Who knew how much time had passed? Perhaps a few breaths, or perhaps as long as a century.
Only then did Tang Zhen manage to reclaim a sliver of reason from the immense humiliation and fury, and from the chilling indifference that seeped from Sea Dragon Douluo's words.
First, he stared fixedly at the burly figure before him: Sea Dragon Douluo, with his hard expression and eyes that left no room for compromise.
Then he glanced at Pope Qian Xunji, who stood nearby, entirely at ease, as if he had come merely to watch a grand spectacle.
A profound sense of helplessness and icy dread coiled around his heart like poisonous vines.
He knew that what had happened today could no longer be brushed aside as a simple matter of "being in the wrong."
The other side had clearly come prepared, bearing down with the force of thunder. They wanted more than just the return of what had been taken.
They wanted to make an example of the Clear Sky Sect, to exact revenge, and to make it pay a terrible price for Tang Hao and Tang Xiao's recklessness and greed in the cruelest way possible.
If his father, Tang Chen—the towering pillar of strength—had not mysteriously vanished without a trace, then with the renown of a level-ninety-nine Peerless Douluo, who in the world would dare come knocking so aggressively?
And what of the Spirit Hall?
Even a force that inherited a god's legacy would have to think twice when facing a Peerless Douluo at the pinnacle of the age.
It would never dare to press so relentlessly, directly demanding the arm of the sect's future heir!
But the reality was that Tang Chen was gone.
At that moment, the Clear Sky Sect was like a ferocious tiger stripped of its sharpest fangs and claws.
It still had a massive frame and a fearsome roar, but it had lost the deadly strength that could truly cow the masses.
Tang Zhen took a deep breath, as if trying to force down all the pent-up frustration, resentment, and fury in his chest.
He slowly unclenched his fists. His fingernails had already dug deep, bloody grooves into his palms.
He spoke again. His voice was much lower than before, less forceful and edged with the helplessness of someone almost begging:
"Your Excellency..."
"I admit it. In this matter... the Clear Sky Sect was indeed at fault first. My two sons are young and hot-blooded. They acted recklessly, offended you, and... took your side's property."
He struggled to say the words "took your property." It was no different from publicly admitting that they had "robbed" it.
That was a heavy blow to the Clear Sky Sect's reputation.
But he could no longer afford to care about that.
"If Your Excellency would be willing to show mercy..."
Tang Zhen looked at Sea Dragon Douluo with a hint of earnestness:
"I, Tang Zhen, hereby guarantee in my capacity as Clear Sky Sect Master that we will not only return that Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast and anything it may have left behind, intact and without taking so much as a hair..."
He paused, gritted his teeth, and put an even greater stake on the table:
"Beyond that, the Clear Sky Sect is willing to pay suitable compensation! Soul Bones, rare metals, heavenly treasures, even the Clear Sky Sect's exclusive forging techniques... Whatever Your Excellency asks, as long as it is within our means, we can discuss it!"
His voice trembled almost imperceptibly. He had nearly cast aside every last shred of dignity:
"I only ask... I only ask that Your Excellency spare my two worthless sons. They're still young. To lose an arm would ruin their futures... This punishment is simply too severe. I beg Your Excellency... to think it over!"
At that moment, Tang Zhen truly had no other options.
There was no question that they would lose a fight.
Not to mention the Worship Hall under Qian Daoliu's command, even the Pope Palace under Qian Xunji was enough to crush the Clear Sky Sect as it stood now.
And that was without even counting the Titled Douluo who hated the Clear Sky Sect to the bone.
Most crucially, after he invoked his father Tang Chen's name, the other side had not been intimidated in the slightest. They had even scoffed at it.
So aside from bowing his head, yielding, and offering sufficiently sincere compensation, he could think of no other way to save Tang Hao and Tang Xiao's arms and keep the sect's hopes for the future from being destroyed. All he could do was pray that the return of the treasure and the additional compensation would persuade the other side to give a little ground.
Yet faced with Tang Zhen's plea for peace and capitulation—one that practically trampled the sect's dignity into the dirt—Sea Dragon Douluo's expression did not soften in the slightest.
He shook his head coldly. The chill in his eyes only grew stronger, and his tone left no room for argument:
"Save your breath, Sect Master Tang."
"If I weren't taking your father Tang Chen into consideration..."
Sea Dragon Douluo's voice suddenly turned harsh:
"Today, I'd be asking for a lot more than just their arms!"
He stepped forward, and a vast oceanic pressure crashed toward the Clear Sky Sect members like a solid wave. Many of them groaned and staggered backward once more.
"Do you think my young master's property is so easy to rob?"
"Do you think calling it youthful impetuousness and offering compensation is enough to let this go?!"
"Nothing in this world comes that cheap!"
Sea Dragon Douluo's voice boomed across the plaza like thunder, carrying a storm of fury:
"If I don't take one of their arms today, what will become of my faction's authority? Won't every Tom, Dick, and Harry dare to rob my young master in the future?"
To be honest, he truly did not want to cooperate with the Spirit Hall, much less get entangled with them. So unless there was no other choice, he did not want to reveal that he and Ye Qing came from Sea God Island.
Hearing Sea Dragon Douluo's unyielding, even more impassioned decision, Qian Xunji showed no surprise. Instead, he nodded in deep agreement.
In his view, Sea Dragon Douluo's demands were not harsh at all. If anything... they were a little lenient.
If those two clueless fools, Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, hadn't snatched the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast right in front of Ye Qing and Sea Dragon, why would Ye Qing have been forced to change course and eventually come to the Spirit Hall?
And how else would he have been summoned by the Angel God by sheer coincidence, setting off that whole absurd battle to recruit a god's heir—one that had left even his father tearing his hair out and still seemed utterly ridiculous to him now?
It could be said that everything had begun with those two Clear Sky Sect brats!
They had not only slapped Sea God Island in the face, but by sheer coincidence had personally "delivered" the Sea God's God Child to the enemy god, the Angel God!
It was practically as if they had pinned the face of Sea God Island and the Sea God to the ground and ground it in again and again!
If he were Sea Dragon Douluo—or Bo Saixi—his fury would likely be even greater, and his hand even harsher!
An arm?
That was only because Tang Chen might still be alive, and they did not want to make this a fight to the death.
Otherwise, with Bo Saixi's iron-fisted strength—the woman who had served the Sea God for a century and ruled an entire island—in her fury, the Clear Sky Sect's gates would likely run red with blood today. Every last person there would be lucky to leave in one piece!
Never underestimate the fury of a woman who is powerful, revered, and has had her most vital interests violated.
Especially not a woman like Bo Saixi, who was the Sea God's own representative and valued the Sea God Inheritance above her own life.
Ye Qing was the Sea God's inheritor. To rob him was, in a sense, to rob the Sea God!
It was to desecrate the Sea God's majesty!
In a situation like this, even if Tang Chen himself were standing here right now, he would probably have to lower his head, do everything he could to seek peace, and pay a tremendous price to have any chance of calming a god's representative.
What was more, Tang Chen was nowhere to be found!
When Tang Zhen heard Sea Dragon Douluo's unequivocal refusal and felt the undisguised killing intent in his words, born of an even deeper fury, his face darkened completely, black as the bottom of a pot.
He knew the negotiations had collapsed.
The other side was determined to make an example of them and demand an answer.
With his last hope gone, Tang Zhen's eyes grew sharp and resolute once more.
He slowly straightened his back, which had hunched slightly under the humiliation. The dignity of a Titled Douluo and a sect master returned to him.
He fixed his gaze on Sea Dragon Douluo and asked, his voice cold, each word distinct:
"Your Excellency... will you truly not reconsider? Not yield even half a step?"
The Soul Power within him began to boil once more. The phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer appeared faintly behind him, bearing a heavy, domineering pressure:
"My father may be away from the sect for now, but the Clear Sky Sect... has been handed down for a century. We are no soft persimmons for anyone to squeeze!"
It was his final warning, and an attempt to bolster himself and his sect:
"Think carefully, Your Excellency. If you insist on this today, you will make an enemy for life of the Clear Sky Sect! Is it worth it, all for two arms?"
It was an outright threat now, the last pretense cast aside.