"Hmph."
Tang Hao gently placed a hand on his chest.
It was as if he were caressing a priceless treasure—or perhaps bidding farewell to a loved one.
A faint blue glow radiated from his chest, flickering with a mesmerizing light.
At the same time, a thin veil of bluish luminescence enveloped his entire body.
It purified the area around him, cutting off all the dark and corrupted energies in the space.
"Ah... So that's what this is. I see, I see! Hahahaha!"
Old Jack stared intently at Tang Hao for a long moment before suddenly throwing his head back and laughing wildly.
But his laughter was full of cold malice and biting sarcasm.
"Tang Hao, who would've thought you'd still have a trick like this up your sleeve. Hahaha! A barrier that isolates spiritual contamination?"
Tang Hao looked down at the blue radiance surrounding him, a trace of tenderness flickering deep in his eyes.
Then he turned his gaze to Old Jack, his expression now calm and composed.
So calm, in fact, that he seemed mechanical, as if wound up like a machine. Yet, if one looked closely, his features were no longer as cold and emotionless as before.
Instead, there was a subtle softness.
"So... the state I was in earlier—was that your doing?"
"Just a minor trick, nothing worth mentioning."
Old Jack let out a raspy cough and said in a hoarse voice, "I just never imagined that even the mighty Clear Sky Douluo would fall for such a simple trick."
"Heh... Just as I thought, all people are nothing more than pawns on someone else's board."
"...Hmm."
Tang Hao gave a dull grunt in response.
He closed his eyes.
Buzz——!
A powerful, ancient pressure surged out from Tang Hao's body!
And with it came a chilling killing intent.
A pitch-black, ancient-looking hammer materialized out of thin air into his hand.
Tang Hao opened his eyes. Murderous intent surged within them as he locked his gaze onto Old Jack.
"You can ambush me, set traps for me—but you should never, ever have dragged my A-Yin into this."
"Do you even know how much power she had to expend this time?"
"What you've cost me… I'll reclaim with your life."
Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!
The hammer in Tang Hao's hand began to vibrate violently, then slowly rose into the air in front of him.
The ancient black hammer expanded with the wind!
In just a few breaths, it had grown into a massive black warhammer as tall as a man, exuding an overwhelming aura of power.
Mysterious crimson patterns adorned the sides of the hammer, glowing with eerie light.
Tang Hao reached out and gripped the handle. His cloak flared out despite the absence of wind!
A colossal pressure erupted from his body!
Buzz——!
Nine soul rings slowly rose from behind Tang Hao.
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black, Red!
That final red hundred-thousand-year soul ring was faintly wrapped in a bluish glow, orbiting him like stars around a moon, shielding him in divine radiance.
Old Jack stared at the massive Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Hao's hand, a look of crazed fascination in his eyes.
"Ahh!"
"This is the Clear Sky Hammer?! The so-called number one tool-type martial soul on the continent?!"
"Hahaha! Who would've thought that I, an old man already past his prime, would one day witness such power with my own eyes!"
He nodded toward Tang Hao, and then slowly raised his two shriveled arms.
Countless strands of crimson energy coiled around them, inflating his frail frame with unnatural vigor.
Tang Hao looked at Old Jack, his expression tinted with pity.
A man who was supposed to live out his days in peace, a kind elder beloved by the villagers…
Now corrupted by some unknown, malevolent force, driven to raise his hand in murder.
He had become a mere puppet, devoid of soul.
But… without awakening a martial soul—without becoming a Soul Master—one was just an insect.
Even between Soul Masters, the gaps in power could be insurmountable. What hope could a normal human have against a Title Douluo?
Tang Hao believed that using his full power to end Old Jack would be a form of mercy.
A final act of gratitude for the many years he had cared for Xiao San.
And at the same time, he would uncover the truth behind this mysterious force lurking in the shadows.
Old Jack, as if he could see into Tang Hao's mind, cracked a grin.
"Don't underestimate this old man, Tang Hao."
"You think… you're the only one..."
"...with a Martial Soul?!"
Buzz——!
Suddenly, a monstrous black creature floated out from behind Old Jack.
It resembled a mutated serpent.
Its massive body stood upright, towering and thick, its head covered in a black, spiked carapace.
Its slitted, crimson snake eyes locked onto Tang Hao—radiating an intense bloodlust so sharp it made even Tang Hao's spine tingle.
It was as if this creature had been born solely for slaughter.
But what shocked Tang Hao even more…
Six blood-red soul rings floated into view behind Old Jack.
They lined up before Tang Hao's eyes, searing into his sight and soul.
Red, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red!
Each ring burned like a blood-drenched sun, emanating boundless soul power!
"This… this is impossible!"
Tang Hao was stunned.
Six crimson hundred-thousand-year soul rings instantly shattered his resolve.
This defied all logic. It was not just shocking—it utterly crushed the last glimmer of hope within him.
Why?
Why did such a technique exist on the continent?
Hundred-thousand-year soul rings—each one a treasure that Soul Masters would risk everything for—were now appearing as though they were cheap, effortless to obtain…
On the body of an old man who should've been living out his final years in peace.
How absurd. How laughable.
Then what did all of his struggles mean?
What did the pain he endured amount to?
Soul Masters across the continent gave everything—even their lives—for a single hundred-thousand-year soul ring.
And now, one man bore six of them—
—like they were mere wild fruits plucked from the roadside.
Tang Hao let the Clear Sky Hammer fall from his hand and collapsed to his knees.
He clutched his head and screamed, his voice torn with rage and despair.
"WHY?! WHY!! WHY!!!"
"What the hell is wrong with this world?!"
"Hahahahahaha!!"
Tang Hao howled like a madman, a wild and broken roar.
His face twisted in an expression of pure madness. Not even in the past—when surrounded by Title Douluo from the Spirit Hall, with death imminent—had he felt such despair.
His heart was sinking… sinking into a dark abyss.
"Hahahaha… what a joke."
"Martial Souls, Soul Rings, Soul Masters…"
"What's the point of it all?"
Old Jack looked at Tang Hao, who had suddenly lost all his momentum, now hoarse and broken like a different man entirely.
He was baffled.
He hadn't even revealed all of his hand.
They hadn't even started the real fight…
And Tang Hao was already like this?
****
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