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The grand procession of the Spirit Hall entered the territory of the Hao Tian Sect. This place was not far from the capital city of the Tian Dou Empire, located about three hundred miles east of Tian Dou City, surrounded by towering mountains.
By now, if the elders of the Hao Tian Sect had not noticed the enemy's intrusion, they would truly be incompetent fools.
In an instant, five figures appeared at the entrance of the Hao Tian Sect's mountain stronghold. Among them, only the man on the far left appeared to be a middle-aged man, while the others were elderly.
"Second Brother, who has the audacity to invade our Hao Tian Sect! Let me go and kill them!"
The fiery-tempered Seventh Elder, a middle-aged man, immediately prepared to descend and eliminate those who dared trespass into their domain.
"Seventh Brother, wait! The intruders may not be ordinary foes. There could be many of them, and our sect leader isn't here. Besides, they've come all the way to our gates—this might not be as simple as it seems."
The aged Second Elder wasn't in such a rush. As Tang Zhen's brother, he valued the sect above all else.
In the past, the former sect leader had led the Hao Tian Sect to become the number one sect under heaven with his overwhelming strength, even forcing the Spirit Hall to back down. However, the former sect leader had disappeared for years in pursuit of breaking through to level 100.
As the Hao Tian Sect began to falter against the Spirit Hall, the Second Elder approached every decision with careful consideration to ensure the sect's long-term survival.
Even though Tang San was the illegitimate son of the exiled disciple Tang Hao and a spirit beast, he possessed twin martial souls, so the Second Elder accepted him, teaching him the techniques of the Hao Tian Hammer and guiding him in life. It was his duty as the Second Elder to bring Tang San back into the fold.
A twin martial soul wielder held immense potential, and Tang San might very well surpass the old sect leader to become the new leader who would lead the sect to rise again.
As for Tang Xiao, his own nephew, who went to rescue someone from the Spirit Hall but lost an arm along with the sect's inheritance soul bone, and even allowed Tang Hao to be killed—it was a devastating blow.
The three pieces of inheritance soul bones that Tang Chen had obtained, each over seventy thousand years old, were also lost. This was undoubtedly a massive loss and humiliation for the Hao Tian Sect.
Other elders had wanted to strip Tang Xiao of his position as sect leader, but the Second Elder stood firm, ensuring Tang Xiao remained in power. Firstly, Tang Xiao was still young; although his soul power had dropped to the Soul Douluo level, he was still formidable.
Besides, none of the other elders could match him in strength. Moreover, Tang Xiao had proven himself adept at handling sect affairs, even surpassing his father, Zhen Tian Douluo.
Over the years, the losses inflicted by the Spirit Hall had gradually been recovered, and the sect had grown even more prosperous.
Now, with intruders entering their mountain stronghold, it was clear they did not come with good intentions. The Second Elder had his suspicions but was uncertain, so he decided to remain cautious—enemy unmoved, we do not move!
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Meanwhile, at the foot of the Hao Tian Sect's mountain.
The vanguard led by Xie Yue had arrived at this location. The scenery before them left them somewhat awestruck.
Directly ahead was a mountain peak. Though not particularly tall, it was extremely steep, its sheer cliffs almost vertical to the ground, smooth and devoid of vegetation—a stone mountain.
The vanguard team was slightly taken aback. With a height of over five hundred meters, this peak was clearly not climbable for soul masters below rank forty.
However, as part of the vanguard, aside from Xie Yue, who was a Soul Emperor, the rest were Soul Sages, and all were agile attackers. Their strength was formidable, so they weren't intimidated by such perilous terrain.
But as they climbed higher, their unease grew.
If someone were to attack from the summit, even soul masters at ranks sixty or seventy might not make it up the mountain. This was truly a natural barrier.
Xie Yue noticed that this mountain range was peculiar. Most peaks were steep, and the gaps between them were deep ravines. Climbing up and down these mountains would undoubtedly consume a great deal of energy.
If defensive positions were set up on each peak, then attackers would have to cross one natural barrier after another. Even if the attackers outnumbered the defenders tenfold, success would not be guaranteed. The terrain was simply too treacherous.
After advancing for a short while, they reached the end of the first mountain. At a height of five hundred meters, mist began to swirl around them. However, at this time of day, the mist wasn't too thick, allowing them to see an iron chain.
At the edge of the mountain was a thick iron chain, extending far into the distance. Without a doubt, it connected to another peak. Hidden within the drifting mist, it was difficult to spot unless one looked carefully.
Though the chain swayed in the air, anyone with sufficient strength could stabilize themselves and walk across it. Even a rank thirty soul master could manage it with ease.
The journey ahead was repetitive, except that the ravines between the mountains grew deeper with each step. By the time they reached the fourth peak via the chains, the conditions began to change. Due to the cold and humidity, the chain connecting the fourth and fifth peaks was coated in a layer of ice, slippery and treacherous, significantly increasing the difficulty of the ascent.
Fortunately, the vanguard team consisted of elite members handpicked by Gui Bao Douluo. Even Xie Yue, despite being a favored individual, was no slouch. This path posed little problem for them.
However, getting the main army up here would be extremely difficult. The Hao Tian Hammer was a top-tier weapon-type martial soul with wide-area attacks—an overwhelming advantage.
One of the vanguard members had already returned to report to the Pope, leaving the final decision to her.
Xie Yue and his group continued forward, stopping at the fourth peak, just one chain away from the summit. They needed to wait for the main army, as they had already sensed powerful presences ahead.
It was a Title Douluo!
At this moment, Gui Bao Douluo also appeared among the group. He too had sensed the formidable presence ahead. According to intelligence, the Hao Tian Sect had seven Title Douluos. The Hao Tian Douluo Tang Hao had already been killed by Elder Li Luochen.
The Xiao Tian Douluo Tang Xiao had been crippled by Elder Li Luochen, losing an arm and forever stuck at the Soul Douluo level. That left five Title Douluos.
But Gui Bao Douluo wasn't afraid. Thanks to the mission to usurp the Tian Dou Empire, he had obtained a piece of ten-thousand-year-old soul bone perfectly suited to him, raising his soul power to level ninety-six. Anyone who wished to capture him would need to reach at least level ninety-eight—otherwise, it was impossible.
Such was the confidence of a super-agile attacking Douluo!
"Come out! I've already detected your presence!"
Gui Bao Douluo glared at a specific spot and shouted coldly.
"Where did you come from, Title Douluo? Leading a few weaklings to dare invade the Hao Tian Sect's mountain stronghold! Are you here to test whether our Hao Tian Sect still has strength?"
The Seventh Elder roared, his tone defiant. Whether or not his strength matched up didn't matter—his momentum couldn't falter!
"The Spirit Hall does as it pleases. Do we need to seek approval from your Hao Tian Sect? Besides, we're here to cause trouble for your sect!"
Gui Bao Douluo let out a cold snort as his martial soul, the Void Ghost Leopard, materialized. Two yellow, two purple, and five black rings appeared around him, radiating the overwhelming pressure of a level ninety-six soul master, bearing down on the Seventh Elder.
The Seventh Elder immediately felt the immense pressure, sweat pouring down his face, but his demeanor remained unyielding.
"Does the Spirit Hall no longer honor the promises made years ago?"
Gui Bao Douluo burst into laughter.
"Hahahaha! Promises? I don't recognize any promises. The one who made that promise has already been defeated by Her Holiness the Pope. The Spirit Hall now has only one voice, and that is Her Holiness the Pope!"
The faces of the Hao Tian Sect elders turned ashen. The promise had been made after the battle between the Hao Tian Douluo Tang Chen and the Angel Douluo Qian Daoliu.
Qian Daoliu had lost to Tang Chen and promised that no member of the Spirit Hall would set foot in the Hao Tian Sect's territory until he could defeat Tang Chen.
That old fool Qian Daoliu was truly useless, reduced to nothing by a young girl!
The Hao Tian Sect elders were still operating on outdated information, only knowing that Qian Xunji's female disciple had risen to power. Her exact strength was unknown, but she was said to be very young.
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