What was even more terrifying was that once the Clear Sky Hammer was combined with Tang San's Tang Sect Hidden Weapons, as long as Tang San locked onto his target with his spiritual power, unless the opponent's spiritual power vastly surpassed his own and they possessed abilities like instantaneous teleportation, the only option was a head-on collision. There was simply no possibility of evasion.
Boom—
The frozen waterfall resumed its descent, crashing down onto Tang San as he stood upon the round boulder. Yet Tang San stood there as though he were nailed to the stone, not budging an inch. He even wore a faint expression of enjoyment on his face. Bathed beneath the enormous cascade, he exhaled and called out in a resonant voice, the rich Mysterious Heaven Skill manifesting a thin layer of white protective qi across the surface of his body.
His figure flickered, and Tang San leaped off the boulder. The Clear Sky Hammer in his hand silently vanished, replaced by dozens of strands of Blue Silver Grass that lashed down from thin air, striking the water's surface. Using the recoil, Tang San launched himself forward, landing neatly on the shore beside Tang Hao.
As Tang San touched down, the expression on Tang Hao's face had already returned to its usual severity. Seeing his son land steadily beside him, he said flatly, "Think you're quite strong, do you?"
Tang San scratched his wet hair. "Dad, I understand. I won't become arrogant — I'll keep working hard. But lately, I feel like it's getting really difficult to improve my Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique any further."
Hearing his son's words, Tang Hao felt a twinge of helplessness. Before he could even deliver his lecture, this clever kid had already cut him off. How much further could the Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique possibly improve? It had already been practiced to its absolute limit — where else was there to go? Setting aside the fact that the Clear Sky Hammer lacked the enhancement of Soul Rings, Tang Hao privately admitted that even within this technique alone, he could not surpass his son.
"The Chaotic Wind Hammer Technique training ends here, today. Little San, let me ask you — how do you rate your actual combat ability?" Tang Hao asked.
Tang San thought for a moment. He had been about to say it was decent enough. But considering his father's tremendous strength, he changed his answer. "Still far from good enough."
"Then do you know where you fall short?" Tang Hao pressed.
Tang San froze. His earlier statement of falling short had been modest self-deprecation. Now, confronted by his father's direct question, he found himself unable to answer.
Tang Hao didn't seem to expect an answer anyway. He continued, "In theory, the Great Master is unmatched. His methods for instructing you were entirely correct — they built you a rock-solid foundation. Since you became his disciple, you've grown rapidly and engaged in a great deal of real combat. You do have some experience. There's no need to undervalue yourself. But you're still missing the true essence of real combat."
"The true essence? What is the true essence of real combat?" Tang San asked quickly. Even among the Titled Douluo, his father was surely one of the finest. His words were never many, but every piece of guidance proved immensely beneficial. Tang San focused all his attention, listening intently.
Tang Hao's voice dropped low and heavy. "What is real combat? Only a battle fought with lives truly on the line can be called real combat. And in the battles you've experienced so far, most have been in the form of tournaments. You haven't faced many situations where your life was truly in danger. A person's potential can only be fully unleashed when facing the test of life and death. Only by constantly struggling on the razor's edge between life and death can one truly be said to possess real combat ability. Your mind and your control in battle are both excellent. But you lack one thing — the purest killing intent. Feel my presence."
The moment those words left his lips, Tang Hao's pupils contracted sharply. In an instant, an overwhelmingly cold aura erupted from his body. It didn't seem to carry any explosive force, yet the moment it enveloped Tang San completely, Tang San felt as though he had been plunged into an ice cellar. Every single hair on his body stood on end.
Icy, sinister, malevolent, terrifying — a vast killing intent powerful enough to make one tremble surged forward like a monstrous, savage beast. Tang San clearly felt that everything about himself was becoming sluggish within this incomparably enormous killing intent. Even his Purple Extreme Demon Eye, which housed the Purple Extreme Divine Light, dared not meet Tang Hao's gaze.
What shocked Tang San even more was that the water droplets streaming down his body seemed to slow as well. Gradually, drop by drop, they froze into strings of ice beads that hung from his body.
Materialized killing intent? That was the phrase that surfaced in Tang San's mind. The Great Master had once told him that when a person's power reached an utterly terrifying level, their killing intent could achieve materialization — transitioning from the intangible to the tangible. But even among the Titled Douluo, such a feat was exceedingly rare.
The frigid killing intent receded like a tide, and Tang Hao's voice pulled Tang San from his shock. "Did you feel it? That is killing intent. You probably want to ask — what use is killing intent? In truth, killing intent doesn't primarily affect your opponent. It affects yourself. It allows you to cast life and death aside. It lets you unleash your full strength to the maximum — even perform beyond your normal level. It can even make your strikes faster. Possessing powerful killing intent proves that you have crawled out from a pile of corpses, that you have endured far too many brushes with the border between life and death. Even when facing an opponent far stronger than yourself, you will not feel the slightest fear. Killing intent is a component of presence. In certain respects, it can be equated with courage. Or rather, killing intent is courage — sublimated."
Tang Hao's explanation of killing intent was undoubtedly somewhat extreme, but it made his meaning perfectly clear to Tang San.
"Father, then please teach me how to acquire killing intent." Tang San's gaze was resolute as he looked at his father.
Tang Hao shook his head. "No. I cannot teach you, and I am not capable of teaching you. After all, you are my son. No matter how intense the killing intent I release, you would never believe that I would truly kill you. Killing intent can only be realized and attained through one's own experience. Today, you may fully relax. Tomorrow morning, we depart — I will take you to a place where you can truly develop your killing intent."
Hearing Tang Hao's words, Tang San felt a surge of excitement. Spending two years in one place, training without rest — no matter how beautiful the scenery, one would inevitably grow weary of it. They could finally leave.
The father and son traveled light, with nothing to pack. The next morning, under Tang Hao's lead, the two departed from the pool and left the mountain range behind.