What Brought Us to This

"I'll give you a chance." Nan Feng sat up.

"What chance?" Tang Xiao asked, puzzled.

After fighting for so long, he was offering him a chance now?

"Have the Clear Sky Sect surrender and submit to Spirit Hall. We'll wipe the slate clean," Nan Feng said.

"Let's work together, grow stronger, and make the sect great again!"

"..."

The air froze for a long moment. Tang Xiao and the two elders behind him weren't the only ones stunned; Golden Crocodile and Guang Ling, hidden in the shadows, were too.

Do you even know what you're saying?

"Senior, are you joking?" Tang Xiao asked, irritation rising in him.

Have the Clear Sky Sect submit to Spirit Hall?

Was that even remotely possible?

Never mind that Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect had just clashed. Even if they hadn't, there was no way the Clear Sky Sect would ever agree to submit to Spirit Hall!

This wasn't offering him a chance. It was clearly making a fool of him!

"What do you mean, joking? I'm serious," Nan Feng said.

"Listen, and I'll explain the pros and cons."

"First, Spirit Hall is the most powerful Soul Master organization on the continent. That's true, right?"

"And the Clear Sky Sect is the greatest sect under heaven. That's true too, right?"

"Take this war, for example. If it were any other sect, Spirit Hall wouldn't need to go to such lengths. It could simply march straight to their door and wipe them out."

"But against the Clear Sky Sect, Spirit Hall first split its forces, then resorted to threats. Why? Because you're strong!"

Tang Xiao's eye twitched.

Should I thank you for taking the Clear Sky Sect so seriously?

"Think about it. If Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect joined forces, wouldn't every other sect and Soul Master organization surrender at the first sign of trouble?" Nan Feng said with a straight face.

"Then tell me, Senior: if the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall joined forces, who would be in charge?" Tang Xiao asked.

"Obviously, I would!" Nan Feng said.

"Who else? You?"

Tang Xiao's expression darkened. "So what you mean is that the Clear Sky Sect should bow down and submit to Spirit Hall?"

"If that's how you want to understand it, then sure," Nan Feng said.

Bibi Dong was the Pope, and he was her lover. Spirit Hall's general policies were set by the Pope, and Bibi Dong usually listened to him. In other words, Spirit Hall listened to him!

"Then I can only advise you to give up that idea, Senior." Tang Xiao no longer wanted to waste his breath.

"The Clear Sky Sect may perish, but it will never kneel to anyone!"

"Oh." Nan Feng leaned back.

"Then forget it."

Tang Xiao was taken aback, but before he could say anything, a strange threat suddenly came from behind him.

Boom!

Caught completely off guard, Tang Xiao was sent flying by a hammer wielded by the Sixth Elder, who had defected.

"Well done, Sixth Brother!" the Great Elder said, for reasons unknown.

The Sixth Elder, now back in his right mind, looked utterly bewildered.

What had happened?

When had he taken out his Clear Sky Hammer?

"Big Brother, what are you talking about?" the Sixth Elder asked, confused.

"Now that we've come this far, there's no need to keep pretending. Kill Tang Xiao, and you two will become pillars of my Spirit Hall," Nan Feng said with a straight face from his chair.

Good thing he'd practiced on Bibi Dong plenty of times before. Otherwise, he really wouldn't have pulled it off so smoothly just now!

The Sheep Talisman could originally only project the soul out of the body. At most, it could take over an empty shell without a soul. It couldn't enter a body that already had someone in it.

Only Shendu could force his way into a body already inhabited by a soul, relying on his powerful, immortal spirit.

But it seemed that because his Martial Soul was Shendu, he could also possess someone to a certain extent. Still, when he entered a new body, he knew nothing about it and wasn't used to it. A Martial Soul required extensive practice before it could be fully controlled.

Even after repeatedly testing the release of the Tool Spirit while possessing Yue Guan, he still couldn't use someone else's body to perform Spirit Skills.

His body and soul weren't compatible, and their synchronization was too poor. Simply activating the Martial Soul was already his limit.

As for Spirit Skills, he didn't have enough time to get used to a new body. If he stayed in it for more than three seconds, his mind would be invaded.

Who knew what he'd turn into if the two sets of memories fused?

"..."

After the Sixth Elder's sudden attack on Tang Xiao, the atmosphere grew indescribably strange.

Everyone except Nan Feng was bewildered, including the Sixth Elder, who had thrown the punch.

He felt like he'd only spaced out for a moment, and suddenly his Clear Sky Hammer was out and Tang Xiao was flying!

"Elders, why are you doing this?" Tang Xiao got up from the ground and wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The blow hadn't been too powerful, but he'd been completely unprepared. And that hammer hadn't hurt his body—it had hurt his heart!

The Sixth Elder was about to explain that he hadn't meant to do that when his "second personality" came back online. "Big Brother, quit wasting your breath! Attack! Take him out, and the Clear Sky Sect won't have to suffer any more casualties!"

The Great Elder looked utterly baffled. "I... Sixth Brother, follow me!"

Before he'd even finished speaking, the Great Elder summoned his Clear Sky Hammer, leaped into the air, and swung it at Tang Xiao.

Seeing this, Tang Xiao took a deep breath and summoned his Clear Sky Hammer, preparing to subdue the two elders first and deal with the matter afterward.

"Great Elder, forgive me!"

As he spoke, a purple Spirit Ring lit up beneath him.

At the same time, the Great Elder, still suspended in the air, came back to his senses. Seeing what was happening, he didn't dare hesitate. His purple Spirit Ring flashed, and the two Clear Sky Hammers collided.

"Tang Xiao! Die!" the Sixth Elder shouted, charging in from the side with his Clear Sky Hammer.

Tang Xiao's gaze sharpened. A black Spirit Ring flashed beneath him, sending the Great Elder, who was locked in midair, flying. Then he turned his Clear Sky Hammer toward the Sixth Elder and swung.

"..."

"What... is going on?"

Yue Guan and Gui Mei exchanged a look, their eyes full of confusion.

Why were they actually fighting?

Could it be that the Great Elder and Sixth Elder of the Clear Sky Sect had really been won over by Nan Feng?

"Sect Master Tang, surrender."

After repeatedly possessing and switching between bodies, Nan Feng was about to exhaust himself.

Damn it! He was playing three roles at once!

This kind of possession took too much Spiritual Power!

The more the new body resisted what he wanted to do, the more exhausted he became!

Possessing the same body repeatedly in quick succession was especially draining. Each time, he could stay for less time than before.

If the interval was too short, the new body and his soul would begin adapting to each other, and the resistance he faced would grow stronger.

He couldn't keep this up!

Two more times, and he'd pass out right here!

"Elders, why has it come to this?" Tang Xiao said gravely.

"Even if you join Spirit Hall, how will you ever show your faces in the Spirit Master World after betraying the sect?"

"Spirit Hall is ambitious and ruthless. Even if I die, this battle can't be avoided!"

"We..." The Great Elder and Sixth Elder were still completely bewildered.

They hadn't even had a chance to ask Tang Xiao why he was attacking them!

"Sect Master Tang, don't you understand? The Clear Sky Sect resents Tang Hao so deeply that the resentment has even spilled over onto you," Nan Feng sighed.

"Otherwise, how could I have persuaded the two elders to abandon the darkness and embrace the light so easily?"

"You..." The Sixth Elder looked completely bewildered.

When the hell had he abandoned the darkness and embraced the light?

"Sixth Elder, at a time like this, there's no point in playing along," Nan Feng said.

"We agreed that Tang Xiao's head would be the two elders' pledge of allegiance. If Tang Xiao doesn't stay here today, neither of you will have a place in Spirit Hall or the Clear Sky Sect."

"Stop hesitating! There's no turning back for you now!"