Watching the retreating "bandits," Tang San finally felt his heart settle. He still could not understand why such terrifyingly strong people would treat him like a thorn in their side.
Not many people knew about his talent and background , apart from Oscar and a few of his earliest companions, there should be no one else who knew.
And if Oscar had wanted to kill him, would he really have gone through all this trouble? Would he have spent all this time helping him grow stronger?
Wait!
Suddenly, Tang San thought of someone , the only person besides Oscar's group who knew about his talent and background.
Could it be…
As soon as this thought surfaced, Tang San shook his head sharply. He found it hard to believe. That person had buried him in obscurity for six years, but surely would not go so far as to do this?
And he was just a Grandmaster-ranked spirit master , how could he possibly mobilize two Title Douluo and so many powerful fighters?
But apart from him, who else could it be?
Tang San understood very well that when every other possibility is ruled out, even the most unlikely one must be considered as truth.
For a moment, Tang San's heart sank into silence. If it really was that man's doing, then he no longer needed to care about old bonds.
The Fifth Elder slowly descended from the air, and Oscar immediately went up to greet him. "Fifth Elder, how strong was that person?"
The Fifth Elder smiled faintly. "Acceptable."
In truth, this Fifth Elder was merely an avatar of Gai Yue. After all, the Sword Sect needed strong experts to boost their presence , one Title Douluo-level elder was more than enough.
It was only natural that the highly talented young sect master would have hidden protectors when traveling.
At this time, Ning Fengzhi, Dustheart, and Xue Qinghe also approached. Ning Fengzhi cupped his hands slightly toward the Fifth Elder. "Ning Fengzhi of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect."
Dustheart also cupped his hands politely in greeting.
Xue Qinghe saluted as well. "Crown Prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, Xue Qinghe."
The Fifth Elder returned the gesture. "Fifth Elder of the Sword Sect. Greetings to you all."
Ning Fengzhi's appearance was enough to force the enemies to retreat. The reason was simple , while his attack and defense were not that strong, as long as he was present, one Title Douluo was essentially as effective as two.
With his support, just Sword Douluo Dustheart alone was enough to handle Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo. Not to mention that there was also the Sword Sect's Fifth Elder and the Golden Sacred Dragon present!
"Father, why are you here?" Ning Rongrong ran over excitedly and leapt into Ning Fengzhi's arms.
Ning Fengzhi hugged his daughter and smiled. "I am not here to protect you. I was entrusted by His Majesty to protect the Crown Prince."
As he spoke, Ning Fengzhi cast a meaningful glance at Oscar. Oscar only smiled faintly and said nothing.
Crown Prince Xue Qinghe, as the representative of the Heaven Dou Empire this time, did not bring many attendants. Apart from the fifteen spirit master academies, he also had a carriage , but he was not its only passenger.
Ning Fengzhi and Sword Douluo Dustheart were also inside.
As the empire's crown prince, Xue Qinghe was the future of the Heaven Dou Empire. How could Emperor Xue Ye allow him to risk his life? Naturally, he asked Ning Fengzhi to secretly protect him.
And as the master of the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, Ning Fengzhi was always accompanied by a powerful guardian. This time it was Sword Douluo who traveled with him, while Bone Douluo stayed behind to guard the sect.
In the previous battle, they had not appeared immediately. Dustheart had actually been ready to strike when the Golden Eagle Spirit Douluo made his second move , but who would have thought that Oscar had a guardian as well?
With that, the battle's outcome was no longer in doubt. By the time Ning Fengzhi and Dustheart appeared together, they had already completely suppressed the opponents. Those two Title Douluo were not fools , they withdrew immediately, taking their men with them.
With the enemy gone, everyone felt as though a heavy burden had been lifted. When those "bandits" first appeared, none of the spirit master academies took them too seriously , but once the two Title Douluo appeared, everyone's hearts had leapt into their throats.
Title Douluo! Today alone, four had appeared , almost a fourth or fifth of the entire continent's number (according to the original story at this point). In front of Title Douluo, they were utterly insignificant.
Xue Qinghe displayed the calm composure of one raised with imperial training. Once the enemies left, he immediately began directing the Royal Knights, pulling forward the intact carriages, tending to the injured horses, and restoring formation.
In just a short while, apart from the horses that had been killed, the five hundred Royal Knights had mostly regained their combat strength.
Those black-clad "bandits" had not fought to kill , most of them had been stalling and buying time for the two Title Douluo. In fact, the worst casualties were the hundred-plus men who had fallen earlier to Tang San's poisoned hidden weapons.
Oscar silently watched Xue Qinghe directing everyone, feeling a strange and indescribable emotion.
He wondered if Xue Qinghe knew about this attack. The attackers' goal, just like in the original story, was Tang San , but this time Tang San had not been exposed.
Why would this still happen?
Once Xue Qinghe finished his arrangements, he returned to Ning Fengzhi's side and respectfully said, "Teacher, what do you think we should do next?"
Ning Fengzhi smiled calmly. "Proceed as planned. After this incident, they will not dare act rashly again. After all, they will not risk too much just for Tang San."
Everyone could tell that the entire attack had been aimed at Tang San. But now that Ning Fengzhi, Dustheart, and the Fifth Elder of the Sword Sect were present, no one would dare to step forward and die.
"Yes." Xue Qinghe turned to the captain of the knights. "Continue forward."
The entire convoy moved on, but the atmosphere had clearly grown more tense. Tang San immediately boarded the Shrek Academy carriage. He knew that he had now become the focus of everyone's attention.
Those two Title Douluo's mission had obviously been to kill him.
A single failure did not mean they would fail again next time. Being targeted by opponents of Title Douluo level was far worse than simply being on edge.
Later, Oscar took Tang San to visit Ning Fengzhi's carriage. To Oscar's surprise, Xue Qinghe was also inside.
Ning Fengzhi and Dustheart's appearance had saved Tang San from this life-and-death crisis. Ning Fengzhi's knowledge of Tang San naturally came from Ning Rongrong.
After learning Tang San's identity, Ning Fengzhi had indeed wanted to make friends with this young genius. Although Tang Hao seemed to have been publicly abandoned by the Clear Sky Sect, everyone knew that with Tang San's talent, regaining their support was only a matter of time.
Even though Xue Qinghe was present, Oscar did not treat him as an outsider , after all, he already knew most of the truth.
After Tang San expressed his gratitude, Ning Fengzhi gave him some advice. But in the end, Oscar suggested that Tang San withdraw from this tournament. He was simply too conspicuous , a son of Tang Hao, a member of the Clear Sky Sect, under fifteen years old and already at the forty-fourth rank, and even a twin spirit wielder.
Any one of these titles was enough to land him on Spirit Hall's kill list , let alone all combined into one person.
But Tang San refused to back down and firmly insisted on competing.
After frowning and thinking for a moment, Tang San shook his head. "No. I must participate in this competition."
"Uncle Ning, senior, I understand your concerns, but I believe this will be an important trial for me. If I can overcome this, then in the future Spirit Hall will have a much harder time dealing with me. They cannot cover the sky with one hand forever."
Hearing this, Xue Qinghe simply stared silently at Tang San, saying nothing.
"Very well. Since you have decided, I will not try to dissuade you. I will do everything I can to ensure your safety." Ning Fengzhi's tone was calm, but as the head of a sect, his words were a solemn promise.
"Uncle Ning, perhaps I cannot join the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect, but as long as I live, the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect will always be my friend." Tang San made a final commitment.
Oscar only smiled and said nothing, glancing at Xue Qinghe thoughtfully.
Xue Qinghe noticed his gaze and turned away, lost in thought.
When had Spirit Hall become like this?
Oscar did not argue with Tang San's decision , it was also the outcome he wanted. And besides, Tang Hao might be watching from the shadows, so Tang San's safety might not be a problem.
Now that the Fifth Elder had stayed behind, together with Dustheart and Ning Fengzhi, plus Flender and Liu Erlong's Golden Sacred Dragon, any ordinary Title Douluo who came would only be throwing their life away.
Returning to the carriage, Oscar met with Flender and Liu Erlong alone. Seeing the excitement on their faces, Oscar said, "Headmaster, this is not your first time using the Golden Sacred Dragon with Teacher Erlong. Why are you so excited?"
Flender waved dismissively. "Little Oscar, you really are farsighted , leaving some of Xiaogang's blood to make so many replica sausages. Now, with just Erlong and me plus one clone of mine, we can form the Golden Sacred Dragon."
"And as Erlong and I grow stronger, the Golden Sacred Dragon's power will keep increasing. You do not know , Chrysanthemum Douluo is a level ninety-five Super Douluo."
"And we actually managed to hold him off for so long. Do you know how that feels?"
Liu Erlong was just as excited. To withstand a Title Douluo with only level seventy-nine strength , and emerge unscathed , was enough to shock countless people.
Inside the carriage sat not only Flender and Liu Erlong but also a middle-aged man resembling Flender , his clone. Although this clone only had level twenty-nine strength after eating the sausage made with Yu Xiaogang's blood, it still far outperformed Yu Xiaogang himself.
This was because the clone, though only level twenty-nine, possessed spirit power reserves comparable to a Spirit Douluo. This greatly increased both the duration and power of their fusion skill.
Otherwise, they could never have held back a level ninety-five Super Douluo like Yue Guan.
In a teahouse on a street in Spirit City, Tang Hao was shocked to see Yu Xiaogang appear, accompanied by three exceptionally talented young men.
According to his information, these three were Spirit Hall's celebrated Golden Generation, all of whom had already reached the Spirit King level before the age of twenty.
Seeing Yu Xiaogang so close with them made Tang Hao's expression turn dark. This wretch abandoned his son, only to throw himself into Spirit Hall's arms?
And Tang Hao still did not know about the assassination attempt on his son. Otherwise, he might have been unable to restrain himself and torn Yu Xiaogang apart on the spot.
After all, only Yu Xiaogang knew his identity. Tang Hao had even given Yu Xiaogang his elder token , only for this man to betray him and join Spirit Hall?
Tang Hao wanted to confront him, but Spirit City was full of danger. Those three members of the Golden Generation were Spirit Hall's precious treasures. If he harmed them here, he might never make it out alive.
Glancing at the heavily guarded Spirit City, Tang Hao began planning his escape route…
The Heaven Dou Empire's spirit master teams continued onward. For the rest of the journey, there were no further incidents. To better protect the spirit masters, Xue Qinghe temporarily drafted three thousand heavy-armored soldiers from cities along the way as extra guards, and even summoned spirit master experts from the capital to rush over.
Finally, on the twenty-first day, the entire convoy arrived at Spirit City. Due to Spirit City's special rules, Xue Qinghe ordered the heavy-armored soldiers and Royal Knights to camp outside, and personally led the fifteen academy teams into the city.
Compared to the vast Heaven Dou City, Spirit City was much smaller , only about one-third its size , but the impression it gave the spirit masters was just as overwhelming.
Despite its smaller area, the city walls were built to the standards of a capital's main walls , eighty meters tall, over thirty meters thick, and entirely constructed of granite.
This city had been built entirely by Spirit Hall. Constructing such a city was no easy feat.
Most strikingly, Spirit City was not a square like ordinary cities but a hexagon, meaning it had six walls.
Patrolling the walls were spirit masters in Spirit Hall's special uniforms.
Each of the six walls bore a massive relief sculpture, identical to the emblem on Spirit Hall's tokens, symbolizing six powerful spirits.
Inside Spirit City, the first impression was one of spaciousness. There were few pedestrians, and shops were rare , most of them sold goods needed by spirit masters.
A red-clad cardinal came out to welcome them and led the group of more than two hundred to their accommodations.
They were housed in an inn on the west side of the city. To their surprise, even the staff working there were all at least level twenty spirit masters.
Spirit City was built around a central hill. On the hill stood two very eye-catching buildings.
The one halfway up the hill was the most magnificent , even from a distance it could be clearly seen.
It had a colonnade structure and a domed roof, its exterior covered with golden material that shone brilliantly under the sunlight.
This was the newly built Pope's Hall , where the supreme ruler of Spirit Hall resided.
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