Facing Tang Hao, who had released nine Spirit Rings, Wu Ling calmly released his own rings as well.
Two purple, two black, and three red. That Spirit Ring configuration stunned even Tang Hao where he stood. By the time he reacted, a pitch-black domain had already wrapped around him.
Tang Hao possessed extremely rich combat experience. He sensed danger from the domain, so he released his Deathgod Domain in an attempt to cancel out Wu Ling's Evil God Domain. At the same time, he swung the Clear Sky Hammer, intending to kill Wu Ling, the caster, directly.
But as Wu Ling's seventh Spirit Ring lit up, a suit of golden armor appeared over him. A golden spear was gripped in his hand.
Wu Ling had indeed made Tang Hao feel threatened, but because Wu Ling was still only a seventh-ring Spirit King, Tang Hao did not truly take him seriously. He believed the sense of crisis came from Wu Ling's Martial Soul, not Wu Ling himself. That only strengthened his resolve to kill Wu Ling, though he also remained on guard against his surroundings. He refused to believe a genius like Wu Ling would come alone to hunt him down.
In the next second, with a sharp clang, the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Hao's hand came to an abrupt stop. Ahead of him, the tip of Wu Ling's golden spear was braced against the center of the hammer's face. Tang Hao's eyes flashed with shock. He secretly poured in more force, but Wu Ling did not move at all. The stacked Strength parameters of seven Heroic Spirits had already pushed Wu Ling's raw power above Tang Hao's when Tang Hao was not using Spirit Skills.
Wu Ling clicked his tongue. "Come on. You are fighting me while distracted, and you are not even using Spirit Skills? Are you looking down on me that much? Fine, I will tell you the truth. I came alone this time. Fight as much as you want. Of course, that assumes you can beat me!"
The golden spear tip suddenly erupted into flame. Under the night sky, a blazing column swallowed Tang Hao's entire body.
After blasting Tang Hao backward, Wu Ling sharply increased the pressure of his domain, forcing Tang Hao's Deathgod Domain to shrink back around his body. Then Angra appeared. He slapped his own stomach, and the bombs Wu Ling had hidden there long ago detonated in a violent explosion. Angra died generously in the blast. During all this, Wu Ling kept his attention fixed on Tang Hao in the distance.
After that earlier exchange, the black robe covering Tang Hao's body had been burned away, revealing his true appearance.
He had bronze skin. His facial features had originally been decent, but a wax-yellow layer now covered them, giving him a sleepy and haggard look. His hair was messy, like a bird's nest, and the beard on his face had clearly gone untrimmed for many days.
This was Tang Hao, a decadent middle-aged man who looked over fifty. In truth, ever since the battle twelve years ago, he had been half-crippled and had not cultivated seriously in a very long time. Even so, his Spirit Power had still reached level 95. That alone proved how high his talent was.
A moment later, he spat out a mouthful of blood mixed with fragments of internal organs. Apart from a slightly pale face, he seemed almost unaffected as he wiped blood from his lips.
Wu Ling frowned slightly. He was a seventh-ring Spirit King. If he used his sixth Spirit Skill to commit suicide, a Titled Sage should have borne eighty percent of the damage. But because Tang Hao had the Deathgod Domain, he had canceled out roughly twenty to thirty percent of it. In the end, Tang Hao had suffered significant internal injuries, but not severe enough to count as a heavy wound.
By now, Tang Hao, who had been guarding against his surroundings the entire time, believed Wu Ling's words by eighty or ninety percent. He had been injured while caught off guard, which should have been a perfect opening for an ambush. Yet not even the slightest trace of Spirit Power leaked from nearby. Either Wu Ling had truly come alone, or the hidden attackers were still waiting for the chance to kill in one strike.
"Ha. Hahahaha! I never imagined that a little seventh-ring brat would dare come after me alone. Since that is the case, you can stay here today!"
Whatever the truth was, Wu Ling's strength had shocked Tang Hao. He had already decided to go all out. Even if he died here, he would strangle Wu Ling before the boy could grow any further.
Tang Hao's seventh Spirit Ring lit up. Behind him, the enormous black Clear Sky Hammer suddenly bloomed. Intense black light spread across the hammer's body. The massive hammer expanded with the wind and rose to a height of a hundred meters. Its huge head looked like a mountain.
The Clear Sky True Form. This was the weapon Martial Soul True Form of the world's strongest weapon Martial Soul, and it also represented the peak of raw power on the current Soul Land. It was the strongest and most unyielding assault-type Martial Soul.
A long, ringing hum passed through the air.
Crimson lines surfaced across the enormous Clear Sky Hammer. After the seventh Spirit Ring, Tang Hao's hundred-thousand-year red ring suddenly lit up. The black giant hammer turned completely red at once.
Tang Hao moved his right hand. The hundred-meter super hammer in the sky descended suddenly, smashing straight toward Wu Ling, who still stood on the ground.
That overwhelming force seemed capable of splitting heaven and earth and darkening both sun and moon. Wu Ling's feet suddenly blasted fire as he tried to leave the area, but Tang Hao's sixth Spirit Ring lit up. Wu Ling immediately felt the surrounding air become viscous.
"A restraining skill?" Wu Ling's expression did not change, but the current distance was no longer enough for him to escape. Plan B activated. Azure flashed and swapped positions with Wu Ling. After choosing a comfortable posture on the ground, the giant hammer crashed down.
"Hmph. The Saint of Spirit Hall. No matter how impressive you are, you are still only a seventh-ring Spirit King."
Tang Hao thought he had killed Wu Ling after crushing Azure in his place.
"Tang Hao, you sure do talk a lot."
Tang Hao had barely finished speaking when Wu Ling's voice sounded from elsewhere. A trace of astonishment appeared on Tang Hao's face.
He had not expected his strongest blow to fail to kill the Saint of Spirit Hall. That strike had used his sixth ring, his seventh Spirit Skill Clear Sky True Form, and his ninth ring's hundred-thousand-year Spirit Skill in succession. Logically, even an ordinary Titled Sage would not have been able to withstand it.
After the probes and exchanges so far, Wu Ling had gained a rough understanding of Tang Hao's strength. He had to admit that the Clear Sky Hammer deserved some of its reputation as the strongest assault-type Martial Soul in the world. He had a feeling that, even if he wore the golden armor, that fierce and majestic strike would have injured him significantly.
Even so, Wu Ling remained calm. He had come without backup because he had absolute confidence in himself. Leaving aside the Dragon Frame, the humanoid soulcraft weapon that could display Ruler-level power, even his current self was only using Tang Hao to test his own strength. If he truly wanted to kill Tang Hao with full force from the beginning, he could have opened with his domain and fired three shots of Vasavi Shakti together with the seventh clone and Karna. Even at his peak, Tang Hao would have had to leave his life behind.
Tang Hao said coldly, "Boy, I admit your strength is beyond my expectations. But it is still not enough!"
Blood-red flames rose at once. All nine Spirit Rings around Tang Hao lit up together. The orderly yellow, purple, black, and red radiance vanished, leaving only a crimson as vivid as blood.