The moment the hammer appeared, every disciple and elder of the Clear Sky Sect present felt the intense resonance of the Clear Sky Hammer martial soul behind them. This was a kind of absolute submission and reverence, reaching out from the depths of their blood and soul.
"This... This is..."
The pupils of the leading elders constricted sharply, and their hands, gripping the hammer's shaft, began to tremble.
Tang Hao ignored their shock. The divine pressure he exuded was like a majestic mountain, far surpassing the limits of the mortal world, slowly enveloping everyone present. Under this pressure, several titled Douluo felt their breathing stagnate, their bones groaning, and even their soul power could not circulate smoothly. This was not hostility, but an unbridgeable, absolute disparity in the level of life.
"The Clear Sky is here. Wait—don't kneel yet."
Tang Hao's voice was not loud, yet it exploded deep within everyone's soul, as if it were the oracle from above the Ninth Heaven.
"The Clear Sky Hammer... divine-level pressure... You are..."
The elder's lips trembled, his eyes filled with fanaticism and disbelief as he recalled a name that existed only in the sect's oldest legends.
"Ancestor, Tang Hao!"
Boom!
These short words cut through the fog in everyone's hearts like a thunderbolt of creation.
Clear Sky Douluo, Tang Hao!
The Clear Sky Douluo from ten thousand years ago—the father of Sea God Tang San. He had returned.
"Ancestor! That's the ancestor of the Clear Sky!"
"The ancestors have come down to the mortal realm!"
After a brief silence, a wave of shocked, tearful cheers surged through the crowd.
The leading elder could no longer hold himself upright. His knees buckled, and he knelt heavily, old tears streaming down his face as he cried out,
"Tang Long, worthless descendant of the Clear Sky, pays respects to the ancestor of the Clear Sky!"
"Come, greet the ancestor of the Clear Sky!"
Behind him, all the elders and disciples knelt, pressing their foreheads to the cold stone in trembling excitement.
Only the heavens knew how they had survived until now. Ever since Sect Master Niu Tian, Second Sect Master Tai Tan, and the young master Tang Wutong—on whom all hope rested—fell in the so-called "Holy Grail War" in Mingdu, the heavens of the Clear Sky Sect had collapsed.
Grief, anger, fear, confusion... all sorts of emotions became entangled, and for the first time, this once-united sect showed signs of internal strife. Some argued they should descend the mountain for revenge; others insisted on enduring and argued endlessly in the council hall, but no solution could be found.
But now, the ancestors had returned—and with the power of the gods. All fear, confusion, and chaos ended in this instant. They had a backbone again, a true pillar to carry the world.
Looking at the kneeling clansmen, Tang Hao withdrew the Clear Sky Hammer and his divine majesty. The wrinkles on his face softened as he stepped forward to help Elder Tang Long, the leader.
"Get up. We're all family. Take me to the main hall and tell me what happened to the sect and the continent after I left."
…
The Clear Sky Ancestor Council Main Hall
The atmosphere was heavy. Tang Hao took the seat of the sect master, Ah Yin quietly standing beside him, listening as Elder Tang Long recounted the events of the past years, especially the earth-shaking recent ones.
Upon hearing the names Niu Tian and Tai Tan, Tang Hao's hand unconsciously clenched the armrest, his fist turning white with force. When the name "Tang Wutong" was linked with "fallen," the usually calm Ah Yin suddenly trembled.
"What did you say?"
Her voice was soft but shaking uncontrollably as she stepped forward, her gaze fixed on Tang Long.
"Say it again. Xiaotong—what happened to her?"
Elder Tang Long dared not meet Ah Yin's beautiful gaze, overflowing with sorrow. He bowed his head and repeated in a difficult voice,
"Reporting to Ancestor... Young Lady... she was in Mingdu, together with the Sect Master and Second Master... and she fell."
Thud.
Ah Yin felt her mind go blank, the world spinning.
Wutong... The little girl who always wanted to be by her side in the God Realm, pleading to be held in her arms, to weave swings in the blue and silver domain...
Her granddaughter, heir to Tang San and Xiao Wu's bloodline, possessing the twin martial souls of Light Butterfly Goddess and Clear Sky Hammer, known as the brightest pearl of the new God Realm generation... How could she die? Wasn't she only training in the lower realm? With the God Realm's blessings and the secret protection Tang San left behind, how could she perish in the mortal world?
An overwhelming grief stabbed her heart like the sharpest knife.
At her feet, countless blue and silver grasses desperately sprouted from the floor, instantly withering and turning to dust. It was a sign of her spiritual chaos and loss of control over her divine power.
"Ah—!!!"
A suppressed roar, like a wounded beast, burst from deep in Tang Hao's throat. He suddenly stood up, his robust body trembling with fury. A visibly dark-red murderous aura rose from him like flames, the temperature in the council hall plummeting, the air thick and blood-chilling.
He strode out to the edge of the cliff, staring into the swirling clouds.
"You've gone too far!!"
He roared to the sky, slamming his palm outward, aiming at a distant majestic sub-peak.
This palm did not use the Clear Sky Hammer, only the pure purification of divine power. A massive palm formed from godly energy, covering the sky, descended with unrivaled force, engraving itself onto the thousand-meter-high mountain.
Boom—
Under the terrified gaze of the Clear Sky disciples, the immortal mountain crumbled silently, turning to dust in the air like a weathered sand sculpture.
With a single palm, the mountaintop was shattered. Violent winds swept through the sea of clouds, and turmoil filled the sect hall.
Yet, after unleashing his rage, Tang Hao's anger did not subside—it only burned hotter. He turned back, staring at Tang Long with blood-red eyes, asking word by word,
"How did she die? Who did this?!"
Elder Tang Long was forced back a few steps by the killing intent, his face pale as he shook his head bitterly.
"We... we don't know, ancestor. The Sect Master only said they went to Mingdu to participate in the so-called 'Holy Grail War' involving godhood, and there was no news afterward. Of the dozens of elite sect members who went with them, not a single one returned alive. The sect's secret arts could only sense that the breath of life had been cut off, but not who died or how."
"You don't know?"
Tang Hao frowned deeply.
"No, ancestor,"
Another elder added sadly,
"Our only ally, Shrek Academy... was recently completely destroyed, not a single chicken or dog left alive, all external information cut off. Now, the Sun Moon Empire's army has invaded the territory of the Heavenly Soul Empire. We feared... we would be found by the enemy who killed the young lady, so we didn't dare act rashly."
"What? Shrek was destroyed too?"
This news shocked Tang Hao and Ah Yin anew. Shrek Academy, Tang San's alma mater, was crucial to their plan. With the golden ancient tree suppressing fate, how could it simply be wiped out?
As Tang San's parents, they knew his plan well.
Tang San's strategy in the God Realm was to eventually replace the plane's will of the Douluo world with his own divine soul, turning the planet into the Tang family's domain. At the same time, Ah Yin would fuse with the planet's life core, becoming the new ancient tree of life, seizing the initiative of creation.
For this, Ah Yin had followed Tang San for a long time, sent a powerful divine consciousness avatar to the mortal world, entered the Golden Ancient Tree, connected with Shrek Academy's fate, and made preparations in advance.
Thinking of this, Ah Yin's expression changed. She closed her eyes, sending her immense consciousness across space, seeking the avatar that should share the same origin.
But all she sensed was dead silence. The connection had been severed at its root, as if cut by invisible scissors.
"My avatar... is gone."
Ah Yin opened her eyes, her voice tinged with coldness.
"It's not asleep or sealed. Some force... has completely erased every trace of its existence."
Tang Hao and Ah Yin looked at each other, a gravity unprecedented between them. The severity of this matter far surpassed their imagination.
A force that could quietly erase a god's avatar, destroy Shrek Academy, and kill their granddaughter and sect masters... This was no longer within the realm of human capability.
At that moment, both Tang Hao and Ah Yin's spirits stirred. They suddenly looked up to the southwest sky.
In their divine perception, the plane's laws in that direction were violently colliding. Familiar, powerful divine power stood tall in the sky, gold and black intertwining, transforming into the phantom of a giant tiger above—a fusion skill of Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing, its power reaching a first-level god.
"Mubai and Zhuqing,"
Tang Hao instantly recognized the power.
"They've encountered a powerful enemy and are already in despair."
"To force them this far..."
Ah Yin's eyes became sharp. After making arrangements for the sect to stand guard and not act rashly, Tang Hao and Ah Yin wasted no more time.
"Let's go."
Divine light burst around the two, transforming into black and blue streaks that tore through the sky, heading straight for the epicenter of the divine power eruption—the wilderness—at lightning speed.
…
At the same time, on the official road toward the west coast, two figures were walking.
"Honestly, Rongrong, why are we walking so slowly? Wouldn't it be faster to just fly straight overhead?"
Oscar couldn't help but complain as they walked.
Next to him, Ning Rongrong moved gracefully as always, but there was a faint worry between her brows. She glared at Oscar,
"Do you know, Haiyuan City isn't simple. If we flew so ostentatiously and were treated as enemies, what then? Keeping a low profile and learning the news after entering the city is always the right move."
"Alright, alright, I'll listen to you,"
Oscar replied with a gentle smile.
But the next moment, both their smiles froze. They stopped at the same time, looking off to the distant west.
A fierce, tragic, yet extremely familiar fluctuation of divine power swept over their consciousness like a tidal wave.
"This feeling... That's the Netherworld White Tiger!"
Oscar's smile vanished, replaced by a solemn expression.
"And it's more than ten times stronger than when we competed in the God Realm. Their god positions are burning away!!"
"Boss Dai and Zhuqing..."
Ning Rongrong's beautiful face turned pale as she cried out,
"Who forced Boss Dai and Zhuqing to use this death-defying trick?!"
The Seven Monsters of Shrek were like siblings. Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing were in crisis—they couldn't just stand by.
"Who is it?"
Ning Rongrong asked anxiously.
"Oscar, let's hurry! Boss Dai and Zhuqing must be in serious trouble!"
"Got it!"
Oscar grabbed Ning Rongrong's hand, and the divine power of the God of Food burst out from within him. Divine light enveloped them both, transforming into vivid streaks of color as they shot toward the source of the surging and rapidly weakening divine power.
…
In the wilderness, a quiet struggle played out between deathly silence and new life.
The gigantic sinkhole torn open by the gods' battle was an ugly scar eternally carved into the land. The edges were glassy, the rock melted and rapidly cooled, reflecting a strange luster in the sunlight. Deep at the bottom, vestiges of spatial fissures twisted reality, and faint purple arcs of residual lightning flickered.
All this silently told of the cataclysmic terror that had just unfolded. Yet, in stark contrast to the destruction, a vast expanse of land beyond the sinkhole was covered in fresh emerald grass, like a magnificent carpet overlaying every scorched place left by the battle. Small wildflowers swayed in the wind; the air was filled with the scent of earth and an almost tangible breath of life.
Vivid streaks of light tore through the sky, suddenly stopping a thousand meters above the sinkhole as Oscar and Ning Rongrong appeared.
"This... what is this..."
Oscar stared at the strange scene below—half hell, half paradise—his handsome face full of astonishment and his voice dry.
He could clearly feel that after Dai Mubai and Zhu Zhuqing's martial soul fusion, the intense aura of a first-level god lingered within the giant pit, mixed with several other god-level but entirely different energies. Even this residual energy alone was enough to make him, a second-level god, feel his heart race.
…