Inside the Council Hall of the Breaking Clan.
Yang Wudi was fighting the Fifth Elder and the Sixth Elder alone. Though only ten minutes had passed, several new wounds had appeared on his body, ranging from burns to electrical shocks. Had it not been for Yang Wudi's extensive combat experience, which prevented the two from landing a direct hit with their Clear Sky Hammer, his fate would have been sealed by now.
However, prolonged defense inevitably leads to mistakes. Under the relentless, heavy assault of the Sixth Elder, who acted as the primary attacker, and the Fifth Elder, who provided support, Yang Wudi eventually exposed a fatal opening.
Just as Yang Wudi blocked the Flame Clear Sky Hammer of the Sixth Elder with his spear, his body was sent flying by the force of the blow. Suddenly, a sharp thunderous roar erupted from behind him; it was the Fifth Elder, wielding a Lightning-shining Clear Sky Hammer, leaping fiercely toward Yang Wudi.
Although he only had one leg, which caused significant issues with his turning and agility, he was still capable of short-range explosive lunges.
At the same time, the Sixth Soul Ring on his body flashed with a deep, profound light.
The Fifth Elder's Sixth Soul Skill, 'Raging Thunder Hammer', was activated.
A fierce, murderous look appeared on his face as he shouted.
"Go to hell!"
He then swung the Raging Thunder Hammer in his hand with all his might.
Sensing the powerful attack from behind, Yang Wudi tried to turn and defend, but the momentum was too great. He could not control his body in time, and he cried out in his heart.
My life is at an end!
Just as he considered whether to self-destruct and attempt a mutual kill with the Fifth Elder, the Sky Support Mark on his body began to glow again. The space behind him rippled, and a hand with distinct knuckles rested on his shoulder.
In a blur, he was pulled away from his original trajectory and appeared at the edge of the hall, far from the two elders. In his original position stood a familiar figure, dressed in white and holding a long spear, exuding an extraordinary aura—it was Yun Ming.
But Yang Wudi could not care about anything else now. Seeing that the Fifth Elder was already closing in on Yun Ming, he hurriedly shouted a warning.
"Ming Er, watch out!"
The Fifth Elder, who had been momentarily confused by the sudden switch, realized who was standing before him upon hearing Yang Wudi's address. He continued to swing his hammer with full force, aiming the lightning-charged weapon at Yun Ming's head, while grinning hideously.
"You brat, you're courting death!"
"Yang Wudi, I'll send your grandson on his way first!"
But before he could finish his sentence, Yun Ming moved.
A flash of Lapis Light flickered in Yun Ming's eyes, and the area around the Fifth Elder suddenly became as viscous as a swamp. This was not a mere application of spatial ability; it was Yun Ming mobilizing the World Force of this realm to suppress him. His earlier teleportation of Yang Wudi had also relied on the authority granted by his Fifth Soul Skill to manipulate space.
At this moment, even though the thunderous hammer in the Fifth Elder's hand could shatter mountains and rivers, his movements were inevitably slowed for a split second. And before Yun Ming, that was the line between life and death.
Following this, Yun Ming's move was simple: he lowered his head to dodge the Clear Sky Hammer by a hair's breadth, unleashed his spear with lightning speed, and then teleported away from the spot, appearing behind the Fifth Elder.
The Fifth Elder felt a blur before his eyes—Yun Ming was gone—and then his body's strength began to drain uncontrollably. Feeling a sharp pain in his chest, the Fifth Elder looked down and discovered that a crystal-like long spear had pierced through his chest, shattering his heart.
Seeing his strike succeed, Yun Ming retracted the Atlas Divine Spear. Through the bloody hole in the elder's chest, he saw the smile that had yet to fade from the Sixth Elder's face—a smile born from the belief that Yun Ming was about to die. Yun Ming responded with a smile of his own, whispering behind the Fifth Elder.
"No need for such courtesy, old man. Just giving me your life is enough!"
Hearing Yun Ming's words, the Fifth Elder spat out a mouthful of blood. While he still had a sliver of strength left, he swung his Clear Sky Hammer backward in a desperate attempt to kill Yun Ming. But Yun Ming reacted faster. A brilliant Crimson Gold Light erupted from his hand as he channeled the long-unused Absolute Dominance, infused with World Force, and threw a punch at the Fifth Elder.
The fist, carrying the immense power of the world, slammed directly into the Fifth Elder's lower back, snapping his waist in two. The man was split apart and died on the spot. Yun Ming then turned his head toward his grandfather.
"Grandfather, I have avenged you."
The Fifth Elder had wanted to kill Yang Wudi in that manner, so Yun Ming chose to kill him the same way.
Yang Wudi had not yet expressed his relief at Yun Ming's filial piety when the Sixth Elder, watching his fifth brother perish, let out a cry of grief.
"Fifth Brother!!"
His eyes turned blood-red, and he charged toward Yun Ming wielding his Flame Clear Sky Hammer. At the same time, the Sixth Soul Ring beneath his feet lit up, and a massive amount of flames erupted from his body, causing him to rush at Yun Ming like a flaming meteor.
The Sixth Elder's Sixth Soul Skill, 'Flame Assault', was a lunging attack skill.
Facing the violent charge, the Atlas Divine Spear reappeared in Yun Ming's hand. He exploded with power from his feet, leaving a white afterimage behind him as he met the Sixth Elder head-on.
A Yellow Soul Ring appeared on his body and lit up.
Yun Ming's First Soul Skill, 'Source of Void', was activated.
Simultaneously, gold, silver, and white colors blended on the long spear. The flames of his Soul Power flared brightly until they were completely condensed at the tip of the Atlas Divine Spear, transforming into a dazzling, blinding point of light that was impossible to look at directly. Yun Ming concentrated all his momentum, pressure, and the will of this world into that single point using spatial power and Anti-air Power, without leaking a single shred. This was the first Spear Art Yun Ming had created in his life.
"Atlas, Royal Power!"
Two streaks of light, one white and one red, flashed past each other and collided in the center of the hall. Seeing that Yun Ming actually intended to clash head-on, the Sixth Elder was overjoyed. If Yun Ming had continued to use teleportation or other tricky maneuvers, he would have found it difficult to deal with. But when it came to a brute-force clash against a Clear Sky Hammer, the Soul Breaking Spear was no match, and Yun Ming's crystal spear would be even less so. He had absolute confidence in this.
It was this very thought that made him hold nothing back, swinging his hammer with all his might. He intended to kill this ignorant, arrogant boy with a single blow.
Clang--
But when Yun Ming's Atlas Divine Spear collided head-on with the Sixth Elder's Flame Clear Sky Hammer, the power carried by Yun Ming's spear successfully blocked him for an instant. Then, the Sixth Elder's mind was suppressed by the supreme will attached to the Royal Power Spear Art.
The will of the world and the divine spear, forged from Yun Ming's invincible spirit, invaded the Sixth Elder's Sea of Consciousness, forcibly shattering his mind. The Sixth Elder's will was severely damaged; blood poured from his seven orifices, and his power spiraled out of control.
Before Yun Ming, there was only one outcome for losing control of one's power. The Atlas Divine Spear adjusted its angle and thrust forward, piercing through the Sixth Elder's skull and completing the kill.
Yang Wudi, who had been stepping forward with his spear to take advantage of the situation and ambush the Sixth Elder, froze as he saw Yun Ming kill the two men who had been "battling him for so long" in such a short time. First, he was stunned to discover that Yun Ming's combat prowess had silently reached such a level. Second, he couldn't help but feel a bit embarrassed; with Yun Ming killing them so quickly, didn't it make him look weak?
However, thinking that Yun Ming was his grandson, Yang Wudi soon felt relieved. The student surpassing the master—wasn't this proof of the excellent bloodline of his Breaking Clan? As for Yun Ming having the surname Yun, that didn't matter; as long as his Martial Soul was a spear, that was enough!
Mostly, the abilities Yun Ming used today to kill the Fifth and Sixth Elders of the Clear Sky Sect relied heavily on the "first-strike kill" advantage. Regardless, they were mortal enemies, and since the battle was still raging outside, it was better to finish them off quickly.
Meanwhile, outside the Council Hall, on the battlefield between the Third Elder and Yang Wutian.
Originally, because Yang Wutian had been attacking with all his might, the Third Elder had been primarily on the defensive. Even though the two were currently on unequal footing due to Yun Ming's soul skills, Yang Wutian was gradually running out of steam, and the initiative was slowly shifting toward the Third Elder.
Before the Third Elder could launch his attack, he suddenly sensed another person's presence in the hall, and then the Fifth Elder was gone. This left him feeling involuntarily dazed; they were old brothers who had spent decades together, and there was genuine affection between them. Although he looked down on those with other Martial Souls, he cared about his own clan members; otherwise, he never would have accepted the task of leading a team to exterminate them.
Dugu Bo, who had been lurking in the shadows waiting for an opportunity, saw the Third Elder get distracted and immediately fired a Jade Scale Poison Light directly at the man's face, specifically targeting his left cheek with surgical precision.
The Third Elder sensed the danger and quickly regained his focus, but Dugu Bo's attack arrived even faster. It was too late to use a Soul Skill, so the Third Elder could only swat the poison light away with his left hand. However, the moment he made contact, he realized something was wrong, but it was too late.
Having practiced the Poison Devouring Method for over a year, Dugu Bo had long since shed the shackles of the lethal toxins within his own body. Coupled with the other poisons he had consumed, his source poison had grown significantly more potent, far stronger than before. The Third Elder was quite fortunate; he was the first Title Douluo to serve as a test subject for Dugu Bo's refined poison arts.
Humans are not Soul Beasts; their resistance to toxins is nowhere near as formidable as those powerful Soul Beast races. Even with a physique as robust as the Third Elder's—which was considered quite strong among human Title Douluos—his ability to resist poison might not even surpass that of the Sky Dome Silver Peng that Yun Ming had hunted earlier.
Even though the Third Elder used his Soul Power to seal the meridians in his left hand the moment he was struck to inhibit the spread of the poison, the Jade Scale Serpent Emperor toxin continued to slowly permeate his Soul Power and erode his body.
"Dugu Bo! Do you intend to make an enemy of my Clear Sky Sect?!!"
After performing a preliminary suppression of the toxin, the Third Elder glared at Dugu Bo with fury.
Regarding the Third Elder's question, Dugu Bo replied indifferently.
"It's fine! You've done a great job keeping secrets; once you're dead, who will know it was me?"
The Third Elder was choked by Dugu Bo's words. Dugu Bo ignored him thereafter and spoke to Yang Wutian.
"Let's finish this. The sooner we kill him, the sooner it's over."
Seeing Dugu Bo treat him with such disregard infuriated the Third Elder, but before his rage could peak, he sensed that the Sixth Elder's presence had also vanished, deepening the grief in his heart.
Yang Wutian nodded at these words, and the two launched their assault together.
After Yun Ming and Yang Wudi finished their kills, they did not forget that the current incident was not yet over.
The two walked out of the dilapidated Council Hall. Yun Ming stood to the side watching the battle between the Third Elder, Dugu Bo, and Yang Wutian, while Yang Wudi headed toward the outer battlefield where Yang Hong was, gathering the clansmen and slaughtering the enemy forces.
Upon seeing Yun Ming appear, the Third Elder, though he did not recognize who the newcomer was, diverted a portion of his focus to remain vigilant. The rapid demise of the Fifth and Sixth Elders was clearly related to this kid who had suddenly appeared; he could not afford to be careless.
However, because of this, the Third Elder, who was already at a disadvantage, found himself even more constrained. With his attention so divided, and Dugu Bo's attacks being so troublesome, the Third Elder had only exchanged a few blows with the pair before he carelessly left an opening, and his arm holding the hammer was slashed by Yang Wutian's spear blade.
At first, because the wound was shallow, the Third Elder did not pay it any mind, but soon he noticed a numb, stiff sensation in his right hand. This was... that shameless Yang Wutian had smeared poison on his spear!
Thinking of this, the Third Elder glared at Yang Wutian.
Regarding the Third Elder's "inquisitive" gaze, Yang Wutian responded with his eyes: Yes, just now, while you were entangled by Dugu Bo's attack. At the same time, he did not stop his hand, continuing his assault.
After exchanging over a hundred blows in rapid succession, the Third Elder began to falter under their combined attacks.
With the intense physical exertion, the spread of the toxin within his body accelerated. Now, he felt his vision blurring, and even swinging his hammer had become a struggle.
With his condition worsening, his defense naturally grew even poorer. The moment the Third Elder used his Clear Sky Hammer to block a Mountain Splitting Strike from Yang Wutian's long spear, Dugu Bo found an opening and, from behind, gifted him with a head Spirit Bone skill: Petrification Ray.
Feeling the flesh on his back rapidly turning to stone, the Third Elder hurriedly mobilized the Soul Power in his body, attempting to resist the petrification force, but the final result was not ideal.
The skull bone Dugu Bo had obtained from the Medusa, the queen of snakes, was of extremely high quality, and the resulting Soul Skill was equally extraordinary. Even Soul Power could not avoid being petrified by this force; it could only slightly delay the speed at most.
After confirming his impending doom, the Third Elder looked at the three of them like a madman and shrieked hysterically.
"Even if this old man dies today, I will clear away future troubles for the sect!"
He then raised the Clear Sky Hammer above his head, and the last three Soul Rings on his body lit up.
The Seventh Soul Skill, Clear Sky True Body, and the Eighth Soul Skill, Golden Hammer, were activated simultaneously.
One could see the already massive dark gold Clear Sky Hammer swelling in the wind. Soon, a giant golden hammer with a head diameter exceeding one hundred meters suddenly appeared above the battlefield, causing the members of the Breaking Clan on the perimeter, as well as the scouts from other factions, to cast their eyes toward it.
The Third Elder had realized it now: from the moment the Fifth and Sixth Elders died, the Clear Sky Sect's plan had already failed. The news of the Clear Sky Sect's emergence would certainly leak out, so all he could do now was kill as many enemies as possible for the sect. Whether his trump cards were exposed or not no longer mattered.
Feeling the speed at which the petrification was spreading across his back, the Third Elder's arm veins bulged completely. With his face flushed red, he gathered all his strength and smashed this final hammer blow down toward Yun Ming and the others.
To annihilate them, he even ignited his Life Fire to push the power of this hammer to its absolute limit.
"All of you, go to hell!"
The Third Elder's Ninth Soul Skill, Heaven Falls and Earth Cracks, was activated.
Boundless golden light began to condense on the face of the hammer. The intensity of the aura it emitted was so strong that even Yang Wutian felt his legs go weak.
Seeing the hammer, which carried the might of world-ending destruction, Dugu Bo also wore a grave expression as he lit up his Eighth Soul Ring.
Dugu Bo's Eighth Soul Skill, Time Freeze, was activated.
A strange ripple swept across the surroundings. Except for Dugu Bo, who had initiated the skill, and Yun Ming, who held the authority over this world, everyone—the Third Elder, Yang Wutian, and even the dust dancing in the air—was frozen in their positions at that very instant. Everything around them, even the wind, stopped in mid-air.
Everything was solidified.
Dugu Bo was somewhat surprised to see that Yun Ming was unaffected; he had not expected Yun Ming to be able to resist his infallible Time Freeze.
Yun Ming, who had been watching the show from the sidelines, didn't understand why either, but it likely had something to do with his Fifth Soul Skill!
However, before Dugu Bo could follow up with a killing blow, he felt the space-time solidification suffering a violent impact. Dugu Bo exclaimed in surprise.
"Not good, the Soul Power fluctuations on him are too immense; the skill is about to be broken!"
Dugu Bo didn't need to say it; Yun Ming sensed it too. Seeing Dugu Bo putting all his effort into maintaining the skill and unable to launch an attack, he didn't care about letting others take the kill.
Yun Ming raised his hand to summon the Atlas Divine Spear, his body turning into a phantom. In the blink of an eye, he arrived before the Third Elder. Then, a brilliant golden Spear Light ignited on the Atlas Divine Spear. After a forceful slash, he retreated to his original position and said to Dugu Bo.
"Alright, Senior Dugu, let it go!"
Dugu Bo retracted his Soul Skill, and the Third Elder's golden heavy hammer continued to swing down violently.
Because of the space-time shift, Yang Wutian knew nothing of what had transpired during the confinement. Seeing the giant hammer descending, he was just about to activate all his Soul Skills to resist when he was stopped by Yun Ming.
"It is over."
As the words fell, the trail of Yun Ming's strike finally manifested. A red line appeared from the top of the Third Elder's face down to his chest, dividing him perfectly in two. The scene then turned incredibly gruesome as he split apart, his Five Viscera and Six Bowels spilling all over the ground.
The giant golden hammer in the Third Elder's hand also vanished into specks of golden light, following the death of its master.
It was not that Yun Ming enjoyed such a brutal method of killing; it was primarily because he needed to extinguish all traces of the Third Elder's life in a single blow. Otherwise, if that hammer had been allowed to swing down, how would he have accounted for the further property damage to the Breaking Clan!
Seeing the Third Elder perish, Dugu Bo felt a tinge of regret; he had ultimately failed to kill a Title Douluo with his own hands!
Sensing that Yang Wudi had also finished handling his side, Yun Ming retracted his Fifth Soul Skill. The magnificent World Barrier in the sky shattered into a rain of Soul Power, signaling the official end of the Clear Sky Sect's attempted genocide against the Breaking Clan today. The Breaking Clan Land also returned to the control of the Douluo Star's plane will.
Without the pressure of maintaining his Fifth Soul Skill, Yun Ming let out a sigh of relief. This soul skill was powerful, certainly, but the consumption was truly immense.
Not long after, Yang Wudi returned with Yang Hong and the others, all of them covered in blood.
Yang Wutian stepped forward and asked Yang Hong.
"How is it? What are the casualties within the Clan?"
Yang Hong's eyes turned red as he spoke.
"The juniors and the dependents of the Clan are all unharmed, but Uncle Wu Gui and Qiu Ge, in order to create an opportunity for us to break through, fought against overwhelming odds and unfortunately died in the battle."
Hearing that two clansmen had died, Yang Wutian let out a sigh. He felt both fortunate and sorrowful; fortunate that after such a great battle, not many in the Clan had died, but sorrowful for the departure of his old brother and nephew.
Upon hearing that two clansmen had passed away, Yun Ming's face turned as cold as frost. Finally, all his emotions transformed into action as he turned and walked toward the outside of the Clan.
Before Yang Wudi, Dugu Bo, and the others could react to Yun Ming's intent, they heard him speak.
"Let's go. We are heading to the Clear Sky Sect to seek justice for our clansmen!"
"The people of our clan shall not die in vain!!"
Originally, Yun Ming had not intended to move against the Clear Sky Sect just yet, but since they had jumped out to seek their own deaths, they had only themselves to blame.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader