"Do something for you?"
Hearing Tang Hao's request, Yun Chuan frowned slightly and asked cautiously, "Why don't you tell me exactly what it is first? If it goes against my principles, I'm not doing it."
"What I want is quite simple."
Tang Hao met his guarded gaze and didn't bother to conceal it — whether he told him now or after the fight made no difference. "I want you to teach my son how to cultivate the Blue Silver Grass."
"Cultivate Blue Silver Grass?"
Yun Chuan blinked. Off to the side, Flender and Zhao Wuji, who had already stepped far out of range, were also stunned. The implications of that statement were… not small.
"Blue Silver Grass… I see. That boy earlier — the one using all those strange weapons — he's your son, isn't he?" Yun Chuan gave a look of understanding and then said, "If it's just about giving guidance, that's no problem. Fine, I agree."
With that, Yun Chuan shifted into a fighting stance, battle spirit radiating from him. His voice rang clear: "And since we're here, I want to see exactly how big the gap between me and a Titled Douluo really is."
Tang Hao was nothing like Chrysanthemum Douluo. Chrysanthemum Douluo was an auxiliary type — in raw attack power, not particularly formidable. Tang Hao, with the Clear Sky Hammer, was the opposite — a pure attack-oriented powerhouse. Even without using any soul skills, his sheer physical strength, backed by his martial spirit, was enough to crush someone like Chrysanthemum Douluo head-on.
Titled Douluos weren't equal; a specialized attack master like Tang Hao was a completely different threat from an auxiliary one.
Against a strength-based opponent like Tang Hao, most would choose to control him from a distance. Yun Chuan, however, had no intention of keeping his distance — when would he get another chance to trade blows with a Titled Douluo like this?
The Supreme Clear Sky Hammer had four attributes: Strength, Lightning, Flame, and Light. Over the years, Yun Chuan had developed many techniques from the latter three — self-created abilities in this world's terms.
Only the Strength attribute had remained undeveloped, used merely for boosting his power and destructiveness. Now, he planned to use Tang Hao as a test subject: to see just how far that Strength could go, and to polish his close-combat skills.
And with Tang Hao needing a favor from him, he was sure the man wouldn't go all-out. In other words, this was an ideal sparring partner.
"First Soul Skill — Source of Strength!"
The first yellow ring among his seven soul rings lit up. Yun Chuan's previously lean frame swelled, muscles bulging as his height shot up to over two meters. The scholarly youth became a hulking powerhouse radiating raw strength.
This "first skill" was merely channeling the Strength attribute into his body, greatly enhancing his physical ability. The glowing soul ring was a visual trick — all his rings were invested into amplifying the Hammer's four attributes, not conventional skills.
Tang Hao's eyes narrowed in surprise. With that boost alone, this youth's physique was already comparable to a Titled Douluo's peak — even among the best of them. Still, raw physique alone couldn't win a battle among high-level Soul Masters, unless no skills were used.
"Second Soul Skill — Body of Lightning!"
The second ring lit. Arcs of electricity danced over Yun Chuan's skin, crackling in the air. His hair stood on end, lightning flaring around him — giving him the look of a Super Saiyan.
Watching from a distance, Flender and Zhao Wuji were dumbfounded.
"Isn't his martial spirit Blue Silver Grass? Since when can Blue Silver Grass do that? What kind of monster is this kid?"
Yun Chuan now had supercharged muscles from Strength, quicker reactions and speed from Lightning.
"Fight!"
BOOM!
The ground under his feet exploded in a crater over ten meters wide. Yun Chuan's body blurred into a streak of lightning, a fist the size of a sandpot swinging toward Tang Hao.
Tang Hao felt the gale-force wind from that punch and didn't dare be careless. He brought the massive hammer around to meet it head-on.
Even without skills, his physical strength, soul power augmentation, and the Hammer's weight made him confident in a raw power contest. He didn't believe a Soul Sage could overpower him.
The giant fist met the hammer's head.
BOOOOM!!!
It sounded like muffled thunder. Hurricane-force shockwaves ripped through the clearing, snapping and toppling nearby trees like toothpicks.
Flender and Zhao Wuji had to brace and release soul skills to stand their ground.
Tang Hao staggered back a step. Yun Chuan had actually beaten him in raw force.
His eyes flashed with surprise — not once in years had he been pushed back in a strength contest.
"Again!"
Yun Chuan, grinning in his hulking, lightning-wreathed form, launched a whipping kick toward Tang Hao's midsection.
The hammer in Tang Hao's hands spun, its haft catching and deflecting the blow away from his kidney. Strength Yun Chuan had in plenty, but not an unstoppable gap — skill and technique could still make up the difference.
From there, fists and hammer fell in a furious exchange.
Boom! Bam-bam! Rumble!
Every exchange shattered more of the surroundings. The ground split and cratered; an occasional boulder disintegrated under a stray blow.
Yun Chuan's strength exceeded Tang Hao's current self-limited state, but his technique was vastly inferior. His attacks were weathered or redirected, drawing counters from hammer or haft. But his tough, enhanced physique let him endure and keep coming.
Blow after blow, his fighting technique improved. What had started as wild, brute-force swings became more measured and tactical — a change helped along by Tang Hao subtly "feeding" him openings to exploit.
After all, he still planned to entrust this man with teaching Tang San — better to invest in sharpening his skills.
From the forest came sounds like two beasts tearing through the trees. By the time a stick of incense should have burned out, neither man had noticed; they were still fighting like madmen.
In that short span, Yun Chuan's close-combat skills had advanced enormously. A spar like this, against a true Titled Douluo, could never be matched by ordinary bouts.
Tang Hao, without question, was the best sparring partner Yun Chuan had ever had. The Clear Sky Hammer in his hands moved like an artist's brush, and Yun Chuan felt his understanding of strength and technique deepening with every exchange.
He had fought plenty of opponents before, but always overpowered them with level and custom techniques. This was the first time in this world he'd had a pure, exhilarating, flesh-on-flesh battle.
Today's gains were beyond compare.
(End of Chapter)