Not only that, Jin Jiuxiao spread his hands and mobilized his soul power. "Extreme Lightning Thousand Birds!"
His golden eyes lit up, and azure lightning coursed around him, faintly taking the shape of a thunderbird.
He abruptly raised his arm and swept it forward, conjuring countless thunderbirds formed from lightning.
Electric light rippled across their wings. A thousand birds cried out together as they surged forth in flocks.
They relentlessly bombarded Tang Hao, who was still being scorched by Dragon Breath.
Lightning and fire collided, setting off earth-shaking explosions.
The explosions threw dust into the sky.
Zi JI beat her wings, and a fierce wind scattered the dust, revealing Tang Hao's wretched state.
His entire body was covered in gashes.
Dark purple, searing energy and azure lightning coursed around him.
Blood seeped from the gashes bit by bit. His aura was feeble, and he leaned against the Clear Sky Hammer, barely keeping himself from falling.
"Urgh..." Tang Hao spat out another mouthful of blood.
"A soul beast turned human... level thirty-nine... three ten thousand year soul rings... cough, cough..."
He had never expected Jin Jiuxiao's soul skill to affect him.
That brief instant of paralysis had left him unable to mobilize his soul power or use any soul skills.
He had even lost the strength to swing the Clear Sky Hammer.
He had taken the full force of Zi JI's Dragon Breath.
What was even more fucked up was that, after Zi JI's Dragon Breath broke through his defenses, Jin Jiuxiao's Extreme Lightning Thousand Birds had dealt nothing but true damage!
The one he found most threatening was still this soul beast turned human named Jin Jiuxiao.
No matter how quickly the other soul beasts cultivated or how strong they were, they could not improve much in a short time.
But Jin Jiuxiao was different.
One of the greatest benefits of soul beast humanization was that their originally slow cultivation speed instantly became comparable to, or even surpassed, that of humans with the same talent.
Judging by his age, Jin Jiuxiao's human form was, at most, somewhere between seven and a half and eight years old.
At this rate, Jin Jiuxiao would undoubtedly become a Title Douluo within twenty years...
Jin Jiuxiao had already called in other hundred-thousand-year soul beasts to surround and kill him. If he died, could his son Tang San possibly be spared?
Impossible.
Tang Hao made up his mind almost instantly.
His flagging aura began to rise again.
Like the last flare of life before death, he forcibly suppressed every injury and briefly returned to his peak!
His gaze locked onto Jin Jiuxiao, who stood in the center opposite him. "Boy, I don't know where you learned about the past."
"But you're right."
"I failed Ah Yin..."
"I wronged her."
"I wasn't a good husband."
Soul rings appeared one after another.
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, red!
"Tang San is my son."
"But I never fulfilled my duties as a father. I wasn't a good father, either."
He activated Clear Sky True Body.
A sharp crack rang out in the air.
Tang Hao's first through fourth soul rings exploded together.
His aura climbed another level!
But there was still something he could do.
There was no escaping today.
That Hell Demon Dragon had roughly two to three hundred thousand years of cultivation.
That Dark Gold Terrorclaw Bear had at least four hundred thousand years of cultivation, by a conservative estimate.
The swan's cultivation was still uncertain, but she was clearly a support-type soul beast.
His only way out was to fight to the death!
If he won, he could bring Tang San at least four soul bones over a hundred thousand years old.
If he lost... at least in this moment, his conscience would be clear.
His fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth soul rings exploded in succession.
Tang Hao's aura had already far surpassed level ninety-two.
Jin Jiuxiao sensed Tang Hao's resolve to die. "Source Burning, and you're preparing for Nine-Ring Detonation? At least in this moment, I acknowledge that you're worthy of the name Clear Sky Douluo."
At least Tang Hao had not considered fleeing under these circumstances. That would only have made him look even more pathetic.
Tang Hao still possessed the pride of Clear Sky.
He was ready to fight to the death.
Xiong Jun laughed. "This trip hasn't been a waste, after all."
Had he wanted to, he could have interrupted Tang Hao's Ring Detonation the moment he stood up.
But he had not.
"Human, I'll give you a chance to stake your life on this fight."
"Show me just how strong you are at your limit!"
Who was he? He was Xiong Jun!
The king of ferocious beasts in the Star Dou Great Forest, second only to Di Tian!
Tang Hao could no longer survive.
Already injured, he was now burning his source and detonating all nine rings. His life had become a guttering candle in the wind.
It could go out at any moment.
Their objective for this trip had already been achieved.
What harm was there in giving Tang Hao a chance to settle the outcome with a single strike?
Xiong Jun did not believe he would lose to a human.
"As you wish." Tang Hao took a deep breath...
The ninth ring detonated!
Tang Hao's aura reached an unprecedented height.
He took a stance to gather his strength. "Nine-Ring Detonation-Great Sumeru Hammer!"
The Clear Sky True Body held the Clear Sky Hammer, its movements perfectly synchronized with Tang Hao's.
The Clear Sky Hammer rose high, then smashed down toward Xiong Jun's head!
Xiong Jun's massive body sank slightly. Every strand of his thick, dark golden fur stood on end, and all his vast, dense soul power gathered in his right claw.
His dark brown, gold-tinged Terrorclaw rapidly flared with light, turning a dazzling brilliant gold. Ripples that shook space swirled around its tips.
"Sky-Rending Claw!"
Five enormous, golden-gray crescent claw beams erupted into the air.
The claw beams tore through the sky.
The Sky-Rending Claw and the Great Sumeru Hammer collided head-on.
The shock waves alone peeled up the ground in layers.
Everything around them was shattered into dust.
Bi Ji unfurled a Soul Power Barrier, enveloping herself and Jin Jiuxiao.
Zi JI watched the ground intently from the sky, ready to deliver the finishing blow at any moment.
As the shock waves gradually subsided.
Everyone could finally see the scene on the battlefield.
Xiong Jun's fur was merely a little disheveled, and he slowly withdrew his Dark Gold Dreadclaw.
Tang Hao, opposite him, was down on one knee...
The Clear Sky Hammer had shattered, and his Martial Soul Avatar had been forcibly dispelled.
At some point, five claw marks had been carved into Tang Hao's chest.
The flesh within them was already gone.
Every trace of life had been extinguished.
Clear Sky Douluo had fallen.
Xiong Jun shifted into human form. "Not bad strength. Gave this old bear a massage. Nice and relaxing~"
After all, Tang Hao's current cultivation was only level ninety-two.
Jin Jiuxiao finally let out a full breath of relief. "As long as we achieved our objective."
He stepped forward, retrieved two soul bones from Tang Hao's mangled remains, and put them into his Storage Soul Tool.
They were the Clear Sky Sect's Inherited Right Arm Bone and Left Leg Bone.
He placed Tang Hao's corpse in the deep crater created by their clash. "Uncle Xiong, do me a favor and bury Tang Hao here."
"Sure." Xiong Jun completely buried Tang Hao with a few quick movements.
Zi JI also descended from the sky and returned to human form. "What do we do next?"
Jin Jiuxiao led the others toward Holy Soul Village. "Let's take the Blue Silver Emperor back first."
He planned to bring the Blue Silver Emperor back to the Blue Silver Homeland first so she could recover.
The sooner the Blue Silver Emperor recovered, the sooner he could completely cut off Tang San's Awakening Path.
Once he had settled matters with the Blue Silver Emperor, it would be time to set out for that place.
Before you continue