Devour and Refine

The Clear Sky Sect had come to Spirit Hall under the leadership of their ancestor, Tang Chen. Their purpose was simple: Spirit Hall's Pope, Qian Xunji.

With the sect's full support, Tang Hao had now broken through to the Soul Saint realm.

According to the information they had, Qian Xunji's strength was currently at the Soul Douluo level.

With Tang Hao's Soul Saint cultivation, combined with the Clear Sky Sect's secret techniques, they had every chance of defeating Qian Xunji.

Then they could find an excuse to bring up the wager and surely achieve their goal.

Tang Chen also knew, however, that they couldn't reveal their purpose outright. Naturally, they would use the pretext of an exchange between the younger generations of the two great powers.

Tang Chen had personally come to Spirit Hall, and Qian Daoliu was quite surprised. He came out to greet him in person.

He gave Tang Chen all the respect and ceremony he could.

This display only made the already proud members of the Clear Sky Sect even more arrogant.

"Big Brother, I thought Spirit Hall was something special. Now it seems they're nothing much."

"They're still as respectful as can be in front of the Clear Sky Sect, aren't they?"

Tang Hao looked around, utterly unimpressed.

"Hao Di, we are guests, after all. We should speak politely while we're here."

"Since Spirit Hall managed to spread its influence across most of Douluo Continent, it must have something going for it."

A young man standing beside Tang Hao spoke. He looked very much like him, but was clearly steadier in both speech and manner.

There was a hint of reprimand in his words, but his tone was just as proud.

From their ancestor Tang Chen down to the sect's disciples, the members of the Clear Sky Sect all carried themselves as if they were above everyone else.

How could Tang Chen not know?

Not only did he refrain from correcting them, he actively encouraged this attitude.

The reason was simple: to cultivate the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul to its peak, one needed an attitude that looked down on all beneath heaven and charged ahead without hesitation.

"Big Brother, the Clear Sky Sect doesn't take our Spirit Hall seriously at all."

Tang Hao had no idea that his conversation with Tang Xiao had already been clearly overheard by Spirit Hall's upper ranks.

Of course, even if they knew, they might not have cared.

The one who spoke was Golden Crocodile Douluo.

If he weren't weaker than Tang Chen, Golden Crocodile Douluo would have taught those Clear Sky Sect brats a lesson, no matter what.

"Uncle Jin, don't let them upset you. The Clear Sky Sect wants to pit their younger generation against ours, doesn't it? Once my disciple returns, she'll surely defeat every one of their peers."

Qian Xunji spoke calmly.

At the mention of her disciple, Bibi Dong, a smile appeared at the corner of her mouth.

Although she had only seen Bibi Dong two or three times a year over the past several years, every meeting had left her deeply astonished.

Even she, her disciple's teacher and a Titled Douluo, didn't know her true strength.

At the mention of Bibi Dong, even Golden Crocodile Douluo's face lit up with a smile.

Over the years, all the Elders and worshippers had made breakthroughs in various areas thanks to Bibi Dong.

And that little girl was sweet-tongued, sensible, and well-behaved. They all adored her.

Whenever she visited, they were forced by one circumstance or another to give her precious gifts, but they were still happy to do so.

Spirit Hall had a promising future.

If Big Brother hadn't wanted an excuse to pressure Xunji into marrying and having children sooner, they would have already made Bibi Dong the Holy Son.

The people of the Clear Sky Sect were impatient. They had originally planned to challenge Spirit Hall's geniuses as soon as they arrived, hoping to firmly outclass them and show off the Clear Sky Sect's power and invincibility.

Unexpectedly, Spirit Hall kept refusing to accept the challenge, dragging things out again and again.

"Could my intentions and plans have been exposed?"

Tang Chen was deeply puzzled.

Given the temperament of that old fellow Qian Daoliu, he shouldn't have been so hesitant.

Yet now, he kept delaying and obstructing them at every turn, leaving Tang Chen baffled.

Before coming, he had made a point of gathering information. Qian Daoliu had repeatedly mentioned finding a husband for his daughter, Qian Xunji, and had collected information on many exceptionally talented young men of her generation.

From the looks of it, Qian Daoliu was eager to find his daughter a husband.

Tang Chen had already brought his most outstanding grandson right to his doorstep, yet that old fox Qian Daoliu remained unmoved.

Tang Chen couldn't make sense of it.

Tang Cheng had no idea that Qian Xunji was stalling because she was waiting for her disciple to return.

Since the Clear Sky Sect had come knocking, she could use this opportunity to make her name resound throughout the world.

Not just her disciple's, but her own as well.

She had yet to fight in front of outsiders since becoming a Titled Douluo.

This was the perfect opportunity.

Her father was no match for Tang Chen, so as his daughter, she would naturally win back his honor.

And her disciple would defeat the outstanding talents of the Clear Sky Sect's younger generation.

By now, Bibi Dong had emerged from the Ice and Fire Yin-Yang Well.

Having successfully completed Ice and Fire Gold Body Refining, Bibi Dong now possessed the physical strength to absorb a Ten Thousand Year Soul Ring.

And not one that had only just reached ten thousand years, either.

She would need to test her limits further to determine exactly how much she could withstand.

Bibi Dong didn't immediately use the Forget-River Autumn-Water Dew to improve her spiritual power. Instead, she first examined her Martial Souls.

Unless an Immortal Herb matched one's attributes, made up for a deficiency, or the Soul Master had accumulated enough power, it couldn't advance a super Martial Soul any further.

Bibi Dong possessed two Martial Souls: the Death Spider Emperor and the Soul-Eater Spider Emperor. Both were emperors among top-tier Martial Souls.

It would be difficult for an Immortal Herb's power to transform them or help them advance further.

But it could improve their attributes.

She closed her eyes and carefully felt out the traits of her Martial Souls.

Besides both possessing immunity to ice and fire, each Martial Soul had also gained an ice or fire attribute.

The death power of her Death Spider Emperor had gained an ice attribute. Its attacks had already been powerful, but the addition of ice made them even stronger and more formidable.

The Soul-Eater Spider Emperor had changed as well.

It hadn't visibly inherited the fire attribute, but its essence had gained a new innate Soul Skill.

That was Devour and Refine.

The Soul-Eater Spider Emperor could devour the Soul Power of other Soul Masters and Soul Beasts to strengthen itself.

But this came with a major drawback.

Devouring too much severely hindered one's cultivation.

Now, however, its spider legs possessed a scorching power that could burn and purify.

In other words, it could refine the power it devoured and avoid the side effects.

Bibi Dong was overjoyed by this evolution and improvement.