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The Seventh Elder's face contorted with fury. "Arrogant brat!" he spat.
We've only just begun, and I haven't even used my Spirit Avatar yet. Do you truly think forcing me back in this state gives you the right to look down upon the Clear Sky Hammer?
"Seventh Spirit Skill—Clear Sky Avatar!"
The Clear Sky Hammer in his hand underwent a sudden, violent transformation. The original black hammer, already radiating a heavy pressure, shifted into a deep, dark gold, appearing exponentially more massive and solid.
Reclaiming the initiative, the Seventh Elder lunged forward. He swung the hammer in a wide arc, bringing it down with the force of a falling mountain. This wasn't a fancy technique; it was a pure, unadulterated explosion of physical might.
Xiao Zhan's eyes burned with an intense battle intent. Far from retreating, he met the challenge head-on. Flames erupted from his pores, and his spiritual energy reached a peak of absolute focus.
He threw a single, straight punch.
BOOM!
The collision sent both combatants reeling backward.
Xiao Zhan let out a boisterous laugh. He dug his heels in, forcibly halting his retreat, and lunged forward again. He became a blur of motion, raining down a flurry of punches and kicks.
In his Fire Demon Avatar state, Xiao Zhan possessed a unique form of damage mitigation. Rather than simply reducing the impact, his body—now a specialized energetic entity—redistributed point-blank damage across his entire form. For a close-quarters power-attacker like Xiao Zhan, this was a monumental advantage.
CRACK!
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The two engaged in a frantic, high-speed melee.
Xiao Zhan was a tempest of flame and fury. Though the Seventh Elder held a slight edge in raw strength, Xiao Zhan maintained the tempo. He attacked relentlessly, weaving flaming fists and kicks together with the fluid grace of a master. His application of the self-created "Fire Demon Style" was seamless.
At this moment, Xiao Zhan fought like a humanoid soul beast. His combat was pure instinct; every casual strike carried the weight of a spirit skill, and every contact triggered a violent thermal explosion. This terrifying concussive force, combined with his innate physical power, allowed him to trade blows evenly with a Titled Douluo of the Clear Sky lineage.
"Third Spirit Skill—Solar Radiance!"
"Fifth Spirit Skill—Gravity Control!"
The Seventh Elder finally found a momentary opening to mobilize his spirit power and unleash his skills. Under the buff of his third skill, his strength became even more savage. However, the slowing effect of his fifth skill on Xiao Zhan was surprisingly negligible.
"Hahaha! What kind of trash-tier spirit skills are you equipped with?!" Xiao Zhan mocked loudly.
In truth, the Seventh Elder's skills weren't poor in quality, but they felt fundamentally discordant when paired with the Clear Sky Hammer. To possess a "Gravity Control" skill that created a field rather than augmenting the weight of the hammer itself felt disjointed—neither purely offensive nor purely controlling.
While a "versatile" build was generally respected, Xiao Zhan—who considered himself a scholar of combat—couldn't help but jeer at this messy tactical route taken by a Clear Sky master.
However, he soon realized he had mocked too early.
Enraged, the Seventh Elder used the force of their next collision to create distance. His second and sixth spirit rings flashed simultaneously.
"Second Spirit Skill—Hammer Soul Control!"
"Sixth Spirit Skill—Spirit Clone!"
As the Elder retreated, Xiao Zhan pursued like a predator. Suddenly, the Seventh Elder hurled both hammers from his hands.
Xiao Zhan moved to dodge, but the hammers swerved mid-air, curving back to strike at him with sentient precision.
"Good grief... it really is a mess," Su Wen muttered from the sidelines, looking quite speechless.
He wasn't the only one; even Xiao Zhan was momentarily caught off guard by this "impure" fighting style. A dual-hammer style was one thing—that was understandable—but using the Clear Sky Hammer as a guided ranged weapon? That was truly something else.
"Hmph!"
Sensing Xiao Zhan's disdain, the Seventh Elder caught the returning hammers and wove them into a twin-hammer dance. His eighth spirit ring flared, and the weight behind his strikes exploded.
CLANG!
This time, Xiao Zhan was the one forced back.
The Seventh Elder spun, using the momentum to load his other hammer for a follow-up strike.
"Clear Sky Hammer—Disorder Splitting Wind!"
Executing the technique with two hammers made the transitions faster and the strikes more ferocious. Xiao Zhan was pushed back repeatedly as the Elder's power began to snowball. With every hit, the momentum grew; the more the weight stacked, the further Xiao Zhan fell into a disadvantage.
Yet, Xiao Zhan didn't attempt to disrupt the rhythm. Instead, he seemed to be intentionally "assisting" the Elder in building his stacks.
"Madness!" the Seventh Elder roared, swinging both arms to accelerate the stacking.
BOOM!
BANG! BANG! BANG!
Xiao Zhan's situation grew increasingly dire, yet he persisted in the most headstrong way possible: meeting the Clear Sky Hammer with his bare skin.
As the Seventh Elder reached his twentieth strike, a core of concentrated flame suddenly detonated within Xiao Zhan.
FWOOSH!
A layer of intense, blinding fire enveloped Xiao Zhan's body. His strength and attributes surged as if from nowhere.
Flame Fist!
CRASH!
The Seventh Elder was no longer purely suppressing him; he actually struggled to maintain the continuity of his strikes. However, as the Disorder Splitting Wind continued to stack, the Elder regained the upper hand.
FWOOSH!
A second layer—this one of emerald-green flame—covered Xiao Zhan. His power rose once more. In this state, his explosive Flame Fists actually managed to suppress the Elder for several rounds, even as the Elder reached his fortieth stack.
The Disorder Splitting Wind was a technique that borrowed momentum to create more power; the higher the count, the more unstoppable it became. Yet Xiao Zhan's battle spirit never faltered.
In the distance, the five companions who had come with the Clear Sky Sect watched with grim expressions.
He's too strong.
The two Spirit Douluos among them were filled with disbelief. How could a Spirit Douluo reach this level of power? The Seventh Elder was a Titled Douluo with the world's premier tool martial soul. His strength was already legendary, and with the Disorder Splitting Wind stacking up, it should have been world-ending. Yet, someone was trading blows with him bare-handed.
Tang Xiao took a deep breath, mentally acknowledging that they had vastly underestimated Xiao Zhan. It was fortunate the Seventh Elder had insisted on coming. Otherwise, Tang Xiao doubted he could have killed Su Wen while protected by Xiao Zhan and the Bone Douluo.
Even with the Seventh Elder distracting Xiao Zhan, Tang Xiao still had to face Gu Rong. While the Titled Douluo count was even, their objectives differed: one was an assassin, the other a protector. As long as he found one opening, he could end it. Plus, he still had five other high-level allies.
"Move!"
Tang Xiao stopped observing. He released his own Clear Sky Hammer, unleashing a soul power fluctuation far superior to the Seventh Elder's. He accelerated toward Su Wen's group, activating his Spirit Avatar mid-charge. His black hammer turned dark gold, with thin veins of black and blood-red light creeping across the metal.
Even among Clear Sky masters, there were levels.
"Alas, Tang Xiao. You shouldn't have come," Ning Fengzhi said, closing his eyes and sighing. He seemed genuinely reluctant to kill the Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect, but the two sides were now irreconcilable. Su Wen and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were far closer than the public realized.
"Uncle Bone," Ning Fengzhi whispered.
A massive Bone Dragon materialized, tearing through space to intercept Tang Xiao.
"Tang Xiao, my apologies."
Despite the apology, Gu Rong's movements were ruthless as he fully blocked Tang Xiao's path.
"The Seven Treasures turn to Glazed Tile. Seven Treasures have names: One—Strength! Three—Soul! Four—Defense! Six—Attribute Increase!"
Four beams of light descended upon Gu Rong. Simultaneously, six beams of light shot across the battlefield to land on Xiao Zhan.
Xiao Zhan's aura erupted. Having been pushed to his limit by the Elder's sixty-plus stacks, the sudden influx of buffs allowed him to strike back with violent force, briefly reversing the pressure.
But as the Disorder Splitting Wind reached seventy strikes, the Elder's power surged past him again.
"Xiao Zhan, you are too arrogant!" the Seventh Elder bellowed. His strength was compounding with every swing. He finally felt a sense of relief—even with Ning Fengzhi's buffs, Xiao Zhan was finally being overwhelmed.
"Today, your greatest failure was mocking the majesty of the Clear Sky Hammer!"
You dared to take my Disorder Splitting Wind head-on? You cannot withstand the full weight of these stacks!
"Pay for your hubris!"
By now, the Seventh Elder had reached eighty strikes. He put every ounce of his power into his arms. The two Clear Sky Hammers momentarily fused into one, becoming colossal.
This final strike would be world-shattering.
(End of Chapter)