You Have the Gall to Accuse Me of Stealing "Ah Yin"?
Just then, two more figures drifted out of the woods on either side.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan wore a crimson elder's ceremonial robe trimmed with gold, petals swirling gently around him.
Ghost Douluo Gui Mei lurked within black mist, his figure flickering between substance and shadow, exuding a cold aura of death.
The two had long been waiting here to meet them.
Gui Mei stared straight at Chen Xin and Gu Rong, his cold, low voice carrying across dozens of meters.
"Sword Douluo, Bone Douluo. Today's affair has nothing to do with you. I advise you both to stay out of it."
Chen Xin and Gu Rong remained on guard, turning their heads to look at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao's face was grim, but he said nothing.
Bibi Dong turned around, the hem of her Pope Robe fluttering slightly in the wind.
She glanced at Tang Hao's stance, then at the two Titled Douluos behind him, her gaze turning cold.
Then she stepped forward, shielding Qin Chuan behind her.
"Qin Chuan, stay behind me. Even with those two helping him, they can't do anything to us."
Her voice was calm, but brimming with confidence.
A Level 97 Peak Douluo with twin martial souls. Tang Hao already stood to gain nothing in a head-on clash, much less with Qin Chuan behind her.
During the standoff, Qin Chuan took something out of the [Wishful Treasure Bag], deliberately provoking Tang Hao to stoke his anger.
Fifty paces away, Tang Hao's eyes locked onto the cloth bundle in Qin Chuan's hand.
He could clearly sense the aura of the object inside. Those familiar soul power fluctuations were etched into his very marrow-it was Ah Yin's presence.
More than a decade had passed, and he had not forgotten it for a single day.
Tang Hao drew a deep breath, suppressing his fury.
But he knew he could not act rashly. With Bibi Dong blocking the way, breaking through head-on was almost impossible.
And with Qin Chuan's damned, bizarre domain, even one extra step could send him plunging into its depths.
At the edge of the woods, four Titled Douluos stood silently, watching coldly throughout. The oppressive atmosphere had reached its breaking point.
Chen Xin held the Seven Kill Sword, standing tall and straight as his gaze swept twice between Qin Chuan and Bibi Dong.
They arrived the moment we left. They're not content with killing a man-they have to crush his heart, too. This youth's cunning and methods are far more terrifying than they appear.
Covered in bone armor, Gu Rong narrowed his eyes at Bibi Dong ahead. His lips moved, but in the end, he said nothing.
With things as they are today, Tang Hao is probably in for a nasty fall.
"Have you no shame, resorting to such skulking thievery?" Tang Hao suddenly demanded, trying to gain the moral high ground over them.
Qin Chuan leaned halfway out from behind Bibi Dong, his expression relaxed.
"Stealing?"
There was a trace of genuine confusion in his tone.
"Wait, Tang Hao. Is this yours? How can you call it stealing?"
Tang Hao tightened his fist around the hammer's handle, his knuckles cracking.
"Ah Yin is my wife! You took her things. How is that not stealing?"
His voice abruptly rose.
"Now I demand that you hand it over immediately, this instant. Otherwise, I'll stop at nothing to shatter jade and stone alike-taking you down with me!"
As he spoke, the soul power coursing through Tang Hao suddenly surged.
Bibi Dong's expression darkened.
A Titled Douluo's self-detonation was astonishingly powerful.
If a level ninety-five Titled Douluo detonated himself, nothing within several kilometers would survive.
Even with her Level 97 strength, an explosion of that magnitude would leave her severely wounded. And Qin Chuan was behind her. At only level sixty-one, he could not withstand it head-on.
Qin Chuan was also weighing the situation.
Once self-detonation began, there was no turning back.
The Game Domain's rule-based power could control a living person's actions, but it could not control things beyond the domain.
It was the simultaneous disintegration of soul power and flesh, destruction on a physical level that lay outside the jurisdiction of the game's rules.
But... would Tang Hao really detonate himself?
Qin Chuan watched Tang Hao.
The man fifty paces away wore a face full of murderous intent, his soul power surging wildly as the black patterns on the Clear Sky Hammer raced across its surface. He certainly looked ready to strike at any moment.
But Qin Chuan noticed one detail.
Tang Hao's feet had not moved.
He stood there shouting about mutual destruction, but his feet were nailed to the spot. He had not advanced a single step.
Someone truly preparing to detonate himself would charge forward, closing the distance to maximize the explosion's power. He would not stand fifty paces away shouting.
Qin Chuan smiled. Before exchanging blows, he decided to strike at the heart.
"Tang Hao. More than a decade ago, you tricked Ah Yin into sacrificing herself. Now you have the gall to accuse us of stealing?"
Tang Hao's pupils abruptly contracted.
Qin Chuan continued, "If Ah Yin learned the truth, what do you think she would think? First you deceived her, then you exploited her sacrifice. These things don't belong to you. If they aren't yours, how can taking them be stealing?"
"You..." Tang Hao's voice caught. "Qin Chuan, you're saying I tricked Ah Yin into sacrificing herself? That's utter nonsense! What gives you the right to say that?"
His eyes reddened.
Not with anger, but with the redness of someone whose sore spot had been struck.
Qin Chuan saw it perfectly clearly.
"Do you dare swear to it?" Qin Chuan asked.
Tang Hao opened his mouth, then closed it again.
"Hmph! I have to swear just because you tell me to? I'll kill you, Qin Chuan!"
Tang Hao roared, and the Clear Sky Hammer flew from his hand!
Wrapped in a dense black gale, the pitch-black hammer tore through the air, hurtling straight toward Qin Chuan's face.
Bang!
Bibi Dong had already prepared to block. She stepped forward and unleashed the Death Spider Emperor True Body of her first martial soul. Eight thick, purple-black spider legs unfurled from her back, the two thickest crossing before her to meet the flying hammer head-on.
Boom!!
The massive hammer smashed into the spider legs, unleashing a shock wave of intertwined black and purple.
The ground shattered, turf flew, and dirt shot six meters into the air.
Bibi Dong was driven back three steps.
But she steadied herself. Purple light flashed across her spider legs, completely dissipating the Clear Sky Hammer's force.
The recoil sent the Clear Sky Hammer spinning back, whistling into Tang Hao's hand.
Tang Hao caught the hammer, the muscles in his arms bulging as he exerted his strength again and hurled a second blow.
This strike was even more powerful than the first. Dense black mist coiled around the hammer, and even the surrounding air cracked under the pressure.
Bibi Dong's gaze chilled. Light flowed around her as she seamlessly switched to the Soul-Devouring Spider Emperor Martial Soul, her entire body taking on an eerie green sheen.
Several spider blades gleaming with dark green light shot out from her arms, interweaving in layers before her to form a thornlike energy barrier.
Boom!
The Clear Sky Hammer slammed into the spider-blade barrier. The two terrifying forces collided with a thunderous crash, and the explosive shock wave ripped up the grass within ten paces, sending stones and dirt flying everywhere.
After taking two heavy blows from Tang Hao in succession, Bibi Dong's breathing fluctuated slightly, but her face showed not the slightest intention of retreating.
"Tang Hao, at level ninety-five against Level 97, you won't gain the slightest advantage." Bibi Dong's voice was icy, carrying an empress's indifference.
Tang Hao stood fifty paces away, gritting his teeth.
He knew Bibi Dong was right. In a head-on fight, he was no match for a Level 97 opponent with twin martial souls.
But he could not accept it.
Just then.
Out of the corner of his eye, Tang Hao saw Qin Chuan step out from behind Bibi Dong.
He was not retreating. He was advancing.
Qin Chuan was walking toward him.
Tang Hao thought, Damn it! At this distance!