The Blue Silver Emperor Grew Close to Qin Yun, and Tang Hao Was Losing His Mind!

Qin Yun remained calm, without a trace of panic.

He turned to Sword Douluo beside him.

"Senior, I'll leave the situation outside to you."

Sword energy swirled around Chen Xin. He took a light step and shot out of the cave like a streak of sword light.

He faced the furious Tang Hao head-on.

Tang Hao's killing intent had reached a fever pitch.

Years of pent-up violence from living in seclusion, his obsession with guarding the relic of the woman he loved, and his fury at the intruders had all come together.

He closed one hand, and the heavy black Clear Sky Hammer appeared.

Its crushing pressure instantly enveloped the entire mountainside.

"You dare trespass in my forbidden ground and steal my greatest treasure? Die!"

Veins bulged across Tang Hao's arms as he unleashed his Soul Power without restraint.

He swung the Clear Sky Hammer and brought it crashing down!

There was nothing fancy about the blow, no elaborate soul skill. It carried only the Clear Sky Martial Soul's overwhelming power.

This was Tang Hao's favored killing blow: brute force, heavy, domineering, and vicious.

Faced with a strike powerful enough to shake a mountain,

Sword Douluo flicked his wrist, and a flash from the Seven Kill Sword cut through the forest.

Sword energy honed to its sharpest point surged up to meet it.

Clang!

The crash of metal against metal echoed through the valley.

A terrifying shockwave erupted from where they clashed and blasted outward in every direction.

With his level-ninety-six Soul Power, Sword Douluo took Tang Hao's attack head-on.

When the strike failed, the killing intent in Tang Hao's eyes grew fiercer.

The Soul Rings beneath his feet flashed. He lunged forward, twisted at the waist, and swept the Clear Sky Hammer across in a devastating arc.

Chen Xin shifted his footing and slipped past the hammer's edge. His sword moved with him, its light curling and flowing as layers of sword energy burst forth, each razor-sharp slash striking the hammer.

A rapid series of clear, ringing impacts followed. Every strike precisely stripped away some of the hammer's brute force.

Tang Hao's violent Soul Power was broken down, layer by layer, and dispersed.

His old injuries made the flow of his Soul Power sluggish. His explosive strength was no longer what it had been at his peak.

Before Tang Hao could catch his breath,

Sword Douluo seized the initiative.

His Soul Rings lit up. Crisscrossing sword energy wove a dense net that descended upon Tang Hao from every side.

The pressure of his swordsmanship swept across the field, sealing off every avenue of escape.

Tang Hao's gaze darkened. He swung the hammer across his body, shielding his vital points with its heavy head as he endured the storm of sword strikes.

Their surging Soul Power collided again and again, sending waves of force rolling outward.

The surrounding trees and grass were ground to dust. Trenches scarred the earth, leaving devastation everywhere.

In the space of a breath, they exchanged three moves at blinding speed.

One fought with unstoppable strength, each blow heavy enough to crush everything in its path;

The other wielded his sword with uncanny skill, fluid and ever-changing.

After they flashed past each other,

Both came to a halt and locked eyes.

Tang Hao finally made out the old man's face.

The weathered features, calm bearing, and clear, piercing sword aura stirred memories long buried.

He had met Sword Douluo while traveling the continent in his youth.

Tang Hao spoke in a low voice.

"You're... Sword Douluo Chen Xin of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

His earlier suspicion fell apart.

He had thought the intruders were pursuers from Spirit Hall. But the man before him was clearly a top Titled Douluo of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Chen Xin stood with sword in hand, drawing in his sword energy slightly.

"Your strength is remarkable, Clear Sky Douluo. You deserve your reputation as the continent's youngest Titled Douluo. But there's too much violence in you."

Tang Hao's chest rose and fell as his thoughts raced.

The man was not from Spirit Hall.

But it made no difference which faction he belonged to.

A Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone was a treasure countless Titled Douluo had sought all their lives without success.

Once someone discovered such a prize, there was no reason to expect them to hand it over.

A complete Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone.

Any courtesy between sects meant nothing beside it.

Besides, the Clear Sky Sect and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had never been particularly close.

Chen Xin's presence here made it clear he wanted the treasure.

A few words would never persuade him to give up such an opportunity now that it was within reach.

Just then, Qin Yun emerged.

Qin Yun walked out slowly.

In his hand, he held a thriving Blue Silver Emperor.

Tang Hao went rigid.

More than the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bone,

Ah Yin was what mattered most to him.

"Put her down! Now!"

Tang Hao's voice broke, twisted by panic and fury unlike anything he had shown before.

But Ah Yin's response broke his heart.

Freed from the dark stone chamber, the Blue Silver Emperor stirred with life. Her tender leaves swayed, and her soft stems curled gently around Qin Yun's palm, docile and affectionate.

The Blue Silver Emperor had grown for only a dozen or so years and had yet to awaken her memories of her previous life.

She knew nothing of the love and anguish of the past. She knew only Qin Yun, who had nourished her and treated her kindly.

To her simple senses,

The young man before her felt a hundred times warmer than Tang Hao, who was steeped in violent malice.

At the sight, pain stabbed through Tang Hao's chest, and his blood churned.

Qin Yun looked up at Tang Hao, who seemed on the verge of losing control.

"Tang Hao, you keep saying you're protecting her. But do you truly want this Blue Silver Emperor to live and thrive?"

"Plant-type soul beasts grow toward the sun. They seek spiritual energy and vitality. What they need most is sunlight, rain, and nourishment."

"Yet you planted her in a dark, sealed stone chamber underground, where she never saw the sun."

"You call that protection, but you're slowly draining her life."

"If she weren't so resilient, you would have killed any other plant."

"But with me, she'll have an excellent place to grow."

"She can transform rapidly and make a full recovery. She'll live far better than she ever could with you."

Those clear, cutting words struck at the obsession Tang Hao had clung to for years.

But that obsession had consumed him. He could no longer listen to reason.

His eyes reddened. All he wanted was to take Ah Yin back.

"I don't care! Give her back to me! Now!" he roared.

Tang Hao's Soul Power surged again, all nine of his Soul Rings blazing.

Gripping the Clear Sky Hammer, he prepared to charge forward and seize the Blue Silver Emperor by force.

He took one step, and the ground collapsed beneath him. Crushing pressure swept across the field.

Before he could close the distance, a clear, razor-sharp arc of sword energy cut across his path.

Sword Douluo Chen Xin flashed in front of Qin Yun, his sword intent locking down every line of Tang Hao's attack.

"Stop, Tang Hao," he said coldly.

As the two sides faced off,

Qin Yun moved a finger.

A translucent piece of Uranium Crystal, with a terrifying glimmer deep inside, flew from his hand and landed precisely on the open ground before Tang Hao.

"Senior, get back!" Qin Yun called.

Sword Douluo heard him and did not hesitate.

He swept Qin Yun along as he retreated several hundred meters in a flash.

The next instant, a blinding white light erupted!

A thunderous blast shook the heavens and earth.

Violent energy surged outward, and scorching flames roared into the sky.

A vast mushroom cloud rose slowly through the billowing smoke and dust.

The terrifying force of the blast crushed everything around it.

Tang Hao took the full force of it, engulfed head-on by the raging energy.

His body was formidable and his Soul Power immense, but an explosion beyond anything a soul master could imagine shattered his Soul Power defenses in an instant.

The violent shockwave slammed into him and hurled him away.