Chapter 91: with translation of chapter title

Heaven Fighting City, Moon Pavilion.

The purple-clad youth paced anxiously in the room; after he agreed to become an undercover agent for the Spirit Hall, his leg was healed by Qian Renxue.

——As an undercover agent, ever since meeting Qian Renxue a week ago, Aode has been living in constant anxiety.

On one hand, he worries about being discovered by the Clear Sky Sect as a Spirit Hall undercover agent; on the other hand, he fears being discarded by the Spirit Hall after they've used him.

Aode knows full well that the people of the Spirit Hall cannot be trusted to keep their word, but he has no retreat; he is a coward afraid of death, and Aode clearly understands that if he had refused them then, he would have met a grim fate—better to live in ignoble hiding than to die outright.

Suddenly, with a 'coo-coo' call, a gray-white pigeon flew in from outside the window, a message tube tied to its leg.

This is a messenger pigeon bred by the original affiliated Mi clan of the Clear Sky Sect; although the Mi clan has now severed ties with the Clear Sky Sect, the pigeons they bred were nevertheless retained.

"Finally here!" The arrival of the letter instantly lifted Aode's spirits; his heart began to pound strongly due to his own betrayal, he involuntarily clenched his fist, then weakly released it.

Aode took the letter from the pigeon's leg, gave it some food, and let the bird rest comfortably in the room for a while.

This is the reply from the Clear Sky Sect; Aode felt a mix of excitement and apprehension.

The message on the letter was brief, consisting of only four characters.

——Operation begins.

In a room near Spirit Hall City, there were roughly thirty or more gray-robed people standing behind two white-haired, sturdy old men.

These two elders are none other than the Clear Sky Sect's Grand Elder Tang Ming and Sixth Elder Tang Yuran, both standing about two meters tall and exuding a formidable presence.

Standing before the two elders, Aode couldn't help feeling a bit nervous; in the Clear Sky Sect he was merely a minor offshoot member.

Tang Yuran stood before the direct disciples he had brought from the Clear Sky Sect, his gaze icy as he looked at Aode, revealing no emotion in his tone.

"So you mean you have the route to the secret chamber where Yuehua is imprisoned?"

Aode said respectfully, "The Snow Night Emperor once gifted his consort a thousand-year right-leg soul bone to win her favor; this soul bone's skill allows one to locate anyone who has been marked, and also to scout enemy positions. To let me protect her at all times, she had me absorb this soul bone."

"Oh? Release your soul bone skill and show us."

"Yes!"

Aode's expression turned grave; he gave a low shout, and the thousand-year right-leg bone instantly flashed with a strange light.

The air in the room seemed to grow viscous due to the soul bone skill he had released.

The light was not blinding, yet it carried a mysterious azure hue, as if it could pierce any obstacle.

The light rippled through the room like water, spreading silently to every corner.

Though the light appeared faint, it held a special power, quickly forming a blue map with a red dot appearing on it—this was precisely the location of Tang Yuehua.

The teacup on the table trembled slightly, seemingly affected by this force as well.

Tang Yuran and Tang Ming exchanged a glance, and he remarked in surprise, "Interesting—although this is only a thousand-year soul bone, the unique ability it displays is not to be underestimated. Aode, you have rendered great merit this time! Once we bring Yuehua back to the sect, I will personally petition the sect leader for your reward."

The Spirit Hall is truly thoughtful, having prepared everything for him; this soul bone was indeed given to him by Qian Renxue, and its skill truly can locate marked individuals—but because the soul bone is three thousand years old, it can only clearly show people within three kilometers, making its actual usefulness for searching rather poor, and the red dot on this map is therefore false.

Aode let out a sigh of relief, then said, "Elders, when shall we begin the rescue operation? The sooner we act, the better; otherwise, I fear my consort will suffer persecution at the hands of the Spirit Hall."

Tang Yuran waved his hand, saying, "Don't rush; first let the offshoot disciples draw the Spirit Hall's attention, then the direct disciples can act, which will also reduce some losses."

"Cough," Tang Ming coughed once, signaling Tang Yuran to say less; how could he speak such divisive words in front of the offshoot disciples?

Aode's face fell; what did the Sixth Elder mean—are the lives of offshoot disciples not lives too? Tang Yuran also realized his words were inappropriate and quickly added, "Once we return to the Clear Sky Sect, Aode, you may live together with the direct disciples and enjoy their treatment."

Aode lowered his head, hiding the coldness in his eyes from Tang Yuran; after a moment of silence he said, "Young man, thank you, Sixth Elder, for your favor—I will surely not disappoint your expectations! Bring my consort back!"

This is because your main branch first showed no kindness to us offshoots, so don't blame me, Aode, for acting unjustly.

Spirit Hall.

The towering hall loomed gloomy and menacing in the moonlight, its outline vague and indistinct; the dim moonlight fell on the glazed tiles, casting a cold, faint glow.

Occasionally, a patrolling hall guard knight walked by, his footsteps echoing in the silence and sounding especially clear.

Not long ago, the Spirit Hall's pope had just been replaced, and the Spirit Hall was riding high; under normal circumstances, no one would dare provoke it at this time.

But just then, an explosion no one expected erupted on the Spirit Hall's martial soul plaza.

The commotion from the explosion immediately startled the entire Spirit Hall.

The hall guard knights practically rushed to the blast site the moment the attack occurred.

A large number of knights surrounded the blast site, unaware that this explosion, from start to finish, was merely a suicidal feint by the Clear Sky Sect's offshoot disciples—a ploy to lure the tiger away from the mountain and strike east while pretending to strike west.

The Clear Sky Sect, long oppressed by the Spirit Hall, could no longer restrain itself and prepared to bare its fangs at the Spirit Hall.

But they did not realize that this counteroffensive, which would let them hold their heads high, was doomed to fail from the very start.

The Spirit Hall's original tranquility was suddenly shattered.

Grand Elder Tang Ming and Sixth Elder Tang Yuran led over thirty Clear Sky Sect disciples forth like a surging torrent, the Clear Sky Hammers in their hands flashing with a cold light.

Tang Ming raised his Clear Sky Hammer aloft, eight powerful soul rings coiling around it, lightning crackling along its surface as he roared, "All members of the Clear Sky Sect, advance! Today we must rescue Yuehua!"

Sixth Elder Tang Yuran was also a Soul Douluo, his Clear Sky Hammer wreathed in roaring flames, as if seeking to burn away every obstacle.

The more than thirty disciples behind him surrounded Aode in the center, each gripping a radiant Clear Sky Hammer, their soul power surging, their momentum like a rainbow.

Taking advantage of the Spirit Hall's attention being drawn to the offshoot disciples, they moved like the wind, darting swiftly between the buildings of the Spirit Hall, kicking up a fierce gust.

Wherever they passed, bricks and stones shattered, dust and sand flying.

Tang Ming and the others fixed their gaze, their steps unceasing, as they charged furiously toward the secret chamber imprisoning Tang Yuehua.

Under the moonlight, those Clear Sky Hammers glittered like shining stars.

Unidentified assailants attacked the Spirit Hall, but because all the hall guard knights had gone to the martial soul plaza, the Spirit Hall's interior was left "undefended."

In the passage leading to the secret chamber, Tang Ming also felt a twinge of worry—was this too smooth? As he led the way, he told Aode, "Aode, keep using your soul bone to locate Yuehua's position; once we find the target, we'll withdraw quickly after the rescue!"

Hardly had his words finished when Tang Ming heard screams from behind; moments later, several powerful surges of soul power erupted from the rear of the Clear Sky Sect's force.

The Clear Sky Sect disciples cried out in panic, their faces urgent: "Elder, there's an ambush!"

"Retreat, retreat quickly!"

Upon hearing these words, Tang Ming was instantly hit by soul skills of various colors, his robes torn to shreds and his flesh and blood mangled.

Tang Ming let out a muffled groan, his tall, sturdy body also collapsing to his knees on the ground.

But he was after all a strong-attack Soul Douluo who pursued power; even a ferocious barrage of soul skills from a Spirit Hall squad could not completely kill him.

"Ah——!"

"No——I don't want to die!"

"All those torn apart by soul skills behind him are the direct bloodline of the Clear Sky Sect that grew up here!" Tang Ming's heart bled; he lifted his head, widened his blood-red tiger eyes, and stared fixedly at the several silhouettes slowly emerging from behind the Spirit Hall's underlings.

Spiny Porcupine Douluo, Snake Spear Douluo, Raging Lion Douluo, Chrysanthemum Douluo!

Exactly thirty-six soul rings circled around them.

Qian Renxue had long arranged for the Clear Sky Sect's people to face a Titled Douluo squad meant to finish them off; for extra safety she specially summoned four, after all the Clear Sky Sect possesses the Blast Ring, the Great Sumeru Hammer, and the Nine Absolutes of the Clear Sky—this is also to prevent the Clear Sky Sect from resorting to desperate measures.

Tang Ming's pupils suddenly contracted, a feeling of desperate helplessness welling up in his chest: "Four... four Titled Douluo..."

He bitterly swallowed, shook his head, his eyes filled with a resolve to die.

"Yu Ran, take Ade and keep moving forward; I'll cover the rear!"

"But!"

"No buts! Get moving now! Obey orders!"

The eight optimal soul rings on Tang Ming's body all lit up, then he cleanly and swiftly activated the Nine Absolutes of the Clear Sky; nine powerful methods of exerting force merged into one, a mighty aura emanating from within him.

The huge azure Clear Sky Hammer rose against the storm, directly bursting through the narrow passage.

Tang Ming declared with domineering aura, his white-streaked hair fluttering in the wind, his muscles bulging all over, making him appear extraordinarily stalwart.

"Let see who can get past me! Hammer shakes heaven and earth!"

After a while, Tang Ming was poisoned, his soul power depleted, his body bearing multiple wounds from the Snake Spear Douluo, and his Clear Sky Hammer in hand was directly blown away by the sixth soul skill of the Chrysanthemum Douluo.

He lifted his head, the Raging Lion Douluo's lion palm continually enlarging in his vision.

"——Bang!"

Clean and decisive, with no extra motion.

The Raging Lion Douluo slowly retracted his lion palm.

Before him stood a body nearly two meters tall, stalwart and strong, knees on the ground, blood spattering from his crushed skull onto the Raging Lion Douluo's splendid red robe.

Clear Sky Sect Grand Elder, Tang Ming, dead.

……

The Clear Sky Sect assault ended in a swift, crushing defeat.

The Clear Sky Sect had stepped into Qian Renxue's trap before rescuing Tang Yuehua, leaving only a few members of the rescue team.

In the passage leading to a secret chamber, the few who had managed to escape wore torn gray robes, weakly leaning against the corridor walls.

The leader, Yu Ran, suddenly stood up, grabbed the collar of the somewhat panicked Ade beside him, his tiger eyes fixed tightly on Ade's eyes, and demanded:

"You bastard, how exactly did you lead the way! Didn't you say you could use soul bones to scout the surroundings?"

Ade struggled uneasily but couldn't break free; he also looked back at the Sixth Elder's eyes, gritted his teeth and said: "Elder, I... I also don't know what's going on; perhaps this is a plot by the Spirit Hall, and Madam may have already exposed our whereabouts."

Yu Ran's lips had turned slightly green from poison, his chest heaving; the intense fury made him want to kill Ade, but the situation still required Ade's soul bone ability. Yu Ran fell silent for a moment, then after a while said: "Hopefully that's really the case." He lowered Ade's collar; Ade also involuntarily sighed in relief, lowering his head, his eyes dark and inscrutable.

Yu Ran walked up to the man wounded by soul skills, his body continually bleeding, and asked anxiously:

"Can you still walk?"

The man shook his head, a hint of sorrow flashing in his eyes, and said bitterly:

"Sorry! Please look after my father's side from now on."

"You... kid, how am I supposed to explain this to your father, Sixth Uncle! If Lieyang finds out... how will he view me! We must leave together!"

As the two were immersed in their parting, they failed to notice behind them Ade's eyes flashing with a hint of killing intent; in his hand appeared two poisonous spines condensed by the Spiny Porcupine Douluo after seventy-seven forty-nine days of cultivation, a deadly toxin refined from the Spiny Porcupine's consumption of the Seven Phosphorus Azure Absolute Flower.

As long as this is plunged into the Sixth Elder's heart, even if he is a Soul Douluo, touching it means certain death!

He must deal with both of them; Yu Ran has already started to suspect him. After killing them and finding Tang Yuehua, bringing the lady back to the sect, he would truly have achieved a great merit! No matter how the Clear Sky Sect doubts, they could never suspect Tang Yuehua's head; he, Ade, who has risked life and death to rescue Tang Yuehua, might after saving the beauty even get a kiss; he dare not fantasize about that blond girl, thinking his rescued lady is fine anyway. Ade slowly approached the defenseless Yu Ran, covertly placing the spines in his abdomen, turning the toxic side toward Yu Ran's body.

"For my future, please—die!"

"Miss Lingyuan, kill him quickly!"

"Pfft!"

A fiery red feather pierced Ade's heart.

Even on his face before death, there remained a mad excitement; a piece of blue right leg bone in his corpse emitted a faint, flickering light.

The other two turned their heads warily, faces showing a hint of astonishment; the sudden scene caused these muscular brutes to suffer instant mental blackout.

At the bend of the passage were exactly their long-awaited rescue targets: Tang Yuehua and a beautiful woman with black short hair, whose martial soul is the Blazing Spirit Kite, firelight radiating, her body encircled by eight powerful soul rings.

Tang Yuehua looked rather disheveled, as if she had just escaped; indeed she had just escaped.

She encountered the Spirit Kite Miss who had also been imprisoned together by the Spirit Hall; hearing from the Spirit Kite Miss, she said that because her talent was decent, she had hopes of becoming a rare female Titled Douluo, the Spirit Hall had taken notice of her quality and forcibly seized her, preparing to make her the mother of the Angel lineage to bear children for them.

Apparently because a Titled Douluo was guarding her, the Spirit Kite Miss was not restricted in her soul power or movements.

She also heard the Spirit Hall's alarm, noticed the guarding Titled Douluo going to reinforce, and thus had the Spirit Kite Miss, a Soul Douluo, break the door of the secret chamber, allowing the two to escape.

Just as she was about to meet up with the Clear Sky Sect people, she saw the scene before her; fortunately she arrived in time, otherwise the Sixth Elder and the Seventh Elder's son would surely have died at the traitor's hands.

"Yuehua, how...?"

Yu Ran, who was never good at thinking, was dumbfounded on the spot, staring at Tang Yuehua with a bewildered face: How did Yuehua escape? And why did she kill Ade? Who is this Spirit Kite Miss?

"Now is not the time for a long story; listen to me: Ade is a traitor of the sect, you've been deceived by him, and the Spirit Kite Miss and I alike were both captured by the Spirit Hall."

Yu Ran also didn't think much; compared to the branch-line Ade, he naturally trusted the sect master's daughter Tang Yuehua more; he glanced at Ade's corpse, turned it over, and indeed found him clutching two poisonous spines radiating seven colors.

Yu Ran relaxed his guard against the Spirit Kite Miss, walked up to Tang Yuehua, and immediately said to her: "Yuehua, let's go quickly; if we still have this eight-ring Spirit Kite Miss assisting us, we might be able to escape together..."

But before the Sixth Elder could finish.

"Plop——!"

Another red feather pierced Tang Yu Ran's body, his heart directly pierced by the feather, blood splattering onto Tang Yue Hua's body.

"You——! You——!" Tang Yu Ran stared wide-eyed in disbelief, with a thump he finally collapsed powerlessly to his knees.

One of the Clear Sky Sect disciples who had been severely injured by a soul skill sensed something wrong, immediately tried to struggle to his feet, wanting to summon his own Clear Sky Hammer; although he was seriously injured, he was also a top-tier Soul Emperor powerhouse.

But his fate was the same as Tang Yu Ran's—caught off guard, he didn't even get to release his martial soul before the Spirit Kite's red feather pierced his heart.

Tang Yue Hua watched the scene before her, her mind going blank.

Meanwhile, deep in the passage, a golden, stunning figure walked out accompanied by the sound of applause.

Tang Yue Hua's body was smeared with Tang Yu Ran's blood, her body trembling slightly.

As if she had not yet awakened from a dream, Tang Yue Hua opened her mouth, incredulously gazing at the golden-haired girl whose image kept deepening in her heart, like a demon.

The golden-haired girl wore a satisfied, gentle smile, as if facing a play she loved dearly, she spoke with interest: "As expected of the daughter of the Clear Sky Sect's former sect master, these people still thought of saving you before their deaths—how moving their loyalty is!"

Qian Renxue elegantly stretched out her arms, as if wanting to embrace that loyal soul, she tilted her head, asking curiously, her gorgeous eyes full of thirst for knowledge.

"Then, seeing them die because of you, what are your feelings?"

"Miss Tang Yue Hua?"

"Urgh——!"

Tang Yue Hua suddenly bent over, opening her mouth wide, her trembling body trying to let out a shout to vent, but her throat seemed broken, she could only dry heave continuously without producing any sound.

"Heave——, heave——!"

Demon! This girl is nothing but a devil wearing an angel's skin!!

Tang Yue Hua tightly clenched her body, both hands gripping her neck, continuously panting.

At some point she was already tear-streaked, her body went limp, and she knelt on the ground.

Qian Renxue walked up to Tang Yue Hua and spoke softly: "The Clear Sky Sect dispatched a total of thirty-seven direct disciples, two hundred and seven branch disciples, plus Ode, who was just killed by the Spirit Kite you commanded, making two hundred and eight branch disciples in total."

Qian Renxue slowly paced around Tang Yue Hua's kneeling body.

"Without exception, they all died."

Upon hearing this, Tang Yue Hua's body involuntarily trembled—so many lives, all gone in just a moment.

"Besides this Elder Tang Yu Ran, the Clear Sky Sect also has an Elder named Tang Ming who came to save you—how about that, isn't it a pleasant surprise?"

"Grand Elder, even he……"

Qian Renxue looked at Tang Yue Hua, who was gritting her teeth, and said with a gentle smile:

"That Tang Ming is truly steadfast, actually opposing four Title Douluo single-handedly—befitting a Clear Sky Sect member, his head is just hard; you can tell he really wanted to save you, it's just a pity."

"It's a pity he died without even seeing your face."

Tang Yue Hua clenched her fists tightly, her tone devoid of any fluctuation.

"Kill me… it's my arrogance that killed them…"

She shouldn't have come to the Spirit Hall for that ridiculous vanity; these people died to save her, all for a rank-nine Soul Master, and a strong sense of guilt flooded Tang Yue Hua's mind.

She muttered, opening her mouth to say: "Your goal has already been achieved; the Clear Sky Sect has suffered countless casualties, this operation has severely weakened its vitality, the Clear Sky Sect can no longer oppose the Spirit Hall, keeping me is useless—I can no longer serve as bait…"

"The Clear Sky Sect could not possibly send anyone else to save me; kill me…"

Tang Yue Hua would rather die now than live the rest of her life in regret.

Qian Renxue seemed to hear something amusing, suddenly laughed, crouched down, looked into Tang Yue Hua's eyes and said: "Kill you?"

"I will not kill you."

"You will live on, bearing the guilt of having killed these people, while I will continue to victory, bearing the resentment of these failures."

"Your remaining life will be spent in torment, wanting to commit suicide but unable to do so."

With each sentence Qian Renxue spoke, Tang Yue Hua's body trembled slightly, as if trying to escape.

"Their deaths were all so that you, the daughter of the former sect master, could live and return to the sect."

"And if you were to return alive to the Clear Sky Sect, would you really go to die?"

"Yes, that's exactly how it should be."

"You should live."

——Living a life worse than death, who made you insist on coming to the Spirit Hall for fun?

"Spirit Kite, take her down to bathe and change, dress her up nicely, and prepare some tasty food to nourish our Miss Tang Yue Hua—she is our great contributor."

"Yes, Young Mistress."

Qian Renxue had the Spirit Kite take the distraught Tang Yue Hua away.

Turning to the Bishop Salas following behind, she asked: "Was the image of our Miss Tang Yue Hua commanding the Spirit Kite to shoot down the Clear Sky Sect disciples captured?"

Bishop Salas, face fervent, held up a blue crystal ball and said respectfully: "Young Mistress, rest assured, the subordinate has already fully captured that image."

Qian Renxue nodded satisfied, turned a strand of hair at her temple, then said:

"Let's send the Clear Sky Sect a big gift—accidentally expose that image within the sect, don't make too many copies, first let it circulate in a small range, then later send Miss Tang Yue Hua back to the Clear Sky Sect intact."

"Yes, Young Mistress!" Seeing Bishop Salas off, Qian Renxue picked up the azure right leg bone and the thirty-thousand-year-old red torso bone from Tang Yu Ran's body.

"Tsk tsk, the Clear Sky Sect's soul bones are truly rare—among so many people, only the two elders Tang Ming and Tang Yu Ran each had a soul bone burst forth."

"Moreover, will the Clear Sky Sect split into internal strife because of this gift? I'm really curious."

"Curious Baby Qian Renxue couldn't hold back her curiosity anymore; for someone like her with strong execution, since she wants to know, she might as well give it a try."

"From the start, Qian Renxue never intended merely to kill a squad of Clear Sky Sect direct disciples."

"All other rescue personnel died, only the hostage Tang Yue Hua returned to the sect unharmed."

"Human hearts are hard to guess; even Qian Renxue cannot read people's minds, and once the seed of doubt is planted, the Clear Sky Sect's people will doubt the Spirit Hall's motives and also doubt Tang Yue Hua's purpose, even though she is the former sect master's daughter."

"Once doubt arises, they will target; once they target, they will protect."

"Those who believe in Tang Yue Hua and those who doubt her will form two camps."

"As long as they accept Tang Yue Hua, the Clear Sky Sect will fall into suspicion and internal strife; the only solution is to not accept her return to the sect—but Tang Yue Hua is after all the former sect master's daughter, the current sect master's younger sister, can the Clear Sky Sect refuse her benevolent scheme? 'Speaking of which, Tang Yue Hua and I are of the same generation—she is the granddaughter of Tang Chen, hailed as invincible on earth, while I am the granddaughter of Qian Daoliu, hailed as invincible in the sky.'"

"It's a pity, she is not Tang Chen, and I am also not Qian Daoliu."

First, let's give the Clear Sky Sect a little boost, tomorrow we'll go to Slaughter City, or we could come back from Slaughter City and then find Miss Tang Yuehua to play! Today is Monday and I still have 6600, hey, brothers, why not give the author a little vote reward?

(End of chapter)