Tang Hao Spits Blood

A wild wind howled through the forest clearing, Soul Power rampaging madly. The terrifying pressure of a rank ninety-five Title Douluo shrouded the area, and the thick, heavy air locked the entire battlefield in place. Tang Hao's assault did not pause in the slightest; his domineering, bone-chilling hammer technique came in an unbroken chain, completely sealing off every path Qin Chuan could use to dodge.

Tang Hao did not stop.

The third hammer, the fourth hammer, the fifth hammer.

The rhythm of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer grew faster and faster, each strike stacking more power on top of the one before it. In his forty-meter giant state, Tang Hao's figure was so nimble that it did not match his enormous size at all.

Hammer shadows swept like the wind, one blow after another, each angle tricky, each strike astonishingly powerful.

Qin Chuan was being pressed back.

His Zhu Xian Sword blocked hammer after hammer, but every parry forced him back a step. The muscles in his arms screamed with tearing pain, and his bones hummed from the shock.

Seven hammers, eight hammers—the ninth hammer had arrived!

"Nine Returns to One!"

Tang Hao let out a violent shout, and all the power accumulated through the previous eight hammers poured into this final strike.

On the head of the Clear Sky Hammer, the dark-red light swelled tenfold, and the air, compressed by its power, let out an ear-piercing shriek.

One hammer came smashing down from directly above toward the top of Qin Chuan's head.

Qin Chuan did not block.

He knew this hammer could not be blocked. The final form after eighty-one stacked hammers carried a power that had already exceeded the limit of what he could withstand head-on.

"Shinra Tensei!" Qin Chuan thrust his left hand upward.

An invisible repulsive force exploded from his palm, meeting the descending Clear Sky Hammer head-on.

Boom!!

It was as if a gash had been torn open between heaven and earth.

Repulsion and hammer force collided in midair, and the shock wave spread in every direction. Within a hundred-meter radius, the ground sank a full meter all at once, and every tree that had not yet fallen shattered into wood chips in that instant.

Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer was rebounded.

It was not flung away completely, but its downward momentum had been forcibly stopped. The hammerhead hung suspended three meters above Qin Chuan's head for an instant, then was pushed several meters upward by the repulsive force.

Tang Hao's entire figure swayed.

A rebounding force came through his arms, stronger than the feeling of striking rock.

"What?" Tang Hao's expression changed.

Tang Hao had not expected this hammer to be bounced back.

The Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer's Nine Returns to One was the Clear Sky Sect's supreme hammer technique. The power of its final strike was enough to severely injure a Title Douluo of the same level.

Yet it had been blocked by a rank 71 Soul Sage.

Though the other party had not used pure Soul Power to block it, but some strange repulsive force, the result was still the result. This hammer had failed to achieve anything.

Tang Hao steadied himself, his enormous head lowering as he examined Qin Chuan below.

Qin Chuan was not in good shape either.

He had poured a large amount of Heavenly Dao Power into that Shinra Tensei just now. Although he had successfully deflected the final hammer of Nine Returns to One, the aftermath of the clash between repulsion and hammer force had also shaken his organs until they churned. A coppery sweetness rose in his mouth, and he forced it back down.

He could not let Tang Hao see the truth of his condition.

Qin Chuan steadied his body and raised the giant sword horizontally before him again.

Tang Hao did not immediately press the attack. He was observing.

Three years ago, this young man had used a Soul Skill that could turn through memories. Today, another kind of repulsive force capable of bouncing away the Clear Sky Hammer had appeared. None of these methods seemed like they fell within the normal scope of Soul Skills.

"Could this be the true secret of Yuze Village?" Tang Hao spoke.

Qin Chuan did not answer.

In his Samsara Eye, the Six Paths Purple Rings were slowly rotating.

"It doesn't matter." Tang Hao's tone turned cold. "The dead don't need to explain."

Tang Hao moved.

This time, he did not use the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer. Instead, he pushed forward directly with a single horizontal hammer strike, moving with extreme speed. The hammerhead was like a dark-red meteor as it slammed straight toward Qin Chuan's chest.

Qin Chuan shifted his body to the left, and the edge of the giant sword drew an arc from below, slicing toward Tang Hao's extended arm.

"Sword Intent!" A fifty-meter gray sword shadow flew out, skimming along Tang Hao's arm.

Tang Hao did not dodge. His skin itself was the best armor, and the physical toughness of a rank ninety-five Martial Soul Avatar was not something an ordinary attack could break.

But when the sword shadow swept across his forearm, Tang Hao's brow twitched.

It hurt.

Not the kind of pain from a mosquito bite, but the real sensation of being cut by a blade. He lowered his head and looked at his arm. A shallow white mark had appeared on the dark-red skin, and at the center of that white mark, a thread of blood seeped out.

The killing aura of the Zhu Xian Sword, amplified by the Martial Soul Avatar, could actually break through his defense.

Though it was only a superficial wound, it was already enough for Tang Hao to take seriously.

"Interesting." Tang Hao's voice sank. He stopped testing Qin Chuan, and the third Soul Ring of the Clear Sky Hammer lit up.

Third Spirit Ability, Mountain Collapse!

Tang Hao raised his hammer and smashed it into the ground.

Rumble!

The ground across the entire area seemed to have been flipped over by a giant. Within a radius of two hundred meters, the earth shook violently, cracks spreading from beneath Tang Hao's feet as whole slabs of ground heaved up and shattered.

The ground beneath Qin Chuan's feet was collapsing too. His body swayed out of control, his center of gravity thrown off.

In that instant, Tang Hao's hammer was already there.

So fast that even the Samsara Eye only caught a blur.

Qin Chuan grinned. "Fourth Spirit Ability, Memory Kill!"

An invisible mental wave burst out instantly, drilling precisely into Tang Hao's mind and tearing madly at his most precious memories.

Under the bright moonlight, two figures sitting side by side in the forest appeared—night breeze, chirping insects, gentle laughter, and Ah Yin's smiling face, clear beyond compare, seizing Tang Hao's mind completely.

His gaze suddenly grew dazed, and the Soul Power around him loosened in an instant. He knew this was a lethal illusion, but the obsession and yearning deep in his heart made him unwilling to break free from this brief warmth.

Seizing the split second when Tang Hao lost himself and froze, Qin Chuan poured out every last bit of Soul Power and mental strength in his body, driving his Sword Intent with all his might.

"Sword Intent!"

The pitch-black spirit ring flared blindingly. Three fifty-meter gray sword shadows condensed in midair, sealing off the entire area from above, center, and below. Their angles were vicious, airtight, completely cutting off every space Tang Hao had to dodge or defend. Bone-piercing sword pressure crushed down, killing intent surging to the heavens.

The ultimate crisis finally shattered the illusion. Tang Hao snapped awake, breaking free of the mental shackles in an instant.

But the three sword shadows were already upon him. There was no avoiding them! In haste, he swung the Clear Sky Hammer in a sweeping arc, forcibly blocking the middle and lower sword shadows, but in the end, he was too late to stop the fatal strike above his head.

With a sharp slash, the keen sword shadow cut precisely across Tang Hao's left shoulder, the chilling Sword Intent tearing through the outer defenses of his Martial Soul Avatar and sinking deep into flesh and blood.

"Hiss!"

Tang Hao sucked in a breath of cold air. A hideous wound three meters long appeared, and hot crimson blood gushed out, slowly dripping down his massive body.

This time, Tang Hao's expression turned completely grave.

The wound was being continuously eroded by tyrannical Sword Intent. The pain was intense, and the self-healing speed of his flesh was cut directly in half.

A level 71 Soul Sage had not only broken through the Martial Soul Avatar defense of a Title Douluo like him, but had truly wounded him badly. This combat power had long since completely overturned his understanding.

Tang Hao raised his eyes toward Qin Chuan, who had pulled back and steadied himself, his voice low and solemn. "What is your name?"

Holding the Zhu Xian Sword, Qin Chuan stood tall and faced the renowned Clear Sky Douluo head-on, his tone calm. "Qin Chuan."

Tang Hao fell silent for two seconds, complex emotions intertwining in his eyes, then slowly said, "Qin Chuan. Mm. You are an opponent worthy of respect."

His words were calm, as if praising a junior, but his next sentence instantly froze the air over the entire ruin, the chill cutting to the bone.

"Good. On this day next year, I'll visit your grave."