"Why?!"
"Mother isn't your property! Why should she go back to that cave?!"
Seeing Tang Hao's incorrigible stubbornness, Tang San could no longer suppress his anger. Clutching his injured chest where the impact had bruised him, he looked up at Tang Hao and questioned him fiercely.
"Little San, I'm your father! We're family!"
Faced with Tang San's rebuke, Tang Hao's eyes were filled with disbelief. His son, whom he had raised, would choose to believe an outsider over him, how could he accept this?
However, Tang San remained unmoved by Tang Hao's appeal to family ties.
Although Tang Hao was his biological father, he hadn't fulfilled his responsibilities as one. Instead, he had slapped him in the name of fatherhood, injured him for protecting his teacher, and even planned to imprison his mother in that dark cave again.
In comparison, his Master was more like a true father.
Lin Mu not only taught him cultivation but also took care of his daily needs, giving him unprecedented warmth and guidance. Although there was no blood relation, his Master's actions spoke louder than Tang Hao's blood.
"Mother gave her life for us, yet you show no regard for her feelings or her growth, insisting on placing her in that wretched place!"
Tang San's eyes blazed with fury as he pointed at Tang Hao, shouting, "How can you be so selfish?!"
Tang Hao froze, his expression becoming dazed.
He had already lost his wife, and now even his son didn't understand him. Wasn't he doing this for the sake of the whole family's safety? Anyway, Ah Yin had already become a sprig of Blue Silver Grass; what difference would a little more darkness make?
Besides, hadn't he suffered enough?
After a moment, Tang Hao took a deep breath, controlling his emotions, and said in a low voice, "Little San, you're still young and don't understand your father's good intentions. I'm doing all this to protect her while I avenge myself against Spirit Hall!"
"Don't change the subject! These are all useless excuses!"
Tang San stared straight at Tang Hao, pressing him relentlessly. "Just because you want revenge, you're abandoning mother in that wretched place? If that's the cost, you might as well not take revenge at all!"
"PAH!"
Hearing this disrespect, Tang Hao's eyes widened, and he angrily slapped Tang San hard across the cheek again.
He had been living in a daze for so many years because he lacked the ability to avenge himself against Spirit Hall. Now that he finally had hope of revenge, he was determined to make Spirit Hall taste his pain. How dare his son question his resolve?
"Tang Hao!"
Seeing his disciple slapped by Tang Hao yet again, Lin Mu was completely enraged. He immediately activated his Nava Flame Armor, unleashing a Molten Hellfire Fist, directly at Tang Hao.
Tang Hao didn't hesitate, throwing a punch in return.
"BOOM!!"
With a deafening roar, the impact cracked the ground beneath them.
The next moment, Tang Hao was knocked back several steps, sliding across the dirt, while Lin Mu remained unmoved. In terms of sheer physical strength and stability, Lin Mu clearly had the upper hand over the injured Tang Hao.
"This power..."
Tang Hao, who had been knocked back, was shocked. Although Lin Mu had used his martial soul armor, it was enough to show how terrifying his base strength was. No wonder he was able to escape unscathed from the Supreme Pontiff's Palace.
"Stop fighting!"
Just as the two were about to attack again, Tang San quickly stepped in between them.
Under the healing of the Blue Silver Emperor's right leg bone, his internal injuries had basically recovered. As for Tang Hao's slap just now, he could have dodged it with his new speed, but he ultimately took it to prove a point.
Seeing Tang San standing in front of Lin Mu to protect him again, Tang Hao felt like vomiting blood. 'If I had known this would happen, I shouldn't have raised him...'
Having learned from the previous experience, Tang Hao had no choice but to stop his punch mid-air. He said coldly, "Little San, since you think he can protect Ah Yin better than me, then let him fight me. Whoever wins gets to decide where she stays."
Hearing this, Tang San frowned immediately. 'Wasn't this using Mother as a gambling chip?'
But Tang Hao insisted on taking his mother back to that dark and damp cave. Tang San absolutely refused to agree to it.
After all, the Yin-Yang Well of Ice and Fire was infinitely more suitable for his mother than the original place; only there was hope for her resurrection.
But given Tang Hao's stubborn personality, it seemed he had no better option than to agree to the bet to settle this once and for all.
After pondering for a moment, Tang San looked up at Lin Mu and asked, "Master, what do you think?"
"I think it's fine. I also want to test the Clear Sky Douluo's abilities."
Lin Mu readily agreed. Tang Hao had bullied his disciple time and time again; how could he, as his Master, stand idly by?
"Relying on a little strength, you dare to challenge a senior? You're really young and arrogant."
Seeing Lin Mu's confidence, Tang Hao snorted coldly, his tone undisguisedly mocking.
Lin Mu smiled dismissively, too lazy to argue with Tang Hao.
If he couldn't even handle Tang Hao, who was suffering from multiple hidden injuries and missing a limb's worth of bone power, how could he dare to go to Spirit City alone?
"To be fair, I have a relatively reasonable suggestion for the rules."
After a pause, a sly glint appeared in Tang San's eyes as he continued, "Neither side can use their eighth or ninth soul skills. Whoever is most seriously injured within half an hour loses."
Clearly, this method of competition was more advantageous to Lin Mu. Lin Mu was an 8-ring Soul Douluo, while Tang Hao was a 9-ring Titled Douluo. Banning the 8th and 9th skills stripped Tang Hao of his biggest advantage while only taking one ring from Lin Mu.
Between Lin Mu and Tang Hao, Tang San naturally hoped his Master would win, so his mother wouldn't have to return to the cave.
Deep down, he harbored another thought: 'Rather than letting Mother suffer with Father, it would be better for Master to take care of her.'
"Little San... you're actually favoring an outsider!"
Tang Hao said, his face full of displeasure.
As a Titled Douluo, he had two spirit rings banned, while Lin Mu, as a Soul Douluo, only had one spirit ring banned. It was blatant bias.
"I'm doing all this for Mother's sake," Tang San said calmly.
Hearing this, Tang Hao was speechless and could only agree to the suggestion. Although he couldn't use his eighth and ninth spirit skills, he remained confident.
The Clear Sky Hammer's greatest strength wasn't in its spirit power or flashy soul skills, but in the Clear Sky Sect's ultimate technique and raw power!
Next, the three flew out of the city together, soon arriving at a secluded forest dozens of kilometers outside Heaven Dou City.
"Kid, take this hammer blow!"
Without a word of warning, Tang Hao immediately swung the Clear Sky Hammer at Lin Mu. Compared to his previous bare-handed attack, this strike was at least several times more powerful.
Although the Clear Sky Hammer's cutting power wasn't as strong as the Seven Kill Sword, its blunt force was comparable, and its explosive power was much greater.
Facing the massive black hammer crashing down from the sky, Lin Mu remained calm. He quickly switched back to the Nava Flame Armor, wielding the Molten Scale Blade to slash upward at it.
"CLANG!!"
With a heavy metallic sound, Lin Mu and Tang Hao each retreated a distance from the shockwave.
Immediately afterward, Tang Hao decisively used the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Method, unleashing several consecutive blows at Lin Mu, each blow gathering momentum and becoming more powerful than the last.
Feeling the increasingly terrifying power, Lin Mu began to struggle in a direct clash.
Previously, his strength had subtly gained the upper hand, but with the stacking power of the Disorder Splitting Wind Hammer Method, the force of the Clear Sky Hammer grew exponentially.
At this rate, after a dozen more blows, he would be unable to withstand it head-on.
Therefore, Lin Mu decisively switched to the Hurricane Armor, instantly dodging out of the Clear Sky Hammer's attack range with blinding speed.