Three Against One and Still Got Counter-Killed

After the Pope's Coronation Ceremony, the war between Martial Soul Hall and the Clear Sky Sect officially began.

Contrary to what everyone had feared, Martial Soul Hall did not rely on their vast numbers of Spirit Masters to launch a direct assault on the Clear Sky Sect's headquarters. Instead, they chose to start by targeting the Clear Sky Sect's various affiliated clans.

The first to bear the brunt were naturally the Four Single-Attribute Sects: the Li, Po, Min, and Yu clans.

After all, the Clear Sky Sect's strength was not to be underestimated. Although they were no longer as powerful as they had been in their prime as the world's number one sect, the might of the Clear Sky Hammer remained. Even if Martial Soul Hall could win in a head-on collision, it would not be cost-effective.

Bibi Dong had just ascended to power and wanted to win over the hearts of the people. Naturally, she needed to maximize the gains of this war while keeping losses to a minimum.

Therefore, the war against the Clear Sky Sect was divided into two parts. The main force, led by the two Title Douluo, Ju and Gui, was responsible for launching a frontal assault on the Clear Sky Sect's headquarters to draw their attention. Meanwhile, several Spirit Douluo bishops led their own detachments of Martial Soul Hall Spirit Masters to launch surprise attacks on the Clear Sky Sect's affiliated clans, pinning them down and preventing them from reinforcing the main sect.

Of course, the most important part was to plunder all of the Clear Sky Sect's external assets!

Spirit Masters also need to eat; their daily necessities require money. Moreover, the consumption of a Spirit Master far exceeds that of an ordinary person. The Spirit Master class is both a high-income group and a high-consumption group.

This is even more true for sects; to develop and grow, money is needed everywhere.

As for the idea of "looting," that would be a joke. Spirit Masters on Douluo Continent might not necessarily be rich, but all rich people are definitely Spirit Masters. All profitable industries are held in the hands of large Spirit Master factions like Martial Soul Hall, the Eight Great Families, and the Seven Great Sects.

Any Spirit Master capable of robbing these people would never need to worry about money in the first place.

Within the territory of the Star Luo Empire, a small city that once belonged to the Clear Sky Sect was now, for all intents and purposes, a ruin.

Not long ago, this had been a moderately wealthy and developed city. However, less than half a month after the war began, it had been reduced to rubble. Those who lived here were either dead or had fled.

After all, when war breaks out, no one cares whether you are a Spirit Master or an ordinary person. On a designated battlefield, everyone who is not on your side is considered an enemy.

The opening act usually involved Spirit Masters with long-range attack capabilities unleashing a bombardment of Spirit Skills, much like the two great empires firing volleys of thousands of arrows at the start of a battle. This phase rarely resulted in deaths; it was primarily intended to injure the enemy and increase their logistical burden. It was a war of attrition. Of course, one could not rule out the occasional unlucky soul who walked right into the line of fire and got themselves killed.

After the attrition phase came the hearty, full-scale brawl.

"How is the fighting going at the front?" As Bibi Dong had suggested, Nan Feng had followed Ju and Gui to the front lines to earn some credit.

With the Pope, Bibi Dong, backing him, and the favor he had earned by healing their severe injuries, Nan Feng's relationship with Yue Guan and Gui Mei was quite good.

"It's going alright. Our casualty rate is roughly one-to-one with the Clear Sky Sect," Yue Guan said.

This was actually a very good result. After all, the strength of Martial Soul Hall's Spirit Masters was uneven, and those sent to charge at the beginning were essentially cannon fodder.

Of course, the same was true for the Clear Sky Sect. However, for Martial Soul Hall, this level of attrition was trivial, whereas for the Clear Sky Sect, such a death toll was starting to become painful.

"Since none of the affiliated clans that were supposed to provide reinforcements have shown up, the Clear Sky Sect's morale has clearly plummeted. In today's battle, they have shown a clear desire to avoid conflict," Gui Mei added.

"Have their Elders made any moves yet?" Nan Feng asked, puzzled.

This place was only a few kilometers away from the main battlefield. If a Spirit Douluo had made a move, he definitely would have heard the commotion. Yet, he had been here for several days now, and there hadn't been any significant activity.

"Nothing," Gui Mei said.

"The main force of the Clear Sky Sect has been retreating from the very beginning. They have no intention of clashing head-on with us. They are likely trying to hide back in their sect's stronghold; after all, that place is easy to defend and hard to attack. Anyone below a Spirit Saint who tries to break in is just walking to their death."

"They're that cowardly?" Nan Feng asked, somewhat puzzled.

"Isn't it said that the people of the Clear Sky Sect all have explosive tempers? Shouldn't they fight a great battle first and only retreat when they truly have no other choice?"

Yue Guan's eye twitched. "You have to consider who their opponent is."

The Clear Sky Sect currently only had one Title Douluo, their Sect Master Tang Xiao. Furthermore, based on the timeline, Tang Xiao's cultivation at most reached level ninety-three. As for the other elders of the Clear Sky Sect, while they were all high-level Spirit Douluos above level eighty-five, they still had no chance of winning against a Title Douluo.

Although Martial Soul Hall nominally claimed that only two Title Douluos had come, who knew how many were actually lurking in the shadows?

Before they took the initiative to strike, the Clear Sky Sect would never dare to deploy their high-level combat power.

"That's true," Nan Feng nodded.

"However, after fighting for so long, why hasn't there been any movement from Tang Hao?"

"Tang Hao?" Yue Guan couldn't help but laugh.

"That guy can barely look after himself right now."

Nan Feng wore a strange expression. "It seems like you were the ones who got counter-killed despite being three against one, right?"

Yue Guan looked embarrassed. "Tang Hao was cheating. The special magnetic field from the hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast's sacrifice exerted a powerful suppression on us. We couldn't exert our full strength at the time."

"You have no idea how much of a boost that hundred-thousand-year Spirit Ring gives a Spirit Master. Plus, once his hundred-thousand-year Spirit Skill, the Slaughter Barrier, was activated, combined with the magnetic field from the sacrifice and the Slaughter God's Domain, Old Ghost and I couldn't even exert seventy percent of our strength. We couldn't even use our Martial Soul Fusion Skill."

They hadn't expected that the humanoid Spirit Beast would be willing to sacrifice itself, nor had they expected that the special magnetic field created after a hundred-thousand-year Spirit Beast's sacrifice would cause such massive interference. Tang Hao had been at the end of his rope after being hunted by them for so long, but then that Blue Silver Emperor performed a sacrifice, instantly restoring Tang Hao to his peak state. That special magnetic field even provided a continuous supply of energy to Tang Hao!

It was truly hellish at the time!

The more they fought, the more exhausted they became, while Tang Hao fought more and more like a madman!

"And the Clear Sky Sect's Ring Detonation secret technique—that thing is just too unreasonable," Yue Guan said with lingering fear.

"After accepting the sacrifice, Tang Hao was at level ninety-one, with spirit power fluctuations approaching level ninety-two. When he risked his life to use Ring Detonation and detonated his first four Spirit Rings, he pushed himself directly to over level ninety-three. Once he detonated his fifth Spirit Ring, he soared to level ninety-five on the spot!"

Nan Feng looked strange. "It's that overpowered?"

"We had that exact same expression at the time!" Yue Guan said, somewhat agitated.

In the Spirit Master World, it is said that the Clear Sky Sect's non-transferable secret, the ultimate mystery of the Great Sumeru Hammer—Ring Detonation—is an incredibly unreasonable move. However, very few people have actually seen it, because only the most talented person of each generation in the Clear Sky Sect, the one destined to be the Sect Master, is qualified to learn Ring Detonation, and even then, they might not be able to master it!

They hadn't known just how much of a boost Ring Detonation provided, but that day, they truly saw it!

That is just completely unreasonable, damn it!

"However, the backlash from such an overbearing move is also terrifying," Gui Mei said.

"After knocking us all down, Tang Hao's condition was also extremely poor. If another Title Douluo—no, even just a Spirit Douluo—had appeared at that moment, Tang Hao would have surely died! And he would have died by his own hand!"

After the Ring Detonation, Tang Hao's spirit power was extremely unstable. It was clear that he was not yet proficient in controlling such a terrifying move; it fluctuated wildly. Especially after the battle ended, he could clearly feel that Tang Hao was barely able to suppress the riot of spirit power within his own body!

If it weren't for that damned magnetic field assisting him, Tang Hao absolutely would have blown himself to pieces the moment he performed the Ring Detonation!