Douluo Continent: Peerless God General, starting by deceiving Qian Renxue

Chapter 114 Sheng Tanghao Threatens to Make Deal Promises

"Sixth Soul Skill, Ice Prison!"

"The Nine Absolute Techniques of Haotian—The Zhen Character Absolute Technique!"

When Lan Xue unleashes her Ice Prison, a wide-range control skill, anyone hit will be instantly frozen. However, the control effect will be greatly reduced against those whose overall strength is higher than hers.

If the opponent has a skill that counters control skills, the effect will be even worse.

Unfortunately, the Haotian Nine Absolutes is a special hammer technique that contains various methods of exerting force. Tang Hao has studied this hammer technique for many years and has long since reached the point where he can exert force from his entire body without even using the Haotian Hammer.

At this moment, both of them had already activated their weapon spirit true forms. Tang Hao and the Haotian Hammer had almost merged into one, making the power of the Haotian Nine Absolutes several times stronger.

With a shudder of his muscles, he shattered all of Lan Xue's icy defenses.

Unable to use her ultimate ice technique, she couldn't stop Tang Hao's movements at all.

"Haotian Nine Absolutes - Penetrating Word Absolute!" Tang Hao, freed from his restraints, slammed down with his hammer. Lan Xue raised her halberd to block. The difference in strength between the two was due to the physical disparity between a single soul bone and the six soul bones in the body. The moment the Haotian hammer struck the Xuanbing halberd, the halberd's shaft was almost bent.

Lan Xue knelt on the ground, her hands split open and bleeding from the mouth.

The "penetration" technique allows the power of the Haotian Hammer to penetrate into the opponent's body, shattering their internal organs.

Fortunately, Lan Xue used her soul power to protect her internal organs; otherwise, she would have surely died from ruptured organs.

"No, if this continues, Her Majesty Xuanbing will die at Tang Hao's hands. We can't worry about that anymore. Soul Bone Skill—Medusa's Gaze!" Dugu Bo could no longer seize any more opportunities; he had to save Lan Xue.

"Hmph, a mere Medusa's gaze. What?" Tang Hao originally didn't take Medusa's gaze seriously. He believed that with Dugu Bo's soul power, he couldn't possibly break through his Haotian Protection.

Unexpectedly, when the grayish-white light swept over, Tang Hao's Haotian Black Shield, which had left his body, was instantly turned into stone.

Tang Hao quickly abandoned Lan Xue and retreated continuously, while simultaneously charging up his Clear Sky Hammer.

"The Nine Absolute Techniques of Haotian—The Word-Breaking Absolute Technique!"

When he had charged up to his limit, Tang Hao swung his hammer backhand and struck again. This move, known as the "Breaking Technique," was capable of breaking through other techniques. It combined the strength of the opponent's stance with the force of the blow and broke through with lightning speed.

Moreover, Tang Hao used all his strength in this attack, without holding back in the slightest.

It can even be seen that he is missing two spirit rings, which were obviously destroyed by him. Although they are only the two worst hundred-year spirit rings, their boost to himself should not be underestimated.

It can be said that, without using the Great Sumeru Hammer, the "Break" attack he unleashed at this moment was already one of his most powerful strikes.

It's even stronger than many of his spirit ring skills.

Tang Hao was someone who rarely used soul skills. Although he possessed a 100,000-year soul ring, this 100,000-year soul ring from the Blue Silver Emperor was not very compatible with his Clear Sky Hammer, and he did not obtain any soul skills with super strong attack power. Therefore, his methods of fighting enemies have always been Chaotic Cloak, Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, Ring Explosion, and Great Sumeru Hammer.

"boom!"

The hammer and the light emanating from Medusa's gaze intersected, and Tang Hao and Dugu Bo were simultaneously blasted away by their opponent's power.

Dugu Bo staggered back seven steps, spitting out blood.

Tang Hao was also in bad shape. Although he was not seriously injured, one side of the Clear Sky Hammer was clearly petrified.

Perhaps Tang Hao can use his powerful soul power to slowly expel Dugu Bo's soul power and repair the Clear Sky Hammer, but at this moment, he will inevitably be put on the defensive.

The Haotian Hammer is a double-sided hammer, and the Haotian Nine Absolutes were created based on the characteristics of the Haotian Hammer. Now that one side is useless, not only has the power of the Haotian Hammer itself been greatly reduced, but the use of the Haotian Nine Absolutes will also be greatly restricted.

Lan Xue seized the opportunity and charged forward again, leaving Tang Hao with no choice but to defend himself with a single-sided hammer.

At this moment, the situation began to gradually reverse, with Lan Xue slowly gaining the upper hand, and Tang Hao's hidden injury was about to flare up.

The two fought faster and faster, and even Dugu Bo, a titled Douluo, could only see the afterimages of the hammer and halberd.

Finally, Lan Xue slashed open Tang Hao's chest with her halberd, while Tang Hao's heavy hammer slammed into Lan Xue's shoulder.

With a loud bang, the two were blown apart at the same time.

Lan Xue clutched her shoulder, which had become limp due to the broken bone, and swayed slightly. This injury was not fatal for a Title Douluo; it would heal in time.

"Tang Hao, you've lost!"

The outcome of this battle is already decided. Tang Hao's injuries are clearly much more severe than hers. Even if she can't use her full power, if she can't even defeat a Clear Sky Hammer with half its power, she might as well give up.

In the final clash, her chilling energy had penetrated Tang Hao's body. Although she had also suffered injuries to her meridians and broken several bones from the impact of the Clear Sky Hammer, she didn't care at all.

Suddenly, a chill emanated from Lan Xue's entire body, but the next moment, she stood up as if nothing had happened.

"Crazy woman!" Tang Hao was immediately horrified. This crazy woman actually used the power of ice to freeze and reconnect her severed meridians and bones, and even used the freezing air to reduce her pain. For a short period of time, she could still exert her strongest combat power.

On the other hand, not only had Lan Xue already frozen him with her cold air, but Dugu Bo's Medusa was also staring at the half-petrified Haotian Hammer, and his original internal injuries had completely flared up. At this moment, he had no strength left to fight.

Tang Hao cursed the crazy woman in his heart. He felt that he was crazy enough in a fight, but this woman was even crazier. It was hard to imagine whether Nan Tianchen had a masochistic tendency to marry such a woman.

"Heh, good, very good. I never thought that Qian Xunji and Chrysanthemum Ghost couldn't do anything to me back then, but today I'm injured like this by the two of you." Tang Hao stroked the huge wound on his chest, his palm stained with blood, and laughed angrily. "Dugu Bo, your Medusa's Gaze attack just now was comparable to a 100,000-year soul skill. Lan Xue, your level has also increased to level 95 in such a short time. It seems you two have had some kind of extraordinary encounter these past years!"

Tang Hao knew that he had completely lost this battle, not because he was weak, but because he was suffering from hidden injuries and lacked intelligence.

The reason he dared to be so arrogant as to fight two people at once was because he believed that Lan Xue and Dugu Bo were among the weaker ones in the Title Douluo category.

Dugu Bo has always been known as the weakest in one-on-one combat among the titled Douluo, with his soul power stuck at level 91 for many years. Tang Hao estimated that he could knock him away with one blow, but unexpectedly, this guy not only has a soul power of level 93, but also possesses a soul skill of level 100,000 years.

Tang Hao really wanted to ask, "You clearly have such ability, so how did you lose to Chrysanthemum Pass back then? Were you holding back before, or did you just start doing it recently?"

As for Lan Xue, if Dugu Bo had opened it, then Lan Xue hadn't closed it at all. After reaching level 70, her soul power started to go berserk. A few years ago, she broke through the title. He originally thought she would be at most level 91 or 92, but she turned out to be a Super Douluo. It's hard to imagine how strong she would be now if he hadn't crippled her for seven or eight years back then.

In fact, Lan Xue knew that her victory today was not honorable, but today was not a fair battle between soul masters, but a decisive battle to win a 100,000-year-old soul beast. So for her son, she could not care about that anymore.

"Lan Xue, don't be so arrogant. Before I came here, I already sent people to the Haotian Sect. If I die here today, my elder brother will immediately know that you killed me!" Tang Hao threatened through gritted teeth. "I did lose today's battle, but don't think I'll just close my eyes and wait to die. I'm confident I can take you all down with me!"

He could admit defeat, but he wouldn't wait to die. Otherwise, Lan Xue would definitely kill his son who lived nearby in order to eliminate any future threats.

His son, Tang San, was his only hope of defeating the Spirit Hall; he absolutely could not be harmed.

For this reason, he didn't hesitate to lie and deceive people, even bringing up the Haotian Sect.

"Lan Xue, I hope you've thought this through. I'm not the same person I was back then. When I fought you, my Soul Ring Detonation Technique was still in its early stages, so I couldn't detonate too many Soul Rings. But now, I can detonate all nine at once. Back then, Qian Xunji died under my Great Sumeru Hammer, which detonated his 100,000-year Soul Ring. Do you think you'll be luckier than Qian Xunji?" Tang Hao said coldly, his aura rising even higher, and the blood-red 100,000-year Soul Ring trembled slightly.

"Total destruction? Ring explosion? With all these hidden injuries on your body?" Dugu Bo said disdainfully. As a titled Douluo, he and Lan Xue had already discovered Tang Hao's hidden injuries after fighting for so long.

He felt that Tang Hao was just bluffing at this moment.

"Haha, of course that wouldn't work under normal circumstances, but do you know what kind of spirit beast my 100,000-year spirit ring came from? I'll tell you today." Tang Hao recounted his past with Ah Yin.

His ninth ring is the 100,000-year-old Blue Silver Emperor.

After listening to Tang Hao's grievances with the Spirit Hall, Lan Xue suddenly realized, "So that's how it is. Your wife is also a 100,000-year-old spirit beast in human form. So, you kept that rabbit not for her 100,000-year-old spirit ring and spirit bone, but because you hoped she and your son could get married?"

Tang Hao nodded. "That's right. I don't want the tragedy that happened to me and Ah Yin to be repeated with Tang San and Xiao Wu. Xuanbing Douluo and Du Douluo, please understand my determination as a father and let Xiao Wu go. Tang Hao will be extremely grateful!"

Lan Xue has a simple and honest personality, and she was actually somewhat moved by Tang Hao's story.

But the ruthless Dugu Bo didn't care. He felt it was none of his business. He hadn't killed the Blue Silver Emperor. His current target was the rabbit.

You, Tang Hao, are already showing off enough by getting a 100,000-year soul ring, but does that mean all 100,000-year-old soul beasts in the world have to belong to your family?

Hunting soul beasts is a rule on the continent. As long as it is not indiscriminate killing, any soul master has the right to hunt soul beasts.

Even if that spirit beast is your wife or daughter-in-law, it doesn't matter.

Are you sure that all the soul beasts you hunted back then were all alone? What if those soul beasts had wives and children? I didn't see you showing any mercy then.

Dugu Bo was about to continue his attack when Lan Xue stopped him and whispered, "Mr. Dugu, please wait. Tang Hao might still have a trump card. The Blue Silver Emperor is the most resilient among plant-type soul beasts. This kind of soul beast may not be able to give Tang Hao any super-powerful attack skills, but it might have some way to restore his vitality in a short time. If he can really explode all nine rings at once, even if he can only unleash one strike, even if we can kill him, I can't guarantee that we ourselves will be safe."

Lan Xue had experienced the power of exploding rings firsthand. Back then, Tang Hao had only exploded two rings, yet the increase was already so great. If all nine rings exploded at once, she was truly unsure of what to do.

"Furthermore, he just said that he had sent someone to inform the Haotian Sect before coming to find us. Although this is not something to be believed, we still have to be on guard. I heard that the elders of the Haotian Sect are very unfriendly to Tang Hao because of what happened back then. But the deep brotherhood between Tang Xiao and Tang Hao is known throughout the continent. If he finds out that Tang Hao died at our hands, he will definitely take revenge on us at all costs. We have no grudge against Tang Hao. What we are fighting for is just that 100,000-year-old soul beast. There is no need to provoke such a great enemy as the Haotian Sect."

Upon hearing this, Dugu Bo nodded and said to Tang Hao, "Tang Hao, we can let you go, and we can let that little rabbit go too. However, as the victors, you must give us sufficient compensation as an exchange for our lives. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

"What do you want?" Tang Hao nodded. He understood that it was unlikely that these two Title Douluos would leave empty-handed.

"Hehe, it's very simple. That little rabbit has two treasures: a 100,000-year soul ring and a soul bone. Although my granddaughter and Xiao Fei can't absorb the soul ring for the time being, we can simply have Her Majesty Xuanbing freeze it. Neither treasure will be wasted. So, if you want us to let her go, you have to give us two treasures in return. First, we want the 100,000-year Blue Silver Emperor Soul Bone in your possession. You, Tang Hao, already have a full soul bone, so when your wife sacrificed herself to you, she definitely couldn't absorb this 100,000-year soul bone. You don't need to deny that; you can't hide it from me. Second, I want the Soul Ring Detonation Secret Technique of your Haotian Sect," Dugu Bo laughed.

This is also Tang Hao's own fault. Who told you to describe the things your wife sacrificed as so powerful, and to describe your own exploding rings as so impressive?

Serves you right for showing off. Now you've attracted attention.

"What?" Tang Hao was shocked. This damned old poisoner was actually making outrageous demands. After hearing his and Ah Yin's tragic story, wasn't this guy even a little bit moved? He really is a person who only cares about interests and has no feelings. He actually wants Ah Yin's soul bone. He's really asking for death. If it weren't for his hidden injury, he would have killed this old poisoner.

There's also the Ring Explosion technique, a secret method that the Haotian Sect never reveals to outsiders. Even within the sect, only disciples who are granted the title of Haotian Douluo are qualified to learn it. He would rather die than hand it over.

"Don't get angry yet. Let me finish. No matter how precious your wife's soul bone is, it's still just an inanimate object. Isn't it worth exchanging it for your daughter-in-law's life? Even if you don't want that little rabbit as your daughter-in-law one day and kill her to make her soul bone, it's still a one-for-one exchange. You won't lose out. Don't talk to me about your deep love as husband and wife. I'm a snake, a cold-blooded animal."

"Furthermore, I have heard about your deeds as Haotian Douluo. I do not believe that you, Tang Hao, would treat soul beasts like humans just because of the Blue Silver Emperor. In your eyes, only the Blue Silver Emperor and the Soft Bone Rabbit are special, because one is your wife and the other is your daughter-in-law."

"Mr. Dugu is right, Tang Hao. I remember when I first fought you, you only had two sect-inherited soul bones. You were around level 70 then. But when you fought Qian Xunji at level 80, you had six soul bones all over your body. And since then, you've been training outside. It's unlikely that you only had sect-inherited soul bones, right? I'm really curious, how did you manage to get four soul bones in one go from level 70 to level 80, with only one soul ring difference? And they all happened to be parts of your body you didn't have before?" Lan Xue immediately understood because of Dugu Bo's words. She was almost truly moved by Tang Hao's story.

"You're not going to tell me you picked up your soul bones, cheated, or stole them, are you? Tell me, how many soul beasts have you indiscriminately killed? Did you ever care about your wife's feelings back then?"

The only method Lan Xue could think of was to hunt down soul beasts on a large scale.

In fact, all the members of the Tang family had the same idea: it was evil for others to kill their family's soul beasts, but it was perfectly justified for them to kill soul beasts at will. At worst, they would just label the soul beasts they wanted to kill as evil.

Tang Hao clenched his fists. He didn't answer because he knew it would be useless to answer. Today, he could only save one of Ah Yin's soul bone and Xiao Wu's life.

"I'm handing over Ah Yin's soul bone to you!" Tang Hao's voice was icy. He chose Xiao Wu first, since a life lost is truly lost, but a soul bone can be retrieved. It goes without saying that Lan Xue and the others wanted this soul bone for Nan Feihuang. Once he recovered from his injuries, he could kill Nan Feihuang in the future and then have it reappear.

"However, I cannot give you the secret technique of exploding rings under any other condition."

Tang Hao's bottom line is the Clear Sky Sect.

"Tang Hao, for the 'Exploding Ring' technique, you just need to say the incantation. We don't need the mental cultivation method. Is that alright?" Dugu Bo compromised, only asking for the incantation and not the mental cultivation method.

"Just the incantation?" Tang Hao was a little puzzled. What use was that? The incantation was just a summary of the steps for cultivating and using the Ring-Breaking Secret Technique.

However, how to utilize soul power and exert force in each step requires mental techniques.

It can be said that without the mental techniques, the verbal formulas are completely useless.

Dugu Bo confirmed, "Yes, as long as we have the incantation, we can try to derive the mental cultivation method ourselves. If we can derive it, that's our skill. If we can't, Tang Hao, you won't lose out."

Tang Hao considered it for a moment. The Exploding Ring and the Great Sumeru Hammer were both supreme techniques of the Haotian Sect. It was absolutely impossible to deduce the mental cultivation method on one's own just by relying on the incantation. Not to mention Lan Xue and Dugu Bo, even if Qian Daoliu and Poseidon worked together to deduce it, it would not be possible.

"Very well, then I will teach you the incantation. After this deal is done, neither of you are allowed to lay a hand on Xiao Wu again, nor are you allowed to plot against her with any schemes or tricks." Tang Hao made the final decision. For his son's sake, this act of betraying the Haotian Sect was not excessive and had not crossed his bottom line.

Dugu Bo was indeed a shrewd old man; he accurately grasped the key to why Tang Hao would agree.

He agreed, since he could take the soul bone back if given one.

The formula is given, but without the mental technique, it's useless, so it's acceptable to agree.

I'm afraid that when Tang Hao thinks about it later, he'll feel like he didn't lose out, getting two people for nothing.

Unfortunately, once the soul bone is in Nan Feihuang's hands, he will never be able to get it back in this lifetime. As for the cultivation method, have you heard of the Taoist Wuxiang Gong? It is mentioned in the Dunjia Tianshu. It can simulate the opponent's true energy and use the opponent's moves. Dugu Bo heard Nan Feihuang mention it.

If Nan Feihuang knew the incantation for the ring-exploding technique, he would be able to instantly simulate Tang Hao's ring-exploding secret method and deduce the entire set of mental techniques on his own when he fought Tang Hao again in the future.

Tang Hao first handed the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone to Lan Xue. He usually kept this soul bone in the cave where he planted Ah Yin, and only carried it with him when he went on long trips, so as to prevent someone from sneaking in and stealing it. Fortunately, he brought it with him, otherwise Lan Xue and Dugu Bo would not have given him time to go and get it before coming back.

They only believe in immediate benefits, not empty promises.

Then Tang Hao told Dugu Bo the incantation. He knew that the two people in front of him were people who kept their promises. Since they had promised not to touch Xiao Wu, they would definitely keep their word.

Besides, at this moment, he had little power to resist except to believe them. Of all the years he had lived, today was the most frustrating.

(End of this chapter)