I started by submitting to the Douluo Continent, and the nation helped me become a god.

The moment that whisper, seemingly from hell, fell, the clouds above Notting Junior Soul Master Academy appeared to be violently torn apart by an invisible hand.

The once clear sky suddenly turned gloomy, and a chilling pressure poured down from the heavens, pressing down on everyone's hearts as if it were a tangible force. The students in class at the academy all looked up, their faces filled with terror and bewilderment. Those young soul masters had never felt such a terrifying aura before; some of the more timid ones immediately went weak in the knees and collapsed to the ground, trembling.

A towering figure, as imposing as a mountain, carrying a terrifying pressure that could change the very fabric of the world, did not descend slowly, but rather crashed directly onto the open ground in front of the master's dormitory like a meteorite striking the earth.

At that moment, the earth trembled.

The ground was smashed into a huge crater several meters in diameter, with spiderweb-like cracks spreading wildly in all directions. Dust flew everywhere, and debris flew in all directions. Several large trees near the impact point were snapped in two and collapsed with a crash.

The newcomer stood in the center of the smoke and dust, tall and imposing, with shoulders so broad they seemed capable of supporting a mountain. He wore a tattered gray coarse cloth garment, stained with wine and grease, and his unshaven face was etched with vicissitudes and despair.

But his eyes were frighteningly bright.

Those eyes burned with a raging fury, as if magma was surging within them; a single glance could reduce a person to ashes.

There were no fancy soul skill effects, only a pure, pitch-black, enormous hammer shadow that seemed to devour all light. With the swing of that figure, it simply and brutally smashed into Zhao Wuji, who had just regained his footing.

The hammer was enormous; its head was as big as a millstone, and its jet-black surface was covered with strange patterns. Just being locked onto by it made Zhao Wuji feel as if he were being stared at by an ancient ferocious beast, and his blood froze in that instant.

"You dare touch him?"

The voice was devoid of emotion, as flat as stating a fact. But it was precisely this flatness that sent chills down Zhao Wuji's spine. He recognized the emotion; there was no anger in the voice, only killing intent. Pure, unadulterated killing intent.

As an Immovable King who has been working in the Soul Master world for many years, Zhao Wuji almost instinctively released his strongest defensive technique.

"Seventh Soul Skill, Martial Soul True Form!"

Seven spirit rings lit up simultaneously, and a purple-gold intertwined light erupted behind him. The enormous phantom of the Mighty Vajra Bear roared up; the bear king phantom was three zhang tall, its entire body covered in golden scales, exuding a ferocious aura.

A golden shield of soul power enveloped Zhao Wuji as if it were a physical object. The shield was several feet thick and could withstand a full-force attack from a Soul Saint of the same level. In battles at the Soul Saint level, Zhao Wuji's defensive power was second to none, which was the origin of his title "Immovable King".

However, in front of that pitch-black Clear Sky Hammer, this defense, which was strong enough to withstand the full force of a Soul Saint of the same level, was as fragile as a piece of toilet paper soaked in water.

Boom!

The dull thud caused the ground within a radius of 100 meters to jolt violently.

The sound didn't resemble a battle between two people; it was more like a god striking the earth with a thunderbolt. Windows and doors of nearby buildings shattered, shards of glass raining down. Students watching from afar were forced back by the shockwave, several of the weaker ones fainting outright.

The golden light shield that Zhao Wuji was so proud of instantly became covered with spiderweb-like cracks the moment it touched the hammerhead. These cracks spread at a visible speed, covering the entire light shield in less than a breath. Then, the defense that he had poured all his soul power into shattered completely, like a broken eggshell.

He was like a tattered sack that had been kicked away, crashing violently through three walls. Each time he smashed through a wall, it created a deafening roar of shattering bricks and stones, with dust flying everywhere and Zhao Wuji's painful groans mixed in.

Finally, he was embedded in a stone pillar on the playground in an extremely disheveled position, almost completely buried in the stone, with only his limbs and head sticking out.

"Cough... Pfft!"

Zhao Wuji spat out a jet of blood, the blood a dark, almost blackish red, clearly indicating internal organ damage. He felt as if at least half of his bones were broken, and his internal organs felt as if they had been violently churned by an iron hammer; every breath he took caused him excruciating pain that made his vision blur.

He looked up in horror at the disheveled middle-aged man with a huge hammer and a full beard, and only one thought remained in his mind.

Haotian Douluo, Tang Hao.

One of the top ten most powerful figures on the mainland's Title Douluo Ranking, the previous young sect master of the Clear Sky Sect, and a madman who once challenged the Pope's Hall of the Spirit Hall single-handedly.

How did he get here? Why would he take action for a piece of trash?

"Your Majesty...it's a misunderstanding...this is a misunderstanding!"

Zhao Wuji struggled to explain, but the excruciating pain in his chest made even speaking incredibly difficult. His throat could only produce a wheezing sound like a broken bellows, each word seeming to be squeezed out with his life force.

"Help... I just came to pick someone up..."

Tang San remained slumped inside the room, coldly observing everything.

The oppressive aura of a Title Douluo almost suffocated him, but a twisted sense of pleasure welled up within him.

Even if I'm crippled, you won't have it easy. Where's that arrogant attitude from just now? What about "Shrek only accepts monsters, not trash," and "Even if you're cured, you'll still be a cripple." Fudo Myoo? Now you're nothing but a stray dog, embedded in the wall like a dead dog, barely able to breathe.

Deserve it.

A sinister smile curled at the corner of Tang San's lips, a smile that looked particularly eerie on his pale face.

Tang Hao ignored Zhao Wuji's wails and took a step, instantly appearing in front of Tang San. That seemingly ordinary step covered a distance of dozens of feet, as fast as teleportation.

Seeing the glaring bloodstains on his son's lower body and his completely shattered and empty dantian, Tang Hao's usually cloudy eyes instantly erupted with a tangible killing intent.

The killing intent was so intense that the air itself seemed to freeze for a moment. The remaining furniture in the room began to creak, and the wood grain on the tables and chairs, as if unable to withstand the pressure, began to slowly crack.

But then, as a level 93 Title Douluo, his keen senses detected something amiss.

Tang San's injuries—the horrific state of severed meridians and destroyed dantian—showed no signs of external force. If he had been injured by someone else, his meridians would have retained traces of the enemy's soul power. But Tang San's meridians were completely clean, without any trace of external force.

On the contrary, the injury was more like an internal collapse caused by some kind of uncontrolled, rapidly circulating energy. It was like a container filled with too much boiling water, which eventually couldn't withstand the pressure and exploded from the inside.

Moreover, the aura he sensed earlier, the one attempting to assassinate Tang San, was clearly of the agility-based type, cold and swift, like a venomous snake's tongue. But this bear-like fellow before him exuded an earthy smell and brute force, and his spirit was the Mighty Vajra Bear, a spirit leaning towards defense and strength.

These injuries don't look like they were inflicted by the bear.

Tang Hao glared at Tang San. "Are you saying you've crippled yourself?"

Tang Hao's fingers, gripping the hammer handle, paused slightly, and his brow furrowed imperceptibly.

Is there a mistake?

But the thought lingered in his mind for less than a fraction of a second before he ruthlessly extinguished it.

Who is he? He is Haotian Douluo. How could he possibly make a mistake?

The rules of the Haotian Sect are that others are always wrong, and the sect is always right. Although Tang Hao has been away from the sect for many years, the arrogance in his bones has never changed.

Besides, even if this bear wasn't the real culprit, he still messed with his mistress earlier. That alone is enough to get him killed a thousand times over.

"snort."

Tang Hao snorted coldly, raised the Haotian Hammer in his hand again, pointing it directly at Zhao Wuji who was embedded in the wall, his tone as cold as ten thousand years of ice.

"So you're the Immovable King, so you're the Mighty Vajra Bear! How dare you use such despicable means to destroy my son's dantian?"

Zhao Wuji's eyes widened, his face filled with grievance and anger, but even more so with fear. His lips trembled, as if he wanted to explain, but he found himself unable to utter a word.

I'm innocent! I just walked in! I didn't even touch him! What does it have to do with me if he's spitting blood?!

But looking at the giant hammer that could fall at any moment, and at Tang Hao's emotionless eyes, Zhao Wuji swallowed the explanation that was on the tip of his tongue.

Trying to reason with a Title Douluo? Trying to reason with Haotian Douluo? That would truly be courting death. One blow from his hammer and he wouldn't even be left as ashes. Who would he turn to for reason then?

Just live, live first.

Zhao Wuji's survival instincts made his mind work at lightning speed, and in those few short breaths, he had already come up with a plan to save his life.

"I...I..."

He struggled to stick his head out of the wall, coughing up blood as he spoke in a hoarse voice.

"Your Majesty! Your son's injury... can still be saved! Our Shrek Academy... has the best healing-type Soul Master! And... we also have special medicinal herbs!"

He became more and more agitated as he spoke, and it was unclear whether he genuinely believed it or was just spouting nonsense to save his life.

"If you're willing to show mercy, I... I swear, I will bring your son back to the academy and do everything in the academy's power to heal him! I swear on my martial spirit!"

The hammer in Tang Hao's hand stopped in mid-air.

He knew, of course, that Tang San was crippled. His dantian was shattered, his meridians severed; even a god might not be able to save him. But he needed a way out, a reason to keep his son alive.

"Shrek..."

Tang Hao narrowed his eyes and remained silent for a moment.

That academy that only accepts monsters, that lousy school run by that old devil Flander, supposedly has a healing-specialized Soul Master in charge. Although the chances of curing the mistress are slim to none, what if...?

More importantly, Xiao Gang was there too.

He then slowly sheathed the Clear Sky Hammer, and the terrifying killing intent around him receded like a tide. The air became breathable again, and the suffocating oppressive feeling disappeared.

"Remember what you said."

Tang Hao turned around, his back to Zhao Wuji, and his voice regained its indifference and vicissitudes.

"You can take the person with you. But if they can't be cured..."

He didn't finish his sentence, but the unspoken meaning sent a chill down Zhao Wuji's spine. He could almost see the giant hammer hanging above his head, ready to fall at any moment.

"Yes, yes, yes! I'll definitely cure it! I'll definitely cure it!"

Zhao Wuji scrambled out of the wall, ignoring his still-bleeding wounds, and rushed into the house. He first hoisted the still unconscious Yu Xiaogang onto his back, then cautiously looked at Tang San.

"Um...Young Master Tang, shall I help you up?"