"Hmph. So what?"
The Seventh Elder gave a disdainful snort.
"Our Clear Sky Sect has a defensive formation, and we have natural barriers to protect us. No matter how powerful he is, surely he can't flatten our thousand-million-zhang-tall Xuankong Mountain?"
Just as the Seventh Elder's voice fell,
suddenly,
BOOM!
A violent tremor came without warning from outside the hall.
The shaking was so intense that the sturdy council hall began to rock violently, and countless bits of stone and dust rained down from the ceiling.
Immediately afterward, a piercing alarm shattered the Clear Sky Sect's years of peace.
"Enemy attack—!!"
The voice was filled with terror, as though its owner had encountered something dreadful.
"What's going on?!"
Tang Xiao's expression changed drastically. He sprang to his feet and shot out of the hall in a flash.
The five elders exchanged glances, their faces filled with alarm, and hurried after him.
When they reached the square outside the council hall and saw the scene before them, every one of them drew a sharp breath.
The white clouds that had once filled the distant sky had been torn apart, revealing the deep blue heavens.
But countless black dots now crowded the sky.
They were three thousand fully armed royal cavalrymen of the Heaven Dou Empire. Somehow, they had crossed the natural barriers and completely surrounded the mountains where the Clear Sky Sect stood.
Their heavy armor reflected a cold gleam in the sunlight. Their overwhelming killing intent gathered together, turning even the winds and clouds above them ominous.
In the air at the front, more than a dozen powerful figures at the Titled Douluo and Soul Douluo levels stood suspended.
At their head was Gu Sheng, clad in white, his expression calm.
"The Heaven Dou Empire's army... How could they have arrived so quickly?!"
The Second Elder's voice trembled, his shock impossible to conceal.
The place where the Clear Sky Sect had gone into hiding was secret, and the mountain roads were treacherous. For the enemy to bring three thousand heavy cavalry here without anyone noticing was simply unbelievable.
"Look at those two!"
The Third Elder pointed at the two figures beside Gu Sheng, his face so dark it looked ready to drip.
"That's Snake Lance and Pufferfish from Spirit Hall! The Heaven Dou Empire really has joined forces with Spirit Hall!"
Seeing those familiar figures, the people of the Clear Sky Sect understood at once. This was clearly a planned encirclement.
For a time, the entire Clear Sky Sect descended into chaos. Countless young disciples ran around in panic, staring at the dark mass of troops outside, their eyes filled with fear.
Since the sect had withdrawn from the world, when had this younger generation ever seen anything like this?
Tang Xiao forced down his shock, took a deep breath, and channeled his Soul Power. His voice boomed through the air like a great bell.
"Are you the Saint Spirit King of the Heaven Dou Empire? May I ask why Your Highness has brought troops to surround my Clear Sky Sect?"
"My Clear Sky Sect has lived in seclusion for twenty years and has never taken part in conflicts between the empire and the outside world. Isn't Your Highness's action rather unjustifiable?"
Wrapped in Soul Power, Tang Xiao's voice rolled into the distance.
Gu Sheng, standing in the air, slowly lowered his head and looked down at the Clear Sky Sect members, who were braced for battle.
His dark eyes were deep and cold, as though he were looking at a flock of lambs waiting to be slaughtered.
"Lived in seclusion?"
Gu Sheng's voice was soft, yet carried an irresistible majesty, reaching every ear with perfect clarity.
"First, Tang Hao injured my consort. Second, Tang San colluded with outside forces and sought to overthrow the Heaven Dou Empire."
"Your Clear Sky Sect protects criminals wanted by the empire, yet you speak to me of living in seclusion. Isn't that a little ridiculous?"
Gu Sheng's words held no warmth, but each one cut straight to the heart of the matter.
Tang Xiao's face stiffened. For a moment, he had no answer.
"Bullshit!"
At that moment, the Seventh Elder finally lost his temper.
He had always been hot-tempered, and the pain of losing his son had long filled him with hatred for Spirit Hall and those arrogant powerhouses.
"Tang Hao was expelled from the sect long ago. Why should his actions be blamed on the Clear Sky Sect?!"
"You brat, you're just relying on your greater numbers to slander us! You want to destroy the Clear Sky Sect? You think you're worthy?!"
The Seventh Elder pointed at Gu Sheng in the sky and cursed him furiously.
In his eyes, Gu Sheng was just a young man with a few unusual tricks. As long as they relied on the sect's defensive formation and combined the strength of the five elders and Tang Xiao, they still had a chance to fight.
Hearing the Seventh Elder's tirade, Tang Xiao's heart lurched. This is bad.
Before he could stop him, Gu Sheng in midair suddenly laughed.
The laughter was ice-cold, devoid of any human emotion.
"Whether I'm worthy or not, you'll find out soon enough."
The instant Gu Sheng's words fell, he moved.
No dazzling Soul Rings flared to life, and not even the slightest ripple of Soul Power appeared. Gu Sheng simply took one casual step through the air.
And yet, that seemingly simple step—
BOOM!!
An indescribable, terrifying pressure descended from the sky.
It was a power that truly belonged to a god. Even a trace of it was more than any mortal could withstand.
The entire sky seemed to freeze in that instant. The raging mountain wind came to a sudden halt, and even the sect disciples below struggled to breathe.
That pressure descended with pinpoint precision upon the Seventh Elder alone.
"Crack, crack..."
The crisp sound of bones breaking rang out in the silent square, unnervingly clear.
The Seventh Elder had no time to react. His whole body was forced to bend beneath the pressure, his legs trembling as he let out a painful groan under the strain.
"What... What kind of power is this?!"
The Seventh Elder's face flushed red, and at last a trace of terror appeared in his eyes.
He tried to fight back, tried to summon his Clear Sky Hammer, but the Soul Power within him seemed to have solidified. He couldn't move it at all.
It felt as though he weren't facing a person, but the will of an entire world.
"Seventh Brother!"
Tang Xiao and the other four elders cried out in alarm, their expressions changing drastically.
They wanted to rush to his aid, but were shocked to find that under the faint pressure locking onto them, even moving their bodies had become difficult.
This was the absolute difference in strength.
"Twenty years ago, you were already living on borrowed time. You should be grateful you got to live all these extra years."
Gu Sheng slowly drifted down through the air, landing on a huge iron chain spanning the cliff.
His white robes fluttered, untouched by worldly dust.
"Unfortunately, it seems you didn't cherish the opportunity."
Looking at the Seventh Elder, who struggled beneath the pressure, his face contorted, a trace of disgust flashed in Gu Sheng's eyes.
"You loudmouthed fool. Since you're so eager to stand up for Tang Hao, go wait for him in the underworld."
Gu Sheng raised his right hand with an air of disdain, pressed his index finger straight, and pointed vaguely toward the Seventh Elder.
"Know your limits."
Those were the four words he spoke.
In an instant, a pure golden light, utterly free of impurities, blossomed at his fingertip.
The golden light was not dazzling, yet it carried a holiness capable of purifying all things, along with an air of absolute power.
BOOM!
With a rumble that was not particularly loud, the golden light became a thin streak and crossed a hundred meters in the blink of an eye, hurtling straight toward the Seventh Elder.
"Sect Master, save me!!"
At last, the Seventh Elder felt death closing in. His bloodshot eyes were filled with despair and terror.
He tried with all his strength to dodge, even tried to detonate his Soul Rings, but beneath the absolute suppression of that domain, he couldn't so much as lift a finger.
Tang Xiao's eyes nearly split with rage. His Soul Power surged wildly through his body, and at the risk of damaging his meridians, he forcibly broke through a sliver of the restraint.
"Clear Sky True Body—!!"
Tang Xiao roared. A gigantic Clear Sky Hammer, radiating a black gleam, abruptly appeared in his hand. He swung it, trying to block the attack for the Seventh Elder.
But faced with Gu Sheng's absolute power, he was far too slow.
Pfft—!
A soft sound.
The pure golden streak moved at a speed that transcended the limits of space. It passed straight through Tang Xiao's unfinished Soul Power defense and pierced the Seventh Elder between the brows with pinpoint accuracy.
The Seventh Elder's body instantly went rigid.
The fear, anger, and unwillingness in his eyes froze in that moment.
Under the golden light, his once-gaunt body began to turn, bit by bit, into golden dust that drifted away on the wind.
Not a trace of blood remained, and he didn't even struggle in pain.
A Clear Sky Sect elder of the Seventh rank, famous across the continent and possessing the strength of a Titled Douluo, hadn't even withstood a single point of Gu Sheng's finger. He had been reduced to ashes before everyone's eyes.
The sight shook everyone present.
The once-noisy square fell into a silence as lifeless as death.
Looking at the golden dust slowly dispersing in the air, the Clear Sky Sect disciples were left with nothing but boundless fear in their eyes.
The enormous Clear Sky Hammer in Tang Xiao's hand drooped limply at his side. His chest heaved, and he stared blankly at the empty space where the Seventh Elder had been.
"Seventh Brother..."
The Second Elder and the others trembled violently, gripped by overwhelming terror.
With one strike—with just one finger—Gu Sheng had erased a Titled Douluo.
This level of strength had surpassed everything they knew about powerful Soul Masters in this world.
Gu Sheng slowly lowered his finger and lightly flicked his sleeve. Looking at the Clear Sky Sect's ashen-faced leaders before him, he said indifferently:
"Who's next?"
His voice was soft, yet it sounded like the whisper of death, thundering through everyone's heart.
Beside him, She Long and Ci Xue watched the scene and couldn't help swallowing. The reverence in their eyes grew even deeper.
The might of the Saint Spirit King was truly terrifying.
The golden dust in the sky swirled once in the wind, then vanished into the air.
Silence.
A silence as lifeless as death.
Even the warhorses pulling the heavy chariots seemed to sense some great terror. Every one of them lowered its head, not daring even to snort.
Tang Xiao stared at the empty space at his side. The Seventh Elder, who should have been standing there, had not even left behind a scrap of his robe.
"Seventh Brother..."
The Second Elder's voice trembled.
He was the strongest in the Clear Sky Sect after Tang Xiao, yet he hadn't even seen how Gu Sheng had attacked.
There had been no Soul Rings, no ripple of a Soul Skill—only that pure radiance.
Tang Xiao slowly lifted his head. His haggard face was now streaked with bloodshot lines.
The wariness in his eyes was gone, replaced by a grief and fury verging on madness.
"Gu Sheng..."
Tang Xiao gritted his teeth, his voice seeming to come from the depths of his throat.
"Are you really determined to fight my Clear Sky Sect to the death?"
Gu Sheng's expression did not change as he stood on the iron chain.
He didn't even look Tang Xiao in the eye. He merely brushed at some nonexistent dust on his white robes.
"To the death?"
Gu Sheng gave a soft laugh, a hint of contempt in his eyes.
"You think you're worthy of using those words?"
He spoke calmly, as though stating the most obvious thing in the world.
Yet that very calmness filled the Clear Sky Sect disciples present with a fear that seeped into their bones.
"Gu Sheng! This all started because of me. Come for me!"
At that moment, a hoarse roar came from the entrance to the hall.
Tang Hao struggled to rise from his chair, his maimed body trembling.
His only remaining right arm gripped the doorframe. His fingernails dug into the wood, drawing thin streaks of blood.
"What happened back then was my doing. It had nothing to do with the sect or with Tang San!"
"If you want revenge, take my life now and spare the Clear Sky Sect!"
Tang Hao's voice echoed through the valley, carrying the desolation of a hero at the end of his road.
Gu Sheng tilted his head slightly, his gaze finally settling on Tang Hao.
"Spare them?"
Gu Sheng's voice was soft, yet carried an air of aloof indifference.
"What makes you think you have the right to bargain with me?"
"You hurt my Xue'er. You think killing just you will be enough to quench my fury?"
Hearing Gu Sheng mention Qian Renxue, Tang Xiao and the elders' expressions changed again.
At last, they understood that this calamity was unavoidable.
The new Empress in Heaven Dou City was this man's forbidden ground.
"Sect Master, don't waste your breath on him."
The Second Elder gritted his teeth and stepped to Tang Xiao's side.
"What happened today can no longer be settled peacefully. The Clear Sky Sect has carried on its legacy for a hundred years. How can we just sit here and wait to die?"
"Exactly! At worst, we die. We must never disgrace the Clear Sky Sect!"
The other three elders also stepped forward, resolve written across every face.
Nine Soul Rings rose one after another from beneath their feet, their black light dimming the entire sky.
Tang Xiao looked at the brothers beside him and drew a deep breath.
He knew that today would decide whether the Clear Sky Sect lived or perished.
"Ah Hao, stand down."
Tang Xiao spoke in a low voice, his words carrying the added authority of a sect master.
"Today, I am the Clear Sky Sect's sect master. I cannot stand by and watch the sect be destroyed."
He took a step forward, Soul Power surging wildly through him.
Two yellow, two purple, five black.
Nine Soul Rings of the optimal configuration revolved around Tang Xiao. Their overwhelming aura instantly dispersed some of the pressure Gu Sheng had exerted.
A colossal Clear Sky Hammer, its entire surface radiating a pitch-black glow, abruptly appeared in his hand.
The mysterious runes on the hammer's body shimmered with a faint blue light.
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