After everyone returned to Shrek Academy, Flender looked at Yu Xiaogang and Liu Erlong with deep concern.
"Xiaogang, how is Erlong?"
Yu Xiaogang's expression was filled with bitterness: "Erlong has collapsed mentally from excessive grief. That's why she's unconscious."
"By the way, Flender, what's the situation outside?"
Flender shook his head: "The situation outside is very grim. Mubai and Zhu Qing have already returned to the Star Luo Empire overnight. News just came in that although the Star Luo Imperial Family has been suppressing the lower four sects in recent years, all four have now aligned themselves with the Spirit Hall."
"Although the Elephant Armor Sect has suffered heavy losses over the years, they still have over a thousand soul masters, and they've secretly joined the Spirit Hall as well."
Yu Xiaogang slammed his fist into the wall, blood dripping from his knuckles: "Damn it! The Spirit Hall has gone too far. I never expected them to amass such a powerful force. It seems their ambitions have long been uncontrollable."
Flender quickly interjected: "Xiaogang, what about the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Tears welled up in Yu Xiaogang's eyes: "We were too late. The entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was annihilated—all members killed. My father, as the sect leader, had the three soul bones on his body forcibly stripped away, and even his corpse wasn't left intact."
Flender's face turned extremely serious upon hearing this: "The situation is far more dire than we imagined. The Spirit Hall is ambitious, and there will likely be new moves soon. Unfortunately, the top three sects are no longer what they once were, and the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect may struggle to stand alone."
Yu Xiaogang frowned: "Flender, what do you mean? What's the current state of the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect?"
Flender sighed: "I just received the news. The Spirit Hall dispatched ten thousand soul masters and four Title Douluos to attack the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. However, it seems the sect received prior intelligence and immediately took decisive measures, intercepting the Spirit Hall forces outside their gates."
"Shortly after, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect received aid from the Breaking Clan, the Defense Clan, and the Dragon Serpent family. Moreover, Poison Douluo happened to be within their sect at the time."
"In addition, the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has been hiding a Title Douluo—Lin Gong, who used to be with Yang Xiong. He has now broken through to become a Title Douluo."
"Also, Niu Gao of the Defense Clan and Dragon Duke Meng Shu of the Dragon Serpent family have both reached the level of Title Douluo."
"The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect reacted swiftly, and with the help of multiple Title Douluos, they managed to encircle and annihilate a large number of the Spirit Hall's soul masters. Conservative estimates suggest the Spirit Hall lost around six thousand people, including two Title Douluos. This attempt by the Spirit Hall to attack the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect has truly backfired."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang couldn't help but swallow nervously: "How is this possible? When did the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect become so strong? When did they acquire so many Title Douluos?"
Flender shook his head: "I'm not sure either. Originally, the three major single-attribute families and the Dragon Serpent family were said to only conduct business with the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect. Who would have thought that in this critical moment, they would lead over a thousand soul masters to fully assist the sect, catching the Spirit Hall completely off guard."
Yu Xiaogang's face was filled with anger: "Damn it! Why didn't anyone come to aid my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan? Why didn't we receive any advance warning? This shouldn't have happened!"
Flender clearly understood the nature of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. The clan was infamous for its arrogance and had spent recent years withdrawn within their own domain, rarely involving themselves in the affairs of the soul master world.
"Xiaogang, I don't know the details. It seems the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect's spies discovered the Spirit Hall's movements. Rumor has it that the sect spends astronomical sums on reconnaissance outside their gates."
Upon hearing this, Yu Xiaogang fell silent. He knew the true nature of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan better than anyone else—otherwise, he wouldn't have been expelled from the sect in the first place.
In the Crown Prince's residence of Tian Dou City, Xue Qinghe listened intently to his subordinates' reports. This included details of the Spirit Hall's failed "Soul Hunt" operation, the specific losses incurred, and the deaths of two Title Douluos.
Xue Qinghe's face turned icy: "Good, very good! How could that woman arrange things so poorly? I helped her cover up the information in advance, yet she still suffered such a devastating failure. It's clear she's incompetent as Pope."
The black-clad subordinate below trembled slightly—it was not something he dared to interfere with regarding the Spirit Hall's upper echelons.
Xue Qinghe continued: "Now that this operation has failed, even Elder Snake Spear and Elder Porcupinefish beside me have perished. Does that woman have any other plans? Could the infiltration plan be abandoned? Is no one going to protect my safety anymore?"
The black-clad subordinate quickly replied: "Your Highness, the Pope has already made arrangements. Two elders will soon arrive to protect you. However, the Pope has instructed that all Spirit Hall personnel must act cautiously recently to prevent the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and the Tian Dou Imperial Family from making desperate moves."
Xue Qinghe's expression eased slightly: "I understand. Go tell that woman that this matter won't be settled so easily. When I return to Spirit City, I'll deal with her personally."
Inside the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect, Yang Xiong was currently in seclusion, recuperating and healing from his injuries.
This battle against Devil Bear Douluo was the most severe injury Yang Xiong had ever sustained. It felt as though all the bones in his body had been crushed, and every muscle and cell seemed to have been struck heavily.
Had it not been for his sixth soul skill, Immortality, he would have surely perished on the spot.
The strength of Title Douluos surpassed Yang Xiong's expectations, especially Devil Bear Douluo, whose soul power had reached level ninety-five, with terrifying physical strength.
In the past, Yang Xiong had only sparred with other Title Douluos, never engaging in a life-and-death battle like this.
In truth, given the situation at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect at the time, there were still others who could have fought Devil Bear Douluo or at least restrained him.
But Yang Xiong ignored everyone's advice and faced Devil Bear Douluo alone. On one hand, he wanted to test his true limits and see how far he could go when fighting with everything he had.
On the other hand, he wanted to push himself to the brink. Yang Xiong always felt that his cultivation in recent years had been too smooth, and he hadn't experienced any life-and-death battles.
In this fight with Devil Bear Douluo, Yang Xiong unleashed everything, bringing his strength to its peak. He used all his abilities, with Ning Fengzhi's support and Oscar's Beyond Limits Green Sausage enhancing his power.
After the intense battle, Yang Xiong realized the differences in his body and martial soul.
After undergoing the Blood River Body Refinement in Slaughter City, he had always felt that his body had undergone some kind of change, but he had never fully understood or utilized it.
Through this battle, Yang Xiong felt himself becoming increasingly bloodthirsty and violent. His Asura Body seemed to grow stronger with each fight, especially during the final clash with Devil Bear Douluo. Even though he knew he was much weaker than Devil Bear Douluo, his body seemed filled with primal ferocity and an overwhelming urge to kill.
The recovery ability of the Asura Body was even more terrifying. Even after being crushed, it seemed to recover quickly.
Bloodlust, killing intent, and terrifying recovery—these qualities seemed to define the true Asura Body.
Moreover, the Asura Body seemed even stronger than Yang Xiong had imagined, possessing a terrifying ability to devour energy. During the time Yang Xiong was unconscious, it absorbed various energies from the air to heal itself rapidly.
This gave Yang Xiong new ideas for his seventh soul ring. The strength of the seventh soul ring could reach unprecedented levels.
Especially under the influence of the martial soul True Body, his domain might undergo a true qualitative transformation.
The seventh soul ring would also determine the direction of his path. Yang Xiong had always followed the path of ultimate strength, combined with five elemental attributes.
Aside from the final water attribute soul ring, the seventh soul ring required not only an extremely high-quality source of power but also possessed unique characteristics.
In just three days, Yang Xiong's body had fully recovered, and under the influence of the Asura Body, the three damaged soul bones on his body gradually healed and even seemed to grow stronger.
External soul bones possessed tremendous growth potential. Their effective years could increase with cultivation, and after each instance of damage, they seemed to regenerate anew, experiencing significant improvements. Of course, the pain involved was unimaginable, akin to having actual bones shattered.
When Yang Xiong stepped out of his room, Ning Rongrong rushed over and clung to him.
"Little Bear, how are you? I heard you were seriously injured for the sake of the sect. Are you feeling any discomfort now?"
Yang Xiong's face revealed a rare tenderness and a hint of joy: "Rongrong, I'm fine. This battle was a great test for me."
Ning Rongrong's face was filled with worry: "Little Bear, I don't want you risking your life like this. If anything happens to you, what will I do?"
Yang Xiong gently stroked Ning Rongrong's hair, his voice filled with affection: "Rongrong, I will protect you and make you the happiest person in the world."
The two embraced, pouring out their feelings before reluctantly parting ways.
However, when Yang Xiong entered the living room, he was met with Ning Fengzhi's ambiguous smile and Bone Douluo's darkened expression, as if his granddaughter had been taken away.
Yang Xiong quickly asked: "Sect Leader, I've been recovering at home these past few days. What's the situation outside now?"
Ning Fengzhi's expression turned serious: "Little Xiong, you might be right. There are indeed major issues within the Tian Dou Imperial Family."
"And something major happened in Tian Dou City these past few days. Xue Beng, the crown prince, died on the same day our Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect was attacked."
Yang Xiong was shocked: "Sect Leader, how is this possible? Shouldn't Crown Prince Xue Beng have been at the Tian Dou Imperial Academy? It's heavily guarded by three Soul Emperors. How could anyone harm him?"
Ning Fengzhi sighed: "The Tian Dou Imperial Academy is supposed to be extremely secure. In theory, it should have been very safe. But Xue Beng mysteriously died, and his death was extremely strange. On the surface, it appeared to be from excessive indulgence, but after Uncle Bone carefully examined the scene, it seems Xue Beng was poisoned by a soul technique. The toxin appears similar to the one used by Porcupinefish Douluo during the attack on the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect."
Though Yang Xiong wasn't particularly concerned about Xue Beng's death, the matter was far from simple. He hadn't expected Xue Qinghe to use this timing to strike. Clearly, whoever acted within the Tian Dou Imperial Academy was no ordinary person.
"Sect Leader, do we have any leads? Any suspicious individuals?"
Ning Fengzhi shook his head: "There are no leads at all. The three commissioners have already sealed off the Tian Dou Imperial Academy and thoroughly investigated all the students, but there's been no progress."
"To eliminate Crown Prince Xue Beng without leaving any trace under the watch of three Soul Emperors shows the meticulous planning and immense strength of the perpetrator."
Yang Xiong quickly spoke: "This doesn't add up. The Spirit Hall attacked us at the Seven Treasures Glazed Tile Sect and simultaneously targeted Xue Beng. Even the Spirit Hall shouldn't have so many capable hands."
"By the way, Sect Leader, what's the situation with the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?"
Ning Fengzhi sighed helplessly: "When our people went to warn the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, the entire clan had already been wiped out, including Yu Yuanzhen. Not a single member survived."
"Now, the entire Tian Dou Empire is in turmoil. It's clear to those with discerning eyes that the Spirit Hall was behind this. But to launch so many simultaneous attacks—it's truly unimaginable."
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