"An honor?"
Qian Renxue spat disdainfully.
"Don't forget, your own mother was a Soul Beast too!"
"Half of the blood flowing through your veins is Soul Beast blood! Do you really think you won't be punished by heaven for doing this?"
"Silence!"
Tang San looked as though she had struck a nerve. His expression instantly turned ghastly.
"My mother was the great Blue Silver Emperor. How could she be compared to those lowly Soul Beasts?"
"Besides, I am now the exalted Sea God! Punished by heaven? Who could punish me?"
Tang San raised the Seagod Trident high, his expression brimming with arrogance and disdain for all.
"Qian Renxue, enough nonsense. Prepare to die!"
"Once I've killed you, I'll flatten the Spirit Hall Empire, then wipe out that so-called Blue Silver Empire!"
"I'll let that so-called number one on the Gold Ranking know that before a true god, he's nothing but a joke!"
Sea God Divine Power surged wildly through Tang San once more. Dazzling blue light burst from the Seagod Trident as he prepared to strike Qian Renxue a fatal blow.
"Golden Thirteen Halberds, Third Form: One Strike, No Return!"
A massive streak of blue light, carrying an aura of destruction, shot straight toward Qian Renxue.
This strike gathered most of his Sea God Divine Power. The very space around them fractured inch by inch beneath its force.
Qian Renxue watched the streak of blue light rushing toward her, a resolute glint flashing in her beautiful eyes.
She drove her Angel Divine Power to its absolute limit. The Angel Holy Sword erupted with a golden radiance unlike any it had released before, and she charged to meet it.
"Boom—!"
A thunderous explosion split the sky.
Golden and blue light twisted and tore at each other. The terrifying aftershock of divine power spread outward in a visible ripple.
Below, the million-strong armies struggled to stay on their feet beneath the pressure of the shock wave. The weaker soldiers even spat blood and collapsed to the ground.
The blinding light faded.
Qian Renxue's figure was sent flying thousands of meters. Blood sprayed from her mouth, and her face was as pale as paper.
Several cracks had appeared in her Angel Divine Raiment, and its golden light had dimmed to a faint glow.
Tang San, by contrast, had only been forced back a hundred meters. He still looked at ease, the Sea God Divine Power around him as boundless as ever.
"Qian Renxue, you've lost."
Holding the Seagod Trident, Tang San advanced toward her step by step, a victor's smile on his face.
"I told you that evil can never triumph over good. Your Spirit Hall Empire has committed too many injustices. This is the price you pay."
Qian Renxue wiped the blood from her lips with the back of her hand. As she watched Tang San approach, a mocking smile appeared on her face.
"Lost?"
"Tang San, you're celebrating too soon."
"My husband hasn't even made his move. Before him, you're not worthy to hold his shoes."
At the mention of that man, even now, jealousy and fury flashed across Tang San's face.
"Husband? You mean that coward hiding in his shell?"
"He hasn't even dared to show his face. He must be nothing but a fraud and a good-for-nothing."
"Today, I'll kill you first, then take his head and hang it on the walls of Jialing Pass!"
Tang San's expression twisted. He raised the Seagod Trident high, ready to end Qian Renxue's life.
But just as he was about to strike, an unexpected change occurred.
"Vmmm—"
A low hum suddenly rose from deep within the earth.
At first, the sound was faint. In the blink of an eye, it swelled into a world-shaking roar, and the entire Douluo Continent began to tremble violently.
The million-strong armies below stared at the ground in terror. Warhorses whinnied in panic, and soldiers lost their footing and collapsed.
"What's happening? Is it an earthquake?"
"Look! The grass!"
Someone cried out in alarm.
All around the battlefield, countless Blue Silver Grass plants that had once bowed toward the south suddenly blazed with golden-blue light.
Pure streams of life force drifted from the Blue Silver Grass, gathering into golden-blue ribbons that rose toward the sky.
It was not only Jialing Pass. In every corner of the continent, countless Blue Silver Grass plants were doing the same.
The sky, which had been divided between Sea God Divine Power and Angel Divine Power, suddenly changed.
A vast golden-blue cloud appeared without a sound, blotting out all the blue and gold that had filled the heavens.
An overwhelming, boundless pressure poured from that golden-blue cloud, blanketing the entire world in an instant.
This pressure was so ancient and supreme that, before it, Tang San's Sea God might and Qian Renxue's Angel might were no more than fireflies before the moon. They were instantly suppressed, unable to move.
"This... this power..."
Tang San's expression changed.
To his horror, the Sea God Divine Power within him slowed to a crawl beneath the crushing pressure. Even the Seagod Trident in his hand began to tremble.
It was a suppression rising from the depths of their bloodlines, the absolute dominion of a superior over an inferior!
"Impossible! I'm the Sea God! How can anyone in this world suppress my divine power?"
Tang San screamed inwardly, his face filled with shock and panic.
Beside him, the moment Qian Renxue sensed that aura, a joyful smile spread across her pale face.
"It's him... He's here..."
Qian Renxue murmured softly, her eyes filled with tenderness and adoration.
As everyone watched, the golden-blue cloud slowly parted.
A ray of sunlight pierced the clouds and illuminated the center of the battlefield.
Amid the rapt attention of the crowd, a figure in white drifted down from the opening in the clouds.
He looked no older than twenty, with a face so handsome he seemed otherworldly. His long golden-blue hair fluttered in the wind. He released no Soul Rings and gave off no trace of a violent aura.
Yet as he stood there, he seemed to become the center of the world, with all things revolving around him.
"Who says a god is the only truth?"
A calm voice rang out across the sky.
It was not loud, yet it reached the ears of everyone present, striking straight at their souls.
As the voice fell, the raging surges of divine power instantly subsided. An eerie silence settled over the entire battlefield.
Tang Xiao had arrived!
The golden-blue clouds in the sky slowly drew back.
Tang Xiao landed steadily in front of Qian Renxue.
His gaze fell on his wife, her face pale and her divine raiment damaged. A flash of heartache crossed his eyes.
"Xue'er, I'm late."
Tang Xiao reached out. A pure golden-blue radiance welled in his palm and slowly flowed into Qian Renxue's body.
A warmth beyond words spread through her limbs and body. Under its nourishment, her exhausted Soul Power and damaged meridians began to recover at an astonishing speed.
She gazed at the man before her. The face that had been strong and cold was now filled with a woman's tender dependence.
"Husband, you're finally back."
Qian Renxue murmured softly, tears glimmering faintly in her eyes.
Tang Xiao gave a slight nod and gently wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.
"Leave the rest to me."
Tang Xiao turned and shielded Qian Renxue behind him. His deep eyes slowly settled on Tang San, not far away.
Tang San gripped the Seagod Trident tightly. Fine beads of sweat had already gathered in his palm.
That pressure, for just an instant, had made even a god like him shudder.
"You're Tang Xiao?"
Tang San spoke in a low voice, his words carrying across the battlefield, wrapped in divine power.
He looked at the young man, who was only a few years older than him. Jealousy and wariness had reached their peak within him.
The number one on the Great Dao Golden Ranking, the million-year Blue Silver Emperor—each title was like a mountain pressing down on him, leaving him gasping for breath.
Tang Xiao's expression remained calm. He didn't even look Tang San in the eye.
"Tang San, you used my people to replenish your insignificant divine power. How do you intend to settle that debt?"
Tang Xiao spoke softly, but his voice carried an authority no one could defy.
The Blue Silver Grass on the ground seemed to answer him, rustling in unison as a terrifying Life Tide surged through the air.
Tang San's expression changed. He gave a cold snort.
"Hmph, I am the Sea God, appointed by heaven to uphold justice!"
"It is their honor to provide this god with power!"
"Besides, I am the Blue Silver Emperor too. They should obey my orders!"
Hearing that, Tang Xiao finally couldn't help laughing.
"You dare call yourself the Blue Silver Emperor?"
"A man who despises his own bloodline and knows nothing but to drain the life from grass and trees dares lay claim to the title of emperor?"
Disdain filled Tang Xiao's words. Each one was like an invisible slap, lashing Tang San across the face.
Below, Yu Xiaogang watched the two facing off in the sky. His expression turned grim.
"That's impossible... He doesn't have a single Soul Ring. How can he possess such terrifying pressure?"
Yu Xiaogang muttered to himself. He had spent his life studying Martial Souls, yet he had never witnessed anything so strange.
Ning Fengzhi sighed beside him, worry filling his eyes.
"Grandmaster, it seems the Blue Silver Empire's ruler is far stronger than we anticipated."
On the other side, a tall figure slowly stepped forward.
Tang Hao held the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer. His cloudy eyes were fixed on Tang Xiao.
"Wretch!"
Tang Hao's voice rang out like thunder, making the soldiers nearby wince as their eardrums hurt.
As he looked at Tang Xiao, his mind involuntarily returned to the baby he had personally abandoned on the outskirts of the Star Dou Great Forest.
The Blue Silver Grass baby, born with Soul Beast blood and regarded by him as a disgrace, had somehow grown to this point.
"I should've smashed you with my hammer back then. Then you wouldn't be spouting nonsense here and obstructing Xiao San's great cause!"
Tang Hao's words silenced the entire battlefield.
Countless people stared wide-eyed at the once renowned Clear Sky Douluo.
They had never imagined that the Supreme Blue Silver Emperor, number one on the Gold Ranking, was truly Tang Hao's son—and that Tang Hao had personally abandoned him as a baby.
Tang Xiao showed no anger at Tang Hao's words. He only looked at him with the cool detachment one might reserve for a clown.
"Smash me?"
"Tang Hao, do you really think you're still capable of that?"
Tang Xiao spoke as if to himself, then took a step forward.
The moment his foot fell, all of space shuddered.
"Back then, you abandoned me in the wind and rain because I carried Soul Beast blood."
"You despised Blue Silver Grass as lowly, yet when Ah Yin sacrificed herself, you accepted the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring she gave you with a clear conscience."
"Tang Hao, you selfish, hypocritical coward—what right do you have to call yourself a father?"
Tang Xiao's voice spread in every direction, drawing strange looks from countless Soul Masters below.
The Great Dao Golden Ranking had already revealed the truth of what happened back then. Hearing it from one of those involved made everyone feel all the more sickened.
Tang Hao had been struck where it hurt. He flew into a rage.
His Soul Power had now reached Level 98, and he had obtained the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer and the Primordial Giant Spirit God Left Arm Bone. His confidence had swollen to the extreme.
"You're asking for death!"
Tang Hao roared. The nine Soul Rings around him burst into dazzling light.
He shot into the sky, and the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer in his hand rapidly expanded, becoming a hundred-meter-long giant hammer. With enough force to split mountains and shatter stone, it came crashing down on Tang Xiao.
"Great Sumeru Hammer!"
The terrifying gale tore the clouds in the sky to shreds.
Faced with a strike powerful enough to grievously wound an ordinary Titled Douluo, Tang Xiao didn't even raise an eyelid.
"Parlor tricks."
Tang Xiao extended one hand without even releasing his Martial Soul.
He simply reached up and caught the giant hammer.
"He's insane! He actually wants to take the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer head-on with his bare hand?"
Dai Mubai cried out in shock, delight gleaming in his eyes.
But in the next instant, everyone's smiles froze on their faces.
"Clang—!"
A clear metallic impact rang out.
Tang Xiao's hand had caught the enormous Supreme Clear Sky Hammer firmly.
The power that could have destroyed heaven and earth vanished without a trace the moment it touched his palm, like a stream sinking into the sea.
"How is this possible?"
Tang Hao's eyes nearly bulged from their sockets.
His Clear Sky Hammer felt as though it had struck an immovable divine iron. The rebound left both his arms numb.
"I told you, you're too weak."
Tang Xiao looked at Tang Hao, a trace of mercilessness flashing in his eyes.
"When you abandoned me back then, today I'll take back what never should have been yours."
As Tang Xiao's words fell, his figure vanished from where he stood.
Tang Hao was horrified. Instinctively, he tried to retreat, while activating the Primordial Giant Spirit God Left Arm Bone in his left arm.
A dazzling, ocher light burst from his left arm, trying to form a defense.
But it was too slow.
Tang Xiao's figure had already appeared beside Tang Hao.
He reached out with his right hand, fingers hooked like claws, and clamped them directly around Tang Hao's glowing left arm.
"This arm fused with the Primordial Giant Spirit God Bone. It never should have belonged to a coward like you."
Tang Xiao's voice rang in Tang Hao's ear.
Then he yanked hard.
"Squelch—!"
Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining half the sky red.
Accompanied by a scream of utter anguish, Tang Hao's left arm was ripped clean off by Tang Xiao!
The Supreme Clear Sky Hammer flew from his grasp, rapidly shrinking in midair before plummeting helplessly to the ground.
Before you continue