Douro Continent

Chapter 668 The Profound Meaning of the Great Sumeru Hammer: Ring Explosion

Just then, Tang San, who had been blasted a thousand meters away, returned. Like a moth drawn to a flame, he gave himself no time to recover. As soon as his backward momentum stopped, he pounced again. Three of his nine spirit rings were gone, but his aura had only grown stronger. Blue-gold flames enveloped his body, and the trident of the Sea God on his forehead radiated a surging light. He seemed to have entered a berserk state. Qian Renxue had seen this state before, when Tang San simultaneously absorbed the spirit rings of the three brothers, the Thousand-Pound Ant Emperor. Wasn't he just like this back then?

"I'll see how many attacks you can withstand." Qian Renxue met Tang San head-on. A violent roar accompanied the shattering of Tang San's fourth spirit ring, and Tang San's body was blasted away once again. But this time, he wasn't sent flying backward; he was directly slammed into the sky by Qian Renxue's punch. A massive golden flame chased after Tang San's body, about to completely engulf him.

Just then, the trident mark of the Sea God on Tang San's forehead suddenly became incredibly benevolent. While in mid-air, pale golden blood flowed from his seven orifices like small snakes. However, while in the air, he suddenly slapped his body with both hands, leaning back and using his back and the retracted Eight Spider Lances to block the engulfing golden flames.

The intense corrosive effect of the soul power caused Tang San's blue-gold light to dim, but the next moment, hundreds of golden rays shot out from the Eight Spider Lances, forcefully penetrating the golden flames of the angelic divine power. As they were destroyed by the golden flames, they frantically absorbed Qian Renxue's divine power from the golden flames and injected it back into Tang San's body, causing the blue-gold light around his body to become strong again.

With a thud, Tang San spat out another mouthful of blood. Amidst the self-destructive force of the Eight Spider Lances, his power was restored to its peak, but the excruciating pain in his back still caused his body to convulse uncontrollably. Yet, even so, Tang San's iron will remained unshaken. He turned, head down, hands clasped above his head, and descended like a blue-gold arrow. His fifth spirit ring shattered, merging into his blue-gold flames, as he charged towards the pursuing Qian Renxue.

If you had to describe Tang San's performance in the battle in a single sentence, Qian Renxue would definitely say: "Too wild."

Yes, knowing his strength was inferior to Qian Renxue's, Tang San launched a suicidal attack on her, akin to drinking poison to quench thirst. In the first two strikes, Qian Renxue even felt that if her angelic divine power had been slightly stronger, it could have shattered Tang San's body completely. However, after four collisions, Tang San was still alive and well, even launching an even more ferocious fifth strike. His relentless attacks left Qian Renxue somewhat bewildered. She believed that even any Title Douluo would likely be unable to achieve this.

The fifth collision occurred between Tang San's clasped hands and Qian Renxue's right fist, which resembled a rising dragon punch. This time, golden flames spread horizontally like a halo. Within a ten-mile radius, all the tall trees that had collided with them were sheared off a section. The immense energy fluctuations caused the air to freeze. This time, it wasn't Tang San who was blasted away, but Qian Renxue.

Tang San's body only trembled slightly in mid-air, his entire body swaying as he barely managed to suppress another spit of blood. Qian Renxue, however, plummeted to the ground, her feet sinking half a foot deep into the earth. Clearly, she hadn't completely neutralized the force of Tang San's attack. The sharp attack had unleashed an unparalleled explosive force the moment it penetrated her angelic divine power, rendering her angelic divine power's energy-devouring and burning characteristics completely ineffective.

"Haha, let's go again." Tang San's hesitation was only momentary. After the blue-gold flames on his body forcibly dispersed the golden discs around him, he rushed down like a shooting star. He headed straight for Qian Renxue, who had flapped her six wings and broken free from the ground.

"Are you really courting death?" Qian Renxue roared, her anger blazing after a series of defeats. Facing Tang San's sixth attack, she made a gesture of clutching her heart, and a gigantic angelic phantom appeared behind her. Terrifying golden flames condensed into a massive angelic sword. This wasn't that divine artifact, but rather a sword entirely formed from Qian Renxue's own divine power. The hundred-meter-long giant sword was almost tangible. Sword Douluo had once used a similar ability, but compared to the energy surge Qian Renxue was unleashing, Sword Douluo's attack was like a firefly compared to the moon.

Tang San's expression hardened, but the wildness in his eyes didn't diminish in the slightest. His sixth, seventh, and eighth spirit rings shattered simultaneously, transforming into streaks of blue-gold light that enveloped him. At this moment, his body appeared almost transparent. Surging light from the trident of the Sea God shot forth from the mark on his forehead, and a gigantic phantom appeared behind Tang San. That gigantic phantom was none other than the trident of the Sea God.

The Trident of the Sea God, which Qian Renxue had impaled on the ground, seemed to sense this aura, and its main blade emitted an excited hum. Although it couldn't join the battle, it seemed to be cheering for Tang San at this moment.

Gathering the power of the three rings, it erupted instantly, with the illusory blue-gold trident of the sea god and the angel's sword that seemed to cleave the heavens and earth hanging horizontally in mid-air.

Qian Renxue didn't rush to attack. Staring intently at Tang San's wild gaze, her brows furrowed deeply. She deeply sensed that Tang San was constantly overdrawing his life force. Even with the support of all the Blue Silver Grass in the Star Dou Great Forest, his attack in this unknown way was most likely to result in mutual destruction. Of course, he wouldn't kill her. Was his bet just an excuse? An excuse to prevent her from using the divine artifact?

Qian Renxue's silence didn't mean Tang San wouldn't attack. Anyone else might have used this opportunity to catch their breath, but Tang San didn't. From the moment the battle began, he never considered stopping his attack. The phantom of the Sea God's Trident shone brightly, appearing out of nowhere and heading straight for Qian Renxue. The way it flew was exactly like the "Never Return" move of the Golden Thirteen Halberds! Without a divine weapon, Tang San's attack was in no way inferior to the one he used to block Qian Renxue. The difference was that Qian Renxue was now fully prepared and wouldn't be caught off guard again.

Qian Renxue took a deep breath. No matter what, if this man couldn't be conquered, he had to be completely destroyed before he fully matured. A surge of golden flames erupted from the Angel Sword, merging with Qian Renxue's body as it slashed downwards.

boom--

The two virtual artifacts collided in mid-air, completely changing the color of the sky, as if the sun had fallen to earth. The sky above the Starry Sky Forest was bathed in a brilliant gold. This scene could be clearly seen even from thousands of miles away.

……

"That's..." Bibi Dong looked out of the carriage towards the Star Dou Great Forest, staring at the wondrous sight of the sky bathed in gold. She was completely stunned. With her cultivation level, she could clearly sense the aura clashing within; only an aura of that level could reach such a level!

"Teacher, what exactly is that? Why is it so terrifying?" Hu Liena stared at the golden light. Her feelings were completely different from Bibi Dong's; in her heart, it was a feeling of utter terror. She struggled to breathe, her pretty face turning deathly pale. She quickly lowered her head, unable to bear looking at the golden light any longer.

Even just watching from a thousand miles away gives one this feeling; one can only imagine how immense the energy contained within this golden light is.

"God-level? How is this possible? Another god-level being. High Priest, what are you doing?" Bibi Dong's fists clenched involuntarily. She bit her lower lip, but her eyes blazed with unwavering determination.

Years of hard work must not be wasted.

"Nana, relay my order: everyone speed up and return to Wuhun City as soon as possible." She had made up her mind that no matter the cost, she would reach that level quickly. She wanted to become the strongest person in the world—no, the strongest god. Bibi Dong's proud heart would not allow anyone to surpass her. She was determined to spare no effort, even if it meant… to increase her strength.

……

Tang San's body lay peacefully on the ground. In front of him was a huge chasm, five meters wide, five meters deep, and five hundred meters long. This chasm was created by the impact of his body.

If he hadn't clenched his teeth, he would have fainted long ago. His body ached as if it were being torn apart; every bone felt shattered. Even more terrifying was that the angelic power, filled with devouring force, had invaded his body and was dissolving his soul power. Fortunately, the energy of the Sea God's Light allowed him to barely resist. But expelling this angelic power from his body was extremely difficult.

Unlike Tang San, Qian Renxue was not in such a sorry state. She stood quietly beside a large tree, the angelic power emanating from her protecting the incense stick stuck in the tree, preventing it from being shattered by the aftershocks of the energy. The incense stick had already burned halfway through the battle. But in Qian Renxue's eyes, the battle was already over.

Although Tang San continuously stimulated his potential and temporarily elevated his strength to the god-level using special methods, he still lost without a doubt when facing a true god. Qian Renxue's breathing was only slightly rapid, and her face was flushed. But Tang San lay quietly in the distance.

The angel's divine sense told Qian Renxue that Tang San was not dead. Although his injuries were severe, they were far from fatal. Her angelic divine power was constantly eroding his body.

Qian Renxue flicked away the elongated ash from the incense stick, and just as she was about to pull it out, Tang San's somewhat hoarse voice came over.

"Our bet isn't over yet, I haven't lost."

Qian Renxue looked in surprise toward the end of the chasm, only to see Tang San's hands emerging from the depths of the chasm, along with two golden spider spears that plunged into the ground, lifting Tang San's body out of the chasm.

Standing firmly on the ground, Tang San's clothes were mostly tattered, his face ashen, and his body swayed. If it weren't for the support of his Eight Spider Lances, Qian Renxue had no doubt he would collapse at any moment. The blue-gold light that had previously burned on his body had vanished, and even his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul was gone. Even in his full state, he was no match for her; did he really intend to continue fighting in his current state? Qian Renxue truly couldn't understand what abilities Tang San still possessed.

Taking a deep breath, Tang San straightened his back and pulled out a few sausages from his magic pouch, stuffing them into his mouth.

The sausages were three large recovery sausages, one pink excitement sausage, and one dark green sausage that surpassed the limit. These three sausages were undoubtedly for restoring the body and improving its condition. The last sausage that Tang San took out was the most peculiar. It was a transparent sausage that looked crystal clear, like a crystal, and it had many crystal spikes on it. It looked like a strange caterpillar.

Looking at the sausage, Tang San paused for a moment before putting it in his mouth, a strange smile appearing on his face. This smile didn't mean he was confident about the bet, but rather that he was thinking about the sausage's owner and its origin.

This crystal-like sausage, shaped like a caterpillar, is Oscar's eighth soul skill, Crystal Caterpillar Sausage. When using this eighth soul skill, Oscar's lewd soul incantation is: "I have a caterpillar..."

Tang San vividly remembered the utter helplessness on Oscar's face when he first used that soul skill; he looked like he wanted to disappear into the ground. His expression was truly hilarious. Thinking of Oscar, and of his companions, the pain within Tang San seemed to lessen considerably. He was never fighting alone; his companions were always there for him. For his friends and family, he absolutely could not lose this bet.

After consuming the Crystal Caterpillar Intestine, Tang San was enveloped in a distorted, transparent light, his skin appearing almost translucent and emitting strange fluctuations. Qian Renxue's divine sense immediately detected that Tang San's severely injured body was recovering at an astonishing speed. His injuries had almost completely disappeared in just a few breaths, and his dim eyes had simultaneously brightened. His bones cracked and popped, as if he had never been in battle, returning to normal.

"This is...!" Qian Renxue's eyes widened. What exactly did he eat? It could instantly heal his injuries and restore his physical condition to its best. Although his soul power did not increase in the same way, the mere restoration of his body was enough to be astonishing.

The Crystal Caterpillar Sausage instantly heals all injuries except for those involving severed limbs; as long as there is still a breath left, it can restore the victim to full health. This sausage requires 50% of Oscar's soul power to make, and only one can be made every seven days, highlighting its rarity. Furthermore, not everyone can eat this sausage. If Oscar makes it normally, it only affects him, greatly increasing his survivability on the battlefield. To make it effective on others, it must be mixed with three drops of that person's blood during production. And even then, only the person who provided the blood will benefit from its effects. It restores physical strength and completely heals injuries. For a soul master, this is essentially a second life, only the soul power cannot be restored.

It was precisely because of it that Tang San dared to face the spirit rings of the three-headed spirit beast. Even after absorbing the three Thousand-Pound Ant King spirit rings, he didn't use the Crystal Caterpillar Intestine, instead relying on his own strength to slowly repair his body. After reaching level 80, Oscar's position among the Shrek Seven Devils undoubtedly became even more important thanks to the Crystal Caterpillar Intestine. Having acquired this skill, he immediately spent forty-nine days making one for each person, just in case. Using it now could be considered one of Tang San's last trump cards. The Crystal Caterpillar Intestine has no expiration date, meaning that as long as it's not damaged, it will be effective whenever used. This is the advantage of a top-tier food-type spirit skill. If it weren't for the excessive consumption and difficulty in its production, it would almost be considered a god-like skill.

Of course, there's another reason why the Crystal Caterpillar Sausage can restore full strength and heal all injuries. During its manufacture, Oscar must consume a Firm Golden Fly, doubling the sausage's effects. The Crystal Caterpillar Sausage's intended effect is to heal 50% of injuries and restore 50% of strength. This highlights the importance of the Firm Golden Fly.

Seeing that Tang San's stamina had recovered so quickly, Qian Renxue did not rush to attack. She simply said coldly, "So what if your stamina has recovered? If I'm not mistaken, your Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul is no longer usable. The scene of your spirit rings shattering earlier shouldn't be fake. Although it may not be that your Martial Soul is truly broken, you should at least be unable to use them for a short period of time."

Tang San nodded silently. "Indeed, your observation is very keen. You're right, the first eight spirit rings of my Blue Silver Emperor are indeed unusable. However, don't forget that I possess twin spirits; besides the Blue Silver Emperor, I have another spirit. The outcome of this bet is still uncertain; I haven't lost yet."

Qian Renxue laughed, "Alright! I want to see just how powerful the Clear Sky Hammer, the martial soul of the number one sect in the world, is—the Clear Sky Hammer that once severely injured my father." She turned her head and glanced at the incense stick, which was now half-burnt and still burning. Tang San hadn't taken any shortcuts with the incense he had taken out.

Black light surged from his left hand, and the light emanating from Tang San's body was no longer blue-gold, but a deep black. Within that deep black, there was a faint golden light and a dark red filled with a sharp aura. A massive Clear Sky Hammer appeared out of thin air in Tang San's left hand.

Compared to before, the Clear Sky Hammer, now equipped with eight spirit rings, has undergone significant changes. While the hammerhead hasn't yet become the size of a water vat like Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer, it's only slightly smaller. However, it now features fine golden patterns that were absent from Tang Hao's Clear Sky Hammer.

The three-meter-long, threaded handle looked like a two-handed weapon. A layer of twisted black energy swirled across the hammer's surface, its dense aura resembling a continuous mountain range, giving it an extremely stable feel. Even without touching it, Qian Renxue could vaguely sense its terrifying weight. But what surprised her most were the eight neatly arranged spirit rings on the Clear Sky Hammer.

Red, black, black, black, black, red, red, red. Eight neatly arranged spirit rings, four black and four red. They shone brightly alongside the black and red radiance inherent in the Clear Sky Hammer itself. The surging energy fluctuations made Tang San stand there like a demon god. His powerful aura even surpassed that when he used the Blue Silver Emperor. Keep in mind, his Clear Sky Hammer now only has eight spirit rings, not nine. In this situation, the aura it released was even greater than the Blue Silver Emperor, demonstrating just how powerful the Clear Sky Hammer was in his hands.

"How is this possible? Aren't those three ants 90,000 years old?" Qian Renxue looked at the three spirit rings at the end of the Clear Sky Hammer in surprise and couldn't help but exclaim.

Not only was she surprised, but Tang San himself couldn't help but widen his eyes. He not only found that the Clear Sky Hammer was much heavier than he had expected, but the last three blood-red spirit rings also took him by surprise. Yes, those should have been three 90,000-year spirit rings, at most black with a hint of red, but now how come they had all turned red?

Tang San and Qian Renxue said almost in unison, "Mutation."

Indeed, besides mutation, they couldn't think of any other possibility. The fact that all three spirit rings had become 100,000-year spirit rings could only be explained by one thing: Tang San had absorbed all three spirit rings simultaneously, and in some special way, caused the spirit rings themselves to mutate. During the mutation, he had crossed a 10,000-year cultivation level, evolving from a 90,000-year spirit ring to a 100,000-year one. As for why such a mutation occurred, Qian Renxue had absolutely no idea, but Tang San vaguely sensed something.

When absorbing the spirit rings of the three brothers, the Thousand-Pound Ant King, Tang San used a direct confrontation, the same attack method as the Great Sumeru Hammer. He subdued his opponents with unparalleled ferocity and explosive power. It was essentially as if he had forged these three spirit rings with the Great Sumeru Hammer. It's highly likely that this forging process purified the three spirit rings, leading to their evolution. Not only did Tang San instantly possess three spirit rings, but he also elevated all three to the 100,000-year level—a surprise Tang San hadn't anticipated.

"You really are blessed with extraordinary talent." Qian Renxue, who had been confident of winning the bet, suddenly became serious. Golden flames reignited on her body. She could clearly sense that Tang San was now much stronger than when he used the Blue Silver Emperor. He had one less spirit ring, yet his strength had increased. This could be attributed to the difference in their martial spirits.

The Blue Silver Emperor is indeed a top-tier plant-type martial soul, but don't forget that it's a control-type martial soul, while Tang San's Clear Sky Hammer is arguably one of the most powerful offensive-type martial souls in the world. Moreover, the Clear Sky Hammer only lacks one spirit ring over 50,000 years old compared to the Blue Silver Emperor; it has all the same number of 100,000-year spirit rings. Furthermore, the Asura Domain engraved on the hammer further enhances its power, and Tang San's pure pursuit of strength through spirit ring enhancements means that the Clear Sky Hammer, despite lacking one spirit ring, completely surpasses the Blue Silver Emperor's overall level. And let's not forget, its first spirit ring came from the King of the Forest, the Titan Giant Ape!

A faint light shone from Tang San's body as he slowly raised the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, pointing it at Qian Renxue in the distance. Blood and black instantly merged, transforming into a strange dark crimson-gold color. Soon, this dark crimson-gold layer spread throughout his body, and the Clear Sky Hammer in his hand instantly swelled, its massive head expanding tenfold. The handle also grew from three meters to ten meters, transforming into a bizarrely shaped giant weapon.

A dark crimson gold hue emanated from all eight of Tang San's spirit rings, each ring now the same color, just like when he used the Blue Silver Emperor to launch his attack. Back then, Tang San was unarmed, but now he wielded such a massive weapon.

Without a doubt, Tang San's method of forcibly elevating his strength to the god-level to face Qian Renxue came from the Great Sumeru Hammer. It is also the most domineering ultimate technique of the Great Sumeru Hammer.

It was when Tang Hao described this ultimate technique that Tang San was extremely surprised, believing it to be an impossible skill to use. This ultimate technique is called: Ring Explosion.

Each spirit ring can undergo a ring explosion. After the explosion, the spirit ring's power is fully unleashed, instantly becoming part of the user's own power and merging into their attack, generating power far exceeding their original strength. The higher the quality of the spirit ring during the explosion, the greater the effect. For example, Tang San was able to repel Qian Renxue during his fifth ring explosion because his fifth spirit ring, the Blue Silver Emperor, was a 100,000-year-level ring. Finally, he was able to block Qian Renxue's Angelic Holy Sword with his sixth, seventh, and eighth spirit rings precisely because two of them were 100,000-year-level spirit rings.

This is the Great Sumeru Hammer's most desperate skill. Each spirit ring launches an attack, and after all the spirit rings have exploded, the user will enter a weakened state. Moreover, the explosion is extremely dangerous; if not controlled properly, and one's own abilities are insufficient to suppress the energy generated by the explosion, one could be consumed by the energy. This is why only successive generations of Clear Sky Douluo in the Clear Sky Sect have cultivated the Great Sumeru Hammer. Without strong talent and profound foundation, using this ultimate technique is tantamount to suicide.

Tang San's body is undoubtedly extremely powerful. His demigod-level physique makes him virtually immune to the backlash from the exploding rings. This is why he was able to master it so quickly. Previously, he had used the exploding ring technique of the Great Sumeru Hammer on his Blue Silver Emperor Martial Soul. Using this method, he naturally couldn't release Soul Skills, not because he didn't want to. Qian Renxue was thus restrained, and although her final attack severely injured Tang San, Tang San successfully delayed half of the bet. However, using the Clear Sky Hammer was Tang San's true trump card. After all, this is the Martial Soul where the Great Sumeru Hammer can unleash its full power.

The cost of exploding spirit rings is enormous. After using the Great Sumeru Hammer to explode a spirit ring, all spirit rings disappear within three days. Only spirit power remains. It takes a full three days for the spirit rings to gradually recover. And after using the exploding spirit ring technique once, there must be at least a 36-day interval before it can be used again. Otherwise, there is a risk that the spirit rings will be truly destroyed. Today, Tang San lured Qian Renxue here to use this exploding spirit ring technique to gamble and create a chance for himself to leave this place. Before luring Qian Renxue here, he had carefully calculated everything. He had taken into account Qian Renxue's personality traits and her concern for him, and everything was successful except for the fact that Qian Renxue refused to return the Trident of the Sea God. Even the course of the battle was within his calculations. Even in his berserk state, Tang San would never lose his composure. Perhaps, this is the difference between him and his father. Even with the Great Sumeru Hammer, he could never achieve his father's ability to integrate domineering aura with his own personality.

Unlike the Trident of Poseidon, the Clear Sky Hammer doesn't lose one-thousandth of its weight in its owner's hands, but it can still reduce the owner's weight to one-tenth of the Clear Sky Hammer's original weight. Now, after Tang San released his Martial Soul True Form, the Clear Sky Hammer felt extremely heavy in his hands. With his sensitivity to weight, he could clearly tell that the Clear Sky Hammer in his hands now weighed over ten thousand jin (approximately 5,000 kg). If it were only one-tenth of its original weight, then under his Martial Soul True Form, the enormous Clear Sky Hammer was almost equal in weight to his Trident of Poseidon.

Although this doesn't mean the Clear Sky Hammer can compare to the divine weapon, the Trident of the Sea God, it completely proves the success of Tang San's enhancement through all his strength-type spirit rings. The most important reason the Clear Sky Hammer's power reached such an abnormal level is due to the three Thousand-Pound Ant brothers who mutated into 100,000-year spirit rings. Each of these three brothers possessed a strength exceeding 50,000 jin. After becoming spirit rings, besides causing Tang San's physical strength to increase exponentially, it also brought the Clear Sky Hammer's own power to an extremely terrifying level; the seventh spirit ring of his Martial Soul True Body was itself one of those three brothers.

In terms of strength, Tang San was even certain that he had surpassed a level 99 peak Douluo like Poseidon. Without using powerful soul skills, Poseidon's strength limit was likely 100,000 years, but Tang San could sense that his physical strength limit was definitely more than that. A demigod-level body could withstand much more. Although the massive hammer weighed ten thousand jin, he could still lift it with ease, without experiencing any sluggishness under its weight.

It was this massive Clear Sky Hammer in his hand that gave Tang San unprecedented confidence when facing Qian Renxue. Yes, he was indeed no match for Qian Renxue, but without her using a divine weapon, he at least needed to render her helpless while the Clear Sky Hammer was able to attack. Of course, switching to the Clear Sky Hammer spirit also had a disadvantage for Tang San. He could no longer rely on the power of the Blue Silver Grass from the Star Dou Great Forest. Previously, he had been able to do that because, through experimentation, his Blue Silver Emperor spirit, when using the Great Sumeru Hammer technique, would generate a special infectious power. Without needing to release a domain, it could merge with the surrounding Blue Silver Grass, producing an effect similar to the ultimate skill of the Blue Silver Domain, "All Rivers Run into the Sea." This effect wouldn't disappear during the entire ring-exploding process. Now, however, he was using the Clear Sky Hammer, and also the Great Sumeru Hammer technique, the aura emanating from it was entirely Clear Sky Hammer-like. Even if Tang San wanted to activate both Blue Silver Domains, it would be impossible.

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She's very close to first place, friends, please vote for the mistress, thank you.

(End of this chapter)