As the space beside Yang Teng split open, a slender silver figure stepped out of the void. The newcomer's silver hair billowed, and her violet eyes shone brightly.
It was none other than Silver Dragon King Gu Yuena.
She didn't look at Yang Teng, who was in a sorry state not far away. Her gaze immediately locked onto the source of the murderous, dark-red aura.
Without a word or the slightest hesitation, Gu Yuena raised her slender, fair right hand and made a grasping motion in Tang Hao's direction.
"Elemental Tide!"
This time, the attack was more concentrated, more violent, and far more precisely targeted!
Nor was she using the Soul King cultivation she'd displayed in the tournament.
The space within a hundred-foot radius of Tang Hao suddenly boiled! Water, fire, lightning, and wind—four utterly different elements—formed a swirling vortex under Gu Yuena's will, with almost overbearing force.
Tang Hao grunted. He felt an immense torrent of elemental energy press in from all sides. Soul Power automatically surged to protect him, and a thick, dark-red glow flared around his body like armor, keeping the elements at bay.
Only then did Gu Yuena turn her head slightly and glance at Yang Teng, who was clutching his chest. Blood stained the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were alarmingly bright.
"Are you all right?"
The moment Yang Teng saw her, the weakness on his face from his injury vanished, replaced by a radiant smile.
"Ow, it hurts so much... Xiao Na, how about you heal me? The kind with kisses and hugs and being carried around?"
Gu Yuena ignored him completely. She didn't withdraw her raised hand or dispel the Elemental Tide. Instead, dozens of sharp ice spikes instantly formed around the vortex's outer edge.
Then, searing flames ignited out of nowhere behind the spikes and blasted backward, giving them a second burst of speed!
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...!
Dozens of streaks of light woven from ice and fire shrieked through the air and plunged into the still-raging elemental vortex, aiming straight for Tang Hao, trapped inside!
Yang Teng watched with shining eyes and couldn't help muttering, his voice brimming with pride and a strange, heartfelt satisfaction: "Awesome! That elemental control, that combat sense—she really is the Gu Yuena I used to stay up late following! Tsk, this wife... ah, no, this bodyguard—I definitely picked right!"
His voice was quiet, but the three people present all had extraordinary senses. How could they not hear him?
A faint blush flashed across Gu Yuena's cool, pretty face, then disappeared in an instant.
"Roar!!!"
A furious roar exploded from the center of the chaotic elemental vortex!
Tang Hao's hair was disheveled, his robes torn, and blood trickled from the corner of his mouth. Clearly, he hadn't escaped the Elemental Tide and the combined ice-and-fire attack unscathed.
His eyes fixed on Gu Yuena, burning with intense fighting spirit.
Alas! If Tang Hao had known Gu Yuena was a god, he would have had every reason to be proud, even if it cost him his life.
"Great Sumeru Hammer!"
Tang Hao growled. The Clear Sky Hammer's true form radiated a terrifying pressure, forcing back the turbulent elemental currents around him.
"Good! Very good!"
Tang Hao's voice was hoarse, his anger tightly suppressed.
"I never expected you to be a Super Douluo hiding your true strength! With power like yours, you disguised yourself to enter an Elite Tournament for a bunch of youngsters and bully the juniors... Aren't you ashamed?!"
Tang Hao judged Gu Yuena to be a Super Douluo. Anyone who could trap him with ease and force him to use the Clear Sky Hammer's true form and the Great Sumeru Hammer technique to break free had to be beyond an ordinary Titled Douluo.
"Huh?"
Yang Teng laughed aloud. Rubbing his forehead, he gave Tang Hao a helpless look that said, "You're beyond saving."
"Clear Sky Douluo—Uncle Tang Hao—your eyesight... What a waste of your cultivation and reputation."
"Super Douluo? Who exactly are you insulting?"
The mockery in Yang Teng's voice practically spilled over.
Gu Yuena's expression had already turned completely grim when Tang Hao mentioned the "tournament for youngsters."
His words had hit her sore spot squarely.
"Xiao Na, beat the crap out of him! Show him what it means to—"
Yang Teng hadn't finished speaking when a clear dragon's roar rang out! Gu Yuena gripped the Silver Dragon Spear in her hand!
Her figure vanished on the spot, leaving behind only a silver afterimage.
In the next instant, she appeared before Tang Hao. The Silver Dragon Spear became a streak of silver light that tore through the night, thrusting straight for his throat! Faint ripples lingered in space wherever the spearpoint passed.
Tang Hao's heart jolted. He hadn't expected her to go straight for the kill without a word, and her speed made her extremely difficult to deal with.
Against Tang Hao's powerful Clear Sky Hammer and his use of the Clear Sky Secret Manual, Gu Yuena handled the Silver Dragon Spear with effortless ease. In just three or four exchanges, Tang Hao was beaten back.
As the saying went, an inch more reach meant an inch more strength!
"What?!"
Tang Hao was horrified. When he had first become a Titled Douluo, he had defeated three Super Douluo in succession. Yet now, facing just one opponent, he couldn't gain the slightest advantage.
"Pfft!"
Tang Hao lowered his head, unable to believe what he saw: a section of gleaming silver spearhead had pierced through his chest. The cold touch and searing pain struck him at the same time.
The Clear Sky Hammer he had once prided himself on now hung limply on the ground, its body covered in fine cracks, as if it might shatter at any moment!
Gu Yuena had pinned Tang Hao to the trunk of a towering ancient tree, one so broad that several people would have needed to join hands to encircle it. He hung there like a specimen on a pin!
Tang Hao gritted his teeth in bitter resentment. He found that the Soul Power within him was as hard to move as if it had frozen, while an overwhelmingly domineering force from the spearpoint running through his body viciously ravaged his life force.
"You're... a Limit Douluo?!"
Tang Hao struggled to lift his head and look at the cool, breathtakingly beautiful face before him. His voice was hoarse with pain and utter shock.
To defeat him so easily was no feat a Super Douluo could achieve, Tang Hao knew. Only a level-ninety-nine Limit Douluo, standing at the pinnacle of Soul Masters, could do that!
Gu Yuena didn't answer. She merely stared at him coldly, as if he were a bug she could crush at any moment.
She tilted her head slightly and looked at Yang Teng as he walked over. A clear note of displeasure colored her violet eyes, and her voice turned colder.
"Why didn't you let me kill him?"
Yang Teng walked up beside Gu Yuena and gently patted her shoulder, soothing her.
"Don't rush, Xiao Na. What fun would it be to kill him?"
"Let him live and watch with his own eyes as his precious son takes one step after another toward despair, losing everything he holds dear. Just thinking about it makes me happy."
"Sometimes, death is a relief."
Gu Yuena furrowed her brow but didn't argue.
She pursed her lips and turned away, apparently still angry about what Tang Hao had said earlier—or perhaps about something else.
After a few seconds of silence, she suddenly asked in a very low, slightly awkward voice, "By the way, you... how old did you say you were?"
Her sudden question caught Yang Teng off guard. He scratched his head and thought for a moment.
"Ah~ By our dragon clan's reckoning, about... six or seven, I guess? Why?"
"Six or seven?!"
Gu Yuena's heart gave a sharp squeeze. A remarkably complicated emotion flickered through her violet eyes, tinged with astonishment.
Her cheeks flushed crimson. Unable to help herself, she muttered under her breath, so softly that it was almost inaudible:
"Th-this is no different from being with a baby..."
Yang Teng didn't catch what she muttered. Seeing her strange expression, he didn't give it much thought.
His attention returned to Tang Hao, who was on the verge of death.
Yang Teng stepped forward and crouched down, meeting Tang Hao's bloodshot eyes, full of fury and resentment. A smile of pure malice and mockery spread across his face.
"Clear Sky Douluo, get well soon."
"Consider today a little gift to welcome you. In the days to come, keep your eyes wide open and watch closely."
Yang Teng suddenly remembered something.
"Your Tang San has that little sister, Xiao Wu, he's always thinking about, doesn't he? Will her identity as a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast make it through Spirit Hall's scrutiny unscathed?"
Watching Tang Hao's pupils contract, revealing the shock and fear he could no longer conceal, Yang Teng straightened up with satisfaction and brushed imaginary dust from his hands.
"Let's wait and see."
"Best tell your son to quit the Elite Tournament. Otherwise, it'd be such a shame if I couldn't brag about it to anyone later!"
Before you continue