What Is Spirit Hall Planning? This Will Be a Disaster That Sweeps Across the Entire Continent!

"What is Spirit Hall trying to do? Isn't this a bit too overbearing? They've been dragging their feet over the Upper Three Sects candidate!"

"I thought Spirit Hall would choose one of the Lower Four Sects to fill the vacancy, but they chose the Holy Dragon Sect?"

"What right does the mere Holy Dragon Sect, a sect not even among the Seven Great Sects, have to stand on equal footing with our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect?"

Inside the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's main hall, Gu Rong spoke indignantly.

Ning Fengzhi rubbed his brow with a headache. "My original guess was right. Spirit Hall didn't stop after destroying the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect."

"The next step was to choose someone from the Upper Three Sects to fill the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect's vacancy! I just never expected Spirit Hall to keep delaying it, only to choose the Holy Dragon Sect!"

"Looks like my guess was correct. Spirit Hall wants to plant a nail among our Seven Great Sects!"

"Fengzhi, what do you mean by that? Just say it plainly. You know Old Bone and I don't understand this sort of thing!"

Chen Xin spoke up. What nail or no nail? What was all this about? Couldn't he make it simpler?

"Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, it's like this." Ning Fengzhi explained patiently. "The reason Spirit Hall didn't quickly select a sect to fill the vacancy was probably because they were waiting for one of the Lower Four Sects to pledge allegiance to Spirit Hall and completely side with them!"

"Whichever one made its choice first would become the sect to fill the vacancy! It would gain the honor and status of one of the Upper Three Sects!"

"And Spirit Hall's continued lack of action was probably because all the Lower Four Sects were waiting and watching... They're all old foxes."

"Yet no one expected that this Holy Dragon Sect would actually... dare to gamble? Gamble that if they pledged allegiance to Spirit Hall, they would fill the vacant position!"

After saying that, Ning Fengzhi sighed. "And now, Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, you can both see the result. The Holy Dragon Sect won its gamble."

"The Holy Dragon Sect is now one of the Upper Three Sects. Though the title does not yet match the reality, I have already received word that after their sect master learned his sect had become one of the Upper Three Sects—"

"His bottleneck loosened. He did not even attend the celebration banquet before entering seclusion. By the time he emerges, he may have already broken through to become a Level-Ninety Quasi-Titled Douluo!"

"Once he obtains his ninth soul ring, he will become a genuine Titled Douluo, and the Holy Dragon Sect will truly become one of the Upper Three Sects!"

"How unpredictable the world is. That vacant position should originally have gone to one of the Lower Four Sects, but the Holy Dragon Sect picked up an enormous advantage." Ning Fengzhi looked at the two of them as he spoke.

"So that means..." Chen Xin frowned. "The Upper Three Sects are no longer united. One of them has already sided with Spirit Hall, and the Holy Dragon Sect is about to gain a Titled Douluo!"

"This is dangerous. Now I understand. Spirit Hall truly harbors sinister intentions. What a vicious scheme!"

Ning Fengzhi sat upon the sect master's throne, staring at the ceiling as though lost in thought. "The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect was destroyed, and now the sect filling its vacancy has completely sided with Spirit Hall. The situation on the continent, this game of chess... it is becoming harder and harder to understand."

"That Qian Xunji..." Ning Fengzhi gritted his teeth, then sighed again. "We all underestimated him."

"Not only did he destroy the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, he also pushed Spirit Hall's prestige to another peak! At the same time, he planted an unremovable nail among the Seven Great Sects!"

"If we suppress the Holy Dragon Sect now, it would be no different from making enemies of Spirit Hall and provoking them."

"These are troubled times." Ning Fengzhi gave a bitter smile.

"But we can't just sit here and watch, can we?" Gu Rong said anxiously. "Are we really going to watch Spirit Hall slowly devour our Seven Great Sects bit by bit?"

Ning Fengzhi shook his head. "We definitely cannot do anything openly. Spirit Hall's prestige is simply too high now. If they raise their arms and call out, who knows how many Soul Masters will answer!"

"It is not only our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect that fears Spirit Hall. The Clear Sky Sect, the two great empires, and the Lower Four Sects fear them as well!"

"Since we cannot stop them openly, then we should do something in secret. We can still isolate the Holy Dragon Sect."

"From the exposure of the Holy Maiden's betrayal... to a year of calm, then the destruction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect, followed by the Holy Dragon Sect joining the Upper Three Sects—each event forms a single chain..."

"I believe I am not the only one who has seen through it. There must also be people in the Clear Sky Sect and the two great empires who have seen through it."

"Spirit Hall is about to make a major move. Has the Spirit Hall that has endured for ten thousand years finally grown impatient? Do they no longer wish to be merely the sacred ground in the hearts of Soul Masters? Do they want to become like the two great empires?"

"Fengzhi, isn't that... a little alarmist?" Chen Xin frowned as he spoke.

"This is only my speculation. Everyone knows Spirit Hall's duty is to protect the continent, but are they truly willing to keep protecting it for another ten thousand years?" Ning Fengzhi said.

"For ten thousand years, Spirit Hall has indeed been a dutiful protector. But now, it seems they may no longer be willing to remain merely protectors. The destruction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect may have been the beginning of it all!"

Ning Fengzhi looked at Chen Xin and Gu Rong. "Uncle Sword, Uncle Bone, do you remember what Spirit Hall used to be like?"

"They captured fallen Soul Masters everywhere, maintained order in the Soul Master world, and then... acted as peacemakers?"

Chen Xin stroked his chin. "Whenever the two great empires fought until neither could back down, until public resentment boiled over and order collapsed, Spirit Hall would step in."

"Yes." Gu Rong was also reminiscing. Spirit Hall of the past had indeed been a dutiful protector.

Even when Chen Xin's father had gone to challenge that figure in Spirit Hall and died in battle, Spirit Hall had not tried to wipe them out.

Of course, the main reason was that Chen Xin's father had already been a Level-Ninety-Eight Peak Super Douluo.

He had been only one step away from breaking through, yet that single step had trapped him for many years. Challenging Qian Daoliu had been his path to prove his Dao!

If he succeeded, he would become a new Peerless Douluo; if he failed, he would merely die and vanish from the world. Qian Daoliu had granted him that chance, even though he lost.

He had witnessed the peak sword strike of a Peerless Douluo, yet failed to withstand it and ultimately died. Qian Daoliu could not be blamed for that.

But one could imagine that the atmosphere on the Douluo Continent back then had been completely different from what it was now. Spirit Hall had changed!

When had it changed? It had begun when Qian Xunji became Pope. This man seemed unwilling to be that ridiculous protector.

"Looks like you understand now. Everything began when Qian Xunji became Pope," Ning Fengzhi said.

"I hope all my guesses are wrong. If they are true, it would be far too terrifying. This would no longer be a war between the two great empires, but a disaster that would completely sweep across the entire continent, one that no one could escape!"

Chen Xin and Gu Rong's expressions also turned grave. At last, they fully realized the severity of the matter.

If Qian Xunji knew what Ning Fengzhi had said, he would surely respond, "I don't know! Did I really think that far?"