Faced with Prince Xue Beng Prince Xue Xing could only plead in a low voice, "Uncle, you must help me. What should I do now?"
Prince Xue Xing shook his head. "Although my elder brother is angry, he didn't punish you, which means you still have a chance. From now on, keep a low profile in the manor. If you cause trouble again, I won't be able to help you."
Xue Beng felt somewhat relieved, but still asked with a hint of curiosity, "Uncle, who do you think was behind this whole thing?"
Prince Xue Xing shook his head as well. "Logically speaking, the person who would scheme against you should be Xue Qinghe, but Xue Qinghe is the Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire. How could he do something that would damage the foundation of the empire?"
The two continued to communicate, but remained confused. Prince Xue Xing, being experienced, sensed something was amiss, but couldn't quite put his finger on it. Perhaps colluding with the Spirit Hall was Prince Xue Beng's only remaining bargaining chip.
Meanwhile, at the Crown Prince's residence, Xue Qinghe was overjoyed. After much scheming, he had finally eliminated the biggest backer of the Xue Beng, making future dealings much easier.
At this time, both the Breaking Clan and Defense Clan had moved to the Mount Aermo, effectively isolating themselves from the world. Only a small number of disciples were outside, handling matters in Monai City and the clan's elixir trading.
However, the matter of the secret manual escalated, plunging the entire Douluo Continent into chaos, as if a whirlwind had swept through.
Inside the Spirit Hall, in the Pope's Palace, Pope Bibi Dong and a host of high-ranking officials were present, including Hu Liena.
On Bibi Dong's desk were various secret manuals, which the Spirit Hall had recently collected through various means.
Because Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo were seriously injured and have been recuperating recently, Flame Eagle Douluo and Ghost Leopard Douluo have taken over the handling of affairs. Both of them are Agility Attack System Soul Master and are also Bibi Dong's confidants, so they are quite efficient.
Bibi Dong addressed the crowd, "How's the investigation into the origins of these manuals going? Are there any concrete developments?"
Flame Eagle Douluo quickly reported, " Your His Holiness the Pope, through our investigation over the past few months, we have identified two individuals as the sellers of the secret manual, but their whereabouts are elusive, and we have been unable to obtain any information about them."
"However, according to information from the black market, this person once revealed his Martial Soul during the battle in Gengxin City. The Martial Soul should be the Clear Sky Hammer, but there is no other information."
Bibi Dong asked with a grave expression, "Besides this fight, is there any other information? Why can't our spies track us down?"
Flame Eagle Douluo continued his report, "These two people come and go without a trace. It is estimated that they are at least at the Soul Douluo level, or even higher. We have sent several Soul Douluo to track them, but we have not been able to find any information about them. Especially three months ago, after these two sold the manuals in most of the cities on the Douluo Continent, they disappeared without a trace."
Pope Bibi Dong was still somewhat unwilling to give up. "Isn't there any other way to investigate? After they sell the secret manuals, they always have to deal with these huge amounts of supplies. Could we trace the clues through these supplies?"
Flame Eagle Douluo shook his head. "These two are extremely cautious. They don't accept any Gold Soul Coin cards, only Gold Soul Coin and various treasures, making them impossible to track down. Moreover, the prices they sell vary, ranging from 100,000 to one million Gold Soul Coin."
"Moreover, according to statistics, they probably obtained hundreds of millions of Gold Soul Coin from selling the manuals, as well as all sorts of treasures. All their resources combined are probably comparable to those of a large sect."
Bibi Dong was still puzzled after hearing this. "What faction do these two people come from? Could they really be from the Clear Sky Sect?"
"Logically speaking, such a precious manual shouldn't be sold so easily, and even if it were, the price shouldn't be this low. I have a feeling they have some ulterior motive."
Upon hearing Bibi Dong's words, everyone present fell silent. It was unimaginable who would so easily betray such a secret manual, which could be passed down through generations.
Bibi Dong pondered for a moment, then continued, "How's the research on these manuals going? How effective are they in practice?"
At this moment, Ghost Leopard Douluo also spoke up, "According to the analysis of our Spirit Hall's research experts, the contents of these manuals are extremely profound, and the effects of cultivating them should be very good, comparable to the world's top-tier cultivation techniques."
"Furthermore, several bishops confirmed that the techniques in the manual are somewhat similar to those Tang San demonstrated in the Soul Master Tournament, especially the hand-refining technique. When mastered to a high level, it turns a white jade color, very similar to what Tang San showed. Moreover, some of the weapons recorded in the manual are the same as those sold by Tang San's Tang Sect to the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School."
" Your His Holiness the Pope, I think there's a high probability that it came from the Clear Sky Sect. The Clear Sky Sect has been in seclusion for 15 years now, hiding in their ancestral land, but they still need various cultivation resources. I wonder if it's because they're short of resources that they arranged for people to sell secret manuals."
Bibi Dong shook her head. "Even if those people from the Clear Sky Sect are stupid, they wouldn't sell a secret manual of this level. It's just a little bit of resources; with their strength, they could easily get it without anyone noticing. This whole thing seems to be the work of a single person, who just wanted to make a quick buck from beginning to end, and probably didn't consider the future at all."
At this moment, Ghost Leopard Douluo spoke up again, " Your His Holiness the Pope, regardless of whether the Clear Sky Sect deliberately put these manuals up for sale, it's clear that these manuals originated from the Clear Sky Sect, or at least are related to the Clear Sky Sect. Perhaps these manuals are also related to the strength of the Clear Sky Sect."
Bibi Dong finally spoke up, "Regardless, these manuals must be connected to the Clear Sky Sect. Let's arrange for some disciples to practice them first and observe their effects."
"How are Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo's injuries? How long will it take for them to recover?"
Flame Eagle Douluo quickly spoke up, "I visited them a few days ago. Their injuries have improved, especially Chrysanthemum Douluo, who has a considerable collection of medicinal herbs. In addition, our Spirit Hall's healing Soul Saint treat them every day, so they should be fully recovered in about two years."
Bibi Dong was quite concerned about her capable assistants. "That's right. Although they lost this time, they tested the strength of Niu Gao and Yang Wudi, which can be considered a contribution to the Spirit Hall. We should spare no effort to heal them as well as possible."
Flame Eagle Douluo seemed somewhat puzzled. " Your His Holiness the Pope, Yang Wudi and Niu Gao dared to seriously injure Titled Douluo of my Spirit Hall, severely damaging the reputation of my Spirit Hall. Should we retaliate?"
Bibi Dong shook her head. "It's a normal duel. If we lose, we lose. It's no big deal. This way, we can hide our strength. Besides, haven't Niu Gao and Yang Wudi already challenged Qian Jun and Jiang Mo? Let Qian Jun and Jiang Mo handle the rest."
"How are Niu Gao and Yang Wudi doing now? Have they made any moves?"
Flame Eagle Douluo shook his head. "After the Breaking Clan and the Defense Clan left Heaven Dou City, they are now both in the Mount Aermo, mainly dealing with family establishment matters. Both clans seem to have gone into hiding and are completely uninvolved in outside affairs. Only a very small number of disciples are managing the Mount Aermo and Monai City. Given the strength of these two Titled Douluo, we dare not investigate too deeply."
Bibi Dong nodded with a hint of satisfaction. "These two are quite sensible. Fine, we only need to send out spies near Mount Aermo, let them handle the rest themselves."
All the major powers have collected a lot of secret manuals, and the contents of these manuals are indeed very attractive. However, out of caution, each family initially only arranged for a very small number of disciples to cultivate them, and they will decide on the specifics after seeing the results.
Among all the major forces, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect is the most fanatical.
When Ning Fengzhi saw these manuals, he immediately recognized that they came from the Clear Sky Sect, or rather, the Tang Sect.
Ning Fengzhi had always been very interested in Tang San's Self-Created Soul Skill and Hidden Weapon crafting, but he had never had the opportunity to make a move because of Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect.
How could I not be happy to get these great things just from the black market?
Ning Fengzhi immediately gathered some disciples to begin practicing the techniques in the manual, wanting to confirm its effectiveness as soon as possible.
The blueprints for various Hidden Weapon were especially intriguing to Ning Fengzhi. With these blueprints, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect could manufacture all sorts of Hidden Weapon themselves, no longer needing to purchase them from the Tang Sect at exorbitant prices. As a businessman, what could be more gratifying than saving a significant amount of money?
As the largest and wealthiest sect on the continent, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect has various industries spread throughout the continent, including blacksmithing. After all, the initial development of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect relied on the Martial Soul of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda to find mineral veins.
Ning Fengzhi immediately summoned a large number of blacksmiths to begin making various Hidden Weapon. Although there were no master blacksmiths in the family, there were still quite a few high-level blacksmiths, and they could make various Hidden Weapon in a very short time.
Having acquired various secret manuals and techniques, Ning Fengzhi abandoned the idea of trading Yang Podi's Self-Created Soul Skill. He figured he'd rather spend that time learning the current manuals, especially the movement techniques and hand-training methods, which were practically tailor-made for Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda Soul Master.
As for the two great empires, they also began to intensify their research on these secret manuals, investing a great deal of manpower and resources in the process, especially in the production of Hidden Weapon, which could obviously greatly enhance the empires' military strength.
Of all the sects that suffered the most from this manual sale incident, the Tang Sect is probably the one that lost the most. Since the manual appeared, its biggest customer, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, has had no orders. Even the Heaven Dou Empire, which originally intended to buy it, has not made any moves.
The Strength Clan and the Speed Clan are once again in trouble, completely lacking the high spirits they had when the Tang Sect was first established.
The most puzzled person was Tang Yuehua. Now that various secret manuals have been leaked, there are rumors that these manuals originated from the Clear Sky Sect. However, as Tang Xiao's sister, she had no idea where these manuals came from. The Clear Sky Sect didn't seem to have such manuals, but they were somewhat similar to the cultivation method practiced by her nephew Tang San. Unfortunately, there had been no news of Tang Hao and Tang San recently, so she had no way to ask them.
Tang San had been secretly cultivating with Tang Hao, completely isolated from the world, unaware that the Tang Sect's martial arts, which he cherished as his lifeblood, had spread throughout the world. If Tang Hao knew, one wonders what his expression would be.