Douluo: Emerald Poison Emperor

"Does the Strength Clan still have ties with the Clear Sky Sect?"

Chen Ming took the piece of parchment and immediately noticed the reprimanding tone of the handwriting on it.

The person who wrote the letter identified himself as the Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect. Some time ago, he had already reached level 90 and was just one soul ring away from becoming a Title Douluo.

The writer scolded Tai Tan in the letter, criticizing him for being somewhat negligent toward the Clear Sky Sect recently. The Strength Clan had been slacking in helping Clear Sky Sect soul masters secretly hunt for soul rings. He then ordered Tai Tan to find a suitable fire-attribute, strength-based soul beast that was over 50,000 years old.

At the end of the letter, the self-proclaimed Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect specifically emphasized that Tai Tan was merely Tang Hao's servant, while he was Tang Hao's uncle, holding a much more noble status. He warned Tai Tan not to overstep his bounds.

Although the possibility of the letter being forged couldn't be ruled out, after reading it, Chen Ming felt that it was likely genuine.

After all, the original seven elders of the Clear Sky Sect had fought a bloody battle with the Spirit Hall because of Tang Hao. Two of the elders had died in the conflict, leaving only five. The sect had been secluded for ten years since then.

Knowing the original storyline, Chen Ming understood that the remaining five elders of the Clear Sky Sect felt like later additions to the narrative. Each of them was a Title Douluo, seemingly introduced to balance the power disparity between the Clear Sky Sect and the Spirit Hall.

By doing some calculations, Chen Ming deduced that the Seventh Elder, who was the Lie Yang Douluo in the original story—the one who blamed Tang Hao for his son's death—was likely the one who had just broken through to level 90 and obtained his ninth soul ring. The timeline seemed to match.

In reality, a soul master's breakthrough relies on obtaining a soul ring. Without it, even the God-level martial soul, the Seraphim, with innate level 20 soul power, wouldn't be able to break the rules of the world.

The Clear Sky Sect was supposedly in seclusion due to an agreement between Qian Daoliu and Tang Chen, but to believe they'd willingly give up sending their people out to hunt for soul rings and improve their strength? Even a six-year-old child who had just awakened their martial soul wouldn't buy that.

The Clear Sky Sect must have had many disciples secretly hunting for soul rings over the years—they were just very good at hiding it.

Or so Chen Ming thought, though he couldn't completely rule out the possibility that no one cared enough to investigate.

Qian Daoliu no longer involved himself in such matters, and the Spirit Hall was now under Bibi Dong's leadership. In Bibi Dong's mind, she might even harbor a bit of goodwill toward Tang Hao, who had gravely injured Qian Xunji, thus giving her the opportunity for revenge.

To put it bluntly, if Bibi Dong could openly suppress the Clear Sky Sect, it was already a facade to save face for others in the Spirit Hall who weren't privy to the truth. Deep down, she might even want to present Tang Hao with a banner of appreciation.

Suppressing the Clear Sky Sect was more of a superficial gesture. Qian Daoliu couldn't care less, and Bibi Dong outright ignored it.

Unless Clear Sky Sect soul masters blatantly summoned their martial souls in public or attacked Spirit Hall affiliates, Bibi Dong would likely turn a blind eye.

Thus, how well the Clear Sky Sect was truly hiding remained a big question mark. Someone might have already reported their activities, but no one bothered to act on it.

What surprised Chen Ming, however, was Tai Tan's utter lack of backbone. Even after being abandoned by the Clear Sky Sect, he still chose to serve them as a loyal dog, secretly aiding their soul masters in hunting for soul rings.

On second thought, it made sense. While the Clear Sky Sect had many affiliates in the past, the only notable ones were the Four Single-Attribute Clans. The minor affiliates were mostly sold out by the Clear Sky Sect during their battle with the Spirit Hall. Those who weren't destroyed by the Spirit Hall outright would never ally with the Clear Sky Sect again.

Among the Four Single-Attribute Clans, the one most skilled at intelligence gathering was the Speed Clan. However, the Speed Clan, being relatives of the current sect master, Bai He, seemed to have stopped caring about such matters and were now struggling just to make ends meet. If they still had any ties to the Clear Sky Sect, they wouldn't be living such difficult lives.

As for the Breaking Clan, which had fought on the front lines against the Spirit Hall, they suffered heavy losses due to the Clear Sky Sect abandoning them. The entire clan now bore a grudge against the Clear Sky Sect. Their leader, Yang Wudi, was particularly hostile and would never serve the Clear Sky Sect again.

Niu Gao, while appearing simple-minded, was quite shrewd. He wouldn't engage in thankless tasks either. The Defense Clan had been busy with construction projects in recent years, steadily rebuilding their strength. Only a fool would lower themselves to serve the Clear Sky Sect again after being betrayed.

This left the Strength Clan as the only ones still willing to help the Clear Sky Sect, and that was solely because of Tai Tan's leadership. As a strength-based soul master clan, they could only absorb the soul rings of Giant Strength Ants, which didn't conflict with the Clear Sky Sect's needs. They also had access to valuable information about strength-based soul beasts.

Chen Ming glanced at the parchment, then stored it in his Hundred Treasures Pouch, deciding to hand it over to Qian Daoliu later to see if the Ultimate Douluo's stance had changed after their last encounter.

"Second Elder, Fifth Elder, and Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect—three Title Douluo."

Chen Ming turned to Lou Gao. "Elder Lou, did you manage to gather any information from those people? When was this letter written? Has that Seventh Elder of the Clear Sky Sect absorbed his ninth soul ring and broken through to Title Douluo?"

"The people brought by Tai Tan are all his trusted subordinates. While they aren't very bright, they're surprisingly tight-lipped," Lou Gao sighed before continuing.

"However, because they're not very smart, my disciples managed to trick some information out of them. This letter seems to be three months old. Recently, Tai Tan locked onto the location of a 60,000-year-old strength-based soul beast, the Blazing Flame Lion Tiger.

"About a month ago, Tai Tan gathered members of the Strength Clan and headed toward our Blacksmith Association. Judging by the timeline, it's likely that Seventh Elder has already advanced to Title Douluo."

"From the information pried out of Tai Tan's clan members, these three Clear Sky Sect elders seem to be in nearby cities, probably waiting for Tai Tan's report."

Despite knowing there were three Title Douluo nearby, Lou Gao showed no sign of worry. Instead, he calmly shared his thoughts.

"The city guards of Gengxin City are under my temporary command. With my connections, I can also recruit some wandering soul masters. Using Tai Tan's actions as an excuse, everything will appear perfectly reasonable. Meanwhile, I'll secretly report the presence of high-ranking Clear Sky Sect soul masters to the nearest Spirit Hall branches."

"Our association has countless secret chambers, many of which were constructed by our predecessors using metalwork. They contain numerous hidden doors, passageways, and defensive mechanisms. Even Title Douluo would find it difficult to breach them."

"As long as I remain within the association, even three Title Douluo won't be able to touch me. Later, I'll announce the discovery of some treasure that's valuable but not particularly useful to soul masters. Given the Clear Sky Sect's current state, they won't be able to keep watching us indefinitely."

How realistic. How effective.

After countless battles, Chen Ming's first thought was always how to make these people physically disappear. He hadn't considered a strategy as subtle as this.

Gengxin City was Lou Gao's stronghold. If he wanted, not even a Title Douluo could capture him head-on. Clear Sky Sect soul masters were straightforward and crude. Unless they caused a major public commotion, it would be nearly impossible to locate Lou Gao amidst the secret chambers and mechanisms.

If someone swung the Clear Sky Hammer, sure, the noise would be heard throughout the entire city, perhaps even the Blacksmith Association. But anyone with an IQ over 30 wouldn't resort to brute force.

Lou Gao only needed to inform the Spirit Hall and buy time. As long as the Clear Sky Sect elders valued their lives and didn't want the sect to engage in an all-out war with the Spirit Hall, they'd eventually retreat in defeat.

Of course, this all hinged on their inability to reveal their identities publicly.

If this were ten years ago, forget three Title Douluo lurking in nearby cities. Even three Clear Sky Sect Soul Douluo could have stormed into the Blacksmith Association with their Clear Sky Hammers, forcing Lou Gao to hand over the so-called treasure.