Fury

Crash.

Thick smoke billowed as teachers within the academy scrambled to evacuate the students. Every so often, they would glance up in terror at the corner of the teaching building, which was collapsing with a thunderous roar, much like a stack of wooden blocks.

The falling debris slammed into the training grounds, kicking up a dense cloud of dust.

Amidst the smoke, Yu Xiaogang flew out and crashed heavily onto the ground, rolling several times. The excruciating pain, as if his entire body had been dismantled, jolted the unconscious Yu Xiaogang awake.

"Ugh..."

A painful whimper escaped his lips, his features twisting in agony.

He shifted his body, struggling to prop up his upper torso. As he opened his eyes, he looked on in horror at the teaching building, now missing half its structure, and the tall figure crouching beside him.

Though he couldn't see the man's face clearly, after a brief moment of daze, Yu Xiaogang recognized the visitor with utter shock: his idol, Haotian Douluo.

Tang Hao raised a hand to wipe the blood from the corner of his mouth. His tattered cloak was riddled with new holes, its edges still smoldering with sparks.

"Your Excellency Haotian!? What happened to you?"

Yu Xiaogang stood up and asked in a panic.

The moment the words left his mouth, Yu Xiaogang froze in place once more.

He saw Tang Hao's chest heaving, his breathing ragged, and his stubbled face clouded with gloom. The faint, blood-red killing intent radiating from him made Yu Xiaogang feel dizzy, as if he were caught in a vortex.

Tang Hao's eyes were bloodshot. He didn't even look up, only gritting his teeth so hard that blood seeped from between them, forcing himself to suppress his old injuries.

"It is merely an old wound! That is not important!"

"How can it not be..."

Yu Xiaogang grew anxious instantly.

But before he could finish his sentence, he suddenly paused. His eyes widened, his pupils shrinking to the size of needlepoints, and he immediately leaned forward.

"Xiao San!"

Following Tang Hao's twisted, furious gaze, he saw it. Hidden beneath the cover of that tattered cloak, Tang San lay in his arms, covered in blood and unconscious.

The explosion had been too sudden, and Tang San had been too close. Even though Tang Hao had disregarded his own internal injuries to save them, something had still gone wrong.

Yu Xiaogang's hands trembled as he carefully felt Tang San's neck. Only after confirming that there was still a pulse did he collapse to the ground, limp with relief.

He was still alive...

As long as he was alive...

Just then, Tang Hao shoved the unconscious Tang San into Yu Xiaogang's arms, stood up slowly, and spoke in a chilling tone.

"Take Xiao San and leave, now!"

"Your Excellency Haotian, what about you?"

Yu Xiaogang looked up, bewildered.

He saw Tang Hao's face darken. The man slowly raised his hand and slammed it heavily against his own chest. With a loud boom, dark red blood sprayed from Tang Hao's nose and mouth!

Yu Xiaogang was even more confused. He wanted to offer words of comfort, but he didn't know how to begin.

Yet, after spitting out that stagnant blood, Tang Hao straightened his back. His breathing smoothed out in an instant; that single strike had actually managed to temporarily disperse the blood congestion in his chest!

His gloomy gaze swept across the surroundings.

Beneath the rolling black smoke, the building before him revealed a hideous, jagged wound.

Amidst the broken walls and ruins, flames flickered, and books were blown into shreds, but there was no sign of the figure who should have been there. The opponent hadn't displayed a martial soul, had even kept their soul rings completely hidden, and had used self-created soul skills that he had never seen before.

The opponent had likely used a soul skill to create a clone. Based on the information currently available, it was impossible to guess the identity of the mastermind behind this.

But in Tang Hao's heart, a faint suspicion toward someone began to take root.

It was also a clone, and it also possessed multiple self-created soul skills.

This guess was supported by no evidence; one could even call it a leap of logic riddled with holes. Any calm and wise person would never make such an absurd judgment, but Tang Hao was a brute driven entirely by rage and raw power.

For the currently enraged Tang Hao, mere suspicion was enough to pass a death sentence on Naruto!

Tang Hao spat out two words with heavy emphasis!

"Revenge!"

Boom!

A blood-red figure tore through the sky.

Like a bolt of lightning from a clear blue sky, he slammed heavily into a small courtyard on the outskirts of Nuoding City.

The earth trembled. Amidst the rising dust, the soil in the garden, where greenery had been planted, cracked and shattered, blasted into a massive crater!

Tang Hao stood up slowly and stepped out of the pit. The blood-red killing intent rising from his body almost solidified into substance, shrouding him completely. His expression was dark and unreadable, save for his blood-red eyes, which were wide and trembling with shock.

As far as the eye could see, the entire courtyard was empty; the inhabitants had long since fled.

This scene could not be explained away as a coincidence.

His fists clenched violently, cracking and popping.

Bang!!

A deafening roar erupted as the ground collapsed. The entire small courtyard crumbled into the dust and smoke, sinking into the earth until it vanished from sight.

The surrounding residents huddled together, watching the scene in terror. Before anyone could even scream, a monstrous, blood-red killing intent surged from the depths of the massive crater, shooting straight into the heavens!

In the blink of an eye, the entire Nuoding City was stained a deep, blood-red by that murderous aura!

The Killing God Domain, unleashed at full power!

Terrifying beyond measure!

"Dare to harm my son! I shall ensure you can neither live nor die!"

A blood-curdling roar echoed over Nuoding City. Those who still maintained consciousness looked up, staring at that pillar of blood-red light.

A figure wreathed in blood-colored flames soared into the air, trailing a thunderous sonic boom. Creating several circular shockwaves, the figure abruptly tore through the clouds, streaking across the horizon and vanishing at the edge of sight!

At the Spirit Hall branch, the bearded Spirit Master collapsed onto the doorstep, his expression dazed. He seemed to have recognized that Title Douluo.

Haotian Douluo, Tang Hao...

And for some reason, he recalled a strange incident that had occurred earlier that morning...

Snap!

Under the cover of night, a bright flame flickered. It was rare to see travelers spending the night in the wilderness like this. The campfire crackled and popped. Naruto, having run for the better part of the day, sat slumped beside the fire, gasping for breath.

He gulped down several cups of water to soothe his smoking throat.

Only then did Naruto feel like he had come back to life, the thick taste of blood in his mouth gradually fading away.

Unable to fly, he had relied entirely on his own two feet. In this short half-day, Naruto had carried his heavy luggage and sprinted for his life, covering several hundred kilometers.

To avoid being caught, he had specifically taken these obscure, dense forest trails. The journey had nearly cost him his life.

"This distance should be safe, right?"

Wiping the water from the corner of his mouth, Naruto asked.

"Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what a Title Douluo is?"

Bibi Dong frowned, her tense, beautiful face still not relaxed. While manipulating her pure spiritual power to scout the surroundings, she retorted, "At this distance, how long would it take for a Title Douluo who can fly? Half an incense stick's time?"

"Stop, stop, I already know how badass a Title Douluo is."

Naruto raised his hands in helpless surrender.

After his Shadow Clone dissipated, the memories returned to his main body. He had experienced firsthand the immense pressure released by that Title Douluo.

Over these past four years, the Body Flicker Technique and Shurikenjutsu that Naruto had acquired by witnessing a few minor events were no different from those of a three-year-old child in front of a Title Douluo. He figured the seven Explosive Tags he had used at the end hadn't even scratched Tang Hao.

As a result, even now, having fled hundreds of kilometers away, he was still trembling with fear, worried that a desperate Tang Hao would catch up to him.

Naruto stood up slowly and gazed into the distance. He wasn't looking back toward Nuoding City, but rather toward the horizon ahead, which was submerged in the night.

He did not find the figure he had been expecting.

"Calculating the time, it should be about right, shouldn't it?"