Seeing the expression on his face, Qian Renxue's previously composed and icy features turned as cold as frozen ice in an instant. But right now she had no time to reprimand the Serpent Douluo. She urgently said, "Quick, Uncle She, forget about me—go and mobilize all our people. Seal off the imperial palace and capture Tang San and the others. We absolutely cannot let them escape with Emperor Xue Ye."
The Serpent Douluo hesitated. "But what about the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan?"
Qian Renxue said decisively, "We can't worry about that anymore. As long as we seize Emperor Xue Ye, or confirm that he's dead, we still have a chance. Xue Qinghe must ascend to the throne—otherwise, everything will have been for nothing."
Spirit Hall still had two other Titled Douluo inside the imperial palace. As long as they led a large number of Spirit Hall Soul Masters in a siege, it would be impossible for Tang San and the others to escape. The only thing the Serpent Douluo hadn't dared tell Qian Renxue was that a not-insignificant amount of time had already passed since her earlier collapse.
The Serpent Douluo nodded, leaving Qian Renxue behind, and shot into the air, vanishing in the blink of an eye. Watching his departing figure, Qian Renxue suddenly seemed to lose all her strength and collapsed to the ground, murmuring, "I hope it's still in time. Tang San, oh Tang San—could you really be the bane of my existence? Even with victory so firmly in my grasp, you still manage to cause me this much trouble."
After catching her breath for a moment, some color returned to Qian Renxue's face. She glanced at the Porcupinefish Douluo beside her, stained red with blood, and forced herself to gather her spirits. After putting on the Xue Qinghe mask once more, she slowly released the meager Angel Soul Power within her body, enveloping both herself and the Porcupinefish Douluo to aid in his recovery.
Half a shi chen later, under the influence of the Angel Soul Power, Qian Renxue's injuries had recovered to over fifty percent, and the Porcupinefish Douluo had regained consciousness. Just as she was impatiently eager to take control of the situation in the palace, the Serpent Douluo returned.
"Uncle She, what's the situation?" Qian Renxue asked eagerly.
She Long's face was ashen. "Tang San and the others have already escaped. They took Emperor Xue Ye with them. However, we still control the palace. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan hasn't discovered our movements and remains trapped within their clan grounds without seizing the opportunity to come out."
Qian Renxue stumbled, the light in her eyes dimming in an instant. "It's over. It's all over now. One move lost, and the entire game is lost."
The Serpent Douluo, She Long, couldn't help saying, "Young Mistress, the palace is still under our control. Besides, Xue Ye was poisoned deeply and is certain to die. As long as we announce the Emperor's death and smoothly proceed with the succession, we can deal with those people later!"
Qian Renxue smiled bitterly. "You underestimate Tang San far too much. How would he ever give me that kind of opportunity? Tang San and Dugu Bo are both skilled in the use of poison—especially Dugu Bo, that Titled Douluo. He's already temporarily saved Xue Ye's life several times before. If they find that Xue Ye's poison truly cannot be cured, they can simply have him temporarily regain consciousness to take command. But they've chosen to take Xue Ye away instead—which means they have the confidence to cure him again. Don't forget, at Shrek Academy, there are still over a thousand students and more than two thousand royal Soul Masters. When those three thousand people combine forces with Xue Ye himself present and return to the palace, what do you think the imperial guards and the royal Soul Masters inside the palace will do? They'll immediately turn against us. Although we brought a fair number of people from Spirit Hall, we absolutely cannot contend with them inside Tian Dou City. Perhaps both sides would suffer, but in the end, it would be our forces that are completely annihilated."
She Long gritted his teeth. "Young Mistress, let us old ones give it a try. Not counting Ci Xue, we still have three Titled Douluo-level powerhouses. As long as we can assassinate Xue Ye, we can regain control of the situation."
Qian Renxue shook her head silently. "Uncle She, it's too late. Under normal circumstances, this wouldn't be a problem. But now that Tang San and the others have rescued Xue Ye, how do you think they'll protect him? Relay my orders—mobilize all Spirit Hall personnel, along with the two thousand royal Soul Masters inside the palace. Tonight, we strike the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Use the two thousand royal Soul Masters as cannon fodder. Even if we fail this time, we must completely destroy the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. Otherwise, we'll be raising a tiger that will become a threat, and in the future they will certainly bring us enormous trouble."
Hearing Qian Renxue's words, She Long was horrified to discover that she intended to abandon years of planning. "Young Mistress, you've been infiltrated in the Tian Dou imperial palace for so many years—are we really, really just going to give it all up?"
Qian Renxue took a deep breath. Twenty years of infiltration! Although she had maintained herself well, her actual age was roughly the same as Xue Qinghe's. The most beautiful ten years of her youth had been spent in deep cover, using a special transformation technique every day to alter her figure and present herself as a man. To fail like this—how could she accept it? But Qian Renxue, though a woman, possessed the temperament of a generation's supreme leader. She understood the current situation all too clearly. Though she was unwilling to admit it, this time she had truly lost. Lost to Tang San.
"When it's time to cut, cut—otherwise you'll only bring yourself greater chaos. Uncle She, relay my orders. After we crush the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan, we immediately leave Tian Dou City. There will be plenty of opportunities in the future." Gritting her silver teeth, Qian Renxue gazed in the direction of Shrek Academy, breathing hard in the less-than-pure air, her mind filled with the handsome features of the one she had come to regard as her lifelong rival.
Once outside the palace, Tang San suddenly realized something and turned to ask Flandre behind him, "Headmaster Flandre, how many Soul Masters are stationed outside the academy? Are they from the Tian Dou imperial family, or from Spirit Hall?"
Flandre said, "They shouldn't be from the Tian Dou imperial family. We specifically had the royal Soul Masters training at the academy identify them—they're not our people. The number is approximately one thousand."
Tang San's pupils contracted slightly. "Qian Renxue really wasn't lying to me. Elder Yang Wudi, would you please take Old Monster back to our Tang Sect and immediately begin treating Emperor Xue Ye. Headmaster Flandre, you and Teacher, along with Teacher Er Long, return to the academy. Mobilize a portion of the higher-level Soul Masters. Later, our Tang Sect forces will arrive at the academy, and we'll attack from both sides to crush that Soul Master unit."
In truth, Yang Wudi alone escorting Emperor Xue Ye back to the Tang Sect would have been sufficient. But Emperor Xue Ye was simply too important. With Dugu Bo present, the two could watch each other's backs—as long as they didn't encounter more than two Titled Douluo, there would be no problems.
Flandre frowned slightly. "Xiao San, wouldn't that be too risky? The academy students aren't particularly strong, and even counting the Four Elements Academy instructors, there are only about fifty teachers."
Tang San said, "Qian Renxue mentioned earlier that Spirit Hall infiltrated a total of three thousand Soul Masters this time. Two thousand of them, along with over two thousand royal Soul Masters, are holding the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan. The Titled Douluo she brought, aside from the two who confronted us earlier, have the remaining two over there as well. That means among the thousand Soul Masters outside our academy, there isn't a single Titled Douluo-level existence. For us, this is an excellent opportunity. Our Tang Sect also has roughly a thousand Soul Masters, primarily from the Single Element Four Clans. While each of the Single Element Four Clans has individual weaknesses, together they complement each other perfectly. With three Soul Douluo-level clan chiefs leading them, their strength absolutely won't be inferior to the opposition. The academy's teachers are all powerhouses, and together you form a force no less formidable than a Titled Douluo. Defeating the enemy should present no problem at all."
Flandre asked, "Then why not bring Emperor Xue Ye along? With him there, we should be able to mobilize those royal Soul Masters."
Before Tang San could open his mouth, the Great Master had already negated Flandre's suggestion. "That's impossible. If they see us bringing along a poisoned Emperor Xue Ye, it would likely have the opposite effect."
A look of hesitation flickered in Tang San's eyes. After a long moment, he let out a sigh. "Forget it. Let them go. We'll all head to the academy together and simply drive those Soul Masters off. I have to consider the casualties among the Tang Sect disciples. It's a pity our Hidden Weapons aren't ready yet."
Hearing his words, everyone nodded—Yang Wudi being the exception, though the way he looked at Tang San clearly carried something more than before.
However, some things seemed to be fated by the heavens. When they arrived near Shrek Academy, the area had already been transformed into a battlefield. To everyone's surprise, the total number of Soul Masters engaged in combat exceeded three thousand—and among them, there wasn't a single Soul Master from Shrek Academy.
Brilliant, dazzling lights crisscrossed through the air. Of the two sides, one had completely collapsed—only a few hundred Soul Masters remained, sandwiched between two forces totaling over two thousand, on the verge of total annihilation.
The remaining few hundred Soul Masters at the center belonged to Spirit Hall. The two forces that were steadily swallowing them up—on the left side at the forefront stood two Soul Masters of extremely imposing stature. Eight Soul Rings blazed on each of them, and they advanced like living battering rams.
The Soul Master on the left didn't bother defending at all, simply allowing the opponents' attacks to land on his body, while the powerful Soul Master beside him continuously unleashed fierce, devastating strikes. The besieged several hundred Soul Masters had to dispatch five or six Soul Saints just to barely hold them back.
But the Soul Masters on the attacking side maintained razor-sharp coordination. They had formed near-perfect formations—groups of four, with one swift figure disrupting the enemy while among the remaining three, one defended and two attacked. Their formidable power combined with sharp Soul-Breaking Spears drove their opponents relentlessly backward, leaving corpse after corpse in their wake. And it was extremely difficult for the enemy to inflict any damage on them, because the Soul Master responsible for defense within each four-person squad possessed truly absurd defensive capability. As long as the level gap didn't exceed ten ranks, no Soul Skill could hope to harm them.
These Soul Masters on the offensive were none other than forces from the Tang Sect—the former Soul Masters of the Single Element Four Clans. They had received word from White Crane and were retreating in this direction. They had head-on encountered Spirit Hall's thousand Soul Masters, and just as they were deliberating whether to engage, nearly two thousand more Soul Masters suddenly appeared on the other side. The moment Titan saw the Soul Skills being used by the forces opposite, he ordered an immediate full assault without the slightest hesitation. Because among the other group attacking in concert with them, those brilliant, flashing lights of every color were none other than the radiance of the world's number one auxiliary Martial Soul—the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Pagoda.
Although they couldn't understand why so many Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan Soul Masters had appeared here, Tang San naturally wouldn't pass up the opportunity before his eyes. And he didn't even need to say anything—the Great Master, Flandre, and Liu Erlong had already sprung forward, Yang Wudi had returned directly to the Tang Sect's ranks to command his own Soul Breaker clan, and only Dugu Bo remained behind to protect Tang San and the barely-alive Emperor Xue Ye.
The evolved Luo Sanpao appeared once more. With as many as twenty Soul Rings supplementary, it used just a single skill it had never employed before—and completely shattered the last defensive line of Spirit Hall's remaining Soul Masters.
Golden diamond-shaped scales gleamed with dazzling brilliance under the sunlight. Luo Sanpao suddenly opened its great mouth, inhaling the air with the ravenous hunger of a great whale drinking from the sea. Its lower abdomen swelled dramatically with the influx of air, expanding instantly—in just a moment, its body had ballooned into an enormous sphere, much like the Porcupinefish Douluo when he had activated his Martial Soul True Body. If the Porcupinefish Douluo were here now, he would be small potatoes by comparison.
The spherical body showed not the slightest clumsiness as it spun nimbly in the air, aiming its rotund rear end directly at Spirit Hall's remaining Soul Masters.
BOOM—
Tang San watched in stunned disbelief as a dense cloud of golden-yellow mist erupted from behind Luo Sanpao. The thunderous vibration temporarily stunned every Soul Master below the Soul Douluo level within a three-hundred-meter radius into rigidity. Wherever the golden mist reached, Spirit Hall Soul Masters fell like wheat being scythed.
"Now this is what you call farting like thunder—the Heaven-Rending Earth-Shattering Luo Sanpao!" The incantation that the Great Master had once spoken was still deeply seared into Tang San's memory. In its Golden Sacred Dragon state, Luo Sanpao had finally unleashed the true, terrifying power of its signature ability.
The remainder of the battle held no suspense whatsoever. The full one thousand Soul Masters of Spirit Hall were completely annihilated. Perhaps because the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan had accumulated so much hatred, after the battle concluded, less than thirty percent of Spirit Hall's thousand Soul Masters were still alive—all taken prisoner. The rest had already lost all signs of life. They had finally returned a portion of the slaughter that Spirit Hall had once inflicted upon the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan.
With the battle over, the four great elders and hall masters of the Tang Sect came to Tang San's side and bowed slightly. "Sect Master." Whether it was Yang Wudi, who had entered the battle last, or the other three elders, their faces were all filled with barely concealable excitement.
How many years had it been? Ever since the Clear Sky Sect had announced its seclusion, the Single Element Four Clans had been oppressed throughout the Soul Master world. The Clear Sky Sect's withdrawal, all of it—everything stemmed from Spirit Hall. Today's great battle, the complete annihilation of the enemy, had finally given them a chance to hold their heads high.
Tang San smiled. "Elders, you've all worked hard. How were our casualties?"
Titan laughed heartily. "Very light losses. Most people sustained injuries, but nothing serious. We actually had it pretty easy, to be honest. By the time we arrived, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Clan's forces had already clashed with those Spirit Hall dogs. We didn't even need to ask—we could more or less figure out what happened. They did the heavy attacking; we just blocked the Spirit Hall forces and prevented them from fleeing. Plus, Old Rhino and the Defense Hall disciples are tough as city walls—unless it's a catastrophic defeat, our losses will never be too heavy."