Ghost Leopard: We Agreed to Just Float Along Together?!

A deathly silence filled the great hall.

Everyone was stunned by the scene the Second Elder had described.

Indeed, that domain was too terrifying; it was a plague that no human power could possibly withstand!

"Since Martial Soul Hall has already torn off the mask and is willing to resort to such evil power, it means they have no intention of letting this rest."

The Second Elder took a deep breath and made the final decision:

"We cannot sit here and wait for death."

"We must immediately organize the elderly, the weak, the women, and the children of the sect, along with the young seeds of the next generation, to evacuate Clear Sky Peak in secret, batch by batch. They are to head to our backup base near Heaven Dou City and remain completely hidden."

"If Martial Soul Hall truly ignores everything and attacks..."

"Then we shall blow up the sect and abandon this place entirely!"

"No matter what, the spark of the Clear Sky Sect... must not be extinguished!"

To abandon their ancestral grounds—what a supreme humiliation this was.

For the Clear Sky Sect, which viewed honor as life itself, this was even more painful than death.

But looking at the remnants of their forces, looking at the clansmen weeping for their lost loved ones, everyone fell silent.

Because they knew the Second Elder was right.

Facing Bibi Dong, who was as terrifying as a demon god, and facing a Martial Soul Hall capable of instantly killing peak powerhouses, they no longer had the capital to fight head-on.

To survive.

To survive like rats.

This was now the only extravagant hope for the sect that was once the greatest under heaven.

"Titan."

The Second Elder suddenly turned his head to look at Titan, who had remained silent throughout.

"Present," Titan replied in a low voice.

"Your Strength Clan... should evacuate as well," the Second Elder said with a complex tone. "Since the Speed Clan has already fallen, your Strength Clan is too conspicuous; it is not safe to remain outside. Follow our families to Heaven Dou City. Once there, at least we can look out for one another."

Titan raised his head, looking at these Elders who had once stood high above, but were now paralyzed by fear.

He remembered the high spirits of Tang Hao in the past, he remembered the Great Elder who had just died for the dignity of the sect, and then he looked at these "high-level" members who kept retreating to save their own skins, even going so far as to betray Tang Hao.

Titan's heart turned cold.

"No need."

Titan suddenly straightened his back, a sneer of utter disappointment appearing on his rugged face.

"The Strength Clan may be an affiliated clan, but we have our own backbone."

"Since the Clear Sky Sect has already sealed its mountain, and since Master Tang Hao has already been expelled by you..."

"Then the Strength Clan will not trouble you Elders any further."

"What do you mean?" The Second Elder frowned.

"I mean..."

Titan turned, cupped his fists toward Tang Xiao, who sat dejectedly on the throne—a final gesture of the master-servant bond—and then turned to walk out of the hall, his voice booming and resolute:

"From this day on, the Strength Clan severs ties with the Clear Sky Sect!"

"The world is vast, we shall go our own way!"

"Even if I die at the hands of Martial Soul Hall, this old man will never act like a coward, selling out his own master to save his life!"

"Move out!!"

Following Titan's roar, the remaining members of the Strength Clan followed their patriarch without hesitation, striding out of the Clear Sky Sect hall that now reeked of decay and cowardice.

"You... you rebel! This is pure rebellion!!" The Seventh Elder trembled with rage.

But no one moved to stop them.

Because they knew that with the departure of the Strength Clan, the Clear Sky Sect—which had once commanded the four great affiliated clans and shaken the world—was...

Completely shattered.

Strength Clan encampment, Pope's temporary headquarters.

Inside the large tent, the stove fire was burning bright, yet Bibi Dong's complexion remained deathly pale. She leaned lazily against a soft couch, her fingers gently massaging her temples, trying to soothe the tearing sensation deep within her soul.

"You bastard..."

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth in her heart. "You call this a side effect? I feel like my martial souls are about to fall apart!"

Although that Self-Martial Soul Fusion Skill was formidable, allowing her to briefly gain power approaching level ninety-nine, the price was immense. Both of her martial souls were not only weakened but damaged.

The sensation was like forcing two spiders with vastly different temperaments and mutual hatred into the same cage, forcing them to devour and fuse with one another. While the power that erupted was world-shattering, the current aftermath was enough to drive anyone to madness.

Nan Feng, that madman, had utilized the nexus of their soul fusion to forcibly meld two conflicting Spider Emperor soul powers together; the core of this technique was not a martial soul fusion, but a soul fusion.

The price of such a fusion was that the two great Spider Emperor martial souls, having collided at their peak, were now both battered and bruised.

"One month..."

Bibi Dong gritted her teeth in her heart. "A full month without being able to use my full strength, perhaps even failing to maintain the standard of an ordinary Title Douluo. Nan Feng, is this what you call a 'small price'?"

"Relax, relax." Nan Feng's tone remained light. "It's just a bit of weakness, isn't it? It's not like you're crippled. Besides, you are now a peerless powerhouse who just solo-cleared the Clear Sky Sect dungeon; who would dare to test your depth?"

"Even if you were slumped in a chair picking your feet, those people outside would still think it's profound and mysterious, a return to simplicity."

"Get out!" Bibi Dong was utterly speechless.

She was a cautious person, and this state of being strong on the outside but weak on the inside made her feel incredibly insecure!

Just then, the tent flap was lifted, and Chrysanthemum Douluo Yue Guan stepped in with small, hurried steps, his expression respectful:

"Your Excellency, Elders Ghost Leopard, Snake Lance, and Pufferfish have returned and are waiting outside the tent for your decree."

"Let them in." Bibi Dong sat up straight, forcibly mobilizing a sliver of soul power to make her complexion appear more ruddy, her gaze instantly reverting to that cold, arrogant look that looked down upon the world.

A moment later, three figures filed in one after another.

Ghost Leopard Douluo walked at the front, his eyes drifting and his steps unsteady, clearly betraying a guilty conscience.

As for Snake Lance and Pufferfish behind him, although they were injured, their expressions were relatively calm, though they looked at the Ghost Leopard in front of them with a hint of oddity.

"Greetings, Your Excellency the Pope!" the three saluted in unison.

"Rise."

Bibi Dong leaned back against the chair, her slender fingers tapping lightly on the armrest.

"Speak, what are the results of the battle?"

Bibi Dong's gaze swept over the three. "Have the Defense Clan and the Breaking Clan surrendered?"

"This..."

Ghost Leopard Douluo trembled all over, biting the bullet as he stepped forward and cupped his hands:

"Re... reporting to Your Excellency."

"When this subordinate led the army to the Defense Clan, we had already formed a siege. But... but just as we were preparing to attack, news suddenly arrived from the Clear Sky Sect."

Ghost Leopard Douluo swallowed a mouthful of saliva, snuck a glance at Bibi Dong's complexion, and continued:

"The Clear Sky Sect announced it was closing its mountains, expelling Tang Hao from the sect, revoking his Clear Sky title, and declaring to the world that they had severed all ties with him."

"Upon learning this news, the Defense Clan announced their departure from the Clear Sky Sect on the spot. That old rhinoceros Niu Gao stated that since the Clear Sky Sect had already abandoned them, they would no longer lay down their lives for the sect."

Speaking to this point, Ghost Leopard Douluo's voice gained a bit of confidence:

"This subordinate reasoned that... since they had already left the Clear Sky Sect, our Martial Soul Hall no longer had a righteous cause to attack. Plus... cough, cough, plus in order to reflect Your Excellency's benevolence, this subordinate did not pursue them and let them go."

After speaking, Ghost Leopard Douluo secretly raised his eyes to observe Bibi Dong's expression, his heart pounding.

"Benevolence?"

A mocking arc curled the corners of Bibi Dong's lips. "Elder Ghost Leopard, since when did you become so kind? If this Seat remembers correctly, you were the one who loved slaughter the most, weren't you?"

"This subordinate... this subordinate was considering the big picture! I didn't want to bring the infamy of slaughtering the innocent upon Your Excellency!" Ghost Leopard Douluo hurriedly defended himself.

"..."

Bibi Dong did not speak, merely looking at Ghost Leopard with a smile that wasn't quite a smile, until the other party was dripping with cold sweat, before she slowly turned her head to look at the other two:

"And what about you two?"

"The Breaking Clan is famous for its fierce attack power, even daring to challenge Title Douluos. You weren't converted by benevolence as well, were you?"

Snake Lance Douluo and Pufferfish Douluo exchanged a glance; both of their expressions were somewhat strange, even tinged with a hint of helplessness.

"Reporting to Your Excellency."

Snake Lance Douluo stepped forward and cupped his hands. "The Breaking Clan is indeed tough. That Soul-Breaking Spear of Yang Wudi has extremely strong attack power; although this subordinate suppressed him after trading a few moves, I was also injured by him."

"However..."

Snake Lance Douluo glanced at the relaxed-looking Ghost Leopard beside him and said with some helplessness, "We two did not dare to neglect Your Excellency's military order. Before the news from the Clear Sky Sect arrived, I joined forces with Pufferfish to severely wound Yang Wudi and crippled more than half of the Breaking Clan's elite."

"Immediately following that, the news of the Clear Sky Sect expelling Tang Hao and closing its mountains arrived, and the Breaking Clan also announced their departure from the Clear Sky Sect. Pufferfish and I thought that since Martial Soul Hall had lost its righteous justification, continuing to hunt them down might damage Your Excellency's reputation for benevolence and righteousness, so after the Breaking Clan abandoned their base and fled, we did not pursue them further."

At this point, Pufferfish Douluo added:

"However, we did not return empty-handed."

"Although Yang Wudi escaped, his younger brother Yang Wushuang, who has always been responsible for alchemy, was unable to escape due to his weaker strength and was captured alive by us."

"The person is currently being held outside the camp."

"..."

Inside the large tent, the atmosphere instantly became somewhat subtle.

Ghost Leopard Douluo turned his head sharply, staring fixedly at Snake Lance and Pufferfish, his eyes filled with accusation.

No! We agreed that we were all going to slack off together?!

How could you two play for real?!

You crippled the Breaking Clan and even captured their own brother?!

Doesn't that make me, the one who "let the Defense Clan go," look like a total failure without any principles?!

You are trying to roast me over a fire!