Kill Tang Hao, Spare Tang San

"Trying to leave?"

"Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, First Soul Skill, Time—Slowing!"

As a red light flashed in Xu Xiaonian's eyes, the time flow rate across a wide area around him slowed tenfold.

Not far away, Tang Hao's figure, previously too fast for the naked eye to catch, became visible.

Caught within the effect, Tang Hao could not sense the change in time flow at all. He only saw the gazes of Xu Xiaonian and his companions lock clearly onto him.

"How is that possible?"

Tang Hao frowned. He was not afraid of Xu Xiaonian; he merely found him troublesome and worried that exposing his whereabouts would draw people from Spirit Hall.

The soul skill his opponent had just unleashed was indeed powerful enough to shake him, even preventing him from rescuing Xiao Wu for a short time. But he absolutely refused to believe that a cultivator who was merely a Soul King could repeatedly unleash attacks of that magnitude.

That defied all reason. It was impossible.

"Tang Hao, still trying to run?"

From Tang Hao's perspective, Xu Xiaonian caught up with him effortlessly, a faint trace of killing intent showing on his calm face.

How could he be so fast? How strange.

Although the sight surprised Tang Hao, he did not panic. His opponent was probably an agility attack system Soul Master, and those powerful attacks earlier should have already exhausted his soul power.

That was the only reasonable explanation!

Tang Hao immediately calmed down and said in a low voice:

"Boy, do you really think I'm afraid of you? It's Spirit Hall behind you that I'm wary of!"

"If I saw correctly, the soul skill you just unleashed carried a holy spirit aura. The Qian Family must be your family, right?"

Xu Xiaonian did not mind having a good chat with a man about to die, so he answered lightly:

"In a sense, you're right. My mother comes from the Qian Family."

Hearing this, Tang Hao's expression grew grave. "Does Spirit Hall already know my whereabouts?"

"No."

"What did you say?" Tang Hao froze, then asked in surprise, "You're saying Spirit Hall doesn't know? Then you came here..."

"I didn't notify anyone in Spirit Hall before coming," Xu Xiaonian answered calmly, as though exchanging everyday pleasantries.

"Hahaha!" Tang Hao opened his mouth in a savage laugh. "You really do have some nerve! You're just a Soul King. Surely you don't think an attack as powerful as the one earlier could kill me?"

"To reach this level at your age, you must be a one-of-a-kind genius in Spirit Hall, right?"

"So arrogant. Then I'll kill you right now, teach you that there's always someone beyond your horizons, and make Spirit Hall suffer the loss of a prodigy. How satisfying!"

Xu Xiaonian could not be bothered to listen to his nonsense and merely waved a hand. "Hurry up and attack. Don't blame me for not giving you a chance to strike when I beat you to death."

Tang Hao: "??"

"Hahaha!" Tang Hao laughed loudly, his face full of mockery. "Who would have thought Spirit Hall's genius was a lunatic?"

"Do you know who I am? Hmm?"

"I am the Clear Sky Douluo! The youngest Titled Douluo in the continent's history, a direct heir of the Clear Sky Sect."

"You're a greenhorn brat, a mere Soul King, yet you dare speak to me like that?"

Standing nearby, Zhu Zhuqing, Zhu Zhuyun, and Xu Xiaotang were utterly stunned by his words.

When they had heard Xu Xiaonian call out Tang Hao's name earlier, they had assumed he merely shared a name with the Clear Sky Douluo. They had never expected this slovenly middle-aged man before them to actually be him.

Worry now appeared on the three women's faces. They knew Xu Xiaonian's strength well, but the enemy before him was, after all, a powerful Titled Douluo whose might had shaken the continent more than a decade ago.

He could be counted among the very strongest on the Douluo Continent. Could Xu Xiaonian really come through unscathed?

"Xiaonian, don't be rash. If it doesn't work out, retreat. He wouldn't dare chase you."

Xu Xiaotang spoke with a slight frown. It was not that she doubted Xu Xiaonian's strength; she merely worried that he might get hurt while dealing with Tang Hao.

In her eyes, even a hundred Tang Haos were not worth a single hair on Xu Xiaonian's head. If dealing with him meant Xu Xiaonian getting hurt, it was not worth it at all.

Zhu Zhuqing and Zhu Zhuyun also spoke with concern on their faces. "Yes, Master. There's no need."

"Hahaha!" Hearing their words, Tang Hao actually thought they were beginning to lose their nerve, so he laughed. "Boy, there's still time to leave!"

"Otherwise, you'll look quite ugly when I beat you to death. Don't make those women of yours cry! Ahahaha!"

Despite his words, Tang Hao had no intention of letting any of them go. Soul power was already gathering secretly in his hands, ready for him to unleash an all-out blow at any moment.

After all, if these people escaped and informed Spirit Hall of his whereabouts, it would likely cause considerable trouble.

Besides, this boy was truly an arrogant eyesore. It was time to torment him to death and collect a little interest from Spirit Hall.

As he spoke, his soul core worked within him, and he had already gathered enough soul power.

"Boy, die!"

Tang Hao raised the Clear Sky Hammer high with both hands and roared, his face contorted:

"Tool Spirit Avatar, Clear Sky Hammer!"

"Great Sumeru Hammer! First Soul Ring, explode!"

The enormous black-and-red hammer blotted out the sky and sun as it smashed toward Xu Xiaonian at tremendous speed.

However, the attack that should have arrived in a flash was drastically slowed by the Time—Slowing soul skill, giving Xu Xiaonian ample time to react.

The situation was now entirely under Xu Xiaonian's control. Looking at the Clear Sky Hammer blotting out the sky above him, he raised one hand overhead and finally unleashed the full power his soul skill was meant to possess:

"Third Soul Skill, Brilliant Spirit Holy Light!"

As his words fell, a thunderous roar resounded through the sky.

A beam of holy light pierced the dark clouds obscuring the sky. Amid the clouds breaking open like dawn, a sacred silhouette emerged. The holy phantom of Puni hung high in the heavens, palms pressed together, and unleashed a skyful of holy light that filled the entire field of vision toward the Clear Sky Hammer and Tang Hao behind it!

The all-engulfing, annihilating holy light destroyed everything it shone upon. The enormous phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer vanished in the blink of an eye.

"No! That's impossible!"

Tang Hao's eyes bulged with fury as he stared at the scene in disbelief. Before he could understand why a boy whose cultivation was only at the Soul King level could unleash such a heaven-shattering, earth-destroying blow, disaster had already struck.

The annihilating holy light, carrying terrifying heat, swept over his body and dissolved him bit by bit into dust that filled the air.

No, ashes would be a more fitting term.

His ashes scattered on the wind.

Awakened by the tremendous commotion, Tang San happened to witness the scene before him, and his eyes nearly split with rage:

"Aaaaaah!!"

"Father!"

"Damn you! Aaaaaah! You deserve to die!"

When the annihilating holy light reached Tang San's location, Xu Xiaonian slowly drew it back, deliberately sparing his wretched life.

His aim was to let Tang San gather all the enemies he might potentially face, saving him the trouble of going door to door to kill them.

That would be too troublesome and could easily harm the innocent.

After all, someone like Ning Rongrong might very well never cross paths with Tang San in this timeline, so naturally he would not drag an innocent person into it.

Tsk, tsk. I really was too kind.