The elderly man did not turn around, yet Ling Xiao had a distinct feeling that from the moment he stopped, every single move he made had been under the man's total control. There was no hiding from him.
Soon, a gravelly, aged voice drifted over from the old man's direction.
"Little fellow, there aren't many people around here. Aren't you afraid I might be someone with ill intentions? You should know, if I were to kill you right now, no one would notice."
After observing the Elder for a few moments, Ling Xiao took a few steps forward and said with confidence, "Senior is neither acting stealthily nor behaving suspiciously. You must be a teacher or someone of similar stature within the academy. I don't believe a teacher at Spirit Hall Academy would be an unreasonable, bloodthirsty person."
"I was merely curious."
"Oh? Curious about what?" The Elder seemed a bit surprised by Ling Xiao's answer.
He turned his head and looked at Ling Xiao as he asked.
The man had a head of white hair.
While his face didn't look exceptionally old, he couldn't hide the aura of desolation and late-life weariness that clung to him. Nevertheless, he appeared remarkably kind and gentle. His deep eyes sparkled with the light of wisdom, as if he had experienced all the vicissitudes of life.
Seeing the Elder's face clearly only heightened Ling Xiao's curiosity. He replied, "I can see that Senior's cultivation must be quite high; you are likely a famous figure on the continent. Yet, you carry such an air of dejection. I wonder why?"
The Elder studied Ling Xiao carefully and chuckled softly.
"You... don't act much like a child."
He paused, seeming to answer Ling Xiao while also speaking to himself.
"This old man once believed that man could triumph over nature. But later, I discovered that destiny is the truly powerful force. Some things are simply fated."
"Little fellow, do you believe in fate?" the Elder asked with a smile.
"Fate?" Ling Xiao murmured, falling into thought.
A moment later, however, he clenched his fist and spoke with a firm, slightly chuunibyou-esque resolve, "I don't believe in fate. My life is mine to grasp. If fate is unjust, I will fight it to the end. If something is truly destined, I will use my axe to cleave it apart."
"Haha! Little fellow, you certainly have spirit. I haven't seen you before; you must be one of the new students?" The Elder felt surprised by Ling Xiao's words and couldn't help but ask.
Though phrased as a question, his tone sounded certain by the end.
Ling Xiao nodded.
"Yes. My name is Ling Xiao, a newly enrolled student."
"Ling Xiao," the Elder repeated the name in his mind.
He naturally knew who Ling Xiao was; he just hadn't expected the two of them to meet under such circumstances.
"Ling Xiao, you asked this old man a question just now. Now, I have something I'd like to ask you. I wonder if you are willing to tell me."
"Please speak, Senior."
The Elder's deep eyes locked onto Ling Xiao's.
"Your Martial Soul is called the Profound Sky Axe, correct?"
Seeing Ling Xiao nod, the Elder asked once more, "Then this old man wishes to know: why did you choose the name 'Profound Sky'?"
As soon as the question was asked, Ling Xiao couldn't help but look troubled.
Should he say it or not?
Back when he first arrived at Spirit Hall, the Pope seemed to have already seen through his intent. Now, this Elder had likely seen through it as well—and unlike the Pope, this man had asked him directly.
After a moment's thought, considering that the Elder hadn't ignored his own question but had actually answered him—even if he didn't quite understand the answer—Ling Xiao felt he should be open and honest in return.
"If I say it, please don't laugh at me, Senior," Ling Xiao said seriously.
"On this continent, isn't there a Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul known as the number one Tool Martial Soul in the world? I like that title. I want to take it for myself."
By the end of his sentence, the light in Ling Xiao's eyes grew even brighter, as if a fire were burning within.
This was precisely his intent when he named his soul the Profound Sky Axe. The Clear Sky Hammer had been revered as the world's number one Tool Martial Soul for many years.
To his knowledge, even over a decade later—when the Clear Sky Sect had been in seclusion for years, the hammer no longer appeared in the world, and their reputation as the world's number one sect was all but gone—
The title of the world's number one Tool Martial Soul was still held by the Clear Sky Hammer.
During the Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament.
When Tang San revealed his Clear Sky Hammer, not only was Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire shocked, but even Feng Xiaotian—Who had lost to Tang San—felt that losing to the Clear Sky Hammer was no disgrace.
One had to remember that Tang San's hammer didn't even have a soul ring yet. The Clear Sky Sect had been forced into seclusion by Spirit Hall for years, yet the Clear Sky Hammer still possessed such immense deterrent power.
He didn't know if it was because Tang San's ability with the hammer was too strong, or if the hammer's own fame was so heavy that it allowed people to overlook the user's actual strength, feeling intimidated simply because of the Martial Soul itself.
He vaguely felt it was the latter.
Tang San was focusing on his Blue Silver Grass at the time and barely practiced with the hammer; there was no way he could be truly proficient with it. Furthermore, Tang San's own temperament made it hard to believe he could unleash the true power of the Clear Sky Hammer.
After all, Tang San's style had always been that of the Tang Sect from his previous life. He wasn't even "half-righteous, half-evil"—he was simply extremely self-interested and utterly indifferent to life.
He could easily kill someone over a trivial matter, and poison or assassination were his standard methods, performed without any psychological burden. Such a sinister and treacherous person truly didn't match the fierce and overbearing nature of the Clear Sky Hammer.
In Ling Xiao's view, the person most suited for the Clear Sky Hammer was Tang San's father, Tang Hao. Although Tang Hao was a disciple of the Clear Sky Sect, he had fallen in love with a soul beast.
Loving a soul beast was one thing, but after she died, he remained decadent for years, giving up on himself and abandoning his sect.
Ling Xiao looked down on him for that. However, he had to admit that when Tang Hao used the Clear Sky Hammer in battle, his domineering aura was something one couldn't help but admire.
His combat mindset and style allowed him to unleash the hammer's ultimate power even against those with higher cultivation, winning through weakness—someone stronger than him wouldn't necessarily defeat him.
Beyond that, Ling Xiao guessed that the most important factor behind the Clear Sky Hammer's immense fame was Tang Chen—the peerless powerhouse who truly managed to fight his way to being invincible across the world.
Surely the reputation of the Clear Sky Sect as the number one sect and the Clear Sky Hammer as the number one Tool Martial Soul came from him. On his path to becoming a Rank 99 Peerless Powerhouse, he must have defeated nearly every opponent on the continent.
Only then would people acknowledge the Clear Sky Hammer's title. Because of him alone, even if he hadn't appeared for years, the fame of the Clear Sky Hammer hadn't diminished much.
The title of the number one sect might be criticized due to the sect's decline in strength, but if one mentioned the Clear Sky Hammer, the powerhouses of the continent would first think of the brilliance of the man who was once the world's number one.
If one were to ask whom Ling Xiao admired most in this world of Douluo, it would be Tang Chen.
One man, one hammer, relying solely on his own cultivation to reach Rank 99 and become the world's number one. He was even just one step away from becoming a God, failing only due to the scheme of the God of Rakshasa in the Divine Realm.
Whether it was Qian Daoliu, Bo Saixi, or later Tang San and Qian Renxue, they all relied heavily on the "infusion" of divine trials. Without those trials, forget becoming Gods—it was an open question whether the four of them could even reach Rank 99.
In fact, Qian Daoliu and Bo Saixi had seemingly admitted that without the divine trials, they couldn't have reached Rank 99. Precisely because their Rank 99 status wasn't achieved through their own breakthroughs, their true strength at the same rank was weaker than Tang Chen's.