With the battle collapsing across the board, the outcome of the war was all but settled.
Inside the city, Yu Tianheng had already beaten Xue Beng half to death and was about to capture him alive. With more than two hundred thousand Heaven Dou soldiers still outside, he hoped to use Xue Beng to force their surrender.
But just as his dragon claw was about to seize Xue Beng's neck, a flying hammer hurtled toward them.
Its speed was strange; as it spun, even the air seemed to rupture—a sign of terrifying power, greater even than Tang Xiao's.
"Tianheng, careful!" Sensing danger, Yu Yuanzhen abandoned Tang Xiao and charged toward Yu Tianheng.
Pouring all his soul power into defense, Yu Yuanzhen crossed his arms and took the blow head-on. He was blasted away, both arms warped, bones likely shattered. Fortunately, his soul bones kept them from pulverizing.
Everyone was shocked. Yu Yuanzhen had clearly been defending at full power. To injure him in that state would require Tang Xiao to use at least an eighth ring skill.
But this obviously wasn't a soul skill—someone had simply thrown the Clear Sky Hammer.
"Ultimate… Ultimate Douluo!" Yu Yuanzhen said in disbelief. How could a mere Heaven Dou Empire, which originally had not even a single Title, suddenly field an Ultimate Douluo—and with the Clear Sky Hammer?
"Could it be… Tang Chen!" Yu Tianheng had a suspicion—but couldn't be sure. Tang Chen had vanished for decades.
"Heh, long time no see, Yu Yuanzhen. Last time I saw you, you were just a mere Soul Sage. Didn't expect you'd become clan head of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon and rise to Super Douluo. Not bad." A rugged figure descended from the sky, making Yu Yuanzhen's pupils shrink. The face—astonishingly—was Tang Chen's.
"Grandfather!" Tang Xiao and Tang Yuehua saluted. It was by Tang Chen's order they'd continued to serve Heaven Dou.
"No, he can't be Tang Chen. The real Tang Chen died long ago—on Sea God Island," Yu Tianheng said with certainty. He'd seen Tang Chen die with his own eyes.
"Tianheng is right. Who are you really?" Zhu Zhuqing and the others, having arrived, demanded.
Aside from some troops outside pinning the Heaven Dou army, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon experts had gathered within the city.
"Grandfather, what do they mean? Are you really…" Tang Xiao looked to Tang Chen, confused.
Tang Chen glanced at Tang Xiao. "Xiao, can't you tell? They're just trying to sow discord. Who under heaven could impersonate me?"
Tang Xiao nodded. Everything—martial soul, level, bearing, even memories—fit Tang Chen. In theory, it couldn't be fake. He dropped his doubts.
But while the simple-minded Tang Xiao was swayed, the shrewd Tang Yuehua was not. One thing baffled her: why would Tang Chen, knowing Xue Beng's crimes, still order the Clear Sky Sect to aid him? Yet in the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Chen's orders were absolute.
If this Tang Chen were fake, everything made sense. Now Tang Yuehua needed key proof.
"Hmph. I don't care who you are—today I'll rip off your mask. So what if you're an Ultimate Douluo? I don't believe all of us together can't beat you." Oslo charged first at Tang Chen.
The Emperor Team, along with Fire Dragon Douluo, Qin Ming, Yang Wudi, and others, followed without delay.
Behind them, a cluster of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda users supported them—at this moment, each fighter possessed Title-level strength.
Although this man was rank ninety-nine, everyone knew Tang Chen's true terror wasn't his level but his ring detonation and Great Sumeru Hammer divine technique. Those weren't soul-ring skills; even with Tang Chen's body, if you didn't know how, you couldn't use them. Such a Tang Chen wasn't invincible.
Just like the Slaughter King Tianlin had defeated.
Seeing them rush in, Tang Chen sneered. His fourth ring exploded, and the Clear Sky Hammer's power surged.
Everyone was stunned. Ring detonation! He really could detonate rings?
Back then, the Bat King had only possessed Tang Chen's body while Tang Chen's soul resisted. Now, though this Tang Chen was the Bat King's consciousness, he had completely devoured part of Tang Chen's soul. What Tang Chen knew, he now truly knew. He was far stronger than the former Slaughter King.
Boom!
An explosive smash hit the ground, the shockwave blasting everyone away. Experts were hurled back—some slammed into walls, others into houses, buried in rubble—nearly a team wipe.
"Haha! Courting death—this is the fate of offending my Heaven Dou Empire! Tang Chen, kill them—especially Yu Tianheng! Grind him to dust!" Xue Beng, battered and swollen, crowed, pointing and howling.
Tang Chen shot him a cold glance. "Hmph, useless trash. I didn't even want to bother with you. The master's orders were clear—just keep slaughtering cities. Who told you to start a pitched battle and ruin the plan? Your guilt is beyond forgiveness."
Hearing this, Tang Yuehua's eyes flashed. She was now certain—this grandfather was fake.
The Emperor Team struggled to their feet. Though the hammer blow had been fierce, it hadn't struck them directly. Gravely wounded but alive, they remained unbowed. The chance to defeat Heaven Dou was right there—they wouldn't retreat.
Especially Yu Tianheng. He had promised Tianlin that even if it cost his life, he would let Tianlin return to a unified continent.
"Hmph. Whether you retreat or not, the result is death." Tang Chen's voice was icy. The fifth ring detonated—the next strike meant to kill half of them outright.
As the Hammer loomed larger, they did not despair. A flurry of eighth-ring skills erupted as they staked everything on a stand.
Though Yu Yuanzhen's arms were unusable, his soul power remained—he wouldn't wait to die. He moved to the fore. "Ninth Ring Skill—True Dragon's Wrath, Roar to the Ninth Heaven!"
So many experts uniting against Tang Chen finally forged a sliver of hope—the Clear Sky Hammer stopped pressing forward.
"Heh. The combined strength of ants is still that of ants." Tang Chen detonated more rings—this time the first through the third.
At his peak, Tang Chen was too strong. Consecutive detonations barely affected him.
His power compounded again, surpassing their combined might once more.
"If this continues, we'll all die. But I won't let these youngsters be sacrificed. Back when Tang Chen overawed the world, I hated that I was born too late to cross hammers with him. In that, I envy Chen Xin—he toppled one of the twin peaks of our soul master world that I dreamed of overturning. Today, you fake Tang Chen will fulfill my wish. The other peak—I'll be the one to level it." Yu Yuanzhen raised his head, a feral grin on his face.
He would surely die today—but the enemy would pay the price.