Although the Clear Sky Sect's walls were tall and imposing, offering some resistance against ordinary people or low-level Soul Masters, they offered very little resistance against high-level Soul Masters.
Unfortunately, most of the Clear Sky Sect's inner disciples had the Clear Sky Hammer as their Martial Soul and lacked ranged attacks. Nor did they have hidden weapons like Tang San's, leaving them unable to help defend the sect.
In just fifteen minutes, the sect's walls had fallen, and all the Soul Masters were drawn into battle.
The Clear Sky Sect currently had four Titled Douluo: the level-95 Tang Zhen, the level-93 First Elder, the level-92 Second Elder, and the level-91 Tang Xiao. Its high-end combat strength far surpassed that of other sects. Coupled with the might of the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul and the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes passed down within the sect, it was exceedingly difficult for a Titled Douluo of the same level to defeat a Titled Douluo with the Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul in single combat.
Yet somehow, perhaps having received advance information from somewhere, Spirit Hall had long known the number and levels of the Titled Douluo within the Clear Sky Sect. This time, it had deliberately dispatched eight Titled Douluo, two more than the six originally detected.
Titled Douluo were immensely powerful, their strength and the threat they posed far exceeding those of Soul Douluo or low-level Soul Masters. This forced Tang Zhen and the elders to come out and face them early, or else stand by and watch their own disciples be slaughtered.
Tang Zhen in particular, though only Level 95, was exceptionally powerful. Ordinary Level 96 Soul Masters were no match for him.
Against an expert of Tang Zhen's caliber, Spirit Hall had naturally devised a strategy and taken measures long beforehand.
Tang Zhen faced Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, two Level 96 Titled Douluo. Clearly, Spirit Hall had carefully selected these two as well.
Qian Jun and Jiang Mo were both Level 96 Titled Douluo, their Soul Power one level higher than Tang Zhen's. Both also possessed a supreme tool Martial Soul—the Coiling Dragon Staff, which, in a certain sense, was already no weaker than the Clear Sky Hammer.
Even with the unparalleled intricacy of the Clear Sky Hammer's Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, he faced peril at every turn under their attacks and found his strength somewhat unequal to the task.
Although the First Elder, Second Elder, and Tang Xiao were all Titled Douluo, the highest among them was only level 93. Their Soul Power Levels offered no advantage; their only advantages were their Clear Sky Hammer Martial Souls and the Clear Sky Sect's secret arts.
But Spirit Hall had clearly come prepared. Each of them faced two Titled Douluo. Although their opponents' Soul Power was not much higher than theirs, it was enough to tie them down. Even Tang Xiao could not secure a quick victory.
In the original story, Tang Xiao could defeat three Titled Douluo simultaneously by relying on the Clear Sky Formation, making him a consummate master of the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes. But he had only just become a Titled Douluo now and did not yet possess such outrageous strength.
Even more miserable for the Clear Sky Sect was the countless Soul Masters it had to face. A full seven or eight thousand Soul Masters had attacked the sect itself this time, including an enormous number of Soul Douluo and Soul Saints. They simply intended to leave the Clear Sky Sect no way to survive.
In just two hours, shattered walls and ruins littered the entire Clear Sky Sect, and flames filled the sky. The sounds of fighting and screams rang out everywhere.
There was no longer any way to count how many Soul Masters among the direct-line disciples had died in this war, but the proportion of casualties was certainly extremely high. Even the First and Second Elders, hampered by their advanced age, faced peril at every turn under the encirclement and had both suffered considerable injuries.
Tang Zhen himself was under tremendous pressure. Qian Jun Douluo and Demon Subduing Douluo worked together with exceptional coordination, complementing each other in offense and defense. Whenever Tang Zhen attacked, one defended while the other struck from a different angle. The pressure was even greater than fighting three Level 96 Titled Douluo.
Tang Xiao, on the other hand, faced relatively less pressure. He was fifty-nine this year, and whether in Soul Power, age, or stamina, he was essentially at his physical peak in every respect. He had more than enough strength to face two Titled Douluo, but none to spare to help anyone else.
Yet the screams of Clear Sky Sect disciples rang out everywhere, and disciples were dying at every moment. None of the four could fight with a calm mind.
With a tremendous bear's roar, the First Elder's Clear Sky Hammer collided with a Titled Douluo whose Martial Soul was a Demon Bear. The First Elder used his Seventh Soul Skill, Tool Soul Avatar, while the opposing Titled Douluo used his Martial Soul Avatar.
An enormous Clear Sky Hammer slammed toward a gigantic Demon Bear tens of meters tall. Their head-on clash actually ended in a stalemate. But while the First Elder was relatively weakened and distracted after using his Tool Soul Avatar, a huge Ghost Leopard appeared and vanished like a specter, suddenly flashing before him and raking its claws directly across his body. Two enormous wounds instantly opened on the First Elder, deep enough to expose bone, and even his left hand was severed outright.
Seeing such a perfect opportunity, the two opponents attacked relentlessly, heedless of their own lives, intent on finishing off the First Elder in one burst. The opposing Ghost Leopard Douluo was especially fast, his attacks impossible to guard against.
Seeing this, Tang Zhen used his Ninth Soul Skill to meet an attack from Qian Jun Douluo and Demon Subduing Douluo head-on, then flew toward the First Elder, attempting to rescue him.
Qian Jun and Jiang Mo also understood Tang Zhen's intention and immediately pursued him without letting up.
Spirit Hall's Titled Douluo seemed to have prepared for this long ago. At that very instant, Demon Bear and Ghost Leopard, who had been surrounding the First Elder, abandoned the fleeing elder and charged toward Tang Zhen instead. In this way, within a short span, Tang Zhen had to face four Titled Douluo simultaneously.
The previously relatively even situation collapsed in an instant. Tang Zhen had to fight four opponents alone, and Spirit Hall's men also understood that he was the spiritual leader of the entire Clear Sky Sect.
Under the combined assault of four Titled Douluo, Tang Zhen immediately began to falter. Ghost Leopard Douluo in particular was far faster than Tang Zhen and repeatedly launched sneak attacks while he fought the other three, inflicting multiple wounds on him in a short time.
Seeing this, the other three also hurled Soul Skills at Tang Zhen as though they cost nothing.
Meanwhile, the Second Elder had also suffered serious injuries due to his advanced age.
Seeing the sect's utterly wretched miserable state and a situation that could collapse at any moment, Tang Zhen also began using his final trump card.
Several Soul Rings on Tang Zhen's Clear Sky Hammer Martial Soul shattered. The Clear Sky Hammer rapidly expanded until it was as large as a mountain. Qian Jun and Jiang Mo exchanged a glance, understanding that the critical moment had arrived. The Ninth Soul Rings on their Coiling Dragon Staffs flashed as they simultaneously used their Ninth Soul Skills: Deliverance of All Beings and Attainment of Bodhi.
The two Coiling Dragon Staffs also rapidly expanded, like pillars holding up the heavens. Waves of dragon cries even rang out from them.
In the sky, the enormous Clear Sky Hammer collided with the two Coiling Dragon Staffs, sending tremendous shock waves through the air. The two Titled Douluo, Qian Jun and Jiang Mo, were driven back, blood spilling from the corners of their mouths.
But Tang Zhen opposite them seemed to have suffered even heavier injuries, and his presence had begun to weaken somewhat. Demon Bear and Ghost Leopard, the two Titled Douluo, attacked Tang Zhen again. Ghost Leopard Douluo in particular appeared before Tang Zhen in an instant and directly inflicted a grievous injury on him.
Of the Clear Sky Sect's four Titled Douluo, one had now suffered light injuries and two were grievously wounded. The situation was extremely dire, and the sect faced destruction at any moment.