Clear Sky Sect's and Tang Hao's Reactions

"We inadvertently did the new Pope a favor."

Watching the Spirit Hall members cheer Pei An's name, Ning Fengzhi smiled, though he did not seem particularly displeased.

He had anticipated this long ago.

Since he wanted to use this spar with Sword Douluo to better gauge Pei An's limits, he had naturally considered the consequences of losing.

Pei An had used Sword Douluo to initially establish his prestige within Spirit Hall.

Through this battle, Ning Fengzhi had gained a deeper understanding of Pei An, the new Pope.

Sword Douluo had fulfilled his wish to spar.

The three of them could be said to have all achieved their goals.

Mm, very good. A win-win situation.

With Pei An's sparring match against Sword Douluo over, everyone returned to the banquet hall.

Afterward, quite a few people came over to speak with Pei An, all of them people of notable status.

After all, ordinary people neither had the courage nor the qualifications to strike up a conversation with him, the new Pope.

Of course, not a single one of them held a higher status than Ning Fengzhi.

Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was extremely proud, so he naturally would not take the initiative to approach him.

The royal families of the Two Great Empires had sent members of their younger generations. Though their status was noble, they still fell somewhat short compared with Ning Fengzhi, the Sect Master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

"In a few days, my daughter will be one month old. I intend to hold a Full Moon Banquet. May I ask whether Your Holiness the Pope will be free?"

Ning Fengzhi asked with a smile.

After the battle just now, his understanding of Pei An's future had deepened by several degrees.

A nineteen-year-old Soul Douluo with such astonishing Combat Strength—he was bound to become a second Angel Douluo, or perhaps someone even stronger.

Since the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had chosen neutrality between Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect, it was also quite necessary to pave the way for themselves.

Joining Spirit Hall was not something they needed to consider just yet.

However, Ning Fengzhi felt that maintaining a good relationship with this new Pope was quite important.

Though he had also noticed Spirit Hall's ambitions in recent years.

At the very least, it could leave the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect a way out in the future.

Should the situation truly reach that point, they could still preserve a little Core Flame.

"Of course. This Seat will attend when the time comes."

Pei An nodded in agreement.

At those words, the smile on Ning Fengzhi's face deepened further.

Elsewhere

News of Spirit Hall's declaration of war quickly reached the Clear Sky Sect.

"Sect Master, tell us, what should we do?"

Inside the meeting room, the several elders were filled with worry.

The Second Elder slowly spoke, looking toward the middle-aged man seated at the head of the table.

Tang Xiao was not in a good mood at the moment.

A few days earlier, because of the matter involving his Second Brother, Tang Hao, his father had died from rage, forcing him to take over as Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect.

Now, before anything had stabilized and before he had even grown accustomed to the position of Sect Master, he received this news.

For a time, Tang Xiao had no idea what to do.

Especially after hearing that Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu had appeared at Spirit Hall's Pope succession ceremony, he felt even more despair.

It would have been fine if Old Ancestor Tang Chen were here.

But those within the sect knew the sect's own affairs. No one knew how long it had been since Old Ancestor Tang Chen last showed himself.

Even they, the people of the Clear Sky Sect, did not know where this Old Ancestor was now.

If Qian Daoliu truly came knocking, they would be finished.

As a sect that had once possessed an Extreme Douluo, they understood even more clearly how terrifying an Extreme Douluo was.

The current Clear Sky Sect only had him, a Title Douluo who had just entered the rank.

There was almost no possibility of resisting an attack from Qian Daoliu.

Tang Xiao had also considered looking at things more optimistically.

But no matter how he viewed it, their chances of victory in this war were infinitely close to zero.

"It's all that bastard Tang Hao's fault!"

The hot-tempered Seventh Elder, who had long been dissatisfied with Tang Hao, slammed his palm against the table and rose to his feet.

"That bastard caused such a huge disaster, then hid who knows where and left all the trouble to us!"

"The Clear Sky Sect raised him for nothing!"

The other elders also fell silent.

Though the Seventh Elder's emotions were somewhat excessive, what he said was not greatly mistaken.

Even though they knew Qian Xunji had been the one to provoke trouble first.

There was ultimately a reason for it.

Sheltering a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast was neither a trivial matter nor an overwhelmingly serious one.

It mainly depended on the situation between the various factions.

And now, Spirit Hall was powerful while the Clear Sky Sect was weak.

Thus, Qian Xunji's pursuit of the soul beast became a justified reason.

And Qian Xunji had died at Tang Hao's hands. Put nicely, it could even be said that he had sacrificed himself for humanity.

If Spirit Hall made an issue out of that, they truly had nothing to say.

Although Tang Xiao wanted to speak up for his Second Brother, he did not know what to say and could only remain silent.

The furious Seventh Elder continued chattering endlessly, condemning Tang Hao's crimes, until the Great Elder spoke to stop him.

"Seventh, enough!"

The Great Elder stroked his grizzled beard, deeply displeased by the Seventh Elder's infighting.

"Now is not the time to denounce whose fault this is."

"Spirit Hall clearly intends to use this matter against us. What we should consider now is how to resolve this, not stand here accusing one another."

"So what if it is Tang Hao's fault?"

"He has already fled to who knows where. Spirit Hall will only settle this debt with us."

Hearing the Great Elder's words, the Seventh Elder finally shut his mouth in indignation.

"Big Brother, what do you think?"

The Second Elder beside him spoke up to ask.

The Great Elder frowned deeply, rubbed his brow, and let out a helpless sigh. "We definitely can't win if we fight."

"We can only wait and see what conditions Spirit Hall proposes."

"If they are acceptable, then we will accept them..."

At those words, the expressions of the elders, Tang Xiao included, turned somewhat ugly.

They had always been proud to be members of the Clear Sky Sect, yet they had never imagined that one day they would be forced into such a situation.

"Old Ancestor Tang Chen, if only you were here!"

The Third Elder's sigh voiced the thoughts in all their hearts.

How laughable. They constantly called themselves the glorious Clear Sky Sect and believed themselves to be people who stood tall and firm, yet at a time like this, they could only rely on their Old Ancestor.

Tang Hao, who had found a place to live in seclusion, also heard the news that Spirit Hall had declared war on the Clear Sky Sect.

His eyes were bloodshot as he panted heavily.

"Damn Spirit Hall, you've gone too far!"

Tang Hao's low voice was like a vicious ghost from hell, as if he wished he could charge into Spirit Hall and start killing immediately.

As for the announcement issued by Spirit Hall saying that they would not pursue the matter with the Clear Sky Sect if they handed over Tang Hao, he instinctively ignored it.

This was what he told himself in his heart.

It was not that he feared death. He simply still wanted to raise his child to adulthood.

He could not betray his wife's expectations of him.

For that reason, the sect could only suffer a little for now.

"Don't worry, sect. One day, I will repay Spirit Hall for the oppression it has inflicted upon you!"

"Big Brother, elders, I believe you can understand!"

After gritting his teeth and saying this, Tang Hao took his bottle of wine and drunkenly returned to his bed.

The infant beside him wailed loudly in its swaddling clothes, but Tang Hao turned a deaf ear.

He seemed to believe that wallowing in drunken decadence was a profound expression of devotion to his wife's sacrifice.