Chapter 109 – 126. Yue Guan Visits the Four Clans
After Spirit Hall departed from the Clear Sky Sect—or rather, from what was now mockingly renamed Rat's Den—the survivors were left standing before the wreckage, consumed by disgrace.
Tang Xiao raised his head and looked up at the massive plaque on their mountain gate, where the words "Rat's Den" were carved in bold strokes. Humiliation churned in his chest. For someone who had lived through the glorious era of Tang Chen, such degradation was impossible to bear.
"Damn Spirit Hall," Tang Xiao growled through gritted teeth. "They're taking advantage because Grandfather is gone, thinking they can trample us however they please!"
(In truth, the reason Spirit Hall didn't utterly annihilate the Clear Sky Sect likely stemmed from two things: first, Qian Xunji wasn't actually killed by Tang Hao; second, Spirit Hall wanted to leave a thread of mercy—a chance to meet again in the future. In the original timeline, Qian Daoliu avoided slaughtering the sect because Tang Chen had become a god and vanished into the unknown, remaining a potential threat. But in this version, where Tang Chen was confirmed trapped within the divine examination trials with no way out, Spirit Hall could crush the Clear Sky Sect completely without fear.)
At the mention of Tang Chen, the survivors—these broken "rats"—fell into nostalgia. The sect's downfall had happened so suddenly and so completely that most of them had either lived in or immediately after Tang Chen's era, when the Clear Sky Sect was still shining brilliantly.
Now plunged into the abyss, they couldn't help but long for those former days.
"Old Sect Master Tang Chen," one of them cried, "come back and see what's become of your Clear Sky Sect!"
"Old Sect Master Tang Chen," lamented another, "when you were here, Spirit Hall didn't dare bully us like this! Please, return!"
Voices rose from dozens of throats, echoing with grief across the mountains. The wailing soon turned sour.
"Why did you go to take the divine assessment, Tang Chen? If not for that, our Clear Sky Sect wouldn't have fallen to this state," one shouted bitterly.
Another snorted, "So selfish! You abandoned the sect for the sake of love—now look at us, ruined because of your choices!"
"Yes!" a third cried. "Tang Chen, if you were still here, would our sect ever have been humiliated like this?"
Tang Xiao's eyes flared red, his breath heaving. "How dare you speak that way! Grandfather had his reasons. Without him, we never would have achieved our former glory. All this happened because of Tang Hao, not him!"
The others fell silent. Their rage still burned, but deep down, they knew Tang Chen was the sect's spiritual cornerstone. Whatever his descendants had done, no one dared truly curse him. To the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Chen's name was sacred.
Tang Lie muttered bitterly, "Tang Hao's crimes are unforgivable—but you, Tang Xiao, aren't innocent either. This catastrophe started because you and that beast were fighting over a hundred-thousand-year soul beast's breeding rights."
Tang Xiao's eyes went crimson. "What did you just say?!"
And thus, once again, chaos broke out in Rat's Den as old grievances turned into fresh conflict.
Meanwhile, elsewhere—when Spirit Hall attacked the Clear Sky Sect, the single-attribute Four Great Clans were largely spared. Despite once swearing allegiance under Tang Chen's threat, their loyalty to the sect had always been superficial. Even their most devoted member, Tai Tan, had given his heart not to the sect but to Tang Hao himself. So after the fall of the Clear Sky Sect, they quietly slipped away.
The four clan chiefs—Niu Gao, Bai He, Yang Wudi, and Tai Tan—hurried home after surviving the ordeal.
Bai He sighed. "The mighty Clear Sky Sect, the peerless Battlehammer Spirit… who would have thought that a sect once so glorious could fall so low?"
Yang Wudi shook his head. "All because Tang Tian raised a beast instead of a man. Without that wretch, the Clear Sky Sect could've lasted a thousand more years even without Tang Chen."
Bai He fell into deep thought. He still remembered visiting the sect in his youth and witnessing the martial spirit awakening of Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. He recalled how Tang Chen, seated proudly on the sect throne, had declared, 'What a blessed descendant—prosperous for three generations!' That phrase had stuck with him ever since. Now, looking back, it all felt bitterly ironic.
At that moment, Tai Tan puffed up his chest. "Careful with your words. None of this is my master's fault! He only defended himself. If the Clear Sky Sect hadn't forced his hand, things never would've come to this!"
"Enough," Niu Gao interrupted quickly as tension rose. "Let's not start fighting among ourselves now. We have other matters to worry about."
"What matters?" asked Tai Tan blankly, scratching his head.
Yang Wudi rolled his eyes. "Are your brains made of muscle too? The Spirit Hall may have attacked the Clear Sky Sect, but we're its affiliates. Do you really think they'll spare us?"
Tai Tan slammed a fist into his palm. "Are you calling me stupid, goat?"
Yang Wudi coldly brought forth his Breaking Soul Spear. "Say that again, ape."
"Stop it!" Bai He said firmly. "Now's not the time. We need to figure out what to do next."
Niu Gao proposed, "In our current situation, the best chance we have is to join forces temporarily. United, we might survive what's coming."
The others exchanged glances and nodded in agreement.
When they returned to their respective base, they were stunned to find someone already sitting in their shared meeting hall—a strikingly beautiful man with an unsettling hint of masculinity, complete with a visible Adam's apple.
"Well, well," the man said in a languid voice. "You certainly made me wait long enough."
"Who are you?" Tai Tan snapped, his temper ignited. "You dare trespass into our Four Clans' hall!" He summoned his Martial Spirit—his body swelling with muscle as the Strength Ape emerged—and punched at the intruder with all his might.
The androgynous man smiled faintly. A single dainty chrysanthemum bloomed before him, effortlessly blocking Tai Tan's full-powered strike.
The flower's petals then split apart like blades, slashing Tai Tan's skin in dozens of shallow cuts—not fatal, but agonizing. Within seconds, the mighty Tai Tan was soaked in his own blood.
Niu Gao, Yang Wudi, and Bai He went rigid with alarm. Anyone who could injure Tai Tan so easily had to be a Title Douluo.
With elegant grace, the stranger approached Tai Tan, plucked one of the embedded flower-blades from his flesh, and drew it out slowly. Blood sprayed from the wound as Tai Tan screamed in pain.
Ignoring him completely, the stranger smiled pleasantly and said, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Yue Guan, Title—Chrysanthemum. Elder Guardian of the Pope's Palace in Spirit Hall."
(END CHAPTER)
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