The two figures darted away from Vast Sea City, one chasing, one fleeing. Tang Hao was in agony, clutching his right hand.
"When did that old venomous bastard get this strong? His poison even stirred up the hidden injuries I got fighting the Spirit Hall back then…"
As he fled and cursed inwardly, Dugu Bo was already closing in from behind, barely fifty meters away.
"Fourth Spirit Skill: Venomous Mirage."
A flood of black miasma poured from Dugu Bo's body. Everywhere it spread, plants shriveled and died, animals scattered in terror, and the poisonous fog surged forward, corroding everything in its path as it closed in on Tang Hao.
Seeing this, Tang Hao's fury erupted.
"I was planning to finish you off somewhere deserted, but since you're so hell-bent on killing me, old man, then I'll bury you here instead!"
"Ninth Spirit Skill: Healing Hammer!"
The red Clear Sky Hammer flared with a soft, vivid green light. This was one of the two hundred-thousand-year spirit skills he had gained from Ah Yin's sacrifice, a skill that could heal any wound.
The poison inside him was instantly cleansed. Under the power of the skill, the Clear Sky Hammer doubled in size. Tang Hao halted in midair, spun, and charged straight at Dugu Bo.
But Dugu Bo, already transformed into his Martial Spirit True Form, showed no fear. His body elongated into a ten-meter-long Ink Venom Dragon, brimming with an oppressive draconic might, and he lunged at Tang Hao.
Boom!
The clash of two Titled Douluo unleashed a terrifying shockwave. Within five hundred meters, every tree, every beast was obliterated. Even several small peaks shattered under the force.
Both were knocked back at nearly the same moment. The venom dragon dissipated, and Dugu Bo clutched his chest, blood trickling from his lips.
He sneered at Tang Hao across the ruined ground.
"Clear Sky Douluo, you've clearly lost the edge you once had. Did you really think my poison couldn't harm you?"
Tang Hao was panting heavily. The arrogance he once carried had evaporated. Only now, after withstanding Dugu Bo's strike, did he realize the old man's spirit power had broken through to Rank 95, already brushing the threshold of Rank 96.
What's more, his venom made his strength comparable to a true Rank 96 Super Douluo. Tang Hao, still burdened with hidden injuries, was no match for him in a head-on clash.
He looked down at his hands. Even with Ah Yin's hundred-thousand-year healing skill, he couldn't suppress the poison seeping into him from Dugu Bo's True Form.
"Old venomous bastard… if you die under my Clear Sky secret technique, you should count it an honor."
Ignoring the poison ravaging his body, Tang Hao summoned all nine of his spirit rings. His hundred-thousand-year red ring suddenly exploded with a deafening crack, dissolving into a vast surge of scarlet energy that poured into him and the Clear Sky Hammer. Immediately after, his eighth and seventh rings detonated as well. The power of three rings fueled him, sending his aura skyrocketing.
But the backlash came swiftly: Tang Hao's body spasmed, blood gushed from his mouth, and his face twisted with pain.
"Three rings… that's my limit. But it's more than enough to send you to hell!"
Dugu Bo's eyes widened. He had never seen Tang Hao use this "ring detonation" technique. Shocked but unyielding, he countered with a roar:
"Venom Dragon Domain!"
The moment the domain unfolded, life within a full kilometer vanished. Even the most resilient plants, buried a hundred meters underground, withered and died. A deluge of black, liquid venom surged like a tidal wave, sweeping toward Tang Hao.
Dugu Bo merged into the venom, his Ink Venom Dragon form swimming within the toxic flood as he struck.
This was his evolved domain skill, born from his Martial Spirit's transformation. It spared no one, friend or foe. Everything inside was doomed to die. His venom wasn't ordinary poison but distilled from the Venom Dragon Pearl at his core, his ultimate toxin. Even a fifty-thousand-year-old Black Tortoise shell, famed for its impregnable defense, would corrode instantly.
That was why he almost never unleashed this power, not unless he wanted mass slaughter.
"Perfect. Come on then!"
Tang Hao knew the only way to fight a domain was brute force. His detonated rings gave him absolute confidence—he would smash through anyone, even a Rank 98 Douluo, with sheer force.
His Clear Sky Hammer swelled into a colossal phantom hammer, thirty meters long, crashing down on the venom tide.
Boom!
The mighty strike landed, but it felt like slamming into a sponge. Venom sprayed everywhere. A few drops splashed onto Tang Hao's thigh, instantly eating through his pants and burning holes straight into his flesh, exposing a right leg spirit bone etched with eerie green patterns.
As the venom splashed toward him again, Tang Hao quickly activated his torso bone skill. A golden shield of energy wrapped around him like an invulnerable barrier.
The venom tide ebbed, and Dugu Bo's domain slowly dissipated. Tang Hao seized the chance, using the last dregs of his spirit power to trigger his right arm bone. In three short flashes of space-jumping, he vanished from the battlefield.
Dugu Bo wasn't in much better shape. His domain could counter Tang Hao's explosive attacks, but it wasn't enough to completely suppress them. He too suffered heavy internal injuries.
He muttered coldly, "As expected, Tang Hao, direct heir of the Clear Sky Clan, isn't someone an average Rank 96 Douluo can compare to. If I reach Rank 96… no, 97, then Tang Hao will die for sure."
But he didn't chase. He was drained, battered, and besides, Tang Hao was already poisoned by his ultimate toxin. If he couldn't purge it in time, Tang Hao would either amputate his leg or let the venom eat into his heart and die.
Dugu Bo glanced around the ruined battlefield, then swiftly departed before opportunists could strike at him in his weakened state.
Moments later, a figure descended into the shattered arena: a golden-haired man clad in yellow-silver armor, his appearance strangely feminine and filled with an eerie softness.
"This scene… that familiar poison stench… it must have been a duel between that old venomous geezer and the man in black. If I strike now, when both are wounded and drained, I could finish Dugu Bo off. That would be perfect."
But then Chrysanthemum Douluo's gaze fell on a deep crater in the ground. The mark left there was unmistakable: the imprint of a hammer. His eyes narrowed, killing intent flashing.
"The Clear Sky Hammer? Tang Hao… so the man in black who dared to fight inside Vast Sea City was you all along."