The winds howled like beasts torn from their cages.
A deep pulse echoed through the land, an invisible wave that vibrated through mountains, trees, rivers—and one man.
Tang Hao eyes snapped open.
In that instant, all warmth fled his body, replaced by a cold rage that burned deeper than fire. He stood, eyes narrowing as the faint silver light on his right leg shimmered once before vanishing.
"…The seal was broken."
The words left his lips in a low growl, half disbelief, half fury. He didn't wait. The moment his thoughts aligned, his body vanished from his hiding spot in the mountains.
Who dares… who dares disturb her resting place?!
As he moved, the air around him warped. Trees bent under the pressure of his movement. Rocks cracked. Dust exploded in his wake.
Every step Tang Hao took left a crater, and each breath he exhaled felt like it could collapse the sky.
Clouds above twisted unnaturally, drawn into spirals as if the heavens themselves sensed the wrath of the man tearing through them.
His mind replayed it all—her smile, her voice, the final moment when she chose to become his spirit ring.
Ah Yin.
Even now, he could see it. That field of blue silver grass swaying in the sunlight, her essence resting peacefully beneath the waterfall.
A sacred place only he and one other knew.
Or so he thought.
He arrived.
The valley stood silent, blanketed in mist and framed by jagged cliffs on both sides. Water roared down the falls, crashing into the river below like a drumbeat of nature.
But something had changed.
He felt it immediately.
The faint, lingering scent of spirit power—the delicate trace of someone who had been here very recently. The ground had small, unnatural indentations. The foliage nearby was disturbed.
His gaze swept toward the clearing near the water.
Gone.
Both… gone.
The patch of silver grass that had stood out so distinctly from the rest—the one that carried her aura—it was no longer there.
Neither was the spirit bone buried deep beneath the stone, a bone he had sealed with his own blood essence.
Rage exploded in his chest like a star.
"Bastards!!!" Tang Hao roared, and his voice tore through the mist like a blade.
"I will slaughter all everyone who take what's mine!!"
From the shadows, hidden beneath an outcropping above the waterfall, a figure remained motionless.
Golden Crocodile Douluo.
His golden eyes narrowed as he watched Tang Hao's arrival. He did not need to hear the words to understand the intent. He had waited in absolute silence for over a day, sensing the moment the restriction activated.
His prey had arrived.
So it's true. You really came, Tang Hao. The trap worked.
He did not understand why this spirit bone or that blue silver grass held so much value to a Title Douluo like Tang Hao. But he had seen it. The man's desperation. His grief. His fury.
There was history here. And pain.
But Golden Crocodile Douluo didn't care.
All he needed was an excuse.
From the shadows, he stepped out.
A brilliant radiance surged as nine spirit rings appeared beneath his feet—yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black… red.
One red.
The pressure of a Super Douluo descended like a thunderclap.
Tang Hao's expression twisted as his senses screamed in alarm. He spun midair, hammer already forming in his grip.
"You…"
Golden Crocodile Douluo voice was calm. Cold. Almost condescending.
"Tang Hao. You've been hiding well all these years. I was starting to think you'd become a ghost."
Tang Hao glare deepened. "So it was you. Spirit Hall sent one of their dogs."
"Dog?" A slow smile crept onto the elder Douluo's lips. "That's rich coming from a murderer and traitor."
He took a step forward, landing on a protruding stone with the weight of a falling mountain.
"You slaughtered the elders. You crippled the hierarchy. And now… now I find you clinging to the corpse of a spirit beast. What a fall for the youngest Title Douluo of the Clear Sky Clan."
Tang Hao didn't speak.
His hammer responded for him.
With a thunderous crack, the Clear Sky Hammer surged forth, enlarged several times, black light streaming from its core. Nine spirit rings coiled around it like serpents, each trembling with raw power.
The two Douluo moved.
Golden Crocodile Douluo's body shimmered as scales erupted across his arms, golden claws slashing toward Tang Hao's face with lethal intent. Tang Hao deflected with the haft of his hammer, the impact sending shockwaves through the valley.
Stone shattered. Water exploded upward like geysers.
Their battle began.
Hammer met claw. Spirit ring collided with spirit ring. The pressure alone flattened trees hundreds of meters away.
Tang Hao strikes were filled with vengeance, each blow faster and heavier than the last. His intent was clear—kill. Destroy. Reclaim.
But Golden Crocodile Douluo was no ordinary opponent.
He matched Tang Hao's every blow with the ease of experience. His cultivation had reached the edge of Limit Douluo—rank 98. His defense was absolute. His control over spirit power was like a calm sea with hidden storms beneath.
Tang Hao snarled, leaping back and activating a spirit bone skill—his right leg shimmered with silver-blue light as he zipped to the left, evading a claw strike.
"You're faster than before," Crocodile Douluo acknowledged. "But you're not stronger."
Tang Hao didn't answer.
He had no time for words.
Only one thing mattered—Ah Yin.
Each glance at the empty clearing reignited his rage.
"I'll kill you!" Tang Hao howled, bringing the hammer down with all his strength.
Golden Crocodile Douluo raised both arms to block.
Boom!
The impact shattered the stone platform beneath him. The elder Douluo was driven back for the first time, landing hard on the riverbank.
But his expression didn't change.
"You're emotional," he said quietly. "Good. Rage makes people sloppy."
He stepped forward again, this time his own spirit bone ability activating—his back erupted in golden energy, forming the translucent image of a crocodile spirit god that roared toward the sky.
"You will fall here, Tang Hao. And when I bring your head to the first priest, I will finally retire in peace."
Tang Hao's gaze sharpened.
He knew this battle would not be easy.
But he would fight. Tooth and nail.
Even if it meant his death.
The valley trembled as the two titans clashed once more, and the world held its breath as past and present, vengeance and duty, collided beneath the roar of the waterfall.