Chapter 306 Farewell to the Era of Normal Attack
The eighth Spirit Ability, Bitter Sea of Sinking, is a single-target mental force control Spirit Ability.
It also involves hitting the forehead with a staff, and its effect is to make the hit target fall into an illusion.
Furthermore, the illusion formed by Bitter Sea of Sinking is not just a single layer, but countless layers; as long as one's mental force is not as strong as Ye Chen's, they will be unable to escape the control unless the Spirit Ability's duration expires.
It's just a pity that Bitter Sea of Sinking does not include direct damage; it is purely an illusion.
Of course, if the forehead isn't sturdy enough, it can also be smashed with one hit from the staff.
The other eighth Spirit Ability, Turning Back is the Shore, has an even stronger effect than Bitter Sea of Sinking.
The Spirit Ability is also activated by hitting the forehead with a staff, but it is no longer just a simple illusion; as long as one's mental force is weaker than Ye Chen's, their consciousness will be forcibly controlled by him, and the duration of the Spirit Ability's effect is uncertain—the weaker the opponent's mental force, the longer the duration.
Although Turning Back is the Shore also lacks direct attack capabilities, as long as consciousness is controlled, making the opponent slit their own throat would be effortless, wouldn't it?
Additionally, Ye Chen also thought of a crucial point: if Turning Back is the Shore were used on a 100,000-year Spirit Beast, wouldn't he be able to control them to directly sacrifice themselves?
The Demon Eye Magic Tree Torso Spirit Bone comes with two Soul Bone Skills: Myriad Branches and Azure Wood Ascends to the Sky, which produce quite spectacular effects when activated.
Soul Bone Skill: Myriad Branches, although its name sounds rather ordinary, its power is absolutely not to be underestimated.
Once activated, countless Demon Eye Magic Tree branches materialize out of thin air to whip the target, capable of both single-target and group attacks.
After all, it is a 100,000-year Soul Bone Skill; even if its effect isn't heaven-defying, it certainly won't diminish the prestige of a 100,000-year Soul Bone Skill.
Soul Bone Skill: Azure Wood Ascends to the Sky, judging by its name, should be a recovery-type Soul Bone Skill, but it is actually not; this is a large-scale, group-based strong attack-type Spirit Ability.
Once activated, countless colossal wooden stakes materialize high in the sky and then smash down from above; not only is the attack range wide, but the attack power is also extremely formidable, capable of causing the sky to collapse and the earth to crack.
Ye Chen estimates that the large wooden stakes formed by Soul Bone Skill: Azure Wood Ascends to the Sky should not rely solely on their own gravitational acceleration; otherwise, their power wouldn't be so immense.
The external Spirit Bone: Demon Eye, comes with two Soul Bone Skills: Tree Eye Paralysis and Eye of Corrosive Poison; one is a group mental force control Soul Bone Skill, and the other is a poison-attribute Soul Bone Skill.
Soul Bone Skill: Tree Eye Paralysis is activated in a similar way to the Demon Eye Magic Tree, but Ye Chen himself is not a Demon Eye Magic Tree, so the specific manifestation involves consuming spirit power to materialize countless demonic tree eyes, which then perform a mental force judgment on all opponents within a certain range.
Those whose mental force is weaker than Ye Chen's will be forcibly paralyzed; the specific paralysis duration depends on the opponent's mental force strength, with weaker mental force leading to a longer paralysis effect.
As for those whose mental force is still superior to Ye Chen's, it will have no effect.
Soul Bone Skill: Eye of Corrosive Poison, consumes spirit power to condense a giant dark green eyeball in the air, which then shoots out a beam of intensely potent poison.
Eye of Corrosive Poison is a 100,000-year poison-attribute Soul Bone Skill; the toxicity it carries is absolutely far superior to Dugu Bo's Jade Phosphor Serpent, and apart from the antidote potions sold in Ye Chen's System Shop, it is basically unresolvable, with the only option being to endure it with formidable strength.
As for those who can't endure it? They can only meet their end.
It can be said that with the eighth spirit ring and these two Spirit Bones, Ye Chen's combat methods have become more diverse; if he encounters a powerful enemy in the future, he can now bid farewell to the era of simply wielding a Bamboo Staff and performing basic attacks.
After understanding his newly acquired two eighth Spirit Abilities and four 100,000-year Soul Bone Skills, Ye Chen felt extremely satisfied and also somewhat fortunate.
The Soul Bone Skills attached to a Spirit Bone are all Spirit Abilities that the Spirit Beast itself possesses.
That is to say, the Demon Eye Magic Tree does not possess the two Spirit Abilities, Bitter Sea of Sinking and Turning Back is the Shore, but it does possess these four moves: Myriad Branches, Azure Wood Ascends to the Sky, Tree Eye Paralysis, and Corrosive Poison Eye.
If Ye Chen had not continuously used the Silence Spirit Ability to suppress the Demon Eye Magic Tree's break out during their battle, this Spirit Hunt might have encountered complications.
Even if Ye Chen could successfully hunt it, he would certainly have to pay a greater price.
....
Meanwhile, while Ye Chen was heading to the Star Dou Great Forest to attach his eighth spirit ring, the matter of Ye Chen entrusting Qian Renxue to officially resell the bodies of Dai Tianli and the other four through the Heaven Dou government also began.
After Emperor Xue Ye fully entrusted this matter to Qian Renxue, she immediately dispatched envoys to the Star Luo Empire.
As the Crown Prince of Heaven Dou on the surface, Qian Renxue naturally couldn't personally travel to Star Luo City to sell the bodies; she simply needed to send someone to inform the Star Luo Empire to bring a large sum of money to Heaven Dou City.
If the transaction were to take place in Star Luo, the enraged Star Luo Empire would most likely forcefully seize them.
But if it were in Heaven Dou City, there would be no need to worry about that; although Star Luo's strength is greater than Heaven Dou's, it wouldn't dare to cause trouble in Heaven Dou City.
Moreover, with the Heaven Dou Empire's official involvement, as long as the gold coins could be obtained, Heaven Dou would not abandon the Empire's credibility for the sake of a few corpses.
However, Star Luo City is not close to Heaven Dou City; even if Qian Renxue dispatched a flying-type Spirit Master as an envoy, it still took ten days of travel for the envoy to reach Star Luo City.
Inside a magnificent hall in the Star Luo Imperial Palace.
"Your Majesty, the envoy sent by the Heaven Dou Empire has been settled in."
The old man, who served as the Star Luo Empire's Foreign Minister, bowed to Emperor Dai Yutian of Star Luo.
"Hmm, what is their purpose?"
At this time, Dai Yutian did not yet know that the envoy sent by Heaven Dou was preparing to discuss the sale of his father's body with him.
"This ~"
The Foreign Minister, who already knew the Heaven Dou envoy's purpose, twitched his mouth, wondering how to delicately inform his rather ill-tempered Emperor of the Heaven Dou envoy's objective.
The Star Luo Royal Family dispatching experts to deal with Ye Chen was not publicized; only high-ranking officials within the Royal Family were aware, and the Foreign Minister naturally did not know.
When he first learned of the Heaven Dou envoy's purpose, he couldn't believe that his former Emperor, White Tiger Douluo, had actually fallen in the Heaven Dou Empire?
However, since Heaven Dou had sent an envoy, it meant that this was definitely the case; otherwise, it would be the Heaven Dou Empire that would lose face.
"What's with the stammering? Speak quickly!"
Dai Yutian frowned, saying with an annoyed expression.
"Your Majesty, then this old subject will speak, and I hope you can control your anger."
The Foreign Minister cautiously glanced at Dai Tianli.
"Hmm, just speak freely."
Dai Yutian nodded, signaling him to speak directly.
"The Heaven Dou envoy said that the bodies of the Royal Family's old patriarch, the First Elder, and the Second Elder are all in their hands, and they request Your Majesty to send someone to redeem them with money."
After a moment of contemplation, the Foreign Minister directly stated the Heaven Dou envoy's purpose.
Chapter 307: Incompetent and Furious Dai Yutian
"Bang—"
As expected, Dai Yutian immediately exploded, slamming his palm on the table in front of him.
Dai Yutian, a Spirit Douluo (8 Rings), directly shattered the table into pieces.
Wood splinters flew, and the foreign minister, who was not young, stood not far away; his face, naturally, was not spared, getting many wood splinters stuck in it.
"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"
The foreign minister endured the pain on his face and called out to Dai Yutian.
Unfortunately, Dai Yutian, in his rage, had no time to pay attention to him.
"Damn it! Damn Ye Chen, damn Heaven Dou Empire! #￥%@￥*%&￥....."
Needless to say, Dai Yutian then entered a phase of spewing profanities and impotent rage.
Logically, Dai Yutian should have received the news before this, as the experts his family sent had fallen, and the intelligence personnel within Heaven Dou territory would surely report it immediately.
But unfortunately, this incident had too great an impact.
The middle-aged team leader responsible for intelligence work knew that if he dared to report this news to Dai Yutian, he, as the head, would certainly face severe consequences.
The deaths of the Royal Family's First Elder and Second Elder were not a big deal, but the problem was that even Emperor Dai Yutian's father had died, and given Dai Yutian's bad temper, his wrath would definitely affect those involved in intelligence.
Even if they were innocent, it was useless; being made a scapegoat was a normal operation, wasn't it? Anyway, he was a lone wolf with no attachments, and he already had thoughts of retirement, so he simply ran away.
With the boss on the run, the remaining few sub-leaders lacked the courage to take the blame; one by one, they also had similar thoughts. Anyway, their families were not held hostage in the Star Luo Empire, so the Star Luo Empire could do nothing to them.
Thus, under 'leaderless' circumstances, Star Luo's intelligence organization within Heaven Dou territory directly paralyzed, which also caused Dai Yutian to receive no news.
After an hour of impotent rage, Dai Yutian dismissed the foreign minister and summoned the senior members of the Royal Family for a meeting. As for the Heaven Dou envoy, he decided to stall for now and deal with it after the Royal Family had discussed it.
...
More than an hour later, except for a few who were leading armies outside, all Spirit Douluo of the Star Luo Royal Family's Dai Family currently in Star Luo City gathered in the hall.
"Your Majesty, has something major happened?"
Third Elder Dai Kun of the Royal Family asked, looking at Dai Yutian's extremely grim face.
Dai Yutian said with a gloomy expression, "My Imperial Father and the others have failed."
If Dave's death had only caused Dai Yutian to feel a pang of pain, then the deaths of Dai Tianli, Grand Elder Dai Feng, and Dai Wei now were completely unacceptable to Dai Yutian.
Although Grand Elder Dai Feng and Dai Wei were not Titled Douluo, both could activate the Hell White Tiger, and their strength was not inferior to that of ordinary Titled Douluo.
Titled Douluo on the Douluo Continent were like the nuclear arsenal of Ye Chen's previous life; the Royal Family's loss of three Titled-level combat powers at once had a very far-reaching impact.
Within the Heaven Dou Empire, there were four Titled Douluo: Chen Xin, Gu Rong, Yu Yuanzhen, and Dugu Bo. Within the Star Luo Empire, there were also Titled Douluo who did not belong to the Royal Family.
The imperial power of the Star Luo Empire was more stable than that of Heaven Dou, and the degree of centralisation was higher, all built on the Royal Family having enough experts as deterrence.
Now that the Royal Family had lost three Titled combat powers, it was not to say that turmoil would occur in the Star Luo Empire, but those Sect forces and Spirit Master families could certainly listen to orders but not declarations.
"What? The Old Clan Head and the others failed?"
Dai Kun immediately exclaimed in surprise. One must know that three Titled Douluo-level combat powers had made a move this time. Could it be that they still couldn't take down Ye Chen, a Soul Sage (7 Rings)? Was this not a joke?
"Your Majesty, what about the Old Clan Head and the others?"
Fourth Elder Dai Mao hastily asked.
"The intelligence personnel on the Heaven Dou side have lost contact; I don't know the specific process, but the Heaven Dou envoy previously said that they want us to send people to redeem the bodies of my Imperial Father and the others."
Dai Yutian's face was extremely grim at this moment. If it weren't for the envoy representing the Heaven Dou Empire coming to Star Luo City, he would have wanted to hack him to pieces.
Selling a father's body to his son, is that something a human would do?
"What? The Heaven Dou Empire is simply going too far!"
Several Elders of the Dai Family all widened their eyes, completely disbelieving. Had Old Man Xue Ye eaten the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard? This was simply not putting the Star Luo Empire in their eyes.
"Your Majesty, order Heaven Dou to hand over the remains of the Old Clan Head and the others, otherwise, we, Star Luo, will send troops to attack Heaven Dou!"
The hot-tempered Seventh Elder Dai Heng immediately said to Dai Yutian.
"Seventh Elder, war between two nations is not a small matter, and now that Spirit Hall is powerful, we cannot easily start a war, otherwise, it will only benefit Spirit Hall for free!"
Fifth Elder Dai Sheng stopped Dai Heng.
"Hmph, are we to let the Heaven Dou Empire humiliate us?"
Dai Heng glared at Dai Sheng.
Dai Yutian said in a deep voice, "Enough! Fifth Elder is right, war is not a child's play, and the Empire cannot easily start a war. The most urgent thing now is to redeem the bodies of my Imperial Father and the others. Also, how should we deal with this child, Ye Chen, in the future?"
The people were already dead; saying anything now was useless. It was good to redeem the bodies; losing face was losing face, and if there was a chance in the future, they would get it back.
But the threat of Ye Chen was different. Although Dai Yutian didn't know the specific situation, it seemed that Ye Chen had not been eliminated.
Moreover, having failed this time, it would not be so easy to succeed again in the future. If Ye Chen were allowed to fully grow, would their Star Luo Royal Family have a way to survive?
The Douluo Continent was not an ordinary World; it was not that imperial power was supreme. A powerful Spirit Master, not to mention destroying a nation alone, but if it was just to eliminate a few targets, even with a million troops guarding them, it would be useless.
"Your Majesty, I support redeeming the bodies of the Old Clan Head and the others, but as for Ye Chen, we should first investigate his background before saying anything.
If there were outsiders involved in the Old Clan Head and the others' failure this time, that would be fine, but if there were no other participants, then relying solely on our Royal Family would clearly be unable to eliminate Ye Chen."
After a moment of thought, Dai Kun said to Dai Yutian.
"Hmm, Third Elder is right."
Dai Yutian nodded. He was also worried about this. If Ye Chen alone had eliminated three Titled Douluo-level combat powers this time, that would be incredible.
Next time they wanted to make a move, they would have to bring out a stronger lineup than this time.
Although the Royal Family still had many Spirit Douluo-level Elders, and a lineup of more than three Titled combat powers was not impossible to produce, what if they failed again? At that time, whether the Royal Family could maintain the Empire's rule would be a question mark.
The six discussed for a while but couldn't come up with a solution. Dai Yutian had no choice but to hold his forces, planning to first send people to investigate Ye Chen's background.
However, what was certain was that the bodies of Dai Tianli and the other four had to be redeemed
Chapter 308: Dai Yutian in disbelief
The Heaven Dou envoy directly opened his mouth wide for the bodies of Dai Tianli and the five others, demanding three hundred million gold coins.
However, the Star Luo Empire was not to be trifled with and naturally could not accept such a high price.
Two days later, after some bargaining, both sides settled on a price of one hundred and twenty million gold coins, with Star Luo sending people to Heaven Dou City with the gold coins to redeem the bodies of Dai Tianli and the five others.
Among them, Dai Tianli's body was priced at one hundred million gold coins, and Grand Elder Dai Feng and Dai Wei's bodies were ten million gold coins each.
Living experts would naturally be worth more than this, but bodies, of course, were much cheaper. As for the wives of Grand Elder Dai Feng and the other person? They could only be considered an extra, unless sold to Evil Soul Masters, otherwise, the bodies of Soul Sages (7 Rings) were not valuable.
On the same day the Star Luo Empire sent people to Heaven Dou City to redeem the bodies of Dai Tianli and the five others, the people dispatched by the Clear Sky Sect also arrived in Star Luo City.
...
As night fell, in a grand hall within the Star Luo Imperial Palace, Dai Yutian, who had been humiliated by the Heaven Dou Empire and extorted a sum of money, naturally had a very grim expression.
Just then, a royal guard hurried into the hall: "Your Majesty, there is an expert at the palace gates looking for you. This is his token."
Saying this, the guard handed over a token.
Seeing the token in the guard's hand, Dai Yutian's pupils constricted slightly. He immediately snatched it and then commanded: "Quickly invite him over!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Immediately, the guard took his leave.
Looking at the token in his hand, Dai Yutian fell into thought, never expecting that the Clear Sky Sect, which had been in seclusion for over a decade, would actually come knocking?
Although this token was not the Clear Sky Token, it was a personal token of an Elder within the Clear Sky Sect, so the person who came should be an Elder from the Clear Sky Sect.
However, what puzzled Dai Yutian was, what was this Clear Sky Sect Elder doing suddenly showing up?
...
Not long after, led by the guard, a burly figure entered the hall.
As soon as the burly figure entered, Dai Yutian recognized him. It was Tang Li, the Sixth Elder of the Clear Sky Sect.
Before the Clear Sky Sect went into seclusion, it had an alliance with the Star Luo Empire, and given Dai Tianli's age, the two naturally knew each other.
However, when Dai Yutian saw Tang Li, his pupils involuntarily constricted. He was completely unable to discern Tang Li's strength.
One must know that although he was the Star Luo Emperor, his spirit power cultivation had not fallen behind. With his strength as an 89-Rank Spirit Douluo, he still couldn't see through him, which indicated that Tang Li's strength was even above his.
This Tang Li must have advanced to Titled Douluo during the more than ten years the Clear Sky Sect was in seclusion.
"So it's the Sixth Elder. May I ask what brings the Sixth Elder here?"
Suppressing the surprise in his heart, Dai Yutian greeted Tang Li.
Tang Li did not speak directly but looked at the guard soldier who had led him in.
"You may leave. Have the guards outside the door stand firm and not let anyone approach!"
Dai Yutian waved his hand at the guard.
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Afterward, only Dai Yutian and Tang Li remained in the hall.
"Congratulations, Sixth Elder, on breaking through to become a Titled Douluo!"
With no outsiders present, Dai Yutian congratulated Tang Li.
"Hmm, thank Your Majesty for the kind words. I imagine Your Majesty will also be there soon!"
Tang Li nodded and flattered Dai Yutian.
Although Dai Yutian was only an 89-Rank Spirit Douluo, quite a bit weaker than him, a 92-Rank Titled Douluo, Dai Yutian's wife was also an Eight-Ring Soul Douluo. If the two of them activated the Hell White Tiger, their strength would be above his, so Tang Li did not put on airs.
"Sixth Elder, it's been over a decade since we last met. I wonder how your Sect has been recently?"
Although Dai Yutian couldn't guess Tang Li's intentions, this didn't stop him from trying to build connections.
He had just been troubled by Ye Chen's matter, but if the Clear Sky Sect were to act on this, it would surely be a piece of cake.
"Quite well! By the way, Your Majesty, I imagine you must have something troubling you recently, no?"
When it came to wielding a great hammer, Tang Li was quite proficient, but when it came to haggling, he wasn't very good at it, so he prepared to directly tell Dai Yutian about Ye Chen.
The Clear Sky Sect had been in seclusion for over a decade, and its external intelligence system had long since collapsed. His purpose in coming to the Star Luo Royal Family this time was twofold: first, to borrow the Star Luo Empire's intelligence system to track down Ye Chen's whereabouts, and second, to find some experts from the Star Luo Empire to act as cannon fodder for their eradication of Ye Chen.
After all, Ye Chen's strength was not weak; even Sect Master Tang Xiao couldn't do anything to him. Even with the four of them, Titled Douluo Elders, it wasn't very secure, so finding some experts to lead the charge was very necessary.
"Oh? How did the Sixth Elder know?"
Dai Yutian was a bit puzzled. Did the reclusive Clear Sky Sect even know that his father had passed away a while ago?
"Some time ago, there was a battle between experts outside Heaven Dou City. Our Sect Master happened to be passing by that area at the time. I wonder which experts from your Royal Family they were?"
To avoid exposing the Sect's secluded residence, Tang Li could only say that Tang Xiao happened to be passing by; he couldn't say that Tang Xiao had rushed over from home.
In fact, what Tang Li didn't know was that the Clear Sky Sect's residence had already been exposed by then.
Not only did Ye Chen, the transmigrator, know, but Ning Fengzhi also knew.
That day, after Ye Chen and Xiao Wu left the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School, Ning Fengzhi, feeling suspicious, sent Chen Xin to investigate near the battlefield.
With Chen Xin taking action, spreading his mental force and flying around on his sword for most of the day, the Clear Sky Sect's residence naturally couldn't be hidden and was found.
Upon hearing this, Dai Yutian immediately frowned, looking at Tang Li with an unfriendly expression.
What do you Clear Sky Sect mean by this? Both sides are allies, after all. Tang Xiao was in that vicinity, so why did he stand by and watch his father die in battle?
Or rather, was that Ye Chen a member of your Clear Sky Sect, and now you've come to argue?
Seeing Dai Yutian's unfriendly gaze, Tang Li immediately understood what Dai Yutian was thinking and said, "Your Majesty, please don't misunderstand. When our Sect Master arrived, the battle had already ended. He only knew that several experts from your side had died, but he didn't see the specific situation, so it wasn't a case of standing by and watching."
"So that's how it is. In this battle, my Imperial Father, as well as the Royal Family's First Elder and Second Elder and his wife, were killed."
Dai Yutian's expression softened, and then he said bitterly.
Tang Li was stunned. They had lost the former Star Luo Great Emperor, White Tiger Douluo, plus two Titled Douluo level combatants. It seemed the Star Luo Royal Family's losses were not small!
"By the way, Sixth Elder, did Sect Master Tang Xiao see the culprit?"
Dai Yutian asked Tang Li.
"When the Sect Master arrived, the only person present was Ye Chen."
"No way? Only Ye Chen? Isn't that Ye Chen just a Soul Sage (7 Rings)? Even if he has a hundred-thousand-year seventh spirit ring, he shouldn't be a match for Imperial Father and the others, right?"
Dai Yutian's eyes widened, and he asked in disbelief.
At this moment, Dai Yutian had a bad premonition. Could it be that his Imperial Father and the First Elder truly were taken down by Ye Chen alone? That wouldn't be good news for the Royal Family.
Chapter 309 I hope you put the sect's inheritance first!
"A 100,000-year Seventh spirit ring? Your Majesty, but the Sect Master said that Ye Chen's Fourth, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh spirit rings are all 100,000-year spirit rings!
Although his level isn't high, and he hasn't advanced to Eight-Ring Spirit Douluo, his strength is very formidable, and he also possesses quite a few Spirit Bones. At that time, the Sect Master fought him, but couldn't do anything to him."
Tang Li looked at Dai Yutian in surprise. What was going on with the Star Luo Royal Family? They rushed to act without even knowing the opponent's intelligence?
"Hiss—! Half a year ago, when our Star Luo Empire first clashed with Ye Chen, he only had one 100,000-year spirit ring. But now, your Sect Master says Ye Chen has four 100,000-year spirit rings?"
Dai Yutian gasped, not expecting that in just half a year, Ye Chen's 100,000-year spirit rings had increased from one to four? This was simply too much, wasn't it?
Moreover, Tang Xiao and Brother Hao were once known as the 'Clear Sky Twin Stars.' In Dai Yutian's opinion, Tang Hao's strength was so great, so Tang Xiao shouldn't be much weaker. Yet, even Tang Xiao couldn't defeat Ye Chen?
"Only one 100,000-year spirit ring half a year ago?"
Tang Li was stunned, then seemed to realize something, and his face immediately turned grim.
Because the Clear Sky Sect had Tang Chen, Tang Li, as an Elder of the Clear Sky Sect, also knew that as long as one passed the Divinity's assessment, the age of their spirit ring might increase. The Spirit Hall's High Priest Qian Daoliu's eight black and one red spirit ring configuration came about this way.
In other words, behind Ye Chen, there was an unknown Divinity?
Immediately, cold sweat broke out on Tang Li's back.
He had not experienced the great power of a Divinity, but he had witnessed the strength of his ancestor Tang Chen when he was young. That was definitely not something an ordinary Titled Douluo could withstand.
Ye Chen's talent was so good; if he wasn't eliminated early, perhaps he could become a legendary Divinity in the future?
Thinking of this, Tang Li knew that their Clear Sky Sect absolutely could not let Ye Chen go, even if it meant paying a heavy price. Otherwise, the Clear Sky Sect would definitely be finished in the future.
Afterward, the two began to discuss the details of their joint effort to deal with Ye Chen.
Late at night, after settling the matters and leaving a contact location, Tang Li frantically left Star Luo City.
This time, Tang Li didn't travel by carriage but relied on the ability of a Titled Douluo to fly through the air, rushing back to the Clear Sky Sect with all his might.
Although he wasn't a flying-type Spirit Master, aerial flight consumed a lot of spirit power, and flying in the sky made it easy to be discovered. But Tang Li could no longer care about such things. When his spirit power was more than half depleted, he would stop to recover, and once recovered, he would continue on his way.
Thus, three days later, Tang Li finally returned to the Clear Sky Sect.
...
Clear Sky Sect, Sect Main Hall, Sect Master Tang Xiao, and the Five Elders gathered for a meeting.
"Sect Master, something terrible has happened!"
Once everyone was present, Tang Li immediately said to Tang Xiao.
"Hmm? Sixth Elder, what's the situation?"
Looking at the frantic Tang Li, Tang Xiao was somewhat puzzled.
Second Elder Tang Xiong looked at Tang Li and asked, "That's right, Old Six, didn't you go to the Star Luo Empire? Why are you back so soon?"
"A disaster! Sect Master, Elders, that Ye Chen…"
Tang Li told Tang Xiao and the other four Elders of the Clear Sky Sect about his suspicions.
"So, regarding this child Ye Chen, we must act quickly!"
Hearing that Ye Chen was suspected to be a Divinity inheritor, Tang Xiao said in a deep voice.
At this moment, Tang Xiao felt some regret. If he had known, he wouldn't have attacked Ye Chen that day.
After all, according to the information found by the Star Luo Empire, this Ye Chen seemed to have no relation to Spirit Hall; instead, he was the son-in-law of Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School's Sect Master Ning Fengzhi.
Didn't Ning Fengzhi always say that the Upper Three Sects were of the same lineage? This meant that the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School and the Clear Sky Sect were allies, yet he had somehow turned his own allies into enemies.
It was just a pity that it was too late to say anything now; the feud was already formed.
As for going to apologize, turning a big problem into a small one, and a small one into nothing? Neither Tang Xiao nor the Five Elders had any such thoughts!
The dignified Clear Sky Sect, the number one Sect in the world, would it really yield to a Spirit Sage (7 Rings)?
If they did that and it spread, where would the Clear Sky Sect's face be in the future? Would they even be able to continue operating on the continent?
"Sixth Elder, contact the Star Luo Empire and have them fully search for Ye Chen's whereabouts. This time, our Clear Sky Sect will go all out to ensure Ye Chen is killed!
Additionally, Elders, I plan to call Brother Hao back!"
Tang Xiao felt that if it was just himself and four Titled Douluo-level Elders, plus some cannon fodder from the Star Luo Empire, dealing with Ye Chen wouldn't be too safe.
The last time he fought Ye Chen, he had gone all out, but he hadn't gained any advantage. And who could guarantee that was Ye Chen's full strength?
If this attack failed to completely eliminate Ye Chen, and he chose to hide and cultivate until he inherited the Divinity position, who in the Clear Sky Sect could be his opponent? That would be a disaster for the Clear Sky Sect.
This matter concerned the Sect's inheritance and crisis, which made Tang Xiao have to be cautious.
Furthermore, at that time, Spirit Hall was powerful, and the Clear Sky Sect had no choice but to expel Tang Hao from the Sect. But now, the Sect needed him, so the difficulty of him returning to the ancestral Sect should be much lower.
Perhaps many people within the Clear Sky Sect were hostile towards Tang Hao, but as Tang Hao's Elder brother, even though Tang Hao had angered their father to death, Tang Xiao undoubtedly still very much hoped for his younger brother to return.
"Tang Hao? I object!"
As soon as Tang Xiao finished speaking, he was immediately met with opposition from Seventh Elder Tang Lie.
Among the Five Great Elders of the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Lie had the biggest issues with Tang Hao. This was because after Tang Hao defeated Qian Xunji, he simply disappeared, and when Spirit Hall couldn't find Tang Hao, they retaliated against the Clear Sky Sect. His wife and son both died under Spirit Hall's blade.
In Tang Lie's eyes, Spirit Hall was the number one enemy, and Tang Hao, the fuse for this series of events, was his second enemy.
"Seventh Elder, I know you have an opinion about Brother Hao, but I hope you prioritize the Sect's inheritance!"
Tang Xiao's face was stern as he spoke seriously to Tang Lie.
"!!!"
Tang Lie's eyes widened. Was this still the Sect Master he remembered? Had he been swapped out by someone else?
Who said Tang Xiao was an honest person? Would an honest person bring up the greater good of the Sect to pressure him?
Tang Xiao's single phrase, 'I hope you prioritize the Sect's inheritance,' completely stumped Tang Lie.
"The Sect Master is right, Old Seven. The most urgent matter now is to eliminate Ye Chen! Your second brother and I also bear hostility towards Tang Hao, but that's our internal grudge. We must prioritize the Sect; other matters can be set aside for now!"
After a moment of contemplation, Second Elder Tang Xiong spoke.
Like Tang Lie, he also harbored animosity towards Tang Hao, as the Clear Sky Sect's current predicament had a lot to do with what Tang Hao did back then.
Chapter 310 All the girls are on me!
But Tang Xiong also knew that this matter couldn't simply be blamed on Tang Hao; in fact, Tang Hao was also a victim, and everything was Spirit Hall's fault!
If Qian Xunji hadn't coveted Tang Hao's wife's spirit ring and Spirit Bone, and if Spirit Hall's strength hadn't surpassed the Clear Sky Sect's, then none of the subsequent events would have happened.
Tang Xiong's words were like a sharp knife, fiercely stabbing Tang Lie in the waist.
Tang Lie, burning with anger, stared fixedly at Tang Xiao and Tang Xiong, clenching his fists, but he couldn't say anything more.
The First Elder had died in battle back then, and now the Second Elder Tang Xiong was the Clear Sky Sect's second-in-command, while Sect Master Tang Xiao was the first-in-command; since both of them had spoken, wouldn't Tang Lie's further opposition be disregarding the great righteousness of the Sect?
Tang Xiao brought up the great righteousness of the Sect, and not only did Seventh Elder Tang Lie fall silent, but Third Elder Tang Yan, Fifth Elder Tang Ling, and Sixth Elder Tang Li also fell silent.
Perhaps outsiders found it difficult to understand the meaning of the word 'Sect', but for these Sect disciples, the interests of the Sect were indeed above all else.
Just like Tang Hao, he could sever his right arm and left leg for the Sect, only to return the two inherited Spirit Bones the Sect had given him back then.
Of course, this also didn't rule out that Tang Hao wanted to get rid of old injuries, and had the Blue Silver Emperor Left Leg Bone's Soul Bone Skill: 'Wildfire Burns Endlessly, Spring Breeze Blows Anew' as a fallback.
Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School.
"Brother Chen, you're back?"
Ning Rongrong immediately rushed towards Ye Chen after seeing him and Xiao Wu return.
Feeling the softness in his arms, Ye Chen stroked Ning Rongrong's head: "Rongrong, did you miss me?"
"Mm-hmm."
Ning Rongrong nodded.
"Then tonight, shall we play something more exciting?"
Ye Chen leaned over and whispered into Ning Rongrong's ear.
Ning Rongrong blushed and didn't speak, just nodded silently.
"Ahem, Brother Chen, are we returning to Heaven Dou City?"
Zhu Zhuqing, who was beside them, asked Ye Chen.
"Hmm? Zhuqing, thinking of going back?"
Ye Chen looked at Zhu Zhuqing in surprise, could it be that Da Mao Mi was tired of staying at the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School?
"You and Xiao Wu aren't here, and Rongrong always bullies me!"
Zhu Zhuqing said softly.
They say when in Rome, do as the Romans do, and Zhu Zhuqing had been bullied quite a bit by Ning Rongrong these past few days; when it came to being mischievous, how could she be a match for Ning Rongrong, that little pervert?
It's unclear if it was a bad habit learned from Ye Chen, but Ning Rongrong was very restless when resting every night, always loving to play unusual little games.
If Ye Chen had been there, Ning Rongrong would naturally have played with Ye Chen, but with Ye Chen gone, her Da Mao Mi suffered Ning Rongrong's wandering hands.
"Rongrong, you're not being good, how can you bully Zhuqing?"
Hearing this, Ye Chen immediately put on a stern face, feigning displeasure.
"Exactly, exactly, Rongrong, how can you bully me?"
Someone 'upheld justice', and Zhu Zhuqing immediately chimed in.
Just as Ning Rongrong opened her mouth, ready to explain, she heard Ye Chen pat his chest and speak again: "Rongrong, you can't enjoy such good things alone, count me in!"
Zhu Zhuqing: "..."
"Hehe~, wasn't I helping Brother Chen inspect Zhuqing's Da Mao Mi?"
Saying that, Ning Rongrong even stepped forward and pinched her.
"Hmph~, you're all bullying me, Xiao Wu is the best!"
Swatting away Ning Rongrong's mischievous little hand, Zhu Zhuqing snorted softly, ignored the two, and turned to hug Xiao Wu.
Xiao Wu: "???"
After some playful banter, Ye Chen brought up the main topic: "Xiao Wu, Rongrong, Zhuqing, for the next period of time, I plan to go out for training."
As for the place of training, that was naturally Slaughter City.
Of course, saying it was training wasn't wrong, but the most important thing was still to pick up girls.
Additionally, the effect of the Slaughter God Domain was still good; within the Domain, one's own strength could be increased by 10%, and the opponent's strength weakened by 10%; this one-up, one-down, was a 20% difference.
Ye Chen: All the girls shall be mine! If he frowned, he wouldn't be a true man!
"Brother, where are you going? I want to go too!"
Xiao Wu was a bit confused; Ye Chen was fine, so why did he suddenly want to go out for training?
"I can't take you with me for this; it's a bit dangerous there. I can protect myself, but I'm not confident I can protect you."
Ye Chen shook his head, making up an excuse.
Although Slaughter City was dangerous, he could still protect the girls' safety; it was just that he was going to pick up girls this time, so it wouldn't be good to bring other girls, would it?
"Ah~, then how long will you be gone?"
Ning Rongrong was a bit troubled; no one would be there to play interactive little games with her anymore.
"Three months at the shortest, half a year at most."
Except for the Slaughter Gods who had already obtained the Slaughter God Domain, to leave Slaughter City after entering, one either had to achieve a hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughterfield and pass the Hell Road, or directly use powerful strength to fight their way out of Slaughter City.
And accumulating a hundred consecutive victories in the Hell Slaughterfield, the time required was not very certain.
If there were enough participants, he could quickly accumulate a hundred consecutive victories; if it was slow, the time was uncertain.
But Ye Chen would stay in Slaughter City for a maximum of half a year, because in about half a year, he would be able to raise his spirit power level to 90th Level Quasi-Titled Douluo, and adapt to the surging spirit power caused by the increase in spirit ring age.
At that time, it would be just right to go to the Star Dou Great Forest to kill that Blood-colored Datura and advance to Titled Douluo.
If the number of people in the Hell Slaughterfield was insufficient and he couldn't achieve a hundred consecutive victories in a short time, Ye Chen wasn't worried; he would just use some means to make those Fallen Ones actively participate.
"Three months at the shortest, half a year at the longest?"
The three of them were stunned, not expecting Ye Chen to be away for so long.
Since they had met, it was the first time they would be separated for such a long time, especially Xiao Wu; the two had grown up together after meeting at Notting College.
"Don't worry, you all wait for me obediently here, and by then, your husband will be the number one expert in the world!"
Ye Chen was confident that once he advanced to a nine-ring Titled Douluo, completed his last spirit ring and Spirit Bone, his level should be above 92nd Level Titled Douluo, and by then, a full set of 100,000-year spirit rings and 100,000-year Spirit Bones would definitely allow him to be invincible throughout the world.
If it were someone else, a full set of 100,000-year spirit rings and Spirit Bones might not be able to defeat a 99th level Titled Douluo due to a lower spirit power level.
But Ye Chen was different; with his Soul Bone Skill: 'Emerging from Mud, Yet Untainted' for damage immunity, and Thorn Guardian for physical damage immunity and melee reflection, he was confident he would be no weaker than a super Douluo, even if his spirit power level was a bit lower.
"Hmph~, conceited! Number one expert in the world, indeed! When you come back, I'll punish you by making you fetch us foot-washing water!"
Ning Rongrong sniffed and rolled her eyes at Ye Chen.
"Hmm? Rongrong, are you looking for a spanking? See how I'll deal with you tonight!"
Ye Chen glared fiercely at Ning Rongrong.
"Then come on~! See what you can do to me!"
Ning Rongrong put her left hand on her hip and hooked her finger at Ye Chen with her right hand.
Ye Chen: "..."