Chapter 113: Retaliation and Reactions from All Sides

Next, Ye Shenghan detailed the grievances between him and Hun Jin during their time at the Ancient Clan, how he discovered the tracking mark the latter had secretly placed on him, and the entire series of events that followed.

Zongyue listened with a deeply furrowed brow, and in the end, could only say, "It is best to let the Pavilion Master make the final decision!"

"Hm? Is Teacher back?" Xiao Wu asked with some surprise upon hearing this.

Zongyue nodded, then said, "The Pavilion Master likely has instructions this time. In any case, you should return with me first."

Throughout the journey, with the protection of the Langya Guard, no trouble occurred, and Xiao Wu and the others returned to the sect smoothly.

……

"Pfft—"

With a soft sound, the cup in Xiao Han's hand turned directly into powder. "It seems the Soul Hall still hasn't given up on stirring up trouble, has it?"

Xiao Han had some understanding of the Soul Hall's behavioral patterns; although the latter was merely a subordinate organization of the Soul Clan, it was not something an ordinary person could mobilize at will.

The fact that Hun Jin, as mentioned by Ye Shenghan, could obtain the qualifications to enter the Heavenly Tomb only meant he held a certain status, but he certainly had not reached the level of being able to directly recruit people from the Soul Hall.

It was likely that the kid named Hun Jin was just passing on a message; the one who truly had this intention must have been the Soul Hall, and the former was merely acting out of convenience.

"Why, do you want to teach the Soul Hall a lesson?" Yi Huang also said with a cold expression, though it was not hard to hear from her tone that this "lesson" would carry significant weight.

It was to be expected; the daily conflicts between the Soul Hall and the Langya Pavilion were nothing more than petty squabbles.

But this time was different. Aside from Xian'er, who had not yet grown up, the three most talented disciples of the Langya Pavilion were all involved, plus a daughter-in-law of the Langya Pavilion whom they had already acknowledged. To think the Soul Hall would dare to make a move...

Did they think the Langya Pavilion could no longer lift its blade?

"How many of the Soul Hall's Earth Fiend Branch Halls in the Central Plains have we identified?" Xiao Han asked expressionlessly.

"Only fourteen," Yi Huang said with some dissatisfaction. "Still too few; the main issue is that these guys are too good at hiding."

"That's not bad." Xiao Han did not think this number was too small. Excluding the three Heaven Gang Halls that were currently difficult to touch, the Soul Hall only had a mere twenty-four Earth Fiend Branch Halls in the Central Plains; this was already more than half.

"Since that's the case, let the Langya Guard clear out half of them!" Xiao Han said nonchalantly, as if he were going to the vegetable market to buy two heads of cabbage.

"Some things... once done, one must pay the price." At this moment, he no longer possessed his usual gentleness, and a stern killing intent emanated from his body.

"Good!" Yi Huang had no objections. As for the matter of convening a meeting of Elders, such a thing did not exist in the Langya Pavilion.

Although attacking Soul Hall branch halls might seem troublesome to other factions, it was a trivial matter for the Langya Pavilion. The Elders were busy with cultivation and sect affairs day after day; where would they find the leisure to care about such trivial, bean-sized matters?

The three giants of the Langya Pavilion had made the decision; who would bother to sing a different tune against them?

Following Xiao Han's order, more than thirty Langya Guards split into seven groups and headed directly to the already scouted Soul Hall branch halls.

And this undisguised action by the Langya Pavilion also caught the eyes of numerous factions. Over so many years, they had all gained a basic understanding of the Langya Guard.

This unit was entirely the Langya Pavilion's permanent external force, somewhat similar to the standing armies of some empires, though there was absolutely no comparison in terms of strength.

They were basically responsible for dealing with some of the more difficult opponents—the Soul Hall. Aside from wiping out the Tianming Sect back then, the Langya Guard's primary opponents were the experts of the Soul Hall.

It was just unclear what the reason was this time.

Just as the people in the Central Plains were wondering why so many Dou Zun experts were mobilized on such a large scale...

Within a single day, news that seven Soul Hall branch halls had been simultaneously attacked and destroyed spread throughout the entire Central Plains.

Under normal circumstances, a Soul Hall branch hall was guarded by only two Venerable Elders, and these targets had all been carefully screened; there were almost no exceptions, and the strength of the Langya Guard was sufficient to handle them.

Under the guarantee of the latter's powerful force, the opponents were finished off without causing any ripples. This led to much discussion among the people, and the consequences were naturally extremely serious.

This gang warfare incident with its extremely negative impact attracted a large crowd of onlookers, including but not limited to the Pill Tower, Burning Flame Valley, and the Flower Sect, among other top factions in the Central Plains.

"Eh, how did this Langya Pavilion get into a fight with the Soul Hall again?" Tang Zhen said with some surprise.

In his understanding, although the conflict between the two was known to everyone, most of it was fighting below the Dou Zun level, and it was only a bit more active for a period a few years ago.

This was the first time they had directly moved against the Soul Hall's branch halls on such a large scale.

Following this came deep worry. "I hope a new round of major war doesn't break out!" Tang Zhen said sorrowfully.

For the Burning Flame Valley, maintaining the status quo was best.

Once the Langya Pavilion and the Soul Hall engaged in a major battle, regardless of the outcome, it would inevitably cause huge turmoil in the Central Plains, potentially impacting the existing order and thereby harming the interests of the Burning Flame Valley.

However, he was not worried about being caught in the crossfire. With their strength, and a Supreme Elder who was a Dou Saint in the valley, who would dare to provoke them?

"How is it that this Langya Pavilion still won't rest!" The two Supreme Elders of the Flower Sect still held grudges regarding Xiao Han's words from back then, and their language was extremely unkind.

As for other factions like the Four Directions Pavilion, they could only be filled with worry, yet they had no way to act. With only a few Dou Zun experts in their sects, how could they dare to have an opinion?

The Soul Hall, as the victim of this incident, seemed to have become a vegetable market at this moment; the numerous high-level members of the Soul Hall were furious, and the scene was quite unsightly.

"Bastards, this Langya Pavilion actually dares to provoke my Soul Hall like this."

The two Heavenly Sovereigns who had once held a grudge against Xiao Han were furious, the ghost fire in their eyes flickering rapidly; had it not been for someone above suppressing them, they would have already erupted.

"Hall Master, I am willing to serve as the vanguard and go to war with the Langya Pavilion. Please give the order, Hall Master." The First Heavenly Sovereign took the initiative to request the mission from the gloomy man sitting quietly at the head.

Hun Miesheng merely glanced at him casually and said in a detached tone, "Can you defeat the Ice Saint?"

"Uh..."

The First Heavenly Sovereign was choked up instantly. Let alone him, to say something disrespectful, it was estimated that even the Vice Hall Master was no match for that Langya Pavilion Master.

He had said that just now out of a desire to stir up trouble, hoping the Hall Master would personally take action to destroy the Langya Pavilion.

Just as the First Heavenly Sovereign wanted to say something more, he was stopped by a wave of Hun Miesheng's hand.

"This Langya Pavilion is very troublesome now!" Hun Miesheng whispered softly.

Thinking back to those years... the Soul Hall ran rampant in the Central Plains, and no one dared to stop them. He sat high upon his throne, overlooking the changing winds and clouds of this world—how carefree it was!

This so-called Langya Pavilion was merely a rising force with a little bit of ability back then, and he did not take it to heart at all.

However, ever since that Langya Pavilion Master disappeared for a hundred years and returned, they immediately began to break their teeth.

Multiple attempts to target them yielded no results, and as a result, they were allowed to grow quietly. This time, they even captured their own Four Heavenly Sovereigns without a sound and destroyed numerous branch halls.

They had already become a behemoth; if they acted rashly, even with the scale of the Soul Hall, it would hurt their foundations and be detrimental to the advancement of their plan.

Most importantly, the Ice Saint was powerful and difficult to deal with. As long as he did not die, the Soul Hall could never wipe out the Langya Pavilion.

For a time, the entire hall fell into silence, and finally...

"Go cause some trouble for the places under the Langya Pavilion's control!" Hun Miesheng said helplessly.

？！

The crowd was shocked; what did he mean by looking for trouble? Wasn't this just enduring it?

"Lord Hall Master..." The Great Heavenly Venerable was about to say something, but Hun Miesheng cast a glance his way, and the latter immediately lowered his head, not daring to say another word.