Leaving Sea God Island!

"Overturn the mountains and seas! Sea and sky as one!"

"Pierce through everything, Nanook Spear!"

At the Sea Spear Sacred Pillar, Lin Hao, four Soul Rings circling his body, sparred fiercely with Sea Spear Douluo, who wielded the Nanook Spear.

Neither used a Soul Skill. They pitted pure spear technique and Spear Intent against each other.

Lin Hao's Spear Intent was the will to suppress the seas and all beneath heaven. Fierce and domineering, every attack carried a powerful, irresistible mental assault.

Sea Spear Douluo resembled the Breaking Clan, though he took it even further. Every move was an attack, honed to the utmost and imbued with the intent to pierce through everything.

Clang! Clang! Clang!

The rapid, violent clashes echoed all around. On the vast platform, Lin Hao and Sea Spear Douluo moved so fast they left afterimages.

Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track and Purple Demon Eye gave Lin Hao terrifying agility and perception. Though his physical strength fell short of Sea Spear Douluo's, he held his ground.

Every collision between the Sea God Trident and the Nanook Spear made the surrounding air tremble.

The longer they fought, the graver Sea Spear Douluo's expression grew. With four rings, Lin Hao's Sea God Trident had reached eight thousand jin in weight—a terrifying figure.

An ordinary Soul Emperor might not even be able to lift it, much less wield it freely in battle as Lin Hao did.

The force it generated was beyond measure.

As the fight went on, Sea Spear Douluo's arms grew numb, and his astonishment deepened.

He had never seen anyone grow as quickly as Lin Hao. The young man seemed to improve every day without end.

His trident technique was plainly ordinary, yet he turned the commonplace into the miraculous, making it far deadlier than any exquisite technique.

He was like... like a machine that never made a mistake, every move the best he could possibly make.

And that was precisely the case. Lin Hao had inherited the legacy of the God King Tang San. Whatever Tang San's talent, a God King's level of mastery was beyond any Titled Douluo.

Now that Lin Hao was absorbing that legacy and making it his own, his progress was naturally swift.

"Impressive!"

"I have nothing left to teach you, Young Master."

With a sigh of admiration, Sea Spear Douluo sent a surge of Soul Power through his body and knocked the Sea God Trident aside. As Lin Hao watched in confusion, the nine Soul Rings around Sea Spear Douluo pulsed.

"Young Master, your growth has far exceeded my expectations. I can teach you no more. Only one final lesson remains. Watch closely."

"Please instruct me, Senior Sea Spear!"

Lin Hao's expression turned serious. He braced himself and watched Sea Spear Douluo, knowing this next thrust would be different.

Sea Spear Douluo gripped the Nanook Spear with both hands. His Seventh Soul Ring blazed, and in an instant, he became one with his spear. His entire body turned into a stream of golden liquid and flowed into the weapon.

Bang!

The Nanook Spear shot forward. Countless golden rays burst outward like threads of rain, as though the sun itself had exploded, scattering golden light in every direction.

Each golden thread set off a string of explosions in the air. In the blink of an eye, swelling golden light filled nearly the entire Sea Spear Sacred Pillar platform.

"Thousand Years of Emptiness!"

Lin Hao was not one to sit and await his fate before such a fierce thrust. He answered with the strongest thrust he could muster.

A sea of golden clouds wrapped around the Sea God Trident as he drove it forward.

Boom!

Golden light rained down, covering every corner of the Sea Spear Sacred Pillar platform.

Amid the falling light, Lin Hao and Sea Spear Douluo stood facing each other, deep in thought.

"Did you understand?"

"I did. My spear technique still lacks the will to kill." Lin Hao nodded, then spoke slowly.

Sea Spear Douluo nodded in approval and withdrew his Martial Soul with a smile.

But Lin Hao's next words nearly made him lose his composure.

"But Senior Sea Spear, I'll tell the Great Enshrined exactly how you urged me to leave Sea God Island and train at sea."

Leaving Sea Spear Douluo dumbfounded, Lin Hao headed straight for Sea God Mountain without hesitation.

Sea Spear Douluo stared after him, mouth agape. At last, he gave a helpless, rueful smile. "I hope the Great Enshrined doesn't hold grudges."

In Sea God Hall, Bo Saixi heard Lin Hao's request. To his surprise, she did not object. Instead, she asked:

"Where do you want to train?"

"There are Demon Soul Great White Sharks and Sacred Pillar guardians in the sea. Either the orca waters or the devil octopus waters would be a good choice."

"I want to go to the continent!"

Faced with the choices Bo Saixi offered, Lin Hao gave a different answer.

"Why?"

Bo Saixi froze. Her thoughts were pulled back a hundred years, to when two powerful men from the continent had become entangled with her.

"On Sea God Island, they revere me as the young master and don't dare strike with all their strength. Fighting Sea Soul Beasts at sea can't compare to fighting people. I won't get the training I truly need."

Lin Hao shook his head. There was another reason as well: only on the Douluo Continent could he meet the various people from the original story.

And the Sea God's Heart was still in the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

The Sea God Trident had lain dormant without the Sea God's Heart, but no such restriction applied to his Sea God Trident Martial Soul. He was curious what would happen when he obtained the Sea God's Heart.

Bo Saixi fell silent, but she did not try to stop him.

Lin Hao was the young master of Sea God Island. His standing was above hers, even if he did not command the same respect.

When he was determined to do something, even she had no way to prevent it.

"You may go to the continent. I'll send Sea Horse Douluo to protect you in secret."

Bo Saixi nodded. After a moment's hesitation, she added, "If you can, help me find out about someone."

"Who?"

A glint flashed in Lin Hao's eyes. He already knew the answer.

Tang Chen!

"His name is Tang Chen. He was a prodigy of my generation, the master of the Clear Sky Sect—the foremost sect beneath heaven—and the Clear Sky Douluo."

"He, Qian Daoliu of Spirit Hall, and I were known then as the three Peerless Douluos."

"Understood. I'll ask about both Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu." Lin Hao nodded and agreed.

He knew all about the mess between the three of them. What he did not know was whether Bo Saixi was aware that Tang Chen and Qian Daoliu had already had families when they courted her.

Or perhaps the older generation simply did not care about such things.

Bo Saixi did not hold out much hope. Sea God Island had never been completely cut off from news; she knew something of what happened on the continent.

Given Tang Chen's fame, the absence of any news of him for so many years suggested something had happened.

At the thought of their promise long ago, a shadow passed through Bo Saixi's eyes.

With Bo Saixi's approval, Lin Hao returned to his quarters and began packing. He had little to take: a few changes of clothes, his remaining Whale Rubber, and the poisons Sea Ghost Douluo had taught him to prepare. Useful or not, he stuffed them all into his Soul Tool.