Qian Daoliu: Finally Took the Bait [Reset Version]

"It's about time to make a move."

At that moment, Luo Jiuyou spoke softly.

Bibi Dong froze for a moment. "What?"

As soon as she spoke, Tang Hao moved.

Carrying the Clear Sky Hammer on his shoulder, Tang Hao strode toward the center of the battlefield at an unhurried pace.

His steps seemed casual, yet they landed precisely in the gaps of the Red Star Group's formation, each one striking the exact moments when they switched positions.

Chu Yueyao noticed him first and decisively turned her bowstring, firing an arrow at Tang Hao's path.

But Tang Hao merely shifted slightly to the side. The arrow grazed his clothes and flew past without even interrupting his stride.

Immediately afterward, Lu Shuanghua raised her hand and released an icy-blue ripple, attempting to slow his advance.

With a casual swing of his hammer, he shattered the ripple.

"Move."

Tang Hao's voice rang clearly through the center of the battlefield.

Hearing the command, Yang Wudi and the other three scattered to either side almost simultaneously, revealing a path straight to the heart of the Red Star Group's formation.

Tang Hao gripped the Clear Sky Hammer, and his pace suddenly accelerated.

His body was like a meteor wrapped in thunder. With a dull howl through the air, the Clear Sky Hammer smashed head-on toward the Black Iron Heavy Shield Song Xinghe had raised.

"Good!"

Song Xinghe gritted his teeth and poured all his Soul Power into the shield. Light blazed across its surface as he prepared to withstand the impact.

But he had underestimated Tang Hao's strength.

"Bang!!!"

An incomparably muffled boom erupted across the spirit battle arena.

The instant the Clear Sky Hammer struck the shield, it felt as though Song Xinghe had been hit head-on by a mountain.

His knees buckled violently, and his legs sank straight into the Green Oak Rock as shattered stone flew everywhere.

The shield's defensive glow flickered wildly twice before, with a crack, a thin fissure appeared.

Blood seeped from the corner of Song Xinghe's mouth, but the shield did not shatter, and neither did he fall.

He merely clenched his teeth, nailed in place behind the shield as though he were exhausting every ounce of strength to withstand that hammer blow.

Tang Hao raised an eyebrow, apparently not expecting him to remain standing.

"Interesting."

But he did not stop. With a twist of his wrist, his second hammer blow came crashing down at the exact same spot.

"Boom!!"

This time, Song Xinghe could no longer hold on.

The cracks across the shield suddenly spread. Man and shield were sent flying together, crashing onto the ground ten meters away and rolling twice more before he collapsed, gasping heavily and unable to rise again.

"Song Xinghe!!"

Duan Qinghe was the first to lose color in his face.

The defensive core the Red Star Group had been so proud of had completely crumbled beneath Tang Hao's two hammer blows.

And most importantly—

Tang Hao had not used a single soul skill from beginning to end.

Just as Niu Gao was about to seize the chance to step up and fill the gap at the front, Tang Hao was faster.

With one step, he passed by Niu Gao's side. The Clear Sky Hammer let out a dull roar as it smashed directly toward the spear Qin Poyue held across his body.

"Clang!!"

With a deafening crash, Qin Poyue felt a mountain-toppling force surge along the spear shaft. The web between his thumb and forefinger split instantly, and the Mountain-Splitting Spear flew from his grasp, spinning several times in the air before embedding itself in the Green Oak Rock ten meters away with a clang.

Qin Poyue staggered back more than ten steps, his arms trembling uncontrollably. Looking down, he saw blood already seeping from his palms.

Tang Hao did not stop.

He turned and swung his hammer once more—

This strike was not aimed at anyone. Instead, it smashed into the very center of the Red Star Group's formation, at the point where their positions shifted.

"Boom!!"

The Green Oak Rock shattered, and broken stones burst outward with the shockwave.

Already unstable after Song Xinghe's fall, the formation was blasted apart from the center by that hammer blow. Duan Qinghe was forced to dart left, Chu Yueyao leaped several meters backward to open the distance, and Lu Shuanghua was directly shaken into stumbling to the ground.

Tang Hao's three hammer blows shattered every link of coordination among the five of them.

Tang Hao slung the Clear Sky Hammer back over his shoulder. His gaze swept across the five members of the Red Star Group, and the smile at his lips fully bloomed.

"The younger generation of Spirit Hall is only this much? Your coordination is decent, but unfortunately, you can't stop me."

Qin Poyue gritted his teeth and raised his spear, intending to charge again, only to realize that his arm was trembling slightly—

It was the lingering shock from having taken Tang Hao's hammer blow head-on.

He looked back at Song Xinghe lying on the ground, then at Lu Shuanghua, whose face had gone pale from the impact, as well as Chu Yueyao and Duan Qinghe, both drenched in sweat, even their bowstrings trembling faintly.

Everyone had been driven to their limit by Tang Hao's three hammer blows.

Qin Poyue fell silent for a long while. The spear in his hand slowly lowered, and his voice was hoarse.

"...We concede."

As the five members of the Red Star Group supported one another down from the spirit battle arena, the surrounding Spirit Hall Soul Masters all wore unsightly expressions.

Being defeated face-to-face on their home ground, and being utterly crushed by a nineteen-year-old youth at that—

It was not a pleasant feeling.

Tang Hao stood on the stage and watched their retreating backs, a youthful, spirited smile curling across his lips.

He turned and waved toward Tang Chen as if to say: Done.

Tang Chen burst into laughter, slapping his thigh as his booming voice rang out. "Old Qian! Well? My grandson's not bad, right?"

Qian Daoliu looked at the high-spirited young figure on the stage carrying the Clear Sky Hammer and merely gave a soft hum.

"Not bad."

His voice was calm, without the slightest trace of emotion.

The smile on Tang Chen's face stiffened for a moment.

He turned and stared at Qian Daoliu for quite some time, his brows furrowing tighter and tighter.

Something was wrong. There was something extremely wrong with this old man.

His own younger generation had been publicly crushed, yet he had not even twitched an eyebrow?

Tang Chen had imagined countless possible reactions—

Humiliation and rage, forced composure, even leaving early—

But he had never imagined this near-indifferent calm.

"Old Qian,"

Tang Chen probed, "don't you have anything to say?"

Qian Daoliu lifted his teacup and took a sip. "Say what?"

"Your Soul Master teams were cut through by my grandson alone, five in a row. Don't you feel..."

"They were inferior. What is there to say?"

"Those kids have now seen that there is always someone stronger out there. They still need to be polished properly."

Qian Daoliu set down his teacup and even smiled.

"Brother Tang, I should thank you for helping me polish them this time."

Tang Chen: "???"

This old man could actually still smile?

He had even treated his own grandson as a whetstone?

Old man, wasn't that a bit too much?

On the spirit battle arena, Tang Hao was still savoring the afterglow of victory.

With the Clear Sky Hammer on his shoulder, he swept his gaze across the Spirit Hall Soul Masters in the stands, whose faces were ashen. The smile on his lips was arrogant and unrestrained.

"The younger generation of Spirit Hall is only this much?"

He waited several breaths. When no one answered, he added:

"If there isn't anyone stronger, then let's end today's spirit battle here. We from the Clear Sky Sect are tired from traveling, so it would be good to return early and rest."

The moment those words fell, the stands erupted.

"Arrogant!"

"You won, so you won. Why are you still showing off here?"

"You only defeated one reserve team. What are you so proud of?"

Spirit Hall's Soul Masters rose one after another, glaring furiously. A suppressed scent of gunpowder filled the air.

But Tang Hao did not care about any of it. He even spread his hands toward the audience below and made a beckoning gesture.

The meaning could not have been clearer—

Who else?

Tang Chen stared at Qian Daoliu for several breaths before suddenly narrowing his eyes.

"No."

"Old Qian, something's wrong with you. Don't tell me you hid your most elite disciples in the second group?"

His sharp gaze swept toward the team that had yet to take the field in Spirit Hall's preparation area.

But after one glance, his brows furrowed again.

Spirit Hall's second group consisted of two Soul Ancestors and three peak Soul Elders—

Their lineup was not much different from the previous group's.

At their age, with their talent, they would have been core disciples in any other sect, prospects certain to become Soul Douluos. But Tang Chen knew very well that this lineup had no chance against his grandson.

A level fifty-four Clear Sky Hammer, with a base weight of eight hundred jin. Combined with the accumulated force of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer and the exertion techniques of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, its explosive power far surpassed that of Soul Kings of the same rank.

That was why Tang Hao could shatter Song Xinghe's Black Iron Heavy Shield in two blows and break through the entire Red Star Group formation in three, even without using any soul skills.

The gulf between a Soul Ancestor and a Soul King became even wider before the terrifying weight of the Clear Sky Hammer.

Thinking of this, Tang Chen felt even more at ease.

He sneered and turned toward Qian Daoliu.

"Old Qian, don't tell me that Spirit Hall's truly outstanding genius disciples are those people in the second group?"

Qian Daoliu finally raised his eyelids and looked at him with a faintly amused smile.

"You want to see?"

Tang Chen froze.

That expression... he had never seen Qian Daoliu wear such an expression before.

It was a subtle look mixed with teasing, anticipation, and a hint of you'll regret this very soon.

"Old Qian, what do you mean?"

"It means nothing."

"I just think that since Brother Tang has come from so far away, it would be too regrettable if you returned after seeing only ordinary disciples."

"...So you really do have stronger ones?"

Qian Daoliu did not answer.

"Fine, Old Qian. You've been hiding something, haven't you?"

Qian Daoliu smiled. "If Brother Tang wants to see them, then let them come up."

"Then hurry up!"

Tang Chen slapped the armrest. "I want to see exactly what Spirit Hall's finest genius disciples look like! Don't worry, my grandson will properly 'guide' them!"

Though he spoke openly, he remained absolutely confident inwardly.

Although Spirit Hall was spread throughout the continent, awakening martial souls for commoners free of charge and recruiting countless Soul Masters, true top-tier geniuses had always depended on bloodline inheritance.

For one or two monstrous talents to occasionally emerge among commoners was already a one-in-ten-thousand occurrence.

What was more, he had never heard of any outstanding young descendants in Spirit Hall's current generation.

He had this match in the bag.

"Fine."

Qian Daoliu slowly nodded, his gaze falling on Qian Xunji at his side. "Ji'er, it's time for you to arrange it."

Qian Xunji had been waiting for those words.

He turned to look at his father, his tone carrying just the right amount of "difficulty."

"Father, are we really sending them out now? Wouldn't that be inappropriate? After all, they..."

Despite his words, he could not hide the eager gleam in his eyes.

To be honest, ever since he had seen the name "Tang Hao" in the intelligence report last night, he had felt inexplicably annoyed.

Now that he had seen this brat swaggering around on Spirit Hall's own turf, he wanted nothing more than to send his seven precious disciples up there immediately to teach this little punk a proper lesson.

But the problem was that his seven precious disciples were too young.

All of them were six years old, so they could not exactly be sent out as a spirit battle team representing the younger generation.

Tang Chen keenly caught the glint in Qian Xunji's eyes, and his heart skipped a beat.

This father and son... they really were plotting something.

But things had already reached this point. He could not take back his words now.

Besides, he still did not believe Spirit Hall could produce any worthwhile genius.

Qian Xunji cleared his throat, stood up, and swept his gaze across the entire venue.

"Spirit Hall Judgment Reserve Team, second group, withdraw."

His voice clearly carried throughout the entire spirit battle arena.

The entire venue abruptly fell silent for a moment.

"What's going on? Why are they suddenly changing teams?"

"Could there be someone even stronger?"

"I don't know, but the Pope personally gave the order!"

"As expected... Spirit Hall has even more monstrous Soul Masters hidden away!"

The surrounding Soul Masters buzzed with discussion. The previously dispirited atmosphere reignited, and countless gazes turned in unison toward the preparation area.

Although everyone in Reserve Team Two was full of doubts, with the Papal Order issued, no one dared disobey.

Liu Ruyan lowered her voice. "Captain, what's going on?"

"I'm not sure."

Han Pojun shook his head. "But since the Pope has given the order, we'll carry it out."

"Does Spirit Hall really have a team stronger than us?" Zhu Huo asked bluntly.

"Zhu Huo, watch your words." Han Pojun shot him a glare.

Zhu Huo lowered his head and said no more, though his fists clenched tightly.

Liu Ruyan snorted. "I thought we'd get to teach that arrogant guy a proper lesson."

"Ruyan,"

Shui Qingyi sighed softly. "You saw that guy's strength. Song Xinghe had the strongest defense, yet he collapsed after taking two hammer blows head-on. And he hadn't even used a single soul skill. If we went up there, our result might not be any better than the Red Star Group's."

The group fell silent and slowly retreated to the rest area.

But they did not leave. Every gaze remained fixed on the entrance to the spirit fighting arena.

They also wanted to see just what kind of genius Spirit Hall had been hiding.

Qian Xunji's gaze then shifted toward the Clear Sky Sect.

"Clear Sky Sect spirit fighting team, you have just finished your match. You may rest and recover first before entering the next round."

His tone was polite, but everyone could hear it.

The real implication of those words was: Don't say Spirit Hall is bullying you.

Tang Hao's expression paused slightly. He stared at Qian Xunji on the platform for a long moment before letting out a scoff.

"I don't need to rest."

"Those people just now were too weak. They didn't even count as a warm-up. What's there to rest for? Let's go straight in and save time."

Yang Wudi lazily added from behind him, "Tang Hao, they're being so polite. Let them have a little rest, or if they lose, they'll say we won unfairly."

Tai Tan chimed in gruffly, "Exactly. Spirit Hall even loses with such grace. Pretty particular of them."

Bai He gave a light laugh. "What use is being particular? If you can't win, you can't win."

The four of them spoke one after another, their voices neither loud nor soft, just enough for half the spirit fighting arena to hear.

The mockery in their words was completely undisguised.

The Soul Masters on Spirit Hall's side turned livid. Someone clenched his fists and muttered a curse. "Arrogant!"

Qian Xunji narrowed his eyes.

A dangerous curve slowly rose at the corner of his mouth. His gaze passed over the noisy stands and landed on the seven small figures in the corner of the preparation area.

"Fine."

He drew in a deep breath, and his voice suddenly rose.

"Disciples, it's time for you to take the field!"

The instant his words fell,

"Yes!!!"

Several extremely childish yet eager voices rang out across the spirit fighting arena.

Crisp and loud.

They carried utterly undisguised excitement and anticipation.

The sound left every Soul Master present stunned.

Then, they saw several petite figures dart out like lightning from the shadows beside the spirit fighting platform, landing atop it in swift succession.

On the high platform, Tang Chen's smile slowly froze on his face.

The entire arena fell silent.

Countless gazes focused on those small figures—shock, disbelief, confusion, and suspicion

intertwining together, plunging the entire spirit fighting arena into dead silence.

What was Spirit Hall doing??!

Why were they sending children up there??!