A Glimpse of the Rat's Eye

When Soul Masters undergo cultivation, high-intensity daily training inevitably leads to a massive increase in energy requirements. Therefore, if the food quality at a Soul Master Academy cannot keep up, the Soul Master's body will suffer greatly during such rigorous training; in more severe cases, prolonged caloric deficiency can even lead to damage to the Soul Master's meridians.

Any Soul Master Academy on the Douluo Continent that is even remotely decent loses a massive amount of funds every year. High-calorie food, mimicry cultivation environments, and high-quality instructors—none of these can be covered by student tuition fees alone.

Su Yun Tao swept the food before him clean, then downed two jars of wine in one go. After a brief rest, he set off again; his destination for this trip was Star Luo City, the capital of the Star Luo Empire.

His goal in going to Star Luo City was very simple: to visit the Breaking Clan and invite Yang Wudi to come out of seclusion to detoxify Dugu Bo.

In Su Yun Tao's heart, he felt he owed Dugu Bo a massive favor for having swept away the immortal herbs that originally belonged to him, so curing his poison was the least he could do.

Furthermore, both Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi possessed excellent character. Both were men of temperament who lived by their own principles, so Su Yun Tao also wished to befriend them.

Dugu Bo was willing to face Martial Soul Hall without fear of death for the sake of Tang San, that master of "wool-shearing," while Yang Wudi, as a member of the Clear Sky Sect, remained dutiful and fiercely loyal to the sect in the face of the massive Martial Soul Hall, willing to risk his entire clan's strength in a fight to the death.

It was a pity that the actions of the Clear Sky Sect were truly outrageous; the elders within the sect were short-sighted and narrow-minded.

They failed to see that Qian Daoliu, the true leader of Martial Soul Hall, had no intention of attacking them at all. They were scared out of their wits the moment the lower ranks of Martial Soul Hall began to stir following the death of the Pope.

That aside, the most infuriating thing was how they treated the tens of thousands of affiliated Soul Masters of other surnames. They were arrogant and bossy in times of peace, yet they discarded them without a second thought or a word of concern the moment a crisis arose.

Even the Four Single-Attribute Clans were ruthlessly abandoned. One must remember that the chief of the Speed Clan, Bai He, had a sister who was the wife of the previous sect master, Tang Xiao; he had marital ties to the Clear Sky Sect.

As for Tai Tan's Strength Clan, they had worked like beasts of burden, creating over a third of the Clear Sky Sect's income through their hard labor.

The Defense Clan had given their heart and soul; even the Clear Sky Castle itself had been built brick by brick by these master architects.

The Breaking Clan had been fiercely loyal, willing to risk their entire clan's strength to fight to the death for the Clear Sky Sect.

The four great clans had worked like slaves, only to be met with the heartless abandonment of the Clear Sky Sect! Worse still, when the Clear Sky Sect went into seclusion, they didn't even notify them. They were completely cast aside to serve as scapegoats, their blood spilled to vent Martial Soul Hall's rage so that the sect's direct line could cling to life!

The magnificent Clear Sky Hammer, the towering Clear Sky Sect! The vast foundation that Tang Chen had spent decades building had been squandered and ruined by his unworthy descendants in a mere few weeks.

It is estimated that the upper echelons of Martial Soul Hall never expected such a result; Qian Daoliu had never intended to strike at the Clear Sky Sect, and the titled Douluo of the Worship Hall and the elders had not moved at all.

It was merely because of the Pope's death that there was resentment within Martial Soul Hall, leading some individuals below the rank of elder and high priest to take action and cause friction with the Clear Sky Sect.

Yet, the Clear Sky Sect's elders were so outrageously short-sighted that they fled overnight with the sect's direct line to the place where Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen had once dueled, cowering like ostriches to survive.

Why didn't they stop to think? If Qian Daoliu truly wanted to kill them, could they have survived at all? If Qian Daoliu had not held the entire Clear Sky Sect responsible, was there any need for them to abandon their foundation? The actions of the Clear Sky Sect were truly stupid to the extreme!

Once they fled, the landscape of the continent's Soul Master world shifted drastically. Originally, there were no more than 100,000 Soul Masters on the continent, with the Heaven Dou and Star Luo Empires each possessing about 10,000.

The Clear Sky Sect had over 10,000 affiliated Soul Masters, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had 5,000—with 2,000 outside and 3,000 inside during the Hunt for Souls—and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family lost over 1,800 in the defense of their sect, totaling about 3,000 including those abroad.

The five major powers—the Clear Sky Sect, Heaven Dou, Star Luo, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Family—possessed no fewer than 40,000 Soul Masters combined. Including other sects, it is likely that Martial Soul Hall controlled fewer than 50,000 at the time.

The Clear Sky Sect's strategic blunder caused the balance of power to shatter instantly. Most of the 10,000 affiliated Soul Masters were absorbed by Martial Soul Hall. After Bibi Dong took power, she governed diligently, subduing the Lower Four Sects and a large number of smaller Soul Master factions, creating a vague trend toward unifying the continent's Soul Master world. As a result, seven or eight out of every ten of the 100,000 Soul Masters now obey Martial Soul Hall.

Coupled with the promotion of Spirit Douluo like Pufferfish and Snake Lance to elders under Bibi Dong's rule, the situation where Martial Soul Hall stood alone at the top of the Soul Master world became irreversible.

Furthermore, Bibi Dong strengthened her control over the kingdoms and duchies under her command, integrating resources and sharpening her blades. If not for a series of foolish strategic errors later on, the Douluo Continent would have long since belonged to Martial Soul Hall.

Once the Clear Sky Sect went into seclusion, everyone on the Douluo Continent knew that Tang Chen was truly gone. Although Qian Daoliu never intended to attack the Clear Sky Sect, the morale within Martial Soul Hall surged. Bibi Dong's rise to power and the fanaticism within Martial Soul Hall made war inevitable.

If Tang Chen were to return and see this situation, he would likely be angered to death by these descendants. Tang Xiao was indecisive and subservient to the sect elders; the five elders were short-sighted and narrow-minded; Tang Hao was listless, deeply wounded, and his path was cut off.

When Su Yun Tao first finished reading the original work, he only felt that some dwarves had been elevated while some giants had been obscured. In Su Yun Tao's heart, these cowards of the Clear Sky Sect were simply unworthy of being compared to the high priests of Martial Soul Hall.

Qian Daoliu, who headed the Worship Hall, did not act like Tang San. One must know that when a Man Faced Demon Spider blocked Tang San's path, leading to Xiao Wu's sacrifice, Tang San sought to exterminate the entire Man Faced Demon Spider race. Tang Hao had severely wounded Qian Daoliu's son, Qian Xunji, leading to Qian Xunji's death at the hands of Bibi Dong. Logically, Qian Daoliu destroying the Clear Sky Sect would have been in accordance with the will of heaven and the people. Moreover, since the outside world believed Qian Xunji died at the hands of the Clear Sky Sect's Tang Hao, Qian Daoliu had even more reason to strike.

Yet, Qian Daoliu did not vent his anger on the Clear Sky Sect, nor did he pursue Tang Hao deeply. There were rumors that Qian Daoliu failed to hunt down Tang Hao, but in reality, one only needs to think: a level 99 Limit Douluo whose martial soul was the highly mobile Six-Winged Archangel—a being that even the invincible Tang Chen could not defeat in the air—how could he fail to catch a level 92 hammer?

He was pursuing a hammer that was severely wounded and, most importantly, carrying a burden. Under such circumstances, how could that hammer possibly escape?

Qian Daoliu's magnanimity was met only with the destruction of Martial Soul Hall and the decline of the Angel Clan. The Angel Clan, which had guarded the continent for ten thousand years, could no longer shine with its former glory.

Not only that, but the Angel God position was also shattered by Tang San. Tang San, driven by his own selfish desires, never cared about the importance of the Angel Clan to the Douluo Continent. The rampant spread of evil Soul Masters in later generations was a foregone conclusion from the moment Tang San ascended!