Zhao Wuji Crippled! Tang Hao to the Rescue!

"Times have changed, sir."

Zhao Wuji leaped toward Li Chen, intent on killing him.

Li Chen chuckled, and a Soul Tool Hand Cannon suddenly appeared in his hand.

Its barrel was as wide as a bowl, and a fixed brace allowed it to be worn on the arm.

Blue patterns covered its menacing frame.

The Thunder Sequence Hand Cannon.

It belonged to a series of hand cannons Li Chen had designed himself. They could store Soul Power shells in advance, while compression arrays engraved inside them compressed that power to the extreme. One shot could deliver a blow two rings beyond the user's level!

Buzz!

Blue light gathered at the barrel as the cannon charged rapidly.

"What is that thing?"

Unease surged through Zhao Wuji. He rushed up to Li Chen and swung a fist at his head.

But Li Chen was faster.

He aimed the cannon at Zhao Wuji and fired!

Boom!

A blue shell struck Zhao Wuji, hurled him into the air, then exploded!

Bang!

A dazzling burst of blue light lit the sky.

For an instant, everything around it seemed to dim.

The shock wave spread in a sphere.

Nearby trees toppled at once.

Dai Mubai and the others were thrown backward, smashing through trees before hitting the ground.

On Li Chen's side, a wall-like Soul Tool barrier rose to shield him and Huo Yuhao.

A moment later,

Zhao Wuji fell from the sky and slammed into the ground. Clutching his chest, he grimaced in pain, his eyes filled with fear.

Looking down, he saw that the blast had charred his chest black. The wound was deep enough to expose bone.

"What... what was that...?"

Zhao Wuji gasped for breath. The terrifying force of that shot had rivaled an all-out strike from a Soul Douluo.

Zhao Wuji knew

that if his Mighty Vajra Bear martial soul had not excelled at protecting his body, someone like Flender would already be dead.

"Huh. That was stronger than I expected."

Li Chen sounded surprised.

By his estimate, one shot from the Level 5 Thunder Sequence Soul Tool Hand Cannon should only have forced Zhao Wuji out of his Martial Soul Avatar.

He had not expected it to leave such a terrible wound.

Huo Yuhao frowned too. "How did that happen? I remember this cannon being weaker before."

Li Chen thought it over.

"I get it. It's the concentration of Soul Power in the air."

"The Thunder Sequence Hand Cannon can draw on the Soul Power in the surrounding space to a certain extent."

"In this era, the air on Douluo Continent contains far more Soul Power than it did in ours."

"That's why the shot was stronger."

Huo Yuhao was taken aback. Soul Master cultivation methods grew more advanced over time.

Yet the continent's environment had gone the other way. The natural conditions for cultivation had been better ten thousand years ago.

"So that's why Soul Masters in our era need a Soul Core to compress their Soul Power before they can break through to Soul Sage. The Soul Power in the world has grown thinner."

A genius himself, Huo Yuhao understood at once.

That said,

a Soul Master with a Soul Core was still stronger than one without.

"An unexpected discovery. We'll have to adjust how we make our Soul Tools from now on. We can't just follow the blueprints exactly."

Li Chen made a note of it.

He had good reason to risk using a Soul Tool openly: Gui Mei had gone after Kong Deming and was no longer here to watch them.

Just then,

Dai Mubai and the others got to their feet, covered in dust and too stunned to speak.

"Teacher Zhao!"

Dai Mubai hurried over to help Zhao Wuji up.

"Teacher Zhao, what happened?"

Zhao Wuji sat up with a bitter look. "These two boys must come from some major power. Their weapons are frighteningly strong."

Dai Mubai frowned. "A major power? Spirit Hall?!"

Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and the others immediately thought of Spirit Hall too.

Across the entire Douluo Continent,

whenever anyone mentioned a major power,

Spirit Hall was the first to come to mind.

"Most likely Spirit Hall," Zhao Wuji said through the pain.

"How could Spirit Hall have a weapon this destructive?!"

Panic rose in Dai Mubai's chest.

Spirit Hall already had ambitions to unite the continent. As a prince of the Star Luo Imperial Family, Dai Mubai knew that all too well.

If they can mass-produce that weapon, Spirit Hall might launch a full-scale war across the continent!

No. I have to go back and tell Father!

The stakes were too high.

Dai Mubai had left the Star Luo Empire for a time because of the imperial family's rules of deadly succession, but he could not take a matter affecting the empire lightly.

"Teacher, what do we do now?"

Dai Mubai's voice was urgent.

Zhao Wuji fell silent for a moment. "Split up and break through. I'll buy you some time."

"What about Little San?" Ning Rongrong asked.

"Little San... I'll find someone to save him."

Just run, all of you. This is no time to worry about him. The Clear Sky Douluo is protecting Little San.

"No. Little San is one of us at Shrek. How can we just let them take him?"

Ning Rongrong snorted and walked toward Li Chen and Huo Yuhao.

Oscar grabbed her arm. "Let's get out of here, Rongrong! They'll blow you to pieces!"

Ning Rongrong shoved him away and scowled in disgust.

"You're useless! The moment something happens, I can't count on you at all! If you're scared of dying, get lost!"

Oscar withdrew his hand awkwardly.

Where was that courage when the Sky Titan Giant Ape took Xiao Wu?

Ning Rongrong faced Li Chen.

"You two! I'm Ning Rongrong, daughter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's master!"

"Even if you're from Spirit Hall, you can't just take Tang San. You attacked my teacher and got my dress dirty, too!"

"Let Tang San go and apologize!"

Dai Mubai stared at her in disbelief. So did Zhao Wuji. Everyone turned to look at Ning Rongrong.

"What the hell..."

Huo Yuhao took a deep breath. "I've never met anyone this arrogant in my life!"

Having grown up with nothing, Huo Yuhao could not stand Ning Rongrong's spoiled-heiress attitude.

In truth,

Tang San was not the only one Huo Yuhao resented. He bore a grudge against Dai Mubai too!

Dai Mubai was an ancestor of his. He had even become a god alongside Tang San, yet when Tang San tormented Huo Yuhao, the man had not dared say a word!

Worse still,

the sight of Dai Mubai brought back Huo Yuhao's humiliating childhood at the White Tiger Duke's estate.

Right now, anyone surnamed Dai made him sick!

"You want to save Tang San?"

"Then you can all die with him!"

With that thought,

Huo Yuhao held Tang San in one hand as violet-gold patterns appeared in his eyes.

"Thought of Dong Sword: Never Forgotten!"

Sorrow filled Huo Yuhao's eyes. A dazzling blue sword appeared and shot straight toward Ning Rongrong.

Ning Rongrong froze.

A tremor from the depths of her soul and the terror of impending death left her almost unable to move.

The Thought of Dong Sword could gravely wound an enemy's soul from a distance!

At Soul Emperor level, Huo Yuhao could shatter Ning Rongrong's soul with a single strike!

Just then,

a rough-looking drunkard appeared.

Tang Hao stepped in front of Ning Rongrong. His Clear Sky Hammer materialized, and he swung it to block the blue sword.

Tang Hao let out a muffled grunt. The Thought of Winter Sword's soul attack had struck him squarely.

Fortunately, his level was high enough to withstand it.

Ning Rongrong panted, her face pale after brushing so close to death.

Zhao Wuji breathed a sigh of relief when Tang Hao appeared.

We're safe now.

The Clear Sky Douluo really has been following Tang San. Now that he's stepped in, we're safe.

Dai Mubai and the others did not know Tang Hao, but they recognized the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Boy, that was a vicious attack. Put Little San down, and I might leave you both with intact corpses."

Tang Hao's voice was low as he stared at Huo Yuhao and Li Chen.

Huo Yuhao narrowed his eyes. "Looks like that's Tang San's father, the Clear Sky Douluo."

Li Chen nodded.

Then he chuckled. "Tang Hao, cut off your own arms and legs and hand over Ah Yin's Soul Bone. We might consider sparing your life."

Tang Hao was stunned.

How do these two brats know Ah Yin sacrificed herself for me?!

Rage took hold of him. "You're dead!"

Tang Hao sprang into the air and brought his hammer down on Li Chen and Huo Yuhao.

Li Chen did not panic. The Red Dust Protection Soul Tool on his body activated on its own.

It was Jing Hongchen's personal Soul Tool, left with Li Chen for protection. It could withstand an attack from a Titled Douluo.

At the same moment,

Kong Deming arrived.

"Tang Hao, you're the one who's going to die!"

Tang Hao's eyes widened. To his astonishment, Kong Deming had stopped his hammer dead.