Dou Luo: This Tang San is Different

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After descending from Tang Chen's location, Hu Liena approached Tang San and asked, "What did that god tell you? Don't tell me he's trying to get you to return to the Clear Sky Sect, collaborate from within, and launch a sneak attack on Spirit Hall?"

"The Clear Sky Sect's people mostly think with their muscles. They wouldn't even conceive of such a strategy," Tang San dismissed her last assumption before continuing, "Get ready. It's time to head back—this place is utterly dull."

The Clear Sky Sect was still living in the past.

Tang Chen's return didn't prompt them to reflect. Instead, they seemed to feel as if their backbone had returned. Such a sect has no future to speak of and is destined to vanish into the long river of history.

"You're right. The disciples of the Clear Sky Sect seem to think exclusively with their hammers. While soul masters are known for their combative nature, they don't usually take it to such extremes," Hu Liena commented, recalling what she had observed in the areas of the sect open to outsiders. The disciples seemed to do nothing but spar with one another. Apart from that, they hardly engaged in anything else.

The sect's other mundane affairs were handled by members of the Strength Clan, the Defense Clan, and others whose martial spirits weren't the Clear Sky Hammer.

It truly seemed like the heads of the Clear Sky Sect were filled with muscle.

And if they were deliberately putting on an act for outsiders…

Impossible!

Movements can be faked, expressions can be controlled, and words can be crafted to deceive. But habits ingrained over years cannot be easily altered.

Furthermore, the entire Clear Sky Sect was immensely proud, to the point of disdain for concealing their true thoughts. When asked about sensitive matters, they would either avoid answering or remain silent. Most wouldn't even think of deflecting the question.

After returning to the sect's mountain gates, Tang San and Hu Liena gathered the other members of Spirit Hall, preparing to leave.

The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan also planned to depart. Staying any longer would only lead to more awkwardness.

This was especially true for Ning Fengzhi. He realized there was little common ground between the Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Clear Sky Sect, whether in conversation or business collaboration. He sighed inwardly, The Clear Sky Sect has truly fallen. 

Even though Tang Chen's ascension to godhood temporarily revitalized the sect, what would become of it in a hundred years, after his ascension to the divine realm?

Perhaps, due to Tang Chen's influence, the sect might gain a few more Title Douluos. But at the rate things were going, the sect's disciples could no longer keep up with the ever-changing new era. Even if they had many powerful individuals, what would it amount to? Were they planning to leverage sheer numbers to coerce other forces into cooperation or even extort protection fees?

Don't be ridiculous!

The times have changed!

Moreover, if it came to a contest of numbers, Spirit Hall—with Tang San at its helm—would only continue to grow over the next century. It would have even more Title Douluos. The Seven Treasure Glazed Tile Sect and the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Clan would likely ally with Spirit Hall to form a shared community of interests. By then, what would the Clear Sky Sect have to rely on?

Upon returning to Spirit City, Tang San reported the general situation to Bibi Dong and then added, "To deal with Tang Chen, we have two main options: either force him to ascend to the divine realm or provoke him into violating its rules."

"The first option would likely occur once the Sea God's successor breaks through to Rank 100. Tang Chen would probably follow Bo Saixi to the divine realm—he is quite the sentimental person. The second option involves continual provocation, but such methods are less honorable. Spirit Hall is now striving for a reputation of uprightness, so such tactics wouldn't suit us."

"There's also a third option: wait for the Blue Silver Network to cover the entire planet, locate all the divine inheritance sites, and erase their coordinates, severing the spatial pathways."

"Or, better yet, gain control of these spatial pathways ourselves."

This strategy, of course, would leverage the Starry Sky World and Tang San's ninth spirit ring—the Eternal and Creative Godking's Throne—to establish communication with the divine realm. After all, for the Douluo star to truly thrive, it would need a high-quality source of origin energy.

And celestial spiritual energy would be a good start.

"Then let's go with the third method. After all, time is currently our least concern," Bibi Dong decided firmly. She then asked, "What about Sea God Island? How do you plan to deal with it if the Sea God's inheritor achieves godhood in the future?"

"Inheritors of godhood are far easier to handle than those who independently condense faith and ascend to godhood. They're usually somewhat aware of the divine realm's rules, so they won't act recklessly after becoming gods," Tang San replied nonchalantly. "Besides, the path to godhood is far from smooth. He might not even succeed."

"As for how to handle Sea God Island..."

"Expanding territories isn't something Spirit Hall should be concerned with."

Since Spirit Hall hadn't yet established itself as a nation, it had no reason to worry about the extent of imperial borders. All it needed was a justified pretext to deal with Sea God Island.

For instance, Emperor Qinghe of the Heaven Dou Empire could declare the importance of maritime defense and propose incorporating Sea God Island into their defensive perimeter.

Naturally, Bo Saixi of Sea God Island would never agree.

This would inevitably lead to conflict, giving Spirit Hall the justification to intervene. Given the current relationship between Sea God Island and the Clear Sky Sect, Tang Chen might even get involved, making it a win-win scenario.

"Indeed. Xue'er will need to work even harder," Bibi Dong concluded, deciding to send her a letter urging her to expedite the resolution of the New Heaven Dou Federation and reclaim Heaven Dou's original territory. Once that was done, the empire could continue its development while advancing toward Sea God Island. It would be wise to deal with this divine inheritance site—the closest one to the Douluo Continent—sooner rather than later.

Speaking of divine inheritance sites, the Douluo Continent also housed the Angel God and Asura God inheritance sites.

The Angel God's site didn't warrant much attention. The previous Angel God had already perished, leaving only a vacant godhood behind. However, the Asura God's site was a different matter. Most entrances to the City of Slaughter had already been sealed, but its continued existence remained a troublesome issue.

"I have an idea for dealing with the City of Slaughter," Tang San said thoughtfully.

Electrolux, who had already acquired the Thrones of Benevolence and Death, could hardly remain confined to Tang San's upper dantian or the Starry Sky World forever. He needed a domain of his own.

The City of Slaughter, a masterless city, was a perfect candidate for cleansing and repurposing as Electrolux's residence.

As for the issue of the City of Slaughter being tied to the Asura God?

Tang San dismissed it with a grin. His adoptive mother was the Goddess of Life, after all! Besides, as the divine realm's law enforcer, the Asura God ought to be magnanimous toward mortals. In the original story, the protagonist destroyed the City of Slaughter, and the Asura God barely reacted.

The City of Slaughter was likely just one of the Asura God's contingency plans for selecting an inheritor. If he truly had his eye on someone, he could simply send his divine consciousness to invite them directly—it wasn't impossible.

Of course, in the worst-case scenario, if the Asura God descended to question him, Tang San would take it as an opportunity to test how far he was from reaching the level of a God King.

If the disturbance grew large enough to attract the divine realm's attention, it wouldn't be the mortal Tang San at fault but the Asura God for picking a fight with a mere human.

"In that case, I'll leave the City of Slaughter to you. How do you plan to handle it?" Bibi Dong trusted Tang San but was curious about his specific approach.

"It involves a friend of mine…"

"But it's not the right time for them to appear. Once the City of Slaughter has been reformed, I'll introduce them to you."

(End of Chapter)