Douluo: I Am the Lord of Mysteries

After entering his focused state, Tang Wulin remained exceptionally clear-headed. He knew very well—if he backed off now, his left hammer wouldn't be able to reach the teacher.

So, he made a decisive move—letting go of the hammer mid-swing, allowing it to fly straight toward Wu Zhangkong.

Wu Zhangkong casually flicked his wooden sword sideways, striking the airborne hammer.

His Martial Soul was the sword, and his philosophy had always been "One sword to break all techniques". Regardless of what the opponent's attack was or who they were, he always relied solely on his sword.

But this time… he was caught off guard.

As sword and hammer collided, Wu Zhangkong felt an unexpectedly powerful force surge through his weapon. While not quite comparable to his strength, he'd only been using a small portion of his soul power—and hadn't activated his Martial Soul.

In an instant, he realized his wooden sword couldn't withstand the pressure.

Before he could channel more soul power into it, two more waves of force hit the wooden blade in rapid succession. At the same time, a familiar wave of dizziness suddenly struck him—Nan Fusheng had activated his soul skill again.

Crack!

The wooden sword shattered.

The heavy Thousand Refined Heavy Silver Hammer came crashing down, directly toward Wu Zhangkong's head.

"Teacher Wu!!"

Tang Wulin couldn't help but shout. The hammer was just about to crush his teacher's face.

Perhaps it was the instinctive reaction to a life-threatening situation, or perhaps it was Tang Wulin's shout that snapped him out of it—but Wu Zhangkong suddenly came to, just in time.

The moment he saw the heavy hammer about to strike his face, he exploded with power.

Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black—

Six soul rings flared into existence around Wu Zhangkong as his soul power surged.

The hammer's momentum halted instantly.

In a flash, a long sword appeared in his hand.

With a single swing, Wu Zhangkong deflected the incoming Heavy Silver Hammer.

It slammed into the ground, causing a thunderous boom that startled Xie Xie and Gu Yue, who had been preparing to assist.

They weren't just shocked that Tang Wulin had forced Teacher Wu to draw his Martial Soul,

They were even more stunned that the wooden sword had been broken—and most of all,

That Wu Zhangkong was a Soul Emperor with six rings!

"Stop. This match is over. You win." Wu Zhangkong raised a hand, halting Gu Yue and Xie Xie, who had been about to continue.

In truth, the moment he'd used his Martial Soul, he had already lost.

To be honest, Wu Zhangkong was a bit shaken.

After being hit by Nan Fusheng's soul skill earlier, he had kept his mental defenses on high alert.

With the spiritual power of a six-ring Soul Emperor, he believed Nan Fusheng's first soul skill—however strange—wouldn't be enough to seriously affect him if he stayed vigilant.

But he underestimated him.

When Tang Wulin's hammer broke his sword, Nan Fusheng seized the moment to use his soul skill again, successfully disrupting Wu Zhangkong's focus.

At the same time, the hammer had already reached his face.

Had he not instinctively reacted by releasing his Martial Soul, that hammer strike—

If not fatal, it would have at least landed him in the hospital for weeks.

And most importantly, his face would've been ruined.

And the cool, aloof teacher persona? Gone.

He'd never live it down if he were hospitalized by a bunch of kids.

"We won! We beat Teacher Wu!"

Xie Xie shouted in excitement. The others smiled too—after all, they had defeated a Soul Emperor!

Even if some trickery was involved, a win was a win.

But Wu Zhangkong, cold and proud as ever, silently took mental note.

Xie Xie had contributed the least, dragged Gu Yue down during the final assault, and still had the nerve to shout like a fool?

He would definitely… "take care" of Xie Xie in future training.

Xie Xie, unaware that he'd been marked, suddenly felt a chill run down his spine for no reason.

"Nan Fusheng, use your soul skill on me again," Wu Zhangkong said calmly.

"Okay."

Without hesitation, Nan Fusheng activated Steal once more.

As the glow of a ten-year soul ring flashed, Wu Zhangkong took a deep breath and focused all his concentration on resisting.

Still, that familiar haze crept in.

"Nan Fusheng, do you mind explaining your soul skill?" Wu Zhangkong asked.

Normally, asking about another Soul Master's ability was taboo unless they were close.

So he was respectful in his wording.

"Sure, Teacher Wu." Nan Fusheng nodded.

"My first soul skill is called Time Severance.

It allows me to cut off an opponent's consciousness for a short period of time.

The effect depends on the difference in spiritual power and cultivation between me and the target.

The stronger the target, the shorter the effect.

As long as the opponent is within my line of sight—or my spiritual lock-on—I can activate it."

"A skill that severs consciousness…?"

Wu Zhangkong frowned.

Even a Soul Master with just one ring could momentarily affect a Soul Emperor like him…

That meant Nan Fusheng's Martial Soul might be far more powerful than he imagined.

Worm of Time?

Is this… a time-type ability?

Just as he was deep in thought, his eyes shifted to the hammer that had broken his wooden sword.

"That hammer… something's not right with it."

Turning to Tang Wulin, who was retrieving his weapon, Wu Zhangkong narrowed his eyes.

Sure, Nan Fusheng's skill disrupted his focus, but Tang Wulin's hammer sealed the deal.

"This is a Heavy Silver Hammer," Tang Wulin explained.

"It's a bit heavier than normal forging hammers."

"How heavy, exactly?" Xie Xie, now fully curious, ran over and tried to grab it from Tang Wulin's hand.

THUD!

The moment the hammer left Tang Wulin's grip, it slammed into the ground with terrifying force,

dragging Xie Xie along with it and face-planting him into the dirt.

"Ow—! What the heck is this thing? Why is it so heavy!?"

Wu Zhangkong walked over, picked up the hammer, and felt its weight for himself.

No wonder his wooden sword broke—this thing was no toy.

"Each hammer weighs about 150 kilograms."

Wu Zhangkong nodded.

"Earlier, I felt three separate waves of power coming from it.

Was that your doing—or something else?"

Tang Wulin hesitated, then said,

"It's a natural effect of the metal.

After a Thousand Refinements, certain metals develop special passive effects.

This one has an ability called 'Echoing Hammer'."

Wu Zhangkong didn't know much about forging,

but even he could see that these hammers were incredibly valuable.

"You have talent in forging, then?

I looked into it—Mu Xi, the girl who challenged you earlier, is the daughter of the president of the Eastsea Forging Association."

"Yes, I'm a blacksmith."

Remembering how well he was treated at the association, Tang Wulin felt a bit more at ease.

Wu Zhangkong's expression turned thoughtful.

Then he raised a hand.

"Come. Grip my hand."

"Use all your strength. I want to see exactly how strong you are."

"Okay," Tang Wulin replied.

Taking a deep breath, he tightened his grip and pulled with full force.

Wu Zhangkong had prepared this time—he stood like a nail in the ground, unmoving.

Even so, Tang Wulin's face reddened from the effort.

Wu Zhangkong remained still, but a faint ripple of soul power shimmered around him—

He had to channel his strength to keep from being pulled.

"That's enough," he said after a moment.

Tang Wulin let go.

A flicker of intrigue appeared in Wu Zhangkong's cold expression.

He patted Tang Wulin's shoulder.

All four of you will participate in the class advancement tournament.

With strength like yours... our tactics just got a lot more interesting.