The Clear Sky Hammer Comes Down? Smash It Right Into My Face

The black light in Tang San's left hand grew denser and denser.

The air around them seemed to turn heavy. The first-year students could not bear the oppressive feeling and retreated one after another.

Yu Xiaogang stood outside the white circle, the color draining from his face in an instant.

Why had he arranged this instructional match? To prove to the entire school that Yu Xiaogang's theories were invincible! Even a useless martial soul like Blue Silver Grass could suppress a genius with innate rank-nine soul power under his guidance.

But what was Tang San doing now?

His Blue Silver Grass had been broken, so he immediately brought out his second martial soul?

If that hammer came down, Tang San would win, sure—but where would that leave Yu Xiaogang's pride? What would the teachers and students across the school think?

Oh, so the master's theories were only so-so. When he could not win, he still had to rely on another powerful martial soul.

"Tang San! The demonstration is over! Retract your martial soul!" Yu Xiaogang clutched the amplifying soul tool, his voice cracking.

Tang San turned a deaf ear.

There was only one thought in his mind.

He could not lose.

He absolutely could not lose in front of so many people to a blacksmith's son who did not even have a soul ring.

The Mysterious Heaven Technique circulated madly within his body, and the black light in Tang San's left hand finally took shape.

A tiny pitch-black hammer appeared in his palm.

The hammer was not large, but the moment it appeared, the wind on the training ground stopped.

Tang San gripped the hammer's handle with both hands, then explosively pushed off with his legs and leaped high into the air.

There was no fancy technique involved, only pure strength compounded with gravity.

The pitch-black iron hammer tore through the air with a piercing sonic boom as it smashed straight down at Chen Xuan.

Chen Xuan looked up at Tang San in midair.

So he was panicking already.

What happened to that promised Blue Silver Grass comeback?

Chen Xuan raised his right hand.

"Since you've even brought out your trump card."

"Then I'll show you something new too."

Dark golden light burst from Chen Xuan's palm.

It was blindingly bright.

This light bore none of a soul ring's colors, nor did it belong to any known classification of martial soul. It carried a suffocating sense of immense weight.

The light instantly covered Chen Xuan's right arm.

A crude, dark-golden metal claw appeared out of thin air, tightly encasing the back of his hand and his knuckles.

Epic-grade weapon, Earth-Splitting Claws.

Chen Xuan bent his right arm slightly, then swung a claw upward at the descending Clear Sky Hammer.

"Boom!"

A deafening, muffled blast erupted at the center of the training ground.

A shockwave swept across the ground with the two of them at its center.

Several students standing too close were directly blown off their feet.

Xiao Wu covered her ears and stared wide-eyed at the center of the field.

Dust billowed into the air.

It blocked everyone's view.

The amplifying soul tool fell from Yu Xiaogang's hand, letting out a piercing shriek.

He stared fixedly at the cloud of dust, praying frantically in his heart.

Tang San could not lose.

The Clear Sky Hammer was the number one weapon martial soul in the world. How could it fail to smash a few lousy rocks to pieces?

As long as Tang San won, he could simply explain afterward that it was the power of a Blue Silver Grass mutation.

Yes, that was how he would explain it!

A gust of wind passed by, and the dust gradually dispersed.

The entire venue fell silent.

Not even the sound of breathing could be heard.

The twenty-meter-wide white circle at the center of the training ground no longer existed.

Centered beneath Chen Xuan's feet, the hard stone floor had split into countless web-like cracks that extended all the way to the edge of the field.

Chen Xuan stood where he was.

He had not retreated even half a step.

He held up his right arm, the dark-golden Earth-Splitting Claws steadily blocking the pitch-black hammer.

Not even a spark flew from where the metal claw met the iron hammer.

Tang San hung in midair, gripping the hammer's handle tightly with both hands.

Both his arms were trembling violently.

Blood dripped from the webbing between his thumb and forefinger, running down the hammer's handle.

Tang San gritted his teeth, his face flushed red as he desperately drove the Mysterious Heaven Technique within his body, trying to force the hammer down.

It would not move.

It simply would not move.

The dark-golden claw below was utterly immovable.

The strength he had always been so proud of was fragile enough to shatter at a touch before this claw.

"Is this your trump card?" Chen Xuan asked Tang San, who was right in front of him. His tone was calm.

Tang San said nothing, because he no longer had the strength even to open his mouth.

His chest felt unbearably tight, and his internal organs churned violently.

The Earth-Splitting Claws' vibrating force was drilling into his body bit by bit through the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Your strength isn't bad."

Chen Xuan shook his head.

"But unfortunately, you haven't trained enough."

The moment he finished speaking, Chen Xuan sharply jerked his right arm upward.

A violent force erupted from the Earth-Splitting Claws.

Tang San felt his hands suddenly go light. He and the Clear Sky Hammer were sent flying backward.

He flew more than ten meters before crashing heavily to the ground.

He rolled twice more before barely managing to brace himself against the ground and stop.

"Pwah!"

Tang San coughed up a mouthful of blood.

The Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand could no longer maintain its form and dissolved into specks of black light in the air.

Wang Sheng swallowed, his jaw nearly dropping to the ground.

"Xuan... Brother Xuan made Tang San cough up blood?"

Xiao Wu stood with her mouth open, looking from Tang San on the ground to Chen Xuan in the center of the field.

What exactly was that dark-golden claw?

Hadn't they said his martial soul was five lousy rocks? How could rocks turn into claws?

Yu Xiaogang stood frozen in place.

The notebook in his hand fell to the ground with a slap.

His mind buzzed, then went completely blank.

He had lost.

Tang San had even used his second martial soul, yet Chen Xuan had sent him flying with a single move.

That was the Clear Sky Hammer!

How was this possible?

Yu Xiaogang stared fixedly at the Earth-Splitting Claws on Chen Xuan's hand.

There were no soul power fluctuations, no soul rings.

This completely exceeded the scope of every theory he had researched over the past thirty years.

Chen Xuan shook out his right hand.

The Earth-Splitting Claws turned into a streak of dark-yellow light and sank back into his palm.

He dusted off his clothes and slowly walked to the edge of the field.

The teachers and students throughout the school instinctively made way for him.

No one dared to speak.

Chen Xuan stopped in front of Yu Xiaogang.

Yu Xiaogang's face was deathly pale, his forehead covered in cold sweat.

"Master."

Chen Xuan pointed at the stone slabs on the ground, which had been smashed into rubble.

"You said earlier, how should one deal with an opponent who relies purely on brute physical strength again?"

Yu Xiaogang's lips trembled twice, but he could not force out a single word for a long while.

"My head's a little muddled after that fight. I can't remember."

Chen Xuan spread his hands, smiling with complete sincerity.

"How about you teach me again?"