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...After listening to Tang Yuehua's overview of the continent's situation over the past ten-plus years, Xuan Ming nodded and asked, "Is there anything you need my help with?"
Hearing this, Tang Yuehua's body stiffened slightly. She looked up at the man standing at the peak of the World, a flicker of struggle passing through her eyes.
She knew that Xuan Ming had no favorable impression of the Clear Sky Sect.
The "Divine Punishment" that had made the entire continent tremble back then had settled the chaos of war, but it had indeed severely depleted the Clear Sky Sect's Origin Qi, nearly wiping them out.
She shouldn't have brought up those past matters with Xuan Ming, much less pleaded for those who had once stood against him.
However, blood is thicker than water.
"Xuan Ming..." Tang Yuehua hesitated for a moment before finally gathering her courage and speaking softly, "I want to... ask a favor of you."
"Regarding the Clear Sky Sect?" Xuan Ming asked.
Tang Yuehua nodded and sighed, "Yes. I know that back then, the Clear Sky Sect acted willfully and stood on the wrong side of history. After the reselection of the Seven Great Sects, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile School had to lean toward Spirit Hall for self-preservation, even becoming the vanguard in the destruction of the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan. From then on, the Clear Sky Sect became the last remnants of the old era."
"In the following years, the Spirit Empire was established, and its iron hooves trampled across the continent. The Clear Sky Sect had to emerge from seclusion again, uniting with the Heaven Dou Empire to attempt a final resistance. But..."
She glanced at Xuan Ming and smiled bitterly, "No one expected that you would bring down such a Divine Punishment. That strike not only destroyed the allied forces of the Two Great Empires but also wiped out more than half of the Clear Sky Sect's elite disciples."
Xuan Ming's expression remained calm, and he did not deny it. "That was the fastest way to end the war. If I hadn't done that, the war would have lasted for decades, and even more people would have died."
"I understand, I didn't mean to blame you," Tang Yuehua hurriedly explained, her tone then turning somber. "After the Heaven Dou Imperial Family announced their surrender and voluntarily merged into the Spirit Empire, under Qian Renxue's maneuvering, although the imperial lineage lost their power, they at least retained their decency and dignity, and are still able to live as nobles."
"However, the Clear Sky Sect was not so lucky."
At this point, Tang Yuehua's fingers instinctively gripped Xuan Ming's sleeve, her eyes reflecting a hint of fear and desolation.
"The Clear Sky Sect was the symbol of resolute resistance against the Spirit Empire, the toughest bone of the old era. When the tide turned, everyone pushed the falling wall. After the Heaven Dou Empire gave up its resistance, countless people who had once relied on the Clear Sky Sect, or those who wanted to curry favor with the new elites of the Spirit Empire, turned their spears and began a frantic encirclement and suppression of the Clear Sky Sect's remnants."
Xuan Ming frowned slightly and asked with some confusion, "Given the Clear Sky Sect's foundation, even if more than half of their elites were lost in the Divine Punishment, their remaining strength shouldn't be underestimated, right? Could those sycophants really drive them to a dead end?"
"At first, it wasn't that bad." Tang Yuehua shook her head and said helplessly, "If it were only those fence-sitters, Eldest Brother and Second Brother could naturally handle them. But... within the Spirit Empire, not everyone is like Qian Renxue, willing to adopt a policy of conciliation."
"Qian Renxue might not care about the Clear Sky Sect's few remaining troops, thinking they can't stir up much trouble. However, the worshipers and Elders of the Spirit Empire don't think that way."
Xuan Ming raised an eyebrow. "You mean... those old guys from the former Spirit Hall?"
"Especially those two Elders, Yue Guan and Gui Mei," Tang Yuehua said.
"Back then, Second Brother Tang Hao severely injured those two. They've remembered that grudge for a lifetime. Later, they received rewards from Bibi Dong, and their strength grew by leaps and bounds, both breaking through to the rank ninety-eight Peak Douluo Realm."
"Rank ninety-eight..." Xuan Ming chuckled. "With that kind of strength, combined with their Spirit Fusion Ability, they could probably hold their own for a while even against a rank ninety-nine super Douluo."
"Exactly." Tang Yuehua nodded bitterly. "To the severely weakened Clear Sky Sect, those two were simply a nightmare. They led the Spirit Empire's elites and clung to the Clear Sky Sect relentlessly. That battle was extremely tragic; the few remaining Elders of the Clear Sky Sect had to self-detonate to cover the retreat of the disciples..."
"Ten years ago, Eldest Brother Tang Xiao and Second Brother Tang Hao saw that the tide had turned. To preserve the Sect's last Bloodline, they could only take the remaining disciples and decide to leave the Douluo Continent to seek refuge overseas."
A hint of surprise flashed in Xuan Ming's eyes. "Overseas? Where did they go?"
Tang Yuehua's expression also became somewhat unnatural. "Sea God Island. Bo Saixi, the Sea God, out of... out of consideration for my grandfather Tang Chen's past relationship, ultimately took them in."
Xuan Ming nodded and signaled for her to continue. "And then?"
"Originally, things should have ended there," Tang Yuehua's tone became a bit strange. "The Clear Sky Sect was recuperating on Sea God Island, and the continent had entered an era of unification; everyone minded their own business."
"But... the problem was that there was one more person in the group."
Xuan Ming asked, "Who?"
"Yu Xiaogang." Tang Yuehua's expression became exceptionally complex, containing both disgust and a hint of pity.
"When Heaven Dou surrendered, as a representative of the pro-war faction, he naturally wouldn't have a good end. Out of consideration for him being Tang San's teacher, Second Brother saved him during the escape."
"But it was this decision that destroyed the Clear Sky Sect's last bit of peace."
"After arriving at Sea God Island, Yu Xiaogang not only lacked the awareness of being a guest in someone else's home, but he also continued to put on the airs of a State Preceptor. He spoke boastfully on the island, accusing the Sea God Bo Saixi of being wrong for remaining content in a corner."
"He mentioned the old grudge from decades ago when Spirit Hall sent troops to Sea God Island, and enumerated the atrocities of the current Spirit Empire on the Douluo Continent. He claimed that as a righteous Divinity, the Sea God should not turn a blind eye to the suffering of the continent's living beings and should lead the Spirit Masters of Sea God Island to counter-attack the continent and eliminate the Spirit Empire."
Xuan Ming almost laughed out loud. "This guy... has he lost his mind? On someone else's territory, he's teaching them how to do things? Or rather, teaching the Sea God how to do things?"
"Exactly," Tang Yuehua smiled bitterly. "Although Senior Bo Saixi took them in for the sake of my grandfather, she is the Sea God after all. How could she risk the lives of her people to fight the flourishing Spirit Empire just because of a few inflammatory words from Yu Xiaogang?"
"The result was predictable. Yu Xiaogang's remarks enraged the Guardians of the Sea God's Seven Sacred Pillars. Although Senior Bo Saixi did not kill him, she could no longer tolerate such a person remaining on the island. Consequently, Yu Xiaogang was expelled."
"And Tang San..." Tang Yuehua paused here. "That child luckily survived your Divine Punishment back then. He does have twin spirits and extraordinary talent. After arriving at Sea God Island, he was named the Young Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect and became the Sect's hope for the future."
"However, he is too sentimental. Seeing his teacher expelled, he couldn't stay on the island alone and resolutely chose to leave with Yu Xiaogang."
Xuan Ming shook his head and commented, "Stupid. But it does fit his character. And then? Having left Sea God Island, where else could they go?"
"They could only drift at sea," Tang Yuehua continued. "But it was during this drifting that they encountered someone. Someone you would absolutely never expect."
Xuan Ming asked in confusion, "Who?"
"Liu Erlong."
"Huh?" Xuan Ming was truly bewildered now.
"Liu Erlong? Didn't I send her to the Sun Moon Continent to start a new life? She should be doing quite well over there, shouldn't she? How could she appear at sea?"