Chapter 223: with translation of chapter title

At this moment, Tang Hao was sitting upright beside a small earthen pit inside the cave, his expression somewhat listless.

"Ah Yin, those people have been watching us for a long time; they must be about to act, though I don't know how you and Tang San are doing." Tang Hao gently stroked the land where the Blue Silver Emperor had once taken root, murmuring.

At that very moment, Tang Hao felt as if this heaven and earth had been sealed, and a suffocating feeling surged into his heart.

"Here they come." Tang Hao rose and walked toward the cave mouth, his voice echoing in the narrow cavern: "This time I won't run again; the Spirit Hall owes us a debt, and it's time to repay."

From beginning to end, Tang Hao thought all this was the doing of the Spirit Hall, but after discovering that the soul bone had been taken, he had kept a suspicion.

So even if Gu Rong hid himself as best he could, Tang Hao still found some clues, and after bringing Tang San back, he quietly sent Tang San away.

The reason Tang Hao returned here despite it already being discovered is twofold: first, this place is very suitable for Tang San's further training; second, the location of the Blue Silver Emperor was not chosen at random, but because that spot gathers the core of the entire mountain range, allowing the Blue Silver Emperor to recover faster.

Moreover, the Spirit Hall's people had come only that once, so Tang Hao also gambled that they would not return, after all the most important hundred‑thousand‑year soul bone had already been taken by them.

But now it looks like a joke, after all everyone wants to take the Spirit Hall's leader's head to claim merit.

Fortunately, he had successfully sent Tang San away, so he no longer had any worries behind him.

Outside the cave, Chen Xin and Gu Rong arrived upon a lake surface as blue as a sapphire, hovering in midair, their aura already locked onto Tang Hao.

The Left Wing's speed was the fastest among the three, so he went to look for Tang San, while Long Wu and Mi He stood by to provide support.

When Tang Hao stepped out of the cave and saw Chen Xin and Gu Rong, his expression changed instantly, but he knew these two certainly were not coming to help him.

"When did the Seven Treasure Glazed Sect also collude with the Spirit Hall?" Tang Hao said coldly.

Chen Xin and Gu Rong regarded Tang Hao with cold eyes, then Gu Rong spoke indifferently: "It's not us colluding with the Spirit Hall; rather, those two have defected to our side, and you are their token of allegiance."

Upon hearing this, Tang Hao looked at Long Wu and Mi He; he had indeed never seen them before, and they were both unfamiliar Titled Douluo.

At this moment, Tang Hao recalled the inscriptions on the stone wall inside the cave; could it be that they had secretly found this place and then stolen the soul bone?

Although Mi He and Long Wu were disciples of Chen Xin and Gu Rong, they rarely appeared on the continent, so Tang Hao did not know them.

And their current explanation was merely meant to confuse Tang Hao.

Chen Xin spoke lightly: "Tang Hao, no need for many words; today you shall end your own life here, and Tang San's life will be without worry."

Hearing these words, Tang Hao's face turned grim: "I never expected that Gu Xuan, whom Xiao San praised so highly, would have elders like you; truly… fate plays tricks."

Now Tang Hao didn't want to say anything else, for speaking further would be useless; after all, Tang San had already escaped, so he had no more worries behind him.

Thereafter, Tang Hao remained silent; nine soul rings—two yellow, two purple, four black, one red—rose slowly from his body, and a black‑red great hammer appeared in his hand.

After releasing his martial soul, the black Soul Ring positioned seventh on his body lit up.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Heavenly Hammer True Form!"

As the seventh soul skill was unleashed, the Heavenly Hammer in Tang Hao's hand instantly swelled to over a hundred meters, its aura matching that of a ninety‑five‑rank Super Douluo, magnificent, and he directly launched an all‑out attack.

"Heaven‑Toppling Strike!"

Chen Xin and Gu Rong exchanged a glance; they hadn't expected Tang Hao to be so decisive, after all his condition could not be concealed—this strike, even if they didn't intervene afterward, would surely kill him.

However, Chen Xin and Gu Rong are no pushovers; having lived for decades, each is ruthless and sparing with words.

Two yellow, two purple, five black—nine Soul Rings—pulsed on the bodies of Chen Xin and Gu Rong respectively, and their terrifying soul power, reaching ninety‑eight and ninety‑seven ranks, instantly overwhelmed Tang Hao's aura.

The black seventh Soul Ring on each of them lit up simultaneously, meeting Tang Hao's Heavenly Hammer.

"Seventh Soul Skill: Seven‑Slay True Form!"

"Seventh Soul Skill: Bone Dragon True Form!"

A colossal Seven‑Slay Sword and a Bone Dragon stretching a hundred meters in length appeared instantly, directly knocking the Heavenly Hammer back.

Naturally, when they attacked they held nothing back; after all, though Tang Hao was the junior, his talent surpassed theirs by a margin.

"Eighth Soul Skill: Seven‑Slay Shocking Thunder Arises, One Sword Splits the Firmament!"

In Chen Xin's hand, the Seven‑Slay Sword, under the effect of the eighth soul skill, transformed into a heaven‑shaking sword‑light that instantly locked onto Tang Hao, revealing killing intent.

"Sixth Soul Skill: Bone Dragon Blaze!"

Having transformed into a hundred‑meter‑tall form, Gu Rong, after releasing the sixth soul skill, opened his blood‑filled maw and spewed forth endless dreadful dark light, which carried the aura of death.

The dark light and the enormous Seven‑Slay Sword merged as they advanced toward Tang Hao; from afar they looked like a divine sword wielding endless dark light, which slammed directly into him.

This was not a martial soul fusion skill; merely, these two soul skills of theirs happened to complement each other to produce a stronger attack—at most a soul skill combination.

Seeing the Sword‑Bone Douluo go all‑out from the start, Tang Hao's heart jolted, but his reaction speed was not slow.

Then his nine soul rings—two yellow, two purple, four black, one red—all exploded at once, turning into nine streams of soul‑power that flowed into his body; afterward a golden ring appeared behind him, his stature instantly grew, and his Heavenly Hammer seemed to turn golden.

"Ring burst! All nine rings burst!"

At that moment Tang Hao seemed to become a deity; his ninety‑five‑rank soul power, amplified by the explosion of the nine soul rings, instantly surged to the level of ninety‑eight rank.

Even though his Heavenly Hammer had not yet fallen, the might and terrifying power it contained were enough to make one's blood run cold.

Tang Hao held nothing back, nor dared to, for he discovered that Chen Xin and Gu Rong had respectively reached the ninety‑eight and ninety‑seven ranks!

Under Tang Hao's full‑power eruption, the terrifying Heavenly Hammer collided with the attacks of Chen Xin and Gu Rong.

An attack of this level meant that Mi He and Long Wu, who were merely providing support from the side, had no qualification to join the battlefield; if caught in the aftermath, they would suffer either grave injury or death.

The massive Heavenly Hammer collided in midair with Chen Xin's Seven‑Slay Sword and Gu Rong's hundred‑meter‑long Bone Dragon; needless to say, Tang Hao's desperate all‑out strike indeed possessed boundless might.

If it were as in the original story, Chen Xin and Gu Rong might not have been able to kill him outright, but now they have long since become far stronger than before.

Their soul power respectively reached ninety‑eight and ninety‑seven ranks, and their own strength had already become top‑tier on the continent.

Tang Hao's attack collided with those of Chen Xin and Gu Rong, erupting in a heaven‑shaking roar; the surrounding mountains and giant trees within a kilometer radius were reduced to dust by the terrifying aftershock.

Mi He and Long Wu both had to retreat a kilometer to save themselves.

Mi He and Long Wu exchanged a glance, each seeing disbelief in the other's eyes.

They naturally knew their teachers' strength, yet Tang Hao could actually unleash a force that hard‑clashed with both teachers' attacks—what kind of monster is he?

The Left Wing, who had been searching for Tang San's trail, also abruptly halted his motion, darting far away to avoid the terrifying battle's aftermath, and looking back at the battlefield's center with an expression of disbelief.

ps: Typos will be corrected later.

(End of chapter)