Tang Hao's Crushing Defeat, Long Xiaoyao's Terrifying Power!

Every meridian in Tang Hao's body endured the impact of eight Soul Rings.

Blood kept seeping from his arms and chest.

Yet his aura continued to rise.

The ninth Soul Ring, red as blood, hovered beneath his feet.

It was the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring Ah Yin had left him after sacrificing herself.

Tang Hao had not detonated it with the others.

The power of eight Soul Rings had already pushed his body close to its limit.

If he detonated the Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring too, even he might not withstand it.

"Great Sumeru Hammer!"

An enormous Clear Sky Hammer descended from the heavens.

Its shadow covered the entire deep pool.

Before it even struck, the ground throughout the valley began to collapse.

Dozens of massive fissures split the cliff behind the waterfall.

Long Xiaoyao stood beneath the Clear Sky Hammer.

The Dark Sacred Dragon's wings spread to their full extent.

Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath his feet.

Yellow.

Yellow.

Purple.

Purple.

Black.

Black.

Black.

Red.

Red.

Nine Soul Rings slowly revolved around Long Xiaoyao.

The moment the last two blood-red Soul Rings appeared, the Heaven and Earth Energy in the valley came to a complete standstill.

Tang Hao's gaze fell on the eighth Soul Ring.

"Two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings?"

"Your Eighth Soul Ring is a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring too?"

Tang Hao could not believe what he was seeing.

For a Soul Master's ninth Soul Ring to reach a hundred thousand years was already exceedingly rare.

The Titled Douluo across the entire continent who possessed Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings could be counted on one hand.

Yet Long Xiaoyao's Eighth Soul Ring had reached that level too.

"How could a Soul Douluo possibly withstand a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"

"That's impossible!"

Long Xiaoyao watched the Clear Sky Hammer fall.

"Just because you don't know how doesn't mean it can't be done."

His eighth red Soul Ring lit up.

Blood-red light flowed into the Dark Sacred Dragon's body.

Darkness engulfed the entire valley in an instant.

"Eighth Soul Skill: Dark Sacred Dragon Annihilation Realm."

The Dark Sacred Dragon spread its wings.

A deep-purple halo expanded from its body.

Wherever it passed, the Soul Power Tang Hao had unleashed through Ring Detonation rapidly disintegrated.

Once the massive Clear Sky Hammer entered the Annihilation Realm, it slowed more and more.

Dense cracks appeared across its surface.

Tang Hao kept driving his Soul Power into it.

"Break!"

All the power gathered from his eight detonated Soul Rings erupted.

The Clear Sky Hammer plunged downward once more.

Long Xiaoyao raised his right hand.

The Dark Sacred Dragon's claw overlapped his palm.

A dark dragon claw large enough to cover half the sky took shape.

It reached up to seize the Clear Sky Hammer.

The two forces collided above the valley.

Boom!

Cracks raced across the surface of the Clear Sky Hammer.

Tang Hao's Soul Power collapsed layer by layer.

The dark dragon claw closed its five talons.

The enormous hammer shadow formed by Ring Detonation shattered on the spot.

Black light scattered across the sky.

The backlash of the collision struck Tang Hao.

He spat out a mouthful of blood.

He could no longer maintain his Clear Sky True Body.

The massive Clear Sky Hammer rapidly shrank.

Tang Hao fell from high above.

The Dragon Wings behind Long Xiaoyao gave a light beat.

He appeared before Tang Hao in an instant.

His dragon-scaled palm struck down.

Tang Hao raised the Clear Sky Hammer to block it.

Crack!

The Clear Sky Hammer was forced back against his chest.

Tang Hao's body slammed into the ground.

Earth exploded outward.

A deep crater dozens of meters wide appeared in the center of the valley.

Tang Hao lay at the bottom of it.

All eight of his Soul Rings had vanished.

The power from Ring Detonation rapidly ebbed away.

Large stretches of his meridians were damaged.

His Soul Power could no longer circulate properly.

Tang Hao tried to lift the Clear Sky Hammer.

The moment his arm moved, it dropped back to the ground.

"How is this possible..."

"I used Ring Detonation."

"Why still couldn't I beat you?"

Long Xiaoyao descended from the air.

Nine Soul Rings circled around him.

His two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings radiated crushing pressure.

"Ring Detonation can grant you greater power for a short time."

"But no Secret Art can bridge the gap between you and me."

"Even if you had detonated your ninth Soul Ring as well, the outcome would be the same."

Tang Hao looked at Long Xiaoyao.

He could not argue.

His opponent had used only his Eighth Soul Skill.

Tang Hao had already lost all ability to resist.

Inside the soul-device space.

Ah Yin watched Tang Hao in the crater.

She remained silent for a long while.

"Tang Hao."

Tang Hao immediately raised his head.

"Ah Yin."

"Give me one more chance."

"I'll save you. I swear it."

Ah Yin shook her head gently.

"Let's leave things as they are from now on."

Tang Hao went rigid.

"What do you mean, leave things as they are?"

"You're my wife."

"We have Little San, too."

"How can you leave with a stranger you've only just met?"

Ah Yin looked at him.

"I'm leaving with him so I can come back to life."

"And so I can leave everything in the past behind."

Tang Hao said at once, "I can bring you back to life!"

"The Blue Silver Emperor possesses an inexhaustible life force."

"If you wait a little longer, you'll recover."

"How much longer?"

Ah Yin raised a hand and pointed to her Blue Silver Grass body.

"Ten years?"

"A hundred?"

"Or a thousand?"

Tang Hao had no answer.

Ah Yin continued, "I don't want to stay in that cave anymore."

"And I don't want to keep waiting."

Tang Hao looked at her.

"Do you blame me for not taking good care of you?"

"Or for not visiting you often enough all these years?"

Ah Yin's expression grew complicated.

"Tang Hao."

"I know the truth about what happened back then."

The valley fell silent.

Tang Hao's expression changed.

"What truth?"

Ah Yin looked at him.

"Why Spirit Hall was able to find us."

"Why we could never shake our pursuers."

"And why I was driven to the point where sacrifice was my only choice."

Tang Hao's grip tightened around the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Ah Yin, who told you that?"

"There must be a misunderstanding."

Ah Yin shook her head.

"You know whether it's a misunderstanding."

"I don't intend to pursue what happened in the past."

"I've already died once."

"Now I only want a body again, and a fresh start."

Tang Hao watched Ah Yin's faint figure fade further.

"You'd rather trust the Holy Spirit Cult than me?"

"You've only just met him!"

Ah Yin offered no further explanation.

Her phantom returned to the Blue Silver Grass itself.

Tang Hao looked at Long Xiaoyao.

"How are you any better than me?"

"You have two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings."

"If no Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts had sacrificed themselves for you, where would you have gotten rings like those?"

"You say the Holy Spirit Cult has no need for Soul Rings or Soul Bones from Soul Beasts."

"So how many Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts have you killed yourself?"

Long Xiaoyao withdrew his Dark Sacred Dragon Martial Soul.

His nine Soul Rings gradually faded from sight.

"You know nothing about power."

"What are two Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings, anyway?"

Tang Hao stared at him.

Long Xiaoyao continued, "My Eighth Soul Ring and ninth Soul Ring reached a hundred thousand years without any Soul Beast sacrificing itself."

"I became my master's disciple too late."

"If I'd met my master a few years earlier, my Soul Ring Configuration would be even stronger than it is now."

Tang Hao did not believe a word of it.

"You absorbed a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as your Eighth Soul Ring?"

"Do you take me for a three-year-old?"

"How could a Soul Douluo's body withstand the impact of a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring?"

Long Xiaoyao did not explain further.

Ten Thousand Years Later, Soul Masters had a far more complete cultivation system.

Soul Cores, Whale Rubber, Soul Tools, and Body Tempering could all increase a Soul Master's capacity to endure.

With Long Yuan's help, absorbing a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring as his Eighth Soul Ring was hardly worth boasting about.

Long Xiaoyao turned away.

"I'm taking Ah Yin with me."

Tang Hao immediately pushed himself up.

He had barely risen halfway when agony tore through his Meridians.

The backlash from Ring Detonation erupted again.

His legs gave out, and he collapsed to his knees in the deep crater once more.

"Stop!"

Tang Hao braced his Clear Sky Hammer against the ground.

"Leave Ah Yin here!"

Long Xiaoyao did not look back.

Tang Hao wanted to chase him.

But he could not even climb out of the crater.

After detonating eight Soul Rings, he had no strength left to fight.

All he could do was watch Long Xiaoyao walk farther and farther away.

"Long Xiaoyao!"

"You took Ah Yin from my side while she was defenseless without her cultivation."

"What kind of strong man steals another man's wife?"

Long Xiaoyao stopped.

He turned his head slightly and looked at Tang Hao in the crater.

"You heard clearly enough whether Ah Yin chose to leave of her own will."

"I didn't force her."

"The Holy Spirit Cult hasn't taken away her freedom, either."

"If you want to bring Ah Yin back, you can seek out my master anytime."

Tang Hao raised his head with difficulty.

"Who is your master?"

"Long Yuan."

With that, Long Xiaoyao spread his dark Dragon Wings once more.

He stepped into the air.

A streak of black light swept over the valley and quickly vanished into the sky.

Tang Hao stood in the crater.

He stared in the direction Long Xiaoyao had gone.

Blood kept running from the corner of his mouth.

"Long Yuan..."

"I'll remember that name."

Tang Hao tightened his grip on the Clear Sky Hammer.

"I'll find you. I swear it."

"I'll bring Ah Yin back myself."

Spirit City.

The square before the Papal Palace.

The golden pillar of light above the Worship Hall had not yet faded completely.

Divine Pressure blanketed half of Spirit City.

Qian Daoliu had completed his breakthrough.

The power of a true Third-Level God was rapidly stabilizing within him.

Bibi Dong stood in the middle of the shattered square.

She watched Ye Xishui, her expression growing graver by the moment.

"Qian Daoliu has become a Third-Level God."

"Within the Worship Hall, he can also draw on the power the Angel God left behind."

"If the Angel God senses a threat to her inheritance, Qian Daoliu may even summon her through Angel God Descent."

"There's still time for you to leave."

Ye Xishui looked toward the Worship Hall.

Golden radiance lit the sky with dazzling brilliance.

The Angel God's aura continued to gather above Spirit City.

There was no fear in Ye Xishui's eyes.

"Summon the Angel God?"

"Then let him try."

Bibi Dong stared at Ye Xishui.

"You have no idea how powerful a First-Level God is."

Ye Xishui raised a hand to her Storage Soul Tool.

A trace of madness flashed through her eyes.

Before she left, her master had given her several powerful Soul Tools.

One of them possessed truly world-destroying power.

If Qian Daoliu proved stronger than expected...

If the Angel God truly descended...

Then she would take out the World-Destroying Soul Tool her master had given her.

Spirit City.

The square before the Papal Palace.

The Golden Firmament stretched across the sky.

Ye Xishui's name still held fifth place on the Strength Rankings.

The Blood Soul Demon Puppet stood to the left.

The Bright Phoenix hovered to the right.

Two Soul Cores rotated slowly, while the Level 10 Soul Tool Death God Tower occupied a vast swath of the firmament.

The Soul Masters of Spirit Hall in the square looked up at the Golden Rankings, then at the woman in the red dress standing amid the ruins.

No one dared tell her to leave again.

Fifth on the Strength Rankings.

A Level 99 Limit Douluo.

A Demigod.

Everything Ye Xishui had said was confirmed by the Golden Rankings.

Bibi Dong stood on the shattered flagstones, her expression shifting again and again.

She had assumed Ye Xishui merely possessed some unusual inheritance.

She had never expected the woman to truly come from ten thousand years in the future.

What troubled her even more was that Ye Xishui was only the Holy Spirit Cult's Deputy Cult Leader.

If the fifth-ranked powerhouse willingly held a subordinate position, how strong was the Holy Spirit Cult's Cult Leader?

Hu Liena looked up at the firmament.

"Teacher."

"She really is Ye Xishui."

Bibi Dong did not answer.

She looked at the two Martial Souls behind Ye Xishui.

The Golden Rankings had laid Ye Xishui's strength bare.

Twin Martial Souls.

Dual Soul Cores.

A Level 10 Soul Tool.

Every one of them far surpassed the Soul Masters of this era.

Bibi Dong had not lost without reason.

Ye Xishui also looked up at the rankings.

"Fifth?"

The ranking did not surprise her.

Her master was certain to hold first place.

Long Xiaoyao's strength was close to hers.

As for the others, they too were among the Holy Spirit Cult's true top powerhouses.

Making it into fifth place was proof enough of her strength.

Ye Xishui's gaze fell on the reward listed on the Golden Rankings.

The cultivation of a Second-Level God.

All her Soul Rings raised to a hundred thousand years.

Three Hundred Thousand Year Soul Bones.

Even she could not ignore such a reward.

Once it was bestowed, she would truly ascend to godhood.

Then Qian Daoliu, a newly ascended Third-Level God, would have no hope of stopping her.

Just then...

The golden pillar of light above the Worship Hall dispersed completely.

A figure emerged from the sacred radiance.

Six Golden Wings spread fully behind him.

With every step Qian Daoliu took, he crossed a vast distance.

In the blink of an eye, he appeared above the square before the Papal Palace.

Immense Divine Power descended with him.

The Soul Masters of Spirit Hall in the square bowed their heads.

"Great Enshrined!"

"Greetings, Great Enshrined!"

Golden Crocodile Douluo, Azure Luan Douluo, and Light Feather Douluo followed close behind.

The three landed in front of the Papal Palace.

Golden Crocodile Douluo's face darkened the moment he saw the ruined square.

"What happened here?"

"Who dares fight in Spirit City?"

Yue Guan stood in the distance, clutching his chest.

"Second Worship, it was her."

Golden Crocodile Douluo looked where Yue Guan pointed.

The woman in the red dress stood at the center of the square.

Bibi Dong's armor was torn, and a wound still marked her shoulder.

Gui Mei and Hu Liena stood guard beside her.

At the sight, Golden Crocodile Douluo immediately understood what had happened.

"You defeated the Pope?"

Ye Xishui did not look at him.

Her gaze remained fixed on Qian Daoliu.

"You've only just become a Third-Level God."

"Your power hasn't fully stabilized yet."

Qian Daoliu slowly descended from the sky.

The golden divine markings had faded into his forehead.

Not a trace of mortal aura remained around him.

He glanced at the name on the screen above.

"Fifth on the Strength Rankings."

"Deputy Cult Leader of the Holy Spirit Cult."

"Ye Xishui."

Ye Xishui gave a slight nod.

"So you already know who I am."

Qian Daoliu turned his gaze to Bibi Dong.

"Why did she come to Spirit City?"

Bibi Dong wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth.

"She wants Spirit Hall to cede a piece of territory."

"To establish the Holy Spirit Cult."

Golden Crocodile Douluo stepped forward.

"How dare you!"

"You think you can take Spirit Hall's territory simply because you want it?"