"Yes, Ancestor."
Tian'e paid no heed to the struggle in Qian Daoliu's eyes.
He deeply respected Qian Daoliu as his elder brother, but Spirit Hall was even more important to him.
"Initially, Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects did not have any major grudges against one another. Our relationship was even quite good.
"Not to mention the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, a sect with an inheritance stretching back countless years. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had been fostered by Spirit Hall itself. Otherwise, a group of support Spirit Masters would have long been swarmed and picked clean.
"This situation continued until the rise of the Clear Sky Sect, which defeated the Earth Dragon Sect, one of the original Upper Three Sects.
"The Clear Sky Sect had originally been merely one of the many sects on the continent—ordinary and unremarkable, with nothing worth anyone's attention.
"Until a genius Spirit Master named Tang Chen emerged from the Clear Sky Sect. In just a few decades, he rose from obscurity to become the renowned Clear Sky Douluo.
"Tang Chen's sect—the Clear Sky Sect—rose alongside him, becoming the foremost of the continent's illustrious Upper Three Sects.
"At first, Spirit Hall did not particularly care about the Clear Sky Sect. Over Spirit Hall's nearly ten-thousand-year history, we had seen plenty of sects rise and fall.
"The only thing worth noting was that Tang Chen, the Clear Sky Sect's leader, was a close friend of our eldest brother, who was serving as Pope at the time. Because of that, we believed Spirit Hall would enjoy a good relationship with this newly risen Clear Sky Sect.
"But the developments that followed exceeded Spirit Hall's expectations. After its rise, the Clear Sky Sect changed its previously low-key ways and began acting overbearingly and forcefully.
"Of course, there was nothing inherently wrong with being overbearing and forceful. The continent had no shortage of domineering factions, and Spirit Hall itself could be quite forceful at times.
"But how should I describe the Clear Sky Sect's domineering ways? They were like a pack of rabid dogs, biting anyone they encountered without the slightest regard for worldly justice.
"No matter how the matter began or ended, no matter whether they were in the right, as long as a Clear Sky Sect disciple was involved, the Clear Sky Sect would unconditionally stand on that disciple's side. At the slightest disagreement, they would wipe out entire families.
"In just a few short years of behaving this way, the Clear Sky Sect's reputation had become utterly foul across the continent.
"And Spirit Hall, as the organization responsible for managing Spirit Masters and the faction with the largest number of Spirit Masters on the continent, naturally could not avoid clashing with the Clear Sky Sect.
"Yet every time we clashed, Spirit Hall would ultimately yield because of the friendship between our eldest brother and Tang Chen. But the Clear Sky Sect had no sense of gratitude whatsoever, becoming increasingly lawless across the continent.
"As time passed, Spirit Hall's resentment toward the Clear Sky Sect grew ever deeper. Then, in the end, one incident ignited the resentment of everyone in Spirit Hall.
"It began when a Clear Sky Sect disciple named Tang Bing fell in love with a female Spirit Master named Guan Yun. They had to part for a time due to cultivation, and they agreed to meet again a year later.
"One year later, when Tang Bing arrived at their meeting place, Guan Yun was chatting and laughing with another man.
"Then, for some reason, Tang Bing went mad. He angrily summoned his Martial Soul and rushed forward, killing the man with a single hammer blow before he could even react.
"The man Tang Bing killed was Guan Yun's younger brother—Guan Feng. He was also one of Spirit Hall's Hall Guard Knights.
"When Guan Yun saw her own younger brother dead, grief and rage drove her to attack Tang Bing.
"But this female Spirit Master, Guan Yun, was not much of a fighter. Tang Bing defeated her on the spot and took her back to the Clear Sky Sect.
"What happened afterward in the Clear Sky Sect, Spirit Hall did not know. But in the end, word spread that Guan Yun had personally killed Tang Bing on their wedding night before taking her own life.
"And it did not end there. Because of Tang Bing's death, the Clear Sky Sect exterminated the entire Guan Clan. Only Guan Yun's mother, who was in Spirit City at the time, escaped disaster.
"After learning everything, Guan Yun's mother eventually smashed herself to death outside the gates of Pope Hall, using her life to beg Spirit Hall to uphold justice.
"Spirit Hall naturally could not ignore such a matter. Setting aside Spirit Hall's duty to manage the Spirit Masters of the world, Guan Feng was one of our own. Coupled with the long-standing resentment toward the Clear Sky Sect, every level of Spirit Hall demanded that the Clear Sky Sect be severely punished.
"In the end, eldest brother could not ignore the opinions of all Spirit Hall's Spirit Masters and arranged a battle with Tang Chen."
By this point, fury had already surfaced in Tian'e's eyes. The other High Priests either lowered their heads or looked at Qian Daoliu, but the emotions in their eyes were no longer their usual reverence—there was heartache, disappointment, or fury like Tian'e's.
"I do not know how deep the bond between you and Tang Chen was, Eldest Brother!
"You actually lost to Tang Chen! You, with an Angel Martial Soul, lost to a Clear Sky Hammer!
"Yes! Tang Chen possessed talent rarely seen since ancient times, and he even had terrifying Self-Created Soul Skills such as the Great Sumeru Hammer!
"But did Spirit Hall not have Self-Created Soul Skills? Or had you, Qian Daoliu, not cultivated them?!
"Have you ever considered what that loss meant?! You nearly gambled away all the prestige Spirit Hall had accumulated across the continent over tens of thousands of years!
"In the past, as your second brother, and with strength inferior to yours, it was not my place to criticize what you did in this matter.
"But today, with Ancestor here, I will borrow his authority and hope that you, Eldest Brother, will give us an explanation."
Qian Chongling sighed and looked at Qian Daoliu.
"Speak, Xiao Liuer. Disagreements and arguments are commonplace in any organization or faction, but you must make clear why you did what you did. Otherwise, people's hearts will scatter."
Qian Daoliu tilted his head back and closed his eyes, his hands clenching into fists.
After a long while, Qian Daoliu suddenly opened his eyes and looked directly at the High Priests.
"Why did I lose to Tang Chen? Why did I repeatedly yield to the Clear Sky Sect?
"One reason was indeed my regard for my friendship with Tang Chen. The other was that I was the head of Spirit Hall!
"Yes! If it had truly been a battle to the death, the one left lying on the ground would only have been Tang Chen!
"But I could not do that, because even if I won, I would have been severely injured. Even if I managed to survive, my cultivation would have greatly declined.
"And I could not bear the consequences of being severely injured, dying, or suffering a great decline in cultivation, because behind me stood hundreds of thousands of people in Spirit Hall, as well as countless civilians under Spirit Hall's protection.
"I was not Tang Chen, a madman with nothing in his head except his own strength and personal satisfaction.
"So what if Tang Chen cared about that tiny Clear Sky Sect of his? Would the continent suffer from having one less Clear Sky Sect?
"But the continent truly could not do without Spirit Hall. Yes, Evil Soul Masters had already become history!
"But you all knew how Evil Soul Masters came into being. If Spirit Hall were gone, Evil Soul Masters would immediately spring up everywhere!
"Moreover, we had not yet formed an alliance with Star Dou at the time. If a beast tide erupted at any moment, who would stop Di Tian, the Black Dragon?
"Most importantly, I did not know then that something had gone wrong with the Heavenly God's divine position. I still needed to preserve this life and this cultivation to open the Angel God Ancestor's inheritance!
"Perhaps this sounds like I am making excuses. Spirit Hall would not necessarily collapse without me, but the Angel God's inheritance was truly important.
"Spirit Hall's prestige and reputation—once another god emerged, all of it could return in an instant!
"So I lost, and I yielded."
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