Tang San's Crushing Defeat!

Six black soul rings lined up beside Qian Renxue.

The pressure released by the ten thousand year soul rings descended on the Soul Fighting arena, layer upon layer.

Tang San's pupils contracted.

Even her first soul ring had reached ten thousand years.

This already went beyond his martial soul theory.

"Who exactly are you?"

Qian Renxue did not answer.

She took a step forward.

Golden soul power swept out from beneath her feet.

The Blue Silver Grass across the Soul Fighting arena withered all at once.

Tang San raised his right hand.

Dozens of strands of Blue Silver Grass swiftly wrapped around Xiao Wu and the two temporary teammates, carrying them toward the edge of the Soul Fighting arena.

"Leave this place."

The two temporary teammates had long since lost their will to fight.

Without any hesitation, they leaped straight off the Soul Fighting arena.

The host immediately raised a hand.

"Two members of Shrek Academy have left the arena."

"The match continues."

Xiao Wu did not leave.

She broke free of the Blue Silver Grass around her waist and returned to Tang San's side.

"Brother, I'm staying with you."

Tang San stood in front of her.

"She's here for me."

"Get off the arena first."

Xiao Wu shook her head.

"I won't leave you here alone."

Qian Renxue watched the two of them.

"Finished discussing?"

Tang San did not respond.

His right hand hung beside his waist.

His fingertips brushed over the Twenty-Four Moonlit Bridges.

Dozens of cold gleams flew out at once.

Bone-Piercing Nails, Locust Stones, Sleeve Arrows, and coin darts.

Each hidden weapon shot toward Qian Renxue from a different direction.

Tang San immediately followed with Ghost Shadow Perplexing Track.

His figure skimmed across the Soul Fighting arena, swiftly circling behind Qian Renxue.

The Eight Spider Lances sprang from his back.

The purplish-black Spider Spears carried deadly poison as they stabbed toward Qian Renxue's shoulders and back.

Qian Renxue raised her slender hand.

All the hidden weapons stopped three feet in front of her.

Golden soul power gently closed around them.

Crack!

Dozens of hidden weapons shattered simultaneously.

Iron fragments fell onto the Soul Fighting arena.

The Eight Spider Lances in Tang San's hands had already stabbed within reach.

Qian Renxue did not turn around.

A golden wing unfurled from her back.

The eight Spider Spears struck the surface of the wing.

The tips of the Spider Spears shattered one after another.

Tang San's face paled.

With his external soul bone damaged, searing pain immediately spread through his meridians.

Before he could retreat, the golden wing had already stretched outward.

Bam!

The wing swept into Tang San's chest.

His body flew backward dozens of meters and slammed heavily into the center of the Soul Fighting arena.

Four of the Eight Spider Lances on his back snapped.

The remaining four were also covered in cracks.

"Brother!"

Xiao Wu immediately rushed toward Tang San.

Qian Renxue shifted her gaze.

Golden divine light descended in front of Xiao Wu.

The Soft Bone Rabbit martial soul was suppressed.

All the soul rings beneath Xiao Wu's feet lost their luster.

She wanted to keep moving forward, but her body was pinned in place.

"Stay there."

"It isn't your turn to interfere in this match yet."

Xiao Wu bit her lip.

She desperately mobilized her soul power, but could not break free of the surrounding golden divine light.

Tang San braced himself against the ground with Blue Silver Grass.

He slowly rose to his feet.

Blood flowed from the corner of his mouth.

His external soul bone had suffered severe damage.

His Blue Silver Grass Martial Soul was also completely suppressed.

All his commonly used hidden weapons had shattered.

But he still had his second martial soul.

Tang San raised his left hand.

Black light gathered in his palm.

A heavy Clear Sky Hammer slowly appeared.

There were no soul rings.

Only the purest strength.

A stir immediately swept through the VIP seats.

"The Clear Sky Hammer!"

"Tang San actually has twin martial souls!"

Prince Xue Xing rose from his seat.

His gaze moved back and forth between Tang San and Qian Renxue.

The Clear Sky Sect had sealed itself off for many years.

Now that the Clear Sky Hammer had reappeared at the Soul Master Tournament, it meant Tang San must have a connection to the Clear Sky Sect.

Qian Renxue looked at the small black hammer.

"Finally willing to bring it out?"

Tang San tightened his grip on the hammer's handle.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill circulated through his meridians at full power.

The Clear Sky Hammer rapidly grew larger.

The heavy hammerhead struck the Soul Fighting arena.

A vast web of cracks spread outward.

Tang San gripped the Clear Sky Hammer with both hands.

His waist, legs, and arms exerted force together.

The first hammer strike swept out horizontally.

Qian Renxue raised her left hand.

Her slender fingers touched the surface of the Clear Sky Hammer.

Boom!

Immense force spread in every direction.

The protective barrier around the Soul Fighting arena shook violently.

Tang San remained in his hammer-swinging posture.

Yet the Clear Sky Hammer, weighing hundreds of jin, could not move even half an inch.

Qian Renxue gently pressed her fingers downward.

The Clear Sky Hammer instantly slammed down.

Tang San's arms sank with it.

His palms split open.

Blood flowed down the hammer's handle.

He tried to raise his martial soul again.

But golden soul power had already covered the hammerhead.

The Clear Sky Hammer grew heavier and heavier.

The stone bricks beneath Tang San's feet rapidly shattered.

His legs gradually bent.

"Kneel."

An even greater pressure descended on his shoulders.

Tang San's right knee slammed into the Soul Fighting arena.

Bam!

The stone bricks beneath his knee broke into fragments.

He supported himself with the Clear Sky Hammer and forcibly lifted his other leg.

"I won't kneel to you."

Qian Renxue walked forward.

Her gold-and-white team uniform swayed gently with her soul power.

Her long golden hair, tied high, fell behind her waist.

Six ten thousand year soul rings circled her.

With every step she took closer, the golden divine light on the Clear Sky Hammer grew stronger.

Tang San's arms kept sinking.

His other leg could finally no longer support him.

Bam!

Both his knees knelt on the ground.

The Clear Sky Hammer slipped from his hands.

The black hammerhead landed beside Qian Renxue's feet.

Qian Renxue lifted her soft golden boot and stepped on the Clear Sky Hammer.

Tang San immediately reached for the hammer's handle.

That was his martial soul.

It was also the symbol of the Clear Sky Sect.

But no matter how much strength he exerted, he could not retrieve the Clear Sky Hammer from beneath Qian Renxue's foot.

"Let it go!"

Qian Renxue looked down at him.

"Are you ordering me around now?"

Tang San raised his eyes.

His Purple Demon Eye was already operating at its limit.

Pale purple light shot into Qian Renxue's eyes.

The mental assault had barely entered her Sea of Consciousness before angel divine power erased it outright.

Agonizing pain shot through Tang San's eyes.

His Purple Demon Eye cut off on its own.

Two trickles of blood fell from the corners of his eyes.

Qian Renxue raised her right hand.

Her index finger touched the space between his brows.

Golden divine power entered his meridians.

The Mysterious Heaven Skill stopped circulating.

Blue Silver Grass and the Clear Sky Hammer both lost their connection to him.

Tang San knelt on the Soul Fighting platform.

His soul power had been completely sealed.

Apart from moving his arms, he could not even stand.

Xiao Wu kept battering the golden barrier before her.

"Let my brother go!"

"We surrender!"

Qian Renxue did not look at her.

"You can't surrender for him."

Tang San braced his palms against the ground.

He tried to lift himself.

The pressure on his shoulders increased again.

His back bent once more.

The black hair hanging over his forehead hid his eyes.

Qian Renxue withdrew her right hand.

"Tang San."

"Raise your head."

Tang San did not move.

Golden soul power lifted his chin, forcing him to look ahead.

Qian Renxue stood before him.

Her soft golden boot still rested on the Clear Sky Hammer.

"Didn't you want to prove yourself in the Soul Master Tournament?"

"Your ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring."

"Twin martial souls."

"External soul bone."

"And those hidden weapons."

"None of them are any use now."

Blood still stained the corner of Tang San's mouth.

"I've spent far less time cultivating than you."

"If I were your age, I wouldn't necessarily have lost today."

Qian Renxue looked at him.

"Using your age as an excuse because you lost?"

"Why didn't you say that when you faced people with less soul power than you?"

Tang San fell silent.

"There has never been absolute fairness between soul masters."

"The opportunities you've had already exceed those of the vast majority."

Qian Renxue pressed down slightly with her foot.

The Clear Sky Hammer sank into the Soul Fighting platform.

"Yet you're still kneeling here."

Tang San looked below the platform.

Dai Mubai lay beside a stone pillar.

Zhu Zhuqing and Oscar had not risen either.

Xiao Wu was trapped within the golden divine light.

The two temporary team members had long since left.

Shrek Academy had already lost.

There was no point in holding on any longer.

But once he said he surrendered, this scene would remain in every spectator's mind.

The wielder of twin martial souls.

The son of Clear Sky Douluo.

In the end, he knelt before a member of the Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team and admitted defeat himself.

Tang San closed his eyes.

"I surrender."

Qian Renxue did not move her foot.

"Say it in full."

Tang San pressed his fingers into the rubble.

Sharp stone fragments cut his palm.

"Shrek Academy surrenders."

Only then did the announcer react.

He looked at both sides on the Soul Fighting platform.

"Shrek Academy surrenders!"

"The Heaven Dou Royal Academy Second Team wins this match!"

No cheers immediately rose around the Soul Fighting platform.

Every spectator stared at Tang San kneeling on the ground.

Before the match began, his ten-thousand-year fourth soul ring had drawn the most attention of anything at Shrek Academy.

Yet from beginning to end, Tang San had not hurt Qian Renxue in the slightest.

His twin martial souls and external soul bone had all been defeated.

Even the Clear Sky Hammer had been trampled underfoot.

Qian Renxue withdrew her soft golden boot.

The Clear Sky Hammer turned into black light and merged back into Tang San's body.

She raised a hand and dispersed her divine power.

Tang San lost his support and immediately planted both hands on the ground.

The severe pain in his legs left him unable to rise.

The barrier before Xiao Wu vanished as well.

She hurried to Tang San's side and reached out to support his arm.

"Brother."

Tang San did not raise his head.

"Let's go."

Xiao Wu helped him slowly to his feet.

He could not fully straighten his legs.

Every step sent a stabbing pain through his knees.

As he passed Qian Renxue, Tang San stopped.

"I'll remember what happened today."

Qian Renxue turned her face toward him.

"The next time we meet, you'll still kneel."

Tang San said nothing more.

Supported by Xiao Wu, he walked toward the edge of the Soul Fighting platform.

The two temporary team members returned to the platform.

They lifted Dai Mubai and Oscar.

Zhu Zhuqing was also carried off the Soul Fighting platform.

Shrek Academy had arrived with seven people.

When they left, not one looked back.

Tang San walked beneath the spectator stands.

The gazes falling on him from all around made his steps grow heavier and heavier.

All his past glory had been crushed beneath Qian Renxue's foot when he knelt just now.

He clenched his teeth and dragged his injured legs out of the arena.

On the top floor of the Soul Fighting Arena.

Qian Daoliu stood before a floor-to-ceiling window.

He had watched the entire match.

The door was pushed open from outside.

Qian Renxue entered the room.

The divine light on her face gradually faded.

Her altered appearance returned to normal.

All six ten thousand year soul rings also merged into her body.

"Grandfather."

She came to Qian Daoliu's side and slipped her hand around his arm.

"I won."

Qian Daoliu looked at her.

"I saw."

Qian Renxue lifted her face.

"How well did I control my power this time?"

"When you suppressed the Clear Sky Hammer at the end, you used five percent more soul power than necessary."

"Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer was weaker than I expected."

"It wasn't the Clear Sky Hammer that was weak."

Qian Daoliu said, "His cultivation was too low."

Qian Renxue nodded gently.

"I'll be more careful in the future."

She leaned closer to her grandfather again.

Her high golden ponytail hung beside their linked arms.

"Grandfather, do you think I went too far today?"

"You already spared his life."

"I only wanted him to admit defeat himself."

Qian Renxue looked out the window.

Tang San and Xiao Wu had already left the Soul Fighting Arena.

That blue figure walked very slowly.

Blood from his knees kept running down his trouser legs.

"Killing him outright would let him off too easily."

"Only by making him leave with today's defeat can I make him remember that he isn't invincible."

Qian Daoliu withdrew his gaze.

"Since the match is over, let's return to the palace."

Qian Renxue immediately hugged his arm tighter.

"All right."

Golden divine light enveloped them both.

Space parted to either side.

Their figures vanished from the room.

The Heaven Dou Imperial Palace.

The rear garden.

The setting sun shone on the pond.

Broad swathes of golden-red light swayed gently with the ripples.

After bathing, Qian Renxue changed out of her Heaven Dou Royal Academy uniform.

A moon-white dress hugged her slender waist.

Fine gold thread was embroidered along its hem.

As she walked, the golden patterns flickered in the sunset.

She had not tied up her long hair.

Her smooth golden hair fell loose to her lower back.

A little moisture still clung to its ends.

Qian Renxue walked barefoot over the garden's white jade paving slabs.

Her slender ankles showed beneath the hem of her dress.

A few pale pink petals landed on her shoulders, then slid down her golden hair to the hem of her dress.

Qian Daoliu sat in the pavilion beside the pond.

A pot of hot tea stood on the table.

Beside it was a plate of freshly cut fruit.

Qian Renxue walked into the pavilion.

Without looking at anything on the table, she went straight to her grandfather and sat beside him.

"Grandpa."

Qian Daoliu glanced at her long hair.

"Why haven't you dried it?"

"I was waiting for you to help me."

Qian Renxue picked up a towel from the edge of the table and handed it to him.

She turned around, spreading her long golden hair over Qian Daoliu's lap.

Qian Daoliu lifted the ends of her hair.

The towel slowly passed over the damp golden strands.

The setting sun shone through the pavilion.

Her golden hair glowed in the light.

Qian Renxue lowered her eyes slightly.

Her fair profile rested in the soft light.

A few strands beside her ears swayed gently in the evening breeze.

"Tang San kept watching Xiao Wu today."

She picked up a piece of fruit and put it in her mouth.

"He considers Xiao Wu more important than the tournament."

Qian Daoliu said, "So you didn't attack Xiao Wu."

"I only dealt with Tang San today."

Qian Renxue picked up another piece of fruit.

She turned and brought it to her grandfather's lips.

"Open your mouth."

Qian Daoliu ate the fruit.

"Is it very sweet?"

"It's all right."

Qian Renxue laughed softly.

"You say it's all right every time, Grandpa."

She picked up a second piece.

"Try it again this time."

Qian Daoliu did not refuse.

Only after feeding him several pieces in succession did Qian Renxue set down the Silver Pick in satisfaction.

The moisture at the ends of her hair had been wiped away.

Qian Daoliu picked up the Jade Comb.

Starting at the roots, he combed her long hair for her.

Qian Renxue turned back around.

She held her skirt with both hands, gently swinging her bare feet.

The white jade paving slabs still held the warmth of the day.

A petal landed on the top of her foot.

Qian Renxue looked down at it.

She did not brush the petal away.

"Grandpa, will you watch the matches again tomorrow?"

"You don't have a match tomorrow."

"I can go with you to watch other people compete."

"Aren't you going to deal with the memorials?"

Qian Renxue raised her fingers.

"Deal with memorials in the morning."

"Practice the Azure Sky Thunder Domain in the afternoon."

"Have dinner with you in the evening."

"Then look over the match roster at night."

Qian Daoliu divided her golden hair into sections.

"You certainly have a full schedule."

"That way, I can keep you company all the time."

Qian Renxue turned her face toward him.

"I'm the Heaven Dou Emperor now."

"And Spirit Hall's Young Master."

"And a competitor in the Soul Master Tournament."

"Naturally, I have a lot to do every day."

Qian Daoliu finished braiding her long hair.

A golden ribbon was tied around the end.

Qian Renxue rose and walked to the pond.

She lowered her head to look at the water.

A figure in a moon-white gown was reflected in the water.

Her long golden braid hung down behind her shoulder.

Pale pink petals rested in her hair.

She raised a hand to straighten the neckline of her dress.

"Grandpa."

"Do I look pretty?"