His back smashed through the wall, and rubble rained down onto his blood-smeared face.
Soul Power ran wild through his meridians. Tang Hao's body was now like a wild horse that had slipped its reins, unable to gather even a trace of Soul Power.
Qian Chenming's footsteps were unhurried, each step landing on Tang Hao's heartbeat.
"Tang Hao," he began, his voice cold, "did you just say you would destroy the Pope's Palace?"
Tang Hao raised his head. In those once untamable eyes, an emotion that had never appeared before finally surfaced.
It was fear!
Fear unlike anything he had ever known!
His lips moved, but his injuries were so severe that he could not make a sound.
In the distance, Sword and Bone Douluo both paled slightly, utterly shaken and terrified by the scene.
Who was Tang Hao?
The youngest Titled Douluo in the history of the Douluo Continent.
In terms of strength, both of them had to respectfully address him as their senior.
Yet now, beneath Qian Chenming's sword, he was practically a dead man.
Poison Douluo Dugu Bo's serpentine eyes were fixed on the humming Angel Holy Sword in Qian Chenming's hand, fear surfacing in them.
He had seen countless powerful figures and killed countless people, yet he had never seen anyone so young and so terrifying.
And he had actually been thinking of causing trouble right under the nose of such a terrifying figure.
He truly had no idea how close he had come to death.
Looking back on that scene, Dugu Bo could not help breaking into a cold sweat, a chill running down his back.
The entire venue was deathly silent.
No one dared move.
Tang Hao's breathing grew heavier. Gritting his teeth, he rasped, "No, how could this happen..."
Even now.
He still could not believe it.
He was Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Douluo, undefeated his entire life, yet today he had suffered such a swift and complete defeat.
Qian Chenming had already stopped three paces before him, looking down at him.
Tang Hao's pupils abruptly contracted.
He suddenly remembered what he had once said before Spirit Hall: "I, Tang Hao, have never been inferior to anyone."
Yet now, he did not even have the strength to stand.
Just then, a figure rushed out from beyond the arena.
Tang San's face was deathly pale. "Dad, no!"
His voice trembled, sharp and shrill.
Qian Chenming did not spare him a glance or hesitate.
The Angel Holy Sword descended, and golden light flashed.
A head rolled onto the ground, and those defiant eyes finally lost their light completely.
Wind swept past the Pope's Palace, dispersing the smell of blood in the air.
The entire venue fell deathly silent once more.
No one dared speak. No one dared move.
Withdrawing the holy sword, Qian Chenming turned and swept his gaze across the crowd.
Seeing Tang San still approaching without any regard for his own life, he lashed out with a streak of golden light like a whip.
Instantly, Tang San flew sideways like a kite with its string cut, crashing heavily to the ground and passing out.
"Know your limits!"
Qian Chenming withdrew his hand as though he had merely brushed away a speck of dust.
His voice began to weigh on everyone's hearts:
"The traitor Tang Hao trespassed into Spirit Hall, injured our disciples, and destroyed our buildings. His crimes were unforgivable, and he has now been executed!"
His words fell.
Yu Xiaogang's voice rang out in a frenzy:
"Qian Chenming! You've already won! What more do you want? Why must you wipe everyone out?"
Supporting the unconscious Tang San and looking at the bloody corpse of his idol Tang Hao, whose house had collapsed in the literal sense, he felt more devastated than ever before.
Tang San was the worthy minister of his dreams, the one who would substantiate his theories and bring him to the pinnacle of life.
Yet now Qian Chenming had gravely injured him.
And the Clear Sky Douluo was the very faith he had pursued all his life.
Qian Chenming stopped and turned his gaze on Yu Xiaogang, as though looking at an ant that did not know its own limits.
"What more do I want?"
He chuckled softly, his smile utterly indifferent.
"You're asking me what more I want?"
"Tang Hao trespassed into Spirit Hall, injured my disciples, and destroyed my sect. His crimes were unforgivable. His execution was only natural."
"Tang San deliberately tried to stop me, an act tantamount to treason. He should count himself fortunate that I, the pontiff, spared his life. As for you..."
He paused, looking down at Yu Xiaogang.
"A piece of trash whose Martial Soul is already crippled dares shout and yell before Spirit Hall?"
Yu Xiaogang's face turned deathly pale. His lips trembled, but for a long while, he could not utter a word.
His pride, the theories he had taken pride in all his life, and Tang San, whom he regarded as his hope, had all shattered before him at that moment.
"What... what do you know!"
Yu Xiaogang suddenly roared, his eyes red and his voice hoarse.
"You don't understand anything! Tang San is a genius who comes along once in a century! He is the culmination of my life's work!"
He lowered his head to look at Tang San's pale face, and his voice suddenly dropped.
Qian Chenming said nothing, merely watching him.
"But you! You ruined him!"
Yu Xiaogang raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, tears streaming down his cheeks.
"I'm telling you, Qian Chenming, Tang San could have become the most powerful being on the Douluo Continent. He is a rare genius unlike any this continent has ever seen, and you have strangled the future of the entire continent with your own hands!"
"You are a sinner against the continent!"
The more he spoke, the more agitated he became, yet his voice grew increasingly hoarse, until he was almost sobbing as he shouted.
Before the Pope's Palace, the wind whimpered, and everyone silently watched this middle-aged man fall apart.
Qian Chenming watched him for a long time, seemingly expecting something.
Expecting Yu Xiaogang to say, "From this moment on, I will destroy Spirit Hall at any cost."
But he did not.
He was simply afraid. Qian Chenming knew that.
Thus, after listening for quite some time, Qian Chenming finally said just one word:
"Amusing."
He turned away without sparing Yu Xiaogang another glance.
He had always disdained lifting a hand against trash. It was a sheer waste of effort.
His gaze swept across the crowd. Sword and Bone Douluo lowered their heads in silence, Dugu Bo streamed with cold sweat, and not a sound could be heard before the Pope's Palace.
Only the Shrek group cast resentful looks his way.
Among them, Xiao Wu clenched her fists.
She hated herself. If not for her, Tang Hao would not have died, Tang San would not have been lying here, and Shrek would not have been trampled underfoot.
But she could not move.
A single glance from Qian Chenming.
That utterly indifferent gaze, which could not even be bothered to reveal killing intent, held her in place with ease.
The Spirit Hall guards and Soul Masters on either side had long since sealed off every route of escape.
So what if she was a hundred-thousand-year soul beast?
Right now, she was merely a lowly Soul Master.
Before absolute strength, she did not even have a chance to fight for her life.
At that moment, Qian Chenming walked over to Tang Hao's corpse and bent down.
Two unidentified objects were separating from the flesh and floating upward, emitting a faint golden light.
On the left was a miniature right arm bone, black throughout, its deep black radiance held within.
Yet its powerful, violent energy fluctuations were enough to alarm anyone.
On the right was a miniature left leg bone, dark cyan throughout, its energy fluctuations no weaker than those of the right arm bone.
Indeed, both were Soul Bones, and exceptionally complete ones at that.
Soul Bones also came in different grades, yet the two before him were both extraordinarily complete.
Before you continue