However, in the face of Tang Zhen's final threat and warning, Sea Dragon Douluo answered only with an even colder sneer.
He couldn't be bothered to waste any more words on Tang Zhen. Instead, he turned to Qian Xunji, who had stood by and watched all this without lifting a finger, and asked in an even tone:
"Your Holiness, what do you say?"
"Shall we make our move?"
His gaze was terrifyingly calm, as if he were asking about some trivial matter.
At his words, the inscrutable smile that had always lingered on Qian Xunji's face finally disappeared.
He lightly straightened the cuff of his papal robes. His movements were elegant, but a sharp glint flashed in his deep-set eyes.
He raised his head and looked not only toward the Clear Sky Sect members, who were already poised for battle, but also at Tang Zhen, whose face had turned livid as he braced himself to strike. Then, slowly and clearly, he uttered two words:
"Make your move."
"Boom—!!!"
Those two words rang out like a battle horn, setting off the powder keg that had been strung taut to its breaking point!
The moment Qian Xunji finished speaking, Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan and Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, who had stood behind him as motionless as ghosts, suddenly blurred out of sight!
"Whoosh!"
"Whoosh!"
A total of eighteen Soul Rings flared to life around the two of them, their dazzling radiance instantly illuminating half the plaza!
Yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black!
A standard top-tier configuration. The terrifying pressure of Titled Douluos surged forth without restraint!
"Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum!"
"Ghost!"
With two low shouts, the enormous phantom of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum bloomed behind Yue Guan, radiating golden light sharp enough to cut through anything.
Gui Mei's figure seemed to merge completely into the shadows, while sinister ghostly energy spread all around him, accompanied by faint wails and howls.
At the same time, the dozen or so Soul Douluo powerhouses from Spirit Hall, who had long been ready to strike, shouted in unison.
Their Soul Rings blazed as all manner of powerful Martial Souls instantly appeared or possessed their bodies.
Their terrifying Soul Power surged together like a tsunami, crashing toward the Clear Sky Sect ranks!
The first to strike was a sweeping barrage of long-range Soul Skills!
Flames, frost, wind blades, lightning, psychic attacks...
Soul Skills of every color, each carrying astonishing power, poured down like a torrential rain upon the densest part of the Clear Sky Sect crowd!
"Enemy attack! Form up! Defend!"
Tang Zhen's eyes nearly split with fury as he let out a roar that shook the heavens.
He hadn't expected the other side to attack the instant they said they would, and to launch such a merciless, all-out assault right from the start!
"Clear Sky Hammer! Chaotic Cloak!"
The phantom of the Clear Sky Hammer behind Tang Zhen solidified in an instant, becoming a massive, pitch-black hammer that dropped into his hands.
Soul Power surged around him as he swung the giant hammer, unleashing a violent gale in an attempt to intercept the Soul Skills raining down from the sky.
Behind him, the Clear Sky Sect elders and elite disciples also recovered swiftly from their initial shock.
Everyone standing here had weathered countless battles.
As Tang Zhen roared, they instinctively released their Martial Souls, using defensive Soul Skills, raising their weapons to block, or quickly dodging out of the way.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom—!!!"
Deafening explosions instantly thundered across the entire mountain-gate plaza!
The light from the clashing Soul Skills was so blinding that no one could keep their eyes open. Violent shock waves rippled outward, tearing the stone slabs beneath them to pieces as dust and shattered rock flew into the air!
The Clear Sky Sect managed to withstand that first exchange, barely, thanks to their numbers and quick reactions.
But several weaker disciples were still caught by the edges of the Soul Skills and sent flying, coughing up blood.
Screams, curses, and the clash of Soul Power rose into a cacophony.
And in the very instant the chaos erupted, two ghostlike figures had already cut through the dust and the blazing Soul Skills, each locking onto a target with precision.
Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan moved like a golden bolt of lightning, darting straight toward Sect Master Tang Zhen, whose Soul Power was the most formidable and who was swinging his Clear Sky Hammer with all his might to hold back the assault!
The petals of the Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum transformed into countless razor-sharp golden blades. They sliced through the air with shrill whistles, closing in on Tang Zhen from every direction.
Ghost Douluo Gui Mei, meanwhile, was like a true specter. With a single flicker, he appeared behind Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, who were protecting an injured disciple!
Sinister, freezing ghostly energy instantly enveloped the two of them as countless shadowy tendrils reached out and wrapped around their limbs and necks.
His speed was astonishing, and his angle of attack was viciously cunning!
Seeing this, several Clear Sky Sect elders roared and tried to rush forward, only to be firmly pinned down by the dozen Soul Douluos from Spirit Hall, whose teamwork was seamless and whose Soul Skills were powerful.
These Soul Douluos had clearly undergone strict training. They fought in groups of three, switching between offense and defense, control and support, splitting the Clear Sky Sect elders apart and preventing them from aiding one another. In the blink of an eye, they had fallen into a bitter struggle.
In mere moments, the plaza that had been locked in a grim standoff had become a brutal battlefield!
Soul Skill light blazed across the sky; roars and screams rang without end, and blood began to fly.
Yet Sea Dragon Douluo and Pope Qian Xunji, the two men truly behind this clash, still stood where they were, making no move to join the battle.
Sea Dragon Douluo watched the sudden melee with a calm expression and icy eyes, as if it were a play that had nothing to do with him.
Qian Xunji stood with his hands behind his back, his papal robes immaculate, that inscrutable faint smile once again on his face. Only the depths of his eyes remained utterly indifferent.
Watching the battle unfold, Sea Dragon Douluo suddenly spoke, his voice calm as he asked:
"Your Holiness, Spirit Hall has ranged far and wide across the continent, with an intelligence network spanning the world. All these years... have you truly found not a single clue about Tang Chen?"
His gaze seemed to pierce through the fighting before him and reach toward a distant void.
At the question, the smile on Qian Xunji's face faded slightly, and a genuine note of helplessness appeared in his handsome features.
He shook his head and sighed.
"Brother Sea Dragon, you stand at this level too, so you should understand."
"Tang Chen is a level ninety-nine Peerless Douluo. Such a realm lies beyond the ordinary. If he wants to conceal his whereabouts and withdraw from the world, then where in this vast land could he not go? Not even our Spirit Hall's intelligence network could find him. Even if my father personally went out to investigate, he would likely have trouble tracking him down."
Sea Dragon Douluo fell silent for a moment.
The shouts of battle and the clash of Soul Skills across the plaza seemed to recede into the distance.
His gaze was deep as he looked toward the far horizon, as if pondering something.
After a long while, he finally spoke in a quiet voice, his words carrying a trace of uncertainty:
"As for Tang Chen's whereabouts... I have two guesses."
"Oh?"
Qian Xunji raised an eyebrow, visibly intrigued. "I'd like to hear them."
To him, and to all of Spirit Hall, whether Tang Chen was alive and where he was mattered far more than the survival of the Clear Sky Sect before them.
As long as Tang Chen, the Peerless Douluo, had not been confirmed dead, he remained like a Sword of Damocles hanging over the Clear Sky Sect—and over every faction coveting it.
But once Tang Chen's death was confirmed...
Spirit Hall wouldn't even need to act. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would be unable to resist swooping in themselves and devouring the Clear Sky Sect, stripped of its greatest backing!
After all, as the saying went: who wouldn't want to rise further?