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As the Spirit Hall's soul masters began a large-scale retreat, the entire battlefield had completely turned around.
In the central square of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi and Bone Douluo were still managing the situation, occasionally assigning various tasks to everyone, such as pursuing the Spirit Hall's soul masters, organizing the sect's internal personnel, summarizing casualties, and more. However, putting out the numerous fires that the Spirit Hall had started earlier was proving to be quite troublesome.
Lin Gong stood guard beside Yang Xiong, who was now surrounded by countless Zihuang Bamboo shoots. Yang Xiong's condition was unique, and it was unclear how long it would take for him to fully recover. Any disturbance might put him in real danger.
Meanwhile, others began to chase after the fleeing members of the Spirit Hall, effectively surrounding them from all sides.
Especially the three major single-attribute families, under the leadership of Yang Wudi and Niu Gao, were like unleashed tigers, freely hunting down the Spirit Hall's personnel.
The enmity between the three major single-attribute families and the Spirit Hall ran deep. Now, with such a golden opportunity, how could they not pursue them?
Sword Douluo also chased after the two Title Douluos of the Spirit Hall. Unfortunately, both Devil Bear Douluo and Ling Yuan Douluo were escaping at an incredibly fast pace.
When Title Douluos used their full strength to escape, it was extremely difficult to truly kill them unless they were surrounded from both front and back.
Ling Yuan Douluo's martial spirit, the Flame Eagle, possessed exceptional flying speed. Despite his injuries, he pushed his flight speed to the limit, moving incredibly fast.
Devil Bear Douluo, disregarding his wounds, flew with all his might towards the Spirit Hall, seemingly risking his life to escape.
In the end, Sword Douluo felt helpless. Since he couldn't catch up to the opposing Title Douluos, he decided to focus on slaughtering more of the attacking ordinary soul masters.
Sword Douluo summoned countless sword qi, and the sky was filled with a massive rain of swords, instantly killing numerous black-clad soul masters.
After two hours of continuous fighting, the remaining members of the Spirit Hall had mostly fled, leaving behind countless corpses.
However, after the war, Ning Fengzhi listened to various reports with an unusually serious expression.
Although the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had achieved an unprecedented victory this time, in any war, there were no true winners, especially when facing the invading army of the Spirit Hall's soul masters.
Even though the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had received prior information, due to the suddenness of the attack, many people had died in the first wave.
The loss of soul masters was between seven hundred and eight hundred, accounting for nearly twenty percent of the sect's internal personnel. More troubling was that frequent bad news came from the ten percent of disciples who were away on missions.
Based on this situation, out of the approximately five thousand soul masters of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, the overall loss was estimated to be slightly over one thousand, with more than twenty percent of the sect's losses attributed to this.
The loss of one thousand soul masters was only part of the damage; even more ordinary people within the sect, including women and children, had perished.
Not to mention, after extensive destruction, the entire sect was engulfed in flames. The losses were incalculable, amounting to astronomical figures if converted into money.
In comparison, the number of soul masters lost by the Spirit Hall was even more exaggerated. In the early stages, Dugu Bo and Sword Douluo had killed many, and later Sword Douluo continued to hunt down more. Just from the bodies counted, over six thousand had already been confirmed. Many bodies had been shattered or turned to ashes, not to mention those who had fled with severe injuries.
Despite all this, Ning Fengzhi stayed awake all night in the square, handling various matters big and small within the sect.
The reason for staying in the square was twofold: on one hand, as the core of the sect, he provided confidence to everyone; on the other hand, the sect had too many issues to handle. After the battle, almost everyone was physically and mentally exhausted, requiring absolute leadership and control. Otherwise, it would be easy for the sect to fall apart, especially for an auxiliary-type sect like the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Yang Xiong spent the whole night undergoing a gradual transformation. The killing intent emanating from his body grew stronger, making him appear like a vengeful ghost emerging from hell.
His body rapidly absorbed energy from the air, and the three shattered soul bones began to regrow.
By the time Yang Xiong regained consciousness, it was already late morning the next day.
Yang Xiong looked around. Besides Lin Gong, Sword Douluo was also sitting beside him, resting with closed eyes. Additionally, his parents and older brother were sitting nearby.
His older brother, Yang Wei, was overjoyed: "Xiao Xiong, you're finally awake. You scared us."
Yang Xiong felt an intense soreness throughout his body, as if all his bones had been crushed but were quickly regenerating.
Especially upon observing his body, Yang Xiong felt as if he had broken through some kind of limit. His soul power had reached level seventy, appearing much stronger than before.
"Father, Mother, Brother, Teacher Lin, and Teacher Sword Douluo, I should be fine now. Thank you all for your concern."
After a round of reassurances, especially after Sword Douluo and Lin Gong thoroughly checked Yang Xiong's body, everyone finally relaxed.
Yang Xiong's condition after yesterday's battle was indeed too strange, seemingly defying the normal circumstances of the world of soul masters.
Ning Fengzhi finally breathed a sigh of relief upon seeing Yang Xiong recover.
Yang Xiong quickly asked, "Sect Leader, what is the extent of our sect's losses from yesterday?"
Ning Fengzhi sighed: "Although we achieved a great victory, the combined losses of our sect's disciples and those away on missions are estimated to exceed a thousand. Additionally, countless ordinary people and children have perished, and the financial losses are incalculable. It might take a decade to recover fully."
Yang Xiong was shocked, never expecting the battle to be so devastating despite all the preparations.
Nevertheless, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had won this major battle without truly suffering irreparable damage.
Especially since Sword Douluo did not lose an arm like in the original storyline, his path of cultivation remained unbroken, and there might be hope for further advancement in the future.
After careful thought, Yang Xiong spoke: "Sect Leader, please grieve less. Although we suffered certain losses this time, the Spirit Hall's losses must be greater. They likely won't be able to launch another large-scale war in the short term."
Ning Fengzhi nodded: "That's true. Based on the corpses of the black-clad attackers we've counted, there are already no fewer than six thousand. Add to that those shattered by soul skills or directly reduced to ashes, their total casualties likely aren't less than seven thousand."
"No matter how strong the Spirit Hall is, they won't be able to gather so many people in the short term. This time, they will need a long period to recover."
"Especially since the Spirit Hall lost two Title Douluos in this battle, which is truly a significant blow to them."
Yang Xiong was curious: "Sect Leader, which two Title Douluos of the Spirit Hall were killed? Did the Devil Bear Douluo escape?"
Deep down, Yang Xiong hoped that the Devil Bear Douluo hadn't died. Although he lost to the Devil Bear Douluo today, with more diligent training, he believed he could surpass him in three to five years and even defeat him without assistance.
He knew that being able to fight the Devil Bear Douluo to a standstill was thanks to Ning Fengzhi's ultimate support and Oscar's Beyond Limits Green Sausage. With his soul power at level sixty-nine, it would have been impossible to face a Title Douluo otherwise.
In ordinary battles, Yang Xiong believed he had the combat capability of a Title Douluo. But in life-and-death struggles, Title Douluos displayed terrifying strength. As his teachers had said, every Title Douluo in the world of Douluo not only possessed top-tier talent but also top-notch martial spirits, extraordinary perseverance, and numerous opportunities. All these factors were indispensable.
Ning Fengzhi revealed a rare smile: "Little Xiong, don't worry. The Devil Bear Douluo escaped. Although Uncle Sword pursued him relentlessly, he abandoned the besieged army and fled back to the Spirit Hall."
"In time, you will surely defeat the Devil Bear Douluo personally and avenge today's loss."
Yang Xiong clenched his teeth: "Sect Leader, esteemed teachers, rest assured. Next time, I will personally slay the Devil Bear Douluo and avenge today's humiliation."
Ning Fengzhi hesitated for a moment before speaking: "Little Xiong, what do you think we should do with our sect now?"
Yang Xiong looked puzzled: "Sect Leader, haven't we already driven away the enemies of the Spirit Hall? What else needs to be arranged?"
Ning Fengzhi revealed a bitter smile: "Our losses in this battle were too severe. If not for you and Yang Wudi's reinforcements and your previous plans, our losses would have been even greater."
"Now, our vitality is greatly diminished. Although we still have four thousand soul masters within the sect, if the Spirit Hall remains so aggressive, our days ahead won't be easy."
"Therefore, I plan to relocate the sect to Tian Dou City, where we can rely on the Tian Dou Imperial Family, allowing us to recover our strength quickly."
Yang Xiong's lips twitched upon hearing this. How could Ning Fengzhi still consider moving the sect to Tian Dou City when the situation of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was now much better than in the original storyline?
Moreover, according to the original plot, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect had suffered heavy losses during the Spirit Hall's Soul Hunting Operation. During the Tian Dou Palace Incident, they were betrayed by Qian Renxue, and the surviving soul masters were struck again, causing the sect's influence to drop continuously.
Due to the close ties between the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Tian Dou Empire, they essentially became the main force in the final battles, inevitably suffering massive losses, even resulting in the fall of Sword Douluo and Bone Douluo.
After careful consideration, Yang Xiong spoke: "Sect Leader, have you considered whether relocating our vast sect to Tian Dou City might lead to complications with the Tian Dou Imperial Family?"
"The Tian Dou Imperial Family currently lacks top-tier experts, which is why they rely heavily on us. If one day they produce multiple Title Douluos, conflicts and mutual suspicions may arise, causing trouble for us."
"Remember, the Tian Dou Empire has been actively cultivating soul masters over the years. Although they lack top-tier soul masters, their number of ordinary soul masters isn't less than ours. If relations sour one day, we might not even be able to escape."
Yang Xiong's words were carefully considered. Historically, although there was some interaction between the imperial family and sects, no sect had ever been as closely tied to the imperial family as the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect.
Although the sect was currently wealthy and at its peak, if it were to decline even slightly, it might be completely swallowed by the imperial family.
Upon hearing this, Ning Fengzhi became extremely serious. Especially after listening to Yang Xiong's subsequent words, his face changed drastically.
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