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Crack!
The Clear Sky Hammer, gleaming with golden light, slammed into the sword shield dead-on. But Tang San's jaw dropped
'The Demon Bear Hammer's armor-piercing power didn't work. How? If that wouldn't do it, then this might.'
"Clear Sky Hammer: Chaotic Cloak!"
What Tang San didn't know was that his Clear Sky Hammer, tied to the Powerful Demon Bear soul ring, had a weakness. The 'demon' in its name wasn't just for show. It gave the hammer brute force but left it open to Ning Tian's Evil-Repelling Divine Lightning.
So Tang San fell back on his strong suit: swinging the Clear Sky Hammer hard, aiming to crush through raw power. Ning Tian wasn't about to let his head meet that hammer, though. He'd only stood still earlier to test the boost from Tang San's external soul bone. Forty percent, that's what he figured.
As Tang San brought down his first swing, Ning Tian flipped backward, slipping out of the heavy, grounded barrage. Stuck in place by Chaotic Cloak, Tang San could only watch as Ning Tian pulled away.
Then Ning Tian moved again, circling him and firing off bursts of sword qi. Tang San had to keep up his Chaotic Cloak to block it all. At last, he lost it and shouted, "Ning Tian, are you just going to keep dodging?"
Chaotic Cloak could only swing thirty-six times, and Tang San had counted on it to finish Ning Tian. But Ning Tian wouldn't meet him head-on, instead hitting him with fierce sword qi from afar, wearing him down.
Finally, Tang San tried a weak taunt: "If you're so great, face me and let's settle which martial soul's the best."
"Fine," Ning Tian said, stepping right up. His first soul ring glowed, and his sword stretched into a ten-meter blade, slashing at Tang San.
Tang San's heart jumped. He'd just swung his thirty-fifth hammer, and as he let loose the thirty-sixth, he thought he'd won. But Ning Tian wasn't aiming at the hammer, he struck the stage under Tang San's feet.
The thirty-sixth swing missed completely. The huge sword qi ripped across the floor, setting off a loud explosion. Tang San's feet, locked in place for Chaotic Cloak, came loose, and the blast threw him into the air. The Clear Sky Hammer nearly flew from his grip.
"Is that even allowed?" The crowd stared, stunned. Feng Xiaotian, in particular, had a sudden realization. Now he got why Ning Tian called the Clear Sky Hammer "intelligence-reducing." Looking back, when he'd fought Tang San with his Gale Demon Wolf Thirty-Six Consecutive Slashes, he'd always gone for the hammer. If he'd hit the ground instead, like Ning Tian, he might've beaten him. The more he thought it over, the more it made sense.
Meanwhile, Tang San hung in the air, unable to use the Clear Sky Hammer's strength without solid footing. Ning Tian jumped up, swinging his sword dozens of times. Caught off guard, Tang San raised his hammer to block and jabbed back with the Eight Spider Lances. Metal clanged again and again, but the lances broke apart bit by bit. Then Ning Tian kicked him down to the stage.
When things don't go as planned, most people can't handle it, Tang San least of all. He'd told his Shrek teammates he'd take Ning Tian down alone, win for them, and wipe away their shame. Now his eyes burned red, his breath coming hard and fast, like an angry beast.
Worst of all, he'd promised Xiao Wu he'd come out on top. He couldn't take it, losing this badly.
Ning Tian didn't say a word to twist the knife. He just looked at the referee. To him, this was how it was supposed to go, like he'd seen it coming. That quiet sureness hurt Tang San more than any jab could.
The referee, who'd hated Tang San since the preliminaries, when Tang San had humiliated him couldn't hide his grin. Seeing Tang San beaten down, he picked up the microphone and said loud and clear, "Looks like Tang San's done. The Clear Sky Hammer's time as the best tool martial soul is over. So now I declare—"
"No! I haven't lost!" Right then, Tang San pulled himself up. With a quick move, he threw the Clear Sky Hammer at Ning Tian like a hidden weapon. Then he rolled toward the broken Eight Spider Lance pieces, ready to use Bat Wing Reincarnation, a top skill from the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record to fling them at Ning Tian. As he moved, he rubbed poison he'd made onto his shining white hands.
This was Tang San's last move against Ning Tian. His plan wasn't just to win.
He'd pretend to cure Ning Tian of the poison later, using the Eight Spider Lances to drain his life force, leaving him weak and slowing his training for good.
But plans don't always work out. Ning Tian knew about the Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record. One look at Tang San's throw, and he knew where the hammer was going. He stepped aside easily and sent a sword qi back. Tang San reached for the lance shards but pulled his hand away fast. A second later, the sword qi hit, cutting a deep, half-meter gash into the stage.
Tang San wasn't ready to give up. He kept lunging for the scattered fragments of his Eight Spider Lances, desperate to grab them. But no matter where he rolled, Ning Tian's sword qi tracked him like a shadow, cutting off every move. The crowd couldn't figure out why Tang San was so fixated on those shards, but by now, it was obvious, he'd lost completely.
If Ning Tian had wanted him dead, Tang San's head would've rolled long ago. Yet there he was, flailing in the dirt, looking more pitiful by the second.
Finally, Flender, the Shrek team's leader, had seen enough. "That's it, Tang San. You're done."
"No, Dean, I'm not done!" Tang San snapped back, dodging another slash of sword qi while scrambling for a fragment. "If I can just get one piece of soul bone, I'll turn this around!"
He glared at Ning Tian and roared, "Ning Tian, do you dare face my Tang Sect's tenth-ranked hidden weapon technique, Bat Wing Reincarnation?"
The crowd buzzed at that. Tang Sect hidden weapon techniques? Was this from that Mysterious Heaven Treasure Record Tang San had supposedly stolen? Everyone leaned in, curious to see what kind of power it held.
But Ning Tian wasn't in the mood to play along. With a flick of his wrist, his sword sliced through the air, carving a clean line from Tang San's left shoulder down to his right ribs. Blood sprayed as Tang San flew backward, crashing into a pillar beneath the VIP seats and slumping to the ground like a broken doll.
"Pfft!" Tang San coughed up a mouthful of blood, clutching his chest. But his eyes glinted with defiance as he sneered at Ning Tian. "You didn't dare take my Bat Wing Reincarnation. And you wouldn't face my Clear Sky Hammer head-on either. You're a coward."
To Tang San, it was clear: Ning Tian kept interrupting his moves because he feared the Tang Sect's secrets. He avoided the Clear Sky Hammer because he couldn't handle its raw power. The crowd exchanged glances, wondering if there was truth in that. Was Ning Tian scared?
Ning Tian's response cut through the murmurs like a blade. "Are you out of your mind? This is a competition, not some friendly chat over tea. In a real fight, if you can end your enemy fast, do you sit back and wait for them to pull out some random move that might kill you? No wonder you fell for Cang hui Academy's Seven-in-One Fusion Skill. They were slow; you could've stopped them before they even got started."
"And this 'face the Clear Sky Hammer head-on' nonsense? What does that even mean? Should I be like Feng Xiaotian, throwing away my own strengths just to bash my skull into your hammer? Or maybe you think unless I fight on your terms, letting you show off your Tang Sect tricks and swinging that hammer right at my face, it's not a fair fight?"
"Did you ever think that when you leaped at Feng Xiaotian, if he'd just dodged your Demon Bear Hammer and hit you from behind, you'd have lost then and there?"
The crowd blinked, then nodded as it sank in. Looking back, Tang San's swings with the massive Clear Sky Hammer were sluggish, yet Feng Xiaotian had kept charging straight into it. If he'd sidestepped and struck smartly, like Ning Tian suggested, the fight might've ended differently.
Feng Xiaotian's face turned red, embarrassment washing over him. He finally saw it, he'd been outsmarted by the Clear Sky Hammer, drawn into its trap. And it wasn't just him. Huo Wushuang and others who'd lost to Tang San had fallen into the same pattern, mindlessly aiming for the hammer as if begging to get smashed.
"You—pfft!" Tang San spat another mouthful of blood, this time from pure anger. He hated to admit it, but Ning Tian was right. That's how he'd always fought. Rage boiled inside him, but a cold shiver followed. If this had been a real battle, outside the ring, against someone like Ning Tian, he'd be a corpse by now.
And who was to blame? Yu Xiaogang. That man's teachings had twisted Tang San, a former Tang Sect disciple, into this reckless fool. 'Yu Xiaogang,' Tang San thought, his hatred sharpening, 'you've dug your own grave.'
Just then, the referee's voice boomed out. "Preliminary round, twenty-eighth match, third fight: Ning Tian wins! Congratulations to the New Heaven Dou Battle Team for claiming first place in the Heaven Dou Empire preliminaries!"
The New Heaven Dou Battle Team had swept the competition, and the crowd roared in approval. Sure, they were the main team of Heaven Dou Royal Academy, a symbol of imperial pride. But more than that, nearly everyone in the stands loathed Shrek and Tang San most of all. Twin martial souls or not, no one wanted to see him come out on top.
Cheers echoed as Ning Tian headed back to the rest area. Shao Xin, now a senior teacher at Heaven Dou Imperial Academy, handed him some recovery sugar beans. "Thanks, Teacher Shao Xin," Ning Tian said with a nod. He respected the man enough to use the title.
Shao Xin gave him a pat on the shoulder, shared a few words, then went to check on Tang San. The guy was a mess, but with Ning Fengzhi's Seven Treasure True Body healing him, there was no hurry.
The Heaven Dou Empire preliminaries were officially over. Next up was the award ceremony, where the top six teams would receive their certificates for the next round.
It was a simple affair. The VIP announcer called out, and the captains and vice-captains of the top six teams stepped onto the stage. Shrek and Divine Wind Academy had tied, but since Tang San beat Feng Xiaotian, Shrek took second, Divine Wind third, Thunder Academy fourth, Tianshui Academy fifth, and Blazing Academy sixth. The New Heaven Dou Battle Team, as Heaven Dou Royal Academy's pride, stood undisputed at first.
So there they were, Ning Tian, the captain, and Zhu Zhuqing, the vice-captain in the front and center on the stage. But as they walked up, hostile glares followed them. Tang San's was the worst, still stinging from his loss and humiliation. Dai Mubai's came close, his fury fueled by seeing his ex-fiancee on Ning Tian's arm, accepting the award. If looks could kill, they'd both be ashes.
Huo Wu wasn't far behind, her eyes burning with frustration. She couldn't stomach losing to someone she thought less talented than her. To her, Ning Tian was a nagging splinter she couldn't pull out.
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