain the entire starry sky, pierced through layers of dark clouds and locked onto the tiny, swaying figure standing atop the reef below.

"That is..."

Yun Ming's pupils contracted slightly. For the first time, shock appeared on his eternally calm face.

What he saw was neither the child's Soul Power Level nor the wave that had been split apart.

What he saw was the aura emanating from that spear.

It was an aura older than his Sky-Propping Spear, more domineering, and closer to the origin of the universe.

"Pure destruction and weight. No flashy laws, only the pure extreme of 'strength.'"

Yun Ming murmured softly, a trace of disbelief flashing through his eyes.

"A six-year-old child has actually touched the threshold of the Dao?"

His entire life had been devoted to pursuing the ultimate path of the spear, trying to break heaven with his spear and create a godhood of his own.

He had thought himself alone.

Yet in this world, there had appeared a seedling even purer than himself.

"Domineering... what a truly domineering path."

Yun Ming watched Tang Wulin carry Tang Linyuan away on his back, their figures staggering beneath the setting sun. A smile slowly appeared on his lips.

It was the joy of finding worthy prey, as well as the comfort of knowing that his path was not alone.

"I had wondered whether I might find a disciple to my liking during this trip. I never expected heaven to directly send me a 'monster.'"

The calmness in Yun Ming's eyes vanished completely, replaced by an unprecedented fervor.

He had originally intended to leave after one look. After all, Shrek Academy had never lacked geniuses.

But now, he had changed his mind.

He intended to personally take this disciple and polish this incomparably exquisite piece of uncut jade.

"No, I must take a look. I need to see whose child this is and what his temperament is like."

With a thought from Yun Ming, the aura around his body instantly withdrew to the utmost limit, as though he had completely vanished from this world.

Even if a Limit Douluo were present, they would likely be unable to detect his existence.

The next moment, he took a step forward. His figure drifted silently downward toward Aolai City like a wisp of cloud.

On the streets of Aolai City.

Tang Wulin carried Tang Linyuan on his back as he huffed and puffed toward home.

"Brother, what are we eating tonight? I feel like I can eat five bowls of rice today!"

"Meat. Teacher Mang just got paid." Though weak, Tang Linyuan's voice carried a smile as he lay on Tang Wulin's back.

"Hehe, great. Brother, that move you used just now was so cool. Can you teach it to me later? I use hammers, but it feels like I could use it too."

"You can. That move is called Mountain Collapse. It would be powerful with a hammer too."

"Really? That's amazing!"

The brothers' conversation drifted away in the wind, carrying the warmth of two people relying on each other for survival.

A hundred meters behind them, within the shadows, Yun Ming in white walked quietly along.

The bustling crowd around him turned a blind eye to his presence, as though he were a ghost who did not exist.

He watched the two brothers. He watched the fine beads of sweat on Tang Wulin's forehead and Tang Linyuan's vigilant gaze as he continued observing his surroundings despite his weakness.

"The brothers are deeply devoted, and their temperaments are resolute."

Yun Ming nodded slightly, the satisfaction in his eyes deepening.

"Though they were born into poverty, they are neither servile nor arrogant. They forge iron to survive... that is a fine way to temper one's will."

"Still, using such talent for ironworking is too wasteful. For now, it can serve as a foundation for a future secondary profession."

He followed them all the way, watching them enter that shabby little building. He listened to the concerned questions of their parents from inside, as well as the soft, sweet voice of the silver-haired little girl.

Yun Ming stood beneath the shadow of a streetlamp downstairs, looking up at the window glowing with dim yellow light.

As the number one person on the continent, it had been many years since he had followed someone around like a "stalker."

But at this moment, he felt it was entirely worthwhile.

"Innate Full Soul Power, Spear Intent entering the Dao, unwavering will, deep affection and loyalty."

Yun Ming stood with his hands behind his back, a proud smile of absolute confidence appearing on his lips.

"Good boy, I am determined to take you as my disciple."

"Even if I have to change Shrek's rules, I will take you away."

He did not go upstairs immediately. Instead, his figure flashed and vanished from where he stood.

Taking a disciple was a major matter, especially when taking a final disciple.

He needed to prepare a gift for this child, one worthy of that heaven-shaking thrust.

"Tonight. Tonight, I will come and meet you."

A breeze passed by, and the shadow beneath the streetlamp swayed slightly, as though no one had ever been there.

But Tang Linyuan's Tyrant Spear, which had just revealed its edge, had already been firmly taken beneath the wings of the strongest spear wielder in the world.