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The blue sky was as clear as a fresh wash, with only a few white clouds floating around. Suddenly, a streak of black light tore through the peace. The light moved very fast but looked unstable, crooked like a giant bird with broken wings. Dragging a dim trail behind it, the light plunged into a vast, ancient primeval forest below as if its strength had completely run out.
A massive roar shook the area. A cloud of dust and smoke rose into the sky from the forest, scaring away countless birds and causing beasts to run for their lives. Thick trees were smashed and sent flying, and a deep trench was plowed into the ground.
As the dust slowly cleared, it revealed the center of the crash. In a shallow pit dozens of meters wide lay a very big, strong man. His face looked tough, with sharp lines chiseled onto his features. Even now, with his eyes closed, his eyebrows furrowed, and blood leaking from his mouth, he still looked like a hero who once ruled the world.
Next to him, a giant hammer was stuck into the ground. It was pitch-black and covered in dark-gold patterns. The hammer looked old and simple, but it let out a scary pressure as heavy as a mountain. This was the Clear Sky Hammer, though its light was very dim right now.
This gasping man was Tang Chen. He had just lost the evil shell of the Slaughter King and got his real body back under the holy power of Qian Daoliu's Angel God force. He was the Sect Master from two generations ago of the Clear Sky Sect, the old Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Chen. He lay there quietly, breathing weakly, while the spirit power inside his body was in total chaos.
The vast spirit power of a Rank 99 Titled Douluo was trying to recover, but the evil poison of the Nine-Headed Bat King was still fighting back and hurting him. These two forces fought hard inside Tang Chen's body, making his bad injuries even worse. His life was like a candle flickering in the wind.
At the same time Tang Chen crashed into the forest, several hundred miles away, another man named Tang Chen was moving. He had just used a special method to cross the border between the Heaven Dou Empire and the Spirit Empire. He suddenly stopped. He looked up, a sharp light flashing in his eyes, and turned toward the northwest. In that moment, he felt a scary killing intent. It was messy, but it made a connection deep inside his soul.
It was like a bloody signal that flared up in the dark and then went out. This energy felt like the great killing intent of the Slaughter King he had felt before, but it lacked that pure evil and chaos. It felt more ancient, heavy, and strangely familiar. More importantly, this energy felt extremely weak.
Tang Chen thought to himself that whoever it was must be heavily injured and dying in the northwest. He wondered if the Slaughter King had been hurt by Qian Daoliu and had run away to this place. Without waiting, Tang Chen moved.
His body turned into a pale blue shadow that mixed with the trees, and he rushed toward the forest in the northwest. He moved fast like a breeze over the leaves. Soon, he reached the deep part of the forest, following the clear killing intent.
When Tang Chen pushed aside a giant leaf and saw the big man in the pit with the pitch-black hammer, his eyes shrank in surprise. Right then, Tang Chen's eyelids twitched. When he opened his eyes, they were not the red eyes of the Slaughter King anymore. They were normal black eyes.
Tang Chen let out a short, rough shout, asking who was there. His voice carried great pain but also the power of a strong fighter. He could not even see who it was yet, but his old habits from many life-and-death battles made him react right away. Black light shot out from his hand. The Clear Sky Hammer flew out of the dirt and into his grip.
Even though he could not stand up and had to stay on his knees, the moment he held the hammer, the proud aura of the world's best tool spirit came out. Tang Chen used all the spirit power he could find, held the handle with both hands, and swung the hammer toward the blue shadow at the edge of the pit.
This attack did not even have a tiny fraction of his real power. There was no bright light or magic energy, just pure physical strength. Seeing this weak but aggressive attack, Tang Chen did not fight back directly, and he did not run away. Instead, he quickly thought of a plan to make Tang Chen trust him. He did not use his golden dragon spear or his other tools. He used his Blue Silver Emperor's first spirit ability, Mimicry. A blue-gold light flashed in his eyes, and his spirit power shifted in a sneaky way.
Under Tang Chen's surprised eyes, blue-gold light gathered in Tang Chen's right hand. In a second, a giant blue hammer appeared. It looked heavy, old, and shared the same shape as the Clear Sky Hammer.
The look of the hammerhead and the lines on the handle were almost exactly the same as the one Tang Chen held. Even though the color was different, the shape could easily trick anyone. Tang Chen swung his blue hammer to block Tang Chen's black hammer.
A loud metallic crash echoed through the forest, and a wave of air blew outward from the hit. The airwave broke every tree and bush within dozens of meters like a giant knife. Wood and leaves flew everywhere, and dust filled the air again.
Tang Chen shook a little and took half a step back before stopping. Tang Chen let out a painful groan. His hurt body felt like it had been hit by a boulder. He stumbled back and only stayed up by leaning on his hammer. More blood came out of his mouth, and his face turned pale. But the anger in his eyes turned into complete shock.
Tang Chen's voice shook as he spoke, asking if it was the Clear Sky Hammer and wanting to know whose child he was. Bloody tears came out of his eyes.
Tang Chen bowed politely and said that his father was Tang Hao.
Tang Chen's old eyes lit up with joy and guilt. He remarked that it was Hao'er's son, noting how much time had passed since the child had grown so big, and called him a good child before revealing that he was Tang Chen.
Tang Chen acted surprised, his body shaking as if he had just heard an amazing name. He looked up and asked if he was really his great-grandfather, making his voice shake with sadness. He then bowed deeply toward the old man in the pit and begged him to seek justice for the Clear Sky Sect and for his father.
This call and the plea for help hit Tang Chen's weak mind very hard. He told the boy to get up quickly. His mind was full of mixed feelings, feeling happy to see his family but also scared about what happened. He asked what had happened to Hao'er, noting that he was supposed to take over the sect, and wondered if he was no longer the Sect Master. He explained that he had been trapped in an evil place for many years and knew nothing, though he had felt his father's weak aura earlier, and demanded to know the details.
Tang Chen stood up but kept his distance, looking very sad. He took a deep breath and began to tell a story that he had changed to fit his goals. He explained that after his great-grandfather disappeared, the Clear Sky Sect suffered a terrible disaster.
He spoke slowly, telling the story of how Tang Hao fell in love with Ah Yin, a love that the world did not accept. He blamed Spirit Hall, saying that the old Supreme Pontiff, Qian Xunji, used this as an excuse to attack the Clear Sky Sect and hunt down Tang Hao and his wife.
He said that his mother had to sacrifice herself to save his father, and though his father got a new spirit ring and spirit bone, he lost his love and was chased by Spirit Hall. He added that the sect, scared of Spirit Hall, did not protect his father but instead kicked him out and cut all ties.
Tang Chen got so angry that his hair stood up. He yelled that they were fools, and the anger made him cough up more blood. He could not believe his own sect would treat his best grandson that way.
Tang Chen continued his story, saying that the Clear Sky Sect locked its doors and hid away from the world to stay safe, which made them weak. He told the old man that his father took him and his younger brother, Tang San, to live as poor wanderers under fake names.
Tang Chen asked about the younger brother, Tang San, with a small frown.
Tang Chen nodded and said that Tang San was his real brother, but then his tone turned dark. He claimed that his brother's mind had been strange since he was young because their mother died early and their father was too sad to raise him right. He lied, saying Tang San grew to hate the sect and believed they owed him.
Tang Chen then told the biggest lie, saying that when Spirit Hall wanted to expand its power, Tang San secretly joined them. He claimed Tang San used his father's trust and his knowledge of the sect's home to bring the fighters of Spirit Hall inside, causing a surprise attack where the elders were slaughtered and the sect was destroyed.
He added that their uncle, Tang Xiao, died fighting to help some young people escape, and his body was never found. Tang Chen pretended to cry, saying that of the great Clear Sky Sect, only he was left, along with his evil brother who killed his family and his missing father.
These words felt like lightning striking Tang Chen's soul. Hearing about Tang Hao being kicked out was bad enough, but learning the sect was destroyed by his own family made him lose control. Tang Chen spit out a large amount of bright red blood mixed with gold spirit power. His body shook, his eyes went dark, and he almost passed out.
His hammer fell to the ground with a loud noise. He called Tang San an animal and a monster for turning against his own blood, saying heaven would not forgive him. He then looked at Tang Chen with bloodshot eyes and asked if everything he said was really true, wanting to know if Hao'er and the sect were truly gone.
Tang Chen kept a calm look on his face. He nodded with sadness and bowed again, saying he would never lie about something so important because Clear Sky disciples always speak the truth. He declared that Tang San did not deserve the family name anymore and called him a criminal. Finally, he begged his great-grandfather to rebuild the Clear Sky Sect, clean out the traitors, and get revenge for their dead family and his father.