The other reason was that the people who had come to raid the Spirit Clan this time were important enough to matter.
There was the Pill Tower Ancestor, hailed as the foremost master of alchemy on the Douqi Continent. Even the Soul Clan's chief took his presence seriously. There was Xiao Yan, a descendant of the Xiao Clan whose name was known throughout the Eight Ancient Clans. Rumor had long held that the Heavenly Tomb, now so important to the Dou Di Descendant Clans, had fallen into his hands. And there was Yao Chen, whose name had long been singled out within the Soul Clan. After disappearing for years, he had returned with a terrifying increase in strength. The Soul Clan naturally wanted to know why.
For different reasons, the Soul Clan had long had its eye on all three. But various circumstances had kept it from acting without restraint, so it had left them alone for the time being.
Now, though, things were different. They had come to the Soul Clan's doorstep of their own accord. If Hun Mang could deal with them today, he would earn unprecedented merit within the Soul Clan.
By any measure, he had no reason to hold back. He had not acted immediately because, for one thing, he needed the Spirit Clan to fight them first and wear them down. For another, Hun Mang hoped to take control of the Spirit Clan as smoothly as possible rather than rule it by brute force. He was weaker than Ling Yuan and still needed to show the Spirit Clan's chief a measure of respect.
"Chief Ling Yuan, you're the strongest here. I'll follow your lead."
Hun Mang's manner was exceptionally agreeable. Whether in strength or prestige, he could not replace Ling Yuan right away. Since he