Clear Sky Sect's Struggle

At the very center of the storm stood the already overwhelmed Clear Sky Sect.

The sect gates, sealed shut for more than a decade, did not dare open even the slightest crack now. Inside the sect's main hall, the atmosphere was as oppressive as if it had been filled with lead, so heavy that it was hard to breathe.

The sect master's seat at the head of the hall stood empty. The sect's seven elders filled the two rows of seats below, every one of them wearing an ashen expression. In the center of the hall stood Tang Xiao, dressed in a gray-black sect uniform, his posture as straight as a pine. Yet his usually resolute tiger-like eyes were bloodshot, dense stubble covered his chin, and exhaustion and haggardness could not be concealed from his entire body.

At his side stood Tang Yuehua in a plain white dress. Her normally gentle face was utterly bloodless, her eyes red-rimmed. Her fingers clutched the jade pendant at her waist so tightly that her fingertips had turned white, while her body trembled faintly.

"First Elder, I have made myself very clear." Tang Xiao's voice was terribly hoarse, carrying anger suppressed to its limits. "Tang Hao has already been expelled from the sect, and the sect has announced to the entire continent that it has severed all ties with him. Now you are forcing me to issue a sect-wide kill order, demanding that I personally kill my own younger brother. Do you really think I can do that?"

"Tang Xiao! At a time like this, you are still protecting that wretch!" The Second Elder, Tang Tudi, slammed his hand against the table and shot to his feet, pointing at Tang Xiao's nose as he shouted, "Look at what is happening outside! The entire continent is cursing our Clear Sky Sect for producing a Human Traitor! The Flame Will Dynasty's declaration has been pasted right outside our sect gates! The two great empires have sent three letters asking whether we can even control our own people. They said that if we cannot, then our Clear Sky Sect might as well rename itself the Rat Sect!"

"And the dozen or so sects affiliated with us—eight of them sent word yesterday alone that they want to cut ties with Clear Sky Sect!" The Third Elder rose as well, his tone filled with frantic fury. "If this continues, the century-old foundation of Clear Sky Sect will be ruined in the hands of that wretch Tang Hao! If you do not step forward and show your resolve, if you do not personally purge our ranks, are you waiting for the forces of the entire continent to come attacking our sect gates together?!"

"Purge our ranks?" Tang Xiao suddenly raised his eyes, the fury in them nearly spilling over. "Tang Hao is my full-blooded younger brother! He is a genius Clear Sky Sect sees only once in a century! Just because he is with Ah Yin, just because he protected his wife, you want to grind his bones to dust?!"

The moment those words fell, the main hall grew several degrees quieter.

Everyone knew that Tang Xiao had always held the gentle, water-like Blue Silver Emperor Ah Yin in his heart. Back then, the two brothers had traveled the continent together and both fallen for Ah Yin. In the end, Tang Xiao had chosen to step aside, fulfilling his younger brother and Ah Yin. To him, Ah Yin had never been some "harmful Soul Beast monster." She was the girl who silently treated his wounds whenever he was injured, who smiled as she cooked mountain stew for the two brothers.

More than anyone, he knew that Tang Hao had never betrayed humanity. He was only protecting his wife and child.

But now, the entire continent was cursing them, and he could not even utter a single word in their defense.

"Tang Xiao! You are being foolish!"

The Second Elder stomped his foot in frustration. "That Blue Silver Emperor is a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast! Not a human! Even if she has taken human form, she is still a man-eating Soul Beast to the core, no different from those Wolf Bandits! Tang Hao threw away humanity's bottom line for her. Are you going to go mad alongside him too?!"

"I am not mad." Tang Xiao slowly closed his eyes. When he opened them again, there was only endless weariness in their depths. "I only know that Tang Hao is my brother, and Ah Yin is a good woman. They have never harmed anyone, much less betrayed humanity. I will not issue a kill order, and I certainly will not kill him myself."

"Big Brother!"

Tang Yuehua, who had remained silent all along, suddenly spoke. Her voice carried a sob as tears finally spilled from her eyes.

She hurried to Tang Xiao's side, lifted her reddened eyes to look at him, then turned toward the elders. Her voice trembled, yet was unusually firm. "Second Elder, Elders, you cannot force my big brother like this. And you cannot treat my second brother this way either!"

"Tang Hao is not a traitor! He has never harmed anyone! Back in Kang'er City, he stood alone against the beast tide to save the civilians. Have you all forgotten that?! He merely fell in love with a Soul Beast that had taken human form. What did he do wrong?"

Her words seemed to strike a sore spot. The Third Elder immediately rebuked her sharply, "Yuehua! This is the sect's main hall. Is it your place, a woman, to interrupt?! Tang Hao has become the public enemy of the entire continent, yet you are still speaking for him here! Have you forgotten what people outside are saying about you? They say you and that traitor brother of yours are involved in something improper! You have utterly disgraced our Clear Sky Sect!"

Those words were like a sharp blade stabbing viciously into Tang Yuehua's heart.

Her entire body shuddered. Her face turned white as paper, her lips trembled, and for a long while she could not say a word.

The world only knew her as Miss Yuehua of Clear Sky Sect, a remarkably gifted Soul Master. But no one knew that throughout her life, her heart and eyes had been filled only with her own second brother, Tang Hao.

She had hidden this forbidden love for more than a decade, never daring to tell anyone. Even after Tang Hao married Ah Yin, she had merely offered her silent blessings and had never entertained even the slightest improper thought.

But now, the entire continent was calling Tang Hao a demon and a traitor. Even people within the sect were using the feelings she had hidden deep within her heart to strike at her pain, accusing her and Tang Hao of being "involved in something improper."

Who had exposed this matter?

They truly had a death wish!

Besides, the White Tiger Royal Family of the Star Luo Empire and the Hell Spirit Cat Clan had intermarried generation after generation. Their bloodlines could likewise be called ethically improper, so why was hers unacceptable?

She looked at the aggressive elders in the hall, then at her big brother beside her, exhausted yet still unwilling to yield. A bone-deep sense of helplessness instantly drowned her.

She wanted to protect Tang Hao, to defend him, to tell the world that her second brother was not a demon—that he was a good man who valued loyalty and affection. But she could do nothing.

She was merely a sect miss with no real authority, merely a tool for making money outside the sect.

Amid the continent-wide wave of condemnation and the pressure of the sect elders, her words were as light as a wisp of smoke, unable to stir even the smallest ripple.

She did not even dare secretly send Tang Hao a message, warning him not to return and to hide more carefully, without being extremely cautious. She feared the elders would discover it and add another crime to Tang Hao's name.

"Enough."

Tang Xiao reached out and shielded the tottering Tang Yuehua behind him. He raised his eyes toward the elders, his tone carrying unquestionable resolve. "I will never issue the kill order. The sect has already severed its ties with Tang Hao, and I will bear the storm outside alone. If you elders believe I am unfit to serve as acting sect master, then choose someone else."

After speaking, he no longer looked at their ashen faces. He turned, took Tang Yuehua's hand, and strode out of the main hall.

Once they left the oppressive hall, the cold mountain wind blew into their faces, carrying a piercing chill.

Tang Yuehua could no longer hold it in. Leaning against a corridor pillar, she covered her mouth and burst into tears.

"Big Brother, what are we supposed to do?"

She sobbed desperately, "The whole world is cursing Second Brother, everyone wants to kill him, and we cannot even say a word for him... He is out there alone with a child. How hard must it be for him..."

Tang Xiao stood with his back to her, staring at the rolling mountains in the distance. Moisture also welled in his usually resolute eyes.

His clenched fist had turned white at the knuckles. His nails dug deeply into his palm, drawing blood, yet he did not notice.

He was the acting sect master of Clear Sky Sect, responsible for protecting the hundreds of people in the sect.

He was also Tang Hao's elder brother, the one who had watched Tang Hao grow up, trained with hammers alongside him, and ventured through the world with him.

On one side was the century-old foundation of the sect. On the other was his blood-related younger brother, along with the girl he had held in his heart, who had long since perished.

Both sides were responsibilities he could not abandon. Yet now, caught between them, he could neither advance nor retreat. Even breathing felt painful.

He remained silent for a long time before finally speaking slowly, his voice so hoarse it was almost inaudible. "What else can we do? We can only wait. We can only endure."

"As long as I remain in this position, the sect cannot act against Tang Hao. As long as we do not yield, at least he will still have a chance to live."

But he knew better than anyone how difficult that path would be.

The continent-wide wanted notices had already spread into every corner. The anti-human-form Soul Beast movement stirred up by the Flame Will Dynasty was only intensifying. Tang Hao was hiding outside with a newborn infant, facing mortal danger every moment.

And the two siblings were trapped behind the gates of Clear Sky Sect. Other than stubbornly bearing the sect's pressure, they could do nothing.

Tang Yuehua cried for a long while, tears soaking her white sleeves. Her choked voice came in broken fragments. "Big Brother... The whole world wants to kill Second Brother... He cannot even have a peaceful meal while carrying that child... Is there really nothing we can do?"

Tang Xiao remained silent and raised a hand to wipe away her tears. Only when his fingertips touched her icy cheek did he realize she was already shivering from the cold.

He removed his gray-black outer robe and wrapped it around her slender body, his voice heavy with helplessness. "What can we do? The sect's patriarchs have shut themselves away and refuse to see anyone. The Second Elder and the others are using 'the survival of Clear Sky Sect' to pressure me. Some radical Soul Masters have already gathered at the foot of the mountain, shouting that they will 'purge our ranks.' If I dare say one hard word in Tang Hao's defense, Clear Sky Sect's gates will be trampled flat by radical Soul Masters from across the continent tomorrow."

He paused, his gaze falling upon the sect's distant depths shrouded in cloud and mist. A trace of ferocity flashed through his eyes. "But remember this, little sister. As long as I, Tang Xiao, am alive, Clear Sky Sect will never act against Hao. If they force me to choose, then I choose my brother. At worst, I will no longer be acting sect master. At worst, Clear Sky Sect will fall apart. But I will never personally send my own family to the executioner's block."

Those words seemed to inject Tang Yuehua with a trace of strength. She raised her reddened eyes and gripped Tang Xiao's arm, her fingertips turning white with force. "Big Brother! You mean it? Then let us secretly send Second Brother a message! Tell him to hide far away and never show himself again!"

"We cannot send one." Tang Xiao shook his head and pointed outside. "The sect is being watched to death now. People from Spirit Hall are stationed outside the mountain, claiming they are 'assisting Clear Sky Sect in investigating traitors,' but they are really monitoring our every move. Countless people are circling the sect. Not even a bird can fly out. We do not even have the right to leave the sect, much less send Hao a message."

The siblings faced each other in silence. Only Tang Yuehua's suppressed sobs echoed beneath the empty corridor. They both knew that Tang Hao was now like a rat crossing the street, with the entire continent watching for his trail. If even the slightest information leaked, what awaited him would be a relentless manhunt.

They did not even know that the storm sweeping across the entire continent had never been an accident.

In Torch Village beside Holy Soul Village, a six-year-old child who had just awakened a fairly good Martial Soul looked at the wanted notices and the Human Alliance Manifesto on the village entrance bulletin board. A smile utterly unfitting for his age curled at his lips.

"The Human Alliance Manifesto? I did not expect there to be an older brother before me. He was so fierce, yet he still could not blow up that rat. Looks like these waters really run deep!"