The Soul Hunting Operation, the World Turned Upside Down
One month later.
The troop deployment in Spirit City was carried out quietly over the course of the past month.
For the entire Douluo Continent, this past month has been the calm before the storm.
An unsettling restlessness permeated the air, as if something deep within the earth was brewing, accumulating, and waiting to erupt.
Nearly 20,000 Soul Masters were secretly drawn from Spirit City and its surrounding branch halls and moved into the territory of the Heaven Dou Empire in batches.
Dressed in ordinary civilian clothes, disguised as merchants, mercenaries, and travelers, they entered the heart of the Heaven Dou Empire via different routes, meeting up at designated locations, lying in wait, and awaiting orders.
Although the number of people was large, they were scattered throughout the vast territory of the empire and did not arouse anyone's suspicion.
As the Holy Son, Zhang San was assigned to command the attack on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School.
He led nearly ten thousand Soul Masters and four Titled Douluos, lying in ambush in the dense forest fifty miles south of Seven Treasure City, waiting for the right moment to attack.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's stronghold was built against a mountain with steep terrain, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. However, Zhang San had already figured out the enemy's outer defenses, patrol routes, and shift change times through preliminary reconnaissance.
Hu Liena was then dispatched to the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
She led eight thousand Soul Masters and four Titled Douluos, silently approaching the mountain gate of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Thunder Canyon.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan prides itself on its powerful Martial Soul and is always very proud of its strength. In addition, Thunder Canyon is a dangerous place, even easier to defend than Seven Treasure City. As a result, the entire sect has a very low level of vigilance.
That night, the moon was full and round, and the autumn breeze was slightly cool.
The Spirit Hall armies at both locations launched their attacks almost simultaneously.
Zhang San led nearly ten thousand Soul Masters out of the dense forest, surging towards the mountain gate of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect like a tide.
Almost simultaneously, another battle broke out in Thunder Canyon.
Hu Liena's figure appeared outside the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's mountain gate, and eight thousand Soul Masters poured out from the shadows, surrounding the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's mountain gate.
The battle broke out almost simultaneously from both directions.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect reacted faster than expected.
Thanks to Ning Fengzhi's continuous strengthening of the sect's defense system in recent years, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has deployed multiple layers of early warning systems on its perimeter.
As a large number of Soul Masters poured in, they were quickly discovered by the disciples who were lying in wait in the shadows. A blinding white light shot into the sky from the mountain gate, illuminating the entire night sky.
"Enemy attack!" The warning cry of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect disciples pierced the night sky.
However, the Spirit Hall's operation has already been fully launched.
The simultaneous attack of the four Titled Douluos Titled Douluo a powerful pressure that resembled four mountains pressing down from the sky, tearing a huge gap in the defensive line surrounding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
Nearly ten thousand Soul Masters poured in through the breach, like a flood breaking through a dam, instantly submerging the outer perimeter of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.
When the Spirit Hall army rushed into the core area of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, they encountered unexpected and fierce resistance.
The core disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect each possess a set of Hidden Weapons: the Stomping Crossbow, the Shadow-Sand Shooter Arrow, the Godly Zhuge Crossbow, and the Silent Sleeve Arrow.
Although everyone in the Spirit Hall also had a set of Godly Zhuge Crossbows, they were all modified and downgraded versions by Zhang San.
The Hidden Weapons that Tang San sold to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect were not only complete in variety, but were also made exactly according to the blueprints, with greater range and more arrows.
The Spirit Hall army's attack was temporarily thwarted.
When Zhang San discovered this, his face immediately turned black; this was truly going against the natural order.
He recalled the Hidden Weapon blueprints that Tang San had stolen from him in Death Canyon, and immediately concluded that it was Tang San's work.
Zhang San thought to himself, "Tang San, you actually dared to steal my Tang Sect Hidden Weapons! You've already committed suicide!"
The battle reached a stalemate, but with four Titled Douluos assisting the Spirit Hall, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was quickly stretched thin.
At this moment, Sword Douluo Chen Xin rushed out from the depths of the sect, the Seven Kill Sword in his hand transforming into a snow-white sword light, charging towards the four Titled Douluos.
Wherever the sword light passed, the air was torn apart, producing a sharp whistling sound.
Bone Douluo Gu Rong did not step forward. He stayed by Ning Fengzhi and Ning Rongrong's side, protecting them with the defensive power of his Bone Dragon Martial Soul, while directing the core disciples of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect to break through towards Heaven Dou City.
Only Sword Douluo Chen Xin remained to fight against the four Titled Douluos.
He fought a bloody battle, even losing an arm.
However, Sword Douluo Chen Xin also comprehended a higher level of sword intent after experiencing such a desperate and irreversible battle, breaking through to level 97 in the heat of battle and successfully blocking the Spirit Hall's pursuers.
In the end, after paying a heavy price, several hundred core disciples, led by Bone Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect Bone Douluo Gu Rong, Ning Fengzhi, and Ning Rongrong, broke through the encirclement of the Spirit Hall army from the eastern mountain path and escaped into Heaven Dou City.
However, most of the disciples who remained at the sect's headquarters were unable to escape, and the sect's buildings were burned to the ground, destroying a thousand-year-old foundation in an instant.
On the other hand, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was in an even more dire situation.
The four Titled Douluos from the Spirit Hall joined forces to attack Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen at the Douluo I.
Facing the combined attack of four Titled Douluos, Yu Yuanzhen, at level ninety-six, exerted all his strength and unleashed Thunderous Might power.
His Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Martial Soul was activated, transforming into an extremely powerful thunder dragon, whose roar shook the entire mountain.
The thunder dragon, wreathed in violent lightning, left a charred trail in the air with each attack.
However, the four Titled Douluos from the Spirit Hall were no pushovers either. Their teamwork was flawless, and Yu Yuanzhen was quickly put on the defensive.
Ultimately, Yu Yuanzhen was outnumbered and chose to perish together with an elder of the Spirit Hall.
The three Soul Bones in his body were also forcibly taken away by the Spirit Hall.
That was a treasure passed down through generations of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, but now it had become Hu Liena's spoils of war.
The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's mountain gate was in complete disarray.
Flames shot into the sky, turning half the sky red, and thick smoke billowed up, obscuring the Full Moon.
The moat that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan once relied on, which encircled the entire mountain range, has now become a cage trapping them, and no one can escape the encirclement and annihilation of the Spirit Hall army.
In the end, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was annihilated. None of the disciples in Thunder Canyon survived; only a few who were training outside escaped.
Overnight, news of one of the Upper Three Sects being crippled and another destroyed spread quickly, shaking the entire Soul Master World.
Although the Spirit Hall vehemently denied it, claiming it was the work of "unidentified individuals," everyone knew the truth.
Besides the Spirit Hall, what other force on this continent could mobilize enough power to annihilate the two major Upper Three Sects overnight?
For a time, the Douluo Continent was filled with unease and panic.
The major sects turned pale at the mention of the Spirit Hall, and all strengthened their defenses and retreated their forces, curling themselves up like frightened hedgehogs.
Those smaller forces that were originally affiliated with the Upper Three Sects were filled with fear and unease.
A sense of oppressive panic permeated the imperial court of the Heaven Dou Empire.
The Heaven Dou Empire's royal family has never been very powerful, and has long relied on the support of major sects within its borders.
Now that the two closest sects are crippled and destroyed, the empire's strength has been greatly weakened, and it has lost its most important military pillar.
Those nobles who had previously outwardly obeyed the royal family but inwardly defied them began to become restless, gossiping amongst themselves, and some even secretly contacting people from the Spirit Hall.
Worse still, some of the policies recently enacted by Qian Renxue to weaken aristocratic privileges and strengthen central authority have also sparked growing discontent.
Those nobles who had lost their privileges, who had previously dared not speak out, now saw that the royal family had lost its greatest military support and began to act recklessly.
What restored the Heaven Dou Imperial Family's confidence was the message from the Clear Sky Sect.
After receiving news of the attack on the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the annihilation of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Clear Sky Sect publicly stated that it strongly condemned the Spirit Hall's atrocities.
At the same time, the Clear Sky Sect also stated that it would fully support the Heaven Dou Empire.
For a time, the somewhat precarious Heaven Dou Imperial Family had a new source of military strength, which temporarily stabilized public sentiment.
But everyone knows that the real storm has only just begun.