Return to Clear Sky Sect

"Where is Tang Xiao, the current sect master of the Clear Sky Sect? I have something to return to you."

Lin Mian's voice was not loud, yet it reached the ears of every person in the Clear Sky Sect with perfect clarity.

The slumbering Clear Sky Sect was immediately roused. Apart from the few Title Douluo, everyone emerged from their rooms and looked around, checking whether an enemy attack had come.

Those disciples did not know that the voice came from the sky. Only when several Title Douluo figures flew upward did they suddenly realize and look overhead.

As the sect master, Tang Xiao had the highest cultivation, and he was the first to notice the figure in the sky.

Anyone capable of approaching the Clear Sky Sect without a sound and daring to wake everyone so directly was certainly no ordinary person.

He instinctively put some distance between himself and Lin Mian, fearing a sneak attack.

The sky was dark, and he could not clearly make out the other person's appearance at first. At the same time, he did not dare act rashly.

"May I ask who you are, and why you are making such a disturbance above my Clear Sky Sect?"

"Do not be afraid. I will not attack you. I already said I came to return something to you."

"We should have met before. Take a closer look and see whether you recognize me."

Tang Xiao found the voice familiar. He was certain he had heard it somewhere before, but he could not recall where.

Hearing Lin Mian's words, he gathered some courage and moved a little closer.

His Soul Power had already reached Rank 96. On the Douluo Continent, very few people could truly defeat him.

In a direct confrontation, he had no reason to be afraid.

Once he drew near, he finally saw the figure clearly. In an instant, his entire body began to tremble.

His heart sank to rock bottom. He could guess why this person had come.

Of course, he had met this person before—many times, in fact. They had even fought, and they were about the same age.

When he was in his teens, he had traveled the continent alone, wielding the Clear Sky Hammer and earning a fearsome reputation across the land.

At that time, Tang Hao was still young, remaining within the sect and yet to awaken his martial soul.

Everyone believed Tang Xiao was the hope of the sect's next generation. Even he himself believed so.

Until he encountered a peer with no background whatsoever while traveling the continent.

Back then, he had been proud, believing no one among the younger generation could stand against him.

So, he fought that young man.

He lost, and he lost miserably. He could not even withstand a single move.

That person's strength had utterly exceeded his imagination. He did not seem like someone of the same age at all.

His pride and confidence were completely shattered.

What he found hardest to accept was that the person had not regarded him as worthy of notice at all, simply leaving afterward.

After returning to the sect, he cultivated like mad, all so that one day he could defeat that person.

He improved quickly and had also sought information about that person.

The more he learned, the more shocked he became.

When he heard at the age of sixteen that the man had already broken through to Soul Sage, he completely gave up any thought of catching up to him.

He understood that no matter what he did, he could never catch up. This era did not belong to him—it belonged to that person.

After that, he remained in the sect cultivating and never stepped outside again, until he saw the person who had once defeated him so effortlessly.

This time, that person was the challenger.

The challenge was not against him, but against his grandfather, the strongest man on the continent.

He did not know what he had felt at the time. He could only stare blankly at the sky, watching that person, who was about his own age, defeat his grandfather.

The conviction in his heart completely crumbled. So this was what a true genius looked like?

Having seen someone so astonishing in his youth,

he found even his younger brother, who possessed exceptional talent, utterly unremarkable by comparison.

That person had been too dazzling. He was the protagonist of this era.

"Greetings, His Excellency the Arbiter. May I ask why you have come to my Clear Sky Sect, Senior?"

Though they were the same age, he still had to address him as Senior.

A hint of bitterness filled his heart, but when he looked at Lin Mian, his eyes were full of admiration.

From pursuing him to admiring him—this was his life.

"No need for such formality. Come to think of it, we are the same age. When you were traveling the continent back then, did we not fight once?"

"We did indeed fight, but this junior was too weak to endure even one move from you, Senior."

This had once been a stain on his record, yet now he could boast of it throughout the continent.

He could boast that he had once fought Judgment Douluo.

"You were not too bad. Back then, everyone who could fight me was an old man. You were the only young one."

Lin Mian had never regarded anyone of the younger generation highly. The fact that this man had been able to fight him back then proved his talent was indeed decent.

Hearing Lin Mian's evaluation, Tang Xiao could barely suppress his excitement. To receive acknowledgment from this man—his life had not been lived in vain.

"Sect Master, who exactly is this person? How dare he act so brazenly before our Clear Sky Sect?"

Five Title Douluo arrived in quick succession. These people were the Clear Sky Sect's greatest source of confidence.

"Seventh Elder, do not be disrespectful. This is His Excellency the Arbiter."

Tang Xiao's solemn voice rang through the air. The Clear Sky Sect disciples below heard it clearly and all looked upward in excitement.

His Excellency the Arbiter was also their idol, the goal they pursued.

They had never imagined that one day they would be able to see him with their own eyes.

The Seventh Elder's face filled with alarm, and he bowed deeply in Lin Mian's direction.

"His Excellency the Arbiter, this junior was too presumptuous. I ask Your Excellency to forgive me."

"It is nothing. I did not come here today to cause trouble for you, but to return something to you."

"May I ask what it is that warrants your personal visit, Senior?"

Tang Xiao held the highest position. He was the only one who could speak with Lin Mian.

"Strictly speaking, it is not a thing. It is a person—someone deeply connected to your Clear Sky Sect."

A person?

Tang Xiao felt increasingly uneasy.

"May I ask who it is, Senior?"

"You will see who it is for yourself. I am only returning him to you out of consideration for Tang Chen."

Lin Mian took Tang Hao's corpse from his storage Soul Tool and tossed it before Tang Xiao.

Tang Xiao caught the corpse with trembling hands. The instant he saw it clearly, he was completely stunned.

Not only him—the elders beside him were equally dumbfounded.

This truly was his younger brother's corpse!

This was actually Tang Hao's corpse?!

His eyes immediately turned red, and rage surged within him.

Yet he did not dare attack, nor did he even dare utter a threat. He knew what the consequences would be.

The elders all looked at him anxiously, their gazes signaling that he could not get angry. The Clear Sky Sect simply could not afford to provoke this man.

Tang Xiao naturally knew what choice he had to make.

He could only force down the fury in his heart and ask Lin Mian in a feignedly calm tone.

"Senior, this is my younger brother's corpse. May I ask who killed him?"

The last few words trembled, proving that Tang Xiao was far from calm inside.

"Not long after I emerged from seclusion, I encountered him trying to assassinate someone from my Judgment Hall. So I killed him."

"Out of consideration for Tang Chen, I brought his corpse back to you. I did not touch his soul bones either."

Lin Mian spoke with complete indifference.