Encirclement of Tang Hao

In the northern woods, Yu Tianlin stepped over the last thicket. Dead branches cracked softly beneath his feet, the sound exceptionally clear in the silent forest.

A figure emerged from the darkness. A brown cloak concealed the newcomer from head to toe, its hood pulled low enough to reveal only a sharply defined jaw. The cloak was old, its edges frayed and stained with dust and liquor.

The moment this person stood there, the air around him seemed to freeze naturally. The insects fell silent, and even the wind dared not pass by his side.

Yu Tianlin stopped. His instincts screamed warnings, and the Prison-Suppressing Azure Dragon martial soul within him activated on its own. A faint Azure Dragon phantom flickered behind him.

Seeing the brown cloak and sensing the Title Douluo-level aura emanating from the man,

Yu Tianlin was completely certain that this was the Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao—a level ninety-five Title Douluo, Tang San's father, and one of the few people on the continent who possessed a hundred-thousand-year spirit ring.

Tang Hao did not waste words. He merely raised his right hand. Nine spirit rings rose from beneath his feet: two yellow, two purple, four black, and one red. The red spirit ring bloomed with an eerie glow in the darkness, dyeing the entire forest the color of blood.

The pressure of the hundred-thousand-year spirit ring crashed down like the collapse of the heavens. Dozens of ancient trees, each over a century old, let out mournful groans at once, fine cracks spreading over their trunks under the crushing force.

Tang Hao extended his hand toward Yu Tianlin.

A terrifying suction force erupted from his palm. The air was torn apart with a piercing shriek, and Yu Tianlin's body was dragged helplessly toward him, his feet plowing two deep furrows through the ground.

He tried to mobilize his Soul Power to resist, but before the absolute suppression of a level ninety-five Title Douluo, any resistance was futile. Tang Hao curled his fingers and seized Yu Tianlin by the throat with one hand, lifting him off the ground.

Beneath the hood, his eyes were as cold as a deep pool frozen for a thousand years. There was no anger, no hesitation—only pure killing intent and unquestionable resolve.

"With the talent you have displayed, once you grow stronger, you will inevitably become a threat to my son. So today, you must die here."

Tang Hao's voice was hoarse and low, carrying the rough texture of someone steeped in strong liquor for years. He spoke as calmly as if stating a conclusion that had long since been decided.

Yu Tianlin did not answer. Tang Hao's thumb pressed tightly against his Adam's apple, nearly sealing his windpipe completely. He could only make a faint hissing sound. He grabbed Tang Hao's wrist with both hands and tried to pry it open, but that wrist was as thick as an iron pillar, veins twisting beneath dark skin and muscles hard as granite.

The physical strength enhanced by the Azure Dragon martial soul was as weak as that of an ordinary infant before this arm. His vision began to blur, and the air in his lungs was being squeezed out bit by bit.

Then the skin on Yu Tianlin's forehead began to burn. A point of emerald light lit up between his brows, no bigger than a needle tip at first, before rapidly spreading into the outline of a towering divine tree. The Divine Tree Mark—the drop of origin power planted during the Spirit of Vegetation inheritance—surfaced on its own at that moment. The mark released a gentle emerald radiance, forming a thin membrane of light around Yu Tianlin's neck and barely blocking thirty percent of Tang Hao's finger strength.

Tang Hao's gaze flickered slightly when he saw the Divine Tree Mark, but the force in his fingers only increased. He did not recognize the mark, nor did he need to. He knew only one thing: this youth had to die, and he had to die now.

A bolt of lightning descended from the nine heavens.

Carrying the destructive aura of heavenly punishment, it struck precisely between Tang Hao and Yu Tianlin. The shockwave from the explosion of lightning forcibly separated them. Yu Tianlin was hurled away by the blast, his back slamming into an ancient tree trunk before he slid down to the ground, coughing violently. Five bluish-purple finger marks stood out clearly on his neck.

Tang Hao took a step back. A small section of his cloak's edge had been scorched by the lightning. He raised his head and looked toward where the bolt had fallen.

A towering figure landed on a branch before Yu Tianlin. His beard and hair were white, his face as resolute as if carved with a blade. Nine spirit rings slowly revolved around him—two yellow, two purple, and five black—as the pressure of a level ninety-six Title Douluo erupted without reservation.

The newcomer was Yu Yuanzhen, patriarch of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Thunder Douluo. His face was as dark as the sky before a storm, and the corner of his eye twitched slightly—the instinctive reaction of someone forcibly suppressing towering rage. Since Yu Tianlin's martial soul awakening at the age of six, he had personally taught and protected this once-in-three-centuries genius of the clan. Yet now, someone was strangling him in the woods outside Suotuo City and trying to kill him.

Another figure silently swept out from the flank and landed beside Yu Tianlin. He was burly, his short hair standing upright like iron needles, and his level eighty-eight Soul Power poured forth without restraint.

Yu Jin did not say a word. He merely unleashed his Thunder Hawk martial soul to its fullest extent, its hawk eyes locking onto Tang Hao's retreat route and sealing off every possible avenue of escape.

Yu Tianlin clutched his throat. His voice was hoarse like sandpaper scraping wood, but every word was clear and resolute. "Uncle Yu, he tried to kill me. We absolutely cannot let him leave here alive today."

Yu Yuanzhen lowered his head and glanced at the five bluish-purple finger marks on Yu Tianlin's neck. The corner of his eye twitched again. When he turned back to Tang Hao, the last thread of reason in his mind snapped completely. All nine spirit rings blazed to their utmost brilliance, and the Soul Power of a level ninety-six Title Douluo surged to its peak in an instant. Lightning scorched the surrounding air until it twisted and warped, while the branch beneath his feet silently turned to dust.

"Clear Sky Douluo, your son is a genius, so my nephew deserves to die? I have not acted for many years, and it seems the world has forgotten the name of my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan." Yu Yuanzhen spoke with a dark expression.

Tang Hao fell silent for a moment. He recognized Yu Yuanzhen, saw the Thunder Hawk gathering power atop the canopy, and sensed another person rapidly approaching from behind.

He had not expected the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to deploy three peak-level combatants: one at level ninety-six, one at level eighty-eight, and another rapidly closing in from the direction of Suotuo City with an equally formidable aura.

At his current strength, he could fight any Title Douluo one-on-one without falling behind. But he still bore old injuries and was now facing three peak combatants at once—especially with a level ninety-six Thunder Douluo among them. The situation had already slipped beyond his control.

Tang Hao did not retreat. The Clear Sky Hammer appeared in his hand, its body entirely black and its hammerhead engraved with dense runes. Red light rippled outward from its core, and the glow of the hundred-thousand-year spirit ring merged with the aura of the Clear Sky Hammer, dyeing the entire forest dark red.

Yu Yuanzhen did not waste another word. He transformed into a bolt of lightning and crashed toward Tang Hao. The collision between lightning and the Clear Sky Hammer exploded into a small mushroom cloud within the forest, the shockwave uprooting dozens of trees as the battle between the two Title Douluo officially began.