[The arena battle has ended!] [Winner Huo Yuhao: rewarded with a Second Awakening of his Spirit Eye Martial Soul.] [Loser Tang San: punished by having his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul taken away.]
Tang San had yet to recover from the pain of being stabbed in the kidney.
An invisible force began forcibly ripping his Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul away.
The pain of having his Martial Soul taken was nothing short of heart-wrenching.
Tang San's eyes rolled back, and he let out a scream like a slaughtered pig.
"No..."
"Don't..."
Tang San tried to stop it.
But there was nothing he could do to change what was happening.
In the space of a single breath,
Tang San felt as though something had vanished from inside him.
When he tried to summon the Clear Sky Hammer again, his left hand didn't respond at all.
Tang San was utterly despairing.
He knew the Clear Sky Hammer had left him for good.
From now on, he would no longer be a genius with Twin Martial Souls.
He would never again possess the strongest weapon-type Martial Soul in the world.
Yu Xiaogang was even more anxious than Tang San.
"Little San, your Clear Sky Hammer is gone?"
Yu Xiaogang had taken Tang San as his disciple in the first place because Tang San was talented and easy to fool.
Yu Xiaogang was a good-for-nothing himself, so he had always wanted to raise a genius disciple who could help him hold his head high.
But now, Tang San's Second Martial Soul had been taken away.
That meant even if Tang San didn't become a cripple, he was no longer a talented Soul Master with potential.
How could Yu Xiaogang accept that?
He had worked so hard to raise Tang San, only for his disciple to fall before accomplishing anything.
It was as though all his years of hard work had gone to waste.
"Why..."
"Why would heaven treat me like this?"
Yu Xiaogang looked as though he'd suffered a death in the family.
He no longer had any hope for Tang San.
In Yu Xiaogang's eyes, with only the Trash Martial Soul Blue Silver Grass left, Tang San was no longer worth raising.
What waves could a pathetic bit of Blue Silver Grass make?
Tang San's life was as good as over.
His greatest achievement from now on would probably be reaching the rank of Soul Douluo.
As for becoming a God King, that was nothing but a fool's dream.
Without the Clear Sky Hammer, it was questionable whether Tang San could even break through to Titled Douluo, let alone ascend to godhood.
Yu Xiaogang's beautiful dream of retiring in the Divine Realm—
at that moment, it shattered completely!
At the thought that he could no longer retire in the Divine Realm, a murderous resentment rose in Yu Xiaogang's heart.
As the saying went, the greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
Yu Xiaogang had always placed great hopes in Tang San, believing he was destined to become a God King.
But now, things hadn't gone as he'd expected, so Yu Xiaogang was naturally angry.
"Little San, you've disappointed me so much."
"You shouldn't have lost this battle."
"You've let down all the teaching I gave you."
Yu Xiaogang launched into a harsh scolding.
He didn't care that Tang San was covered in injuries.
He just kept on berating him.
His inability to retire in the Divine Realm was all Tang San's fault.
Tang San listened as Yu Xiaogang not only failed to comfort him but poured oil on the fire.
His vision went black, and he fainted.
Tang San was a patient right now. How could he withstand Yu Xiaogang provoking him like this?
Yu Xiaogang was a complete good-for-nothing himself, yet he still had the nerve to criticize him.
He was utterly lacking in self-awareness.
If Tang San hadn't been so furious that his heart and mind were in turmoil, he would have cursed up a storm.
"Without the Clear Sky Hammer, can Little San still be considered a member of my Clear Sky Sect?"
Tang Hao's expression was complicated.
The look he gave Tang San was no longer as affectionate as before.
Tang Hao's attitude toward Tang San had changed ever since he learned that Tang San had awakened the Clear Sky Hammer.
Back then, Tang Hao had regarded Tang San as the future successor.
He hoped that one day, once Tang San had grown strong, he could lead the Clear Sky Sect to greater heights.
With that achievement to his name, Tang Hao hoped the mistakes he had made could be wiped clean.
But now, Tang San had lost the Clear Sky Hammer.
This wasn't merely a blow to his talent.
He had also lost the right to return to the Clear Sky Sect.
He had already been cast out by the Clear Sky Sect and had no face to return.
Tang San had been his last hope.
If Tang San didn't even have the Clear Sky Hammer anymore,
what right did he have to take Tang San back to acknowledge his ancestors and return to the clan?
"How did things end up like this..."
Tang Hao was deeply shaken, and his fatherly love for Tang San plummeted.
He didn't even have the Clear Sky Hammer, yet he still expected Tang Hao to keep being a good father?
Dream on!
If Tang San hadn't awakened the Clear Sky Hammer back then,
Tang Hao would never have changed his tune and become a good father.
Did Tang San really think Tang Hao was a good person?
Tang Hao was a selfish, self-serving scoundrel.
The Clear Sky Sect...
Tang Xiao and the Five Great Elders had been on an emotional roller coaster that day.
They had been cheering just moments ago.
The Clear Sky Sect had produced a heaven-blessed genius with the potential to become a God King.
But things had turned around faster than a tornado.
They hadn't even had time to celebrate.
Then the terrible news arrived!
Tang San had lost to Huo Yuhao. Not only had he become a stepping stone for the other boy, but he had also lost his Clear Sky Hammer.
How could the Clear Sky Sect possibly look happy about that?
In their eyes, without the Clear Sky Hammer, Tang San had no right to enter the Clear Sky Sect.
After all, if he didn't even have the Clear Sky Hammer, what made him think he could call himself a member of the Clear Sky Sect?
They had been willing to welcome Tang San back and let him return to his ancestral clan
because they had seen his value.
As long as Tang San had the potential to become a God King,
they would have been willing to carry him back in a sedan chair.
But now, Tang San had no value. He was nothing.
Naturally, they would change their tune.
With the Clear Sky Hammer gone, and his advantage as someone with Twin Martial Souls lost,
Tang San would probably never have a chance of becoming a God King.
Someone with no value wasn't worth the sect's investment.
"Second Elder, since the entire sect has already ordered that we bring Tang San back at any cost,
we absolutely cannot go back on our word halfway through."
"If we break our promise, what will the sect's disciples think of us?"
Tang Xiao didn't want the Five Great Elders to change their minds.
After all, Tang San was his biological nephew.
Of course he had to protect his own.
Tang San had been hiding and running around outside every day. How dangerous was that?
If the Spirit Hall found him, he would be as good as dead.
If he hid under the Clear Sky Sect's protection and quietly built up his strength,
Tang San would avoid a lot of trouble and have a better cultivation environment and richer resources.
That was why Tang Xiao was so firm.
"Sect Master, what you're doing will bring this sect to ruin."
"If the Spirit Hall discovers that we're sheltering Tang San,
the Spirit Hall will take its anger out on every one of us."
"When that happens, we'll all die because of Tang San."
The Second Elder wasn't willing to let the sect shelter a nobody like Little Scumbag who didn't even have the Clear Sky Hammer.
It was the kind of high-risk, low-reward affair
only a fool would agree to.
They had been willing to take the risk and welcome Tang San back before
because the value he brought was high enough.
If the Clear Sky Sect could produce a God King, they wouldn't mind a fight to the death with the Spirit Hall.
They were willing to accept high risks only when the rewards were high.
But now, the high reward had become a low one.
Anyone who wasn't a fool knew what to do.
"What Tang San?"
"Are we even close?"