After the Four Single-Attribute Clans broke out of Spirit Hall's encirclement, Yang Wudi, Tai Tan, Bai He, and Niu Gao gathered once again.
This time, they discussed which direction to take and their respective plans after leaving.
Tai Tan intended to go to Heaven Dou City, where the Strength Clan had developed. Niu Gao and Bai He intended to go to the Star Luo Empire instead. For one thing, the Star Luo Empire was powerful, and Spirit Hall probably would not dare act so brazenly there. For another, the Star Luo Empire was the ancestral home, or rather, the place of origin, of both clans. They owned some businesses there, so rebuilding, at least, would not be difficult.
Yang Wudi hesitated somewhat. Logically speaking, the Star Luo Empire was a good destination, but almost all his clan's children were now in Heaven Dou City, and it was indeed a good place to develop.
After the four discussed it, Niu Gao learned that his daughter and young grandson were also in Heaven Dou City. After thinking for a moment, he decided to go there first.
Bai He of the Speed Clan saw that the other three all intended to head to Heaven Dou City. With the Speed Clan itself subject to such severe limitations, he could only follow everyone there for now. Their future development would need further consideration. First, they had to escape the immediate crisis.
The Four Single-Attribute Clans had all suffered considerable losses in this battle. Apart from the Breaking Clan, the other three clans had each lost more than half their people. The Breaking Clan, by contrast, had started with around seven hundred people and actually still had more than four hundred left.
The Breaking Clan's relatively light losses were mainly because they had no children holding them back and did not need to split their forces to protect them. In addition, during the breakout, some of the elderly had charged desperately at the very front, sacrificing themselves for the clan.
In the end, all four clans decided to head to Heaven Dou City first and leave other matters of development for later.
Although Spirit Hall had allowed the Four Single-Attribute Clans to break out, things were clearly not that simple. It had dispatched quite a few people to pursue and kill them along the way.
Still, they were relatively fortunate.
After fleeing toward Heaven Dou City at full speed for an hour, the Four Single-Attribute Clans encountered a large force ahead. It was actually the force the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect had sent to reinforce the Clear Sky Sect, and even Sect Master Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo were present.
With Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect's large force of Soul Masters there, the pursuing Spirit Hall Soul Masters could only give up, reducing the Four Single-Attribute Clans' casualties.
Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo were puzzled to see that those fleeing toward them belonged to the Clear Sky Sect's subordinate sects. The Clear Sky Sect had always been renowned for its fierce courage and domineering ways. How could its people be fleeing?
But the Upper Three Sects had always been branches of the same tree, and they had come precisely to assist the Clear Sky Sect. After considering it, they decided to save the fleeing people first. Thus, Sword Douluo stopped the pursuers alone, with only his sword.
Although Spirit Hall had won the battle against the Clear Sky Sect, it had also suffered considerable losses and had no intention of going to war with the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect at the same time. In the end, the pursuers it had dispatched could only retreat. Of course, no Titled Douluo had been sent among them, as doing so would have affected Spirit Hall's reputation.
When Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo heard of the Clear Sky Sect's fate and its decision to withdraw from the Soul Master World, they were utterly stunned. After a moment's thought, they decided to have their forces encamp where they were and wait until the other two parties' forces arrived before deciding their next move.
Half a day later, eight people gathered in a makeshift meeting room: Sect Master Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Sword Douluo, Sect Master Yu Yuanzhen of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, Prince Xue Xing of the Heaven Dou Empire, and the leaders of the Four Single-Attribute Clans.
After Yang Wudi described the course of the war, supplemented by information from other sources, everyone present was shocked.
To think that the dignified number one sect under heaven had lost its sect master, suffered countless casualties within its ranks, and ultimately chosen to withdraw from the Soul Master World. Everyone trembled with apprehension.
After a stretch of silence, Ning Fengzhi spoke. "Upon receiving the news, our Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect assembled our forces immediately and rushed here as fast as possible. But I never imagined Spirit Hall would move so quickly or act so ruthlessly."
"If Spirit Hall's operation had been just half a day to a day later, with the combined forces of our four sides, things would never have reached this point."
Yu Yuanzhen and Prince Xue Xing also remained silent. Upon receiving the news, their two powers had likewise acted immediately, but they had still arrived too late.
After another moment of silence, the old dragon Yu Yuanzhen spoke as well. "In this operation, Spirit Hall calculated every step with great precision, from releasing the news and assembling its forces to the Titled Douluo it sent to the Clear Sky Sect. Spirit Hall will probably be difficult to deal with from now on."
After the Clear Sky Sect withdrew into seclusion, all three powers felt immense pressure.
When the four heard that the Four Single-Attribute Clans intended to head to Heaven Dou City, they were all rather surprised. Prince Xue Xing, however, was pleasantly surprised. The Four Single-Attribute Clans were powerful and widely renowned. Their arrival in Heaven Dou City would count as an increase in the Heaven Dou Empire's strength. Besides, all four clans hated Spirit Hall, making them natural allies.
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi and Yu Yuanzhen also eagerly invited the Four Single-Attribute Clans to develop near their own sects, but the four men politely declined both invitations.
In this campaign, Yang Wudi and the other three had first seen their clans besieged, then been abandoned by the Clear Sky Sect, and finally endured Spirit Hall's relentless pursuit. They were filled with hatred for both the Clear Sky Sect and Spirit Hall. Thus, they were all deeply opposed to joining another sect.
In the end, after Prince Xue Xing gave repeated assurances, even making decisions on behalf of Emperor Xue Ye of the Heaven Dou Empire to directly arrange territories for the four clans and address their future development, the four men finally decided to lead their clans to Heaven Dou City to develop.
With that, the war against the Clear Sky Sect finally drew to a complete close.
Within a short time, a piece of news rapidly spread throughout the Soul Master World: because its disciple had killed Spirit Hall's Pope Qian Xunji, the Clear Sky Sect, the number one sect under heaven that had dominated the world for years, had withdrawn from the Soul Master World. Its sect master, Tang Zhen, had died, and it had also expelled Tang Hao.
The Four Single-Attribute Clans, formerly subordinate to the Clear Sky Sect, also formally announced their departure from the sect and their move to Heaven Dou City to develop.
The entire Douluo Continent was shaken.
The Clear Sky Sect had always been renowned throughout the world for its dominance and strength. Its former sect master, Tang Chen, had been unrivaled under heaven, and its Martial Soul, the Clear Sky Hammer, was known as the number one tool Martial Soul under heaven. In many people's eyes, it was even the number one Martial Soul under heaven. Yet now, it had actually met such an end.
Meanwhile, within the Clear Sky Sect's ancestral grounds, everyone wore plain mourning clothes. Countless coffins filled the hall. Sect Master Tang Zhen lay in the very center, with the sect's grand elder slightly to one side.
The Clear Sky Sect had suffered devastating losses in this war. Two Titled Douluo, Sect Master Tang Zhen and the grand elder, had died. Of its original more than two thousand inner disciples, fewer than eight hundred remained, a casualty rate exceeding sixty percent.
Moreover, it had been forced to abandon the Four Single-Attribute Clans of its outer sect and had no choice but to withdraw from the Soul Master World. The backbone of the Clear Sky Sect, the number one sect under heaven, had been broken. It would probably never regain its former glory.
In Fasinuo Province of the Heaven Dou Empire, a stubble-faced middle-aged man had a newborn child with him. After hearing what had happened to the Clear Sky Sect, he simply kept pouring alcohol down his throat, tear tracks appearing on his face. He kept murmuring, "I am a sinner against the Clear Sky Sect."