Chapter 299: Tang Xiao Dies, Tang Hao's Final Option
"Foolish idea."
From the Killing City's blood-red eyes, two streams of corroding soul-power shot forth like a pair of razor-sharp bat fangs, hurtling toward Tang Hao's neck at high speed. Tang Hao had no choice but to halt, swinging his hammer to block.
At that moment, the Killing King – boosted by his wings, moving with extreme speed – unleashed his Slaughter Domain onto Tang Xiao. In the blink of an eye, the nine spirit rings on Tang Xiao's Clear Sky Hammer vanished, and his hammer shrank visibly.
"Big Brother!!"
Tang Hao bellowed, voice tearing at his throat. Beneath him, two purple, four black, and one red ring glowed. The two purple rings turned gold and exploded – forcibly triggering the ring-detonation. Though only a pair of purple rings, the surge gave Tang Hao an impressive burst of soul power.
Tang Hao's speed soared, his Killing God Domain expanding to envelop Tang Xiao. Tang Xiao's previously sealed nine rings promptly reappeared, settling around his five-hundred-jin Clear Sky Hammer.
Even with the ring explosion, Tang Hao couldn't make it in time. The Killing King had already closed in on Tang Xiao. He did not slash with his razor-sharp claws but instead brandished the Shura Demon Sword in a horizontal sweep.
Crack!
That hammer, five hundred jins heavy and stripped of soul ring power, was no match for the ultra-divine Shura Demon Sword's keen edge and heft; it split like tofu. The blade cleaved it in two, carrying on to slice through Tang Xiao's body in the same stroke.
Under the horrified gazes of Tang Hao, the Clear Sky Clan Elders, and disciples, blood fountained from Tang Xiao's chest. Everything above his chest – that portion of his torso – simply drifted away in the air.
"Sect Master!!"
"Big Brother!!"
"Grandfather."
Tears welled up in Tang Xiao's tiger-like eyes. His pupils, tracking his upper half as it flew away, took in the gleefully fierce, faintly familiar pale face covered in demonic markings.
In the final moment of life, Tang Xiao's memories rewound back to when he was young, protected by a tall, kindly, imposing figure who single-handedly sustained the entire Clear Sky Clan, sheltering all its descendants. Beneath that figure's wing, he'd enjoyed an easy life, free of worries and burdens, never needing to bear so much heartbreak.
He never would have had to endure the pain of losing his father, seeing his prodigious younger brother crippled to a waste, having the woman he loved part ways with the Clear Sky Clan, inheriting a sect master's position he'd never wanted, only to see the once unified clan split into two warring camps, and each uncle forming alliances to oppose him. Nor would he have had to watch his well-behaved young sister, for the sake of "love," fall into the arms of the very man who brought them to such ruin.
"'Grandfather'—who's your grandfather, you pathetic wretch?"
With another slash of blood-red light, the Killing King hacked tangentially across Tang Xiao's head and body, adding two more cuts. Blood sprayed from the severed edges, only to be siphoned by the Slaughter Domain. Tang Xiao became a dried corpse, as dead as could be.
"Big Brother!!"
"Sect Master!!"
"Now it's your turn, worthless worms!"
With Tang Xiao – that vital rank 96 powerhouse – gone, the remaining four Elders at average Title Douluo levels stood no chance. More precisely, their Clear Sky Hammers were no match for the Shura Demon Sword. Each slash left deep gouges in the hammers.
"Old Six!"
Crack!
Yet another Clear Sky Hammer shattered – belonging to the clan's Fifth Elder, who was only rank 91, the weakest among the titled Elders. His hammer, once broken, left him wide open to the shockwaves of the Killing King's clash with the other Elders.
At once, the Killing King focused his Slaughter Domain on the blood spurting from the Fifth Elder's wounds. With no hammer spirit to fight back, that elder soon bled out, turned to a dried husk like Tang Xiao.
A Fourth Elder stared at the battered remains of his own hammer. "If this goes on, all of us will be killed by Grandfather!"
Absorbing the blood of Tang Xiao and that Fifth Elder, the Killing King's health bar swelled to full again. The Clear Sky Clan's leftover strength was nowhere near enough to hammer him into defeat.
The Second Elder cried out in agony, "Grandfather, wake up—do you truly want to wipe out every descendant of your own clan?"
Tang Hao shouted, "Uncles, I have one last option!"
The Fourth Elder roared, "Tang Hao, you're just a cripple at rank seventy-something—what can you do?"
"Fourth Uncle. Everyone, listen to me. Use the Clear Sky Formation. Gather every disciple and set up the formation so their soul power can be channeled into me – let me regain my Title Douluo strength, then I'll ring-detonate. Only that might give us a chance!"
The Clear Sky Formation was a battle array for multiple Clear Sky Hammer users, letting them unify their soul power to be absorbed by a single target. Its main drawback was that the array was immobile and limited to a small area. Another drawback: the user who took in this soul power couldn't use any spirit abilities – they could only rely on the clan's secret arts, the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique and the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes.
In essence, it was best suited to a Clear Sky Hammer user who practiced the Grand Sumeru Hammer. Because Sumeru Hammer fused one's spirit rings into a single entity, relying purely on the clan's secret skills in battle. If the clan's ring-detonations failed, they would perform all nine ring-detonations at once.
"Yes—this is a way."
The Second Elder nodded. Everyone knew how, ten or more years before, Tang Hao's Nine-Ring Self-Detonation left Qian Xunji half-crippled. Though Tang Hao's two purple rings had already been detonated, the ultimate nine-ring blast likely wouldn't be weakened too much.
"Clear Sky disciples, form the Clear Sky Formation!"
"Titan, White Crane, Yang Wushuang, Niu Ben – lead the clan's men, at any cost, block the Killing King!"
On hearing the Second Elder's command, the Tang family members swiftly assembled. Titan led the Strength Clan, Niu Ben the Defense Clan, Yang Wushuang the Breaking Clan, and White Crane the Agility Clan.
Among them, the loyal Strength Clan and the fiercely offensive Breaking Clan took the lead, emboldening the rest of the disciples to charge forth in wave after wave, building a wall of flesh.
"Splat—"
"Splat—"
"Splat—"
Swinging the Shura Demon Sword madly, the Killing King hacked through them like fruit, face aglow with a maniacal grin. Each sword strike made blood burst anew. Each blow killed several more.
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