Oscar had secluded himself in an ice cave for three months of intense cultivation. During this time, he focused entirely on stabilizing and mastering the tremendous power that had surged within him. Only after he had gained complete control over this terrifying strength did he continue his journey toward the Heavenly Ice Ravine.
It was time to reveal his divine power and make the Ice Emperor submit before his godly might.
Oscar also longed to experience the uniqueness and strength of his third martial soul. If he succeeded, then as the Skydream Iceworm had said, he would truly be an existence unlike any before or after him.
During these three months, many events had unfolded across the continent, the most sensational being the conflict between the Sword Sect and the Spirit Hall.
When the Heavenly Soul Douluo, one of the Sword Sect's guardian Douluo,and Oscar's avatar,returned with Xu Kun's corpse, the Sword Sect's Grand Elder's wife, Xue Qingluan, was heartbroken.
Although she had previously had disagreements with her sister and brother-in-law at Tianshui Academy, they were still family. Moreover, Xue Qingluan had once returned her sister's soul bone, preventing a complete fallout between them.
Decades of affection could not vanish so easily. Even though the sisters had differing opinions, blood ties remained.
But it had only been a little over a year, and now her brother-in-law was dead,killed by the Sword Sect's own guardian Douluo.
At that moment, Xue Qingluan's emotions nearly collapsed. Apart from the matter involving Shui Bing'er, Xu Kun had always been a good brother-in-law to her and had played a significant role in her own success.
Now he was dead.
After learning what had happened from the Heavenly Soul Douluo, Xue Qingluan could not bring herself to hate him. It had been a battle of life and death.
But she could never forgive the Spirit Hall. They had exploited her brother-in-law's emotions to lead him to his death. Now that her sister was imprisoned within the Spirit Hall, how could she rest easy?
Even if her sister and brother-in-law had indeed been deceived, and Xu Kun deserved his end, at least her sister was still alive,she could not allow anything to happen to her.
Xue Qingluan was a woman who knew right from wrong. Since joining the Sword Sect, she had assisted Gai Yue with many matters and knew well how powerful the Spirit Hall was. She did not wish to burden the sect, so she planned to go rescue her sister alone.
But how could Gai Yue allow her to go by herself? And besides, if the Sword Sect did not respond to such a major incident, wouldn't that make them look weak?
More importantly, this was a crucial time for Spirit Hall's secret schemes. They were the last ones who wanted any surprises. Thus, the Sword Sect now stood upon the moral high ground.
The sect's young heir had been assassinated by Spirit Hall during a secret journey. Even putting aside the issue of spies within their ranks, the assassination alone was enough to enrage the Sword Sect.
Two months ago, the Grand Elder Gai Yue, along with four other elders and the guardian Heavenly Soul Douluo,five titled Douluo in total,set out directly toward Spirit City.
The reason it was four elders instead of five was because the fourth elder was the grandfather of Ailan, the Sword Sect's second prodigy. Through this incident, the sect had learned that Ailan had been secretly colluding with the Spirit Hall.
It was even suspected that Ailan and the Spirit Hall's Saintess had already become lovers.
The Sword Sect publicly declared that the Spirit Hall had used the Saintess to seduce their genius disciple Ailan and provoke discord between Ailan and Oscar in order to seize control of the Sword Sect.
Once this announcement spread, the continent was shaken.
The fourth elder's entire bloodline was immediately suppressed and detained. Until Ailan himself was captured, none of his kin would be released,after all, blood was thicker than water, and who could guarantee the elder had not known of this betrayal?
These were the facts revealed to the public, and soon the entire continent was abuzz with speculation. Everyone saw Spirit Hall's ambition, but none dared speak against it openly.
Still, all eyes were fixed on the conflict between the Sword Sect and Spirit Hall, eager to see how these two titans,the dominant forces of the soul master world,would resolve the matter.
All of this was carefully orchestrated by Oscar and Gai Yue. After all, Ailan was merely one of Oscar's avatars, and the fourth elder was essentially Gai Yue's own avatar. Everything had been planned for one purpose: to drag Spirit Hall into the storm.
Beneath the walls of Spirit City, the four Sword Sect elders and the Heavenly Soul Douluo stood in midair, their gazes sharp as blades as they looked down at the city below.
On the city wall, Pope Bibi Dong stood with regal authority, flanked by several titled Douluo elders of the Spirit Hall.
Hidden in the shadows, countless spies from various factions watched closely, eager to see how Spirit Hall would respond.
Now that the Sword Sect had brought the matter to light, Spirit Hall's underhanded plot to devour them could no longer be hidden.
In the past, no one dared voice their anger, but now that someone had stood up against Spirit Hall, things were different.
If the Clear Sky Sect had not chosen to seal its gates back then but had instead united with the seven great sects to resist Spirit Hall, how might history have changed?
Now, with the Sword Sect facing Spirit Hall, countless factions were reminded of the Clear Sky Sect's downfall.
Both had once been the mightiest forces besides Spirit Hall itself.
Everyone wanted to see what the Sword Sect would do next.
Gai Yue stood silently in midair, the other four titled Douluo lined up behind him, their jade robes rippling softly.
With a deep, resonant voice, Gai Yue spoke calmly but with a hint of accusation. "Your Holiness, our young sect master's matter has reached this point. What explanation will you give?"
Even when facing the mighty Spirit Hall, Gai Yue showed no fear. He was certain that Bibi Dong would not dare to make a complete break with the Sword Sect.
If she did, there would have been no need for such secret manipulations in the first place.
Bibi Dong's brow twitched as she looked at the elders of the Sword Sect. Her long-laid plans had been exposed, and now the Sword Sect had come to her doorstep to demand justice. At such a critical time, this confrontation would inevitably draw the attention of every major power on the continent.
Though Spirit Hall was strong and largely under her control, she did not yet possess the strength to fight the entire continent outright,otherwise, she would not have resorted to such covert means.
Forcing herself to remain calm, she said, "Grand Elder, there must be some misunderstanding. To avoid confusion, why not come inside and discuss the matter in detail?"
She kept her tone even, suppressing her anger. She knew the Sword Sect was deliberately putting her in a difficult position, but since Spirit Hall was indeed in the wrong, she had little ground to argue.
Gai Yue sneered and gestured to the Heavenly Soul Douluo beside him. "Does that mean His Holiness believes Elder Heavenly Soul is lying? Or that Ghost Douluo never left Spirit City at all?"
Bibi Dong's face darkened at his sharp questioning. The Chrysanthemum Douluo, Yue Guan, could not contain himself. "Gai Yue! Her Holiness has spoken to you with courtesy because of your position. Don't mistake kindness for weakness!"
Gai Yue's gaze turned icy as he stared him down. "Elder Chrysanthemum, a year ago at my wedding with Qingluan, you came to offer congratulations. Even then, I wondered why a Spirit Hall elder would be so interested in the Sword Sect's affairs. Perhaps you were already planning to assassinate our young master back then?"
"No wonder you are the Pope's favorite. Ruthless indeed,but don't underestimate my Sword Sect!"
"With Elder Heavenly Soul taking action, I imagine Elder Ghost Douluo hasn't recovered yet?"
Yue Guan's expression stiffened, and just as he was about to speak, Bibi Dong raised her hand to stop him.
Gripping her golden scepter, she said softly, "Grand Elder, there are indeed many misunderstandings here. Such matters cannot be explained in a few words. Please, come inside and we can discuss them properly."
Gai Yue's eyes gleamed. "Your Holiness, enough with the pleasantries. Before we came, our sect master said this: since Spirit Hall dared to strike at our heir, then Spirit Hall must be ready for war."
"Our sect master will soon break through the ninety-eighth level. If Your Holiness cannot give us a proper explanation today, he will personally lead all four thousand one hundred and fifty-two members of our sect to Spirit City to demand justice."
He paused, his aura erupting like a storm. "At worst, we'll fight a great battle and then retreat to our ancestral grounds. But those who used such vile means,we will hunt them down, no matter the cost."
His voice echoed powerfully across Spirit City, heard by nearly everyone within its walls.
Spies and informants from countless factions were stunned by the Sword Sect's audacity.
Among them, members of the Lingyu Escort Agency, now part of the Sword Sect's intelligence division, could not help but think,if the Clear Sky Sect had stood so firmly back then, would so many tragedies have been avoided?
Hearing Gai Yue's words, not only did Bibi Dong's expression darken, but the faces of the titled Douluo beside her also turned grim.
How many years had it been since anyone dared speak to Spirit Hall like this? As the sacred ground of soul masters and the supreme power of the continent, Spirit Hall had always been the unchallenged leader of their world.
How could the Sword Sect dare such insolence?
But when they heard that the Sword Sect's master was about to break through to level ninety-eight, their hearts trembled.
It was said that the sect master had long been in seclusion attempting this very breakthrough. If true, then not only did the Sword Sect possess several titled Douluo, but its leader was about to reach the pinnacle of power.
In the entire Douluo Continent, there had not been a god-level soul master in tens of thousands of years. The strongest were the level ninety-nine Limit Douluo, and even they were exceedingly rare.
If the Sword Sect's master reached level ninety-eight, he would become one of the strongest beings alive,perhaps strong enough to challenge Spirit Hall.
Of course, that was assuming the mysterious Worship Hall did not intervene. Otherwise, the Sword Sect would stand no chance.
After all, Spirit Hall's supremacy was not merely due to its titled Douluo, but to the terrifying power of those enshrined in the Worship Hall.
It was known that to enter the Worship Hall, one must have at least level ninety-six soul power. Few soul masters ever surpassed level ninety-five, and those who reached level ninety-nine were rarer still.
Yet Spirit Hall's Worship Hall had at least five such beings,some unseen for decades, their status uncertain, but no one dared doubt their strength.
That was why so many were stunned by Gai Yue's defiant words.
Even if Spirit Hall were divided internally, the Worship Hall still stood with them. If the Sword Sect merely sought leverage, fine,but if they truly pushed too far, those ancient monsters would show them their place.
Just then, Gai Yue's tone shifted. "Of course, if Ghost Douluo acted on his own, then we only demand the guilty party. The Sword Sect still considers Spirit Hall an ally."
At this, Bibi Dong's brow lifted. Clever as she was, she immediately caught his meaning.
But Yue Guan could not hold back. "Your Holiness…" he began.
Before he could finish, Bibi Dong interrupted. "I will handle this."
Then she said, "It seems the Grand Elder is indeed a reasonable man. The truth is that the Grand Elder of the Xuanming Sect, harboring hatred toward your young master, secretly colluded with Ghost Douluo for profit and plotted his murder."
"Ghost Douluo's martial soul is notoriously special. He infiltrated your sect to gather information, believing his plan flawless, but it was all a trap."
"As for what followed, you surely know already. Once Ghost Douluo realized he had been exposed, he vanished. I do not know where he is now."
"Because of his betrayal, he has been stripped of his title as honorary elder of Spirit Hall, and I will soon issue a continental notice for his capture."
Gai Yue raised an eyebrow, stifling a smile. "Is that truly as Your Holiness says?"
Bibi Dong nodded. "Every word I speak is true."
She then gestured, and a beautiful woman was brought forward in chains. "This woman is one of the accomplices,the wife of the Xuanming Sect's Grand Elder. I will entrust her to your sect for judgment."
Gai Yue smiled slightly, his sharpness fading. "In that case, we thank Your Holiness."
But before anyone could relax, he added, "I've also heard that one of our younger disciples is currently 'visiting' Spirit Hall. I wonder if Your Holiness knows where he might be?"
His tone of feigned ignorance irritated Bibi Dong, but she could tell from his change in attitude that he had no intention of open conflict today.
He was merely posturing,for another purpose.
But as for Ailan, she would never hand him over. After all, he was a genius,and one destined to become Spirit Hall's weapon against the Sword Sect.
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