Tang Xiao gripped his hammer with both hands, his eyes brimming with confidence.
The Clear Sky Hammer was thirty meters long. Even if he just brought it down on someone, he could turn them into a meat pie.
Yan Lingji smiled at the sight. There was no alarm or fear in her eyes, only a careless, unruffled ease.
In the past, she would definitely have said, "Big brother, would you really bear to hit me?"
Then she would pair that with those dewy eyes, making her opponent's heart skip a beat before seizing her chance to strike.
But ever since she had followed Zhao Linchuan, her temperament had changed.
She was still a little mischievous in private, but in front of outsiders, she was absolutely a dignified woman.
With a single thought, black, black, black, black, black, red, red—seven Soul Rings abruptly rose from beneath her feet and began slowly circling her.
Five black Ten Thousand Year Soul Rings and two blood-red Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings shone in the sunlight, their energy fluctuations so powerful they made the heart tremble.
The two blood-red rings were especially dazzling, like a pair of miniature suns tamed to circle at her sides, tinting the surrounding air a faint red.
"Mystic Bird Vermilion Bird—Descend!"
Yan Lingji spread her arms, her voice cold as frost.
"Caw—!"
A clear bird cry suddenly exploded through the air!
Its pure, distant note echoed across heaven and earth, lingering for a long time.
The sky turned vermilion.
The blood-red Seventh Soul Ring around Yan Lingji shot into the sky and rapidly expanded—one zhang, ten zhang, a hundred zhang—until it hung overhead like a blood-red Full Moon, shrouding the entire arena in a faint red glow.
Then, a blood-red Mystic Bird Vermilion Bird slowly flew out through the opening in the center of the Soul Ring.
"Caw—!"
It spread its wings, spanning a full hundred meters and blotting out the sky.
White flames burned along its wings. Every feather seemed woven from the purest fire, exuding nobility and majesty.
Its luminous white eyes gazed down upon all living things, bearing a divinity that stood above the mortal world.
With a gentle flap of its wings, scarlet Soul light rippled outward like a surging tide. Everywhere it passed, clouds and mist within dozens of miles were forcibly shattered and swept away.
The sky turned crystal-clear and transparent, blue as washed glass.
On the ground,
Tang Xiao was on one knee. At some point, the enormous Clear Sky True Body had vanished.
A crushing pressure descended from the sky like a mountain bearing down on his shoulders, forcing him flat against the ground.
He braced both hands against the earth and gritted his teeth, pouring all his strength into trying to stand. But the pressure was too heavy—so heavy that his spine creaked.
"Five black... two red?"
He struggled to lift his head and look at Yan Lingji, his eyes filled with incredulous terror.
"H-How is this possible?!"
"Ant."
Yan Lingji's voice was cold as frost, carrying an aloof indifference, like a god looking down upon dust.
"How dare you gaze upon my might?"
A flash of white light appeared in her hand, and the Vermilion South-Bright Fire Sword was suddenly in her grasp.
A warm red glow flowed along its blade. The white gem in its hilt gleamed in the sunlight, and the tip quivered slightly, letting out a clear, ringing hum.
Tang Xiao trembled as he looked at Yan Lingji. He wanted to resist, but he couldn't.
The enormous vermilion bird in the sky had him pinned fast. Its pressure was as heavy as a mountain and as vast as the sea, leaving him unable to lift even a finger.
He was utterly incapable of mounting an effective counterattack. If Yan Lingji wanted to kill him, he would be nothing but a bound lamb, unable to fight back in any meaningful way.
"Stop! We surrender!"
A clear voice rang out from the Clear Sky Sect's rest area.
Tang Yuehua waved both hands and shouted without a care for her dignity, her voice shrill and urgent:
"We surrender! Please, stop fighting!"
Yan Lingji turned her head to glance at Tang Yuehua, then looked back at Tang Xiao, who was sprawled on the ground.
"Boring."
With a casual swing of the Vermilion South-Bright Fire Sword, she sent a Vermilion Bird with a wingspan of about three meters flying from its tip. Its body blazed with white flames, and it streaked toward Tang Xiao, trailing a long tail of fire!
"Ah—!"
Thump, thump, thump!
After a scream, Tang Xiao was ruthlessly knocked to the ground by the Vermilion Bird.
White flames burst across his body. They weren't fatal, but they burned away every scrap of his clothes and body hair.
He lay there completely naked, his skin blackened in patches by smoke. His hair, eyebrows, and eyelashes were all gone, and his gleaming bald head reflected a bluish-white sheen in the sunlight.
At that moment, he looked just like a hairless monkey.
"Hahahaha!"
Laughter erupted all at once.
It surged in from every direction like a tide, wave after wave growing louder, one peal rising over the next until it shook the heavens.
Some people laughed so hard they doubled over. Others slapped their thighs, laughed until tears streamed down their faces, or even slid right off their chairs.
The mocking voices and pointing fingers nearly drowned out the entire arena.
On the ground, Tang Xiao's face flushed the color of pig liver.
He hurriedly rolled over and lay face-down, trying to cover his shame,
then fumbled to pull a robe from his Storage Soul Tool and shakily put it on. His hands trembled as he tied the sash, and it took several tries to get it right.
Once dressed, he scrambled to his feet and hurried toward the rest area with his head bowed, fleeing in disgrace. His steps were so rushed that he nearly tripped over his own robe.
What a wretched sight—he looked even more humiliating than Tang Hao.
The spectators' discussions erupted like a pot coming to a boil.
"What's going on with the Clear Sky Twin Stars? How can they not even beat two women?"
"Ha, they were all talk."
"That's what I think too. If you ask me, the Clear Sky Sect isn't all that."
"The Clear Sky Sect has really disgraced itself this time. Its two strongest men got beaten by two women without being able to fight back at all."
"Tell me about it. The number one sect under heaven? Heh..."
Mockery rose and fell in wave after wave.
In the VIP stands,
Tang Zhen's face darkened by the second, until it looked ready to drip ink.
He clenched his fists so tightly they crackled, gritting his teeth as his whole body trembled faintly.
Meanwhile, Qian Xunji's expression brightened by the second, and the amusement in his eyes grew ever deeper. He practically radiated the heady satisfaction of a man riding the spring breeze.
If he hadn't needed to maintain his image, he would have loved to lean against a wall and laugh his head off.
He took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the urge to "take flight," then turned to Tang Zhen. The smile on his face faded a little, replaced by an expression that said, "I'm helpless too."
"Sect Master Tang, the common folk are ignorant. I hope you won't take offense."
"It would hardly be worth it to let rumors spread by a few common street people make you ill."
If Qian Xunji had said nothing, it might have been fine. But as soon as he spoke, Tang Zhen's face shifted from iron blue to pig liver, then from pig liver to purplish black.
His eyes bulged, blood vessels filled the whites, and his chest heaved violently. He breathed so hard he sounded like a bellows.
At that moment, the classic combo of bloodshot eyes and bull-like panting was perfectly recreated on Tang Zhen!
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