In the real world.
Bibi Dong sat on the papal throne. A strange glint suddenly flashed through her violet eyes. Her usual serene, water-still air turned intensely aggressive in an instant, like a freshly unsheathed blade, its edge bared.
"Your Holiness?"
Seeing that Bibi Dong had remained silent for so long, Golden Crocodile Douluo furrowed his brow and could not help reminding her, "Everyone's waiting."
"What's the rush?"
Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) spoke coolly. Her voice was languid, yet carried an oppressive force that made people afraid to meet her gaze.
She extended her slender fingers and picked up the thick dossier that had long been prepared on the table. It was the "proceed gradually" plan Bibi Dong had spent several sleepless nights writing.
Under the gaze of all the elders, she casually flipped through a couple of pages, then curled her lips into a scornful sneer.
"This thing..."
"Is just a pile of scrap paper."
Rrrip—!!!
To everyone's astonishment, Soul Power burst from Bibi Dong's palm, and the plan, which had embodied countless hours of hard work, instantly became a blizzard of scraps, fluttering down across the conference table like snowflakes.
"Your Holiness, what are you..." A Platinum Cardinal could not help speaking up.
"This plan is too slow, too soft, too useless."
Bibi Dong leaned back in her chair and folded her hands.
"There's no need to proceed gradually against the Clear Sky Sect. What I want is Thunderous Might!"
"My strategy consists of just sixteen words—"
"Prune their wings, surround the target and strike the reinforcements, charge straight for the heart, and pull them up by the roots!"
Golden Crocodile Douluo raised an eyebrow. "I'm all ears."
Bibi Dong held up one finger.
"Step one: prune their wings."
"Though the Clear Sky Sect is powerful, most of its disciples are direct descendants, so their numbers are limited. Its peripheral forces are mainly the Four Great Clans of the single-attribute clans: the Strength Clan, Defense Clan, Speed Clan, and Breaking Clan."
"These four clans are the Clear Sky Sect's eyes, ears, purse, and armory!"
"Pass down the order. Move against these four clans at once!"
"No need to persuade them to surrender. No negotiations."
Killing intent filled Bibi Dong's eyes, and her voice turned icy.
"Bring our armies to their gates. Whoever refuses to submit will have their clan wiped out!"
"I want the Clear Sky Sect to be blind, deaf, and crippled by the end of a single night!"
At those words, everyone's expression changed.
To strike directly at the Four Great Clans? That was ruthless indeed! And though the four clans were affiliated with the Clear Sky Sect, they were scattered across various regions. They would certainly be far easier to attack than the Clear Sky Sect, holed up in its mountain stronghold!
But...
"Your Holiness, though the Four Great Clans are affiliated with the Clear Sky Sect, this war began because of Tang Hao, a direct descendant of the Clear Sky Sect. What's the point of concentrating our strength on them first?" Ghost Leopard Douluo could not help asking.
"The Four Great Clans are only its vassals. Even if we really destroy them, it won't strike at the Clear Sky Sect's roots."
"Spirit Hall is making such a grand show of force, yet doing something that makes a lot of noise but little impact. Isn't that... somewhat inappropriate?"
Bibi Dong glanced at Ghost Leopard Douluo. "That brings us to step two: surround the target and strike the reinforcements."
"If the Four Great Clans are attacked, will the Clear Sky Sect come to their aid or not?"
"If they do, then they'll fall right into our trap! The elders here can intercept them along the way! Kill one for every one who comes, kill a pair for every pair! None of them will make it back!"
"If they don't..."
Bibi Dong gave a cold laugh. "Then they'll fall right into our trap all the same!"
"If they won't even save their most loyal subordinate clans, the Clear Sky Sect will lose the hearts of its people! Who would dare affiliate with them after that? They'll be utterly isolated!"
"By then, every Soul Master in the world will see the Clear Sky Sect for what it is: strong on the outside but weak within, selfish to the core!"
"As for step three..."
Bibi Dong rose abruptly and braced both hands against the table. She leaned forward, and her oppressive presence swept over the entire hall.
"When they've lost their wings, their people's loyalty, their outside reinforcements, and their food within..."
"That will be the day I personally lead our army and flatten the gates of the Clear Sky Sect!"
The air fell silent.
The elders stared at Bibi Dong, who was now brimming with killing intent, as if possessed by a goddess of war. One by one, they were so shaken that they could not speak.
The plan was too mad, too aggressive, but also... too tempting!
Simple, direct, brutal—and aimed straight at the heart!
Unlike the usual convoluted political maneuvering, this was pure military thinking! The ultimate expression of using overwhelming strength against the weak!
Golden Crocodile Douluo remained silent for a long while.
He rapidly assessed the plan's feasibility in his mind. It was aggressive, but he had to admit that if they could carry out the first two steps, the Clear Sky Sect would be crippled halfway.
Besides, this approach fit the high morale in Spirit Hall right now.
But...
Golden Crocodile Douluo lowered his eyelids halfway, lightly rubbing his fingers against the armrest.
He looked at the spirited Bibi Dong and silently calculated. The plan was good, but if this woman really destroyed the Clear Sky Sect in a triumphant sweep, her reputation would soar. She would have risen to prominence by stepping on two prodigies of the previous generation: Qian Xunji and Tang Hao.
By then, with a great victory behind her and the deterrent of that Hundred Thousand Year Soul Ring, she would truly have secured her position as pope.
Not only would she secure it, she might even sideline the Worship Hall.
For Xue'er's future, he absolutely could not let her have such an easy path.
Golden Crocodile slightly turned his head and gave a knowing look to an elder seated below him, a burly man with a face full of thick flesh.
He was Demon Bear Douluo, one of the senior members of the Elder Hall.
Demon Bear Douluo understood at once. He gave a dry cough and stepped forward.
"Your Holiness, this plan does sound satisfying, but... forgive me for speaking plainly. Isn't it a little too dismissive of the enemy?"
Demon Bear Douluo's voice was rough, and his questioning tone instantly chilled the hall.
"Oh?"
Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) raised an eyebrow, leaned back in her chair, and looked at him with an amused smile. "What insight does Elder Demon Bear have to offer?"
"I wouldn't dare call it insight."
Though Demon Bear Douluo feared Bibi Dong's strength at rank ninety-seven, he had Golden Crocodile Douluo backing him, so he spoke boldly enough. "It's just that the Four Great Clans of the single-attribute clans may only be affiliated forces, but they're still the Clear Sky Sect's sharpest claws. The Strength Clan and Breaking Clan in particular have tremendous offensive power. They're no soft persimmons."
"To subdue all four clans with the force of a thunderbolt, we'll inevitably need to deploy Titled Douluo-level fighters."
At this, Demon Bear Douluo glanced around the hall, his tone growing grave.
"More importantly, there's the matter of surrounding the target and striking the reinforcements."
"Though the Clear Sky Sect now has only one Titled Douluo, its sect master, Tang Xiao, which of those elders isn't a peak Soul Douluo with Soul Power above rank eighty-five? The Clear Sky Hammer is hailed as the world's number one tool-type Martial Soul, with offensive power that surpasses all others of its rank. If they fight to the death, they really could drag a Titled Douluo down with them!"
"If we split our forces four ways, and the Clear Sky Sect gathers all its elite elders to rescue just one clan..."
Demon Bear Douluo paused, then tossed out the question that made everyone present's hearts jump:
"How will our scattered forces deal with that?"
"When the time comes, will we be surrounding the target and striking the reinforcements, or will they concentrate their superior forces and defeat us one group at a time?"
At these words, the elders who had just been itching for a fight instantly changed their expressions.
That was true.
It was the Clear Sky Hammer!
Who in the Soul Master World didn't know how overbearing the Clear Sky Hammer was?
Back then, Qian Xunji had taken two Titled Douluos, Chrysanthemum and Ghost, to surround and kill Tang Hao. And what had happened? One had died, and two had been gravely wounded.
Tang Hao had just entered the ranks of the Titled Douluo and had already hammered the pope to death. If those peak Soul Douluo elders fought for their lives, it was no fantasy to think they could take a few of them down with them!
It had not been easy for any of them to cultivate to the rank of Titled Douluo. They enjoyed wealth and honor—who would want to trade their life for one of those lunatics with a hammer?
For a moment, the atmosphere in the conference room cooled rapidly from its earlier fervor, turning hesitant and timid.
Many elders began whispering among themselves, their eyes flickering. Clearly, they were already looking for a way to back out.
At the head of the table.
Nan Feng watched this bunch of old schemers, who had just been shouting, "Punish them, no matter how far away!" but now wanted to "deliberate further" at the mere mention of risking their lives. She could not help rolling her eyes in her mind.
"A bunch of cowards."
Nan Feng grumbled in the Sea of Consciousness. "Sure enough, wherever you go, the people with vested interests are always the most afraid of dying."
"Nan Feng, what should I do?" Bibi Dong asked. "Demon Bear's just picking a fight, but he has a point. If the Clear Sky Sect really concentrates its forces and counterattacks, our scattered troops will indeed be in danger."
"If they defeat us one group at a time, this war will become a joke."
"As if he has a point."
Nan Feng scoffed. "Qian Xunji just died, Tang Hao is nowhere to be found, and the Clear Sky Sect is a startled bird right now. Would they dare bring out their entire force? Would Tang Xiao dare leave the Clear Sky Sect? If he came out, what would happen to his home?"
"Besides, do you think those arrogant people from the Clear Sky Sect would risk themselves to save their little underlings?"
"The Four Great Clans might be called the Clear Sky Sect's affiliates, but to those people in the Clear Sky Sect, they're no different from a few dogs."
In the real world.
At the head of the table, Bibi Dong (Nan Feng) suddenly laughed. Her laughter held unconcealed scorn and mockery, and sounded especially jarring in the silent conference hall.
"Your Holiness, what are you laughing at?" Demon Bear Douluo furrowed his brow, his expression turning unpleasant.
"I'm laughing at you..."
Bibi Dong's smile faded, and she leaned forward slightly.
"You've lived your whole lives and cultivated to the rank of Titled Douluo, yet your minds are still stuck decades in the past!"
"Do you think too highly of the Clear Sky Sect? And of how united they are?"
"Or has that plaque proclaiming them the greatest sect under heaven scared the courage right out of you?"
Bibi Dong held up a finger and lightly tapped the tabletop, making a series of soft knocks.
"Have you all forgotten what happened when Spirit Hall first sent Titled Douluos to hunt down Tang Hao and seize that Hundred-Thousand-Year Transformed Soul Beast?"
Bibi Dong's gaze moved slowly around the room before settling on Demon Bear Douluo's flushed face. Her tone was playful.
"Back then, Tang Hao was only a rank-eighty-four Soul Douluo. And one of our elders was a mighty Titled Douluo above rank ninety."
"And what happened?"
"Not only did Tang Hao fight back, he smashed one of that elder's legs with a single blow of his hammer, then left at his leisure."
"If I'm not mistaken... that elder was none other than you, Demon Bear, was he not?"