Chapter 251: Hao Tian Sect Executes Ma Hongjun
Boom boom boom!
Black flames surged wildly from Ma Hongjun's body, instantly engulfing a large area. The black fire set the stone ground ablaze in seconds, turning it into a sea of flames. Wherever the fire landed, the surface rapidly melted and collapsed inward.
Several Hao Tian Sect disciples who had been beating Ma Hongjun quickly retreated in alarm, startled by the searing heat. One disciple, the weakest among them, had the hem of his clothes touched by the black flames, which immediately ignited and spread rapidly—his soul power couldn't put it out at all.
The disciple had no choice but to strip off his coat and toss it aside, where it was swiftly consumed by the flames.
From within the dark flames, Ma Hongjun—whose Evil Fire Phoenix martial soul had now transformed—stepped out. His once-red hair and eyes had turned pitch black. Compared to before, he looked more like a true phoenix, a war god of fire emerging from the shadows.
More Hao Tian Sect disciples gathered upon sensing the soul power disturbance, watching Ma Hongjun's drastic transformation in astonishment.
Ma Hongjun's rotund physique made him easily recognizable. Amid the muscle-bound giants of the Hao Tian Sect, few looked like walking spheres—especially one who had returned with the disgraced Tang San.
The disciple whose coat had been burned, now the center of attention and ridicule, flew into a rage. He activated his martial soul: three soul rings—two yellow, one purple—rose beneath him, and he gripped his Hao Tian Hammer, ready to strike.
"You damn trash! How dare you fight back!"
To the egocentric Tang clan, everyone else—including subsidiary clan disciples—were merely tools. A "servant" like Ma Hongjun lashing out was intolerable.
Seemingly consumed by madness, Ma Hongjun let out a screech that was neither a chicken's cluck nor a phoenix's cry. His second soul ring lit up, and his fat body surged forward, trailing searing black flames.
"Second Soul Skill: Hao Tian Strength!"
"Hao Tian Hammer: Disorder Wind Hammer!"
The Tang disciple stepped forward, pivoted from his waist, and swung his 700-jin hammer directly at Ma Hongjun.
Boom!
As expected, Ma Hongjun was blasted ten meters away, coughing up blood before collapsing. The black flames receded, his martial soul deactivated, and he fell unconscious. The Tang disciple merely staggered a few steps.
"What a joke. Doesn't even know his place."
The Hao Tian Sect's Tang clan members were unfazed. After all, the world's number one tool spirit—the Hao Tian Hammer—was unbeatable at its rank. Crossing levels was easy. In their eyes, a mutated chicken soul was no match.
Just as Tang Hu's cronies prepared to finish Ma Hongjun off, a senior from the sect arrived and halted them. Frowning, he examined Ma Hongjun's condition—any experienced soul master could tell: he had fallen.
Falling into darkness.
There are two paths that lead a soul master to corruption: one is finding joy in evil, losing all morality; the other is being driven mad by life's hardships, consumed by resentment. Either path leads to becoming an evil soul master, perhaps even faster than those born with naturally wicked spirits.
The elder reported this to the sect leaders, and soon, they issued the order: execute Ma Hongjun.
Not because they feared evil soul masters—but because Ma Hongjun bore the Hao Tian Sect name. If Qian Xunji ever caught wind of it, he could use it to blackmail or retaliate against them.
Tang Xiao and Ning Fengzhi had already concluded that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's collapse had been orchestrated by Spirit Hall—another effort to destroy the alliance of the three great clans.
The Spirit Hall wouldn't rest until they ruled them all.
With Yu Xiaogang dead, the alliance was shattered. They couldn't afford to provoke Spirit Hall now. Any potential threat—even Ma Hongjun—had to be erased.
Tang Xiao hesitated at first. After all, Ma Hongjun had become a god in the previous timeline. But Tang Hao convinced him otherwise. After pushing Ma Hongjun to his limits during his time at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, Tang Hao was certain: Ma Hongjun's body was riddled with hidden injuries. Even if his Black Phoenix spirit had slightly improved, he would never make it past the Soul Emperor stage.
As for using him to breed a line of dark phoenixes? The Hao Tian Sect wasn't the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan—they already had the world's strongest tool spirit. To them, everything else was garbage.
After hearing about Ma Hongjun's execution, Tang San was devastated. He had failed. He couldn't save his brother—not in this life. Powerless, he requested to train at the back mountain waterfall, to complete the 81 strikes of the Disorder Wind Hammer Technique.
Though he had already mastered it in his past life, the full performance using the Hao Tian Hammer required an incredibly resilient body. He wasn't there yet.
Three days after Xiao Wu's sacrifice, Tang San changed.
He went to Gu Chen to ask for Xiao Wu's remains, but Gu Chen had already buried her. Without the Lovesick Heartbroken Red to preserve her body, and without her spirit or cultivation, Xiao Wu's rabbit form was just a corpse.
Once he completed the 81 strikes, Tang San vowed to journey to the Slaughter City, claim the Killing God Domain, then head to Sea God Island and complete the Sea God Trials. He would awaken his great-grandfather and inherit the Asura God's position.
And after that...
He would destroy Spirit Hall.
Everyone—except for his mother Ah Yin—would die.
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