It Was All Tang Xiao and Tang Hao's Doing
The Star Dou Great Forest, the Great Ferocious Land.
Di Tian watched what Tang Hao and the others were doing, genuine awe appearing in his eyes.
"Is this our lord's wisdom?"
"So magnificent, so world-shaking. With the slightest guidance, she set humans fighting and slaughtering one another. At this rate, I fear those two humans and their sect won't rest until one side is dead."
In truth, Gu Yue had arranged everything behind this seemingly coincidental turn of events.
Ah Rou was familiar with Da Ming and Er Ming's presence. Since she did not want to expose her identity as a Soul Beast, how would she have dared to bring Tang Xiao to meet the two lapdog beasts so readily?
The Clear Sky Sect's three elders were brutes, but they were not entirely brainless.
In the past, when the Clear Sky Sect's ancestor Tang Chen sought a Hundred Thousand Year Ninth Soul Ring, he had mobilized a full three Titled Douluo and several Soul Saints and Soul Douluo.
Even so, when the Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beast fought back on the brink of death, more than ten people were killed or injured, and a Titled Douluo elder suffered grievous wounds.
Now, with a mere two elders who were not even Super Douluo, the self-serving Tang Family members would have beaten a retreat and gone back for reinforcements long ago if Gu Yue had not guided them in secret. Why would they have gone to investigate the disturbance?
"That is our lord for you," said Zi JI, the Hell Demon Dragon King, her beautiful eyes shining and her face full of worship.
Beside her, Bi Ji, the Emerald Swan, was likewise moved. She could not help asking Di Tian:
"Di Tian, have you met our lord? Ever since we began working together, our lord has never appeared, except to take the Gold of Life that regularly forms at the bottom of the Lake of Life. She has never sought us out, either."
Di Tian's expression grew solemn, and he said in a low voice:
"After the Dragon God fell and the Divine Realm underwent that upheaval, I was fortunate enough to meet our lord once. As for our lord's injuries... I imagine she slew so many enemies in the divine war that she was gravely wounded and has been recuperating ever since."
Hearing this, the Ferocious Beasts all sighed, their awe of their lord growing even deeper.
Beside them, a round, immensely fat silkworm, its entire body restrained, could not resist cutting in:
"Um, big brothers and sisters, I'm actually a fan of our lord too. Since we're all on the same side, could you let me go?"
But it was all for nothing. Not a single Ferocious Beast paid its pleas any heed.
Several days later, at the Clear Sky Sect.
The Seventh Elder, Tang Lie, had traveled day and night, enlisting a healing-type Soul Master along the way to stabilize his injuries. As soon as he returned to the sect, he immediately called an emergency meeting.
Inside the meeting hall, Tang Zhen, the current master of the Clear Sky Sect, sat high in the seat of honor, the presence of a Level 95 Super Douluo as deep and vast as the sea.
The Fourth Elder, Fifth Elder, and Sixth Elder, who had died in battle when the Clear Sky Sect went into seclusion in the original story, sat in order along the sides. Every one of them exuded the presence of a Titled Douluo.
Tang Yuehua stood quietly to one side, listening in.
In the center of the hall, Tang Lie spoke with spittle flying, pinning everything that had happened in the Star Dou Great Forest on Tang Xiao and Tang Hao.
Lastly, he repeatedly stressed one thing: Tang Xiao and Tang Hao had been bewitched by transformed Soul Beasts, harmed their elders, and betrayed their masters and ancestors.
As for him, he had risked his life to protect the severely injured Second and Third Elders, but his cultivation had ultimately been insufficient, and they had died one after another. Only after a desperate struggle alone had he escaped by sheer luck.
The innately evil Tang Family member said not a word about how his two elder brothers had sacrificed their lives to cover his retreat while he ran madly away without looking back.
"Absurd."
The Fifth Elder slapped the armrest, his brows tightly knitted:
"Tang Xiao is steady and prudent. As for Tang Hao's brains... never mind that. But the sect has placed great hopes on both of them since childhood. How could they commit such a monstrous crime as murdering their elders? And absorb a ten-year eighth ring? Seventh Brother, have you had too much to drink? Do you have any proof?"
"Heh, hahahaha." Tang Lie was so furious that he laughed instead.
"Could it be that I killed Second and Third Brother with my own hands? Can the state I'm in possibly be faked? Those two transformed Soul Beasts clearly bewitched them. It was bad enough that they schemed against Tang Hao's Eighth Soul Ring, but they even turned their schemes on us."
The elders looked at one another, and a stir ran through the hall.
The Second and Third Elders had both fallen, and Tang Hao's future was in doubt. To the Clear Sky Sect, which had yet to seal itself off and was riding the momentum of being the number one sect under heaven, it was as though half the sky had collapsed.
Standing quietly to one side, Tang Yuehua could not help defending her two brothers when she saw them accused of such grave crimes:
"Elders, Father, Eldest Brother has always been steady. Second Brother may have a fiery temper, but he is by no means someone who cannot tell right from wrong. There must be some other misunderstanding here. They could never have harmed their elders. Please, everyone, see-"
"Shut up!"
Before Tang Yuehua could finish, the Fourth Elder's face darkened, and he interrupted her with a harsh rebuke.
"When elders are discussing matters, what place does a money-losing burden like you have to butt in? Your martial soul mutated into a useless little circle, and you'll never break through level ten in your life. The sect has supported you all these years, yet instead of thinking about how to earn more money for it, look at you now. Every day you use the sect's resources without permission to ask around everywhere about some 'Gu Yue.' Now the sect has suffered a tremendous upheaval, and not only can you do nothing to help, you dare to make excuses here for those wretches who harmed their elders. You really are getting more and more ungrateful!"
The sharp, vicious scolding grated all the more harshly within the hall.
Tang Yuehua's face went slightly pale, and her body stiffened.
"Enough, Fourth Elder."
From the seat of honor, Tang Zhen spoke in a deep voice to stop him.
The presence of a Level 95 Super Douluo bore down like a mountain, making the air in the hall grow slightly still.
After all, Tang Yuehua was his own daughter. Tang Zhen cast the Fourth Elder a cold, stern glance.
"Yuehua is only concerned for her two brothers. Why must you speak to her so viciously?"
Seeing the sect master's displeasure, the Fourth Elder's face twitched. Though still indignant, he could only give a cold snort and say no more under the weight of Tang Zhen's authority.
To one side, Tang Yuehua bit her lower lip, tears welling in her eyes, her heart full of grievance.
A money-losing burden again...
Ever since her Martial Soul Awakening revealed that she would never break through level nine, the once-friendly faces in the sect had changed completely. She had no idea how many people had called her a money-losing burden behind her back.
She could not help thinking of that figure. If only he were here...
Only he would never judge me by the level of my cultivation. Only he could soothe my wounded heart.
The image of Gu Yue's unworldly figure, silver hair flowing down his back, appeared in Tang Yuehua's mind.
Unfortunately, all this time, no matter how she had sent people searching and investigating, they had failed to find a single scrap of news about Gu Yue, as though he had never left any trace in this world.
Tang Zhen pondered for a long while before finally making a decision.
"First, bring the two of them back to the sect under arrest. Once we have questioned them face-to-face and gotten to the bottom of this, we will decide what to do."
As the Clear Sky Sect's master, he was also Tang Xiao and Tang Hao's father. Whichever way he looked at it, he could not afford to lose his two fine, talented sons.
Tang Zhen tapped his fingers lightly on the table, a flicker of heat passing through his heart.
"According to the Seventh Elder, there are two transformed rabbits there, and two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the core region. If we can take them all, the sect will gain four Hundred Thousand Year Soul Rings and Soul Bones. When that happens, our Clear Sky Sect may well be able to regain the glory it enjoyed when our ancestor was still here."
Back then, Tang Chen had left after saying he was going to pursue the path to godhood at level one hundred, and had never been heard from again.
Since then, the Clear Sky Sect had been forced to rein in its edge. For a sect that had always been domineering, that restraint was itself an immense humiliation.
Tang Zhen considered for a moment, then added:
"However, the two Hundred-Thousand-Year Soul Beasts in the core region can wait. Hunting them would cost too much, and the sect cannot afford to lose any more people. Deal with the two transformed Soul Beasts first."
When Tang Lie heard this, he immediately grew anxious:
"Second and Third Brother's bodies aren't even cold yet. Those two wretches should be expelled from the sect at once and killed on the spot. How can you openly shield them just because they're your fine sons?"
Tang Zhen swept a cold glance at Tang Lie, and the pressure of a Level 95 Super Douluo swept out once more.
"Seventh Elder, watch your words. I said we would capture them first and decide what to do afterward. We will do as I say."
Faced with absolute strength, Tang Lie dared to be angry but not to speak. He could only grit his teeth and withdraw.
Following Tang Zhen's order, the Clear Sky Sect's disciples scattered across the continent began searching with all their might for the whereabouts of the former Clear Sky Twin Stars.
Such a large mobilization naturally could not be hidden from the other factions.
The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan sensed that something was amiss, but wary of the Clear Sky Sect's reputation at its zenith, both chose to watch and wait, not daring to intervene lightly.
As for Spirit Hall, it was currently locked in a heated confrontation with a certain reborn level twenty-nine crew cut and had no attention to spare for matters here.
Tang Xiao and Tang Hao, well aware that the Lake of Life was no longer safe, had long since fled far away with Ah Rou and Xiao Wu.
Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, several months had passed.