When Chen Yi spoke, Tang San's eyes instantly reddened, and his breathing grew ragged.
That phrase again!
Once more, the unique techniques of the Tang Sect—the very foundation of his life—were belittled as nothing more than toys.
What made this person from the Douluo Continent so different from the rest?
"Chen Yi! You… Do you really want to die!?" Tang San stared intently at Chen Yi, a voice seething with resentment and madness forced from deep within his throat.
Chen Yi simply raised his chin, sneering without a hint of fear.
"Me? Courting death? That's unfortunate, Tang San… The first to die today might just be you."
Before Chen Yi finished speaking, the two behind him, Chen Zhen and Xie Xiaoqing, stepped up to his side.
The crushing aura of three top-rank Douluo instantly pressed down on Tang San, making it hard for him to breathe.
Tang San's face grew even more grim, the pallor deepening.
Both Xie Xiaoqing and Chen Zhen were peak-level Douluo, each possessing a 100,000-year soul ring and spirit bone, far exceeding any normal Titled Douluo. On top of that, there was the mysterious Chen Yi—his true strength still unknown.
Danger!
Alarms rang in Tang San's mind, a sense of dread weighing him down.
Just as Chen Yi moved his lips to give the attack order, Tang San shouted hastily, "Chen Yi! Are you planning to fight me one-on-one!?"
Thoughts racing, Tang San quickly assessed his own condition. After devouring three Titled Douluo and numerous elites from the Clear Sky Clan, his soul power had already broken through level 80, reaching the boundary of Soul Douluo.
But how long had it been since Chen Yi reached the rank of Soul Saint? At most, he should be about level 75. In terms of soul power alone, I have an overwhelming advantage!
Yet, regarding the astounding feat of Chen Yi defeating Yu Yuanzhen in just two moves, Tang San couldn't help but suspect something strange at play.
The most likely explanation was some hidden Grand Elder secretly used divine origin power to injure Yu Yuanzhen, with Chen Yi simply reaping the fruits of luck. Otherwise, there was no way a Soul Saint could instantly defeat a level 95 Power Attack Titled Douluo.
Even if it was all Chen Yi's doing—if he could do it, so could I! No, I could do even better!
Chen Yi stared coldly at Tang San, easily seeing through his attempt at calculation.
"To be honest, Tang San…" Chen Yi began in a calm, almost bored tone, "People like you… I don't wish to waste any more time on."
He paused, surveying the battered disciples of the Clear Sky Clan, before turning his gaze back to Tang San's increasingly tense expression.
"But since you're about to die, I'll be merciful, and grant you this last wish."
A protagonist like Tang San had always been supremely arrogant, convinced fate was in his hands, always holding countless trump cards. The best way to destroy such a person was to utterly shatter those illusions at the height of his confidence.
Understanding this, Chen Zhen and Xie Xiaoqing silently stepped back, leaving the battlefield to just Chen Yi and Tang San.
Chen Yi advanced slowly, taking one deliberate step forward.
Boom—!
A fierce surge of purple-gold lightning erupted from his body, distorting the air and vibrating with a deep, resonant hum.
"Tang San, come." Chen Yi beckoned with a crooked finger, taunting, "Let me crush your pitiful confidence with these hands."
Faced with the terrifying soul power Chen Yi now unleashed, Tang San's pupils contracted sharply.
It was the first time he truly felt this man's undiluted power—an aura no weaker than Tang Xiao's!
A sense of doom crept into Tang San's heart.
But there was no turning back; he could only force down his anxiety, a brutal light flashing in his eyes.
Grab him! As long as I seize him, I can survive!
Tang San screamed inwardly.
Attack first!
With a shout, countless Blue Silver Grass vines erupted behind him, mutated into a deep blue, their spear-like tips shimmering with a chilling azure glow as they shot at Chen Yi with overwhelming force.
"Sixth Soul Skill—Blue Silver Emperor Spear Formation!"
At the same moment, dozens of nearly invisible golden threads appeared between Tang San's fingers—Dragon Beard Needles. Compressing his soul power to the extreme, he condensed these golden needles as thin as hair, hiding them among the storm of spears, aiming at Chen Yi's vital points!
Such a fierce attack—mixing real and feint—would catch anyone off guard. Yet Chen Yi's eyes were absolutely still, completely unfazed.
Sizzle—!
Purple-gold lightning surged around him, arcs weaving a net of electricity. Any Blue Silver Spear that touched this lightning sea instantly turned to ash.
The hidden Dragon Beard Needles melted into drops of golden liquid the instant they touched the lightning, falling to the ground; they couldn't even come within three meters of Chen Yi.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, from the swirling black ash, Chen Yi's figure shot forth like a phantom—his speed utterly beyond Tang San's ability to track.
What—?!
Before he could react, a searing pain erupted in Tang San's abdomen!
Bang!
Chen Yi's fist, wrapped in purple-gold lightning, smashed fiercely into Tang San's gut, that unmatched force tearing through him.
Pu—!
Without a chance to scream, Tang San's whole body was hurled backwards, curling as he coughed blood, crashing hard against a wall dozens of meters away.
Boom!
With a thunderous crash, the wall shattered to rubble, dust filling the air. Tang San embedded into it like a mural. Blood streamed endlessly from his lips, deep disbelief in his eyes.
"Weak."
Chen Yi stepped forward, his footfalls ringing through the suddenly silent training hall.
With every step, Tang San felt his heart hammering wildly in his chest.
Even the Dragon Beard Needles—why couldn't they pierce his defense?!
Those were the Tang Sect's top hidden weapons, designed specifically to break through internal martial arts defenses!
Tang San let out a low, animalistic snarl, wrenching himself out of the debris and staggering a few steps.
"Ahhhh…!"
With a beast-like cry, Tang San's eyes flared scarlet again. He flung up his right hand, a dark light flickering in his palm.
Buzz—!
A deep red Clear Sky Hammer materialized in his grasp.
This wasn't quite the same hammer as before; it was darker, the handle exuding faint, twisted groans and a nausea-inducing stench—a warped relic, born of excessive absorption of the Clear Sky Clan disciples' essence.
"Clear Sky Hammer! Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer!!"
Eyes bloodshot, Tang San forcibly circulated his soul power, spinning rapidly on the spot with an enigmatic footwork.
Swing after swing, crimson hammer cleaving the air—one blow, two blows, ten… fifty… eighty-one!
Each strike heavier, more wicked, the shadows of the hammer merging to become one, descending fiercely on the advancing Chen Yi.
But even this overwhelming strike did not stop Chen Yi. He simply lifted his right hand, fingers splayed, purple-gold lightning pooling in his palm.
Clang!
The shriek of clashing metal echoed through the hall as a shockwave rippled out, caving in the ground even deeper.
Yet the hand covered in lightning easily caught the Clear Sky Hammer—its head, capable of splitting mountains, now trembling violently in Chen Yi's grip, unable to advance another inch!
"Hmph…" Chen Yi tilted his head, sensing the fierce force within, a twisted smile touching his lips.
"Not bad… that hammer strike was excellent. I almost want to reward you."
Before he finished, he suddenly squeezed tighter, fingers biting deep into the hammer's core as purple-gold lightning surged forth, instantly flooding the entire hammer.
Crack… crack…
A spine-chilling, grinding series of cracks filled the air.
Under Tang San's horrified gaze, Chen Yi shattered the Clear Sky Hammer spirit itself, crushing it to dust with just one hand!
Pu—!
A terrifying backlash raged through Tang San's body and soul like a tsunami. Vomiting blood laced with organ fragments, he collapsed to the ground, his breathing dangerously weak as he stared at Chen Yi—his gaze filled with utter terror and despair.
The mighty eighty-one strike hammer technique, his strongest move, was caught and destroyed as easily as breaking a twig.
What kind of monster is this?! What kind of strength is this?!
Chen Yi's slow steps brought him beside the collapsed Tang San, towering above him.
"That's it? That's all you've got?"
Chen Yi paused, a trace of expectation in his eyes.
"Where's your Guanyin's Tears? Take it out—let me examine its quality."
At the very mention of Guanyin's Tears, Tang San jerked his head up, pupils contracting to needle points, his face stricken as he screamed, "You… you… how do you know about Guanyin's Tears?!"
This ultimate art, recorded in the secret Mysterious Heaven Record, was the most closely guarded secret technique in the Tang Sect, far surpassing mundane martial arts, bordering on the supernatural.
No one in this world should have known of it—so how?
Seeing Tang San so rattled, Chen Yi's gaze grew colder.
"Your so-called trump cards, your so-called Tang Sect secret arts…"
"I've never… taken any of them seriously."
"Because to me—those aren't trump cards at all."
It crushed the last shred of pride and self-assurance in Tang San's heart. The traditions he'd treasured were, in the opponent's eyes, worthless and laughable.
In that moment, Tang San's gaze trembled, his very spirit shaken. His pride, scheming, even his reliance appeared pitiful and fragile before Chen Yi!
"You want to see Tang Sect's number one?"
Struggling to his knees, Tang San glared at Chen Yi, eyes burning with madness.
"Chen Yi… I'll grant your wish!"
He suddenly extended his right index finger, squeezing out a tiny drop of blood, the crimson bead gathering at his fingertip. Urged onward by Tang San's will, the bead faded in color, transforming into a milky white drop!
At that instant, Tang San's vital force and blood burned fiercely, his soul power plummeting from level 80, threatening to drop below his cultivation rank. His face went ashen as the final breath left in a candle's flame.
Yet, staring at that milky drop on his fingertip, his gaze shone with the utmost reverence—
It was no longer just a drop of water, but a lifetime of faith, Tang Sect pride, and… the last flame of vengeance!
"Chen Yi! Watch carefully!" Tang San bellowed, "This is Tang Sect's top secret technique—
Guanyin's Tears!"
As the words was uttered, the milky-white droplet vanished at once.
In that instant, Tang San's gaze fixed upon Chen Yi's chest. For the first time, Chen Yi's face grew serious as well—but he neither dodged nor raised a guard, simply standing still and glancing at his own chest.
On his purple robe, a tiny hole silently appeared; and beneath that rent, on a skin faintly glowing gold, the milky droplet spun at unimaginable speed, almost beyond sight.
With each rotation, it tried to pierce his flawless skin.
A faint hiss arose, sparks flickering from the contact—
But that was all.
A moment later, the droplet vanished—unable to penetrate, unable to leave a wound—leaving only a faint white mark on the golden skin beneath the tattered robe.
The perfect golden body's defense had reached an unimaginable level.
When Guanyin's Tears faded into nothing, the last light in Tang San's eyes died as well.
Tang Sect's top hidden weapon… Guanyin's Tears… couldn't even break Chen Yi's skin?
The bitter truth shattered his last support and illusion.
How could this be?!
What sort of monster was this man?!
Chen Yi slowly lifted his gaze from his own chest to the crumpled Tang San lying on the ground—a trace of realization glinting in his eyes for just a moment.
"…It's real…"
Enduring Guanyin's Tears confirmed to Chen Yi the last of his doubts about Qian Renxue's godhood. There must've been a flaw with her inherited Angel God position—no way, with a true God-ranked body, would Guanyin's Tears be so deadly.
That feeling passed in a heartbeat, Chen Yi's expression once again turning cold and indifferent, gazing upon Tang San as though looking at a worthless corpse.
"I understand, Tang San…"
His voice echoed through the training hall, cold as death.
"Your role—ends here."
"Now…
Just die."
...
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