Tang Hao: What More Do You Want From Me?

Crack!

The sound of bones breaking was clear and piercing.

"Ah—!"

Tang Hao let out a miserable scream, awakened from unconsciousness by the pain.

His eyes flew open. His pupils were unfocused, cold sweat covered his face, and he gasped for breath.

"Who... who is it?!"

His gaze swept over the surroundings. When he saw Yang Jian and Yue Guan, images of the previous battle flashed through his mind, and his face instantly turned deathly pale.

He remembered.

He had lost.

Lost to a Soul King he had never taken seriously.

Tang Hao instinctively tried to flee, bracing himself against the ground as he attempted to crawl up.

But his injuries were too severe. Every bone in his body felt as though it had fallen apart, and he could not muster any strength at all.

After struggling twice, he collapsed again, like a fish flung onto the shore.

Watching Tang Hao's miserable state, Yang Jian curled his lips into a mocking smile. He turned to Yue Guan, his tone as casual as if they were chatting about household matters.

"Look, our Clear Sky Douluo is scared." He lifted his chin, signaling Yue Guan to look at Tang Hao's expression. "Look at those little eyes. They truly suit a homeless dog like him."

Yue Guan laughed along, his voice full of derision.

"That's right. A homeless dog should look like a homeless dog—just like an actual dog."

Tang Hao trembled with rage at their words.

He was Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo, the youngest Titled Douluo on the continent. When had he ever suffered such humiliation?

"Kill me or torture me, do as you please," he said through gritted teeth, each word deliberate. The fury in his eyes nearly burst forth. "But don't expect to hear me beg for mercy!"

Yang Jian shook his head, the smile on his face unchanged.

"No, no, no." He crouched down until he was level with Tang Hao. "How could I possibly kill the Clear Sky Douluo?"

Tang Hao froze.

Yang Jian's smile deepened.

"I merely want you to fulfill your promise."

Tang Hao frowned. "What promise?"

"You said it yourself not long ago." Yang Jian drew out his words, his tone tinged with amusement. "If I survived today, then you wouldn't be a man."

"Have you forgotten?"

Tang Hao's pupils abruptly widened.

He finally understood what Yang Jian intended to do.

A chill rose from his spine and instantly spread through his entire body.

He stared at Yang Jian with wide eyes. The fury in them was replaced by fear, and every trace of color drained from his face.

He wanted to run.

His fierce desire to survive made him unleash the last of his strength at that moment.

With both hands against the ground, he desperately crawled backward.

Seeing this, Yang Jian lightly kicked a small stone away.

His strength was too great.

The instant the pebble shot out, it broke the sound barrier, blasting a ring of white sonic-boom clouds through the air.

The stone struck precisely between Tang Hao's legs.

"Ah—!"

Tang Hao released an inhuman scream. His body curled up like a shrimp as he clutched himself below and rolled wildly across the ground.

Tears streamed from his eyes.

He did not dare look. He did not dare confirm whether that part of him was still there.

Seeing Tang Hao in such a state, Yang Jian showed a regretful expression and sighed.

"Looks like I still need to work on my accuracy. I was just a little off."

"Let's try again."

His gaze fell to the ground as he searched for suitable ammunition.

Soon, he spotted a fist-sized stone. Bending down, he picked it up and weighed it in his hand.

"This thing's pretty big," Yang Jian muttered to himself. "Even if my aim is still a little off this time, it probably won't miss."

When Tang Hao heard that, he completely broke down.

He could feel that although that part of him was still there, it had already been smashed into a bloody mess.

If Yang Jian did it again...

He would truly lose the right to call himself a man forever.

"No... don't!"

Tang Hao's voice, distorted by fear and the devastating blow he had just suffered, no longer sounded like a man's. Tears and snot mixed together as he cut an utterly pathetic figure.

He stretched out one hand toward Yang Jian, grasping weakly through the air as though reaching for a lifeline.

"Please... spare me... spare me!"

His voice grew quieter and quieter, until it was almost a whimper.

The once-unrivaled Clear Sky Douluo, the peerless powerhouse who had once gravely wounded Pope Qian Xunji with a single hammer strike, now lay on the ground like a homeless dog, begging Yang Jian for mercy.

Yang Jian smiled.

Yue Guan smiled as well.

They both laughed with particular satisfaction.

"Oh, my, my." Yue Guan stepped forward and looked down at Tang Hao, his voice brimming with mockery. "What happened to the once-unrivaled Clear Sky Douluo? You're actually begging for mercy now?"

The smile on his face carried a trace of cruelty.

"Who was it that was shouting about killing us and wanted us dead just moments ago?" He shook his head. "And yet, how long has it been? Now you're wagging your tail and begging us for pity?"

Tang Hao's expression was ugly beyond measure. The rage in his chest nearly burned him to ashes.

But he did not dare lash out, did not dare argue back, and did not even dare look at Yue Guan.

His life was still in these two men's hands.

The corners of Yang Jian's lips rose slightly as he casually threw out the fist-sized stone.

The stone whistled through the air and once again struck its target with perfect accuracy.

This time, there was no deviation whatsoever.

"Ah—!"

Tang Hao screamed even more miserably than before. He curled into a ball, his entire body twitching as he hunched over like a shrimp.

He could clearly feel that part of him had been completely ruined.

He could no longer be considered a man.

Pain, humiliation, fear, rage... countless emotions intertwined, nearly driving him mad.

But he did not dare get angry.

He could not die yet.

Enduring the intense pain, Tang Hao spoke in a broken voice, as though forcing the words out through clenched teeth.

"Now... is that enough?" He gasped heavily, not a trace of color left on his face. "You've already... gotten what you wanted... made me become..."

He paused. No matter what, he could not say that word.

"Shouldn't you... let me go now?"

Yang Jian looked at Tang Hao without speaking.

Tang Hao lay facedown on the ground, not daring to raise his head or look at Yang Jian's expression.

His body trembled.

Whether from pain or fear, he did not know.

He hated them.

Hated them to the extreme.

He had never suffered such humiliation in his life.

But he could not die. He could not die like this.

He still had to take revenge on Spirit Hall, still had to train Little Three, still had to lead the Clear Sky Sect to rise again.

As long as he could live, what did a little humiliation matter?

This was called knowing when to bend and when to stand tall.

Once he recovered from his injuries and broke through to the Limit Douluo rank, every person in Spirit Hall would die.

Those two bastards before him had to suffer far worse than he had today.

A hundred times worse. A thousand times worse!

Yue Guan looked at Tang Hao and suddenly laughed.

"Tang Hao, you need to be tougher. Just like before—pick up your Clear Sky Hammer and keep fighting."

"After all, you can't throw away your fighting spirit just to stay alive, right?"

Tang Hao ground his teeth so hard they creaked, but he did not answer.

Yang Jian looked at Tang Hao and slowly spoke.

"Respected Clear Sky Douluo." His voice was not loud, yet it was like a knife carving into Tang Hao's heart again and again. "Tell me, when you beg for mercy, shouldn't you at least have the right attitude?"

"You call this begging for mercy?"

Tang Hao's face flushed red with anger.

His face had been deathly pale from excessive blood loss.

But now it was red enough to drip blood.

"You already made me no longer a man... you cut off my left foot... and the injuries you inflicted on me won't heal in three to five years..."

"What more do you want from me?!"