The arena was deathly silent.
Tang San was hunched over, his hands pressed tightly against the left side of his lower back. Veins bulged on his forehead, and beads of sweat mixed with blood trickling from the corner of his mouth, continuously dripping onto the scorched black ground. His face was as pale as paper, his breathing rapid and chaotic. Every inhalation tugged at the tearing pain in his abdomen, causing his vision to darken intermittently.
Those two kicks from Marco were too vicious! The angles were tricky, the force penetrating. Though they weren't enhanced by any Spirit Ability, the sheer, domineering physical power had precisely struck the most vulnerable part of the human body—the kidneys—nearly scattering the flow of his Soul Power! If not for his cultivation of the Profound Heaven Skill, which gave him physical resilience far surpassing Soul Masters of his rank, his internal organs would likely have ruptured by now, leaving him unconscious.
Humiliation! Indescribable humiliation! And the pain brought by those two kicks, nearly driving him to collapse, burned through Tang San's reason like venomous fire. With great difficulty, he raised his head, his crimson eyes fixed fiercely on the calm, black-clad figure not far away. The resentment and killing intent in his gaze were almost tangible!
"Cough… cough…" He coughed up another mouthful of blood, his body swaying as he nearly collapsed.
"Third Brother!" "Xiao San!" Below the stage, the hearts of the Shrek team tightened. Xiao Wu had cried herself into a mess, desperately trying to break free from Ning Rongrong and Zhu Zhuqing's restraint.
Marco watched Tang San's pitiful yet stubborn, hate-filled appearance, the playful curve at the corner of his mouth gradually fading as his eyes grew calm and profound. He spoke softly, his voice clearly reaching Tang San's ears: "Is this your hidden trump card? It seems… not quite impressive enough."
He paused, his gaze seemingly unintentionally sweeping over Tang San's tightly clenched left hand, his tone carrying a hint of provocation: "Aren't you going to bring out that… little hammer of yours?"
These words exploded like thunder in Tang San's ears!
"!!!"
Tang San abruptly raised his head, his bloodshot eyes filled with extreme shock and horror! How… how did he know?! The Clear Sky Hammer was his greatest secret! Aside from Grandmaster, his father, and his Shrek companions, no outsider should know of it! This Marco, how could he…
"You… how do you know?!" Tang San practically roared the question, his voice distorted by pain and shock.
Marco didn't answer, merely offering a faint smile that, to Tang San, seemed filled with profound mystery and heart-stirring mockery. Then, Marco leisurely raised his hand, gesturing toward Tang San with a slight hook of his finger. The posture was brimming with boundless contempt and provocation!
"Buzz—!"
The thread of reason snapped completely!
The shock of having his greatest secret exposed, the searing pain from continuous injuries, the unprecedented humiliation of being publicly kicked in the kidneys, and Marco's utterly disdainful attitude… all these emotions erupted at once, drowning Tang San's last shred of calm!
"Ah—!!!"
Tang San let out a bestial roar unlike any human sound! A violent, sinister, and malevolent surge of Soul Power erupted from within him!
"Crack! Crack!"
A teeth-grinding sound of bone friction rang out! Under the horrified gazes of everyone, eight purple, crystalline, sharp-edged bone lances resembling the long legs of a giant spider suddenly pierced through the clothes on Tang San's back and unfurled abruptly! The bone lances shimmered with an eerie purple light, exuding a cold and razor-sharp aura. Their ends plunged deep into the arena floor, supporting Tang San's tottering body!
External Spirit Bone—Eight Spider Lances!
"What... what is that?!"
"Bones growing from his back?"
"A Soul Bone? Is that a Soul Bone?"
"No! Soul Bones take the form of weapons or armor, don't they? This... this looks like it's growing from his body!"
"Could it be... an External Spirit Bone?!"
In the stands, a knowledgeable Soul Master exclaimed in shock!
"An External Spirit Bone? Heavens! It really is an External Spirit Bone!"
"The legendary External Spirit Bone that's even rarer than ordinary Soul Bones and can evolve along with the Soul Master?!"
"Tang San actually has such heaven-defying fortune!"
"Kill him! Seize the External Spirit Bone!" Instantly, greedy glints erupted in the eyes of many in the stands! Especially the leaders and some students from the kingdom academies, their breathing grew rapid!
However, at that moment, an aged voice tinged with regret rose above the commotion: "It's useless, don't indulge in wishful thinking. Look carefully. That External Spirit Bone's purple light flows, completely fused with his spine, their auras connected—it has already acknowledged its master. Even if you kill him now, this External Spirit Bone will lose most of its spirituality, even shatter. It simply cannot be stripped away. A pity, truly a pity..."
The speaker was the leader of the Divine Wind Academy, an elderly Soul Saint. His words were like a bucket of cold water, dousing the greed in most people's hearts. Everyone looked closely and indeed saw that the eight spider lances were seamlessly integrated with Tang San's back, glowing with a faint purple light—truly impossible to seize. Sighs arose one after another; the greedy gazes turned into envy and jealousy.
Marco looked at the fierce yet beautiful Eight Spider Lances, a flash of understanding passing through his eyes, yet he remained calm, even carrying a hint of... disappointment? He shook his head: "An External Spirit Bone... not bad. But, still not enough."
His gaze fixed once again on Tang San's face, twisted with fury and pain, and with an all-seeing understanding, he slowly, clearly, uttered those three words again:
"Ha-o, Tian, Chui." (Clear Sky Hammer)
These three words, as if possessing magic, slammed heavily into Tang San's heart!
Tang San's body trembled violently, the Eight Spider Lances shaking along with it! His greatest secret had been exposed by the other with a single sentence! In the other's eyes, he seemed utterly exposed!
"Roar—!"
His last shred of hope and hesitation were completely shattered! Tang San's eyes instantly filled with a crazed blood-red hue! He no longer thought of the consequences, no longer cared about exposure! At this moment, there was only one thought in his mind: tear this person before him to shreds! Use every means possible!
"You want to see it?! I'll show you!!!"
Tang San let out a hysterical roar! His left hand suddenly lifted, fingers splayed wide!
"Hum—!"
A heavy, profound, terrifying aura capable of crushing mountains erupted abruptly from the palm of Tang San's left hand! Black light surged and condensed madly! The phantom of a massive hammer, pitch-black all over, ancient in style, with a hammerhead the size of a water vat and engraved with strange patterns, materialized out of thin air!
The moment the giant hammer appeared, the surrounding air seemed to become viscous and heavy! An indescribably domineering, destructive imposing aura surged forth like a tidal wave! Around the hammer's body, faint dark-red lightning patterns swirled, emitting low rumbles of thunder!
As soon as this hammer appeared, it seemed to become the center of the entire world! Everyone's gaze was involuntarily drawn to it, their souls trembling in its presence!
"A... a hammer? Another Martial Soul?"
"Twin Spirits! Tang San actually has Twin Spirits!!"
"Heavens! Twin Spirits truly exist on the continent!"
The stands erupted with tsunami-like exclamations! Everyone was stunned by the successive shocks! First the External Spirit Bone, then Twin Spirits! Tang San's hidden cards were becoming more and more astonishing!
However, these exclamations were soon replaced by even greater, incredulous horror!
In the VIP seats, the older, well-informed leaders and teachers from various academies, upon clearly seeing the style of that black giant hammer and sensing its unique, domineering aura, sprang up from their seats as if they had been stepped on by a cat! Their faces changed drastically, pupils shrinking to the extreme, their voices becoming sharp and distorted from extreme shock:
"That... that's... the Clear Sky Hammer!!"
"The Number One Tool Soul in the World—the Clear Sky Hammer!!"
"Clear Sky Hammer! Tang San... he is a descendant of the Clear Sky Sect!!"
"The Clear Sky Sect... has the Clear Sky Sect reappeared on the continent?!"
"Twin Spirits, Blue Silver Grass and Clear Sky Hammer! No wonder... no wonder he is so monstrous!"
Exclamations, screams, and gasps of shock echoed together! The entire Martial Arena was completely boiling! The appearance of the Clear Sky Hammer brought even greater shock than the previous Twin Spirits and External Spirit Bone! Because this meant that the long-vanished Number One Sect in the World, the Clear Sky Sect, might soon reappear! And Tang San was the chosen representative of the Clear Sky Sect!
On the arena, supported by the Eight Spider Lances, his left hand tightly gripping the Clear Sky Hammer that radiated a terrifying aura, Tang San looked like a mad demon, his blood-red eyes locked firmly on Marco, his voice hoarse like sandpaper grinding:
"Marco! Prepare to die!"
Before his words faded, he used the Eight Spider Lances to forcefully push off the ground, his body shooting out like a cannonball! The Clear Sky Hammer in his left hand was raised high, the hammerhead the size of a water vat seemingly drawing in all the surrounding power. With a terrifying momentum capable of crushing the void and destroying all techniques, it tore through the air, emitting deafening roars, and slammed down toward Marco, who stood in place seemingly defenseless, aiming directly at his head!
The opening stance of the Disorderly Wind Hammer Technique! Empowered by the might of the Clear Sky Hammer, this strike already possessed the power to split mountains and shatter stones!
The entire arena fell dead silent! Everyone held their breath, watching helplessly as that black giant hammer, representing the continent's top-tier power, crashed toward that black figure!
How would Marco deal with this earth-shattering strike from the Number One Tool Soul in the World?
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