Three Years, Then Three More! Tang Hao, You Sure Made Us Work to Find You!

Slaughter City was a place of sin, partly shrouded by divine rules and filled with chaos, murder, and despair. The land around it was just as desolate and dangerous.

About ten li from its distinctive black walls, a murky river tinged dark red wound through the wasteland.

Jagged rocks lined its banks. Sparse black plants grew in twisted shapes, and a faint, strange smell of blood and sulfur hung in the air.

Tang Hao and his son Tang San sat on a relatively flat boulder by the river.

Tang Hao carefully fed his son water from the crude waterskin he carried, then broke up some tough dried meat and placed it in Tang San's hand.

Though Tang San could not see, his movements remained steady as he silently chewed his food.

His face was still pale, but the despair and confusion that had gripped him when he first lost his sight had given way to a numb resilience.

In his darkened world, he could only rely on sound, touch, and his father's voice to sense what lay around him.

"Hang on a little longer, Little San."

Tang Hao's voice was hoarse but carried unshakable resolve. "Slaughter City isn't far ahead."

"Slaughter City?"

Tang San stopped chewing. His vacant eyes turned toward his father's voice. A trace of confusion and faint hope entered his own. "What kind of place is that? Can it really... heal my eyes?"

"It's a... very unusual place."

Tang Hao fell silent for a moment, as though choosing his words.

"Chaotic and dangerous, but full of opportunities."

"Legend says it's connected to a powerful God. The rules there differ from those outside."

"Your eye injury is strange. Ordinary means won't heal it. Perhaps... only somewhere the rules are in turmoil and the sources of power intertwine can we find a chance."

"And it's an excellent place to hide and train."

He paused, his voice dropping lower. "I trained there myself once and gained something from it."

"The ordeal is perilous, but anyone who comes out alive makes a tremendous leap in strength and resolve."

"Little San, you may have lost your sight, but you still have your mind, your senses, and your Hidden Weapon techniques."

"In Slaughter City, those may serve you better than a pair of eyes."

"If you can adapt, you might even... find a new way to 'see.'"

Tang Hao's words were meant to comfort him, but they were also true.

He had brought Tang San to Slaughter City partly to evade anyone pursuing them, and partly in the hope that its unique environment would force Tang San to surpass himself in desperate circumstances, perhaps even find a way to regain his strength.

As for healing his eyes... Tang Hao had no real confidence in that. But it was the only hope they had.

As Tang San listened, a faint ripple stirred the stagnant waters of his heart.

A God? Rules in turmoil? A chance to survive?

Even a hope as elusive as that was enough to rekindle a tiny flame in his heart, which had been on the brink of despair.

"Dad, I trust you."

Tang San's voice was still dry, but it held a little more strength.

"Whatever lies ahead, I'll keep going."

Tang Hao looked at his son's vacant yet determined eyes. His heart ached, but pride and resolve rose above the pain.

He patted Tang San's shoulder. "Good boy. Once we finish eating, we'll—"

He never finished.

Something changed in an instant!

"Three years, then three more! Twelve years! Tang Hao, you sure made us work to find you!"

A soft, feminine voice laced with bone-deep hatred rang out beside Tang Hao and Tang San without warning, its words almost sung!

It seemed to come from every direction at once, yet also to echo deep within their souls. The eerie sensation raised the hairs on their skin!

At the same time,

Countless chrysanthemum petals—gold, pink, purple, and a riot of other dazzling colors—

appeared out of nowhere, as if growing from the void itself. They formed a gorgeous, deadly sea of flowers and swept toward the father and son with a sharp whistle!

Their edges gleamed like metal. They could clearly cut with terrifying force!

"Spirit Hall! Chrysanthemum Guan!"

Tang Hao's pupils contracted, and his expression darkened at once!

He had not expected Spirit Hall to catch up so quickly!

And they had found him here!

He reacted instantly. Before he could even stand, his right hand shot out to the side, and a huge black war hammer engraved with cloud-and-thunder patterns appeared in his grip.

It was his Martial Soul: the Clear Sky Hammer!

"Get lost!"

Tang Hao growled and flicked his wrist. The Clear Sky Hammer did not fully extend; he swept out with the end of its handle!

A heavy, domineering force, powerful enough to crush mountains, erupted from it. A solid dark-gold shock wave slammed into the dazzling sea of flowers!

BOOM!

Petals collided with the shock wave, bursting in a rapid crackle like rain hammering broad leaves!

Countless petals shattered into specks of light and vanished, but some pierced the shock wave and kept flying toward Tang Hao!

Tang Hao snorted. His left hand shot out, seized Tang San's shoulder, and yanked him back. Twisting sideways, he took the remaining petals across his broad back!

Slash, slash, slash...

The sound of blades slicing leather rang out. Several cuts opened in Tang Hao's gray robe, exposing his bronze skin. Shallow white marks appeared there, with beads of blood beginning to seep through.

"Gh..."

He grunted. The petals were not to be underestimated, especially when his grave injuries had yet to heal and his defenses were far weaker than before.

"Dad!" Tang San could not see, but he heard the attack and felt his father's body jolt. That muffled grunt filled him with alarm.

"I'm fine!"

Tang Hao spoke sharply, keeping Tang San firmly behind him. His gaze locked onto the top of a dead giant tree several dozen meters away.

A figure had appeared there at some point.

The man wore golden armor. He had delicate, handsome features, pale skin, and long fingers. Holding a golden chrysanthemum beneath his nose, he inhaled its scent, a faint, deeply unsettling smile on his lips.

It was Yue Guan, an elder of Spirit Hall known as Chrysanthemum Douluo!

"Well, well. As expected of Clear Sky Douluo. Even gravely wounded, you're still quick to react."

Yue Guan's soft voice carried a mocking edge. "But your injuries... seem worse than we thought."

"You can barely stop the petals of my Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum anymore?"

Tang Hao's eyes were cold. Ignoring Yue Guan's taunt, he spread his senses like a web, alert to everything around him.

If Chrysanthemum Guan was here, then his longtime partner...

The thought had barely formed when danger struck again!

The shadow beneath Tang Hao's feet suddenly writhed like a living thing!

A pitch-black spike burst silently from it like a snake striking from its hole, carrying a cold, deathly aura as it stabbed straight for Tang Hao's heart from behind!

Its speed, angle, and timing made it nearly impossible to guard against!

"Ghost Shadow Ground Stab!"

Alarm bells blared in Tang Hao's mind!

He had no time to turn, much less swing his hammer. All he could do was stamp hard on the ground!

BOOM!

A shallow crater burst open beneath his foot, scattering stones!

Using the recoil, Tang Hao sprang forward with Tang San in his grasp like a cannonball, narrowly evading the fatal strike!

At the same time,

the shadow where he had stood rippled like water. A figure cloaked entirely in black, his face hidden and his body seemingly one with the darkness, slowly rose from the ground.

It was Gui Mei, Chrysanthemum Douluo's longtime partner, known as Ghost Douluo!

One in front and one behind, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo—two level ninety-five Titled Douluo—had trapped Tang Hao and his son between them!