Chapter 380: Tang San, the Murderous Arsonist?
The azure sky was originally as clear as if it had been washed, with a few wisps of white clouds floating leisurely.
However, a sudden streak of black light tore through this tranquility.
The light moved incredibly fast yet appeared extremely unstable, its trajectory crooked like a giant bird with broken wings. Dragging a dim trail behind it, it finally plunged headlong into a vast, ancient primeval forest below as if its strength had failed!
"Boom—!!!"
Along with a dull, massive roar...
A plume of dust and smoke rose into the sky from somewhere in the forest, startling countless birds and causing beasts to flee.
Thick trees were smashed and sent flying, and a deep trench was plowed into the ground.
The dust slowly dissipated, revealing the scene at the center of the impact.
In a shallow pit dozens of meters in diameter lay an extremely burly and stalwart man. His face was resolute, with lines like they were chiseled by an axe. Even now, with his eyes tightly shut, brows furrowed, and blood leaking from the corner of his mouth, it could not hide the heroic spirit that once looked down upon the world.
Most striking was the giant hammer stuck diagonally into the ground beside him, pitch-black and covered in mysterious dark-gold patterns.
The hammer was simple and ancient, yet it radiated a terrifying pressure as heavy as a mountain and incomparably domineering. It was the Clear Sky Hammer, though the light on it was currently quite dim.
This gasping, burly man was Tang Chen, who had shed the bloody and sinister shell of the Slaughter King and restored his original appearance under the purification of Qian Daoliu's Angel God's divine force.
The Sect Master from two generations ago of the Clear Sky Sect, the former Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Chen!
He lay there quietly, his breathing weak and the Soul Power within his body in utter chaos.
There was both the originally vast and boundless Soul Power belonging to a Rank 99 super Douluo struggling to recover, and the residual evil poison belonging to the Nine-Headed Bat King stubbornly resisting and corroding him.
The two forces clashed violently within Tang Chen's body, making his already heavily injured form even more precarious, his life force like a candle flickering in the wind.
Almost at the same time Tang Chen crashed into the forest and kicked up the dust, several hundred miles away from this primeval forest, Tang Chuan—who had just used special means to quietly cross the blurred border between Heaven Dou and the Spirit Empire and entered the Spirit Empire's territory—suddenly paused.
He abruptly looked up, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, and then he suddenly turned toward the northwest!
In that instant just now, he clearly sensed a terrifying Killing Intent that, although extremely chaotic, still caused a slight resonance deep within his Soul. It was like a bloody beacon that suddenly flared up in the dark night and then quickly dimmed, vanishing in that direction!
This Aura shared the same source as the sky-shaking Killing Intent belonging to the Slaughter King he had sensed before, but it seemed... to lack that pure evil and chaos.
It had an added touch of the ancient and heavy, as well as... a certain indescribable sense of familiarity?
More importantly, the state of this Aura was currently weak to the extreme.
"Northwest... heavily injured and dying?"
Blue light flashed in Tang Chuan's eyes as he whispered to himself, "Could it be... a result where both sides suffered? The Slaughter King was heavily injured by Qian Daoliu and fled, coincidentally falling near here?"
As soon as this thought arose, Tang Chuan did not hesitate. His body transformed into a pale blue phantom that almost merged with the environment, shooting toward that vast forest in the northwest.
His speed was incredibly fast, like a breeze sweeping over the treetops. A moment later, he had already entered deep into the forest's heart, following that increasingly clear Killing Intent.
When Tang Chuan pushed aside the last giant leaf blocking his way and saw the burly figure in the center of the shallow pit and the pitch-black giant hammer stuck in the ground...
Even with his Heart-Nature, his pupils couldn't help but shrink slightly.
However, just then, Tang Chen's tightly closed eyelids twitched violently. The blood-red eyes that originally belonged to the Slaughter King did not appear; instead, they were replaced by a pair of black eyes!
"Who is it?!"
A short, raspy shout squeezed out from Tang Chen's throat, carrying the pain of his heavy injuries and an inviolable majesty and Killing Intent!
He hadn't even fully seen the newcomer, but the extreme sense of insecurity brought by his heavy injuries and the combat instincts honed from countless years of life-and-death struggle had already driven him to react!
"Buzz—!"
Ink-black light erupted from Tang Chen's palm!
The Clear Sky Hammer stuck in the ground seemed to receive its master's call, flying into Tang Chen's hand with a'swoosh'. Although it was difficult for him to even stand and he was half-kneeling on the ground, the moment he gripped the Clear Sky Hammer, that domineering Aura belonging to the world's number one Tool Spirit instantly erupted.
Without the slightest hesitation, Tang Chen used all the Soul Power he could currently mobilize, gripped the handle with both hands, and swung it fiercely toward the blurred blue figure at the edge of the pit!
This strike was not even one-hundredth, or even one-thousandth, of the power he possessed at his peak.
There was no vast brilliance of Soul Power, no drawing upon the might of heaven and earth—only pure strength.
Facing this sudden, hostile, yet extremely weak attack, Tang Chuan's brow twitched slightly. He did not choose to take it head-on, nor did he immediately dodge or explain anything.
In the spark of a moment, a thought that could trick Tang Chen into trusting him flashed through his mind.
He did not use the golden dragon spear, nor did he use the Vast Sea Cosmic Shroud. Instead, he unleashed the Blue Silver Emperor's First Soul Skill, Mimicry!
A strange blue-gold light flashed in Tang Chuan's eyes, and the Soul Power fluctuations around him instantly shifted in an extremely subtle way!
The next moment, under Tang Chen's suspicious and uncertain gaze, blue-gold light rapidly condensed, deformed, and then slowly solidified in Tang Chuan's right hand!
In an instant, a giant hammer that was deep blue throughout, yet similarly ancient and heavy in design and radiating a heavy pressure, appeared in Tang Chuan's hand!
The silhouette of the hammerhead, the patterns on the handle, and even the faintly radiating domineering intent of breaking through all laws were eighty to ninety percent similar to the Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Chen's hand!
Although the color was different, the imitation of form and intent could pass for the real thing!
Immediately after, Tang Chuan also made a two-handed swinging motion, meeting Tang Chen's black hammer shadow head-on with this blue Clear Sky Hammer!
"Clang—!!!!!"
In the midst of the massive roar, a visible circular airwave exploded outward from the point of collision!
"Crack! Crack! Rumble—!"
Everywhere the airwave passed, within a radius of dozens of meters, whether it was ancient trees that required several people to encircle or tough shrubs and thorns, all were snapped as if by an invisible giant blade!
Broken wood flew, branches and leaves danced wildly, and dust filled the air once again.
Tang Chuan's body swayed slightly, and he took half a step back before standing firmly.
Meanwhile, Tang Chen at the bottom of the pit let out a muffled groan.
His already heavily injured body felt as if it had been struck by a heavy blow. He staggered backward and only barely managed not to fall by leaning on his hammer. Blood leaked from his mouth again, and his face became even more ashen.
But the sharpness and vigilance in his eyes were, after that brief exchange, replaced by a much stronger emotion, revealing a look of utter disbelief!
"Clear Sky... Clear Sky Hammer?!"
"You... You are... a Disciple... of the Clear Sky... Sect? Whose... child... are you?"
Tang Chen's voice trembled, and bloody tears continuously leaked from his black eyes.
"My father is Tang Hao." Tang Chuan bowed slightly, his posture respectful yet distant.
"So you are Hao'er's son. So many years have passed; even Hao'er's son has grown so big. Good, you are very good, good... child, I am Tang Chen."
Tang Chen's cloudy eyes suddenly erupted with a sharp light, mixed with unbelievable wild joy, the vicissitudes of a lifetime, and a deeply hidden guilt.
Tang Chuan reacted at the appropriate time. His body shook violently, as if he had heard an earth-shattering name. He quickly looked up and said:
"You... You are... Great-grandfather?!"
His voice carried just the right amount of trembling and suspicion.
Then, without hesitation, he bowed deeply toward Tang Chen at the bottom of the pit. His posture was incredibly respectful, and his voice took on a hint of sobbing and grief-stricken indignation.
"Great-grandfather! It really is you! You... You must seek justice for the Clear Sky Sect, for my father!"
This call of 'Great-grandfather', this bow, and this plea for justice were like a heavy hammer, fiercely striking Tang Chen's already chaotic and fragile mind.
"Get up first! Quickly, get up!"
Tang Chen hurriedly went to help Tang Chuan up. His mind was currently in a state of upheaval, filled with both the gratification of seeing his great-grandson and a strong sense of unease triggered by that plea for justice.
"Your father? What happened to Hao'er? He was the one with the most hope of inheriting my mantle! Could it be... could it be that he is not the Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect now?"
"I... I was trapped in that ghostly place for decades, muddled and confused, knowing nothing of what happened outside! It's just... just that vaguely, I seemed to have felt your father's Aura nearby. It was very weak, very painful... What on earth happened?! Tell me in detail!"
He looked at Tang Chuan urgently, his cloudy eyes filled with the anxiety of craving the truth.
Hearing this, Tang Chuan slowly straightened up but did not immediately approach. He still maintained a certain distance, as if immersed in great sorrow and resentment. Then, he took a deep breath, and his voice became low and clear as he began to recount that piece of history he had carefully "processed."
"Great-grandfather, since you disappeared... the Clear Sky Sect has suffered a great calamity."
He did not speak fast, but every word was heavy. Starting from the meeting and love between Tang Hao and Ah Yin, he described that relationship which was not tolerated by the world.
He focused on portraying how Spirit Hall, especially the former Pope Qian Xunji, used this as an excuse to brazenly launch a crackdown on the Clear Sky Sect and hunt down Tang Hao and his wife.
"Mother was forced to sacrifice herself to save Father... Although Father gained a Soul Ring and Soul Bone, he lost his true love. Heartbroken and discouraged, he was further hounded by Spirit Hall..."
"The Sect... the Sect, under pressure from Spirit Hall, not only failed to protect Father but instead... instead expelled Father from the Sect and severed all ties!"
"What?! Bastards!!"
Hearing this, Tang Chen's hair and beard stood on end. He let out a roar that aggravated his injuries, causing another mouthful of stagnant blood to well up in his throat, which he forced back down. His eyes were full of rage and heartache. He couldn't believe the Clear Sky Sect he left behind would treat his most talented grandson this way!
Tang Chuan continued his narration, describing how the Clear Sky Sect, under the continuous pressure of Spirit Hall, eventually chose to close its gates and live in seclusion to save itself, thus falling into decline.
"Father took me and my younger brother Tang San, living as wanderers, hiding our names, and suffering through many hardships."
"Younger brother? Tang San?" Tang Chen caught this information, his brow furrowing slightly.
"Yes, Great-grandfather. My younger brother Tang San is the son of my father and mother, my biological brother."
Tang Chuan nodded, but his tone quietly shifted, taking on a hint of sorrow and resentment.
"However... however, my brother's mind has been a bit... different since he was young."
"Perhaps because our mother died early and Father was depressed for years and neglected his discipline, he actually... actually grew resentful toward the Sect, believing the Sect owed our family."
Next, Tang Chuan's narration began to move toward the most critical and sinister fictional part.
"Not long ago, the situation on the continent became turbulent, and Spirit Hall's power expanded. Although the Clear Sky Sect was closed, it was still a piece of fat meat. My brother... he somehow actually colluded with Spirit Hall in secret!"
"He used Father's trust in him and his own familiarity with the Sect's terrain to act as an inside agent. He led the experts of Spirit Hall there, and the Clear Sky Sect... was caught off guard. The uncles and elders who remained fought bloody battles, but... but they were outnumbered and slaughtered! The Sect's foundation was destroyed in one day!"
"Eldest Uncle Tang Xiao... to protect me and some young clansmen as we retreated, fought to the death to cover our escape. He was also... also heavily injured. Now his whereabouts are unknown, and his life or death is uncertain!"
At this point, Tang Chuan's voice even carried a sob and the sound of gritted teeth.
"Now, the great Clear Sky Sect... the world's number one Sect with a ten-thousand-year Legacy... only I am left, along with my rebellious brother Tang San who colluded with the enemy and murdered his kin to destroy the Sect, and my father whose life is unknown..."
"Boom—!"
These words were like countless thunderclaps striking Tang Chen's Soul one after another!
Tang Hao being expelled, the Sect closing its gates in seclusion? These had already made him beyond furious.
And now... the Clear Sky Sect... has also been destroyed?! Only this great-grandson in front of him is left, along with a rebellious kin-slayer Tang San and a grandson Tang Hao whose fate is unknown?!
"Puff—!!!"
Tang Chen could no longer suppress it, and a mouthful of hot blood sprayed out!
The blood was not dark red, but carried golden Soul Power and the not-yet-dissipated Asura Killing Intent—it was a shocking sight! His burly body shook violently, his vision went black, and he nearly fainted on the spot. The Clear Sky Hammer in his hand also fell with a 'clang', hitting the ground.
"Beast... Beast!!!"
"Tang San... that little beast! How dare he... how dare he collude with the enemy and destroy his own Sect?! Murdering kin and destroying the ancestors—heaven will not tolerate it! Heaven will not tolerate it!!!"
Then, he suddenly looked up, his bloodshot eyes staring fixedly at Tang Chuan as if grasping for the last straw, or as if wanting to confirm his last hope.
"Child... what you said... is it all true?!"
"Did Hao'er really... is the Clear Sky Sect really...?"
Hearing this, Tang Chuan's gaze remained as calm as still water. He nodded slightly, but his voice was full of sorrow and determination as he bowed deeply to Tang Chen once again.
"Great-grandfather, how would I dare to deceive you on such a major matter? Every word I speak is written in blood! We Disciples of Clear Sky stand tall and indomitable; we never speak falsely!"
"That Tang San... he is no longer worthy of the name Tang! He is the sinner of the Clear Sky Sect! I beg Great-grandfather... to revitalize Clear Sky, purge the Sect, and seek revenge for the deceased uncles and elders, and for my father!"
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