Douluo: Qian Xunji's Joyful Life

Chapter 30: The Tang Clan's Wagering Method

Another hour passed. Bone Douluo jumped onto the stage and called out, "Tang Zhen! Come—by now you've surely recovered!"

"Sect Master!"

"Father!"

Compared to their jubilation after Yu Yuanzhen's defeat, the Clear Sky Clan's elders—Tang Hao, Tang Xiao, Tang Yuehua—were now brimming with worry. It was true Tang Zhen had returned to peak soul power, but the backlash from never having fully mastered the Great Sumeru Hammer had aggravated internal injuries he'd been suppressing ever since he fought Yu Yuanzhen.

"Don't wear such expressions. If Bone Douluo sees my condition, he'll know we've lost the advantage. The number-one sect your grandfather established must not fall while I hold the reins!" Tang Zhen rose from his seat, outwardly exuding strength even though he was struggling inside. He leaped onto the stage.

"Tang Zhen, let me see for myself how powerful the so-called world's top assault-type martial soul truly is!"

Beneath Bone Douluo's feet appeared two yellow, two purple, five black soul rings, churning with a dark and evil aura that enveloped him. Within that black fog, a massive bone dragon—dozens of meters long, formed of stark-white skeletal remains—emerged, flapping its wings. Its presence radiated intense malevolence.

Gazing at the bone dragon, Tang Zhen tested his own body and felt heavy concern. He knew well of Bone Douluo's formidable defenses; to defeat him, he'd need to go all out. Even if he somehow succeeded, Sword Douluo still waited. The fearsome reputation of the Seven Kill Sword had been forged over generations of Sword Douluo in the Chen family. Even if he could return to full soul power, his body wouldn't endure.

"Tang Zhen, if you won't attack, then I will!" Bone Douluo roared.

Tang Zhen halted him. "Bone Douluo, I've heard your defense is supposed to be unbreakable, that nothing can pierce it?"

"But of course!" Bone Douluo said proudly of his fortifications.

A faint, hardly discernible smile touched Tang Zhen's lips. "In that case, how about a wager? Let's see whether my Clear Sky Hammer can smash through your defense or not. You use no soul skills. I won't use mine, either. If I fail to break your defenses, I, Tang Zhen, will immediately concede and give up the position of the world's top sect!"

"Deal!" Bone Douluo agreed instantly, without a second thought—too fast for Ning Fengzhi to intervene.

"Bone Uncle!"

Ning Fengzhi stamped his cane in frustration.

Bibi Dong asked in confusion, "Fengzhi-gege, why are you sighing? If Bone Uncle's defense is so strong that even Sword Uncle can't break it, how could the Clear Sky Hammer—without soul skills—possibly smash through it?"

"Dong'er, you don't understand. The Clear Sky Clan has a secret technique called the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique, allowing each strike of the hammer to stack its force. Up to eighty-one consecutive strikes—if one built all the way up to eighty-one, the destructive force could be world-shattering!" Ning Fengzhi sighed heavily. "Bone Uncle was far too impulsive."

"If Bone Uncle loses, I'll still be here," Sword Douluo said matter-of-factly. "I won't be as reckless."

Qian Xunji, seeing how Bone Douluo readily agreed, felt once again that he'd overestimated the average intelligence of this continent. The "Tang Clan Wagering Method" was unstoppable, it seemed.

"Disorder Splitting Wind!"

Just as Ning Fengzhi had suspected, Tang Zhen refrained from using his Haotian Nine Absolutes, opting instead to unleash the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Technique. Just as if hammering iron, he struck the giant bone dragon repeatedly in the same area—one blow after another.

"Dong, dong, dong…"

Boom after boom resounded across Bone Douluo's body. With every hammer blow, the black glow around the Clear Sky Hammer intensified, soon enshrouding Tang Zhen entirely. Fierce gales whipped the stage, slicing at the walls like blades.

All at once, the metallic clashing noises ceased. The raging winds that had battered the arena now condensed into a tornado, with the bone dragon at its center. It was Tang Zhen who had stirred up that whirlwind. Over thirty consecutive hammer strikes landed on Bone Douluo, causing only a thin crack in his skeleton. Though Bone Douluo was still standing, Tang Zhen had suffered enormous recoil, further aggravating his old injuries.

So Tang Zhen stopped hammering the same spot and began stacking the Disorder Splitting Wind technique all the way to the "eighty-one" level. As the black light roiled around him, a draconic silhouette formed—a dragon's head, eyes, whiskers, horns, body, scales—all uncannily lifelike.

Sensing the power in that dragon-like aura, Bone Douluo, who prided himself on his defenses, suddenly felt panicked.

"Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer—Eighty-one Strikes!"

The draconic aura lunged at Bone Douluo with the hammer head for its open maw. In that instant, Bone Douluo felt the shadow of death. If he truly took this blow without soul skills, he'd die. The ninth ring at his feet blazed with light:

"Ninth Soul Skill: Bone Dragon Armor—Heavy Assault!"

Boom!

An earth-shattering blast hammered the arena floor a full five meters inward, nearly wrecking the entire stage. Energy ripples tore across the scene, forcing the entire audience to activate their martial souls for protection—even Qian Xunji.

When the flux of energy subsided, Bone Douluo's massive bone dragon form—wrapped in pitch-black armor from his ninth skill—had forcibly endured the eight-one blow of the Disorder Splitting Wind. Yet deep cracks marred its black plating; the defense had nearly failed.

"Puh!"

Tang Zhen threw his head back and spurted blood as his internal injuries spiraled out of control. He toppled to the ground, hair turning white in the blink of an eye.

"Father!"

"Sect Master!"

Tang Xiao and Tang Hao rushed onto the stage, catching Tang Zhen. One healing soul skill after another was poured onto him like water. The entire Clear Sky Clan glared at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, and their second elder demanded angrily, "Bone Douluo, you agreed not to use soul skills to test whether our sect master's hammer could break your defense. Why did you break your promise and unleash a skill?"

Bone Douluo didn't answer right away. He obviously couldn't admit that he would've died otherwise—too humiliating. He also knew he'd broken his word, so he murmured, "I lost this round," and returned to the stands.

The crowd fell silent. Of the four Titled Douluo who had fought—Tang Zhen with grievous internal damage, Yu Yuanzhen having lost to Bone Douluo, plus the earlier defeat to Tang Zhen himself—Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's place as third among the top three was set in stone. Only Sword Douluo remained fresh, having yet to fight, and it seemed inevitable now that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan would claim the number-one title of this re-selection.

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