The Spirit Hall of Nuoding City had descended into chaos.The moment that suffocating, violent aura fell from the heavens, every spirit master within the temple felt their hearts freeze.
Someone screamed first, "Th...That's the Clear Sky Hammer! The Clear Sky Hammer!"
Among the defenders of Nuoding's Spirit Hall was a titled Douluo...the Blind Douluo, Su Yuntao.On the vast plaza before the temple, Su Yuntao stood with his beloved Lilith and the Grand Spirit Master, Matthew Nuo, the very man who once helped young Tang San register his spirit.
All three raised their heads, their faces pale with horror.
Up above, the enormous black hammer loomed like the judgment of the gods.Murderous intent poured down in waves, suffocating, crushing, drowning the air itself.The pressure was so great, even the clouds seemed to scream.
The vast hammer hung there, blotting out the sun.The soul power that rolled off it was like a storm of thunderclouds.
"Finished… we're finished. The Clear Sky Sect is striking back! Seven Titled Douluo… we can't possibly withstand them!"
"Quick! report to the higher-ups!" someone howled desperately.
But before any messenger could move...A voice like the roar of the abyss itself rolled across the heavens.
"Spirit Hall—die!"
With that, Tang Hao's fury could no longer be contained.
The black dragon of the hammer plummeted from the sky.
The moment it descended, the very air around Nuoding twisted and screamed.The Spirit Hall below was instantly locked by Tang Hao's killing inteny, its soul masters found themselves frozen, unable to even move.
Then—
BOOM!!!
The earth quaked.
The hammer struck.
The grand domed cathedral of Spirit Hall, once towering dozens of meters high, allshattered in an instant.
Stone turned to powder.Steel to dust.Every soul master within… perished.
The Blind Douluo, Su Yuntao, his beloved Lilith, Matthew Nuo—none survived.
Nuoding's Spirit Hall was annihilated.
Only then did Tang Hao's bloodshot eyes begin to regain a flicker of clarity.
Nuoding City…It was the closest Spirit Hall to where A Yin had been hidden.
He had to vent his rage somewhere and this temple became the sacrifice.
But as his breathing slowed, his gaze turned sharp once more.
"No… it's not enough to destroy just one branch. If I stop now, they'll link this to Little San.
Since I've struck once…"
His pupils shrank, his expression turning cold as iron.
"…then I'll strike agai...and again until there's nothing left to suspect."
And so—Tang Hao vanished into the sky.
What followed that night would be remembered throughout history as Spirit Hall's Dark Day.
Within the span of a single day, nine branch halls of Spirit Hall were wiped from the continent.Over five hundred spirit masters slaughtered without mercy.
The tragedy sent tremors through the land.
Combined with the earlier rumors, that the Clear Sky Sect now possessed seven Titled Douluo and had vowed vengeance, the massacre swept across the continent like wildfire.
But as Tang Hao slaughtered his way across the provinces, his rationality slowly returned.He realized what he had done and what storm he had unleashed.
And so, he withdrew...silently, swiftly, retreating toward the hidden mountains of the Clear Sky Sect.
He feared the retaliation that would surely follow.
Yet, he did not know—the storm had already reached the Clear Sky Sect before he even set foot on its mountains!
When rumors of "seven Titled Douluo" spread, Spirit Hall had already launched its counterstrike.The sect had been sealed off and no one allowed in or out.
Spirit Hall's purge extended across the land. Officials who managed the Soul Hunting Forests, soldiers who guarded the borders, all slaughtered to the last.
Even Bibi Dong, usually calm and calculating, was enraged beyond measure.
At the peak of her rule, during her most crucial phase of consolidating Spirit Hall's power...she would not allow the Clear Sky Sect to rise again.
Both sides burned with fury.And thus, heaven's thunder met earth's fire—the war between titans was set ablaze!
All because of two quiet moves…by one man named Dugu Feng.
Outside the Star Dou Forest, in a small supply town—
Inside a modest inn, a young man slowly opened his eyes.The soul power rippling from his body settled like calm water.
"All done… thirty-sixth rank."
Dugu Feng exhaled slowly.His cultivation had leapt two whole levels.
He remembered clearly, when Tang San absorbed the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, it had merely opened his eight extraordinary meridians, without boosting his rank.
But he could feel it now, that his own meridians were perfectly open, energy flowing freely between heaven and earth.
His foundation… was simply stronger than Tang San's.
From the age of four, his body had been tempered by the Pearks, nourished by poison, reforged in agony. The very flesh that had survived such torment was far beyond what even the Xuan Tian Gong could achieve.
To have the eight meridians open was natural.To rise two levels was merely a pleasant surprise.
The room stirred.
Two emerald serpents coiled around his wrist, their eyes gleaming like twin stars.
Dugu Feng rose to his feet, stretching his limbs.Every breath felt fresh and clear, his entire body reborn.
Outside, a voice called respectfully:
"Young Master."
"Come in, Old Scorpion."
The door creaked open.
The wizened old man entered with steaming plates of food, the aroma filling the room.
"Young Master, you've been cultivating hard these days. I've brought the inn's best dishes—please, eat."
Dugu Feng smiled faintly and sat, tearing into a piece of meat.He spoke between bites, "What's the news outside?"
Old Scorpion's eyes gleamed."Heh… Young Master, the world's gone mad.
Word from the clan is that Spirit Hall has begun its counterattack.Two Titled Douluo personally led the slaughter, wiping out countless forest officials and soldiers.
They've also sent word to the Heaven Dou Imperial Family and every major power—Anyone who aids the Clear Sky Sect will be deemed Spirit Hall's enemy and punished without mercy.
And there's more—rumor says the Pope herself has left Spirit City, along with her Titled Douluo guards. They've been gone two whole months.
Most believe… she's heading for the Clear Sky Sect!"
Dugu Feng froze mid-bite, the chunk of braised meat halfway to his mouth.
"So fast? Bibi Dong's moving personally?"
He set the chopsticks down, brows furrowing.
"Two months gone… and still no open battle. If she wanted war, the sect would've already fallen.No—she's not going for annihilation. She's sealing them off, cutting their roots, baiting them to emerge."
Old Scorpion nodded gravely. "It makes sense. The Clear Sky Sect is fortified within the mountains. It is hard to attack, easy to defend.
Even for the Pope, a direct assault would cost dearly. She'll force them out instead."
Dugu Feng leaned back, fingers tapping the table thinking, "Exactly. Bibi Dong is still in her divine trial; her strength hasn't yet peaked. A head-on clash would hurt her position—and with Qian Daoliu still holding the Worship Hall, she can't afford to bleed power."
Old Scorpion hesitated, then grinned slyly."There's one more thing, Young Master. Near Nuoding City… multiple Spirit Halls were attacked.No survivors. Witnesses claim they saw a black dragon descending from the sky—a giant hammer in its claws.
People say it was the Clear Sky Hammer itself.
The rumors say… the Clear Sky Sect has struck first."
Dugu Feng paused, then laughed aloud.
"Hahaha… no. That wasn't the sect.
That was Tang Hao!
The mighty Clear Sky Douluo himself."
Old Scorpion's face went rigid.
"Tang Hao!?"
A living legend. A man of the same generation as him, yet standing at heights he could only dream of.
"Indeed. His son, Tang San, is the one I told you to watch. He's gone to Shrek Academy. Tang Hao would naturally guard him from the shadows. I simply… borrowed something from his home."
Dugu Feng smirked faintly, his eyes gleaming with dark amusement.
"And left a little message blaming Spirit Hall.
Tell me—how could he not lose his mind?"
Old Scorpion's jaw hung open.
"Young Master… you robbed Tang Hao's home!?
A Titled Douluo's home!?
Aren't you afraid he'll find out!?"
He felt a chill crawl down his spine.
He thought he had already overestimated Dugu Feng's boldness—only to realize he hadn't even scratched the surface!
Dugu Feng only laughed softly, voice calm as ever.
"Fear? If I feared men like Tang Hao… I'd never walk the path of poison."