"Su Cheng!"
The moment Tang Hao saw Su Cheng and his companions appear, his eyes instantly turned blood red.
Past hatred surged into his heart, and an uncontrollable, violent killing intent poured out from his body.
Holding the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, the light of nine soul rings shone brightly around him.
Even Yu Xiaogang, standing beside him, was affected by the immense aura Tang Hao exuded. His entire body bristled, his face turned deathly pale, and large beads of sweat covered his forehead.
"Tang Hao, you should leave. Everything that happened in the past was my choice. There's no need for you to be consumed by regret..."
The resolute figure of Ah Yin turning away at the gates of the Spirit Hall and her cold, unfamiliar words had echoed in his mind repeatedly over the past year.
The ecstatic joy of reuniting with his beloved had turned into deeper despair in an instant, torturing him constantly until it had slightly eased only recently.
Tang Hao couldn't understand how the gentle and affectionate woman he remembered had turned into a different person after being resurrected.
But he knew it had to be connected to the young man standing before him.
If it weren't for the sliver of rationality he had left and the hope he placed in Tang San, he wouldn't know how to face those nightmarish memories.
On the other side, Su Cheng, having grasped the situation, began leisurely observing the expressions of the others.
Tang Hao, with his hair standing on end and brimming with killing intent; Yu Xiaogang, looking tense and conflicted; and Bibi Dong, unusually calm.
Ignoring Tang Hao's furious shout, he glanced at Bibi Dong, who stood beside him with an indifferent expression. "Your Majesty, this is a good opportunity. Should we keep them all here?"
"What do you think?" Bibi Dong responded without a trace of emotion, as if she didn't catch the probing in his words.
"I think we should."
"Then kill them all."
In the next moment, the colossal Death Spider Emperor martial soul appeared behind her, and nine soul rings shone at her feet.
As the soul rings flashed, a layer of dark purple thorn armor enveloped her, and two long-handled scythes materialized in her hands.
She showed no intention of holding back and did not consider whether the weaker soul power individuals around would be harmed by the aftermath. She directly charged at Tang Hao, who was striding towards them with the Clear Sky Hammer.
Su Cheng raised an eyebrow. It seemed Bibi Dong was serious.
Tang Hao's actions were also straightforward.
Even though he wanted to kill Su Cheng, he had to break through the obstacle of Bibi Dong first.
Stepping forward with his left foot, he stomped heavily on the ground. With a resounding boom, cracks radiated from where his foot landed.
Then, his right arm, holding the Clear Sky Hammer, stretched behind him, muscles tensing, and black light surged from the hammer, integrating it with his body.
As he moved, his left leg, serving as a support point, caused his pants to tear, revealing bulging, taut muscles.
At the same time, the enormous Clear Sky Hammer swung out.
"Boom!"
With a thunderous sound, the black hammer collided with the dark purple scythe.
Powerful energy waves spread in all directions.
Everyone except Su Cheng was uncontrollably pushed back several meters by the shockwave. The weakest, Yu Xiaogang, was even sent flying.
However, facing a serious Bibi Dong, how could Tang Hao possibly be a match?
Even with the constraints of the Rakshasa God test preventing Bibi Dong from using her full strength, limiting her soul power to level 98, Tang Hao was heavily injured and significantly behind in cultivation. Despite the Clear Sky Hammer's natural advantage in strength during direct collisions, he could not fully block this slash.
What seemed like a delicate figure displayed unimaginable strength with one strike.
Tang Hao's large, sturdy body was knocked back, his expression changing dramatically.
The current Bibi Dong was stronger than the last time they fought!
Without hesitation, his seventh soul ring glowed, and the massive Clear Sky Hammer expanded more than tenfold.
Crimson lines emerged on the enormous Clear Sky Hammer, and his hundred-thousand-year red soul ring lit up, turning the black hammer completely scarlet.
Leaping into the air, he brought the giant hammer down with the force of a dark cloud pressing down, launching a fierce attack on Bibi Dong.
Seeing this, Bibi Dong's delicate face darkened, not daring to be careless.
The two scythes in her hands swelled instantly, dark purple light contracting as they met the attack.
The scythes moved with extreme speed, leaving afterimages in the air.
The brutal force of the giant hammer clashed with the sharp, swift scythes. After a moment of stalemate, both figures retreated simultaneously.
With Tang Hao using his martial soul's true form and his ninth soul skill, this clash finally ended in a draw, no longer a one-sided suppression.
At this moment, his mind cleared, and the anger that had clouded his judgment dissipated, allowing him to regain his calm.
Before him, Bibi Dong had neither used her martial soul true form nor employed her later-stage soul skills. She had chosen the combat style least advantageous to her—a head-on clash.
Even so, Tang Hao found it difficult to gain any upper hand.
Continuing this way might indeed put his life at risk.
Without hesitation, three of his soul rings exploded in succession, and the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand expanded once more. Violent soul power surged madly through his meridians, bringing waves of sharp pain.
Gripping the hammer handle with both hands, veins bulged on his forehead, and blood streaks appeared on his body, with blood droplets seeping through his skin.
At this moment, Tang Hao's muscle fibers were showing signs of rupture and breaking.
The massive hammer head, brimming with an unparalleled aura of domination, swung up against the wind, and then descended from the sky towards the seemingly delicate figure of Bibi Dong.
Bibi Dong's expression grew serious.
Tang Hao's momentum, after exploding three rings, was already approaching the level of a 97th-ranked soul master.
She clasped her hands together, merging her two scythes into one gigantic scythe, more than ten meters long. It didn't seem any smaller than Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer, creating a stark contrast with her petite figure.
As their auras simultaneously peaked, the hammer and scythe collided for the third time.
Bibi Dong's face changed dramatically.
It wasn't that Tang Hao's attack this time was too strong, but rather too weak!
In the instant their weapons clashed, she immediately sensed that this was a feint!
On the other side, Tang Hao spat out a mouthful of blood, using the recoil to leap back to Yu Xiaogang's side, grabbing his waistband to flee with him.
"Swish—"
Accompanied by a sharp slicing sound, a massive sword shadow, appearing after their retreat, cut into the ground in front of them, carving a deep, dark sword mark.
Tang Hao broke into a cold sweat.
Had his reaction not been quick enough to stop, the outcome of that sword strike would have been uncertain, possibly deadly.
As Su Cheng intervened, the scene fell into silence.
Seeing the seven soul rings—five black and two red—hovering beneath him, everyone except Bibi Dong was stunned.
Since Su Cheng joined Spirit Hall, he hadn't made a move.
Naturally, Xie Yue and the others were unaware of his current soul ring configuration.
They had heard from Hu Liena that Su Cheng had advanced to Soul Saint but didn't know he had done so with two hundred-thousand-year soul rings.
Xie Yue swallowed hard, exchanged glances with Hu Liena and Yan, and hesitantly murmured, "Elder Su's seventh soul ring is indeed at the hundred-thousand-year level, right?"
"..."
Yu Xiaogang also stared blankly at the seventh soul ring beneath Su Cheng.
He had always prided himself on being unmatched in theory.
But Su Cheng repeatedly shattered his understanding of soul ring limits. The pink halo of the seventh soul ring, which looked extraordinarily vibrant, was unheard of.
Unlike the others, Tang Hao's focus wasn't on the unprecedented soul rings.
His face was dark, his gaze fixed intently on Su Cheng.
With greater strength, he could better sense the terror of this adversary before him.
At this moment, the threat Su Cheng posed felt no less than that of Bibi Dong earlier.
Su Cheng ignored the varied gazes, looking towards Bibi Dong, "Where is your martial soul true form?"
"…" Bibi Dong was at a loss for words.
She didn't want to use the Death Spider Emperor's martial soul true form unless absolutely necessary; its appearance was too hideous.
As for her second martial soul, the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor, it wasn't convenient to display it either.
Although Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang knew about her second martial soul, she didn't want its soul ring configuration exposed.
Moreover, with Su Cheng by her side, Bibi Dong didn't feel the need to use her martial soul true form.
However, Tang Hao and Yu Xiaogang, hearing this, suddenly saw a glimmer of hope, thinking that perhaps she had shown mercy earlier.
Without prompting, Yu Xiaogang stepped forward, blocking Tang Hao, and spoke, "Bibi Dong, if you still have any regard for our past, don't take this too far."
Bibi Dong frowned, unwilling to say more.
Tang Hao had already used the ring explosion technique, and his aura would continue to weaken.
Delaying a bit longer wouldn't be bad for her; she might even easily kill both of them without much effort.
Seeing her remain silent, Yu Xiaogang sighed, "I know you might still have some misunderstandings and even hatred towards me. But when I chose to leave you, it wasn't out of heartlessness. It was because of the former Pope's coercion.
"If the roles were reversed and your life was at risk today, I wouldn't stand by idly. After all, you were the first person I truly loved.
"If the Clear Sky Douluo dies here today, I will do whatever it takes to destroy Spirit Hall, and our relationship will end here!"