Tang Hao shot toward Jing Shanshan like a cannonball out of its barrel.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger instantly realized that Tang Hao was going after its master. Its brain already had little to spare, and with anxiety rising, it could not think of an effective way to intercept him. It could only launch attacks at random, trying to hinder Tang Hao.
But just as Tang Hao could do little to the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, the tiger's attacks were hardly effective against a Titled Douluo like Tang Hao. They barely slowed his steps.
Qian Renxue saw all of this. She hurried a few steps to Jing Shanshan's side, her voice rising.
"My king, how about... a tactical retreat?"
Tang Hao still possessed the means to activate the Great Sumeru Hammer through Ring Detonation. Engaging him at close range would certainly let the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger hinder him, but if Tang Hao seized that opportunity to detonate his rings and kill it, the loss would outweigh the gain!
Qian Renxue knew that no matter how much she considered, the final decision rested with Jing Shanshan, so she silently waited for his answer.
"Retreat? Why?"
Jing Shanshan's tone was level. He pointed at Little Black, who was working hard to attack from a distance, with a hint of satisfaction in his voice.
"Little Black also has a very powerful trump card tucked away. In a one-on-one fight, even your grandfather could very well come to grief at Little Black's hands if it caught him with that trump card."
"What?!"
Qian Renxue knew full well that Jing Shanshan was not someone who liked to joke with her about such things.
That meant Jing Shanshan had witnessed the effects of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's trump card and knew what to expect.
But what trump card could bring down even a level 99 Titled Douluo?
Her mind could not quite catch up. Her family did have records of Soul Beasts like the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, but they were far too rare. By now, they were generally believed to be extinct, and the records offered only a fragmentary understanding of their abilities.
"Then why hasn't it used it? Is it too stupid to know how?"
"That's not it."
Qian Renxue blinked incredulously at Jing Shanshan, a guess surfacing in her mind that could explain his answer.
"My king, are you the one stopping the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger from using it?"
"Yes."
Qian Renxue was so anxious she wanted to claw at her ears and scratch her cheeks. She truly could not understand what Jing Shanshan was thinking!
Suddenly, a thought appeared in her mind.
Could Jing Shanshan have gotten himself killed by being this reckless? Was that why, however special his Martial Soul was, I never heard a single piece of news about him in the future?
After all, geniuses became known to everyone not because their talent was so great, but because they survived until they became famous, rather than dying in some nameless corner before they could grow.
No!
Not knowing would be one thing, but knowing and simply letting someone with such a special Martial Soul be lost would be a loss for Spirit Hall!
She had to take on the role of an elder and properly straighten out this child's awful disposition!
But... how?
At that thought, Qian Renxue's brain itched. Angry and anxious, she was utterly at a loss!
Jing Shanshan knew nothing of Qian Renxue's mutterings. He was still pondering something.
Once he forced Tang Hao to use the Great Sumeru Hammer, what method should he use to analyze Tang Hao's Ring Detonation technique? If he could understand most of it, it might offer some inspiration for creating King-Given Soul Rings.
Jing Shanshan understood the situation on the battlefield very clearly. Unless the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger used its final killing move, it could do nothing to Tang Hao.
With a thought from him.
Golden ripples spread around Tang Hao in every direction, leaving no blind spots, ring after ring densely filling the entire space.
"What is this?!"
Tang Hao instantly grew wary, and soon his question was answered!
Hundreds of blades and swords shot out of the ripples, targeting Tang Hao.
Tang Hao instinctively slowed a little and held the face of the Clear Sky Hammer across his front. The incoming blades and swords struck it and bounced away, clattering all over the ground.
His brow twitched. Judging by the force transmitted through the Clear Sky Hammer, these attacks could not harm his body at its current strength.
Tang Hao simply ignored the blades and swords that followed, picking up speed and charging headlong forward.
The relentless blades and swords struck Tang Hao's body, only shredding his coarse cloth robe without leaving a single mark on his skin.
The suppressive effect brought by the gap in level values was just that obvious, and just that despair-inducing.
A high-level Soul Master could stand still and do nothing, and even if a low-level Soul Master exhausted all their Soul Power, they might not hurt the other in the slightest.
"All flash."
Those were Tang Hao's only words of judgment for Jing Shanshan's counterattack.
When he was only ten meters from Jing Shanshan, Tang Hao suddenly felt an unusual gravitational force acting on him.
Why is there gravity too?
The shock in Tang Hao's heart was no less than what he had felt when he first learned that Tang San had Twin Martial Souls.
Just what kind of Martial Soul is this? Besides attack power outstanding among its peers, it can enhance Soul Beasts and even manipulate gravity?
Tang Hao's heart sank.
The owner of such a Martial Soul, such a genius, was not only Tang San's enemy but would soon enroll in Spirit Hall Academy!
Leaving him alone would only bring endless trouble! This blond child had to die here.
Intense killing intent rapidly spread outward from Tang Hao, enveloping Jing Shanshan.
But when Tang Hao looked at Jing Shanshan, the blond child neither dodged nor retreated. He did not even twitch an eyebrow, still watching him with a calm expression.
Years of battle experience gave Tang Hao a sense that something was wrong... and a trace of unease.
He abruptly looked at that beast. It was still far away, somewhere it could not possibly reach him, and showed no urgency to come forward and protect its master.
When faced with life and death, a beast was a beast, caring only for its own life. That was perfectly normal.
Having ruled out the source of his unease, Tang Hao banished all distracting thoughts, raised the Clear Sky Hammer high, and brought its head crashing down toward Jing Shanshan.
"Stop right there."
Qian Renxue shouted angrily, gripping a greatsword burning with golden flames in both hands as she launched a reckless charge at Tang Hao.
But she had only taken one step when she seemed to become glued to the ground, unable to take another. Her heart filled with despair and bewilderment.
A shackle shot out of the golden ripples toward Tang Hao.
Tang Hao snorted disdainfully. Without dodging or evading, he continued bringing the Clear Sky Hammer down toward Jing Shanshan.
But the instant the cuff snapped around his wrist, Tang Hao abruptly felt the circulation of his Soul Power stop. His entire body stiffened, unable to move?!
He had been suppressed in an instant?!
How could there possibly, possibly be an item in this world that could instantly suppress a Titled Douluo?!
Tang Hao forced down the storm-tossed waves in his heart and carefully examined the shackle on his wrist.
This shackle was actually a Martial Soul?!
What Martial Soul could possess outstanding attack power, a special gravitational effect, and the ability to enhance others, while also having such a terrifying suppressive effect?!