The Real Old Man Teasing a Child

"Of course. However, Your Excellency, I have one more request. I want to take something."

"Spit it out." Tang Hao forcefully suppressed the surging rage in his heart. He had long wanted to smash the man before him into a pulp with a single hammer blow.

"Your life..."

Before his words had even fallen, a towering greatsword suddenly tore through the waterfall's curtain, carrying fierce momentum as it lunged straight at Tang Hao.

Since he was bound to face Tang San sooner or later, he might as well get rid of Tang Hao today. As for the Asura God King who might be standing behind Tang San, couldn't he just pay a visit to Slaughter City when the time came?

Of course, it would be best if Asura personally stepped in. That would save him the trouble and let him settle everything in one go.

"How dare you!" Tang Hao's eyes instantly turned bloodshot, and he panted like a bull.

The Clear Sky Hammer, which had already been poised to strike, suddenly expanded into a colossal hammer as massive as a mountain, its size not the least bit inferior to the Qingming Sword in its expanded form.

The two giant tool martial souls collided viciously. Violent energy shockwaves swept across the entire forest in every direction, even forcibly cutting off the cascading waterfall. The water hung suspended in midair, completely exposing Chen Ling behind it.

Meanwhile, Xiao Wu had only just barely recovered from the collapse brought on by that cruel truth. Her gaze fell upon Chen Ling's feet, upon the nine Soul Rings rising and falling around him, and she froze in place.

"Y-you're a Titled Douluo too?"

Countless questions flooded Xiao Wu's mind at once, turning her thoughts into a complete mess.

Since Chen Ling already possessed the strength of a Titled Douluo, why hadn't he attacked her directly back then? And why had he always indulged her at every turn?

Xiao Wu didn't understand. Her rabbit brain, driven by a single train of thought, couldn't process such complicated questions. As for guessing Chen Ling's true objective, that was even more impossible.

Yet those conversations from earlier replayed over and over in her heart, and a thought surfaced uncontrollably: Could it be that his purpose from the very beginning had been to wake her up and expose the true thoughts hidden in Tang San and his father's hearts?

In an instant, Xiao Wu's feelings toward Chen Ling became incomparably complicated, all kinds of thoughts rising and falling within her.

A qualified sword sheath would quietly win itself over, even oiling itself up so the great sword could slide in smoothly.

Chen Ling had no idea what was going through the little rabbit's head behind him. His expression was grave as he looked ahead.

"Great Sumeru Hammer! Ring Detonation!"

The greatsword and the Clear Sky Hammer remained locked in a deadlocked clash. Layer upon layer of airwaves spread outward, madly crushing and shaking the entire sea of trees.

With Tang Hao's furious roar, the two yellow Soul Rings beneath his feet exploded. Boundless power poured into the Clear Sky Hammer, causing the giant hammer to swell once more as it smashed fiercely toward the Qingming Sword.

Faced with that terrifying strike, Chen Ling showed not the slightest panic. The Soul Rings beneath his feet slowly began to revolve.

The two foremost Soul Rings gradually spun into alignment, trembling and resonating before completely synchronizing, interlocking seamlessly like gears.

He had originally intended to shout the name of the technique, "Ring Stacking," but on second thought, it seemed to lack a little style.

How could someone who wielded a sword not know how to recite poetry?

After all, Uncle Li Bai from his previous life would draw his sword and start inspecting it halfway through a meal.

"Myriad Abysses devours the polar night; Return to Ruin contains all directions." Chen Ling raised a hand and waved it around at random. He could only say that he still needed to learn from Sword Douluo in this regard.

"Myriad Abysses Return to Ruin Sword."

Yet the technique's power was not discounted in the slightest. The sword's momentum surged abruptly, and before Tang Hao could detonate more Soul Rings, it already showed signs of crushing the Great Sumeru Hammer's offensive.

"What?!" Tang Hao was utterly horrified, and the thought of retreating arose in his heart.

Only then did he understand why his opponent had remained fearless from beginning to end. This man was also a Titled Douluo! Moreover, the power of that sword was actually no weaker than his Haotian Secret Art.

The thought had barely surfaced before he forcefully suppressed it. No, how could he doubt the Clear Sky Sect's ultimate technique? This was the supreme art created by his grandfather, Tang Chen. Aside from his grandfather himself, he had almost never tasted defeat while relying on this secret art.

"Ring Detonation!"

Tang Hao steeled himself and gritted his teeth as he detonated two more Soul Rings. Golden light burst from the rings and fused entirely into the Clear Sky Hammer. The giant hammer expanded again, and its surging power instantly pushed back against the Myriad Abysses Return to Ruin Sword.

Boom!!

The two deadlocked forces exploded at once, blasting an enormous crater into the center of the battlefield. Frenzied currents of air raged in all directions, making Chen Ling's robes flap wildly.

Xiao Wu cowered behind Chen Ling, her pupils contracting sharply as she watched the earth-shattering clash before her, her heart filled with shock.

Yet amid that shock, an indescribable stirring also arose within her heart.

Admiring the strong was the instinct of living creatures. Tang San could not only fail to protect her, but was even plotting to use her.

In contrast, Chen Ling had not hesitated to confront Tang Hao. He had brought her here to see through the cruel truth. He clearly could have taken her Soul Rings and Spirit Bone, yet he had always chosen to indulge her.

Especially as she looked at his tall, straight back shielding her, then compared it with the Clear Sky Hammer phantom that had been exactly like Tang San's, Xiao Wu's imagination ran wild. One fragment after another connected in her mind, and all her doubts seemed to close into a loop at once.

The sword sheath had begun lubricating itself. Hearts shone in Xiao Wu's eyes as if she had activated a charm soul skill.

As the violent airwaves gradually dispersed, Tang Hao's bedraggled appearance was revealed.

He leaned on the Clear Sky Hammer to barely support himself. All his former ferocious might had vanished, and he looked like a deflated balloon.

As he watched Chen Ling approach step by step, even his vision began to blur.

In a pure contest of raw power like this, he had rarely experienced the taste of defeat in his life.

In his daze, the figure before him slowly overlapped with Tang Chen in his memories.

The same indomitable frontal battle, even the posture of holding the weapon, was astonishingly similar.

[Congratulations, Host, for triggering the special mission: The Real Old Man Teasing a Child.]

The instant the system prompt fell, the surrounding world quietly changed.

The waterfall and forest vanished completely, replaced by a majestic mountain gate engraved with vigorous, powerful characters.

----Clear Sky Sect.

"Hao'er, come here. Today, I will test just how well you have cultivated the Haotian Nine Absolutes."

In Tang Hao's perception, Chen Ling before him had already transformed into Tang Chen.

The scene before him was precisely the moment when his grandfather had personally tested his cultivation.

"Alright."

Tang Hao answered instinctively along with his distant memories, beyond his own control, exactly as he had answered back then.

Chen Ling looked at the suddenly vacant and dazed Tang Hao, unable to make sense of it for a moment. But he quickly realized that his perspective of perception had shifted.

At this moment, he was Tang Chen.

The real old man teasing a child.