In the Sky Screen, Tang Chen tightened his grip on the blood-red hammer in his hand and warily surveyed his surroundings.
The ruins were strangely quiet, without even a whisper of wind.
He carefully made his way along the edge of the trench, which was as smooth as a mirror.
Before he had gone far, a mostly collapsed side hall appeared ahead.
Its pillars had been fashioned from a warm, lustrous white jade. Even broken, their surfaces still shimmered with a faint glow.
Tang Chen stepped over the shattered tiles littering the ground and entered the side hall.
A bronze rack in a corner caught his attention.
The rack was leaning to one side, and several broken jade bottles lay scattered on the floor.
He crouched down and picked up a half-broken jade bottle that was still relatively intact.
A little pale golden powder remained around its mouth.
Somewhat curious, Tang Chen extended a finger and lightly dabbed at the powder.
Boom!
The instant his fingertip touched that speck of powder.
A gentle, rich stream of pure energy, as vast as the sea, surged along his fingertip and straight into his meridians.
Tang Chen shuddered, his eyes flying wide open.
Within him, the resentment of the blood-red Nine-Headed Bat King had been wild and restless, constantly trying to turn on him and devour his sanity.
Washed by that gentle energy, it actually let out a soundless scream, then melted away like ice and snow, a small portion of it dispersing in an instant!
The torment that had plagued him for decades had been suppressed by this tiny bit of medicinal powder.
Tang Chen stared at the powder on his fingertip, his breathing growing rapid.
A mere trace of medicinal residue casually dropped on the floor of this side hall was actually tens or hundreds of times more effective than the finest immortal herbs on the Douluo Continent!
If he could find an intact pill, or locate the main hall of this complex, what earth-shattering opportunities might be hidden there?
Meanwhile.
Far away on the Douluo Continent, amid a sprawling mountain range in the eastern Heaven Dou Empire.
The peaks towered into the clouds, surrounded on all sides by sheer cliffs.
Only a few thick iron chains connected one peak to another.
Bitter winds howled past, making the chains clash and rattle.
This was the secluded home of the Number One Sect Under Heaven, the Clear Sky Sect, which had closed its gates for many years.
The grayish-white stone buildings looked especially desolate amid the wind and snow.
At that moment, in the Clear Sky Sect's front courtyard.
The current sect master, Tang Xiao, stood in the bitter wind with the sect's five elders and several hundred direct-line disciples, all gazing up motionlessly at the images on the Sky Screen.
Tang Xiao was powerfully built, his short gray hair standing upright in the wind like steel needles.
Tears had long since blurred his eyes.
His hands, hanging at his sides, trembled violently beyond his control.
Nor was he alone. Behind him, the white-haired Second Elder, Third Elder, and the other elders were also streaming tears. Several could barely stand and had to support one another.
When Tang Chen first appeared on the Sky Screen, they had not actually recognized him immediately.
The monster with enormous blood-red bat wings sprouting from his back and a withered, hideous face looked far too different from the imposing, domineering, invincible ancestor who had stood above all others in their memories.
But when that monster tightened his grip on the blood-red hammer in his hand.
The stirring deep within their bloodlines, together with the distinctive imprint of the Clear Sky Sect's cultivation method on that hammer, instantly shattered all their doubts.
"It's the old sect master. It really is the old sect master..."
The Second Elder, the most hot-tempered and stubborn of them all, was crying like a child.
His knees buckled, and he dropped heavily onto the cold stone slabs, pressing his forehead firmly to the ground.
"We always thought the old sect master had long since perished out there while pursuing that elusive seat of godhood."
"Who could have imagined that he was trapped in that place called Slaughter City, tortured into this state?"
The Second Elder's voice carried endless sorrow and regret.
Tang Xiao also drew a deep breath and wiped the tears from the corners of his eyes, his voice low and hoarse.
"How much suffering beyond ordinary people's imagination has our ancestor endured in that sunless place?"
"And what about us, his descendants?"
Tang Xiao looked around.
He looked at the desolate sect grounds and the young disciples who had grown somewhat timid after so many years of isolation.
"Because we feared Spirit Hall, because of a single threat from Qian Daoliu, we were frightened into closing our gates and hiding in these remote mountains like a pack of turtles with our heads tucked into our shells."
"We abandoned our subordinate sects and cast aside the dignity of the Number One Sect Under Heaven."
"We have failed our ancestor!"
Tang Xiao's words were like knives stabbing into the heart of every Clear Sky Sect elder.
Back then, they had decided to seal off the mountain to preserve the sect's bloodline.
But today, seeing their ancestor looking neither human nor ghost, they finally understood that true dignity had always been won with their fists.
"But now, everything has changed!"
The Third Elder wiped away his tears and abruptly raised his head, a roaring flame burning anew in his clouded eyes.
He extended a withered finger and pointed at the ancient ruins where Tang Chen stood on the Sky Screen.
"Did you all see that?"
"Our ancestor was blessed with fortune and a tenacious life. The Sky Screen chose him and sent him to the Great Thousand World."
"That place is called the Ancient Heavenly Palace!"
"You all heard what that Great Desolation Divine Lord said just now. It holds peerless divine arts that even a great figure like him must investigate in person."
"Every flower and blade of grass, every brick and tile there contains higher-dimensional laws beyond anything we can comprehend."
The Third Elder's voice grew louder and louder, echoing across the entire courtyard.
"Our ancestor merely touched a little medicinal residue on the floor, and it suppressed the evil thoughts within him."
"If he finds a true inheritance there, washes away all that foulness, and regains the peak strength he once possessed..."
"Or even if our ancestor manages to cultivate those Supreme Dharma Bodies we just saw!"
At those words, the hearts of everyone in the Clear Sky Sect began pounding wildly.
That was right.
Their ancestor had already been one of the Douluo Continent's greatest geniuses.
If he could start anew in a place like the Great Thousand World, with its abundant spiritual energy and countless cultivation methods.
Never mind Qian Daoliu of Spirit Hall.
Even all of Spirit Hall combined would be no more than a few ants their ancestor could crush at will.
"Hear your sect master's command!"
Tang Xiao spun around, a startling brilliance bursting from his eyes as he unleashed the full pressure of a Titled Douluo without reservation.
"From this day forth, the Clear Sky Sect lifts its mountain-sealing decree!"
"Send people down the mountain and reestablish contact with the Four Great Single-Attribute Clans from back then."
"Tell them that Tang Chen, the ancestor of our Clear Sky Sect, will soon return with supreme opportunities from the Great Thousand World!"
"We will soon repay Spirit Hall, with interest, for all the humiliation they have heaped upon us!"
For a time, deafening cheers erupted throughout the Clear Sky Sect's mountains.
The grievances they had suppressed for so many years vanished completely like smoke and clouds.
The sky gradually darkened.
Within the Balak Kingdom of the Heaven Dou Empire.
On Shrek Academy's training grounds, the night breeze blew past, rustling the leaves.
Tang San stood all alone in the middle of the grounds.
He had not gone back to rest like the other students.
His gaze remained fixed on the Sky Screen overhead, his mind a tangled mess filled with all the unbelievable scenes he had witnessed that day.
In particular, the little girl who was the Domain Lord of the Great Luo Heavenly Domain had left far too great a shadow over his mind.
Just as Tang San lowered his head in thought.
Heavy, dragging footsteps came from the direction of the academy gates.
Tang San raised his head warily.
By the dim moonlight, he saw a tall man in a shabby black cloak walking toward him, one step at a time.
The man reeked of cheap ale, along with the sour stench of someone who had gone years without bathing.
His hair was as messy as a bird's nest, and untidy stubble covered his face.
But when the man raised his head and looked at Tang San with the eyes hidden beneath his cloak's shadow.
Tang San froze.
He felt as though something had blocked his throat, and his eyes instantly reddened.
"D... Dad?"
Tang San's voice trembled badly, thick with disbelief.
He had not seen Tang Hao for many years, ever since they parted in Holy Soul Village.
He had dreamed of this dispirited father countless times, but had never expected to meet him again in this place, on a night like this.
At that call, Tang Hao's broad shoulders trembled slightly as well.
He stopped and pulled back his hood, revealing his weather-beaten face.
"Little San, you've grown taller."
Tang Hao's voice was very hoarse, carrying a profound weariness.
At the corner of a distant teaching building.
Flender and Zhao Wuji had sensed an outsider entering and were about to come out to stop him.
But when they saw who was beneath that shabby cloak, the two deans, both figures of some standing in the Soul Master World, were so frightened that they hurriedly ducked back.
Yu Xiaogang also stood in the shadows of the corridor, watching the father and son reunite with an exceedingly complicated expression.
Tang San hurried forward, reaching out to take Tang Hao's hand.
But he discovered that his father barely looked at him, instead staring past the top of his head at the images on the Sky Screen.
As Tang Hao watched the monster holding a blood-red hammer and exploring the ruins, a complex emotion Tang San had never seen before stirred deep in his eyes.
There was respect, heartache, and a profound pride.
"Dad, what are you looking at?"
Tang San followed Tang Hao's gaze and asked in some confusion.
"That person in the Sky Screen-his weapon looks exactly like my second Martial Soul."
Tang Hao drew a deep breath. Even the stench of cheap alcohol in the air seemed unable to conceal the turmoil within him.
He reached out with his large, callused hands and pressed them firmly onto Tang San's shoulders.
"Little San, do you know what your second Martial Soul is called?"
Tang San shook his head.
Tang Hao raised his head, his voice becoming resoundingly loud as it carried clearly across the quiet training grounds.
"It's called the Clear Sky Hammer!"
"The Douluo Continent's number one tool Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer!"
At that name, Tang San's pupils abruptly contracted.
Though he had always stayed in small places like Nuoding City and Shrek Academy, he had heard of the prestige of the Clear Sky Sect, the Number One Sect Under Heaven.
Could my origins actually be connected to that legendary sect?
Tang Hao gave a bitter laugh at the sight of his son's shocked expression.
"I wanted you to live peacefully as an ordinary blacksmith, far away from the grudges of the Soul Master World."
"But today, since the Sky Screen has descended, and since he has appeared in the world again."
"There are some things you ought to know."
Tang Hao pointed at the figure with bat wings on the Sky Screen.
"Little San, look closely."
"That man is the founder of our Clear Sky Sect, your great-grandfather, Tang Chen!"
Great-grandfather!
Tang San felt his head buzz, as though a bolt of lightning had struck.
That monster chosen by the Sky Screen to explore the Ancient Ruins in the Great Thousand World was actually my own great-grandfather?
"Your great-grandfather was once the Douluo Continent's only rank ninety-nine Peerless Douluo."
"With the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, he fought all beneath heaven without an equal."
Tang Hao's voice was filled with recollections of past glory.
"Unfortunately, he later vanished mysteriously while searching for an opportunity to become a god."
"We all thought he was no longer alive."
"We never imagined he had been trapped in an evil place like Slaughter City, schemed against and reduced to this state."
At that point, intense murderous intent and hatred flashed through Tang Hao's eyes.
He looked at Tang San, his tone growing heavy.
"Back then, I offended Spirit Hall over certain matters."
"To avoid implicating the sect, I was forced to leave the Clear Sky Sect and hide from place to place with you."
"I always thought that the two of us might have to cling to life in this dark corner for the rest of our days."
"But now, heaven has not forsaken our Clear Sky Sect!"
"Your great-grandfather went to the Great Thousand World, to that place called the Ancient Heavenly Palace."
Tang Hao's grip on Tang San's shoulder was astonishingly strong.
"San, take a good look at that world."
"Look at the power there. Look at the laws there."
"What does Spirit Hall amount to? What does Qian Daoliu amount to!"
"As long as your great-grandfather can find a fortuitous opportunity there and cleanse himself of all that evil qi."
"Once he masters the divine abilities of the Great Thousand World..."
Tang Hao raised his head and gazed at the night sky, as though he could already see the day Spirit Hall would be destroyed.
"We, father and son, will not only be able to return to the Clear Sky Sect with our heads held high."
"Our Clear Sky Sect will also be able to trample Spirit Hall beneath its feet and become the true ruler of this Douluo Continent!"
As he listened to his father's blood-stirring words.
Towering waves surged through Tang San's heart as well.
He had always thought he was a poor boy with no backing. He had never imagined that the number one sect under heaven stood behind him.
More importantly, his great-grandfather was now in that higher-dimensional world filled with endless treasures and divine abilities!
This sudden, dramatic reversal in his background filled Tang San with boundless anticipation and ambition for the future.
Meanwhile, in the images on the Sky Screen.
After fully absorbing the powder left on his fingertips, Tang Chen felt considerably lighter from head to toe.
With steady strides, he continued deeper into the ruins.
The Ancient Heavenly Palace was unimaginably vast.
Tang Chen walked for several hours, crossing countless fractured peaks and shattered plazas.
Every remnant along the way silently recounted to him the supreme splendor this land had once possessed.
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