The Clear Sky Sect Bowed Its Head

"We'll announce to the world that the Clear Sky Sect will participate in the selection of the Seven Great Sects."

This time, no one objected. Tang Chen's death had dealt a heavy blow to the Clear Sky Sect.

Tang Xiao sat in the seat of honor, looking at the elders' dejected faces. Their spirit was gone.

When Tang Chen was alive, the Clear Sky Sect's elders walked with a swagger, spoke with barbs, and always held their chins slightly high when looking at others.

So what if it was Spirit Hall? We had Tang Chen. Qian Daoliu could only ever play second fiddle.

Now Tang Chen had fallen. The elders were still the same people, and their strength was unchanged, but their spirit was gone, their confidence was gone, and their pride was gone.

Tang Xiao looked at them and fell silent for a moment.

When his grandfather was alive, he often said that the Clear Sky Sect's legacy did not depend on one person's strength, but on the efforts of generation after generation.

He used to think his grandfather was talking nonsense. Of course the Clear Sky Sect's legacy depended on the efforts of generation after generation. Wasn't that obvious?

Now he understood.

One day, the Clear Sky Sect's strongest pillar would fall.

One day, the Clear Sky Sect would have to carry on by itself.

"Every choice we make is paving the way for the Clear Sky Sect's future." Tang Xiao's voice echoed through the hall.

"Today's choice is about keeping the Clear Sky Sect alive."

The elders sighed one after another.

"Grandfather won't blame us."

No one spoke. The hall fell quiet.

"Also, send a group of outstanding disciples to the City of Slaughter. With Brother Hao as the King of Slaughter, they can rapidly improve their strength there."

The elders nodded one after another. They had no choice but to do this. For the Clear Sky Sect, it was the best solution.

It had to be said that Tang Xiao was a worthy sect leader.

The day the news spread, the whole continent was shaken.

The Clear Sky Sect had announced that it would participate in the selection of the Seven Great Sects.

When Spirit Hall announced that it would hold a new selection for the Seven Great Sects, many had waited to see the Clear Sky Sect's stance.

The number one sect in the world, the foremost of the Upper Three Sects, and the only sect on the continent that dared to challenge Spirit Hall.

It had bowed its head.

The Clear Sky Sect's silence had once given hope to many: those who did not want Spirit Hall to dominate the continent, who feared its expansion, and who wavered between Spirit Hall and the two great empires.

Now even the Clear Sky Sect had bowed its head.

Spirit Hall's new selection of the Seven Great Sects was a foregone conclusion. No one could stop it.

That was Spirit Hall's influence and its power to inspire fear.

Spirit City, Pope Palace.

Bibi Dong sat on the papal throne, a list spread out before her.

The list was densely covered with the names of every sect that had announced it would participate in the selection of the Seven Great Sects.

The Clear Sky Sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the Elephant Armored Sect, the Heavenly Elephant Sect, the Wind Sword Sect, the Fire Leopard Sect, the Speed Clan, the Breaking Clan, as well as dozens of other sects with considerable strength that were not among the Seven Great Sects. At the bottom of the list, four characters had been written in red ink: All participating.

"Good."

Her gaze shifted from the list to Gu Qingshan.

Gu Qingshan sat below with his legs crossed, chewing on a Blue Silver Leaf, his cheeks moving as he worked his jaw.

"Well done, Qingshan!"

Gu Qingshan smiled. "You flatter me, Teacher. I only went out for a stroll."

"Your stroll was no ordinary one. You scared every force that refused to submit to Spirit Hall out of its wits!"

Worship Hall.

The worshippers had received the news too, and they were very pleased with this Holy Son of Spirit Hall.

Qian Daoliu stood beneath the Angel Statue, looking at the long-lost glory shining on the faces of his old brothers.

He remembered the first time Gu Qingshan had come to Worship Hall. The six-year-old boy had stood behind Bibi Dong, chewing on a leaf without the slightest trace of nervousness.

He had faced the scrutiny and doubts of six worshippers, as well as the pressure of a Level 99 Limit Douluo like him, without either arrogance or servility.

Even then, he had known that this child was no ordinary one.

But he hadn't expected the boy to reach this point in only six short years.

"Qingshan is a fine boy."

It wasn't many words, but there were only a handful of people Qian Daoliu had praised in his life.

The usually stern Golden Crocodile Douluo nodded as well. "His Highness the Holy Son went out this time, destroyed two single-attribute clans, brought two others under our control, forced the Clear Sky Sect to bow its head, and made the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan back down. This achievement would rank among the greatest in Spirit Hall's history."

The other worshippers voiced their agreement.

Ever since the previous pope's death, Spirit Hall had retaliated afterward, but for certain reasons, it had not been able to finish the job.

They had all felt stifled for years. Now, at last, they could breathe easy.

Bibi Dong received news that an unnamed island had been discovered in the ocean east of the Heaven Dou Empire. A troop of monkeys lived on the island, and their king was suspected to be a Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast.

Bibi Dong read the report three times, then handed the paper to Gu Qingshan.

Gu Qingshan took it, glanced over it, and chewed on a leaf.

"Teacher, doesn't your Second Martial Soul still need Soul Rings?"

Bibi Dong nodded.

"It does. It still needs four."

Her First Martial Soul, the Death Spider Emperor, was already complete, with nine Soul Rings.

Her Second Martial Soul, the Soul-Eating Spider Emperor, had only five Soul Rings: three black and two red.

The slot for the Sixth Soul Ring had remained empty. It wasn't that she didn't want to hunt for one; she simply hadn't found a suitable Soul Beast.

Suitable Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts were exceedingly rare. They weren't easy to find.

Now, an opportunity had arrived.

The ship was the finest Spirit Hall owned, built entirely from Ironwood. It was twenty zhang long and five zhang wide, its hull painted black, with a winged angel carved into the bow.

They sailed for two days and three nights. The sea was calm and the wind was fair.

Bibi Dong stood at the bow as the sea breeze stirred her long hair. Her purple locks flowed in the sunlight like a waterfall.

She wore a black fitted outfit, with a slender sword hanging at her waist.

Gu Qingshan leaned against the railing, chewing on a Blue Silver Leaf. The sea wind whipped his black robes into a flurry.

At dawn on the third day, the ship reached the shore.

The unnamed island was much larger than the scouts had described.

From the sea, its lush vegetation looked like a green gemstone set into the deep-blue waters.

A low hill stood in the center of the island, covered in trees of unknown species.

The two of them disembarked and stood on the beach.

"The scouts said the troop of monkeys is on the hill in the center of the island."

They made their way through the dense forest toward the island's center.

The trees in the forest were enormous, their crowns blotting out the sky. After about half an hour, the woods ahead began to thin, and the outline of the hill appeared through the gaps between the trunks.

The hill wasn't high, but it was steep, with a slope of nearly forty-five degrees.

Shrubs covered the hill. Countless caves could be seen dotted across the slope, packed close together like a honeycomb.

A monkey appeared.

The first monkey emerged from a cave. Its entire body was snow-white, without a single stray hair.

It was small, only reaching Gu Qingshan's knees, but its eyes were golden, and its pupils glimmered with intelligence.