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*****
After Tang San's advertisement for recruiting Body Spirit Masters and ordinary people was released, each branch hall responded enthusiastically, recommending Body Spirit Masters to Spirit City. Major forces had similar ideas, seeking Body Spirit Masters to understand the mysteries of these spirits, which were worthy of a master's research and had alarmed the entire Spirit Hall.
The Seven Treasures Glazed Tile School and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan also took action, conducting investigations and gathering information.
When the Haotian School received this news, Tang Hao was furious once again, shouting, "That unfilial son is doing research for the Spirit Hall again!"
"Haha, what do you expect from my son, who was born rebellious?" mocked the Seventh Elder.
"Hmph!"
The Haotian School had sealed its gates because of him, and Tang Hao knew he was in the wrong, so he did not retort.
"Old Seven, enough," the Second Elder scolded, turning to Tang Hao. "But Old Seven isn't wrong. Because of you, a gifted Haotian disciple is out there, now part of Spirit Hall, which is indeed detrimental to our Haotian School. We must find a way to reclaim our inherited Spirit."
How to reclaim the Spirit? By killing him! The Spirit is passed down through bloodlines, and breaking it can allow for restoration, although it requires significant time.
Moreover, even if the Spirit cannot be restored, as long as he has children, they will still inherit the Haotian Hammer. Killing him is the safest way!
Based on the intelligence gathered, Tang San is determined to align with Spirit Hall and has great ambitions. In the future, he might lead Spirit Hall to dominate the Douluo Continent, forcing all sects, including ours, to submit. The Haotian School will never bow to anyone!
However, without Tang Chen's intervention, even if the five great elders and the Haotian Twins act together, they cannot kill Tang San. Besides, Tang Hao certainly won't use his full strength, and Tang Xiao, as his uncle, will hold back as well.
Tang Hao clenched his fists, wishing he could go back in time to slap his former self and say, "Why were you so weak?" And then slap Tang San: "No matter what, I'm your father, your blood-related parent. How could you hide things from me?"
Tang Xiao changed the subject, "What does Spirit Hall want with Body Spirits? Aren't they useless?"
Tang Hao shook his head, "I don't know."
He was clueless about research. To him, nothing was stronger than the Haotian Hammer, which could solve any problem with a single strike.
Most Haotian disciples shared this view.
The five elders also believed Body Spirits were unimportant, focusing instead on the results Tang San might achieve in his research.
As for conducting their own research? Better to concentrate on practicing their disordered wind hammer technique.
"I think there's no need to worry," the Seventh Elder opined. "Since our eldest brother has returned, once he becomes a god, he will crush Spirit Hall. What does it matter if Qian Daoliu is still alive? Our eldest brother's godhood will make the Haotian School renowned!"
The Sixth Elder said solemnly, "We shouldn't be too optimistic. Bibi Dong has already revealed her divine inheritance, and our eldest brother mentioned that the Angel lineage of Spirit Hall also has divine inheritance. We might face an Angel God in the future."
The Seventh Elder snorted, "So what? Our eldest brother is the strongest!"
This sentiment resonated with everyone.
The Haotian School and the Haotian Hammer are the strongest in the world!
The Second Elder said, "If that's the case, let's conclude the meeting. As usual, we'll seek precious herbs to help our eldest brother recover and break through to level 100. We must also train our disciples to navigate the Asura Illusion and gain Asura's aura, hoping to condense the Killing God Domain."
Having learned that the Killing God Domain is part of the Asura God's inheritance, the five elders and Tang Xiao had all traversed the Asura Illusion, gaining Asura's aura and condensing the Killing God Domain.
However, many disciples failed miserably, some even dying of fright in the illusion, bringing shame to the Haotian disciples.
Therefore, they called Tang Yuehua back.
"Clan Leader, Tang Hao, talk to Tang Yuehua. Have her extend her Noble Domain's release time each day. Our disciples' mental states have improved significantly under her domain," the Third Elder said calmly. "We hadn't realized how useful her domain was before."
Tang Xiao nodded, "I will."
After the elders left, Tang Xiao managed clan affairs, frowning at the dwindling wealth. "Without Yue Xuan's funding, our expenses have become apparent. We're in seclusion, so our disciples can't venture out in large numbers. We need to find a way to generate income. I wonder if Yuehua has any ideas."
"Haodi, discuss the elders' requests with Yuehua and ask her how to boost our clan's income," Tang Xiao said to the bored Tang Hao beside him.
"Okay."
Tang Hao was eager to leave the meeting room. Handling clan affairs made his head ache.
"Sigh!" Watching Tang Hao disappear instantly, Tang Xiao sighed helplessly. "Haodi is still the same. Perhaps that's why grandfather liked him. Such simplicity allows for rapid progress in cultivation, but he is not suited to be a good husband or father."
When Tang Hao found Tang Yuehua resting, he conveyed the Third Elder's words and asked, "Big brother said the clan's funds are running low. Do you have any ideas for increasing income?"
"No."
Since returning to the Haotian School, Tang Yuehua realized she was being treated like a workhorse. Besides the essentials of life, she was either enhancing disciples' mental states or recovering her spirit power, with hardly any free time.
The five elders even mocked her inefficiency.
Most disciples were disrespectful, with only a few greeting her.
Reflecting on her departure to establish Yue Xuan in Tian Dou City, Tang Yuehua understood it was to escape their constant ridicule.
It was mentally exhausting!
But after Tang San's guidance, she saw through the Haotian School's essence. Facing her second brother, she answered expressionlessly.
Her admiration for him had diminished.
"Yuehua, I know you're tired, but please hold on. This is for the Haotian School's future."
Tang Hao noticed her pale face but believed sacrificing for the clan was honorable. "By the way, what's your spirit power level now?"
After returning, Tang Yuehua had broken through to level ten, which was discovered three months later. With Tang Hao's help, she obtained a thousand year spirit ring. Being an adult who had taken whale glue, she could bear a thousand-year soul ring.
A thousand year ring at the first ring! This was unprecedented!
Unfortunately, her Spirit, the Wishful Ring, didn't gain any spirit abilities, only doubling her domain's range.
Thus, she became a secret laughingstock among the Haotian disciples: a waste that even a thousand year ring couldn't save!
"Nineteen," Tang Yuehua replied indifferently. "It might take a while; I need to understand my inner self."
Tang Hao was surprised, then smiled, "Nineteen already? You're progressing fast. When you reach level twenty, I'll take you to hunt a spirit beast. Your domain will surely expand."
"Is that all there is?" Tang Yuehua suddenly realized her good brother didn't truly care for her; it had always been one-sided.
Crack!
After coming to terms with her thoughts and gaining a sense of release, her soul power surged slightly and continued to grow, eventually helping her break through the bottleneck of level nineteen, reaching level twenty.
The slight fluctuation in soul power was sensed by Tang Hao, who was astonished: "As expected of my sister, progressing so quickly and already reaching level twenty."
Sister?
Such a familiar yet distant term... Ever since her martial spirit awakened, her elder brother and second brother had seldom called her sister, switching to calling her Yuehua instead. Now, seeing her value in cultivation, they called her sister again?
Tang Yuehua remained expressionless as she said, "Perhaps even after obtaining the second soul ring, there still won't be any soul skills."
"It doesn't matter. As long as you can continue cultivating and expanding your domain, you can help more people in the clan." Tang Hao was oblivious to Tang Yuehua's increasingly cold gaze as he continued, "The clan will certainly be very pleased."
"Yes, they will be pleased, but not because I can stabilize their mental states or soothe their minds. It's because they can better and more safely traverse the Shura Realm." Tang Yuehua described the reality with a blank expression. "And you, second brother, do you only care about this?"
"Uh, I need to train. After that, I'll take you to hunt soul beasts." Tang Hao thought Tang Yuehua might be too tired recently and needed more rest. Using this as an excuse, he quickly left.
Tang Hao wasn't skilled at comforting people and often needed others to understand him. In a clan that revered strength, it was indeed others who had to understand him rather than the other way around. However, at this moment, Tang Yuehua no longer wanted to "understand."
Now, she only wanted to live her own life!
"I can't stay in the Haotian Clan any longer. This pathetic sense of pride, I can't pick it up again. The clan won't change just because Grandpa is back. Besides, Grandpa himself seems different from my childhood memories, perhaps influenced by the Slaughter City." Watching Tang Hao hastily leave, Tang Yuehua made up her mind to brave the Shura Realm.
After setting up the Shura Realm, Tang Chen decreed that only those who had experienced it could leave the mountain and move around outside. Otherwise, they were forbidden to leave.
First, this was to promote the clan's elite disciples.
Second, those who passed through the Shura Realm were imbued with Shura's aura. But to cultivate the Killing God Domain, they needed to nurture their killing intent.
The Haotian Clan couldn't allow disciples to kill each other, so they had to let these elites go out to train: maintaining peace, enhancing the clan's reputation, and preparing for the future while accumulating killing intent to truly transform Shura's aura into the Killing God Domain.
When Tang Yuehua arrived at the back mountain where Tang Chen meditated, the guarding disciples stopped her. "Miss Yuehua, please go back. This is the Great Ancestor's meditation place, and a hundred meters ahead is the Shura Realm. You'll get hurt."
"I'm going to brave the Shura Realm. Step aside." Tang Yuehua said firmly, but the two disciples still didn't move.
"Miss Tang, please don't make things difficult for us," one of the disciples said coldly, less polite than the first.
"You can be impolite," Tang Yuehua said coldly. "Tang Xiao and Tang Hao are still my elder brothers."
"You!"
Faced with Tang Yuehua's unreasonable behavior, the disciple lost his patience but was held back by the other. "Please, Miss Yuehua."
Tang Yuehua stepped forward.
"What are you doing? If she gets hurt, our training resources will be halved!" the disciple angrily protested.
"The Great Ancestor is her grandfather. He'll sense it and she won't get hurt," the other disciple explained. "If we stop her and there's trouble, we'll be the ones to suffer since the clan leader is her elder brother."
"That makes sense..."
As the voices behind her faded, Tang Yuehua's mood calmed, and she stepped into the Shura Realm—
The Shura Realm was a field-like area centered around Tang Chen's meditation place, spanning nearly a kilometer-high peak.
Tang Chen spent most of his time meditating at the peak.
Braving the Shura Realm involved climbing nearly a thousand steps to reach Tang Chen and being bestowed with Shura's aura.
Upon entering the Shura Realm, Tang Yuehua felt her emotions become agitated, recalling the ridicule she faced from the clan disciples. She frowned but immediately released her martial spirit, applying her Mind Domain (the true name of the Noble Ring Domain) to herself.
In that moment, Tang Yuehua felt her distracting thoughts subside and began her ascent.
With the support of her Ruyi Ring, Tang Yuehua continued her climb without further emotional disturbance, reaching the summit in just over ten minutes.
Her speed was comparable to a great soul master climbing a staircase-equipped mountain.
With her combat spirit and innate talent domain, Tang Yuehua faced no obstacles. However, she noticed blood-red patterns appearing on her first soul ring.
These patterns resembled the Killing God Domain's markings, and Tang Yuehua realized her first soul ring had gained a skill: the Killing God Domain.
"Could it be that my future soul rings will have blank skills, requiring environments like this to form specific abilities, and all of them will be domains?" The thought excited Tang Yuehua.
At this point, Tang Chen approached her unnoticed, observing her first soul ring with a thoughtful expression. "The Killing God Domain? How did you obtain it?"
"Grandfather!" Tang Yuehua was startled but quickly calmed down. "I don't know. I just released my martial spirit and walked up here, gaining this ability. It might be related to my spirit. My first soul ring didn't grant any skills, but experiencing the Shura Realm seems to have condensed this domain."
Tang Chen examined the patterns on her first soul ring and eventually shook his head. "This isn't the true Killing God Domain. It lacks Shura's aura, just a mimic. However, if you can imprint nine different domains, you might become a strong warrior."
To him, Tang Yuehua's ability was merely a mimic and not very impressive. Yet, since she had reached this point, should he grant her Shura's aura?
The Shura Realm tested a soul master's mental fortitude.
But Tang Yuehua had bypassed the test with her martial spirit's advantage, strolling up like it was a leisure hike.
Ultimately, Tang Chen bestowed her with a trace of Shura's aura. After all, she had made it here, and the purpose of the test was to enhance their mental strength. Tang Yuehua's martial spirit naturally saved much of that effort.
However, when the blood-red aura merged into her soul ring, the empty spot in the ring's center formed a blood-colored sword pattern.
The pattern closely resembled Tang Chen's Shura Sword.
More importantly, Tang Chen couldn't sense the Shura aura anymore, as if Tang Yuehua's first soul ring's Killing God Domain and Shura Sword pattern had become independent of the original Shura God.
*Independent Shura God Position?!*
Tang Chen's mind was in turmoil, unable to comprehend why his great-granddaughter's martial spirit and first soul ring were so extraordinary.
It was one thing to imprint the Killing God Domain, but now it directly condensed a Shura Sword pattern similar to the Shura God position. Could she potentially condense eight more god-like patterns in the future?
"It should just be a mimic, not that outrageous," Tang Chen calmed down, waved Tang Yuehua off, and resumed his meditation at the mountaintop.
Only Tang Yuehua knew the true extent of her first soul ring's transformation after acquiring the Shura aura and condensing the Shura Sword pattern.
In some mystical way, she could borrow minute amounts of energy from the real Shura God for attacks, defense, amplification, and more. With sufficient soul power, she could even condense a corresponding Shura Divine Sword!
However, that required reaching the Titled Douluo level at least.
More importantly, her soul ring, now a carrier of the Shura Domain and Shura Sword pattern, could continuously evolve: ten thousand years, a hundred thousand years, a million years, or even ten million years.
As long as she had enough killing intent and energy, its growth was nearly limitless.
This was power beyond a soul master's capacity!
When Tang Yuehua descended the mountain, she encountered Tang Xiao, Tang Hao, and the five elders arriving outside the Shura Realm.
"Yuehua, are you alright?" Tang Xiao examined her, relieved to find she was unscathed, assuming their grandfather hadn't tested her.
"Hmph! Tang Yuehua, don't think you can disturb our great uncle just because you are his great-granddaughter!" the Seventh Elder scolded.
Tang Yuehua released her Wishful Ring, wrapped it around her right hand, and a purple soul ring with blood-red patterns appeared. The Killing God Domain spread across the area, stunning everyone!
Tang Hao laughed heartily: "As expected of my sister! Haha!"
Tang Xiao was equally elated!
Everyone knew that their grandfather wouldn't grant the Killing God Domain just because Tang Yuehua was his great-granddaughter. She must have truly braved the Shura Realm!
In that instant, the Haotian Clan disciples' gazes towards Tang Yuehua turned fervent.
Yet Tang Yuehua felt no joy, only sadness.
This was the Haotian Clan—
She had once thought she would enjoy their admiration and recognition, but now she only felt disgust!
Amid her intense emotional turmoil, Tang Yuehua's eyes turned slightly blood-red, and her killing intent doubled, prompting Tang Hao to notice something amiss: "Not good, Yuehua might be having trouble controlling her newly acquired Killing God Domain."
"What's there to fear?" the Seventh Elder sneered. "Even if we didn't have the Killing God Domain, she's just a level twenty quasi-great soul master. Her martial spirit isn't offensive. Any great soul master here could take her down, let alone us, the Titled Douluos—"
Slash!
In an instant too fast for anyone to react, a sword light flashed, and the Seventh Elder's right arm fell silently to the ground.
"Old Seven!" The Second Elder, enraged, glared at Tang Yuehua, but froze upon seeing the Shura Sword's shadow in her hand—it was their great uncle's Shura Sword!
Why?
Old Seven had merely spoken a bit harshly...
After executing that move, Tang Yuehua seemed drained of all energy and collapsed.
As everyone stood bewildered, Tang Chen appeared from the mountaintop in an instant, cradled Tang Yuehua, and said, "Reattach Old Seven's right arm."
Without further explanation, he took Tang Yuehua for treatment.
In that fleeting moment, Tang Chen had keenly sensed a wisp of his Shura Sword's aura being borrowed...
*Divine Realm*
The Shura God King was having tea with the Sea God when his brow furrowed. He closed his eyes, sensing his inheritors on the Douluo Star.
"What happened?" Sea God inquired curiously when Shura God King opened his eyes. "Did you find a new inheritor? When you leave the Divine Realm, wait for me. Let's explore the broader universe together. It's too boring here."
"Haha, already bored after just a thousand days in the Divine Realm?" Shura God laughed, then shared his situation: "I haven't found a new inheritor. The old one has unexpectedly realigned with the path. His talent is extraordinary, but his body is damaged and needs time to repair."
"Besides, his mind isn't pure. Whether he can pass the final ninth test is uncertain."
"But my recent investigation wasn't about him; rather, one of his descendants used a mutated martial spirit to borrow my power."
Sea God was stunned, taking a moment to process before asking, "That's outrageous! Can mortals borrow a god's power?"
"Why not?" Shura God responded matter-of-factly. "Don't your most devout followers also borrow your power?"
"That's just a wisp of divine will left in my trident and the use of faith power," Sea God was speechless. He didn't have the power to transmit divine energy directly to the mortal realm. "Is this the power of a God King?"
Shura God didn't confirm or deny, explaining, "That descendant could be a backup candidate. But after her martial spirit absorbed the Shura aura, it completely became her own. I can't pinpoint her exact location..."
The god position remained under Shura God's control, unaffected by Tang Yuehua's imprinting of the Shura Sword pattern. She could borrow Shura God's power, similar to how Shura God King's subordinates, like Killing Gods and priests, could.
However, Shura God couldn't control Tang Yuehua's life or death, nor monitor her. He could only sense his power being borrowed.
Of course, Shura God retained the authority to withhold his power if he wished.
But why refuse?
His goal was to cultivate a successor to take over his duties, allowing him to retire and explore the broader universe, seeking new challenges and excitement.
Losing the god position and declining in power was a non-issue. In areas beyond the Divine Realm's jurisdiction, he could reforge his position.
In Shura God's view, if Tang Yuehua grew stronger in the future, she might even usurp the Shura God position.
"That sounds even more outrageous!"
Sea God, understanding the key points, was exasperated but aware that borrowing a god's power came at a cost, especially with a god as filled with killing and evil intent as Shura God. His power was more invasive and destructive, seldom used even by his Killing Gods and priests...
*Douluo Continent*
What price did Tang Yuehua pay for borrowing Shura God's power?
Physical weakness...
Tang Chen frowned, puzzled. "Could you be the reincarnation of Shura God's daughter? Borrowing divine power and only experiencing severe exhaustion?"
Upon awakening, Tang Yuehua realized her martial spirit, Ruyi Ring, was incredibly powerful, akin to a supportive Seraphim!
With enough soul power, any negative effects could be neutralized.
If soul power was insufficient, it would draw on her physical and mental energy. If those were also depleted, it would drain her life force, leading to death.
Currently, this only applied to herself and couldn't be used on others.
However, she kept this to herself, only expressing her intention to leave the clan and establish a new Moon Pavilion in Spirit City to earn money and gather intelligence for the clan...
(Chapter End)