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At the rear of the Hao Tian Sect's mountain,
A middle-aged man led a group of people clearing the path. Behind them were elders, women, and children—all members of the Hao Tian Sect.
This route to the rear mountain was an escape passage the Hao Tian Sect had carved out after settling in this ancestral land as a hidden sect.
After exiting through here, it would take only a few days' journey to reach a coastal city, where they could purchase ships and flee overseas to start a new life.
This escape route had been carefully planned by Tang Xiao and several elders. Tang Xiao himself had personally tested it. The path was surrounded by high mountains and dense forests, sparsely populated and difficult to detect.
When the sect faced its moment of life or death, this path was their true lifeline—their chance to preserve the seeds of their legacy. Meanwhile, the sect leader, elders, and core disciples were to fight to buy time for these survivors.
"Waaaah, our home is gone! Our sect is gone!"
"Damn you, Spirit Hall!"
"Mother, why does the Spirit Hall want to destroy our home?"
"Spirit Hall! When I grow up, I'll follow the footsteps of our ancestor Tang Chen and Uncle Hao, and smash the Spirit Hall with my Hao Tian Hammer!"
"I support you!"
"Count me in too!"
"Me as well!"
"All right, all right! You are the seeds of hope for the Hao Tian Sect. Your elders and parents have chosen to stay behind to protect you. Don't let their sacrifices be in vain."
The leading middle-aged Soul Douluo spoke earnestly.
"If you don't want their sacrifices to be in vain, just stay and die with them."
A cold, stern voice echoed across the rear mountain.
Suddenly, the sky darkened with thick clouds, and a massive black dragon descended from the heavens. It transformed into an elderly man with white hair and beard.
Soon after, two thousand soul masters arrived at the scene. They had just reached this location. Truly, the wisdom of Her Holiness the Pope was extraordinary—she had already anticipated that the Hao Tian Sect would possess a secret escape route.
And there could only be one such route. After all, with so many people, splitting into smaller groups would reduce the protection available. These muscle-brained Hao Tian Sect members likely hadn't thought that far ahead.
They were lucky enough to even think of using a secret passage to escape. Did they really expect to pull off tricks like "mixing the real with the fake" or "hiding in plain sight"?
The leader of the Hao Tian Sect group, Tang Wei, was the Second Elder's second son. His soul power had just reached the Soul Douluo level at the age of forty-eight.
He had the potential to break through to Title Douluo before the age of sixty-five. The Second Elder tasked him with protecting the elderly, weak, and children because Tang Wei, as a Soul Douluo, could handle most threats unless he encountered a Title Douluo. He was capable of safeguarding the clan.
Secondly, the elder didn't want his bloodline to end. As the Second Elder and current acting chief elder, he vowed that if the sect survived, he would live; if the sect perished, he wouldn't seek to survive alone.
Thus, the Second Elder entrusted the hope of survival to his second son.
Unfortunately, this group had encountered Ba Tian Douluo Long Zhentian, who wielded the fearsome Black Dragon Holy Dragon martial soul.
Ba Tian Douluo had once defeated Lei Ting Douluo Yu Yuanzhen head-on. His strength was unparalleled!
Few in the soul master world could match him. Even Ju Douluo and Gui Bao Douluo, whose soul power had reached level ninety-six, were no match for Ba Tian Douluo.
Among the envoys, only those at level ninety-seven could stand a chance against him. Such was the might of a top-tier dragon-type beast martial soul!
"Who are you! Why have you blocked our path!"
Tang Wei still asked, though he already suspected who the intruder was.
"Spirit Hall, Ninth Offering, Ba Tian Douluo Long Zhentian!"
Though Long Zhentian's voice seemed calm, it thundered like a dragon's roar. Some weaker members of the Hao Tian Sect were instantly incapacitated, their ears bleeding as they collapsed unconscious.
"Damn it! True Body of the Martial Soul! Eighth soul skill, Heaven Shattering Strike!"
Seeing no way out for himself and his clansmen, Tang Wei decided to fight desperately. Activating his True Body, he swung his massive Hao Tian Hammer toward Long Zhentian.
"Hmph, throwing eggs at a rock! Black Dragon World-Crushing Claw!"
Long Zhentian's right hand suddenly transformed into a pitch-black dragon claw, which grew enormous and grabbed Tang Wei, squeezing him like a chick.
"With only eight soul rings, why seek your own destruction?"
After speaking, Long Zhentian tightened his grip, and Tang Wei was instantly reduced to a bloody mist.
"Spirit Hall forces! Kill!"
After dealing with Tang Wei, Long Zhentian immediately commanded the Spirit Hall soul masters to completely eliminate the remnants of the Hao Tian Sect.
"Fourth soul skill, Bone Prison!"
Countless bones suddenly erupted from the ground beneath the Hao Tian Sect members, turning the remaining survivors into bloody mist and skewered corpses.
"Hmm? Gu Douluo?" Long Zhen Tian was puzzled. Why had the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect's Gu Douluo intervened?
"Eighth soul skill, Dragon Thunder Explosion!"
A massive azure-purple dragon suddenly surged toward the remnants of the Hao Tian Sect. Upon reaching the densest cluster of survivors, it exploded in a dazzling burst of energy.
(Author's note: Art is an explosion!)
"Hmm? Yu Luomian? Hmph, it seems the unity of the top three sects was nothing but empty words. Who would've thought that during the Hao Tian Sect's darkest hour, you'd strike the hardest."
Long Zhentian sneered. He knew too much about the dirty dealings of these sects. Yet, he never expected Ning Fengzhi and Yu Luomian to act so decisively. Truly interesting indeed.
Meanwhile, atop a mountain of the Hao Tian Sect, Ning Fengzhi stood alongside Jian Douluo.
"Fengzhi, I don't understand. Why must we kick the Hao Tian Sect when they're already down? Even if we wanted them to fall, staying neutral wasn't a problem. Why are we getting involved in eliminating their remnants?"
Jian Douluo couldn't comprehend Ning Fengzhi's reasoning. As a swordsman, he didn't grasp the intricacies of politics. He always saw himself as the sharpest sword of the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect.
However, Ning Fengzhi had explained to him and Old Bones that they needed to deal with the surviving remnants of the Hao Tian Sect.
Jian Douluo didn't understand, but Gu Douluo nodded without hesitation and took action.
As long-time partners, although Jian Douluo had always surpassed Gu Douluo in strength—even nearing the breakthrough to level ninety-seven while Gu Douluo remained stuck at level ninety-five—Ning Fengzhi believed Gu Douluo excelled at eliminating threats to the sect.
In Ning Fengzhi's eyes, his two uncles played different roles: one handled appearances, and the other dealt with dirty work.
Jian Douluo maintained the sect's outward image, while Gu Douluo handled the unpleasant tasks.
Gu Douluo and Ning Fengzhi shared a high level of understanding. Gu Douluo had resolved countless enemies for Ning Fengzhi over the years. This time, when tasked with eliminating the Hao Tian Sect survivors, he acted without hesitation.
If the Hao Tian Sect were still at its peak, the Seven Treasures Glazed Pagoda Sect would prioritize befriending them. But now that the Hao Tian Sect had fallen, Ning Fengzhi needed new allies.
The Spirit Hall was the only option. Thus, the Hao Tian Sect became their offering of loyalty.
As for Yu Luomian, he had merely come to spectate. Along the way, he noticed some Spirit Hall soul masters being led away by a Title Douluo, so he decided to investigate.
Upon witnessing the scene, how could he not act? Besides, as an elder of the Spirit Hall, eradicating the enemy Hao Tian Sect was his duty!
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