Tang Zhen's eldest son, the ninety-level Titled Douluo Howling Sky Douluo—Tang Xiao—stepped forward.
"Honored elders, Spirit Hall has sent eight Titled Douluo, six of them above level ninety-five! And then there's Poison Douluo Dugu Bo, who can unleash poison formations over a vast area. If we meet them head-on, the Clear Sky Sect will be wiped out!"
"In my humble opinion, the best course of action now is to preserve our strength. Notify the sect's core and inner disciples, have them pack their things and gather in the hall, then slip away together under cover of darkness tonight!"
The second elder looked troubled and said:
"The Four Single-Attribute Clans still have some fighting strength. Shouldn't we take them with us?"
Tang Xiao sighed.
"Second Elder, there's no time. The more people we bring, the slower our retreat. If Spirit Hall catches up with us, we'll all be done for. We'd be better off leaving some of the sect's outer members behind to buy us time!"
The situation was so urgent that Tang Xiao no longer cared about appearances. He bluntly said they should use the others as cannon fodder.
"Honored elders, does anyone still object?"
Though the people of the Clear Sky Sect were a rough bunch, faced with the threat of death, they set aside their reckless courage and agreed one after another.
"Good! Honored elders, don't alert the enemy. Quietly inform only your trusted men. At midnight, we'll slip out through the south gate!"
At dawn, the outer disciples of the Clear Sky Sect, who had risen to begin another day of training, couldn't find their teachers. They grew anxious.
Once the sky was fully bright, more and more outer disciples discovered that their teachers had vanished. Panic spread through the sect.
A few daring disciples risked punishment and sneaked to the elders' hall to investigate.
They were in for a shock. The elders' hall was completely empty, and there wasn't a soul to be seen in the sect master's residence, either.
And so, the eerie atmosphere continued until noon.
Noon should have been the brightest time of day, but the sky was gray and gloomy.
Spirit Hall's army of Soul Masters blotted out the sky!
Golden Crocodile Douluo manifested his Martial Soul Avatar, took up the proclamation against the Clear Sky Sect, and began reading it aloud.
The voice of a Titled Douluo rang out with tremendous force. Everyone within the Clear Sky Sect's territory could hear every word.
"We've been abandoned!" one outer disciple of the Clear Sky Sect shrieked, then fainted in terror.
The entire Clear Sky Sect plunged into despair.
"Our newly appointed Pope is merciful and does not wish to cause needless bloodshed. We seek only to eliminate the chief culprits, Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect's sect master and elders for sheltering him. All others who are willing to mend their ways and turn from darkness to the light will be pardoned by Spirit Hall and treated with favor!"
Before he had even finished speaking, many of the Clear Sky Sect's outer disciples rushed out of the sect, fell to their knees, and kowtowed as they begged for mercy.
"We're willing to surrender to Spirit Hall!"
Tai Tan, the clan leader of the Strength Clan, watched the disciples groveling before him and flew into a rage. He cursed them furiously:
"A tree lives for its bark, a man for his face! Loyalty and righteousness are the foundation of a man's character! You grovel and betray your master for the sake of glory! You've brought shame upon the entire Clear Sky Sect!"
His curses did nothing to stop the outer and nominal disciples of the Clear Sky Sect from streaming out of the sect and rushing into the righteous embrace of Spirit Hall.
Fewer than one in ten of the Clear Sky Sect's outer disciples remained. Everyone understood the saying, "When disaster strikes, everyone flies off on their own," and Tang Xiao and the others had abandoned them first. Even if they surrendered, they had no other choice.
Now, only the Four Single-Attribute Clans, who understood loyalty and righteousness best, remained inside the Clear Sky Sect.
As affiliated forces of the Clear Sky Sect, they were treated with even less regard than the sect's outer disciples.
Truthfully, members of the Four Single-Attribute Clans were itching to join Spirit Hall. They wanted to even more than the Clear Sky Sect's outer disciples did.
Unfortunately, their clan leaders were all die-hard loyalists of the Clear Sky Sect.
Tai Tan was basically thinking, "I can't keep the Clear Sky Sect's outer disciples in line, but surely I can keep you little slaves in check!"
Among the four clans, Niu Gao was the least corrupted by notions of loyalty.
He wasn't as blindly faithful as Tai Tan, didn't value brotherhood as much as Yang Wudi, and had no marriage ties to Bai He or the sect master.
Half his mind was figuring out how to fight Spirit Hall, while the other half was working out how to surrender without the other three clans finding out.
His left brain and right brain began fighting furiously.
Niu Gao looked at the children of his clan, who were waiting to be fed, and finally sighed.
He frantically signaled to one of his younger brothers, Niu Ben.
Niu Ben understood at once. He dropped to one knee before Niu Gao and pleaded:
"Spirit Hall has eight Titled Douluo! If we fight them, it'll be like throwing an egg against a rock—we'd be courting our own destruction. Big Brother, for the sake of the Defense Clan's survival, we should surrender!"
Niu Gao got into character and berated him:
"Utter nonsense! Sect Master Tang Zhen has treated me well. The Clear Sky Sect is in danger, so how could I abandon it and run away?"
Niu Ben gathered a group of promising young members of the Defense Clan. They all knelt and wept bitterly.
"Big Brother! The Clear Sky Sect has treated us like dogs all these years! They won't even let the Defense Clan touch their cultivation techniques. We're worth less than their outer disciples! Are we destined to build houses for the Clear Sky Sect all our lives?"
"Now Tang Zhen has abandoned us, the wretch! He betrayed us first, Big Brother. You've done nothing to wrong the Clear Sky Sect! They're the ones who wronged you! Are you really going to stand by and watch the Defense Clan die out?"
Niu Gao's hands trembled, and his face twitched violently. He hesitated, looking this way and that, torn with indecision.
At last, a sense of helplessness washed over him, and his whole body seemed to wilt.
After a long while, he slowly raised his head and looked at the leaders of the other three clans. With difficulty, he began to speak:
"Forgive me, brothers. I still have to think of my people. After all, the Clear Sky Sect betrayed us first. If they stood and fought alongside me today, the Defense Clan would protect the Clear Sky Sect even if every last one of us died. But..."
"Alas... Lord Golden Crocodile! The Defense Clan surrenders!"
Niu Gao slowly led his people toward the members of Spirit Hall, his expression of inner struggle never wavering. One couldn't help but admire his acting. What a performance! What an actor!
Who says there are no good actors in China?
Seeing the Defense Clan surrender, Tai Tan pointed at Niu Gao's nose and cursed:
"Old Rhino! You unfaithful, unrighteous, unkind, unfilial beast! You wretched bastard who'll die without descendants! You... you... you..."
Watching the Defense Clan leave, the members of the Breaking Clan began to waver.
Yang Wudi didn't drag things out like Niu Gao. He spoke to Sky Crocodile directly and decisively:
"I share a brotherly bond with the Clear Sky Sect's sect master. My brother is in danger today, so of course I won't stand by and do nothing. But my people shouldn't have to die alongside me. From this day on, I, Yang Wudi, withdraw from the Breaking Clan!"
Yang Wushuang looked anxiously at his older brother. "Brother! What are you doing?"
Yang Wudi patted his younger brother on the shoulder and sighed.
"Little Brother, take our people from the Breaking Clan and surrender. Live well, and don't avenge me!"