"Merciful" Tai Tan: The Xuanming Sect Pays for Peace

The Xuanming Sect.

Inside a vast, dimly lit hall.

"Sanshi's talent is the finest our Xuanming Sect has seen in a thousand years. We must take great care in finding him a woman whose bloodline has awakened. There can be no room for mistakes."

Two figures were speaking quietly.

The speaker was a tall, beautiful middle-aged woman in an ornate gown. She carried herself with regal grace, and the authority of one accustomed to command showed between her brows.

She was Xu Sanshi's mother, Xue Lingxun.

"I know, I know. I've already put Chen Wen on it. Rest assured, my dear."

The man who answered bore a striking resemblance to Xu Sanshi. He wore the Xuanming Sect master's dark teal robe, patterned with rippling water, and his gentle smile held a hint of eagerness to please.

He was Xu Wu, the current master of the Xuanming Sect.

Boom!

Just as their conversation was going well, a thunderous crash erupted above the hall without warning.

The vaulted roof shattered, sending broken tiles and dark stone flying.

Tai Tan fell straight down and slammed into the floor. The black, water-veined stone split in every direction, and the entire hall shook violently.

Through the billowing dust, a figure as imposing as a mountain emerged before the stunned couple.

Tai Tan showed no embarrassment. His expression unchanged, he brushed a piece of roof tile from his shoulder and forced a rare smile onto his rugged face.

"Hello..."

Xue Lingxun's beautiful eyes widened. Instinctively, she dragged her husband down from the sect master's seat and pulled him in front of her.

Though the sudden turn of events startled Xu Wu, he soon steadied himself. He was the master of a sect, after all.

He had no time to find out what Tai Tan wanted. What normal person made an entrance like that?

Martial Soul Possession!

Xu Wu stamped forward. Ripples seemed to spread beneath his foot as nine Soul Rings rose in succession: yellow, yellow, purple, purple, black, black, black, black, black.

At the same time, a deep, heavy rumble sounded from within him. Behind him appeared the phantom of a Black Tortoise, its turtle body steady as a mountain, a spirit serpent coiled around it.

Seeing her husband act, Xue Lingxun hesitated no longer. With a sharp cry, she revealed the full might of a Soul Douluo.

Hm?

Interest flashed in Tai Tan's eyes. The two of them had caught his attention.

After being "shut away" in Clear Sky Castle for so many years, he had grown tired of sparring with Da Ming. He had been looking for someone new to practice with!

Tai Tan stood with his hands behind his back. Nine Soul Rings blazed beneath him—eight black and one red—and his immense Soul Power bore down on them like an invisible weight.

Xu Wu's pupils contracted. Terror seized him, and the urge to retreat welled up inside him. He was ready to surrender on the spot.

What the hell was there to fight? Was that even a combination of Soul Rings a human should have?

Then, from the corner of his eye, Xu Wu caught sight of his trembling wife behind him.

Right. It was one thing if he died, but what about Xue Lingxun?!

I can't die yet! I can't!

Xu Wu gritted his teeth, a fierce flame flaring in his heart.

Burn, my little universe! Come, Black Tortoise! Our hearts beat as one!

As though sensing Xu Wu's resolve, his Black Tortoise Martial Soul roared at the sky. Yet the moment it faced Tai Tan, it zipped straight back into his body.

"..."

All strength seemed to leave Xu Wu. He stumbled back half a step and collapsed into Xue Lingxun's arms.

He looked utterly spent, as though all hope of living had burned away.

Xue Lingxun cried out, her beautiful eyes filled with horror.

Could the land of the Xuanming Sect really become the burial ground of us both?!

Just as Xu Wu and Xue Lingxun felt their hearts turn cold, certain their ancestors' legacy was about to be destroyed, Tai Tan did something neither of them expected.

He slowly opened his hand. Several Gold Soul Coins lay in his palm.

Tai Tan looked at Xu Wu as if the matter were obvious and said evenly, "This old man wants to buy some pills."

Xu Wu: "..."

He froze, his mouth hanging slightly open. For a long moment, he could not speak.

Damn it, why didn't you say so sooner?!

"What?"

The word slipped out before he could collect his thoughts.

Hm?

Tai Tan's brows drew together, and he gave a displeased snort.

A trace of Soul Power rode that snort, making the air in the hall feel heavier.

Tang Qi had told him that if they refused, he should use the Sea God to persuade them.

Tai Tan's face darkened at once. A scarlet gleam flashed in his eyes, and the Soul Power around him began to surge restlessly.

"It's not as though this old man won't pay."

That display nearly frightened Xu Wu out of his wits.

"Wait, wait! Senior, please!"

Xu Wu held out both hands and pressed his palms down again and again. His voice trembled. "I'll fetch them for you right now! Right now!"

"Good lad. You know what's what!"

Tai Tan nodded in satisfaction and burst into hearty laughter.

Xu Wu stole a glance at Tai Tan, and the longer he looked, the more alarmed he grew.

The aura this man gave off was several times more terrifying than that of the sect's reclusive guardian Douluo. No, ten times more terrifying!

Wait.

Where was the guardian Douluo?

Meanwhile, deep within the Xuanming Sect, in a secluded chamber...

The guardian Douluo sat cross-legged in cultivation. His face was still as an ancient well, though the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

He had sensed Tai Tan the moment he descended upon the Xuanming Sect.

Instinct had nearly driven him to his feet. But before he could rise, his heart gave an inexplicable jolt. At his level, a sixth sense was often accurate.

So the guardian Douluo quietly sat back down and even drew in his aura a little.

Better my fellow cultivator die than me.

Little Wu, after you die, I'll take care of your wife!

After giving Tai Tan a brief reply, Xu Wu hurried out of the hall with Xue Lingxun.

Was Tai Tan worried that the two would leave and summon every Soul Master in the sect to surround him?

What a joke.

Would a tiger care how many little kittens there were?

All they could do was hiss at it while courting death.

As the master of a sect, Xu Wu understood that against someone of Tai Tan's caliber, bringing more people would only mean more deaths.

The couple hurried down the corridor, one behind the other.

Xue Lingxun lowered her gaze in thought. As a princess of the Dou Ling Empire's former dynasty, her inborn acuity told her something was amiss.

She searched every corner of her memory but could think of no one who matched Tai Tan.

An ordinary Soul Master could never possess eight black Soul Rings and one red one. Could he be from the Body Sect?

Xue Lingxun was briefly surprised, then shook her head.

Apart from the Angel High Priest and the Sea God High Priest of ten thousand years ago, who else had Soul Rings of that caliber?

Lost in thought, Xue Lingxun walked straight into Xu Wu's back.

"What is it?"

Xu Wu turned stiffly toward her, an odd look on his face.

"I think... I forgot to ask that senior what pills he wanted."

Xue Lingxun stared for a moment, then could not help rolling her eyes at her husband.

"Do you even need to ask? The Black Tortoise Divine Pill, obviously! What else but our sect's greatest treasure would bring a man who's at least a Super Douluo here in person?"

"What if he wants Mystic Water Pills?"

Xu Wu objected quietly, though even he sounded unconvinced. "What if... that senior wants them for his child?"

He shook his head. Even to him, it sounded unlikely.

"Forget it. I'll bring both."

Xu Wu sighed, his face tightening at the thought of the cost. "For someone at his level to offer money for the pills at all... you could even call that a little merciful."

Xue Lingxun nodded in heartfelt agreement. The couple exchanged a look and sighed.

Better to lose money than lose their lives.