"No! No!!"
Tang Yuehua could only watch in horror as those three gruesome vines pierced Tang Xiao and the elders, listening helplessly to the sickening gulping sounds. All she could do was scream in heartbroken agony.
Tang San, meanwhile, stared coldly at Tang Xiao's twisted, pale face, then bent down and whispered with a devil's voice:
"Uncle… Remember that time? You refused to avenge my father, just for the honor of the Clear Sky name. Never expected this day would come, did you?"
Tang Xiao's previously unfocused pupils suddenly shrank, a deeper sorrow and sarcasm flashing in his gaze.
So that was it. All his efforts to protect and accept this nephew had only bred this deep resentment. How ironic!
He tried to speak, but no longer had a voice. His remaining consciousness was filled with nothing but regret and sadness.
Meanwhile, Tang San absorbed the life force and essence of three Titled Douluo, and felt his aura explode, his face flushed red as if countless little snakes writhed under his skin—his soul power surging violently.
Level 72, 73, 75… all the way to 79!
This raging energy barreled straight past the limit of level 79 toward the edge of level 80. But this time, no new spirit ring formed. There was a limit—even a mutated 100,000-year soul beast could only self-condense up to the seventh soul ring. Despite becoming nearly beast-like, Tang San's essence was still governed by a human soul, not a true spirit beast, so the ability to self-condense soul rings stopped there; he could not break through to an eighth.
Tang San opened his eyes, the blue and red light in them eerie and bright. He glanced down with thinly veiled loathing at the two shriveled corpses, his soul power flaring and instantly shattering them to dust.
Then he looked to Tang Xiao, now just a husk, weak beyond recognition, not even breathing. Only his lifeless eyes stared at Tang San.
Tang San approached with a calm smile,
"A pity, Uncle. You won't live to see the day when I becomes a god, and the name of Clear Sky resounds in another form throughout the world."
"Otherwise… you'd realize I was right. Emotions and blood ties are chains—a burden."
As his words finished, the vine impaling Tang Xiao twisted violently, siphoning the last of his life. With a casual flick, Tang Xiao's withered corpse was tossed next to Tang Yuehua.
"Brother!"
Tang Yuehua cried, flinging herself on the familiar—but unrecognizable—face, weeping as she hugged the body that had once protected her.
Tang San looked down at her.
"There, aunt, I've given you time for a final farewell. Even now, I—Tang San—am a person who remembers kindness, who values family ties. It's you who changed, who pushed me into this."
Tang Yuehua didn't seem to hear him at all, only clutching Tang Xiao's body and sobbing silently.
Clap, clap, clap…
At that moment, a clear and abrupt round of applause was heard from another direction in the training ground.
Tang San's hair stood on end. He snapped his head around, eyes razor-sharp.
At the edge of the practice field, half-concealed by the shadow of a broken watchtower, stood three figures. In the middle was a tall, handsome young man—none other than Chen Yi. Flanking him were two more men with extraordinary auras: Chen Zhen and Xie Xiaoqing. It was Chen Yi applauding.
"Chen Yi?! You—How are you here!?"
Tang San's face turned ugly; he'd never imagined Chen Yi would arrive at Clear Sky Sect so fast, or that he'd been present for a while without Tang San noticing!
What unsettled him most was that Chen Yi was breathing evenly, his face normal—clearly not injured in battle.
What did that mean? That the defeat and death of Tang Chen and Bo Saixi at Spirit City must have happened faster and more decisively than he'd expected—Chen Yi had the resources to pursue them immediately.
Tang San cursed Tang Chen and Bo Saixi in his heart: so much for being unrivaled Douluo, couldn't even stall for a moment!
Chen Yi didn't answer Tang San's question. First, he slowly swept his gaze over the hellish, corpse-strewn field, then finally looked back at Tang San.
"Until now, I always thought your actions were the height of bestial behavior."
He paused, shook his head in something like awe.
"But even I didn't imagine you could be so bold and shameless."
"To call you a beast…"
Chen Yi stared into Tang San's bloodthirsty, evil eyes, enunciating clearly,
"…is a complete insult!"
Some in Clear Sky Sect had complicated relationships with Tang San, but Tang Xiao and Tang Yuehua genuinely loved and protected him, doing everything for his sake.
And Tang San? He not only killed Tang Xiao, seizing his cultivation, but also destroyed his spirit.
At these words, Tang San's gaze turned deathly dark, staring at Chen Yi like a viper.
But he didn't attack. Instead, he scanned the area again; finding only Chen Yi, Chen Zhen, and Xie Xiaoqing, with no powerful hidden allies, he let out a secret sigh of relief. If only these three—not a full-scale attack by the Spirit Hall and Body Sect—
"Chen Yi, you chose a path to hell, ignoring the smooth road to heaven," Tang San said coldly.
"Do you know why those people ended up this way?"
Chen Yi's lips curled in open derision. He didn't even bother to lift his eyelids.
"A Sorrowful Crisp Autumn Breeze—so what?"
In fact, Chen Yi and his group had arrived at Clear Sky Sect even sooner than Tang San expected. When they arrived, the sect's disciples were already gathering. Their original aim was to capture—or kill—Tang San directly, but instead they ended up witnessing his blood-soaked performance of poisoning, slaughter, and devouring his own kin.
They quietly waited for the tragedy to near its end.
"You know it's Sorrowful Crisp Autumn Breeze, yet still you dare stand before me? Even… get so close?" Tang San's voice shrilled.
Before he finished, Chen Yi moved.
With no warning, Chen Yi stepped forward!
Hiss!
In an instant, Chen Yi appeared within one meter of Tang San!
"What?!"
Tang San was so horrified he almost lost his soul, scrambling several dozen meters back with his Ghost Shadow Perplexing Tracks, only to see—Chen Yi still stood in place, calmly regarding him.
"How could you do that? How did you avoid my Sorrowful Crisp Autumn Breeze? Impossible!!"
In his previous life, even countless martial masters fell to this poison. How could Chen Yi remain completely unharmed—and so fast, at that?
Chen Yi just smiled even wider.
"There's no such thing as impossible," he said blandly.
"I told you long ago—your self-impressed toys…"
He paused briefly, glanced over the corpses of Clear Sky disciples, then finally met Tang San's eyes.
"Against true strength… they are worthless."
Chen Yi was not lying. He and Xie Xiaoqing both possessed unique physiques and abilities. Chen Yi had a golden indestructible body and controlled the ultimate lightning; a poison like Sorrowful Crisp Autumn Breeze might trouble ordinary Titled Douluo, but to him, it was nothing. Xie Xiaoqing's martial soul was reborn into Nirvana, with internal fires that burned year-round; any stray toxin was incinerated instantly.
As for Chen Zhen… say no more!
More importantly, they'd observed everything from the shadows and were fully prepared—not caught unaware.
…