Three hundred li east of Heaven Dou City, amid the mountains, stood a massive stone structure resembling a fortress. Its main gate was five meters tall, and above it, three large carved characters were vigorous and powerful, carrying a grandeur mighty enough to stand against the surrounding peaks—Clear Sky Sect.
No one knew why Clear Sky Sect, even after being forced to seal itself away, still put on such an "I'm number one in the world" display.
But then again, since it had sealed itself off, no one could see Clear Sky Sect acting poor, shabby, and pretentious anyway, so it could do whatever it wanted.
At this moment, within Clear Sky Sect, its current Sect Master, Tang Xiao, was drinking with an old man.
"Hahahaha, satisfying! What Hao did was absolutely satisfying! If I weren't the Sect Master, I'd have left the sect too and smashed up Spirit Hall."
Tang Xiao raised his cup and spoke with a hearty expression. Clearly, Clear Sky Sect had also learned of Tang Hao's rampage through the Martial Soul Branch Halls.
"Indeed. Although Tang Hao has already left the sect, I must admit that what he has done greatly suits my wishes."
The old man seated opposite Tang Xiao was none other than Clear Sky Sect's current Second Elder, Tang Jin.
At that moment, Tang Jin stroked his long beard, his face full of pleased laughter.
"Since Hao's actions also suit Uncle Jin's wishes, then what about Hao returning to the sect?"
Tang Xiao asked tentatively.
"We can discuss Tang Hao's return to the sect later. Now is not the time. Leaving aside the fact that some within the sect oppose it, if Tang Hao returns now and draws Spirit Hall's attention, that would be troublesome."
Hearing Tang Jin say this, Tang Xiao's smile faded. He took another large gulp of wine.
"It still comes down to Spirit Hall, doesn't it? If Spirit Hall were destroyed, then no one should object to Hao returning to the sect."
"You're right, Xiao. The opposition within the sect is only a minor matter. Spirit Hall is what truly matters."
At the mention of Spirit Hall, the two fell silent and merely continued drinking deeply.
"Sigh, I wonder when Clear Sky Sect will finally reopen its gates and reclaim its former position as the number one sect in the world."
Seeing that Tang Hao's return had gone nowhere, Tang Xiao shifted to another topic.
"Soon, soon. Clear Sky Sect already has seven Title Douluo. Within a hundred years at most, we will have dozens of them.
"By then, once Qian Daoliu dies and those High Priests of Spirit Hall die of old age as well, that will be the day Clear Sky Sect emerges once more!
"It's just a pity that I likely won't live to see it."
Tang Jin comforted Tang Xiao in this way, though his words also carried regret at not being able to witness Clear Sky Sect's rise.
Indeed, Clear Sky Sect had not fallen into decline as Qian Daoliu had predicted. Instead, it had cultivated seven Title Douluo in this remote mountain corner.
It was not that Qian Daoliu had been blind to Clear Sky Sect's potential. Under normal circumstances, what resources could a sect sealed away in some mountain backwater possibly use to cultivate and break through?
If cultivation only required talent, why would the major powers across the continent struggle against one another so fiercely for profit?
Everyone could just hide in the deep mountains and forests and rely on talent alone. No fighting, no worldly troubles—wouldn't that be wonderful?
How Clear Sky Sect had cultivated seven Title Douluo in this mountain backwater was anyone's guess.
In any case, it could not possibly be because every Clear Sky Sect member possessed heaven-defying talent and could reach this point without consuming resources. If Clear Sky Sect's bloodline truly had such overwhelming talent, would they have been forced to hide in these mountains?
While Tang Xiao and Tang Jin drank and lamented the future together,
outside Clear Sky Sect, in a small village about the size of Holy Soul Village, lay the outpost before Clear Sky Sect's territory.
"So this is Clear Sky Sect? It's nothing special. There's no fun in cutting them down."
A golden-haired girl with shoulder-length hair and valiant features pulled a short spear from the body of a middle-aged man lying on the ground, then commented to her companion on the combat abilities of Clear Sky Sect's disciples.
The middle-aged man's chest had caved in. A trace of disbelief still lingered on his lifeless face.
Perhaps until his death, he could not believe that he had been killed by a little girl of thirteen or fourteen.
Or perhaps he could not believe that anyone would dare attack Clear Sky Sect.
"This is only Clear Sky Sect's outer guard post. Second Grandpa sent us here for practice. The troublesome ones were handed over to Uncle Di Tian, so naturally, the ones left behind aren't much.
"If you want to fight, Sister Yao, you'll have plenty to fight once we enter Clear Sky Sect."
The girl's companion, dressed in a knight's battle skirt, did not think much of it. It was perfectly normal for disciples stationed on the outer perimeter to be weak.
The two girls speaking were Tian Yao and Qian Ningshuang.
Qian Ningshuang felt no discomfort toward the dead, or even toward killing with her own hands. The archives of Spirit City recorded enough blood debts committed by Clear Sky Sect before it sealed itself away to fill more than a dozen shelves.
Every page read something like: In X year, X month, X day, at X location of the Martial Soul Calendar, Clear Sky Sect disciple XXX exterminated an entire family in outrage because XXX had verbally insulted Clear Sky Sect. Clear Sky Sect disciple XXX casually killed XXX because XXX's words showed him insufficient respect...
Although Spirit Masters were inherently violent professionals who drew blades at the slightest disagreement, Clear Sky Sect's mad-dog habit of biting whoever it came across was truly one of a kind.
In any case, Qian Ningshuang felt no psychological burden in personally killing Clear Sky Sect members. Since they had refused to restrain themselves and committed evil so recklessly in their heyday, they could not blame others for coming to collect the debt when they were weak.
"Miss, it's taken care of."
A black-haired middle-aged man arrived before Qian Ningshuang carrying a corpse. The newcomer was Di Tian.
Ever since Qian Ningshuang had healed Di Tian's injuries and he had learned certain things from Gu Yuena, Di Tian's attitude toward Qian Ningshuang had become fervent. In his daily actions, he treated every word from Qian Ningshuang as an imperial decree. Though Qian Ningshuang was somewhat speechless about his behavior, she had no way to refuse him and could only let him do as he pleased.
The corpse in Di Tian's hand was the only Spirit Saint at this Clear Sky Sect guard post.
For someone stationed on the outer perimeter, the strength of a Spirit Saint would normally have been enough. Unfortunately, he had encountered Di Tian, a beast whose strength could rival, or even surpass, a Limit Douluo. As a result, the Spirit Saint had died without even managing to send out a warning.
Qian Ningshuang did not care whether this Clear Sky Sect Spirit Saint had sent a warning before his death or whether he had any regrets. Spirit Hall had already come knocking; even if Clear Sky Sect knew someone had reached its doorstep, what could it do?
"Ancestor, the area has been cleared."
After calling toward the sky, Qian Ningshuang reported the mission's status to Qian Chongling and the High Priests floating overhead. It also served as notification for Gu Yuena and Gu Qiu'er, who were clearing the area on the other side.
"Shuang'er, you handled it quite well."
Qian Chongling, dressed in a blood-red battle robe, slowly descended from the sky. He glanced over the scene, then looked at Qian Ningshuang and nodded in satisfaction.
The reason they had let juniors like Qian Ningshuang and Tian Yao clear the area instead of having the Title Douluo flatten Clear Sky Sect's outer guard post with a single slap was mainly to let these juniors see some bloodshed.
After all, in Spirit City, setting aside people like Tian Yao, some of Qian Ningshuang's actions and ideas seemed strange—even overly softhearted—to old men like them who had fought through life-and-death battles.
Qian Chongling feared that this junior, on whom he had placed such high hopes, might be some pedantic moralist. That was why he had arranged for Qian Ningshuang to handle the guard post.
Fortunately, at least while dealing with this guard post, Qian Ningshuang had not hesitated in the slightest to strike down even ordinary Clear Sky Sect disciples without cultivation.
"Alright, now comes the main course. When the time comes, I'll have to trouble Di Tian to protect Shuang'er and the other juniors."
Looking at the towering peaks behind the mountain village, Qian Chongling's eyes gleamed coldly.
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