"Ninth Soul Skill: Angel's Breath!"
The night was black as ink, with stars scattered across the sky. A cold wind brushed Qian Daoliu's cheeks as he slowly spoke those words.
Qian Daoliu stood above the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. Nine Soul Rings rose beneath him in succession: black, black, black, black, black, black, black, black, red!
A Six-Winged Angel took shape behind him. Its face was full of compassion, and it stood hundreds of meters tall. Its six enormous wings stretched a thousand meters from tip to tip.
A whistle-like sound rang through the night sky. Many disciples of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan died in their sleep.
"Is this how strong my father is?" Qian Xunji said, looking up at Qian Daoliu, who shone in the sky like a blazing sun.
Even though the Great Enshrined was not their enemy, merely watching him from afar filled them with immense pressure—a pressure they felt powerless to resist.
"The Great Enshrined's strength truly is unfathomable!" Yue Guan exclaimed. Cold sweat had soaked his back.
He even had the feeling that if they faced the Great Enshrined themselves, they would all be dead in moments.
Spirit Hall had moved quickly. By the third night after Qian Xunji's return, its five thousand combat-ready Soul Masters had assembled.
His Holiness the Pope led the operation, accompanied by four Titled Douluo elders: Yue Guan, Gui Mei, Ghost Leopard, and Demon Bear.
There were also numerous Soul Douluos and Soul Sages. Even the weakest among the five thousand combat-ready Soul Masters was a Soul Elder.
And that was not all. Qian Daoliu had come in person, bringing Spirit Hall's most mysterious force: the Angel Legion!
Every member of the Angel Legion was a Soul Sage. A hundred of them had formed an airtight cordon around the perimeter.
Qian Xunji even thought his father was going too far. Why use a sledgehammer to crack a nut? It was enough that his father had come himself—did he really need to bring the Angel Legion too?
But Qian Daoliu had only one answer: "Now that it's come to this, Spirit Hall doesn't just need victory. We need an overwhelming triumph that lifts everyone's spirits! Total domination! Let no one escape!"
Spirit Hall was the life's work of generations of popes from the Qian Clan. This affair had threatened it, and Qian Daoliu had no choice but to act.
Qian Xunji had even taken a beating for asking that question.
"This is all your fault, you wretch! And now you expect us old men to clean up your mess!"
The Angel Legion surrounding the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan and the more than five thousand combat-ready Soul Masters all watched the heart-stirring sight.
This was the might of Spirit Hall! This was Spirit Hall's Great Enshrined! This was a Peerless Douluo!
By the time Qian Daoliu's ninth Soul Skill ended, more than half the people in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had died in their sleep.
With his attack complete, Qian Daoliu flew slowly back to the group. He glanced at Qian Xunji. "Your turn."
"Kill!" Qian Xunji did not hesitate. He swept out a hand, and his voice boomed across the sky like a great bell.
At his command, the five thousand-plus combat-ready Soul Masters charged into the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's grounds. The four Titled Douluo elders entered the battle at the same time.
Qian Xunji clasped his hands behind his back and looked down at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, now engulfed in flames. He shook his head slightly. "They brought this on themselves."
"They had an entire year. Did they really think Spirit Hall wouldn't retaliate? What a shame... We gave them a chance, and they wasted it."
Spirit Hall's assault had come too suddenly. Most of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's disciples had died in their sleep, and its destruction met almost no resistance.
"What a shame..." Qian Daoliu's expression was conflicted. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan endured for thousands of years, only to be destroyed today over this one affair."
"What? Having second thoughts, Father?" Qian Xunji asked with a smile.
"Heh." Qian Daoliu glanced at Qian Xunji but said no more. His son was far too cunning.
"Xunji, don't use underhanded methods like that again. They're filthy," Qian Daoliu said.
"Huh?" Qian Xunji froze. In the end, he did not try to explain. He had already explained himself, and no one had believed him.
Only his Ah Yin believed him. She believed he was not that kind of man.
Inside the sect leader's room at the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Yu Yuanzhen was asleep when a clamor outside woke him.
"What's all that noise?"
Yu Yuanzhen opened his bleary eyes. Through the window, he saw a sea of fire outside, a scene like hell on earth.
He hurried out of bed without even putting on his shoes. When he pushed open the door, he froze. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is finished," he murmured.
Throughout the clan's grounds, the rows of ornate buildings were burning.
His clansmen's agonized screams came from every direction, while countless dark figures darted back and forth through the grounds.
He also sensed several Titled Douluos. Someone was attacking the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan—but why?
"It's over. It's all over. Everything's gone. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan is utterly destroyed."
Yu Yuanzhen sank to his knees. Then, as if something had struck him, he threw back his head and roared, "Spirit Hall, why?!"
Neither of the Two Great Empires could destroy the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan so easily. Nor could the other Upper Three Sects.
Only Spirit Hall could do it. But why would Spirit Hall attack? Was it because of that incident?
Hadn't Spirit Hall let it go?
A year had passed without Spirit Hall raising the matter. So why now? Yu Yuanzhen could not understand.
"Sect Master Yu, it's been a long time!"
A voice that could have belonged to either a man or a woman rang out. Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and the other two Titled Douluo elders had arrived.
"Yue Guan? Gui Mei? Demon Bear? Ghost Leopard?" Yu Yuanzhen's eyes widened. Of course he knew them. "Why?!"
"Why?" Yue Guan scoffed. "Yu Yuanzhen, you've been shrewd all your life, yet you were a fool when it mattered most! And you still don't know why?"
"Spirit Hall gave your sect time. A whole year, in fact. Too bad you didn't make use of it!"
"Your clan has no one but itself to blame for what happened today!" Yue Guan said with a sneer.
"Hahahahaha!" Yu Yuanzhen had lost his mind. His sect, built over thousands of years, had been destroyed under his leadership—all because of that one incident. It was absurd!
"Go ahead..." Yu Yuanzhen no longer had any will to resist. With his sect destroyed, what was the point of living?
"Don't worry. We won't kill you yet. We'll take you to the Pope and let him decide what to do with you!"
"Oh, and Spirit Hall won't spare that son of yours either," Yue Guan added with a smile.
"Hahahaha..." Yu Yuanzhen's laughter was bleak and anguished. "If only I'd known. If only I'd known..."
It was too late for words. In a single night—less than a night, even—the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan had been wiped out.
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