Boom! Boom!
Rumble… RUMMMBLE!
Trees crashed down, splintering to pieces. The ground was blasted into crater after crater, torn with jagged fissures.
This stretch of wilderness not far from Shrek Academy now looked as if some enormous beast had ravaged it — wreckage and ruin in every direction.
BOOM!
Finally, after yet another deafening clash, the pounding impacts that had echoed non-stop for two hours at last came to a halt.
The scene returned to the battlefield.
Yun Chuan, still in his "devil-muscle" form, panted heavily. His clothes hung in tatters, revealing solid cords of muscle. Bruises mottled his body — clear marks from being smashed by Tang Hao's hammer.
Across from him, Tang Hao also breathed harder than usual. Even for him, a continuous two-hour, high-intensity brawl wasn't nothing. His robe was ripped in places, and here and there, bruises showed on his skin — proof that once Yun Chuan's skills had improved mid-fight, he had actually managed to land strikes.
During this temporary pause,
Flender and Zhao Wuji, who had watched the entire clash from a distance, were giddy with what they'd seen. Fights between top-ranked Soul Masters were rare enough — and one side in this case was the legendary Clear Sky Douluo himself! Just watching was a precious lesson.
"Finished? They're done?" Zhao Wuji murmured, a little disappointed.
"Must be. The stick of incense burned out long ago," Flender replied, also feeling it had ended too soon.
But they were wrong.
The real fight was only beginning.
"Clear Sky Douluo truly lives up to his name!" Yun Chuan called after a short rest, breathing steadier now. He looked at the man opposite him. "This match… I'll admit, you win."
"But to face a Titled Douluo is rare. I still have one last move. If I don't use it, I'll feel… incomplete."
As he spoke, the swollen muscle-bound frame shrank like a deflating balloon, returning to his normal, lean form.
"Oh? Then let's see it," Tang Hao said, interest piqued.
"This next move… its power is great," Yun Chuan said slowly, loosening his wrists and shoulders. "So — go ahead and use any soul skills you like. I want to see how far apart I am from a Titled Douluo after using this."
The seventh ring around him blazed with light.
"Seventh Soul Skill — Martial Spirit True Body!"
At seventy rank and above, every Soul Master gained this same ability — for beast spirits, a full transformation into their spirit form; for tool spirits, an enlargement and full control over their weapon.
Yun Chuan, however, had two martial spirits: the Supreme Clear Sky Hammer and the Life Goddess. Only the Hammer had rings — the Life Goddess was still a blank "white-board" spirit. In truth, he couldn't manifest any meaningful Martial Spirit True Body with it. So right now… he was putting on a show.
With a shout, a stalk of Blue Silver Grass appeared in his hand — then slipped free, suffused with radiant emerald light.
Tang Hao just watched, stance ready, all nine soul rings shimmering faintly as he prepared to strike at full power the instant there was threat.
From afar, Flender and Zhao Wuji fixed their eyes on the scene, curious what this youth could possibly dare to unleash before a Titled Douluo.
Under everyone's gaze, the glowing Blue Silver Grass flared brighter and brighter — until its radiance forced them to narrow their eyes.
When the light faded, where the stalk had floated there now stood… a breathtaking female figure.
She looked no more than eighteen or nineteen, with a waterfall of azure hair down her back, a long gown of vibrant green like the purest spring growth, and eyes like flawless blue crystal. Her beauty outshone the world around her, every detail suffused with an ethereal elegance that demanded reverence.
"…Ah Yin!"
For a long moment, Tang Hao could only stare, frozen — the name spilling from his lips before he could think.
Yun Chuan, watching from not far away, wasn't the least surprised. He'd never met his mother in this life, but he knew the martial spirit he had inherited from her — and the form it could take — would look exactly like her, perhaps was her likeness in full.
This was his ultimate survival card — "Mother's Protection."
From the start, before agreeing to fight Tang Hao, he had planned that if things went too far, he'd "accidentally" summon the Life Goddess martial spirit. The moment Tang Hao saw a spirit that looked exactly like his wife, he would surely suspect Yun Chuan's identity — perhaps even realize this was the other son stolen by Spirit Hall all those years ago.
And who could strike down their long-lost child?
No wonder Yun Chuan had been fearless earlier, even whipping Tang San in front of the man hidden in the shadows.
"What a unique Martial Spirit True Body!" Flender murmured after shaking off the daze of her beauty.
"I've never seen one like it," Zhao Wuji agreed automatically.
Back on the field, Tang Hao shook himself from the shock. No — there was no such coincidence in this world. A Blue Silver Grass true body identical in form to Ah Yin could only mean one thing.
Twelve years ago… the child Spirit Hall had taken.
Nine rings flared to full brilliance as he flickered forward, grasping Yun Chuan's wrist for a brief second — bone-touching to judge his age.
One touch was enough.
Twelve years old. The martial spirit matched. The age matched.
"You… are from Spirit Hall," Tang Hao said at last, eyes a turmoil of guilt and relief. Guilt for failing to protect this son years ago; relief at seeing he had grown strong and healthy, already a Soul Sage at such a young age—
Wait.
A Soul Sage?
Twelve years old — and already a Soul Sage?!
Tang Hao's eyes went cold, sharp as blades. There was only one explanation: Spirit Hall had raised the boy on forbidden medicines that burned lifespan and potential in exchange for rapid strength.
The thought stabbed pain through his chest, tangled fury and regret boiling inside.
'Spirit! Hall!'
The hatred surged higher than ever.
"…How do you know?" Yun Chuan asked with a suitably puzzled look, then waved a hand. "Never mind. Take my final move!"
Forming hand seals — purely for the dramatic effect — he shouted loudly:
"Self-Created Soul Skill…"
The ground churned. Vines burst forth, weaving together, merging until they shaped into a colossal humanoid over thirty meters tall. The Life Goddess spirit flashed into a streak of light, merging into it — refining the form until perfect, the face becoming identical to hers.
"…Thousand-Arm Guanyin!" Yun Chuan declared.
The magnificent statue-like giant, serene yet awe-inspiring, stood with hands pressed together — but behind it spread hundreds of arms, forming a godlike halo.
For a flicker, pride softened Tang Hao's gaze. A self-created skill from his son… such talent was cause for any father's rejoice.
Then he remembered that towering goddess was about to hit him, and the sentiment evaporated.
"Take this!"
Yun Chuan's figure blurred into light, fusing with the Thousand-Arm Guanyin. The giant's eyes opened, shining blue, and its many arms struck out like a living storm.
Hundreds of monstrous arms swept toward Tang Hao from every angle. He could only meet them with the Clear Sky Hammer, this time using soul skills — each swing of the hammer unleashed a storm wind, smashing arm after arm apart.
But in moments, the destroyed arms regenerated, attacking again in endless waves.
Though he could disperse them as easily as he breathed, Tang Hao's heart wasn't in it. After seeing his long-lost son, the thought of truly fighting him tasted bitter.
Finally, with one greater surge of power to clear the pressing hands nearby, Tang Hao dismissed his spirit entirely, turned… and walked away.
No — ran.
His mind was chaos, full of too many clashing emotions. He had no will left to clash hammers with Yun Chuan.
(End of Chapter)