"Seventh Spirit Ability, Weapon Spirit True Body!"
The Seventh Elder held his breath, and a majestic crimson aura expanded outwards. A spirit seal engraved with the Haotian Hammer pattern rose, and the dual hammers, which had already closed in mid-air, vibrated with a hum. Amidst the intense roar, the iron chain bridge, shaken by the surging aura, shattered inch by inch. Black ripples spread across the giant Haotian Hammer, which had been imbued with the Weapon Spirit True Body.
"Boom—!"
The black and red hammer shadow surged towards him. Tang Sui's pupils contracted, and his third spirit ability erupted instantly, switching from a solid form to an ethereal one.
"Third Spirit Ability, Void Mask."
The sky was a place where shadows could not reach, and Tang Sui could not hide within the shadows.
Even with the void form activated, the unleashed spirit power was like a tidal wave. Beneath the immense surge, her spiritual sea was violently shaken. She was thrown back dozens of meters as if hitting a trampoline. It was only when four masks cleverly moved behind Tang Sui and used their demonic energy to stabilize her before she passed through Peak Jun's physical body that she was saved.
Otherwise, she feared she could have been sent flying for hundreds of meters.
"Boom—!"
Tang Yuehua and the others were also affected by the sudden burst of momentum.
She instinctively raised her hand to block the blizzard stirred up by the spirit power storm, preventing it from blinding her, but her heart was filled with anxiety.
The Seventh Elder's instinctive defensive measures had led him to use all his spirit power. Sui Sui was so close; she would likely bear the brunt of the impact...
"Sui Sui!"
Tang San, who had previously broken through the twin hammer strike unscathed and was standing diagonally on the cliff, also saw his expression change drastically. He tapped his foot and rushed out in concern, no longer concealing his ability to fly.
"Cough, cough!"
As the thick dust dissipated, Tang Sui, who had been hit despite activating her third spirit ability, coughed, covering her mouth. Bright red blood oozed from between her fingers. She had been forced back from her ethereal form to her physical one, clearly injured.
"Sui Sui, are you alright?" Tang San held Tang Sui, his hand on her back quietly channeling internal energy, even though he himself was quite depleted.
Upon seeing this, the Second Elder was first stunned, then frowned as he looked at the Seventh Elder, who seemed a bit bewildered that Tang San could also fly, his gaze carrying a hint of reproach.
"Seventh Brother."
Since the Second Elder had spoken, the muscles in the Seventh Elder's face twitched, but he stubbornly refused to retract his Weapon Spirit True Body. He yelled at Tang San, "Kid, since you can fly too, why didn't you use it from the start? Weren't you planning to trick me again!?"
Tang San: "..."
He took a deep breath and said calmly, "I didn't use it at the beginning because this duel was proposed by my sister and me. If both my sister and I could fly, yet we used an aerial combat strategy against you when you explicitly stated you were only using forty percent of your strength, that would be an unfair victory. We wouldn't have won honorably."
As he spoke, Tang San gently tightened his grip on Tang Sui. Tang Sui looked up at her brother, whose expression was not good, and coughed, indicating she was still unwell. Tang San then eased his grip and looked apologetically at Tang Sui.
Tang Sui lowered her hand, and her second deep purple thousand-year spirit ring lit up. Her voice was filled with a strong metallic taste and a slight hoarseness:
"Second Spirit Ability, Benevolent Face."
Black and red light flickered, and Tang Sui's pale face visibly regained its healthy rosy complexion. Her body, hunched over in pain, slowly straightened. It was not difficult to guess that Tang Sui's spirit ability was healing-related.
The Seventh Elder did not expect Tang Sui to have another trick up her sleeve. His face darkened, and he gripped the dual hammers, which had returned to his hands. Just as he raised his arm, his elder brother's displeased voice reached him.
"Seventh Brother," the Second Elder's stern eyes swept over the Seventh Elder, "If this continues, you might be the one at a disadvantage."
Then, looking at the siblings Tang San and Tang Sui with a kinder expression, he said, "You two come down now. Seventh Brother has lost this duel."
The Seventh Elder: "?"
He was unconvinced, "Who says I lost! One is a Spirit Emperor and the other is a Spirit King. How could I, a Titled Douluo, not be able to defeat them? I wasn't even using my full strength!"
The Second Elder saw things very clearly and looked meaningfully at Tang San and Tang Sui, who landed one after the other. "Setting aside the fact that you initially said you were only using forty percent of your strength, yet you've now used your full spirit power. The moment you agreed to let the siblings fight together, I believe you were already tricked by them."
"I!"
"And don't forget, Tang Sui's hundred-thousand-year spirit ability hasn't been used yet. I believe your sixth spirit ability isn't a support type, is it?" The Second Elder interrupted the Seventh Elder, his sharp gaze fixed on Tang Sui.
Tang Sui tilted her head slightly, neither confirming nor denying.
We're not close, why would I tell you?
The Seventh Elder's expression shifted several times. He finally sighed, turned his head, and said, "Fine, a bet is a bet. What I said earlier was a bit much; I retract it."
He maintained his last shred of stubbornness and did not apologize.
Tang Sui and Tang San's gazes swept over the Seventh Elder simultaneously. The former's eyes deepened. Although she was still somewhat dissatisfied with this "victory," they did not yet possess enough strength to have full say, and this was the best they could achieve for now.
The Second Elder nodded and turned to look at Tang Yuehua, who was beside Tang Xiao. "Yuehua, you can go prepare for the ancestral recognition ceremony. Everyone else, disperse and go cultivate."
The ancestral recognition ceremony only required the presence of a few elders and the Sect Master, and he had something to say to Tang Xiao.
The other direct disciples received the order. Although they wanted to stay and witness more, their reverence for the elders prevailed, and they left one after another.
Upon hearing the Second Elder's words, Tang Yuehua's face lit up with joy. She smiled and curtsied to the Second Elder and the others, "Yuehua thanks all the elders for your fulfillment."
The Second Elder shook his head, "It's not us who fulfilled it; they fulfilled it themselves. I have never seen such outstanding young people as this brother and sister. I only hope that they will not go astray in the future and waste their talent like their father."
Tang Xiao nodded, then raised another issue. "Elders, the Haotian Sect has been sealed for many years. Is it not time to lift the seal now?"
The Second Elder paused and looked meaningfully at Tang Xiao, their eyes meeting.
"Sect Master, what do you mean?"
Tang Xiao turned and looked at the treacherous mountain range shrouded in a vast sea of clouds, his gaze distant.
"Twenty years have passed since the Haotian Sect went into seclusion. Twenty years, and the continent has long forgotten the outstanding battle hammers and the majestic Haotian Sect. Haven't the elders also repeatedly proposed lifting the seal to me? I believe the time is now ripe."
Every time an elder painstakingly reached the Titled Douluo level, Tang Xiao would receive their suggestion to lift the Haotian Sect's seal.
But he had never agreed.
As Sect Master, his primary consideration was the sect's inheritance. He could not risk destroying the sect due to a momentary impulse.
By now, although the Haotian Sect had lost Tang Hao, with the addition of the five elders, they possessed six Titled Douluo.
The second-generation disciples had all matured.
Twenty years of patient cultivation, in Tang Xiao's opinion, had accumulated sufficient strength.
However, to his surprise, the elders, who had always been urging to lift the seal, fell into deep thought. Then, the Second Elder slowly shook his head, "No, it's not time yet."
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— Author's Notes —
Temporarily single updates for the next two days~ Saving up some drafts for the continuous small updates during the National Day holiday, heh heh~