"Your Holiness the Pope, what will it take for you to forgive my son?"
Inside the Pope's Hall, with countless guests present and after angrily scolding Tang Hao, Tang Zhen took a deep breath and asked Qian Xunji in a low voice.
"It's very simple," Qian Xunji replied with a calm smile. "I heard your Clear Sky Clan has three ten-thousand-year inherited spirit bones. I don't want much. Just hand over one of them as compensation, and also give me your Clear Sky Clan's Great Sumeru Hammer for me to take a look at. Then, this matter will be settled."
"You're dreaming!"
Before Tang Zhen could respond, Tang Hao's eyes widened with rage, instantly refusing.
A ten-thousand-year spirit bone was one of the Clear Sky Clan's inherited treasures. The Great Sumeru Hammer was even more so the foundation of their sect's strength!
'I only disrupted your wedding a bit, didn't even cause any real damage, and you want to extort us like this? Not only a spirit bone, but also the Great Sumeru Hammer? Outrageous!'
"Tang Hao, shut your mouth!" Tang Zhen snapped furiously from the side, roaring at Tang Hao in rage.
He didn't want to hand over their sect's inherited spirit bone or the Great Sumeru Hammer either. But it was precisely because of this unfilial son, causing such a scene at someone else's wedding, that gave the other party the perfect excuse to retaliate.
And now, he had to clean up the mess.
With Tang Chen missing for many years, the Clear Sky Clan now only had one titled Douluo—him. Even if they poured the entire strength of the sect into a fight, they were no match for the Spirit Hall.
No matter how unwilling he was, Tang Zhen had to swallow his pride.
Tang Hao, his second son, must be protected at all costs.
Compared to an inherited spirit bone and the Great Sumeru Hammer, talent was the true future!
"Your Holiness the Pope, we are willing to compensate," Tang Zhen clenched his fists, veins bulging, but forced a smile on his face as he spoke.
Reluctantly, he took out a copy of the Great Sumeru Hammer's training manual from his storage soul tool and handed it to Qian Xunji.
But as for the ten-thousand-year spirit bone, Tang Zhen didn't bring it out.
Instead, he said, "Your Holiness, this is the training method for the Great Sumeru Hammer. As for the inherited spirit bone, I did not bring it with me. Please grant us a few months' time. Once we return to the Clear Sky Clan, we will retrieve the spirit bone and respectfully present it to you."
The Clear Sky Clan's three inherited spirit bones—one had already been fused by Tang Zhen himself. The other two were given to his second son, Tang Hao, personally selected by Tang Chen as the next Clear Sky Douluo.
It was impossible to hand them over on the spot. The only way to extract them would be to cut off limbs and force the bones out—something Tang Zhen absolutely didn't want to do unless it was a last resort.
So, he chose to stall.
He planned to return to the Clear Sky Clan and mobilize all their resources to try and obtain another ten-thousand-year spirit bone to offer as compensation.
If that didn't work, he would have no choice but to sever his own arm and offer his own spirit bone.
After all, compared to himself, his son Tang Hao's future held far greater potential.
"Fine," Qian Xunji narrowed his eyes slightly and smiled faintly, accepting the copy of the Great Sumeru Hammer.
He didn't believe Tang Zhen's words were entirely honest—most likely a lie—but with so many guests watching, even if he had the moral high ground, forcing them on the spot to hand over the inherited spirit bone and foundational technique would not sound good.
Since Tang Zhen was already conceding, there was no need to push too far.
In any case, Qian Xunji believed Tang Zhen wouldn't dare go back on his word.
…
Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan.
Located in the northwest mountains outside Heaven Dou Imperial City, surrounded by steep peaks and rivers, its position was known for being easy to defend and hard to attack.
That day, on a tall mountain beyond the river, several hundred black-clad figures quietly arrived.
Leading them was a tall, curvy woman in a dark purple dress, with long dark purple hair and eyes, and a bewitchingly beautiful yet sinister appearance.
It was none other than the now-blackened Bibi Dong, who had inherited the Rakshasa God's position.
"Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, I've returned!" Bibi Dong stood at the edge of a cliff, gazing at the distant clan. Her twisted and sinister smile was filled with hate.
How many years had it been?
Since she was thrown out of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan, she had never forgotten the nightmarish torture she suffered in its secret chambers.
So many times, she woke up in the middle of the night, trembling in pain and terror.
Though only a Spirit Douluo now, she knew that her teacher Qian Xunji and that woman Ah Yin were getting married.
That meant the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's master, Yu Yuanzhen, would definitely be at the wedding.
Without Yu Yuanzhen guarding the sect, this was her best chance for revenge.
Even if she couldn't completely destroy the clan, she would make sure they paid a heavy price.
…
Soon, night fell.
In the dead of night, the perfect opportunity arrived.
Bibi Dong's delicate face twisted into a crazed grin as she led several hundred of the Evil Nether Hall's most elite evil soul masters up the mountain where the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan resided.
Once they reached the residential area, Bibi Dong summoned her Death Spider Emperor spirit, attached it to her body, and launched an attack on the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan's soul masters.
"Enemy attack—!"
"Enemy attack—!"
Screams tore through the night sky.
The entire Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan was startled awake.
The nearest clan elders rushed out of their homes in shock and anger, heading straight for the chaos.
"Who dares to attack my Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan?!"
Roaring with fury, several elders arrived first, only to see the clan's residential area in total chaos.
Many houses had collapsed into ruins or were ablaze.
Flames lit up the sky, billowing thick smoke everywhere.
In the chaos, a group of clearly evil soul masters, led by several Spirit Douluo and a dozen Soul Sages, were laughing wildly as they slaughtered the clan's disciples.
They used their spirits to devour bones, flesh, and even souls.
Blood was everywhere. Screams and wails echoed through the night.
It was like hell on earth.
"Damn evil soul masters, how dare you!"
Seeing their own people being massacred, the elders' eyes turned bloodshot. Their hair and beards bristled as they roared in fury and charged onto the battlefield, summoning their Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon spirits.
Seeing them arrive, Bibi Dong—who had just used her second spirit, the Soul Devouring Spider Emperor, to consume the soul of a Blue Lightning Soul Sage—turned her hate-filled gaze toward the elders.
Her twisted, blood-smeared lips curled into a vicious grin as she licked them.
"You finally showed up!"