"My Spirit Power. My strength."
Tang Hao stared blankly at his empty hand. Just now, he had watched with his own eyes as his Clear Sky Hammer scattered into nothing between heaven and earth.
That helplessness was even worse than the day his beloved Ah Yin died before him. It was like a fish leaving water, or a human leaving air. Every cell in his body seemed to be screaming in protest.
To outsiders, Wu Ling had merely cut Tang Hao once. Tang Hao did not have a single visible wound. Yet a moment later, no one could sense even the slightest trace of Spirit Power from him. The Clear Sky Sage who had acted so invincible moments before had become someone even more ordinary than an ordinary man. If his Spirit Power were tested now, the result would unquestionably be level zero.
On Soul Land, as long as something was alive, it had at least a faint trace of Spirit Power. Even a little blade of Blue Silver Grass possessed a tiny amount. Some ordinary people were said to have innate zero Spirit Power, but that only meant their Spirit Power was too weak, not truly nonexistent. The fact that they could summon a Martial Soul said everything.
But judging from how Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer had vanished, he probably could not even manifest his Martial Soul anymore. In this world, only dead things like stones had no Spirit Power so completely.
So in the eyes of the many powerhouses watching, Wu Ling's cut seemed to have erased Tang Hao's Spirit Power level outright.
Only Wu Ling understood that he had not erased Tang Hao's level. He had severed the concept of Spirit Power inside Tang Hao's body. In other words, he had cut away Tang Hao's Spirit Power bar.
If he had cut away Tang Hao's level, then according to the rule that all living things possessed Spirit Power, Tang Hao would have died the moment his Spirit Power reached zero.
But Tang Hao could not die yet. Or rather, he could not have died just now. Wu Ling had sensed the Shura divine thought hidden in Tang Hao's soul. If Wu Ling had killed Tang Hao immediately, then under the Shura divine thought's control, Tang Hao's soul might have been dragged away by the Shura God before the Throne of Heroes could absorb it.
If this were only a matter of pulling power over the soul, Wu Ling believed the Shura God would absolutely lose to the Throne of Heroes. But if the Shura God broke space midway and pulled Tang Hao's soul out of Soul Land, the Throne of Heroes would not have the power to cross worlds and seize it.
To secure his spoils, Wu Ling's first cut had severed Tang Hao's connection to the Shura God. As a bonus, it had also severed Tang Hao's connection to Spirit Power.
"That first cut stripped you of your wings and claws," Wu Ling said slowly from beneath the skull mask, blue light burning in his eyes. "This second cut will take your head."
"No! Dad!"
Tang San finally reacted when he heard Wu Ling. He screamed and tried to attack, only for Ember to appear at once and pin him to the ground.
"Quiet down while someone is being executed, kid."
Ember slammed Tang San's head into the ground. After that first impact, her eyes suddenly lit up.
"Hard head, huh? The feel is excellent."
As she spoke, Ember lifted Tang San's head slightly and slammed it down a few more times, only stopping when Tang San's vision swam and his expression went dazed.
Tang Hao saw Wu Ling preparing to kill him and saw his son being battered by Ember. He tried to turn and resist, but Azure appeared behind him and pressed him down by the head. Without Spirit Power, Tang Hao was only a man with a stronger-than-average body.
Azure forced Tang Hao down, making him knock his head three times toward the Pope Palace and the Worship Hall.
By then, Wu Ling had raised his greatsword.
"Listen. The evening bell has already rung. It is time to depart, Tang Hao."
There was no real bell in the world, but at that exact moment, everyone present seemed to hear one toll inside their minds.
With that bell came Tang Hao's head falling to the ground.
In a place no one noticed, a golden throne flickered and vanished.
"Dad! No!"
Tang San looked at his father's severed head and wept until his voice tore. His eyes were filled with rage, regret, terror, and countless other emotions. Ember, who was still pinning him down, offered mockery at precisely the right time.
"Hah. A man who risked everything and still could not protect a single blade of grass. Dying by that one's hand is the greatest honor he could hope for."
Tang San gritted his teeth and tried to say something, but Ember had no interest in listening. She pressed his face into the broken ground. Then she opened a Magecraft array over his heart with one hand.
A few seconds later, two small spheres appeared in Ember's hand. One wrapped around a tiny hammer. The other wrapped around Blue Silver Grass.
"An incompletely manifested Blue Silver Emperor and a Clear Sky Hammer. Looks like the main body's collection gains two more exhibits."
Ember stored the two spheres in her storage ring, then sent her Spirit Power into Tang San's body. Tang San's vocal cords and the tendons in his hands and feet were ruined in the next moment. Finally, Ember lifted Tang San like a dead dog and walked down from the arena.
Halfway down, Ember suddenly slapped her forehead.
"Right, right. I almost forgot this one."
She changed direction and came to Alban Regis. Before Alban, who had been pretending to be unconscious, could explain anything, he received the same treatment as Tang San. Then Ember carried both of them like two dead dogs toward the prison.
"The intruder has been killed. The competition will continue."
The skull mask on Wu Ling's face gradually dissipated as he loudly ordered the tournament to proceed.
Compared with the beginning, however, the audience was far less enthusiastic. Now, only one thing occupied their minds: Wu Ling.
Even the non-Spirit Hall Titled Sages and high-level figures present carved that figure deep into their memories. That had been Tang Hao. That had been a level ninety-nine Ruler. Yet Wu Ling had killed him with such casual ease. Then what level had Wu Ling's true strength reached?
Of course, Wu Ling did not care about those gazes or their newfound caution. In his eyes, both kinds of people were simply one-cut problems. Since they would all fall to one cut, why bother distinguishing them?
For Wu Ling, the immediate priority was transforming Tang Hao's soul. He needed to turn that useless soul into a Heroic Spirit that could at least offer him a little help.