Reactions from All Sides

The hall was deathly silent.

No one spoke, no one moved, and even the sound of breathing had all but vanished.

The elders who had not made a move stood frozen in place; many of them had not even had time to decide which side to take before the battle was already over. Five Avatar of Martial Souls, defeated in a single exchange.

Chen Xuan retracted the white flame from his right hand. The Three-Eyed Fire Leopard martial soul slowly closed its vertical pupils behind him, and the domain dissipated along with it.

As if nothing had just happened, he clasped his hands behind his back and swept his gaze over the people in the hall. His aged voice was not loud, yet every word seemed to strike directly at everyone's heart.

"Drag Fire Flame Leopard and these four away and lock them in the forbidden area behind the mountain. Does anyone else have any objections to the position of Sect Master?"

After a moment of silence, a white-haired elder was the first to kneel.

Once there was one, there was a second.

Several elders knelt down one after another, their uneven voices echoing through the hall: "Greetings, Sect Master."

No one looked at the charred corpse on the ground again. In the world of soul masters, strength is the hardest truth.

Chen Xuan withdrew his martial soul and turned to face the crowd: "Pass down the order—concentrate the entire sect's power to select those with pharmacological talent from among all the disciples, and submit the list to me within seven days."

The elder kneeling at the front trembled, quickly burying his head even lower: "As you command."

Elder Chen nodded with satisfaction.

He was satisfied not only with their tact but also with his current strength.

Ever since he consumed the Cockscomb Phoenix Sunflower, his martial soul had undergone further evolution, and he had even unexpectedly awakened a domain.

Furthermore, his flames had not only become more scorching but could also be combined with spiritual power.

Flames combined with spiritual power transformed from their original crimson red into white flames.

This was the reason he could defeat them so easily.

He hadn't expected that for some Title Douluo, defeating a Soul Douluo would require activating an Avatar of Martial Soul.

The news of the Fire Leopard Sect changing hands spread to all major forces within a mere half-month.

The first to receive the news was the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect.

Ning Fengzhi sat in the sect's council hall, reading the intelligence report twice, his gaze lingering on the words "Title Douluo" for a long time.

"Chen Xuan, level 93 Title Douluo, martial soul Three-Eyed Fire Leopard."

He handed the report to Sword Douluo Chen Xin beside him.

"The Fire Leopard Sect didn't even have a single Title Douluo before, barely counting as a second-rate sect on the border of the Star Luo Empire. Now that they have a Title Douluo sitting in command, and one who is a member of the Fire family's lost bloodline, the weight of this news is not light."

Chen Xin took the report and glanced at it, his brows slightly raised: "Does the Sect Master intend to win him over?"

"It is too early to talk about winning him over; let's make contact first."

Ning Fengzhi pondered for a moment and made up his mind.

"The geographical location of the Fire Leopard Sect is rather sensitive.

Have the person in charge of the local branch prepare a congratulatory gift and send it over. Tell them the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect congratulates the new Sect Master of the Fire Leopard Sect on his ascension. There is no need to be overly enthusiastic, but make them feel our goodwill.

If necessary, we can concede some benefits on the trade routes along the border—the Fire Leopard Sect has just changed masters and must be experiencing internal turmoil; this is exactly when they need external resources to stabilize the situation. Providing charcoal in snowy weather is more valuable than adding flowers to embroidery."

Chen Xin nodded, tucked the report into his sleeve, and turned to make the arrangements.

The reaction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was completely different.

Yu Yuanzhen sat in the main seat, patiently listening to the steward's report, and then let out a scoff through his nose.

The expressions on the faces of the core elders in the clan were identical to their Sect Master's—not contempt, but a higher level of indifference, as if they were hearing about a group of ants fighting over a grain of rice.

"Fire Leopard Sect? They changed a Sect Master, so they changed a Sect Master. Is it worth running over here specifically to tell me?"

Yu Yuanzhen picked up his teacup and took a large gulp, his tone rough and casual. "A mere level 93 Title Douluo, and his martial soul is just a leopard. In front of a dragon, a leopard is nothing more than a slightly larger cat."

"The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon is the number one beast martial soul in the world; other than that, nothing is worth a second glance."

Yu Yuanzhen placed the teacup heavily on the table, stood up, and threw one last sentence to the steward: "As for the Fire Leopard Sect, just pay a little attention to it from now on."

The reaction of the Star Luo Empire was more pragmatic.

The Fire Leopard Sect originally had intentions of leaning toward Star Luo. Although it had changed hands and the new Sect Master had clearly stated he would remain in Heaven Dou, the geographical proximity had not changed.

A sect with a Title Douluo in command, even if it cannot be pulled to one's own side, must absolutely not be pushed to the opposite side.

The Star Luo royal family acted quickly. The envoy they dispatched traveled for half a month with three full carriages of gifts, becoming the first among all parties to deliver a gift to the gates of the Fire Leopard Sect.

Although the items were not particularly valuable, the gesture was more than sufficient.

As for the reaction of Martial Soul Hall, it was far more direct than the previous three parties.

Inside the Pope Palace, Bibi Dong leaned against the Pope's throne, a golden scepter resting against the armrest. She lowered her head, her slender fingertips carelessly flipping through an intelligence report, and a playful curve slowly appeared at the corner of her mouth.

"Title Douluo, Three-Eyed Fire Leopard martial soul, usurped the sect. From the first move to the suppression, the whole process took less than the time it takes to burn a stick of incense—interesting."

She casually handed the report to Yue Guan, who was standing at the foot of the steps.

"A Fire Leopard Sect is nothing, but a wild Title Douluo is worth winning over. Yue Guan, you and Guimei make a trip to the Fire Leopard Sect and sound out this Chen Xuan. Be polite; don't mention any conditions yet, just say that Martial Soul Hall heard the new Sect Master of the Fire Leopard Sect had ascended and specifically sent people to offer congratulations."

She paused, a hint of profound meaning in her tone: "By the way, also investigate whether there is anyone else behind this Sect Master Chen."

Yue Guan took the intelligence with both hands, a sharp glint flashing through his narrow eyes.

He and Guimei had been partners for many years; together, they could suppress even an ordinary level-95 Title Douluo. Sending them both to "offer congratulations" was as much a courtesy as it was a probe.

If this Chen Xuan was sensible, Martial Soul Hall having one more elder wouldn't be a burden.

If he was not, with Chrysanthemum and Ghost Douluo working in tandem, a mere level-93 Title Douluo would be unable to turn the tides.

"This subordinate understands." Yue Guan bowed to accept the order, then he and Guimei exited the Pope Palace one after the other.

Meanwhile, in that residence in the east of Heaven Dou City, Jiang Lin also received the message sent back by Chen Xuan.

The Soul Tool transmission contained only a few short sentences—the position of Sect Master had been settled, and the selection of alchemy disciples had already begun.

As for the fact that he had casually crippled a level-83 Soul Douluo and defeated five Avatar of Martial Souls in a single move, Chen Xuan did not mention a word, as if it were not even worth noting.

Jiang Lin put away the transmission, his fingertips tapping lightly on the back of his chair.

He never worried when Chen Xuan handled matters. His gaze fell upon the location of the Fire Leopard Sect on the map, then slowly shifted toward the direction of Heaven Dou City.

The Blacksmith Association, the Ye Family, the Fire Leopard Sect—all three lines were advancing. He did not know that Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were heading to the Fire Leopard Sect, but he knew that with Martial Soul Hall's intelligence network, once the news of the Fire Leopard Sect changing hands spread, Bibi Dong would never remain indifferent.