The Clear Sky Sect Prepares to Act Again

Nearly a year passed in the blink of an eye. The two women had been pregnant for ten months and were approaching the time to give birth.

Over that nearly full year, the towering mountains and precipitous ridges of the entire Douluo Continent had become Tang Hao's personal pole-vaulting stage.

Relying on his pole-vaulting hammer, which sickened anyone who came into contact with it, he swaggered through the mountains and wilderness, brimming with confidence.

Every time, the pursuing disciples and sect elders could only crane their necks, stand bewildered in the wind amid sour, stinking black water splattering across the sky, and choke on his exhaust fumes.

The sea was vast enough for fish to leap, and the sky high enough for Hao to jump. With this great hammer, Tang Hao vaulted across the mountain peaks and carved out a bright, clear sky all his own.

Tang Hao leaped about with carefree ease, but Tang Xiao was the one who suffered.

Because Tang Hao frequently and deliberately revealed their whereabouts, the alarms warning of sect pursuers never ceased. A chase broke out at least once a month.

Tang Xiao had to fend off attacks from their pursuers while dividing his attention to care for the two pregnant women awaiting childbirth. He spent his days on tenterhooks.

He had already broken through to Level 90 some time ago, but their constant flight had left him unable to find an opportunity to absorb his Ninth Soul Ring.

During this time, the old rabbit spirit Ah Rou had grown suspicious, but Tang Hao silenced her by saying the side effects of the Soul Skill were too conspicuous and made it easy to pinpoint their location.

The most harrowing encounter came when the Clear Sky Sect's Fifth Elder, Sixth Elder, and Seventh Elder Tang Lie, who likewise had yet to absorb his Ninth Soul Ring, joined forces to lead a team in surrounding them: two Titled Douluo and one Quasi-Titled Douluo.

Titled Douluo could stay aloft briefly, and even Tang Lie, a Quasi-Titled Douluo, could barely manage it. They sealed off the airspace from three directions, determined to capture the group in one stroke.

Who could have imagined that Tang Hao had already mastered all sorts of fancy tricks with his Pole Vault?

Facing the three elders' aerial interception, Tang Hao used his Eighth Soul Skill, injecting Soul Power to rapidly extend the long handle. He twisted sharply in midair and smashed Tang Lie down with a single blow.

Using the recoil from that strike, he showed off a 360-degree spin in midair and sprang away like a coiled spring.

Under the pressure of the three elders' successive attempts to block and intercept him, Tang Hao used his Clear Sky Hammer's giant handle, lengthened to extraordinary proportions by his Eighth Soul Skill, to launch himself repeatedly off the mountain walls and through the sky.

At last, under that extreme pressure and stimulation, he broke through... and stepped into Level 89 in one bound.

The Fifth Elder, Sixth Elder, and Tang Lie were left behind. Not only had they failed to so much as touch the hem of his clothes, but they had also been struck in the face by wave after wave of foul-smelling black water, leaving them hopping mad.

Clear Sky Sect, council hall.

"Shameful! An utterly unprecedented humiliation for the sect in all its centuries!"

The Fifth Elder smashed the teacup in his hand to pieces. His beard trembled violently with rage, and flecks of spittle sprayed across the table.

"The world's foremost tool Martial Soul was supposed to embody supreme hardness and strength. What kind of base tricks has that unfilial wretch turned it to now?"

"Every day he plants that great hammer on the mountains and goes flying all over the place, shouting, 'Pole Vault, I jump again!' What kind of behavior is that?"

The Sixth Elder's face was livid as he said through gritted teeth:

"What's even more infuriating is that the fellow kept jumping around in the sky, and even with the three of us personally leading the pursuit, we couldn't do a thing about a pole flinging stinking water everywhere."

Tang Lie sat in his chair without a word, his aged face dark.

He had yet to hunt down his Ninth Soul Ring. He had always held himself in high regard and wanted the Soul Ring of one of the rabbits.

But whenever he recalled Tang Hao's carefree figure planting a pillar against the heavens among the mountains and launching himself skyward, Tang Lie's gaze could not help wavering.

Titled Douluo without flying Martial Souls could indeed stay aloft briefly, but they could not sustain it, and they were not as agile in changing direction as they were on the ground.

Even their ancestor Tang Chen was only said to be invincible on the ground.

Tang Hao's Eighth Soul Skill, Pole Vault, on the other hand, only required him to plant his hammer in the ground and build up force to launch himself as swiftly as a thunderclap. He could also use that force to change direction at will in midair.

Tang Lie lowered his head and looked at his rough, aged hands. His Adam's apple bobbed quietly.

Unexpectedly, the report that followed brought the atmosphere in the hall to a climax.

"Reporting to the sect master and elders..."

A sect steward came to the foot of the hall and bowed, trembling, as he reported:

"Over the past half month, the atmosphere within the sect... seems to have run into some problems."

Tang Zhen frowned deeply. "Why are you hemming and hawing? Speak plainly."

The steward swallowed and steeled himself.

"The young disciples in the sect who have just broken through to a major realm are privately full of admiration for the Soul Skill Tang Hao used to break through the encirclement. Several disciples have already secretly absorbed... Lone Bamboo Soul Rings, without their elders knowing..."

At these words, every elder in the hall froze.

Pale-faced, the steward continued:

"After absorbing Lone Bamboo, the disciples also obtained the Pole Vault Soul Skill. Now... a group of disciples excitedly practice Pole Vault every day, taking their hammers and flying all over the sky..."

"Outrageous!"

The Fifth Elder slammed the table and sprang to his feet, beside himself with fury.

"Look! All of you, look! What is this? Is our world's foremost sect going to turn into the Jumping Sect? Investigate! Investigate thoroughly! Anyone who absorbed a Lone Bamboo Soul Ring without permission and has been jumping around the sect is to report to the Discipline Hall for fifty lashes."

The steward fell silent as a cicada in winter, accepted the order, and withdrew.

But Seventh Elder Tang Lie felt an itch in his heart.

Absorbing a Lone Bamboo Soul Ring with the Clear Sky Hammer gives you the Pole Vault Soul Skill? Should I... find a ten-thousand-year Lone Bamboo and try it myself?

As soon as the thought surfaced, Tang Lie hastily snuffed it out.

He cursed himself inwardly, thinking he must have gone mad to entertain such an idea. He hurriedly forced his face into a stern mask and put on an expression of utter disgust.

Once his anger had subsided somewhat, Tang Zhen rubbed his throbbing temples and said in a deep voice:

"Set this farce aside for now. The main issue today is how to keep that unfilial wretch from escaping. How can we counter the Pole Vault Soul Skill?"

At his words, silence fell over the hall.

The Sixth Elder sighed.

"Our Clear Sky Sect has always favored pure explosive force and strength. Our disciples fight with sweeping, powerful moves, relying entirely on their great hammers to smash people. When we run into a slippery loach bouncing and flying around in the sky like that, we simply can't find an opening."

"Can't we call on the four affiliated clans?" a sect official suggested quietly.

Tang Lie sneered, his eyes full of disdain.

"How are the Strength, Defense, and Breaking Clans any different from us? Besides, the Strength Clan acknowledges Tang Hao as its master, so they probably won't help us. The only hope is the Speed Clan, but although they're incredibly fast, their attack power is pitifully weak. If they try to stop him by force, Tang Hao will knock them down with one swing of his hammer."

"To put it bluntly, the whole continent knows that our Clear Sky Sect and the four clans under us are nothing but a bunch of brutes. On level ground, even ten Tang Haos would have to stay put. But the moment he presses down on his hammer handle, he's in the sky. Who can stop him?"

A sect official said angrily, "Damn it, is there really no way?"

The Sixth Elder spread his hands helplessly and sighed. "There's nothing we can do. His Eighth Soul Skill is too powerful."

The Fifth Elder's mouth twitched. He pointed at the Sixth Elder and said, "You... why don't you listen to yourself?"

Had he actually said such nonsense with a straight face in front of so many of the sect's leaders?

The Sixth Elder knew he had misspoken. His face reddened slightly, and he gave a dry cough and turned his head aside.

For a moment, the hall sank into an awkward silence, with no one able to devise a plan.

Just then, hurried footsteps suddenly sounded outside the hall.

A disciple responsible for patrols rushed into the hall, his face full of joy.

"Report! Good news, tremendously good news!"

Tang Zhen urged him on. "Speak, quickly."

The patrol disciple said excitedly:

"Reporting to the sect master, the search party has located the hiding place of Tang Hao and the other three in a valley once again. The two women traveling with them both went into labor a few days ago. I'm afraid they'll give birth in the next few days."

"Those two women will certainly be weak after giving birth, and newborn babies can withstand even less disturbance. I'm afraid Tang Hao and Tang Xiao won't be able to move an inch."

At these words, peals of laughter erupted throughout the hall.

"Good! Excellent! This truly is a heaven-sent opportunity!"

The Fifth Elder's face glowed red as he stroked his beard and laughed. "Heaven is helping me! Heaven truly is helping me!"

"With four burdens in tow, I'd like to see how Tang Hao can still jump!"

Seeing this, Tang Zhen immediately gave the order:

"Pass down my command. The elders are to lead the teams personally, gather the disciples, and set out to surround them at once."