Chapter 319: Ransacking Mingde Hall
In the entire Sun-Moon Continent, Yang Potian's greatest interest lay in Mingde Hall, the very heart of soul engineering in this land. Mingde Hall wasn't merely the core of a soul engineering academy—it was essentially the technological nucleus of the entire Sun-Moon Continent. Here, the continent's most talented soul engineers, along with several high-level soul masters, gathered.
Mingde Hall also served as the empire's primary manufacturing hub. Only elite individuals from the academy could work here, and it housed the Sun-Moon Empire's most advanced soul engineers and the most precise and powerful soul tools.
After some consideration, Yang Potian strode directly into Mingde Hall.
With its wealth of precious metals, talented personnel, and manufacturing facilities, along with the most comprehensive soul tool research documentation, it was indeed a treasure trove. Yang Potian spent three days wandering around both Mingde Hall and the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy before he initiated his plan.
He started to systematically transfer countless books, materials, and both completed and half-finished soul tools into his own storage devices. If it weren't for the fact that some of the larger soul tools were embedded into the structure of the building, he might have taken the entire building with him.
As for the people he encountered, Yang Potian either knocked them unconscious with his soul power or trapped them in illusions. In short, he enforced a policy of "clean sweep"—everything useful was taken from Mingde Hall and the Sun-Moon Royal Soul Engineering Academy.
After two full days of gathering, he had cleaned out everything from Mingde Hall except for the fixed large equipment. Yang Potian now carried numerous storage soul tools, and since he had gathered such an enormous amount of resources, he even had to use a specially crafted pack to store the excess items.
He also captured around ten promising soul engineers, whom he put to sleep and stored in a special soul tool that could hold living beings. He'd decide their future roles once he returned to Skywalk Academy.
By the time he'd finished, no one was any the wiser. Many within the academy were still under illusions, while others lay unconscious. Once everything was packed up, Yang Potian extended his wings and left the Sun-Moon Royal Academy, slipping out of the Sun-Moon Empire entirely.
With both of his goals on the Sun-Moon Continent accomplished—the spirit ring and the soul tools now secured—Yang Potian had achieved even more than he had anticipated. His thorough ransacking of Mingde Hall would leave a severe impact on the Sun-Moon Empire's economy and science for years to come. It remained to be seen if they would ever be able to restore Mingde Hall to its former glory.
But all that was of no concern to him now, as he'd vanished without leaving a trace of his presence.
After a six-day flight east, Yang Potian finally arrived at his next destination: Seagod Island. It was a rare occasion for him to visit, so he decided he might as well complete the Shura Trial while he was here.
On Seagod Island, Tang San had regained his spirit after more than ten days of recovery. However, his aura had changed drastically. If he had once been a passionate young man solely focused on growing stronger, he now appeared darker and more extreme. His eyes radiated a bitter, relentless hatred, and his expression had grown twisted with fury.
Since the news of Haotian Sect's fall, Tang San had thrown himself into training with renewed intensity, forcing himself beyond limits. Previously, he could only withstand eight hours of the Tidal Body Training, but now his body had strengthened enough to last ten hours. The fire of vengeance seemed to strengthen with each passing day.
Neither Bo Saixi's nor Xiao Wu's attempts to dissuade him from his obsession bore any fruit. His Blue Silver Grass spirit had even taken on a darker hue, showing hints of transforming into the Dark Blue Silver Grass of later years.
Meanwhile, Dai Mubai shared in Tang San's despair. Upon hearing of the fall of the Star Luo Empire's royal family, he had been utterly stunned. The mighty Star Luo Empire, known for its formidable military power, had disappeared without a sound after dominating the continent for millennia.
The group was filled with anxiety. The sweeping changes on the Douluo Continent had left each of them shaken. With the Star Luo Empire's fall, the Zhu family, who served as their allies, had likely been wiped out as well, leaving Zhu Zhuqing's family in peril.
For Tai Long and Bai Chenxiang, the news was equally grim. Their clans, the Strength Clan and the Speed Clan, were subordinate to the Haotian Sect, so with Haotian Sect's destruction, they were likely suffering similar fates.
By now, Tang San, Dai Mubai, Zhu Zhuqing, Tai Long, and Bai Chenxiang had all seen their families destroyed or faced looming threats to their survival. Each felt the burning sting of helplessness and rage, as their strength was still insufficient.
When Yang Potian returned to Seagod Island, Tang San and his companions confronted him with Bo Saixi.
Tang San glared at him, fury seething beneath his gaze. "Yang Potian, what happened to my father? What's left of Haotian Sect?"
Yang Potian shook his head slightly. "I don't know the full details, but the Spirit Empire launched their campaign months ago. Since then, there's been no word from Haotian Sect."
Dai Mubai stepped forward, his voice thick with desperation. "And what about the Star Luo Empire? Our royal family's been around for thousands of years, our military power rivaled the Spirit Empire's, and we had the Spirit Fusion skill Nether White Tiger. How could we fall so easily?"
Yang Potian let out a cold laugh. "The Nether White Tiger may be powerful, but the Spirit Empire dispatched over ten Titled Douluo, along with an army of over a thousand soul saints and higher-ranked soul masters. I sensed those forces myself, but beyond that, I can't say."
The entire group went pale, shaken to their core. With over a thousand powerful soul masters, including ten Titled Douluo, was there any force left on the continent that could resist such strength?
Turning his gaze to Bai Chenxiang and Tai Long, who had once followed him loyally, Yang Potian's face hardened. "There's one more thing. As I passed by Seagod Island, I sensed the remnants of the Strength and Speed Clans. They seem to be down to fewer than a hundred people combined. It looks like the Golden Iron Triangle of Shrek Academy is with them, too."
Hearing this, Tai Long and Bai Chenxiang were reduced to tears. The two clans had once had over five hundred members each, but now, after enduring two waves of Spirit Empire hunting operations, only a fraction of their people remained—barely one in ten had survived. Their loss was tragic beyond words.
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