After the Battle

The surging air currents raged, converging from all directions and coalescing into form according to some pattern.

The sound waves produced by the friction in the air resembled the roar of a charging beast.

"Awoo~"

The gale gathered the air currents, taking on a distinct outline in the sky.

It was an enormous beast, four or five meters long, looking down on Tang Hao from above.

"A wolf?"

Before Tang Hao could think further, the phantom wolf launched a sudden attack with a whoosh.

Bang

The giant wolf opened its bloodied maw, surrounded by flowing wind elements.

Its mouth, whose teeth could faintly be made out, shattered the soul power of Heaven-Shattering Strike and charged forward with barely any loss of speed.

"It broke through my secret technique so easily?!" Tang Hao's eyes widened, filled with disbelief.

Even he felt a sense of dread at the power of heaven and earth coiling around that wolf.

"How could a mere Soul Master possess such power?!"

The enemy attack was already upon him. Tang Hao gathered strength in both hands around the Clear Sky Hammer as nine soul rings rose in succession.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple—four soul rings detonated at once, their energy pouring into the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Great Sumeru Hammer Secret Art."

"Ring Detonation."

The surging soul power tore through the darkness, dyeing the sky with a layer of gold.

Watching that lifelike emerald phantom from so close, Tang Hao had never imagined it could be so real.

"Damn it!"

Could this truly be achieved with a soul skill?

To condense and compress the power of nature, then wield it as one's own technique—even Bo Saixi would need to be at that level to accomplish it!

What gave that little brat the right?

The giant wolf's forepaw struck the Clear Sky Hammer. Its open jaws bit down on the hammer's handle, while the surging air currents around it withstood the force of detonating four soul rings in succession.

The two forces collided, their pressure forcing the sky low. Deafening noise filled the air as violent auras swept outward.

The sky became a shifting blend of black and white.

"Damn it..." Tang Hao ground his teeth.

Did he really have to detonate his ten-thousand-year soul ring just to deal with a little girl?

"Tang Hao, the green mountains remain and the rivers flow on. We will meet again."

The giant wolf suddenly dissolved into gusts of fierce wind. The sweeping storm blasted Tang Hao hundreds of meters away.

"Pfft!" Tang Hao tasted sweetness in his throat and spat out several mouthfuls of blood.

His dark gaze turned toward the direction Xu Qianqian had left, his eyes full of wariness.

Meanwhile.

At a concealed spot a thousand meters away.

The moment Xu Qianqian landed, she staggered and braced herself against the ground with both hands.

"Cough, cough—" Crimson blood stained the grass beneath her a deep red.

Xu Qianqian wiped the corner of her mouth, her face pale.

"As expected, it was too much of a strain."

If she had another thirty levels, she might have been able to kill Tang Hao.

Her current body and mental strength could not support the manipulation of such an immense, shaped mass of wind-attributed primordial energy of heaven and earth.

"What a shame!"

Xu Qianqian looked at the Chronicle of Time in her hand—the Book of Wind form.

A large character for wind was emblazoned on it, and even its cover had turned emerald green.

"All the storm energy in Hurricane Valley has been used up. It will probably be difficult to gather more, let alone tame it again."

A skill with power comparable to a Titled Douluo's was like a temporary card.

"Forget it." Xu Qianqian swayed as she got to her feet. "Tang Hao is badly injured too. He probably won't have the strength to strike Notting City again."

Besides, the battle just now was enough to draw Spirit Hall's attention.

Given Tang Hao's personality, there was no need for him to keep fighting Notting City to the bitter end.

"I suppose I achieved my goal."

As for what happened to Notting City afterward, Xu Qianqian could not concern herself with it.

Any ties she had to Notting City had long vanished with the deaths of Xiao Yuanshan and Xiao Li.

She had only appeared so she could put her mind at ease—and perhaps see whether she could kill Tang Hao.

Sure enough, she had been too naive. Even with the wind-elemental energy of heaven and earth gathered from Hurricane Valley—

The burden of trying to kill a Titled Douluo was still beyond what she could bear at present.

"Ah! I managed to save him, but what am I supposed to do after this?"

Leaning against a nearby tree trunk, Xu Qianqian slowly sat down. Her breathing was quite ragged as her gaze drifted toward Xiao Chenyu, unconscious several meters away.

From the son of Notting City's lord to an ordinary Soul Master... she wondered whether he could accept it.

Perhaps, if not for the butterfly effect caused by her, the Xiao Family of Notting City would not have suffered such a calamity.

"There's no point thinking about that now." Xu Qianqian shook her head. Through her control over the wind, she had concealed both her and Xiao Chenyu's auras. With Tang Hao's abilities, it was unlikely he would find them.

"I should recover from my injuries first." Xu Qianqian sat cross-legged and began to meditate.

The reconstruction of her meridians and bones had utterly remade Xu Qianqian. Her body's receptiveness toward the energy of heaven and earth—especially wind elements—had reached an extremely terrifying level.

As her soul power gradually recovered, the pallor on Xu Qianqian's face faded, and a hint of color returned to her cheeks.

After an unknown amount of time, Xu Qianqian opened her eyes.

"If you're awake, get up!"

"Keeping your eyes shut and running away from reality won't accomplish anything."

A rustling sound came from beside her. The young man, who had been lying on the ground as though unconscious, opened his eyes, his expression filled with exhaustion.

His eyes were bloodshot, and tears still glimmered at their corners.

"Are you my sister?" Xiao Chenyu's voice trembled slightly, and he hardly dared to believe it.

Six years had clearly passed, yet the silver-haired girl before him looked exactly the same as she had six years ago, without the slightest change.

"Who else would nearly throw away her life to save you? That was a Titled Douluo standing at the peak of this continent. Do you think I had nothing better to do than pick a fight with someone like that?"

"Big Sis, it really is you..." Xiao Chenyu burst into tears.

A seventeen- or eighteen-year-old youth had lost every close relative he had in a single day, and had even witnessed their deaths with his own eyes. Even Xu Qianqian had no idea how to comfort him in such a situation.

Xu Qianqian remained silent, saying nothing as she quietly waited for him.

Ten minutes, twenty minutes...

At last, Xiao Chenyu stopped crying. In a voice still thick with sobs, he said, "Father, Mother, and Third Uncle are all dead. Everything is gone. I... what am I supposed to do?"

"Why would a Titled Douluo attack us?"

"Because he needed to conceal himself." Xu Qianqian sighed. "Actually, I told my adoptive father not to investigate Tang San's information. It seems he still did."

"Who exactly are Tang San and Tang Hao?" Xiao Chenyu clenched his fists, his body trembling. "You knew, didn't you? Otherwise, you wouldn't have told me to stay away from them back then."

"Do you know about the Seven Great Sects?"

"The Upper Three Sects and the Lower Four Sects?" Xiao Chenyu froze for a moment. As a Soul Master, it was impossible for him not to know about the sects second only to Spirit Hall, even if Notting City was just a small place.

"That's right." Xu Qianqian nodded.

"Tang Hao came from the Clear Sky Sect, the number one sect under heaven. He is the younger brother of Tang Xiao, the current sect master. His strength has reached Rank 95 Titled Douluo, and that Tang San should be his son."

"Because Tang Hao had become enemies with Spirit Hall, he was forced into seclusion. Therefore, he did not want anyone to know of his relationship with his son. Even the slightest sign of it could be snuffed out."

"You mean we became something that needed to be snuffed out?"

"That's right."

"Bastard!"

His fist slammed viciously into the ground, half of it sinking into the soil. Xiao Chenyu's whole body trembled.

"Tang Hao, Tang San—I, Xiao Chenyu, will never rest until I am dead with you!"