Conquering the Clear Sky Sect

Upon receiving the news that Qian Xunji had been assassinated, a heavy atmosphere of grief permeated the entire Spirit Hall.

Qian Daoliu, consumed by both sorrow and rage, looked at his son in the crystal coffin. He struck the coffin several times in frustration, lamenting with a heart full of disappointment, "Zhi'er! You fool! As the Pope, to act so recklessly—you have forced this old man to witness the white-haired burying the black-haired!!!"

Bibi Dong was the most devastated, second only to Qian Daoliu. In this world, Qian Xunji was still her most beloved teacher; the secret chamber incident had never occurred, and she collapsed onto the coffin, weeping bitterly.

In contrast, Qian Renxue shed only a few symbolic tears. Having lived two lifetimes, she had never received any care from this father, so her reaction was understandable.

Qian Xunqian felt sorrow in her heart as well, but as the next Pope personally designated by Qian Xunji, she could not lose her composure in front of everyone.

Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo, having been the ones who accompanied Qian Xunji the most, could only shake their heads and sigh with profound emotion.

If only the Pope had brought the two of them along, would the outcome have been different?

The group followed the coffin to the Consecration Hall, the Angel Temple.

Qian Daoliu bowed respectfully to the angel statue, and the others followed suit behind the Great Consecrator.

The angel statue emitted pure Angel Divine Fire, which bathed the crystal coffin. The coffin ignited into a roaring blaze, thoroughly purifying Qian Xunji's body and soul.

"Clear Sky Sect! Tang Hao! What a fine Tang Hao, harboring a hundred-thousand-year soul beast!"

Qian Xunqian's expression was stern as she declared, "That bastard Tang Hao can run, but can the Clear Sky Sect run? The monk may flee, but the temple remains! The debt of killing our Spirit Hall's Pope is irreconcilable!"

Like a cold machine, Qian Xunqian began issuing orders:

"Ghost Douluo! Immediately send men to notify all Spirit Hall branches across Douluo Continent. Have them post notices stating that Tang Hao of the Clear Sky Sect has consorted with a hundred-thousand-year soul beast and murdered the Pope of Spirit Hall. Spirit Hall acts first to avenge our fallen Pope, and second to apprehend a traitor to humanity. The Clear Sky Sect has shielded the traitor Tang Hao, and their crime is equal to his; we shall crusade against them both!"

"Yes!"

"Golden Crocodile Douluo, Xiongshi, Guangling, Qianjun Douluo, Jiangmo Douluo, Chrysanthemum Douluo, Ice Phoenix Douluo (Shui Xiaoer), Poison Douluo!"

"Present!"

"Select your men. Once prepared, you will march with me to crusade against the Clear Sky Sect! Avenge the Pope!"

"Yes!"

Qian Xunqian turned her gaze toward Qian Daoliu, her tone softening slightly:

"Great Uncle, I know you have an agreement with Tang Chen: you must not personally intervene to destroy the Clear Sky Sect or slay its direct core disciples; likewise, Tang Chen must not personally intervene to destroy Spirit Hall or kill its high-ranking officials and descendants of the Angel clan. The confrontation between the two sects is limited to the next generation; neither of you may step onto the field."

"You should remain at Spirit Hall with the Saintess, Pufferfish, and Snake Spear!"

Qian Daoliu had words on the tip of his tongue, but seeing Qian Xunqian's gentle gaze, he swallowed them back.

"Sigh..."

Two days later, the Spirit Hall spirit master army was fully prepared. Qian Xunqian had spared no expense this time.

She brought eight Title Douluo, fifty Spirit Douluo, one hundred and eighty Spirit Sages, and countless others below the Spirit Emperor rank—she was practically aiming to wipe out the Clear Sky Sect entirely.

Of course, while Qian Xunqian made a grand show of it, she did not actually intend to annihilate the Clear Sky Sect.

Her primary goal was to force the coward Tang Hao to show himself.

However, if Tang Hao continued to hide, causing the Clear Sky Sect some serious damage would still be acceptable.

Once the Clear Sky Sect was wiped out, the overt balance of power on the entire Douluo Continent would be completely shattered. At that point, the two great empires would cast aside their differences and unite tightly.

Other factions and sects that were dissatisfied with Spirit Hall would also form a close alliance.

Once the battle lines were drawn, war would be imminent. This was something Qian Xunqian did not want to see; she still wanted to develop further and did not want to start a war so early.

Furthermore, the Clear Sky Sect was, after all, the number one sect in the world and possessed a deep foundation. Forcibly annihilating them had three drawbacks:

First, Spirit Hall itself would suffer losses; the best-case scenario would be twenty percent casualties.

Second, if Tang Hao refused to appear and only the sect was destroyed, there was no telling what Tang Hao might do later. Spirit Hall would be in the light while Tang Hao remained in the dark, which would be a headache.

Third, she never killed the innocent, and that applied to revenge as well. Moreover, slaughtering a sect was always immoral. From a utilitarian political perspective, wiping out the Clear Sky Sect entirely would damage Spirit Hall's future image.

The Clear Sky Sect was not a monolith; there were those who could be won over and those who could be propped up. Who were their enemies, who were their friends, who could never be friends, and who could become friends—a politician had to understand these things in advance.

Qian Xunqian suddenly had an interesting idea:

Establish a "new" Clear Sky Sect and spark a struggle for legitimacy. Then, she would use the Spirit Hall media to stir up public opinion, blowing the fake into the real. Hehehe...

"Brothers of Spirit Hall, Tang Hao murdered our Pope and consorted with soul beasts! This debt is irreconcilable! The Clear Sky Sect has shielded Tang Hao, and their crimes are equal! Follow me to the Clear Sky Sect and avenge the Pope!"

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"

This day was clearly not ordinary. Spirit Hall, which usually lurked in the shadows like a viper, had now bared its fangs to everyone on the Douluo Continent!

Eight Title Douluo—a force that even the Seven Treasures Glazed Sect, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, and both great empires combined could not match.

Dark clouds gathered over the Clear Sky Sect, giving the impression that the city was about to be crushed by the weight of the storm.

Sect Master Tang Lie had already learned that Spirit Hall was coming to crusade against them.

"Spirit Hall! Damn you! My Clear Sky Sect's thousand-year reputation... destroyed by your Spirit Hall!"

Tang Lie was so angry he coughed up blood. He never expected that Qian Xunqian would publicly announce the crimes of Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect to the entire continent.

How could he argue? The matter was, after all, undeniable—Tang Hao had indeed killed Qian Xunji.

What's more, this charge was already the most decent one among them.

The mere fact of harboring a hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast and siring a child with it was enough to make the entire world hold him in contempt.

The talk of the town across the land was now nothing but the scandalous story of Tang Hao and his hundred-thousand-year-old spirit beast.

Under the deliberate guidance of Qian Xunqian, people across the continent were even beginning to view everyone in the Clear Sky Sect as perverts who enjoyed consorting with spirit beasts.

Even if they managed to withstand the assault from Spirit Hall this time and survived by sheer luck, they had lost the hearts of the people; there would be no future for them to thrive, alas...

As these thoughts swirled, Tang Lie failed to catch his breath, and coupled with his worsening condition over the years, he had reached the point of exhaustion.

Unable to recover his breath, he was literally angered to death right in front of the elders of the Clear Sky Sect.

"Sect Master! Sect Master!"

"Father! Father! Father!"

In an instant, the Clear Sky Sect was left without a leader, the forces of Spirit Hall were fast approaching, and with Tang Hao nowhere to be seen, the Clear Sky Sect seemed to be in a hopeless deadlock.