Yang Podi did not rush to leave seclusion, but continued to cultivate alone, wanting to restore his physical fitness and Soul Power to their peak.
When Yang Podi emerged from seclusion, his father, Yang Zhentian, looked at Yang Podi with some surprise. " Podi, what's been going on with you lately? I feel like the Soul Power in the area where you've been cultivating has changed a lot recently, especially five days ago, it was as if all the Soul Power in the vicinity had been absorbed."
Yang Podi simply smiled slightly, "Dad, I'm Level 98."
Yang Zhentian was utterly shocked. "How did you reach Level 98 so quickly? I remember you were only at the peak of Level 97 before you went into seclusion. How did you break through?"
"Besides, how could you possibly break through to Level 98 without a full set of fully equipped Soul Bone?"
Yang Podi shook his head. "I only gained some insights; I'll break through while cultivating."
Yang Zhentian was speechless upon hearing this: many people spend their entire lives trying to break through from Level 97 to Level 98, so what kind of monster is his son?
Yang Podi did not intend to reveal his Dual Soul Cores for the time being, since no one else could condense Yin-Yang Balance Dual Soul Cores; the risks involved were simply too high, and their physical abilities were simply not up to par.
I'll do some research on it myself first, and then I'll figure out a way to develop Isotopic Resonance Dual-Core Soul Core.
It has to be said that after reaching Level 98, Yang Podi felt that his physical strength had undergone a qualitative leap, especially his physical strength, speed and other attributes had become more powerful, and even his cultivation speed and application of Soul Power had become much stronger.
Of course, Yang Podi also felt that he was lacking in some aspects. Perhaps he needed to obtain the Head Soul Bone and Torso Soul Bone as soon as possible, otherwise he would always feel that something was missing.
While Yang Podi was cultivating, his mother suddenly notified him that he needed to go to the family's reception room.
Upon hearing this, Yang Podi's composure turned somewhat serious: he hadn't expected them to arrive so quickly; it seemed he would have to demonstrate his strength first.
When Yang Podi arrived at the reception room, there were already quite a few people there, including Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, Ning Fengzhi, Sword Douluo, and Ning Rongrong from the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Tang Xiao, Tang Hao, and Tang San Clear Sky Sect the Clear Sky School, Yu Xiaogang, Liu Erlong, and even Tai Tan and Bai He. Judging from the situation, they seemed to have some ill intentions.
As for his own family, his grandfather Yang Wudi, father Yang Zhentian, maternal grandfather Niu Gao, and Poison Douluo Dugu Bo were together. In particular, the expressions of the four of them seemed quite solemn, obviously the conversation between the two sides was not very pleasant.
Yang Podi ignored everyone else and sat down next to his grandfather Yang Wudi, adopting the attitude of someone in charge of the household.
Seeing the solemn expressions on the four people's faces, Yang Podi said calmly, "Grandpa, I'll handle whatever comes up. Don't worry."
Upon hearing this, Yang Wudi felt much more at ease. He simply nodded and said nothing more.
Yang Podi addressed the people around him. "Your Highness, Sect Leader Tang Xiao, Sect Master Ning, may I ask what brings you to my Heavenly Pursuit Academy?"
Upon seeing Yang Podi's attitude, everyone in the group fell silent, as if they didn't know how to express themselves.
Finally, Crown Prince Xue Qinghe spoke up, " Yang Podi, the main reason we've come here is to discuss forming an alliance to jointly fight against the Spirit Hall. What are your thoughts?"
Yang Podi coldly replied, "I have no particular intentions. Our Heavenly Pursuit Academy is just an ordinary academy, dedicated to educating and nurturing students. We have never considered forming alliances with anyone, much less getting involved in any conflicts within the Soul Master World."
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe shook his head. " The Spirit Hall is currently very powerful. They have launched successive attacks on the Clear Sky Sect, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect School, and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, causing enormous losses to these Upper Three Sects. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was even wiped out. This shows their huge ambitions; they want to unify the entire Soul Master World and the Douluo Continent. Even if Heavenly Pursuit Academy wants to be independent, it cannot stay out of it."
Yang Podi sneered, "The Upper Three Sects and the Spirit Hall have been at odds for years, so it's perfectly normal for something to happen. What does this have to do with our Heavenly Pursuit Academy? Besides, our Heavenly Pursuit Academy is located in a remote area, and we haven't even considered interfering in the affairs of the Soul Master World."
Xue Qinghe seemed a little angry. " Yang Podi, don't forget, you are the Champion Marquis of my Heaven Dou Empire. The empire is in a tense situation now, and we need you to serve the empire."
Yang Podi stared at Xue Qinghe and said, "This Champion Marquis of the Empire was a reward I received from the Soul Master Tournament, not because I defected to the Heaven Dou Empire. If the Empire wants to go back on its word, it can take it back. Do you think I care about this title of Champion Marquis?"
Yang Podi's indifferent attitude caused silence to fall again. Xue Qinghe simply shook his head slightly and said nothing more.
Yang Podi glanced at the crowd and continued speaking alone, "My Heavenly Pursuit Academy is just an ordinary academy, not a major sect or power. We don't want to cause trouble. We don't want to offend either the Spirit Hall or the Upper Three Sects, nor can we afford to. So I won't get involved in your affairs."
Ning Fengzhi a somewhat serious tone. "Young friend Yang Podi, is this your attitude towards the Spirit Hall? But even if your Heavenly Pursuit Academy tries to escape, the Spirit Hall will likely not let you off the hook after they've dealt with us."
Yang Podi shook his head. "My attitude towards everyone is the same: I will not offend others unless they offend me; if they offend me, I will kill them. This applies to both the Spirit Hall and the Upper Three Sects."
Ning Fengzhi spoke again, "Can you represent everyone in the entire Heavenly Pursuit Academy?"
"Since I'm the one speaking now, I can certainly speak on behalf of everyone at the Heavenly Pursuit Academy."
Upon hearing this, Yang Wudi and the others from the Heavenly Pursuit Academy all remained silent, clearly acknowledging the statement.
At this moment, Yu Xiaogang seemed a little agitated. "Why are you all like this? You only think about protecting yourselves. The Spirit Hall is acting against the tide of history, ambitious and determined to destroy all sects and unify the Soul Master World. This is a danger to all living beings."
Yang Podi shook his head. " Teacher Yu Xiaogang, I don't know what your stance is when you say these things. Everyone here should be a leader of a major sect. You should all know that the rise of every major power is built on countless bones. Whether it's the Upper Three Sects or the Heaven Dou Empire, they all destroyed countless hostile forces to stand firm."
"Especially the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan back then, they must have wiped out quite a few dragon-attribute sects. Wouldn't that be considered a threat to the Soul Master World?"
"Our Heavenly Pursuit Academy has no interest in these grudges and feuds within the Soul Master World. Why should we go against the Spirit Hall?"
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang was speechless. Just as Yang Podi had said, the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was known for its domineering nature and had destroyed quite a few sects.
Tang San, seemingly wanting to step in to protect Yu Xiaogang, coldly said, " Yang Podi, I expect you to respect my teacher."
Upon hearing this, Yang Podi was immediately enveloped in boundless killing intent, which even seemed to shroud the entire sky, making everyone opposite him appear as if they were being crushed by a mountain.
In particular, an extremely strong killing intent surged up on Tang San, as if it wanted to tear Tang San apart. Tang San was immediately terrified, as if he were in Asura realm, and his entire body lost control.
Seeing this, Tang Xiao quickly pulled Tang San behind him and personally blocked the killing intent, but even so, a trace of blood still flowed from the corner of Tang San's mouth.
As Tang Xiao made his move, Yang Podi sneered again, all his killing intent vanishing as if nothing had happened.
However, Yang Podi to Tang Xiao, saying, "Sect Master Tang, I advise you to keep an eye on your nephew. At the very least, he shouldn't interrupt when others are speaking. Not everyone is afraid of your Clear Sky Sect, nor does everyone give your Clear Sky Sect face."
Tang Xiao's expression seemed somewhat serious at this moment. "My nephew doesn't need your discipline. Didn't you go too far just now?"
Yang Podi sneered, "If Sect Master Tang Xiao were interrupted like this while he was speaking, I wonder what you would do?"
Tang Xiao turned to look at Yang Wudi: " Yang Wudi, is this how your grandson talks?"
Yang Wudi showed no respect for Tang Xiao: "Did my Podi say something wrong? With the reputation of your Clear Sky Sect, if anyone dared to speak to the sect master of the Clear Sky Sect like that, they would probably be dead already."
Tang Xiao's expression was unusually grave. " Yang Wudi, do we really have to come to this? Don't forget, the Breaking Clan only rose to power because of my Clear Sky Sect; otherwise, they would have been wiped out long ago."
Yang Wudi coldly said, " The Breaking Clan did indeed rise to power by relying on the Clear Sky Sect, but they also fought for the Clear Sky Sect for many years, and even lost half of their members back then. Does Sect Master Tang think that's not enough?"
Tang Xiao finally gritted his teeth and said, "It's not enough. Back then, your Breaking Clan was just a down-and-out family with only a few dozen people. If it weren't for relying on the Clear Sky Sect, how could you have grown to hundreds of Soul Master, how could you have grown to be comparable to the Lower Four Sects?"
Yang Wudi's face was full of anger. "Then what do you want? My Breaking Clan will never be someone else's dog again, especially since it was your Clear Sky Sect that abandoned our Breaking Clan in the first place."
Tang Xiao didn't say anything more, but glanced at Tang Hao behind him, as if everything was understood without words.
Tang Hao hadn't said a word the entire time, which was completely unlike his usual self. In particular, his face looked extremely dejected, clearly indicating that he was severely injured and probably had little strength left.
Yang Wudi finally sighed and tossed a jade box to Tang Xiao: "Fine, this Earth Essence Fruit can heal Tang Hao's injuries. From now on, our Breaking Clan and the Defense Clan will have no further dealings with the Clear Sky Sect. If things continue like today, we won't be so polite anymore."
Grandfather Niu Gao then spoke with a resolute expression, "From this day forward, our Defense Clan and Breaking Clan will sever all ties with the Clear Sky Sect, and will have no further involvement whatsoever."
Seeing this, Yang Podi couldn't help but shake his head: After all, his grandfather Yang Wudi and maternal grandfather Niu Gao had spent most of their lives in the Clear Sky Sect, and some things were hard to give up. Moreover, as Tang Xiao said, the Breaking Clan and the Defense Clan rose to prominence by relying on the Clear Sky Sect. They both grew from small families of a few dozen people to large Soul Master families of six or seven hundred people. They did owe quite a lot back then.
But this is for the best; it cuts off the last vestige of hope between the two sides and can be considered a severing of all grudges.
It seemed that there was nothing more to say between the two sides, and Crown Prince Xue Qinghe led everyone away from the Heavenly Pursuit Academy.
After everyone left, Grandpa Yang Wudi seemed a little dejected. " Podi, did I make a mistake this time?"
Yang Podi shook his head. "Grandpa, our family's characteristic is to clearly distinguish between gratitude and resentment. A mere Earth Essence Fruit can at most heal Tang Hao's injuries. Given Tang Hao's condition over the years, without other rare and precious treasures, I'm afraid he will find it difficult to make any further progress."
"Besides, Tang Hao is just a nobody; he can't cause any trouble."