Chapter 22: Heavenly Shield!

Tang Hao leapt high into the air, the Heavenly Hammer in his hand flashing with blinding light, roaring as he unleashed a Heaven-Piercing Strike. The massive hammer carried an aura of heaven-shattering, earth-destroying force, plummeting like a meteor.

And Gui Mei, that elusive figure flickering like a ghost, at this critical moment instantly turned into a mass of black shadow. His body shifted rapidly, moving at an inconceivable speed beneath the huge hammer's shadow, yet he could not escape its range—Gui Mei was locked by this soul skill.

"Damn it, how does this soul skill even have a chain effect!" As the Heavenly Hammer was about to smash down, Gui Mei fiercely condensed his own soul power into a black barrier, facing the Heaven-Piercing Strike head-on. The massive hammer and the black barrier collided violently, emitting a heaven-shaking, earth-shaking roar. For a moment, light and black shadow intertwined, the surrounding air frantically compressed, as if space itself were about to be torn apart.

Under this terrifying impact, Gui Mei continually retreated, but his strange movement allowed him to shed most of the strike's force; though he looked somewhat embarrassed, he remained unharmed—after all, he was an Agile Attack Title Douluo, and in pure strength he was at a disadvantage.

"No soul ring visible, only a ghostly shadow—what a Title Douluo! Hahaha!" Tang Hao exclaimed delightedly, immediately mocking: a 96th-rank Title Douluo was actually repelled by his 90th-rank Soul Douluo—truly embarrassing.

"You!" Gui Mei snapped angrily; he had previously relied on his soul power reaching the 96th rank, (having eaten the immortal herb) disdaining to use soul rings, never expecting to suffer a loss—Heavenly Hammer! What a Heavenly Hammer!

"Old ghost, you're really losing face—actually being repelled by a Soul Douluo without a ninth soul ring!" A soft, effeminate voice sounded; a man in golden armor, with a gentle appearance, holding a chrysanthemum-like flower to sniff, appeared beside him—none other than the Spirit Hall's Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan.

"Hmph, cut the nonsense—hurry up and take down Tang Hao; if it were you, you'd fare no better." Gui Mei snapped at Yue Guan.

Yue Guan flared in anger: "You dead ghost, aren't I just worried about you?"

Gui Mei ignored him, his body hovering in midair; black mist began to surge around him, the mist as thick as ink, constantly churning. He snorted coldly, the eighth soul ring on his body flashing: "Tang Hao! You have nowhere to escape! Ghostly Monsters!"

In an instant, countless twisted black shadows shot forth from the black mist—some taking the form of ferocious evil spirits, some resembling drifting phantoms, others like bizarre sprites.

They bared fangs and claws in the air, emitting scalp-numbing strange cries; the whole space instantly seemed to turn into a gloomy hell.

The Ghostly Monsters surged toward Tang Hao like a tide; wherever they passed, the air seemed to freeze, evoking endless fear and chill.

Yue Guan likewise instantly manifested his martial soul; a strange light burst from his body. Within the light, countless gorgeous petals began to flutter, swirling around him without cease.

His face gradually turned handsome yet bewitching, his eyes like glittering gems, radiating a divine light.

With the completion of his martial soul manifestation, Yue Guan seemed to merge with the surrounding sea of flowers; every motion carried an elegant, deadly allure, making one both entranced and fearful.

"Sixth Soul Skill, Golden Pistils Radiating Rosy Clouds!" Yue Guan's lascivious, wanton cry echoed through the valley; the soul skill erupted violently.

Centering on Yue Guan, countless golden pistils surged forth like a fountain, the pistils flashing with dazzling light, as if golden rosy clouds flowed through the air. Innumerable slender golden pistils appeared and disappeared. Guided by Yue Guan's hand gestures, they began to dance swiftly, like golden rosy clouds surging and churning. They shifted shapes in the air—sometimes forming sharp spikes, sometimes turning into spinning vortices.

Thereafter, they transformed into golden light rays, shooting out like a rain of arrows, rapidly spreading outward toward Tang Hao from all sides; wherever they passed, the air seemed to be slit.

Tang Hao's expression grew grave, his muscles tensed throughout his body; he hastily lifted the Heavenly Hammer before him. The hammer's tip bore a white pattern, a surging white light quietly spreading; the white light released from the hammer quickly turned colorless.

An invisible killing intent burst forth instantly, as if something unseen struck the Chrysanthemum Douluo heavily—Slaughter God Domain! The basic function of the Slaughter God Domain is to absorb one's own killing intent and convert the absorbed killing intent for one's own use. Within the domain, the enemy's strength is automatically weakened by ten percent, while the user can exert one hundred ten percent of their power.

But in Tang Hao's years of tempering, within the Slaughter God Domain the enemy's strength is weakened by twenty percent, while the user can exert one hundred twenty percent of their power!

Tang Hao roared: "Heavenly Shield!" A powerful soul power surge exploded; his torso lit up with a blue light, rapidly expanding into three massive shields radiating terrifying blue divine lightning, spinning wildly around Tang Hao.

Heavenly Shield! Tang Hao's torso soul bone skill, derived from a lightning-attributed spirit beast of over eighty thousand years of cultivation, a soul bone technique that can only be broken when his soul power is completely exhausted.

In the Soul Master world, the two major factions have long debated who is stronger; one side represents balance, the other extremism. The extremist faction believes a Soul Master's ability should follow a pure path as much as possible, directing their power toward a single direction and highlighting that ability to the utmost.

The balance faction, however, holds that a Soul Master's ability should develop evenly, maintaining offense-defense equilibrium. These two factions have constantly clashed. The Power Clan, a subordinate sect of the Clear Sky Sect, is a quintessential example of the extreme line.

Moreover, the Clear Sky Sect's four subordinate sects also include three other extreme factions; most disciples of the Clear Sky Sect likewise follow the extreme path. Tang Hao, as a rising star of the Clear Sky Sect and future Heavenly Douluo, is even more outstanding among them—this is also why Titan is Tang Hao's die‑hard loyalist.

Therefore, the soul rings he attaches are all skills that frenziedly stack the Heavenly Hammer's attack power, making his combat strength extraordinarily fierce but his defense terribly weak—one could say he is truly a glass cannon.

But once he has absorbed this torso bone, he becomes invincible in all directions, and to this day he has never suffered a defeat.

At the same time, the gorgeous and deadly Golden Pistils Radiating Rosy Clouds surged forward like a violent flood, and afterward the Ghostly Monsters also rushed forth like evil spirits crawling out of hell, bearing a chilling, hair‑raising aura.

"Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding! Ding!" rang out—a grating, teeth‑aching collision sound.

Tang Hao's Heavenly Shield trembled violently under this double onslaught, its light flickering; each block felt immensely difficult, as if it might be shattered at any moment by this powerful combined assault.

Tang Hao gritted his teeth, pouring all his soul power into his soul bone to withstand wave after wave of the Chrysanthemum and Gui Mei duo's fierce onslaught.

(End of Chapter)