Above Spirit Hall, a burly man in coarse hemp clothing slowly approached, terrifying Soul Power radiating from his body. Nine Soul Rings slowly unfolded around him, and his ninth Soul Ring was actually red, a Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring!
His appearance instantly alerted every Titled Douluo in Spirit Hall, while Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, standing on either side of the spectator stands, turned pale.
"It's him?!"
"Why is he here?!"
Bibi Dong narrowed her beautiful eyes slightly, her cool, pretty face turning cold in an instant. "Tang Hao!"
At that moment, a commotion broke out in the spectator stands.
"That's Tang Hao? I heard he soundly defeated Spirit Hall's previous Pope and killed one of its elders right after becoming a Titled Douluo?"
"That's no rumor. It's true. I never expected Tang San to have a connection to Tang Hao. Judging by him now, I reckon he's already become a Super Douluo!"
In the sky,
"A mere brat who still reeks of his mother's milk dares insult my son!"
"He's courting death!"
Tang Hao let out a low shout. "Xiao San, watch closely. This is a true Martial Soul Avatar!"
Rumble, rumble... crack, crack...
As soon as he finished speaking, a red Clear Sky Hammer hundreds of zhang long appeared above Spirit Hall. Its target was the Pope's Palace below!
"Tang Hao, how dare you?!"
Bibi Dong's pretty face was icy. Gripping her scepter, she gathered all the Soul Power in her body and formed a gigantic Soul Power barrier.
At the same time, several elders who had stayed behind at Spirit Hall also contributed their Soul Power to support the barrier.
Nothing could be allowed to happen to the Pope's Palace, and even less to Lin Chen, so she had no intention of going out to confront him directly.
As one of Tang San's cheat codes, Tang Hao, as he was now, was someone even Bibi Dong had no absolute confidence in taking down!
Defeating him was easy, but killing him was hard.
Even if she succeeded, she would surely be gravely wounded. By then, Tang Hao would be dead, leaving Spirit Hall with one fewer mortal enemy. With that obstacle gone, the deeply hidden Great Enshrined would inevitably make his move ahead of time.
Most importantly, Bibi Dong held no great grudge against Tang Hao. In some respects, his grievous wounding of Qian Xunji could even be considered a favor to her...
After weighing everything, Bibi Dong chose not to meet Tang Hao head-on at this time.
Bang! Boom, boom, boom...
A tremendous shock wave of Soul Power swept across Spirit City. Fierce winds erupted, and thunder roared deafeningly!
The Soul Power barrier covered a surface, while Tang Hao attacked a single point. Thus, even if his strength was no match for the combined might of Spirit Hall's Soul Masters, he could still damage the buildings within the barrier.
"Haaaah..."
Tang Hao gave a low shout. His Clear Sky Hammer was even bending and warping slightly, a sign of the power on both sides.
On the fighting platform,
Hu Liena's pretty face changed slightly, and she cried out, "Teacher..."
Lin Chen pulled her behind him with his large hand and instructed, "Stay right here and don't move. Keep an eye on her!"
"Brother Chen~ Teacher, she..." Hu Liena's delicate brows were knitted tightly, her alluring, exquisite face full of worry.
"Don't worry. I've got everything covered!"
Lin Chen's expression was cold and stern as he said, "He dared bully my wife. Who the hell cares who he is?!"
"After dealing with the young one, the old one's come too. Then I'll beat them both!"
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh...
With that, he leaped onto the dais.
[Soul Enhancement Pill: Can triple the host's Soul Power for the time it takes an incense stick to burn, with no side effects. Cost: 30,000 Villain Value] [Ding! Congratulations, host. Exchange successful.]
On the dais,
When Bibi Dong saw Lin Chen, a rare trace of panic appeared on her pretty face. "Why are you here? Go, quickly! There are Soul Power shock waves here. You can't withstand them!"
Lin Chen gazed intently into the air and said calmly, "A man can't say he can't do it!"
"He can bully me, but he can't bully you!"
"Today, I'll beat him up!"
Heh... this man was showing off again!
Though Bibi Dong's heart was deeply shaken, her voice was anxious. "Stop fooling around! You're only a Soul King. Get out of here, quickly!"
Lin Chen popped a pill and gave her a faint smile. "Dong'er, watch closely!"
"What are you going to do?!"
"Cut him down!"
As his words fell, Lin Chen leaped into the air. His Soul Power, already approaching the peak of the Soul Emperor realm, surged once more, reaching the level of a peak Soul Saint.
"Martial Soul Avatar, Red Firmament Sword!!!"
Hum, hum, hum... rumble, rumble...
The sky abruptly changed, and crimson-gold light blazed across it. A gigantic sword hundreds of zhang tall slowly formed, rapidly bearing down on Tang Hao along with Lin Chen.
"What?!" Tang Hao's expression changed slightly. He had thought Lin Chen was merely a Soul King of extraordinary talent. How could he have imagined that Lin Chen could unleash such a powerful attack?!
"Though I am only a Soul King, I can still cut down a Titled Douluo!"
The power of this strike was no weaker than that of a Peak Douluo!
Had Tang Hao been in his normal state, he naturally would not have feared Lin Chen's strike. But now he was at a critical point in his contest of strength with Spirit Hall's Soul Masters. How could he have any strength to spare?
Tang Hao's expression grew extremely grave. He was caught in a dilemma. If he withdrew his Soul Power, he could naturally deal with Lin Chen's threat, but if he gave up now, Tang San and Xiao Wu wouldn't be able to get out!
There was no choice. He could only take the blow head-on!
Tang Hao gathered what Soul Power he had left and shielded his side. But how could an ordinary Soul Power defense withstand Lin Chen's Martial Soul Avatar?
Hum, hum, hum... squelch!
The sword pierced Tang Hao's defenses and struck him in the shoulder, then slid downward, leaving a wound three inches deep across his front. Blood gushed out, and bone showed through the flesh!
"Haaaah..."
Tang Hao roared, and the ninth Soul Ring around him exploded in an instant. Immediately afterward, a surge of powerful Soul Power blasted Lin Chen's Red Firmament Sword aside.
"Ring Detonation!"
Ring Detonation allowed a Soul Master to draw fully upon the Soul Power of a Soul Ring, but the Soul Ring could not be used again for two months. Otherwise, it would shatter completely. That was the price of Ring Detonation.
Seeing his condition, Bibi Dong cried out, "Husband, come back, quickly!"
Seeing that Tang Hao had gone completely mad, Lin Chen no longer dared show off. He hurriedly retreated to avoid getting caught in the blast.
Boom, boom, boom...
Shock waves spread in all directions. In the end, Tang Hao broke through a small section of the Soul Power barrier, and a surge of Soul Power poured in, sweeping Tang San out.
But Hu Liena had already taken Xiao Wu back to the rear hall, and there was nothing he could do about it.
Rumble, rumble...
It took dozens of breaths for the shock waves to dissipate completely, and by then the figure in the air had long since vanished.
Tang Hao had already suffered severe internal injuries. Today, he had not only overdrawn his Soul Power but also detonated his most powerful Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring. His injuries were even worse, and he did not dare swagger around Spirit Hall any longer.
In the spectator stands,
An eerie silence fell over the Soul Masters from every side. What had they just seen?
A Soul King had used a Martial Soul Avatar to injure Clear Sky Douluo?
Most of the Soul Master Academies present were neutral, so they had no worries about what had happened today. But the Soul Masters of Heaven Dou, the Star Luo Imperial Family, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan were having misgivings.
At Skywater Academy,
Eight pairs of blue eyes stared fixedly at the figure on the dais, and the atmosphere fell into an eerie silence.
After a few breaths, Yu Hairou asked softly, "Do we still have a chance?"
A rare trace of disappointment appeared on the pretty faces of Shui Bing'er and the other women. Clearly, they too thought the gap between themselves and Lin Chen was too great, and they gradually tucked their admiring affection away in their hearts.
Seeing the gloomy mood, Xue Wu forced a smile. "All right, don't be down. Really, getting to know and spend time with Brother Lin Chen is already enough. Having someone we can admire and like is already a happy thing, so why trouble ourselves over it?"
Shui Bing'er nodded. "Xue Wu is right. We have to cultivate diligently, and hope that one day, we'll still be qualified to stand beside him and look upon his splendor!"
"Mm~"
Seeing that her two daughters and her disciples had not become trapped by their feelings, Shui Ningrou, an exquisitely beautiful mature woman, immediately relaxed. But while her daughters had let go, had she, their elder, done the same?
It was hard to say, impossible to explain...