Yu Yuanzhen slumped into his chair and slowly closed his eyes.
The moment he did, the most terrifying memory of his previous life surged back into his mind.
He seemed to return to that night.
He saw Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo descend like grim reapers. He heard his clansmen's desperate screams as they lay in pools of blood.
Spirit Hall was too powerful.
Far too powerful for a single clan like theirs to resist.
Silence fell over the hall. Everyone looked expectantly at Yu Yuanzhen, waiting for his final command.
When Yu Yuanzhen opened his eyes again, reality had ground the pride and defiance in them to dust.
He could not bear to see the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan destroyed a second time.
"So be it... So be it..."
Yu Yuanzhen gave a bitter laugh. Two streams of old tears slid down his cheeks as he waved a powerless hand.
"Tian Heng, take this letter... Go to the Heaven Dou Sacred Hall. Tell Spirit Hall that the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan... surrenders..."
The Heaven Dou Sacred Hall blazed with light.
Dressed in black, Yu Tianheng strode into the hall. He dropped to both knees at its center and raised Yu Xiaogang's handwritten plea for help high in both hands. His voice trembled.
"Yu Tianheng of the guilty Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan pays his respects to His Highness the Holy Son and His Holiness the Pope!"
"I offer this letter and its intelligence as proof of our loyalty. I beg His Holiness the Pope and His Highness the Holy Son for mercy. Accept the allegiance of the entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan... We swear to serve you to the death!"
The hall fell silent.
Half an incense stick later, Ye Yuan turned to Bibi Dong with a soft laugh.
"Dong'er, it seems we guessed right. That old dragon of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan knows which way the wind blows. He didn't keep us waiting long."
Bibi Dong did not spare Yu Tianheng so much as a glance. She said lightly,
"He does know which way the wind blows. Lucky for them. I was thinking that if Yu Yuanzhen hadn't surrendered by midnight, I'd have Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo lead Azure Luan, Lion, and Guangling, along with Moxiong, Guibao, Ling Yuan, and Pufferfish from the Elder Hall... Eight Titled Douluo in all, taking a stroll through the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's stronghold."
Bibi Dong sighed helplessly, her red lips parting.
"I'd already arranged everyone, thinking we'd wipe that eyesore of a clan clean off the map tonight. Who knew they'd kneel first? At least it saves the old gentlemen of the Worship Hall a trip in the middle of the night."
As Yu Tianheng listened to Bibi Dong chat about it so casually, he felt as though his head might explode.
Second Worship Golden Crocodile Douluo! Azure Luan, Lion, and Guangling!
And four more Titled Douluo from the Elder Hall!
Eight Titled Douluo in total, four of them even Super Douluo above the 96th Rank!
Yu Tianheng's hair stood on end. Cold sweat soaked straight through his back.
It was terrifying.
If they had not decided to surrender tonight despite the pressure from the faction that wanted to fight,
then in just two more hours...
No, it would not even take two hours. Thousands of lives in the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would have been wiped out to the last one.
What bullshit grudge over their clan's destruction?
What hope of Tang San becoming a god?
Before such absolute power, it was all a laughable joke.
"I... I thank His Holiness the Pope on behalf of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan for sparing our lives. I thank His Highness the Holy Son for his boundless mercy."
Yu Tianheng kowtowed frantically, his forehead striking the floor tiles with dull thuds.
He truly had been scared out of his wits.
"That's enough. We're all Spirit Hall people now, so stop kowtowing."
Ye Yuan rose and walked up to Yu Tianheng. He took the letter and skimmed it at a glance.
Aside from Yu Xiaogang's attempt to sway them, the most important thing in the letter was the agreed meeting place.
Yu Xiaogang begged Yu Yuanzhen to gather the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's elite and meet the reinforcements from the Jade Clear Sky School at Luoma Slope, thirty li outside Heaven Dou City. Together, they would then charge into the city and rescue Tang San.
"Luoma Slope? Heh. What fine ground. It'll make the perfect graveyard for the Clear Sky Sect."
Then he looked at Yu Tianheng.
"Yu Tianheng, if the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan wants to live, here's your first task."
Yu Tianheng's expression turned solemn.
"Please give your orders, Your Highness."
Ye Yuan clasped his hands behind his back and said quietly,
"Go back and tell Yu Yuanzhen to use the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's secret code to reply to Yu Xiaogang at once. Say: We have received your plea for help. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will do everything in its power. Our elite will meet the Clear Sky Sect in three days."
Yu Tianheng froze. Then a chill ran down his spine.
His Highness means to turn their own plan against them!
Ye Yuan walked to the map in the hall and placed a finger on Luoma Slope.
"Once Yu Xiaogang receives that reply, Tang San and the others at Blue Tyrant Academy will think their rescue is assured. They'll wait for you with eager hearts."
"Your clansmen will arrive at the meeting place on time in three days."
Ye Yuan turned and looked Yu Tianheng in the eye, enunciating every word.
"Once the Clear Sky Sect lowers its guard, I want the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan to turn on them and stab them in the back! Spirit Hall's people will attack from the outside at the same time. We'll strike from within and without and swallow the Clear Sky Sect's reinforcements whole!"
Yu Tianheng's pupils contracted at the plan.
Turn on them right at the meeting place?
He could already imagine the disbelief in their eyes when the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's lightning struck their backs.
Ye Yuan kept his eyes on the map.
"Remember, don't just kill them. Kill them all. Leave not a single survivor!"
How vicious...
The scheme would not only slaughter the reinforcements Tang San had struggled so hard to summon. It would also make that stab in the back the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's pledge of absolute allegiance to Spirit Hall!
"I... I accept the order! The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan will give His Highness its full cooperation and show no mercy!"
Yu Tianheng pressed his forehead hard against the floor.
How Spirit Hall chose to use this afterward was no longer his place to ask. All he could do now was grit his teeth and serve as their killing blade.
"Go. Tell Yu Yuanzhen to be ready. We'll meet at Luoma Slope in three days."
Ye Yuan waved a hand.
"Yes! Your subordinate takes his leave!"
Yu Tianheng rose and respectfully backed out of the side hall. He did not even dare wipe the cold sweat from his forehead.
As Yu Tianheng's figure vanished into the night, Bibi Dong slowly rose from her chair and came to Ye Yuan's side. Open admiration and killing intent shimmered in her alluring eyes.
"Xiao Yuan, your strike from within and without may leave those Clear Sky Sect people staring in disbelief even in death."
Bibi Dong traced Luoma Slope on the map with a slender finger and asked softly,
"If we're going to swallow the Clear Sky Sect's elite whole at Luoma Slope and leave no survivors, who do you plan to send to close the net?"
Ye Yuan slipped an arm around Bibi Dong's soft, slender waist.
"Since the Clear Sky Sect is showing us such respect, we can't be stingy. Of the names you just listed, Dong'er, leave old Golden Crocodile to guard the Holy Hall. Send out all seven of the other Titled Douluo!"
"In three days, I want the Clear Sky Sect's blood to dye the ground outside Heaven Dou City red!"
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