The process lasted for hours.
At last, when the final traces of essence from the two immortal herbs merged with his Clear Sky Hammer, vast and pure soul power surged from the hammer and transmitted back into Tang Xiao's body. With that, his martial soul automatically returned to him.
Boom!
A wave of vast, oppressive soul power erupted from Tang Xiao's body, making the space fall deathly still.
Boom!!!
As the first eruption subsided, a second one burst forth, even more powerful than the first. Tang Xiao circulated his soul power, suppressing it until calm was restored. The surrounding heaven and earth energy slowly settled back into stillness.
Naturally, two eruptions meant Tang Xiao had broken through twice. His soul power had now reached level 89.
"Consuming two immortal herbs together only gave me one and a half levels of soul power improvement…" Tang Xiao muttered under his breath as he opened his eyes.
The same problem persisted—the earlier one takes the immortal herbs, the greater the benefits.
If he had consumed these two herbs when he was younger, around level 30 as a Soul Elder, each herb would have increased his level by at least seven or eight. Together, they could have raised his cultivation by no less than fourteen levels, saving four to five years of effort. If he had taken them even earlier, as a mere Soul Master with ten levels of soul power, the benefits would have been even more astonishing.
But now, because he took them far too late—at level 87—each herb only improved him by a little over half a level. Together, they raised him by only one and a half levels.
Still, Tang Xiao felt no disappointment. He had already anticipated this outcome.
"Even this much of an improvement only happened because I'm still a Soul Douluo. If I were already a Titled Douluo, I wouldn't even dare expect this much. Taking these herbs at that time wouldn't have even given me a single full level." Tang Xiao mused silently, then pushed the thought aside. What mattered most was not the soul power increase, but the foundation of his body.
Now that his eight extraordinary meridians were fully opened, he could feel his cultivation talent had improved once again.
"Now it's time to welcome my martial soul into this world…" Tang Xiao thought excitedly. He stood up and, in a dramatic motion, extended his right hand in a pushing gesture.
Yes—the same movement he once saw Wang Dong'er use in the Soul Land II donghua to summon her Clear Sky Hammer. Tang Xiao, who always found the normal summoning method lackluster, decided to imitate Wang Dong's style. This new method felt utterly cool and domineering.
Black-red soul power converged in his right hand, and behind him a portal of crackling red lightning tore open. Tang Xiao thrust his hand in and dragged out an enormous hammer handle. Soon, the entire hammer emerged, wreathed in red-gold lightning that pulsed violently behind him.
With a swift turn of his arm, the hammerhead slammed into the ground.
The ground trembled. Cracks spread like a spider web, and even the blue and red crystalline stones around the Ice and Fire Yin Yang Well showed signs of fracturing.
"Oh no…" Tang Xiao quickly controlled the weight of his Clear Sky Hammer, gently placing it down again.
This change was unexpected. In the past, whether it was his predecessor or himself, both had mastered the weight of the hammer, able to place it on the ground without causing damage. But this time, even summoning it normally led to such destruction. The only explanation was that the hammer's weight had increased dramatically.
Tang Xiao's breath caught as he looked at his martial soul.
The Clear Sky Hammer's appearance had drastically transformed.
The once pitch-black hammer was now a fusion of crimson and black, wreathed in blazing, serpentine lightning that coiled around it as if alive. The formerly simple weapon now looked like it had been forged in chaos itself, infused with violent energy.
Jagged ridges and spikes adorned the hammerhead, giving it a brutal, demonic silhouette. Its surface was engraved with flowing, vein-like patterns that glowed with molten light, as though a burning core threatened to break free from within.
One word… Cool.
Two words… Bad ass.
If not for the unmistakable Clear Sky aura it radiated—and its overall size and shape—Tang Xiao might have suspected that his martial soul had been swapped with another.
"Is this my evolved martial soul? Too domineering… Its aura is utterly menacing and ferocious…" Tang Xiao's eyes shone with admiration as he stared at it.
Then a memory surfaced.
"Wait… doesn't this look exactly like the Clear Sky Hammer my grandfather Tang Chen summoned when he met Tang San in the donghua?" Tang Xiao wondered, eyes flashing with recognition. The more he recalled that image, the more convinced he became.
But doubt lingered. From his memories, when he last met his grandfather eight years ago, Tang Chen's Clear Sky Hammer still looked ordinary—pitch-black, with only faint golden patterns.
The only explanation Tang Xiao could find was that Tang Chen's martial soul had undergone evolution through the power of the Asura God—ever since he stepped into Slaughter City and accepted the divine trials.
Perhaps it was the outcome of some hidden reward, granted upon completing one of those trials...
Yes. That had to be it. Tang Xiao's thoughts settled with a trace of certainty.
"So this is what the evolved Clear Sky Hammer looks like at the level of a super martial soul… Just like my cheap grandfather's future one. But I achieved it with immortal herbs, while he needed divine power. Hehe… indeed, cheating is the way to go."
Staring at the ferocious hammer, Tang Xiao's heart surged with excitement.
"Now… my presence will shake the entire Clear Sky Clan. Hehe." He couldn't stop himself from picturing the shocked faces of the elders and his father upon his return. The thought filled him with glee.
Tang Xiao laughed and grinned to himself like an idiot for a while—until he remembered. He was no longer a twenty-year-old youth from Earth, but a fifty-five-year-old man.
The silly grin vanished instantly, replaced by a stern and imposing expression.
"I must not lose my composure… As the future sect master, I must remain calm, steady, and domineering. That is the path I must walk from now on."
After giving himself this psychological reminder—to stop behaving like an immature child sometimes—Tang Xiao silently withdrew his martial soul.
His gaze then shifted, landing upon another immortal herb not far from him…