Qian Xunji and Qian Daoliu would never take a risk on behalf of others, shouldering all the danger themselves to reap the benefits.
So before setting out, Qian Daoliu had specifically warned Qian Xunji: they could back Sea God Island, apply pressure, and kill to make an example of someone, but...
They absolutely could not wipe out the sect.
At least until they received definite news of Tang Chen's life or death, they had to leave Clear Sky Sect a thread of hope—and leave Spirit Hall a way out.
Qian Xunji knew perfectly well the calculations and considerations behind it all.
Under the oppressive silence and weight of the moment, ten breaths seemed to stretch without end.
At last, Tang Zhen slowly closed his eyes. A cloudy tear slipped silently from the corner.
When he opened them again, his eyes were filled with ashen resolve and pain.
He seemed to have aged ten years in an instant. His voice came out hoarse and dry, like sandpaper scraping:
"Xiao..."
He looked at Tang Hao, whose face was full of indignation and grief, and summoned every last ounce of strength to force out a few words:
"Go... bring the things... out... and return them."
He was admitting defeat.
He agreed to return what they had stolen.
At his words, Tang Hao trembled violently and looked up at his father, his eyes filled with disbelieving anger and hurt.
He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say something. But when he met his father's gaze—full of pain and despair, yet carrying an unquestionable command—every word caught in his throat.
He clenched his fists so tightly that his nails sank deep into his palms, and blood dripped through his fingers.
Finally, he whirled around and staggered toward the depths of the sect, toward the place where Ah Yin was being held, without looking back.
At that moment, his retreating figure was filled with boundless humiliation and resentment.
As Tang Hao left, Tang Zhen slowly shifted his gaze to Tang Xiao, who was just as pale.
His eyes were impossibly complicated, filled with guilt, pain, and helplessness.
But more than anything, they held the deep impotence of a sect leader and father who could not protect his son.
He said nothing. With his eyes alone, he conveyed the cruel decision that words could not express: Do it, Xiao.
For the sect, there was no other way.
This time...
We've lost.
Accept your fate.
Tang Xiao understood everything in his father's eyes.
He was older than Tang Hao, steadier, and more aware of the greater good and the weight of the sect.
He looked at his fellow disciples lying dead or grievously wounded around him, at his injured father, and then at the enemies opposite, watching them like tigers and bristling with murderous intent...
He knew there was no other choice.
A miserable smile appeared on Tang Xiao's face.
It held mockery at fate's cruel tricks, regret for his own rashness, and the release of someone resigned to his lot.
He looked at no one. He simply raised his left arm, slowly.
Then, under the gazes of everyone there—some aghast, some pitying, some pleased, some indifferent...
"Crack—!!!"
A crisp, bone-snapping sound that made the teeth ache rang out!
Tang Xiao had seized his left shoulder with his right hand, then twisted and yanked hard!
His movements were clean, decisive, and ruthless!
"Pfft—!"
Blood gushed from the wound at his left shoulder like a fountain!
He had torn an entire arm, sleeve and all, from his body with his bare hands!
The stump was a mangled mess of flesh and bone, and blood instantly soaked half his body.
The agony twisted Tang Xiao's face. Veins bulged on his forehead, and cold sweat poured down like rain.
But he clenched his teeth and made no sound. Only a choked, wheezing "Hrr... hrr..." escaped his throat.
His body swayed, but he braced himself against the Clear Sky Hammer with his remaining right arm and did not fall.
"Xiao!!!" Tang Zhen let out a heart-rending howl and tried to rush over, but his injuries were too severe. He spat out another mouthful of blood and nearly passed out.
The Clear Sky Sect disciples around them were all aghast at the sight. Many female disciples even covered their mouths, stifling their sobs.
A grief like that of a hare dying when the fox mourned it, and humiliation to the very core, spread through the heart of every surviving member of Clear Sky Sect.
Their once-proud number-one sect under heaven had been forced to watch its heir sever his own arm on the spot, just to keep the peace!
What a monstrous humiliation!
Yet in stark contrast to the grief and pent-up outrage on Clear Sky Sect's side were the people from Spirit Hall and Sea God Island.
Seeing Tang Xiao sever his own arm so decisively, Sea Dragon Douluo's eyes flashed with cold satisfaction, and he gave a soft snort.
The frustration of being ambushed by the two brothers and robbed of his treasure had finally been vented, at least in part.
The people from Spirit Hall, especially the Soul Douluos and Chrysanthemum Ghost Douluo, also wore expressions of satisfaction, some openly, others more subtly.
Clear Sky Sect, the number-one sect under heaven, had relied on Tang Chen and often paid Spirit Hall lip service while secretly defying it. It had even seemed to stand as Spirit Hall's equal. When had it ever suffered such a crushing defeat?
When had it ever been so humiliated?
They had thought that as long as Tang Chen remained alive, they would never see the day Clear Sky Sect bowed to anyone.
After all, the Peerless Douluo's reputation had been far too formidable.
But who could have expected things to turn out this way?
The two heirs whom Clear Sky Sect had placed such high hopes on had been fools enough to provoke the mysterious and powerful Sea God Island of all places!
Not only had they stolen something from the God Child, they had even injured people from Sea God Island!
They had practically courted death and brought ruin upon themselves!
They had not only brought Sea God Island down on Clear Sky Sect's head as a powerful enemy, but had also handed Spirit Hall the perfect, legitimate opportunity to intervene—or even kick them while they were down!
"Time and fate."
Many powerful figures from Spirit Hall sighed to themselves.
Watching an opponent they had once looked up to now forced to sever an arm and sue for peace like a stray dog, they felt an indescribable sense of superiority and relief rise in their chests.
Only Tang Xiao's ragged, stifled breaths remained on the square, along with the thick, inescapable stench of blood.
One of the punishments for severing an arm had now been carried out.
Everyone's gaze turned involuntarily toward the depths of the sect, waiting for Tang Hao to bring out the stolen item, and...
For him to answer for his own arm.
Meanwhile, deep within Clear Sky Sect, the dungeon was cold and damp.
It was dim inside. Only a few yellow oil lamps on the walls swayed with faint light, barely illuminating the narrow passage and cold iron bars.
The air was filled with the smell of mildew and rust, as well as a faint trace of blood.
The special cell at the very end was not filthy like an ordinary prison cell. Instead, it had been kept quite clean, with even a layer of straw spread across the floor.
Ah Yin sat quietly on the straw.
Though she wore a simple blue dress, it could not conceal her innate purity and ethereal grace—the qualities of a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast transformed into human form.
At that moment, however, her face was a little pale, and her breath somewhat weak. It was clear that she was not faring well in this prison, specially designed to restrain Soul Beasts.
She had heard every bit of the earth-shaking battle outside: the explosive clashes of Soul Power and the distant roars and screams.
Now all the sounds had died away, leaving only a deathly silence.