Chapter 97: The Mad Tang Hao, Yu Xiaogang Lies

Tang Hao released his martial soul, grasped the Haotian Hammer in his hand, and gritted his teeth at Zhao Wuji.

"As the team leader of the Spirit Hunt operation, you not only failed to find a suitable spirit ring for Xiao San, but due to your negligence he ended up absorbing a ten-year spirit ring; you deserve death."

Terrifying soul power filled the entire room, making the surrounding air seem to become viscous, causing Flandre, Zhao Wuji, and Yu Xiaogang to find their breathing unsmooth.

Seeing the massive head of the Haotian Hammer, Zhao Wuji showed terror, even lacking the courage to flee.

However, Tang Hao did not strike directly, but turned his gaze to Flandre, glaring angrily.

"As the dean of Shilaike Academy, you assigned the task of helping students obtain spirit rings to Zhao Wuji and then ignored it; you share equal responsibility in this matter and deserve death just as he does."

Flandre was numb all over.

He wanted to say a few words in his defense, but didn't know how to start.

Moreover, Flandre was well aware that the more he spoke, the more mistakes he would make, and trying to excuse himself would only make Tang Hao angrier.

Seeing that Tang Hao was about to strike Flandre and Zhao Wuji dead, Yu Xiaogang beside him quickly spoke up to persuade.

"Haotian Douluo, although they do bear responsibility in this matter, Luo Ye is the true culprit; they do not deserve death."

Upon hearing this, Tang Hao laughed furiously, stared coldly at Yu Xiaogang, and spoke word by word.

"I almost forgot about you, this worthless thing."

Feeling Tang Hao's gaze, as if it wanted to devour a person, Yu Xiaogang felt his heart stop instantly, and he didn't even have the anger from being called worthless.

Tang Hao gave Yu Xiaogang no face at all, continuing to speak viciously.

"Don't think I don't know; the reason Xiao San came to this trash academy is because you recommended it to him."

"If it weren't for you making him give up other advanced academies and come here, how could he possibly have absorbed four ten-year spirit rings?"

"Yu Xiaogang, you worthless thing are the one who deserves death the most!"

The more Tang Hao spoke, the angrier he became; eventually his state neared madness, he no longer cared about anything else, and directly lifted the Haotian Hammer and smashed it toward Yu Xiaogang in front of him.

Seeing his move, Yu Xiaogang's pupils contracted sharply, feeling that he would meet his end here today.

He was merely a twenty-nine-ranked soul power master; with Tang Hao's strength as a Haotian Douluo, even a casual blow could crush him to pieces.

Fortunately, at the last moment Flandre used his fastest speed ever, shoved Yu Xiaogang aside, and took that blow from Tang Hao in his place.

"Bang!"

Accompanied by a deep, muffled sound, the terrifying force wrapped around the Haotian Hammer directly smashed Flandre into the ground, embedding him.

The surrounding land cracked inch by inch, dust and sand flying.

Flandre's act of sacrificing himself to save Yu Xiaogang not only failed to move Tang Hao, but made him even angrier.

"You're putting on a brotherhood act in front of me? I'll let you have brotherhood!"

Tang Hao continually swung the Haotian Hammer at Flandre, driving him deeper into the ground bit by bit.

Even though his whole body was wracked with heart-rending pain, Flandre still gritted his teeth and endured, having no courage or thought to resist.

Seeing Flandre's condition growing ever more perilous, Zhao Wuji summoned his courage and lunged onto him.

"This is all my fault, it has nothing to do with Boss Flandre; if you want to kill, kill me instead."

Originally, in Tang Hao's mind Zhao Wuji's responsibility in this matter ranked second, and his killing intent toward Zhao Wuji was only slightly less than that toward Luo Ye.

Having not struck him directly before was fine, but now he dares to actively seek death, so Tang Hao truly doesn't mind granting his wish.

The enraged Tang Hao swung the hammer without hesitation at Zhao Wuji, eliciting two simultaneous muffled groans.

Flandre really wanted to curse.

He didn't know whether Zhao Wuji was trying to protect him or trying to implicate him in death.

Knowing that Zhao Wuji was currently pressing down on Flandre, Tang Hao's strike on him would be like hitting two at once.

Beside him, Yu Xiaogang, feeling Flandre and Zhao Wuji's breathing gradually weaken, became instantly anxious.

In order to save their lives, Yu Xiaogang clenched his teeth and shouted loudly.

"Stop!"

Tang Hao instinctively stopped, turned his head to look at Yu Xiaogang.

That mad appearance left Yu Xiaogang with no doubt that if he couldn't come up with a suitable excuse, he would surely be killed alongside Flandre and Zhao Wuji.

Yu Xiaogang took a deep breath and told Tang Hao a colossal lie.

"I once saw a record in a book stating that all spirit rings can be removed and then reabsorbed to obtain even stronger spirit rings."

Upon hearing this, Tang Hao's consciousness cleared a little.

But even if he thought with his butt, he knew Yu Xiaogang was definitely spouting nonsense, so he directly lifted the Haotian Hammer, pointed it at Yu Xiaogang, and said coldly.

"It seems you want to die before them."

Saying that, he stepped toward Yu Xiaogang.

Seeing this, Yu Xiaogang forced himself to stay calm and spoke rapidly.

"This record is something I saw in the Spirit Hall's archives; that book contains many records of the experiences of past powerhouses of the Spirit Hall."

"You also know the depth of the Spirit Hall's foundation, so this cannot be false."

Tang Hao stopped his steps, momentarily unsure whether to believe Yu Xiaogang.

The Spirit Hall's inheritance is far older than any sect or clan on the Battle Spirit Continent; if Yu Xiaogang truly saw this record in the Spirit Hall's archives, perhaps it could indeed be true.

"Just based on this one sentence, you expect me to believe you?"

Yu Xiaogang knew that without producing some genuine evidence it was impossible to convince Tang Hao, so after a moment of hesitation he gritted his teeth and said.

"The ten core competitive abilities of martial souls that I originally proposed were seen in that book."

"But in order to change others' opinion of me, I took the experiences summarized by past Spirit Hall powerhouses, claimed them as my own, and published them without authorization, thereby earning the title of Master."

Yu Xiaogang deeply gazed at Flandre and Zhao Wuji embedded in the ground, his heart filled with resentment.

To save these two fellows' lives, he even did not hesitate to admit that he had plagiarized the experiences and conclusions summarized by the Spirit Hall's predecessors.

This was also telling Tang Hao that his so-called Master title was obtained through deceit and trickery.

For Yu Xiaogang, who values face above all else, this sacrifice is truly too great.

Tang Hao really does believe it now.

If Yu Xiaogang really saw this record in the Spirit Hall's library, wouldn't that mean Tang San still has a chance to change his soul ring?

(End of chapter)