The world seemed to fall silent in that instant.
An invisible force smoothed away the raging currents of air. The scorched smell lingering in the air and the sizzling of lightning also seemed to be quietly wiped away by a great hand. Only that man's low, hoarse words echoed through the deathly silent forest, carrying an indescribable weight.
"Beast, you dare hurt someone?"
Those few words were like a decree from a heavenly god, imbued with a majesty that made even the soul tremble.
The Thunderhorn Zheng, which a moment ago had blazed with ferocity and seemed determined to tear Ling Feng apart, now froze in place and retreated several steps. Its scales trembled faintly beyond its control, and its heavy panting was filled with utter terror. Its cruel, cunning slit pupils locked onto the tall figure wrapped in shabby gray clothes in sheer horror, as though it had seen an existence it could neither comprehend nor resist.
Ling Feng slumped on the ground, his back against a charred, broken tree. Agonizing pain pierced his right arm, blood churned in his chest, and every breath burned. Yet he forced himself to stay alert, driving his Purple Demon Eye to its limit as he stared fixedly at the figure standing before him.
So strong!
Indescribably strong!
It felt as though he faced not a man, but an unfathomable abyssal sea, a towering mountain that pierced the heavens! Merely the air of despondency and deathly stillness the man naturally exuded left this nearly two-thousand-year-old Ferocious Beast afraid to breathe heavily! This was absolutely beyond what a Soul Emperor or Soul Saint could do! He was very likely... an existence standing at the pinnacle of the continent!
A Titled Douluo?!
The thought exploded like thunder in Ling Feng's mind! His heart began pounding uncontrollably! A Titled Douluo was actually hiding deep within this Soul Hunting Forest?
Out of the corner of his eye, he had caught the man's gaze seemingly lingering for an instant on his Clear Sky Hammer, which had yet to dissipate, when the man appeared. That gaze had been far too complicated, containing surprise, suspicion, scrutiny, and even a trace of... indescribable pain?
The Clear Sky Hammer...
An even more terrifying guess surfaced in Ling Feng's mind: Could it be him?!
The gray-clad man no longer looked at the trembling Thunderhorn Zheng, seemingly finding even telling it to scram unnecessary. He slowly turned around. His worn hood covered most of his face, leaving only a jaw covered in somewhat unkempt stubble visible. Yet Ling Feng could clearly feel two almost tangible gazes piercing the hood's shadows and pinning him firmly in place.
That gaze was not sharp, yet it carried a weight that seemed to see through everything, making Ling Feng feel that none of his secrets had anywhere to hide. Even his thoughts grew sluggish.
The air congealed like a block of lead.
Just as Ling Feng felt he was about to suffocate beneath that silent pressure, the gray-clad man moved. He made no unnecessary movements, merely raising his left hand casually, extending his index finger, and flicking it lightly toward the Thunderhorn Zheng, which lay prostrate on the ground, not daring to whimper.
There was no dazzling radiance, no earth-shaking fluctuation of Soul Power.
Pop!
A muffled sound rang out, like a watermelon bursting.
The Thunderhorn Zheng's head, covered in hard scales, seemed to have been struck viciously by an invisible giant hammer. Without warning, it caved in and exploded! Red and white matter sprayed outward, mixed with scales and shattered bone!
Its massive body collapsed limply to the ground as though every bone had been pulled out. Its limbs twitched a few times before it fell completely still, leaving only faint sparks of electricity crackling at the severed stump.
A ferocious Soul Beast nearly two thousand years old was scarcely stronger than an ant before this gray-clad man. With a casual flick of a finger, he had crushed it on the spot!
Overbearing! Disdainful! Treating living beings like worthless grass!
Ling Feng's pupils contracted sharply, and every hair on his body stood on end. A chill shot from the soles of his feet straight to the crown of his head! Was this the power of a Titled Douluo?! It simply... exceeded the limits of what he could imagine strength to be!
The gray-clad man seemed to have done nothing more than something utterly insignificant. He did not even glance at the Soul Beast's corpse. His mountain-heavy gaze returned to Ling Feng, finally settling on Ling Feng's left hand-on the pitch-black Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul that emanated a heavy, domineering presence.
Time passed, second by second.
Every second stretched as long as a year.
The invisible pressure did not dissipate. Instead, with the Thunderhorn Zheng's death, the space seemed even more deathly silent and oppressive. Ling Feng could even hear his heart pounding like a drum inside his chest. Sweat soaked the tattered clothing on his back, which clung coldly to his wounds and brought waves of stinging pain.
He knew he could not let this continue. Before this mysterious powerhouse, any unnecessary movement might invite utter disaster. He had to speak first, even if his voice was hoarse:
"Thank you for saving me, Senior!"
The gray-clad man seemed not to hear his thanks. The shadows beneath his hood shifted slightly, as though he were still examining the dark hammer. At last, that low, hoarse voice sounded again, like rusted iron scraping together. It erupted through the deathly silent forest with an unquestionable demand:
"Boy..."
His voice was not loud, yet it struck Ling Feng's heart like a heavy hammer.
"That Martial Soul of yours..."
The gray-clad man paused, his tone carrying an exceedingly complicated yet bone-chilling scrutiny.
"Where did it come from?"
Boom!
Those simple words exploded in Ling Feng's mind like four thunderclaps!
The question he feared most had come!
The Clear Sky Hammer! The world's number-one Tool Martial Soul! And the symbol of a powerful, ancient, mysterious sect!
This gray-clad man's strength was so terrifying, and his reaction to the Clear Sky Hammer was so unusual... It was almost certain!
This despondent gray-clad man before him was the one who concealed his identity, bore a blood-deep vendetta, and guarded Tang San's side-the Clear Sky Douluo! Tang Hao!
He had recognized the Clear Sky Hammer! He was demanding to know who in this world, apart from the Clear Sky Sect's direct descendants and the Tang family, could possibly awaken the world's number-one Tool Martial Soul!
Lie? Ordinary lies would probably be exposed instantly before him! Tell the truth? A system, transmigration? Sign-in rewards? That would only get him taken for a madman or make him even more suspicious! What should he do?
An immense sense of crisis engulfed Ling Feng in an instant, like icy seawater!