Bo Saixi appeared to have died, but Xu Mingxi was still a little worried—if he didn't reduce her to ashes, who knew if the gods might have a way to resurrect her once she returned to Sea God Island?
Now that things had progressed this far, he had no choice but to see it through to the end. Facing a furious Tang Chen, Xu Mingxi could only grit his teeth and stand his ground, fearing failure. As their objective had been achieved, the others began retreating one by one—but they hadn't expected Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong to step aside of their own accord, leaving Xu Mingxi alone in front of Tang Chen.
"Senior Angel Douluo, are you going to break your agreement with my Star Crown Sect?"
"Star God Douluo, that's not correct. Our agreement was only to besiege and suppress Bo Saixi. Now that she's dead, Tang Chen is no longer part of our pact."
Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong decided to just watch. It was Xu Mingxi who killed Bo Saixi, and Xu Mingxi again who prevented Tang Chen from retrieving her body—the grudge was directed squarely at him.
They just needed to observe and recover their spirit power while waiting for an opportunity to strike.
Some Super Douluo wanted to assist, but Xu Mingxi ordered them to stand down and observe the situation, especially the three from the Spirit Empire.
Tang Chen didn't care about any of that. All he knew was that the enemy who killed his beloved and stopped him from rescuing her was right in front of him. His rage nearly consumed his reason.
"Since you want to die, I'll grant your wish!"
He held Poseidon's body in his left arm, protecting it with his spirit power, and raised the Clear Sky Hammer with his right hand. Nine spirit rings shattered.
This was the true divine skill of the Clear Sky Sect: Ring Detonation.
The immense spirit power stored in the spirit rings was instantly infused into Tang Chen's body, and the Killing God Domain was unleashed—it could even rival the Star Domain, which was blessed by divinity.
Although the Star Domain was still an incomplete divine construct, it had blessings from faith and the essence of three top-tier gods. Even Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong combined might not be able to suppress it.
"Die!!!"
His fury burning away his reason, Tang Chen charged forward with the Clear Sky Hammer. Unlike Tang Hao, whose strikes were refined, Tang Chen relied solely on raw strength to stand at the peak of the Douluo Continent.
His power was ahead of its time, surpassing both worshippers and priests of the two deities—he truly was the first.
Faced with the devastating Clear Sky Hammer empowered by Ring Detonation, even Xu Mingxi had to retreat temporarily and avoid direct confrontation.
Watching from below under the protection of Bone Douluo, Ning Fengzhi seized the opportunity to boost Xu Mingxi's speed. This alone exhausted his spirit power, and he could only stay aloft with the help of others.
"No, this Ring Detonation is too troublesome. Tang Chen's own spirit power should have dropped to level 98, but now he can still overpower me."
Xu Mingxi targeted Bo Saixi's body in Tang Chen's arms with a fierce attack, forcing him to divert energy to defense and thereby reducing the pressure on himself.
Any method that achieved the goal was a good method—he didn't care about desecrating a corpse. As long as he was strong enough, who would dare criticize him?
If he didn't try to stop Tang Chen from returning to Sea God Island and instead handed him over to Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong, those two spectators clearly harbored ill intentions.
The situation fell into a strange deadlock. Among the top powerhouses of the Douluo Continent, only Xu Mingxi and Tang Chen were engaged in battle.
Qian Daoliu and Bibi Dong waited patiently. The other masters watched closely, ready to respond at a moment's notice.
This rapidly changing situation gave Tang San a sliver of hope for survival.
As long as the Spirit Empire and Star Luo Empire didn't unite, he believed that with his talent and deep knowledge of hidden weapons, these people wouldn't want to kill him. That was his confidence as a genius disciple of the Tang Sect.
He would pick one faction to infiltrate and seek a cultivation method for twin martial souls. When the time came, he would destroy the two powers that had oppressed him.
Bibi Dong, hovering in the sky, noticed the subtle change in Tang San's expression, and the corner of her mouth beneath the mask curled slightly.
"So this is the disciple Xiao Gang treats like his own son? How ugly."
"Bone Douluo, this emperor wants you to do something. What are your thoughts?"
Suddenly named by Bibi Dong, Gu Rong tensed. A chill surged through him—being targeted by this powerful and mad woman could never be good.
He looked at the Star Crown Sect leader in front of him and saw a nod. Carefully, he stepped forward to face Bibi Dong, ready to flee at any moment.
"May I ask what you need?"
"I want you to bring the person I left in the cabin to the ship below."
Huh?
The person in the cabin? Bone Douluo was startled, and after thinking for a moment, remembered that indeed someone had followed Bibi Dong when they came.
Upon further reflection, that person was Yu Xiaogang, Tang San's teacher, who apparently had some entanglement with Bibi Dong. A truly fitting pair of teacher and student.
Still, this was a simple request. He casually tore open space and stepped through. Following the spatial trail left on the Swordfish, he returned to the ship.
Bone Douluo soon returned to the battlefield, bringing Yu Xiaogang, who was lying dazed on a bed, down to the ship below.
Bibi Dong watched the reunion of master and disciple below with great satisfaction and burst into laughter. She was clearly amused that Tang San still thought so highly of Xiaogang.
Whether she was pleased or not, she was clearly entertained.
As he appeared on the damaged deck and saw Tang San, Yu Xiaogang, in a daze, burst into tears. He collapsed weakly to the ground and cried out in pain with a hoarse voice:
"Xiao San, you must grow strong and destroy the evil Spirit Hall!"
Watching Yu Xiaogang cry and act strangely, Tang San took a step back.
He remembered that although his teacher had always been useless, he still carried himself with dignity. How had he become like this now? And how did he even get here?
That kneeling posture—it looked just like the eunuchs who served emperors in his past life.
"You're not my teacher. Who are you, and why are you pretending to be him...?"
Tang San truly didn't want to acknowledge the man before him as his teacher. Someone who couldn't provide any benefits and even tarnished his reputation didn't deserve the title.
"Xiao San, I really am Yu Xiaogang! I once helped you choose your spirit rings—remember the Soul Hunting Forest we visited back then..."
Well, the man before him was indeed Yu Xiaogang. Even though Tang San didn't want to accept it, he had no choice but to accept the truth and stepped forward—to kill him.
But just as he was about to act, Yu Xiaogang instinctively stepped back—and fell to the ground.