Chapter 199: Tang Hao's Fury! Master and Disciple Clash
Like Dogs! Under the siege of a tidal wave of soul beasts,
Tang San was already in extremely poor condition, his soul power nearly exhausted. His Clear Sky Hammer, teeming with maggots and emitting a foul stench, was even less effective.
His Blue Silver Grass was easily torn apart like fragile threads in the beast horde.
"Pfft!"
A ten-thousand-year-old Golden Leopard's claws ripped open his back, tearing away a large chunk of flesh, deep enough to expose bone.
"Ah—"
Tang San screamed, staggering forward and collapsing. The strange Clear Sky Hammer flew from his hand, rolling on the ground, still oozing white maggots.
At the same time, another thousand-year-old Cave Demon Spider stealthily approached Tang San from behind, opening its venomous jaws, bringing a foul stench, and bit down hard on his neck!
In an instant, the shadow of death enveloped Tang San, his eyes filled with resentment, venom, and fear of death.
Not far away, Tang Chuan, hovering in mid-air, coldly watched everything.
"Heh, this beast is finally getting his just desserts."
"He probably never expected his retribution to come so quickly!"
Watching Tang San struggle for his life under the beast's claws, watching his prized Clear Sky Hammer become filthy, a cold smile involuntarily crept onto Tang Chuan's lips, as if he were merely watching a drama unrelated to himself. He felt no sympathy for such indiscriminate killing and wickedness, not even for his own brother.
However,
just as the Cave Demon Spider's venomous jaws were about to touch Tang San's throat,
"Buzz—!"
A chilling, viscous, terrifying killing intent, seemingly formed from mountains of corpses and seas of blood, swept in from all directions without warning!
This killing intent was so intense that it instantly overwhelmed the violent aura of all the soul beasts present, freezing the air and causing the temperature to plummet!
Then, the sky seemed to be dyed blood-red!
The next second, an enormous, dark crimson phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer, carrying an overwhelming aura of destruction, tore through the sky like a meteor, accompanied by a soul-chilling howl, and crashed down upon the area where Tang San was!
"Boom—!!!"
The hammer struck, and the earth, as fragile as tofu, instantly collapsed, creating a massive crater! A terrifying shockwave, mixed with tangible killing intent, spread out in a ring!
"Bang! Bang! Bang!"
The soul beasts attacking Tang San, whether thousand or ten thousand years old, before this absolute power, didn't even have time to scream before their bodies exploded like crushed insects, turning into a cloud of blood and gore!
Even the Cave Demon Spider that was about to succeed was vaporized into nothingness along with its venom the instant the hammer struck!
In an instant, the area within a hundred meters of the hammer's impact point was completely cleared!
All that remained was the enormous crater, and at its edge, Tang San, bleeding from all seven orifices and barely alive, yet fortunate enough to have escaped direct hit.
Not far away, Grandmaster, thrown back by the shockwave and looking utterly disheveled, and Liu Erlong, who had just driven back her surrounding spirit beasts and was now staring in horror.
"Tang Hao?"
Tang Chuan uttered a low shout, hovering in mid-air, his robes fluttering wildly in the violent shockwave. The cold smile on his face had vanished, replaced by an incomparably solemn and sharp expression.
At this moment, his gaze was fixed on the slowly dissipating phantom of the blood-red giant hammer.
Sensing that familiar, overwhelming killing intent and catching a glimpse of that disheveled figure that suddenly appeared like a mountain, Tang Chuan's pupils contracted slightly.
Without hesitation, the blue-gold light around him receded, and his Blue Silver Domain instantly reached its peak, merging directly into the surrounding environment, his aura and form becoming almost imperceptible.
Below, Tang San, a survivor of the ordeal, saw that the figure descending like a war god was none other than his father. An overwhelming surge of emotion welled up on his pale face, his voice trembling with the pain of surviving a near-death experience and a deep, paternal love:
"Father? You...you've come?"
However, Tang Hao merely lowered his head indifferently in response to his son's excited cry.
His eyes, hidden behind disheveled hair, swept over Tang San's wretched appearance like a hawk's, lingering for a moment on the fallen Clear Sky Hammer, still emitting a foul stench and crawling with maggots. A barely perceptible rage and deep disappointment flashed in his eyes.
With a seemingly casual, light step, the space beneath his feet seemed to shrink.
The next instant, Tang Hao's tall, imposing figure appeared before Tang San like a ghost. Overwhelmed with joy at finally seeing his family again, Tang San instinctively wanted to rush forward, seeking his father's protection and embrace as he had in his childhood.
But the moment he took a step, he was not greeted by a warm embrace.
Instead, it was Tang Hao's sudden, powerful kick!
"Bang!"
The kick landed squarely on Tang San's chest.
The immense force sent him flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily to the ground several meters away, rolling several times before finally stopping.
"Pfft—"
Tang San coughed up a mouthful of blood, his chest wracked with pain; several bones seemed broken.
"Dad…why…why did you hit me?"
Lying on the ground, Tang San raised his head, his face filled with disbelief, confusion, and grievance, looking at the cold, mountain-like figure not far away, and asked in bewilderment.
He didn't understand why his father had attacked him so brutally upon first meeting.
Was it because of his current disheveled state? Or because…?
Hearing this, Tang Hao's face showed no emotion; instead, his anger intensified. He roared,
"Don't call me father! I don't have a son like you!"
Before the words were finished, his large, fan-like hand, accompanied by a sharp gust of wind, slapped Tang San hard across the other side of his face!
"Slap!"
This slap was even harder than before, making Tang San's vision blur, his ears ring, his head tilt to one side, both cheeks swollen high, and his mouth split open, blood mixing with saliva flowing down.
Being beaten repeatedly, especially by his most revered father, filled Tang San with anger and resentment. He endured the excruciating pain and dizziness, his voice filled with suppressed rage as he cried out,
"Dad! Why...why did you hit me?!"
"Why did I hit you?!" Tang Hao was so angry that he laughed when he saw that Tang San was still stubborn. He suddenly bent down, grabbed Tang San's collar, and lifted him up from the ground like a chicken, making him look into his angry eyes. The strong smell of alcohol mixed with murderous intent sprayed onto Tang San's face.
"Fine! I'll let you die knowing why! Little San, tell me loudly! Back in Holy Soul Village, when you decided to become a Soul Master, what did you promise me?! Speak!"
Hearing his father's furious roar at such close range, Tang San's mind was in chaos. But under that powerful pressure, he subconsciously searched for fragments of memory, muttering,
"I...I promised you...to use the hammer in my left hand to protect the grass in my right..."
"Bullshit!" Tang Hao roared again in anger, raising his other hand to strike again. But seeing his son's swollen face, his hand hovered in mid-air. In the end, he lowered his hand in disappointment, gritting his teeth and squeezing out,
"And what else?! What was my most important instruction?! Have you forgotten?!"
Tang San trembled from his roar. His long-buried memories were finally awakened, and a promise he had deliberately ignored and forgotten because of his thirst for power clearly surfaced.
His face turned deathly pale, his eyes flickered, and he dared not look into Tang Hao's angry eyes again. His voice lowered, filled with guilt and trembling as he said,
"You also told me... no matter... no matter how I cultivate in the future, I... I absolutely cannot add any spirit ring to the Clear Sky Hammer. And... I can't let anyone see its existence... otherwise... otherwise, if others discover that I have twin spirits, my life might be in danger..."
Finally hearing this promise that his son had forgotten, the anger in Tang Hao's eyes seemed to burst forth. He stared intently at Tang San and coldly shouted,
"So you still remember! Then tell me! What is this disgusting thing on the ground?!"
"You not only added a spirit ring, but you also made it look like this!"
At this moment, Tang Hao's gaze was fixed on the Clear Sky Hammer lying on the ground, still gurgling with white maggots and emitting a putrid stench.
That unbearable sight was like a red-hot iron, burning his heart and burning away his last shred of reason.
"You... what exactly did you do to the Clear Sky Hammer?!"
"My Clear Sky Hammer! The number one weapon spirit in the world! Towering and invincible! It once struck fear into the hearts of the entire continent! It's a symbol forged with the blood and glory of countless ancestors!"
"But now... look at it! Look at what you've turned it into?! This... this filthy thing teeming with maggots?! This stinking junk?! Is this the result of your cultivation?!"
"I, Tang Hao... I, Tang Hao, have truly raised a fine son! You've ruined the last pride of my Clear Sky Sect, the spirit inherited from my Tang family, turning it into this inhuman, ghostly mess! How can I face my ancestors in the afterlife?! How can I face my father and tell him that his grandson turned the Clear Sky Hammer into... a cesspool-stirring stick?!"
"You beast! You beast! You unfilial beast!!"
Faced with Tang Hao's volcanic outburst of questioning, Tang San was speechless, stammering and lowering his head, not daring to meet his father's burning gaze. His voice carried a hint of grievance as he said,
"Father... I... I was forced into this!"
If I didn't add a spirit ring to the Clear Sky Hammer to increase my strength, how could I possibly defeat my brother? I... I can't live in his shadow forever!
He seemed to have found a reason, his tone becoming agitated, trying to shift the blame.
"Besides, regarding cultivating twin spirits, Teacher... Teacher also supported it! He even said that his research on spirit theory was enough to support my safe cultivation of the second spirit, the Clear Sky Hammer! Who... who knew... who knew it would turn out like this?"
At the end, looking at his filthy Clear Sky Hammer, Tang San's voice lowered, his face burning with shame.
But this shame was more for the mutation of his spirit than for disobeying his father's orders.
"Yu—Xiao—Gang!!"
Hearing Tang San's words, Tang Hao abruptly turned his head, his blood-red eyes like those of a predatory tiger, fixed on the pale-faced Grandmaster in the wheelchair not far away.
"Ah!"
Grandmaster trembled from the roar imbued with soul power, nearly falling off his wheelchair, barely managing to steady himself by gripping the armrests tightly.
"Tang Hao! I won't allow you to hurt Xiaogang!"
Seeing this, Liu Erlong shouted sharply, her figure flashing as she unhesitatingly stepped in front of Grandmaster. The phantom of her Crimson Dragon Spirit reappeared, her eyes unwavering despite the blood still trickling from her lips.
However, Tang Hao, enraged, paid her no heed.
He didn't even use his Spirit, simply raising his hand and slapping out from afar!
"Bang!" An invisible, immense force slammed into Liu Erlong, shattering her fiery shield like paper. She was struck as if by a speeding carriage, coughing up blood and flying backward, crashing heavily to the ground some distance away. She struggled a few times, but lacked the strength to even get up, forced to watch helplessly as Tang Hao approached Grandmaster step by step.
Seeing Tang Hao approaching like a god of death, Grandmaster was terrified, his teeth chattering. He screamed in a tearful voice,
"Your...Your Majesty Haotian! No...it's not my fault!"
"It wasn't me who made Little San cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer! It was...it was him who came to me, insisting I help him research how to add spirit rings to the Clear Sky Hammer! I...I was forced!"
In his desperation, he unhesitatingly shifted the main blame to Tang San, looking at him with an extremely speechless and even resentful gaze, as if blaming him for implicating him.
"I really don't understand!"
"Little San, why are you in such a hurry to add a spirit ring to the Clear Sky Hammer?!"
Tang San retorted excitedly when he heard Grandmaster shift all the blame onto him:
"If I don't add a spirit ring to the Clear Sky Hammer, how can I beat my brother?! Teacher, didn't you confidently say that your spirit theory was enough to support my cultivation of the Clear Sky Hammer, and even absorbing spirit rings beyond my level was no problem?! Now that something has gone wrong, how can you blame me for everything?!"
Grandmaster was speechless after Tang San's retort, especially seeing Tang Hao's increasingly cold gaze. He hardened his heart, disregarding any semblance of teacherly decorum, and began to argue irrationally:
"I...I don't know! I don't want to know! Competitions are about winning and losing, about strategy! You can't beat your brother, so is it all my fault for not having the right theory? Your excessive hunting of spirit beasts for bones will lead to the extinction of spirit beasts, but you're still killing them, aren't you?"
"Did I ask you to add a spirit ring to the Clear Sky Hammer?" "I didn't! I didn't force you! I didn't force you! What does your Clear Sky Hammer have to do with this?"
"It's all Tang Chuan's fault! He's been suppressing you, preventing you from winning the competition, which is why the Clear Sky Hammer is like this."
"It's all Tang Chuan's fault! It's all his fault! What does it have to do with me?"
Just as Grandmaster finished speaking, Tang Hao, who had been suppressing his anger like a volcano about to erupt, finally moved!
He didn't utter a single more word. His chilling killing intent solidified, and his figure flashed like a ghost. One moment he was several meters away, the next he stood like a mountain before Grandmaster's fragile wheelchair.
Grandmaster hadn't even seen Tang Hao's movements; he only felt a suffocatingly terrifying aura envelop him completely.
"Ah!?"
His mouth gaped open in terror, but before he could even plead for mercy,
Tang Hao's large, calloused, and powerful hand, like a fan, slapped Grandmaster's face with irresistible force, as if swatting a fly!
"Bang—!!!"
This slap was ten times more terrifying than Tang San's earlier one!
A deep sonic boom echoed through the air!
Grandmaster, along with his wheelchair, was utterly helpless against this absolute power.
He was sent flying like a battering ram, tumbling uncontrollably in the air, blood and broken teeth spurting from his mouth!
[end of the chapter]