Thunder Tai Tan, Self-Destruct!

"Hammer Shakes Heaven and Earth!"

Suddenly, Tang Xiao let out another furious roar, making the rare choice to unleash a soul ring skill.

Time on the battlefield seemed to slow with Tang Xiao's roar.

Crack, crack, crack.

Three Thunder Beasts were shattered by Tang Xiao's hammer, and he seized the opportunity to find an opening to break free.

"Sky-Piercing Strike!"

Immediately afterward, Tang Xiao's sixth soul ring lit up, and his Clear Sky Hammer descended from the heavens like a shooting star chasing the moon.

Despite moving later, he arrived first, placing himself in front of Tang Hao.

Clear Sky Body Protection!

With the Titan Sky Cannon already upon him, all Tang Hao could do at that moment was defend himself with his Clear Sky Hammer.

In the end, the Titan Sky Cannon was blocked.

Pfft...

But the tremendous impact and rampaging lightning still sent Tang Xiao's blood surging, making him spit out a mouthful of blood.

"Big Brother, how are you?" Tang Hao asked anxiously.

"Just some minor injuries. Nothing serious."

Tang Xiao waved a hand and instructed him gravely, "Brother Hao, be careful. Qin Xiao is stronger and harder to deal with than we imagined. This time, we mustn't stray too far apart, or he'll pick us off one by one."

A stumble into a pit taught a man wisdom.

After being fooled by Qin Xiao's feint, Tang Xiao had learned his lesson.

"Understood."

Tang Hao nodded firmly again.

"Do you really think that will be enough to counter me?"

Qin Xiao gave a cold smile. How naive.

At last, under everyone's gaze, Qin Xiao's first soul ring lit up.

That crimson Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!

"Dean Flender, get everyone from Shrek out of here!"

At the sight, Sword Douluo sensed trouble and hurriedly warned Flender.

He knew that if the rampaging Thunder Tai Tan appeared while these people were still on the battlefield, they would be in terrible danger.

He remembered that even a stray spark flying off Thunder Tai Tan was enough to kill a Soul Saint.

As for the power of his self-destruction, that went without saying. It was enough to reduce Shrek Academy to ruins.

In fact.

Even without Sword Douluo's warning, Shrek students such as Ning Rongrong, Zhu Zhuqing, and Dai Mubai had already been escorted out of the academy by teachers including Li Yusong, Shao Xin, and Lu Qibin.

The only ones left on the battlefield were the two Soul Saints, Zhao Wuji and Flender.

Upon hearing Sword Douluo's warning, both men swiftly retreated as well...

Just then.

A massive figure wreathed in lightning descended from the sky. It was the mighty, imposing Thunder Tai Tan.

Boom!

He landed heavily, making the earth tremble as though an earthquake had struck.

"My dining hall!"

The corners of Flender's mouth twitched.

Though he was far away, he still noticed at once that the colossal creature had crushed Shrek Academy's dining hall with a single step...

His heart was bleeding.

Thunder Tai Tan's thoughtless act had heaped snow onto the frost already covering the impoverished Shrek Academy.

"Dean, let's retreat a little farther. I feel like even a stray spark from that giant ape could kill us."

Zhao Wuji's concerns differed from Flender's.

Compared to worldly possessions like money, he cared far more about his own life.

"Old Zhao, you've got a point..."

Belatedly coming to his senses, Flender retreated again with Zhao Wuji.

This time, they withdrew a full two li...

"What the hell is that?" Tang Hao was stunned. He had never seen this soul skill before.

Tang Xiao's brow had remained furrowed ever since he first saw Qin Xiao. "What a powerful aura. It feels like his cultivation is even higher than mine?"

He felt that Qin Xiao's Hundred Thousand Year Soul Skill was downright heaven-defying.

"Go."

Qin Xiao pointed at the brothers, Tang Xiao and Tang Hao. "Destroy them!"

Boom!

The earth shook as the Titan Giant Ape leaped high into the air, his enormous shadow engulfing Tang Hao and Tang Xiao.

A fist the size of a house hammered down viciously at them.

"Big Brother, what do we do?!"

"Brother Hao, don't panic. Leave this to me!"

Tang Xiao frowned, his Clear Sky Hammer moving as swiftly and fiercely as a thunderbolt.

The technique he used was none other than the Breaking Character Art of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes!

Though Thunder Tai Tan was powerful, he was confident he could block this blow.

"It's over. Tang Xiao is done for!"

Sword Douluo's heart tightened.

"Uncle Jian, what's wrong?"

"Sect Master, I take it you've never seen a rank ninety-six or ninety-seven Titled Douluo self-destruct?"

"Uncle Jian, what kind of joke is that? Who would self-destruct for me to watch for no reason..." Ning Fengzhi smiled helplessly.

He thought Sword Douluo was joking with him.

But in the next moment, something suddenly occurred to him. His pupils contracted sharply, and disbelief spread across his face. "You mean..."

However.

Before he could finish, a boom erupted on the battlefield, followed by an earth-shattering explosion.

The deafening noise and intense lightning viciously assaulted everyone's hearing and vision.

Shrek Academy had been razed to the ground by Thunder Tai Tan's self-destruction.

"It's over! Am I going to be blind and deaf?"

Even from far away, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and the other Shrek students were badly affected.

"No."

"It's only temporary."

"But if something like this happens a few more times, it could do you considerable harm."

Li Yusong spoke up to reassure everyone.

Yet, despite his best efforts to conceal it, he could not suppress the tremor in his voice.

Moreover, he had forgotten-or perhaps simply failed to notice-that the students beside him could no longer see or hear anything...

"It's over! My Shrek is completely gone!"

"Your Holiness, you might as well kill me!"

Elsewhere, Flender first stared in stunned disbelief, then felt as though knives were carving into his heart...

For someone who valued money as dearly as his life, having the academy destroyed was worse than death...

"Thrilling! This is so damn thrilling! Is this His Holiness the Thunder Emperor's true strength?"

By contrast, the rough, carefree Zhao Wuji only grew more excited as the battle intensified.

"Cough, cough, cough..."

"Qin Xiao. What a Qin Xiao you are. I thought I'd already given you enough credit, but you've still exceeded my expectations."

At that moment, two figures rose amid Shrek's ruins.

They were Tang Xiao and Tang Hao.

Only now, their clothes were in tatters, their hair disheveled, and every patch of exposed skin was blackened...

Their ears were even still ringing.

The blast had stunned them senseless, and only now had they recovered their wits.

"I didn't expect your hides to be this thick, either."

From high in the air, Qin Xiao's voice also carried surprise.

He had not expected Tang Xiao and Tang Hao to still be able to stand after such a sudden, massive explosion at such close range.

But that hardly mattered.

He just had to hit them with another wave.

"Go!"

He waved his hand, sending the six remaining Thunder Beasts charging at Tang Xiao while he began gathering power again.

"Brother Hao, fight alongside me. This brat is already a spent arrow at the end of its flight," Tang Xiao said gravely.

"Until I tear out his tendons and flay his skin, the hatred in my heart won't fade." Tang Hao gritted his teeth in fury.

But after the brothers joined forces to hammer the remaining Thunder Beasts to death, they were shocked to discover that Qin Xiao's first soul ring had lit up again.

Tang Xiao and Tang Hao felt their scalps prickle and a chill run down their spines.

"No way?"

"He can't really pull the same trick again, can he?"