"No."
Both men fell silent.
It was not as though they had never seen Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer.
Twenty years ago, they had both been present when the former Pope, Qian Xunji, led the attack against Tang Hao.
Back then, a single hammer strike from Tang Hao had shaken even Qian Xunji into coughing up blood and fleeing.
In that battle, even the Two Extremes Stillness Domain they had unleashed together had been smashed head-on by the Clear Sky Hammer.
Yet today.
Pope Qian Chenming had split the Clear Sky Hammer head-on with only his sixth Soul Skill, without even activating his Martial Soul Avatar.
Yue Guan drew a deep breath, his gaze settling on the dazzling golden figure in midair, his eyes filled with submission. "Old Ghost, tell me, how much stronger is His Holiness the Pope than His Holiness Qian Xunji was back then?"
Gui Mei fell silent for a moment. "There is no comparison."
"What do you mean, no comparison?"
Gui Mei paused, a tremor in his voice that even he did not notice. "This Tang Hao couldn't even withstand a single strike from His Holiness the Pope."
Yue Guan said nothing more.
They exchanged a glance, each seeing the shock and wild delight in the other's eyes.
They were shocked because this new Pope's strength was unfathomable, far beyond their imagination.
They were wildly delighted because a Pope like this was their master.
"All hail His Holiness the Pope!"
Someone shouted first, and then the Soul Masters inside and outside the Pope's Palace erupted into cheers like mountains roaring and seas surging, as though they were powder kegs set alight.
"All hail His Holiness the Pope!"
"So what if he's Clear Sky Douluo? Before His Holiness the Pope, he's nothing but a clay chicken or a straw dog!"
"Long live Spirit Hall!"
Wave after wave of sound rose higher, making all of Pope Mountain tremble faintly.
Inside the domain.
Leaning on his hammer's handle, Tang Hao slowly stood up, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, and stared at Qian Chenming in midair, his voice trembling with shock. "Who... exactly are you?"
Qian Chenming slowly drew back his sword, folded away his six wings, and landed outside the palace, his toes touching the ground without a sound.
He glanced at Tang Hao and said mildly, "The man who will take your life."
Tang Hao's pupils contracted, and he ground his teeth.
Qian Chenming raised his brows slightly, finding it laughable.
"Fine. Looks like I really won't be leaving today unless I hold nothing back."
Tang Hao slowly raised his hand, touching his fingertips to his first Soul Ring.
The yellow Soul Ring suddenly blazed, then burst apart, turning into a dazzling stream of light that poured into his body.
"Ring Detonation?!"
Outside the domain.
Everyone cried out at once.
It was actually Ring Detonation, the legendary, unrivaled secret technique of the Clear Sky Sect.
At that moment.
Even those other than Tang San roughly understood that the battered Tang Hao was preparing to stake his life in a fight against his opponent.
Before their cries had even faded, Tang Hao's second Soul Ring had already exploded.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
One after another, the next seven Soul Rings violently ruptured in sequence.
In an instant, all these Soul Rings transformed into an incomparably pure, brilliant gold.
Then the seven Soul Rings exploded simultaneously within moments, and all that golden light poured without reserve into the black-and-red Clear Sky Hammer.
Violent Soul Power rampaged madly through his body, and Tang Hao felt as though he were bearing the weight of the entire earth.
And so.
His entire being changed.
His disheveled hair whipped wildly, and nothing remained in his eyes but an almost deranged resolve.
"Qian Chenming," Tang Hao roared, "today, either you die or I perish!"
Qian Chenming stood where he was, his expression as calm as ever.
Watching the terrifying aura rising steadily from Tang Hao, he nodded lightly.
"If you had detonated all nine rings at the start, This Pontiff would have been somewhat wary of you." His tone was flat as he watched everything indifferently. "But now, Tang Hao, your Clear Sky Hammer is already broken. What does it matter if I let you detonate them?"
Tang Hao clenched his teeth. He could not bear to hear any of this; the more he heard, the angrier he became.
The Clear Sky Hammer in his hands suddenly rose, dark red light pouring from the cracks across it-the flames of burning life.
The detonation of all nine rings forged his unstoppable, life-or-death strike!
He swung the hammer, smashing it savagely toward Qian Chenming.
The space before the entire Pope's Palace seemed to shatter beneath this strike. The air compressed into rings of visible golden shock waves that spread wildly in every direction.
Even those Spirit Hall Soul Masters nearby who were merely brushed by the aftershocks were sent flying backward, coughing up blood.
Yet Qian Chenming remained unruffled. Just as he had said earlier, the half-crippled Tang Hao was no cause for concern now.
He merely raised his hands.
His six wings unfurled again, golden flames dancing at their tips.
Qian Chenming half-closed his eyes, pressed his palms together, and uttered the words in a low voice:
"Eighth Soul Skill, Angel's Wrath."
Boom!
Golden light shot into the sky.
A massive Angel God Statue materialized out of thin air in the heavens.
The statue stood over a hundred zhang tall, formed entirely of pure golden light. Its six wings spread wide, its face indistinct, yet it bore a majesty that could not be looked upon directly.
The Angel God Statue's hands curled around empty air, a golden pillar of light condensing between its palms and pointing straight at Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer.
Golden light and dark red radiance collided violently in midair.
There was no sound.
For that instant, heaven and earth seemed to go deaf, leaving only a ringing in everyone's ears.
Then a terrifying shock wave exploded from the center of the collision, and the square before the Pope's Palace seemed to be overturned by an enormous invisible hand.
Fortunately.
The Divine Envoy Domain protected it, preventing the impact from spreading beyond.
Yet a spectacle of such magnitude.
Still drove Tang San and the others outside, all far below the Titled Douluo realm, to the ground in terror.
This overwhelming force was too terrifying.
Even the Titled Douluo, including Sword and Bone Douluo and Poison Douluo, had to unleash their Soul Power together before they could devote their full attention to witnessing this exchange.
Then.
Their eyes all widened, revealing shock and disappointment.
Because there was nothing new in the course of events this time. Just as before, Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer began to crack in the golden light.
One inch, two inches, three inches-the cracks spread from the hammerhead to the handle, then from the handle to Tang Hao's hands.
Tang Hao gripped the handle desperately, but the cracks continued to spread unstoppably.
"No!"
Tang Hao roared, pouring all his Soul Power madly into the Clear Sky Hammer.
Yet the Angel God Statue merely raised its hands slowly, and the golden pillar of light grew heavier still.
Crack.
The Clear Sky Hammer shattered.
The entire Clear Sky Hammer, from head to handle, disintegrated inch by inch in the golden light, becoming a skyful of fragments that drifted in the wind like black ashes.
Tang Hao was blasted away by the residual force, slamming into a distant wall of the Pope's Palace outside the Divine Envoy Domain.
His chest heaved violently, bloody froth spilling constantly from the corners of his mouth.
Qian Chenming lowered his hands. The Angel God Statue slowly dissipated, and the golden light vanished.
He had already dismissed the Divine Envoy Domain.
Because Tang Hao was now gravely wounded and near death, and even his sound system had been smashed to pieces. Even given ten legs, he had nowhere to escape.
Landing back on the ground, Qian Chenming walked toward Tang Hao, one step at a time.
The Angel Holy Sword began to rumble as though thirsting for blood.
Tang Hao still tried to push himself up, but he could no longer raise his hands.
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