Boom.
After the fifth Spirit Ring, Tang Hao's sixth Spirit Ring shattered. Blood-red flames surged again. His sixth ring came from a Soul Beast over thirty thousand years old. Now that it had fully merged into his body, the power it unleashed was terrifying.
The Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Hao's hand kept shrinking. As the Clear Sky Hammer absorbed more Spirit Rings, its main body grew larger and larger. Its Martial Soul True Form could even exceed a hundred meters.
But that was not its true strongest state. The strongest Clear Sky Hammer was not large. It was condensed. If tens of thousands of jin of force were concentrated into a single point, the destructive power would become terrifying. That was exactly what Tang Hao was doing now.
He gathered all the energy from Ring Explosion onto the shrinking Clear Sky Hammer. A blood-red wave of light, like an axe blade, swept forward.
Excitement appeared on Wu Ling's face. He raised the golden spear high. As Tang Hao charged, Wu Ling condensed his Spirit Power. "Brahmastra Kundala: O Brahma, Curse Me!"
The blood-colored brilliance and gold-red radiance collided, stirring up a terrifying storm that lit the outskirts of Soto City as bright as day.
After the storm passed, a sharp bang sounded. The wind and clouds scattered, and another explosion shook the sky. Tang Hao reappeared, covered in wounds and blood. Black light surged from his right hand, and within that deep black radiance spread a sharp and violent aura. The Clear Sky Hammer released an even stronger pressure than before.
Wu Ling focused and saw that only one black ring and one red ring remained around Tang Hao. The reason Tang Hao could release such pressure was that he had exploded his eighth ring, which was over seventy thousand years old. That pushed his strength into another level.
In Wu Ling's eyes, the current Tang Hao could already match a level 98 Titled Sage.
Across the surface of the Clear Sky Hammer, twisted black light flowed continuously. Its dense aura was like an endless mountain range, heavy and steady to the extreme. Even without touching it, one could feel its terrifying weight.
The Clear Sky Hammer could be called one of the strongest assault-type Martial Souls in the world. Combined with Spirit Rings that purely pursued power, this hammer blow approached one hundred thousand jin, nearly fifty tons of force. It would take an entire truck to carry that weight. This was true near-godlike strength.
Tang Hao slowly raised the Clear Sky Hammer. Pale black light shone around him. "You forced me this far. I did not expect that."
Tang Hao now stood at his personal peak. After Ring Explosion, the power of each Spirit Ring would fully erupt, transform into his own strength at once, and merge into his attack, producing power far beyond his normal state.
The power of Ring Explosion was closely related to the age and quality of the ring. The older and higher-quality the ring, the greater the power.
The level 95 Tang Hao, aside from certain lucky opportunities, was not weaker in most ways than the later Tang San from the original timeline when Tang San encountered Aurelia Cross in Star Soul Forest. In fact, in Tang Hao's hands, the Great Sumeru Hammer and Ring Explosion were far stronger.
Tang San could use Ring Explosion to exchange more than ten moves with Aurelia. The current Tang Hao, after exploding his eighth ring, did not necessarily have weaker combat strength than that later Tang San while using the same technique.
However, because of the injuries in his body, Tang Hao had always been suppressing himself. Now, clouds of blood mist kept rising from him. That proved from another angle how terrible his physical condition was. No matter whether he won or lost this battle, even if he managed to survive by chance, his body would basically be finished.
Wu Ling continued to speak lightly. "There are many things you did not expect. For example, right now, I am getting a little tired of playing."
"Playing? You brat, what arrogance!"
Tang Hao's veins bulged from Wu Ling's contempt. He could not imagine that a battle so fierce that ordinary Titled Sages would not dare interfere was only "playing" in Wu Ling's eyes.
Tang Hao was about to show Wu Ling the power he had gained from shattering his eighth ring when a strange aura, accompanied by red light, spread from Wu Ling's body.
Tang Hao's eyes widened. His instincts were warning him nonstop, telling him to get away from that boy immediately. Yet in the next second, his reason forced him not to turn and flee. He truly wanted to see what could make him feel this way in his current state.
"Although we are enemies, I have to admit you are indeed strong," Wu Ling said with a sigh.
A seventh-ring Spirit King praising a Titled Sage for being strong was something no one except the people involved would likely believe.
"So, Tang Hao, being able to die under this attack can count as your honor."
Wu Ling's body gradually rose into the air. The golden armor surrounding him burned violently.
True, Wu Ling could exhaust Tang Hao to death from here, but a strong man like Tang Hao did not deserve such a miserable death. Of course, that was only because Wu Ling still had leeway. If Tang Hao had truly threatened his life, Wu Ling would have used every method without hesitation to ensure victory.
Feeling the momentum rising from Wu Ling, Tang Hao broke out in a cold sweat. He could now tell with absolute certainty that if he took this strike, he would die without a corpse left behind.
To be honest, he was already regretting this. But the dignity of a powerhouse made him grit his teeth and prepare to clash head-on with Wu Ling.
His seventh Spirit Ring shattered with a roar. Without his Martial Soul True Form, Tang Hao's momentum did not decrease. It rose instead. Then he compared the two sides' auras and turned his gaze toward his ninth red Spirit Ring.
"Ah Yin, I am sorry."
Tang Hao slowly closed his eyes and gripped the Clear Sky Hammer with both hands. The domineering look on his face gradually vanished, replaced by an indescribable calm. It was as if his whole being had entered a special state.
Then the final Spirit Ring on the Clear Sky Hammer, the hundred-thousand-year ring shining with blood-red light, exploded with a roar. Within the crimson stream appeared the shadow of a woman. She gently embraced Tang Hao, and the severe injuries on his body began healing at astonishing speed.
Wu Ling no longer cared about Tang Hao's state. The flames over his body gradually gathered into the golden spear in his hand. As the flames disappeared, a black spearhead extended from the front of the golden spear.
The blazing temperature twisted the surrounding air. It was clearly night, but only this place shone like noon. Wu Ling was the sun.
A wave of heat passed. The plants within several kilometers burned away. Directly below Wu Ling, parts of the ground had already turned liquid. The earth had melted into magma under the extreme heat.
"Know the mercy of the King of Gods. Annihilation is this single thrust. Burn all creation..."
As he spoke, Wu Ling slowly aimed the spear at Tang Hao.
At the same time, Tang Hao opened his eyes again. His blood-red eyes, paired with the Clear Sky Hammer's dominance, released unmatched pressure and condensed killing intent. His body shot into the sky.
The suppression of absolute power, one force breaking ten thousand tricks, releasing the most tyrannical power completely. This was the true meaning of the Great Sumeru Hammer's Ring Explosion.
By now, Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Hammer had completely fused. His leap used no flight ability. He jumped purely with the force produced by the union of body and Martial Soul, rising a full hundred meters into the air.
In the sky, Tang Hao gripped the massive hammer handle with both hands. Facing the flashing gold-red light, he launched his attack. Black light poured madly from the hammer handle.
"This hammer is Sumeru Clear Sky!"
"Vasavi Shakti: O Sun, Abide to Death!"
The dark-red giant hammer and a beam of ultimate white light collided violently in midair. When they met, there was no violent sound and no dazzling multicolored explosion. There was only whiteness. The enormous Clear Sky Hammer was like an ordinary iron tool dropped into the sun. It vanished the moment it made contact.
Even in faraway Soto City, many civilians were awakened by the previous explosions and white light. Ordinary people thought dawn had come early. But Flender and Barrett Knox, who had brought the students there, knew that Clear Sky Sage was fighting Spirit Hall.
Standing on a rooftop and gazing toward that sun-like attack, they swallowed nervously again and again. They could feel that even the faintest remnant of the aftershock could kill them.
After the ultimate light faded, a canyon had formed in front of Wu Ling. Around the canyon, boiling magma still churned. Wu Ling could imagine that, if he had released this attack toward Soto City, even the aftershock might have destroyed the entire city.
Wu Ling descended to the ground. He looked around and finally confirmed one thing.
"Tang Hao still is not dead? Clear Sky Sage really does run decisively at critical moments."
Tang Hao's final hammer blow had not been much weaker than Wu Ling's attack. It was only that Wu Ling's attack carried divinity, suppressing Tang Hao's in quality. Although Tang Hao could no longer use Spirit Ring skills after Ring Explosion, the Blue Silver Emperor ring's healing effect had temporarily stabilized his injuries. In the final moment, he had used the force of that hammer at the cost of damaging his Martial Soul to flee.
With a little thought, Wu Ling understood the rough situation. As for how Tang Hao had escaped, it was probably related to the Spirit Bones on his body. Those Spirit Bones were all Clear Sky Sect treasures. Wu Ling did not know their abilities, but there had to be one or two life-saving skills among them.
"Run, then. It does not matter. You are already half-dead, and my attack left residual divinity on you. As long as you still exist in this world, I can find you. So I will leave this mission to you, Hassan of the Hundred Personas."
Wu Ling's seventh Spirit Ring lit up. Behind him, an illusory throne appeared. A figure wearing a skull mask walked out from the Throne.
"Understood. Do you need me to kill him directly, Master?" Hassan of the Hundred Personas asked.
Wu Ling shook his head. "Honestly, with his vigilance, assassinating him will be very difficult. Besides, a dead Clear Sky Sage does not have much value. For someone who is about to die, where would he go?"
"Exactly. Tang San's mom... cough, I mean that hundred-thousand-year Blue Silver Emperor."
"Follow him. Do not be discovered. If he stays in one place for a long time, tell me."
"Finally, split off a few bodies to keep an eye on Tang San. I need to rest for a few days first. This is the first time I have ever felt that I did not have enough Spirit Power. After I recover, I will go play with him again."