Honorary Elder

"You... how did you do it?"

The war between Spirit Hall and the Clear Sky Sect had ended in a resounding victory, and Nan Feng had returned to Spirit City as its greatest contributor.

However, after listening to Yue Guan's report, Bibi Dong felt like her brain couldn't keep up.

Nan Feng had turned a Clear Sky Sect elder against his own sect?

And then Tang Xiao had personally killed two of his own elders?

What kind of dream logic was that?

How could anyone from the Clear Sky Sect betray their sect?

Spirit Hall had tried to plant its own people in the Clear Sky Sect over the years, but had never succeeded. It had also tried to turn Clear Sky Sect disciples against their sect, but that had failed too.

Clear Sky Sect disciples took pride in their identity. How could they possibly betray their sect?

In their eyes, Spirit Hall and the Seven Great Sects were nothing but a rabble. Only their Clear Sky Sect stood at the true pinnacle of the Spirit Master World.

Of course, when it came to the overall quality of its Spirit Masters, the Clear Sky Sect really was number one. Their Martial Soul was just that powerful; it was an indisputable fact.

A Martial Soul was the foundation of every Spirit Master. Spirit Hall had managed to endure for so long thanks to its Six-Winged Angel Martial Soul. However, that Martial Soul had one trait: it could only be passed down through a single line.

Many Martial Souls had this kind of limitation, such as the Seven Kill Sword and the Nine-Heart Begonia.

It wasn't that their owners didn't want to have more descendants. Their Martial Souls simply imposed this restriction: only one person would awaken one in each generation, and a second would never appear.

"I don't want to talk about it." Nan Feng lay facedown on the sofa.

Damn it! Everyone had just stood by and watched. Not one of them had come to save him!

By the time Tang Xiao left, Nan Feng's Name Blade had only one use left!

When a Titled Douluo and a Soul Douluo clashed with their Martial Soul Avatars, even the shockwaves could have killed him, a Soul Ancestor!

If Tang Xiao had gotten carried away and smashed him with two more hammer blows, Nan Feng would've been a goner!

"Then I'll give you some good news. Elder Hall has approved your nomination as an Honorary Elder," Bibi Dong said.

"..."

"Huh?" Nan Feng sat up.

They'd approved it?

"Can't make sense of it?" Bibi Dong asked.

"Yeah." Nan Feng nodded.

If he had to put it simply, he'd only killed two Soul Douluo. After that, Spirit Hall's offensive had gone almost entirely unopposed. In just a few days, the Clear Sky Sect had been driven to declare that it was sealing itself off from the world, and Tang Hao had been expelled from the sect.

Then the Four Single-Attribute Sects, who had planned to lend a hand after the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall had fought each other to a standstill, were left completely dumbfounded. With Spirit Hall bearing down on them, they had no choice but to announce that they, too, were severing ties with the Clear Sky Sect.

Was that little bit of work really enough to earn him the title of Honorary Elder?

People outside were making all kinds of wild claims about him, saying he was incredibly powerful and a Titled Douluo secretly recruited by Bibi Dong.

But Golden Crocodile knew the truth: he was only a forty-level Soul Ancestor.

"Two reasons." Bibi Dong sat down.

"First, you drove a wedge between the Clear Sky Sect's elders and its sect master, greatly reducing the losses Spirit Hall suffered in its campaign against the sect. And because Tang Xiao killed two of his own elders, the Clear Sky Sect is now tearing itself apart from within. That alone would have been enough to secure you the title of Honorary Elder if your cultivation had been above level seventy."

There were only two ways to become an Honorary Elder of Spirit Hall. One was to have a tremendous influence on the Spirit Master World without having become a Titled Douluo.

The other was to make an enormous contribution to Spirit Hall, likewise without having become a Titled Douluo.

Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect was the leading example of the first kind.

There hadn't been anyone of the second kind for a long time.

After all, war was the fastest way to make a contribution.

In recent years, Spirit Hall had only launched one other major campaign besides this one against the Clear Sky Sect: its expedition to Sea God Island. Unfortunately, nearly the entire force Spirit Hall had sent overseas had been wiped out, including the Titled Douluo leading it, who died at sea.

"That's all?" Nan Feng raised an eyebrow.

"I thought being an Honorary Elder was a much bigger deal."

Bibi Dong's eye twitched. "Do you have any idea how unbelievable what you did was?"

Turning someone from the Clear Sky Sect against their own people was even less likely than wiping out the entire sect!

No matter how Nan Feng had managed it, he'd done something no one else could.

"What's the second reason?" Nan Feng asked.

"Second Worship Golden Crocodile approved it," Bibi Dong said.

"When Qian Daoliu doesn't step in, Golden Crocodile is practically in charge of Elder Hall. Since he supported it, the others naturally had no reason to object."

Simply put, Nan Feng deserved at least half the credit for their enormous victory.

Two Soul Douluo elders—honestly, if the Titled Douluo from Elder Hall had been sent to deal with them, at least one of them would have died.

By that reckoning, Nan Feng had saved them the loss of a Titled Douluo, so he could take that spot instead.

Besides, elders were only second to the Pope in status. In terms of actual power, all they could do was vote at meetings. They had no authority to interfere in Spirit Hall's affairs the rest of the time.

And an Honorary Elder had even less than that. It was just a title, with no real benefits.

It was just an empty promise. Giving it out cost them nothing, so of course no one objected.

"Golden Crocodile?" Nan Feng looked puzzled.

"Has he lost his mind?"

He was Bibi Dong's little lover. Golden Crocodile could've at least stayed neutral, but instead he'd led the charge in supporting him?

"How should I know?" Bibi Dong shrugged.

"Maybe he wants to win you over? A young talent like you is the future of Spirit Hall. As the most loyal old dog in the Qian Family, he probably wants to raise a little dog for Qian Renxue too."

"Tsk." Nan Feng shook his head.

"I'm a staunch fighter against feudalism, landlords, and tyrants. He's barking up the wrong tree."

Heaven Dou City, Moonlight Pavilion.

Ever since she'd learned that the Clear Sky Sect had gone to war with Spirit Hall, Tang Yuehua had been worried day after day. When news arrived that the Clear Sky Sect had been defeated, she had fallen ill.

But although she was ill, everyone else was still going about their business.

"Pavilion Master, Xue Ye has sent someone again to invite you to the Imperial Palace for a meeting," Ao De, the head steward, said from outside.

"I'm not going." Tang Yuehua's voice came from inside, weak and frail.

"But..." Ao De couldn't bring himself to say it.

"There's also a message from the Clear Sky Sect."

About half a minute later, Tang Yuehua opened the door and stood before Ao De, her face pale.

"What is it?" Tang Yuehua asked anxiously.

Ao De handed her the letter from the Clear Sky Sect. "The messenger didn't say much. He only asked me to give you this letter."

Tang Yuehua took the letter, turned, and went back into her room. She opened it and began to read.

A few minutes later, Tang Yuehua sat on the bed and wept silently.

Ao De stood at the door, unsure whether he should go in.

He didn't know what the letter said, but he could guess it wasn't good news.

After all, the Clear Sky Sect had suffered a crushing defeat. More than a dozen Affiliated Sects, large and small, had all chosen to leave the Clear Sky Sect. Quite a few had even chosen to join Spirit Hall directly.

The fighting on the Clear Sky Sect's front lines had been even more brutal. Because of Tang Hao, the Great Elder and Sixth Elder had been turned against the sect by Spirit Hall and fought the sect master, Tang Xiao. In the end, Tang Xiao killed them both outside the Clear Sky Sect's gates.

Afterward, Spirit Hall launched a massive offensive, wiping out every Clear Sky Sect force outside the sect's headquarters.

Now, the Clear Sky Sect had nothing left but the more than one thousand survivors and a single mountain.

The former number-one sect under heaven had become a thing of the past.

"Ao De, get things ready. I'm going to the Heaven Dou Imperial Palace," Tang Yuehua said.

Ao De was taken aback. "Pavilion Master, your health..."

"I'll be fine." Tang Yuehua wiped away her tears and slipped the letter beneath the pillow.

"If Xue Ye wants to talk, then I'll go talk to him."