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The emergence of Dugu Bo's martial soul caused Tang Hao to feel a sudden surge of pressure. He couldn't believe that this person, who appeared younger than him, was actually Dugu Bo.
After all, Dugu Bo was more than twenty years older than him and had always been part of the Title Douluo circle, known as the weakest Title Douluo—any Title Douluo could supposedly defeat him.
But the Dugu Bo standing before Tang Hao now made him feel immense pressure, even greater than when Qian Xunji came with two Title Douluos. He couldn't understand why this supposedly weakest Title Douluo was so strong?
However, after briefly contemplating, Tang Hao decided not to retreat. He had come here to cause trouble, and leaving in disgrace wouldn't align with his reputation as the Hao Tian Douluo.
"Eight Spirit Skill, Sky Piercing Strike!"
Tang Hao suddenly surged forward, his black hammer instantly growing larger as it slammed toward Dugu Bo.
"Ninth Spirit Skill, Heaven Snake Annihilation Divine Light!"
A beam of seven-colored light shot out from the mouth of the Nine-Headed Heaven Snake King, colliding with the Hao Tian Hammer.
Instantly, the Hao Tian Hammer was covered in seven-colored poison, which began corroding it.
"Zhao Wuji, Flender, step back. Let me play with him."
Dugu Bo calmly spoke, and Zhao Wuji and Flender immediately retreated from the battlefield.
Dugu Bo had been using his spiritual power to assess the situation. Tang Hao's sudden burst was within his expectations. His good son-in-law had informed him that the Hao Tian Hammer liked to ambush, relying on its overwhelming force. All he needed to do was dodge its attacks and strike when it left itself vulnerable.
As Li Luochen put it, battles required brains, not just brute force.
Just now, Du gu Bo's Ninth Spirit Skill completely overpowered Tang Hao's Eighth Spirit Skill, leaving Tang Hao stunned. His ambush failed, and he was instead suppressed—it was humiliating. But once the arrow was released, there was no turning back.
"Hao Tian True Body!"
Tang Hao directly activated his martial soul's true body. The true body of an implement-type martial soul was its strongest state, maximizing its power.
"Nine-Headed Heaven Snake King True Body"
Dugu Bo transformed into the crimson Nine-Headed Heaven Snake King—a snake king tens of meters long with a body thicker than a water barrel. Such an existence inspired fear.
"Ninth Spirit Skill, Blue Silver Emperor's Power!"
Tang Hao unleashed his Ninth Spirit Skill. His ninth spirit ring came from the sacrifice of his wife, the Blue Silver Emperor. To protect Tang Hao, she granted him two augmentative spirit skills.
Blue Silver Emperor's Power drew energy from surrounding blue silver grass, channeling it into the Hao Tian Hammer to greatly enhance its power.
The second skill, Blue Silver Guardian, was a passive augmentative skill that permanently elevated Tang Hao's vitality. After using this skill, Tang Hao's life force, poison resistance, and elemental resistance were significantly boosted.
This was the key to Tang Hao surviving despite his deteriorating body. It seemed the Blue Silver Emperor truly loved him. If Tang Hao absorbed the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, he would become one of the hardest Title Douluos to kill in the world.
He would be like an indestructible rolling blade of meat. Even Qian Daoliu might need to use Angelic Divine Power to kill him. Unfortunately, Tang Hao only knew how to swing his big hammer—he never used his brain.
"Eighth Spirit Skill, Time Solidification!"
For a powerhouse like Tang Hao, who relied on extreme bursts, Li Luochen had already planned ahead, instructing Dugu Bo to use his Eighth Spirit Skill to control him, then slowly erode him with poison.
Boiling a frog in warm water—it wouldn't even realize it's been cooked.
Just as Tang Hao was about to unleash his full power, he was restrained. Seeing that he had control, Dugu Bo immediately released his seven-colored mixed poison, intending to slowly poison Tang Hao to death. Li Luochen had specifically emphasized that Tang Hao possessed attack methods capable of reaching level ninety-nine. Keeping a distance was the best strategy.
As Tang Hao saw the seven-colored poison fog entering his body, he immediately realized it was poison—extremely troublesome poison. He tried to break free, but Dugu Bo's control skill was too powerful. He needed ten seconds to escape, but ten seconds was enough time to die from the poison.
"Exploding Rings!"
Tang Hao could no longer hold back. A severe injury was better than death—he still had a son to protect. So, he directly shattered his first four spirit rings, breaking through the Time Solidification domain and escaping.
Dugu Bo watched everything unfold. His spiritual power had remained locked onto Tang Hao. When Tang Hao's first four spirit rings suddenly shattered, releasing power close to level ninety-eight to break through Time Solidification, even Dugu Bo was surprised.
No wonder Qian Xunji had fallen to him. With just the first four rings exploding, he displayed such power. What if all nine exploded?
Through this exchange, Dugu Bo felt Tang Hao's strength. The method of shattering spirit rings to fight desperately must have been Tang Hao's trump card for defeating the former Pope, Qian Xunji.
Dugu Bo thought that if all nine spirit rings were shattered, he might not withstand it. However, such a move likely came with significant side effects. Tang Hao initially exuded great strength, but after clashing—and especially after shattering his rings—his aura weakened dramatically. Dugu Bo had some internal guesses.
Tang Hao's body must have hidden injuries. Now poisoned by Dugu Bo's seven-colored mixed poison, the combination of injury and poison would only worsen his condition.
Indeed, Tang Hao fled to a distant place and immediately coughed up a mouthful of foul blood, multicolored in hue. He knew he was poisoned.
So, the once-looked-down-upon Poison Douluo had grown so strong. Today's battle forced him to use the Exploding Rings technique again, reigniting his old wounds. Now deeply poisoned, Tang Hao's combat power had dropped again.
Without recovery, he could only display the strength of an ordinary Title Douluo. Using Exploding Rings again would surely finish him off.
To ensure Tang San's cultivation, and to exact revenge and overthrow the Spirit Hall, he couldn't die. His life still had purpose.
Fortunately, he had long known there were Soul Douluos at Shrek Academy. Earlier, he had obtained concealment grass from the Blue Silver King, so Xiao Wu wouldn't be discovered for now.
As for Tang San and the others, they should be fine. He had escaped alone without taking Tang San. Dugu Bo's strength was overwhelming; bringing another person along would have meant neither could escape.
Moreover, today's actions were only to vent anger for his son and intimidate Shrek Academy. He believed they would show him some face and not target Tang San.
This was all Tang Hao could think of for now. Still, he wasn't reassured. He quietly followed Tang San to protect his safety. For now, he needed to rest and recover to prevent his condition from worsening further.
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On the other side
Li Luochen watched the battle between Dugu Bo and Tang Hao from afar. He was utterly shocked by Dugu Bo's current combat strength. That was Tang Hao, yet he was beaten and forced to flee so disgracefully.
Suddenly, Li Luochen stood taller, feeling even more confident. Currently, on the continent, aside from Qian Daoliu and Bi Bi Dong, no one could match Dugu Bo.
Bibi Dong was questionable—how far had her second martial soul developed? That was an issue. But Bibi Dong likely wouldn't intentionally provoke them.
Strength came from oneself. When would he reach level seventy? Should he absorb that torso bone now? Hmm, it was worth considering. But soon, Hong Jun and Tang San would break through.
Timing was crucial. He needed to sever the Eight Spider Lances for Tang San, gaining an external spirit bone for free. But who should it go to?
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