Rage

Crash!

Thick smoke billowed as the teachers on campus evacuated the students, glancing up in terror from time to time. The corner of the teaching building was collapsing with a roar, like a tower of blocks!

The collapsing building crashed onto the Training Ground, kicking up a thick cloud of dust!

Yu Xiaogang flew out of the smoke and slammed into the ground, rolling several times. His whole body felt as if it had been torn apart by pain, and the agony wrenched him awake.

"Ugh..."

A pained groan escaped Yu Xiaogang's mouth as his features twisted with pain.

He shifted, struggling to prop up his upper body. When he opened his eyes, he was horrified to see that half the teaching building had vanished—and beside him stood a towering figure who had been crouching on the ground.

He couldn't see the man's face clearly, but after a brief daze, Yu Xiaogang recognized him, his idol: Clear Sky Douluo.

Tang Hao raised a hand and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth. His tattered cloak had several new holes in it, with sparks still clinging to the edges.

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

Yu Xiaogang scrambled to his feet and asked in alarm.

As soon as the words left his mouth, Yu Xiaogang froze again.

Tang Hao's chest heaved, his breathing ragged. A dark cloud hung over his stubbled face, and the bloody killing intent faintly radiating from him made Yu Xiaogang's head spin, as if he were caught in a whirlpool.

Tang Hao's eyes were bloodshot. Without even raising his head, he clenched his teeth hard. Blood seeped between them as he forcibly suppressed his old injuries.

"It's just an old injury! That doesn't matter!"

"How can that not—"

Yu Xiaogang immediately grew anxious,

but before he could finish, he suddenly stopped. His eyes slowly widened, his pupils shrinking to pinpoints, and he instantly bent down and leaned closer.

"Xiao San!"

Following Tang Hao's twisted, furious gaze, Yu Xiaogang saw Tang San in his arms, concealed beneath his tattered cloak. Tang San was covered in blood and unconscious.

The explosion had come too suddenly, and Tang San had been too close. Even though Tang Hao had disregarded his old injuries and acted decisively to save them both, something had still gone wrong.

With trembling hands, Yu Xiaogang carefully felt Tang San's neck. Only after confirming that Tang San still had a pulse did he collapse onto the ground, his whole body going limp as he silently breathed a sigh of relief.

He was still alive...

As long as he was alive...

Just then, Tang Hao placed the unconscious Tang San in Yu Xiaogang's arms, then slowly rose to his feet, his voice cold and ominous.

"Take Xiao San and leave. Now!"

"His Excellency Haotian, what about you?"

Yu Xiaogang looked up in bewilderment.

But Tang Hao's face was dark as he slowly raised a hand and slammed it into his own chest. With a thunderous boom, dark red blood sprayed from his mouth and nose!

Yu Xiaogang was even more confused. He wanted to talk him out of it, but had no idea what to say.

After spitting out that mouthful of stagnant blood, Tang Hao straightened his back, and his breathing became smooth in an instant. That punch had actually dispersed the blood congested in his chest—for the moment.

His gloomy gaze swept over the surroundings,

where the building before him revealed a hideous wound beneath the billowing black smoke.

Among the broken walls and rubble lay books blasted to bits, their pages fluttering in the flames. But a certain figure who should have been there was nowhere to be seen. His opponent hadn't revealed their Martial Soul, and had kept even their Spirit Rings hidden. Every Soul Skill they had used was an unfamiliar Self-Created Soul Skill.

The opponent might have created a clone using a Soul Skill. With only the information at hand, guessing the identity of the mastermind was plainly impossible.

Yet in Tang Hao's heart, suspicion had quietly settled on someone.

A clone, and multiple Self-Created Soul Skills.

There was no evidence to support this suspicion. It was a wild, flimsy leap of logic. No one sufficiently calm and clearheaded would make such an absurd judgment, but Tang Hao was a brute driven entirely by anger and muscle.

To Tang Hao, consumed by rage, suspicion alone was enough to sentence Naruto to death!

Tang Hao spat out two words with force!

"Revenge!"

Boom!

A blood-red figure tore through the sky,

crashing down like a thunderclap into a small courtyard on the outskirts of Nuoding City.

The earth trembled. In the cloud of dust, the garden soil beneath the greenery split apart, leaving a huge crater!

Tang Hao slowly rose to his feet and stepped out of the crater. Blood-red killing intent surged from him, nearly solid, cloaking his entire body. His expression was dark and unreadable; only his blood-red eyes could be seen, glaring wide as his pupils quaked.

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

There was no way to explain this scene as a coincidence.

His fists clenched with a crackling sound.

Boom!!

With a thunderous crash, the ground collapsed. The entire courtyard caved in beneath a cloud of dust, then sank underground and vanished.

The surrounding residents huddled together, staring at the sight in terror. Before anyone could scream, a vast tide of blood-red killing intent erupted from the crater, surging straight into the heavens!

In the blink of an eye, blood-red killing intent had dyed all of Nuoding City crimson!

The Divine Slaughter's Domain, unleashed at full force!

Terrifying!

"You dared hurt my son! I'll make sure you wish you were dead—and beg for the chance to die!"

His blood-curdling roar echoed above Nuoding City. Those still conscious looked up at the blood-red pillar of light.

A figure wreathed in blood-red flames shot into the sky. With a thunderous sonic boom, it kicked up several rings of air, tore through the clouds, streaked across the heavens, and disappeared beyond the horizon!

At the Spirit Hall Branch, the bearded Spirit Master slumped onto the steps at the entrance, dazed. He thought he had recognized that Titled Douluo.

Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao...

And for some reason, he recalled the strange thing that had happened that morning...

Pop!

Beneath the night sky, a flicker of firelight shone. Travelers who spent the night outdoors were a rare sight, and the campfire crackled as it burned. Naruto, who had been running for most of the day, was sprawled beside it, panting heavily.

After gulping down several cups of water to soothe his smoke-parched throat,

Naruto finally felt alive again. The thick taste of blood in his mouth slowly faded.

He couldn't fly, so he had to rely entirely on his legs. In just half a day, Naruto had carried his heavy luggage and run for his life for hundreds of kilometers.

To avoid being caught, he had taken obscure forest trails that few people knew about. The journey had nearly killed him.

"This should be far enough to be safe, right?"

Naruto wiped the water from the corner of his mouth and asked.

"Do you have some misunderstanding about Titled Douluo?"

Bibi Dong furrowed her brows. Her tense, pretty face still hadn't relaxed. As she used her refined mental power to scout the surroundings, she replied without patience, "How long would it take a Titled Douluo who can fly to cover a distance like this? Half an incense stick?"

"Enough, enough. I know how amazing Titled Douluo are now."

Naruto raised his hands in surrender, helpless.

After a Shadow Clone disappeared, its memories returned to the original. He had experienced firsthand the immense pressure released by a Titled Douluo.

Over the past four years, Naruto had gained Body Flicker Technique and Shurikenjutsu by witnessing a few minor events. In front of a Titled Douluo, those were no better than the tricks of a three-year-old. And his last seven Explosive Tags probably wouldn't have hurt Tang Hao either.

So now, even though he had already fled hundreds of kilometers away, he was still on edge, worried that Tang Hao might come after him in desperation.

Naruto slowly stood up and gazed into the distance—not toward Nuoding City behind them, but toward the horizon ahead, shrouded in night.

The figure he had hoped to see was nowhere in sight.

"By my reckoning, it should be about time, right?"