Inside the Heaven Dou Allied Forces' camp.
Tang San stood in front of the main tent, staring at the Golden Ranking List in the sky, his hands clenched tightly together.
His face was gloomy, and a trace of unwillingness flickered in his eyes.
"Fourteenth place... Who could it be?"
Tang San murmured under his breath, his mind repeatedly flashing with the names of the long-renowned powerhouses of Douluo Continent.
"Could it be one of the Clear Sky Sect's elders? Or Sword Douluo Chen Xin of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"
Beside him, Yu Xiaogang furrowed his brow and gently shook his head.
"Hard to say. Now that the Gold Ranking has appeared, I'm afraid many hidden old monsters will start appearing on the list."
"But as long as they make the list, the rewards they receive will definitely be enough to change the balance of power across the entire continent."
A grave note colored Yu Xiaogang's voice.
Meanwhile, in a secluded mountain valley.
Tang Hao was sitting on a massive boulder.
His face was pale, and the aura around him was weak. Clearly, he had yet to fully recover from the injuries he'd suffered at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
As he gazed at the enormous Golden Ranking List in the sky, fervor and pride flashed in Tang Hao's eyes.
Though Tang Xiao had defeated him, he still had absolute confidence in his own strength.
"The Strongest Power Ranking... Fourteenth place?"
Tang Hao gave a cold snort, a trace of disdain flashing in his eyes.
"I, Tang Hao, have never been inferior to anyone. I once gravely wounded several Titled Douluo of Spirit Hall on my own, and I even mastered the Clear Sky Sect's supreme technique, the Great Sumeru Hammer."
"On Douluo Continent today, aside from Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi, those two old monsters, who could be sure of defeating me?"
Tang Hao rose to his feet, one hand clasped behind his back. Gazing at the ranking in the sky, he declared loudly and confidently:
"I, Tang Hao, will surely have a place in the top ten of the Strongest Power Ranking!"
"As for this fourteenth place... Hmph. Just a bunch of ordinary nobodies. They're not fit to be mentioned in the same breath as me."
Tang Hao's voice echoed through the valley, full of the Clear Sky Douluo's domineering pride.
In his view, as the Clear Sky Sect's most outstanding genius in a hundred years, he had long since reached the peak of level ninety-seven.
Combined with the Nine Absolute Clear Sky Techniques and the Ring Detonation secret of the Great Sumeru Hammer, his explosive power was unquestionably among the greatest in the world.
How could lowly fourteenth place possibly be his?
Yet just as the entire continent was abuzz with speculation over who would take fourteenth place,
the Golden Ranking List in the heavens finally began to shift.
Streams of dazzling golden energy gathered across the ranking, forming enormous, mysterious characters one by one.
Rumble!
Deep, muffled thunder rolled across the heavens and earth, as if announcing the ranking alongside the list.
Everyone held their breath, staring at the letters as they gradually came into focus.
[Strongest Power Ranking, fourteenth place revealed!]
As those words appeared, another line of golden text materialized beneath them.
[Fourteenth place: Tang Hao.] [Identity: Clear Sky Sect's peerless genius, Clear Sky Douluo.] [Cultivation: Level ninety-seven peak Power Attack System Titled Douluo.]
In the secluded mountain valley, the howling wind abruptly fell silent.
Tang Hao stood rigid atop the boulder, mouth agape.
High above, the two golden characters "Tang Hao" shone dazzlingly in the sunlight.
"Fourteenth place..."
"How is this possible?"
Tang Hao muttered to himself.
He stared at the scroll in the sky, even rubbing his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things.
Yet the line of text didn't change in the slightest.
[Fourteenth place: Tang Hao.]
"Pfft!"
Overcome with fury, Tang Hao felt a sudden tightness in his chest, and nearly spat out a mouthful of blood.
The internal injuries he'd suffered at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had yet to heal. Now, his emotions were in turmoil, sending the blood and qi inside him surging wildly.
"I, Tang Hao, am a level ninety-seven peak Power Attack System Titled Douluo!"
"I wield the Clear Sky Sect's Great Sumeru Hammer and its divine Ring Detonation skill. I once gravely wounded several powerful Spirit Hall experts on my own!"
"On Douluo Continent today, aside from Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi, who could be sure of defeating me?"
Tang Hao stomped down, shattering the boulder beneath his feet, and roared at the sky.
His voice echoed back and forth through the empty valley, but no answer came.
He couldn't accept this result.
In Tang Hao's view, even if he couldn't make the top three, he was unquestionably a strong contender for the top ten.
And now, the Gold Ranking had placed him fourteenth.
It was a downright insult to his title of Clear Sky Douluo!
"The Gold Ranking is wrong! It must be wrong!"
Tang Hao paced anxiously around the valley, like a wounded beast.
"That Golden Crocodile Douluo was no match for me. What right does he have to rank fifteenth, with me only one place above him?"
"No, wait."
Tang Hao abruptly stopped, an uncertain look flashing through his eyes.
Golden Crocodile Douluo's earlier rewards had been a one-level increase in Soul Power, Martial Soul Evolution, and a hundred-thousand-year Primordial Crocodile Ancestor Torso Bone. Those rewards had raised him to level ninety-nine, making him a Peerless Douluo.
If he was ranked fourteenth, what would his reward be?
At the thought, greed and anticipation stirred in Tang Hao's heart once more.
"As long as my reward is powerful enough, my strength will surely rise to another level."
"Then reaching level ninety-nine and becoming a Peerless Douluo will be just around the corner!"
Tang Hao took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing his anger, and looked up at the Sky Screen again.
Meanwhile, inside the Heaven Dou Allied Forces' camp.
A deathly silence hung over the camp.
Yu Xiaogang stared blankly at the sky. His feather fan had fallen from his hand, but he didn't even notice.
His face was deathly pale, and his lips trembled slightly.
"The Clear Sky Douluo... ranked only fourteenth?"
Yu Xiaogang murmured dazedly.
As a Grandmaster who prided himself on being the foremost authority on theory, he held deeply ingrained views about how the powerhouses of Douluo Continent ranked.
In his mind, Tang Hao was unquestionably the number one Power Attack System fighter.
But now, that legend had been shattered without mercy.
Beside him, Flender swallowed and wiped the cold sweat from his forehead.
"Xiaogang, the Strongest Power Ranking must be even more formidable than we imagined."
"If even His Excellency Haotian can only rank fourteenth, what kind of monsters are ranked above him?"
Zhao Wuji rubbed his bald head, his face full of shock.
"My heavens! I've fought His Excellency Haotian before, so I know how terrifying he is."
"If even he can only rank there, does that mean everyone in the top ten is a Peerless Douluo?"
Hearing the people around him talk, Tang San, standing at the very front, furrowed his brow tightly.
His expression was just as grim.
Tang Hao was his greatest support and the person he had always admired.
Seeing his father ranked only fourteenth naturally left Tang San feeling deeply uncomfortable.
"Xiao San, are you all right?"
Yu Xiaogang noticed Tang San's expression and asked with concern.
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