Tang Ba sensed a sect disciple below fall in battle and immediately grew anxious.
As if making a final decision, he shouted at Qian Jun,
"Qian Jun Douluo, today I'll let you witness the ultimate secret art of my Clear Sky Hammer!"
With that, he unleashed his true weapon spirit form. His soul rings exploded one after another as the Clear Sky Hammer transformed into a giant hammer nearly a hundred meters tall.
For him—whose vitality was already declining—repeatedly detonating rings was no doubt a fatal move, but at this moment, Tang Ba no longer cared.
"Oh? Interesting. Then I shall also let you witness the ultimate secret art of my Coiling Dragon Staff!"
Qian Jun Douluo likewise activated his true weapon spirit form, detonating all of his soul rings.
His martial soul transformed into a staff several hundred meters long, clashing against the Clear Sky Hammer amid the heavens.
"Die! Great Sumeru Hammer!" Tang Ba burned the last of his soul power, pouring it all into the Clear Sky Hammer. The force of his strike was so immense that even Glowing Feather Douluo, a level 98 Title Douluo watching below, felt threatened.
"Good! Watch my Great Sumeru Staff!" Qian Jun also swung the Coiling Dragon Staff toward the Clear Sky Hammer.
Two powerful martial souls, imbued with destructive force, collided fiercely in the sky.
In the heavens, the giant hammer and giant staff, red soul power and blue soul power, ground against each other.
Glowing Feather Douluo ceased firing his hunting arrows and exclaimed in admiration:
"Excellent, excellent! These two secret techniques are so formidable that even I dare not face them head-on. It's a pity this Great Sumeru Hammer technique is suited only for strength-type weapon spirit masters—otherwise, I would love to create a Great Sumeru Arrow to try myself!"
"You… you can use the Great Sumeru technique too?!" Tang Ba said in disbelief.
Qian Jun Douluo replied playfully,
"Old rat, yours is the Great Sumeru Hammer, mine is the Great Sumeru Staff."
"Damn it! Who leaked the technique?! It must have been Tang Hao—that traitor!" Tang Ba shouted angrily.
The Great Sumeru Hammer had strict usage requirements. Most Clear Sky Hammer masters couldn't execute it properly. Even Tang Chen's own son, Tang Tian, failed to master it. Aside from himself, Tang Chen, and Tang Hao, no one else in the entire Clear Sky Sect could. The only possible leak was Tang Hao, the traitor.
"Oh, you're right," Qian Jun Douluo said gleefully. "I bought the Great Sumeru Staff technique from Tang Hao for ten gold soul coins."
"Damn traitor! Qian Jun, even if you know it, so what? Your martial soul isn't the Clear Sky Hammer—you can't unleash the true power of the secret art!" Tang Ba shouted while continuing to pour his remaining strength into his attack.
Qian Jun Douluo also channeled his full soul power, pushing the Coiling Dragon Staff to its limit.
At last, the two martial souls shattered in midair. Tang Ba was the first to be blasted away, crashing into a mountain peak behind Clear Sky Sect.
"Tang Hao! You are the sinner of Clear Sky Sect! Even in death, I won't forgive you!" Tang Ba cursed before breathing his last.
As Qian Jun Douluo was also flung backward, Demon-Subduing Douluo acted in time to catch and rescue him.
After landing, Qian Jun Douluo quickly sat cross-legged and activated his Xuantian Technique to recover. His endless soul power visibly healed his wounds.
"The aftershock of the Clear Sky Sect's secret art is truly fierce. Fortunately, the Xuantian Technique helps. The combination of this technique with the secret art is simply wonderful."
Meanwhile, the Spirit Hall forces pursued the Clear Sky Sect disciples all the way to their ancestral land.
Standing on the cliffside and seeing the Spirit Hall troops stop short of crossing the boundary, Tang Lie felt a sense of survival after disaster.
"It seems the promise Grandfather made with Qian Daoliu still holds. Our Clear Sky Sect can continue on here," said Tang Xiao.
Then, turning to gaze at the decimated sect disciples—less than one-tenth remaining—he thought of the era of his grandfather, when a level 99 Limit Douluo guarded the sect.
Back then, Tang Ba and other super Douluo elders, along with the younger generation of Title Douluo powerhouses, led the Three Upper Sects in standing toe-to-toe with Spirit Hall. How glorious those days were! Now, Clear Sky Sect had only one Title Douluo left—Tang Xiao himself—a cripple with a broken spine.
"Tang Xiao! If it weren't for that disgrace from your bloodline, would we need to be hiding here like this?!" Tang Lie roared, eyes red with fury.
"Say Tang Hao if you want to! Why involve my entire bloodline?" Tang Xiao retorted.
"Hmph! Don't think I don't know. You also loved that hundred-thousand-year soul beast, didn't you? You brothers are the same! What—Tang Hao fathered that abomination neither human nor beast, and now you want to do the same? Your bloodline is a curse upon Clear Sky Sect!" Tang Lie accused.
"You dare say that again?!" Tang Xiao pointed at Tang Lie in rage.
"I'll say it again! I'm not afraid of you—a crippled Douluo!"
Turning to the remaining Clear Sky Sect disciples, Tang Lie shouted,
"Brothers, do you remember why our sect suffered such calamity? It all began with Tang Hao, that beast, and Tang Xiao fighting over the mating rights of a hundred-thousand-year soul beast! Isn't that laughable? Think of it—your loved ones died because of that beast Tang Hao! He even drew Spirit Hall to us. Now look at our sect! Tell me—aren't Tang Hao and Tang Xiao a curse upon Clear Sky Sect?"
"Right! A curse! A curse!"
The other sect disciples, remembering their fallen kin, gripped their Clear Sky Hammers tightly and shouted in agreement.
"Please, listen to me! I'm not like that beast Tang Hao! He's my enemy! I truly love our sect!" Tang Xiao pleaded.
"Not the same? Then explain why that hundred-thousand-year soul beast was willing to sacrifice itself for you!" Tang Lie said coldly. "From what I know, it truly loved you. You just couldn't protect it—and Tang Hao stole it. You are truly worthless."
Tang Lie's words pierced Tang Xiao's heart like a blade. Eyes red, breath heavy, he summoned his martial soul, the Clear Sky Hammer.
"Tang Lie! Come here and die!"
Though his aura was fierce, Tang Xiao was paralyzed from the waist down and could only fight while stationary.
"I'm not afraid of you!" Tang Lie replied. Against a crippled Douluo, he felt no fear. He too summoned his Clear Sky Hammer.
The two of them—representing the strongest remaining forces of Clear Sky Sect—stood ready to battle: one a half-paralyzed Title Douluo, the other one of the last remaining Soul Douluo.
From across the cliff, Glowing Feather Douluo's mocking voice drifted over:
"Well, well… the show's about to begin."
"We haven't even attacked yet, and these rats are already fighting each other," Qianjun sneered.
Hearing their voices, the two gradually came to their senses.
Only then did the Clear Sky Sect disciples turn their attention across the cliff—Spirit Hall's forces were already gathered. Were they preparing to attack?
"You… what are you planning?" Tang Lie asked nervously. "Don't forget the promise your High Priest made to our previous sect master, Tang Chen."
"Oh, you're right. I nearly forgot about the agreement that Big Brother made with Tang Chen back then."
Grand Worship Glowing Feather Douluo tapped his temple and said with a self-reproaching tone, "It's true — the older one gets, the more forgetful one becomes. Sixth Brother, Seventh Brother, why don't you remind me, what was that agreement again?"
Qian Jun replied, "I think it was that ever since Big Brother, no one from the Spirit Hall is allowed to cross this cliff."
Glowing Feather Douluo said with a troubled expression, "Ah, that really complicates things. I had originally planned to wipe out the Clear Sky Clan in one decisive strike."
A disciple of the Clear Sky Clan spoke up:
"The Spirit Hall built its reputation on trustworthiness and integrity; that is why it became a sanctuary for soul masters across the continent. Surely you don't want the world to see you as a hall that breaks its promises?"
Just as his words fell, an arrow instantly pierced through this Clear Sky disciple, killing him on the spot.
"What a noisy rat," Glowing Feather Douluo said impatiently.
Another Clear Sky disciple had died.
Tang Xiao's eyes turned bloodshot, and he panted heavily like an enraged bull as he pointed at Glowing Feather Douluo:
"You are violating the Grand Worship's oath!"
"Am I?" Glowing Feather Douluo turned to the Spirit Hall members behind him and asked, "Have I crossed that cliff?"
"No, the Grand Worship's oath stated that none of our people can cross the cliff. It didn't say anything about your arrows not flying across," a flattery-prone Spirit Hall Contra replied.
Glowing Feather Douluo turned back to Tang Xiao and said, "Did you hear that? Have I broken Big Brother's oath?"
Tang Xiao and Tang Lie's faces darkened dramatically.
If the oath could be twisted this way, then with Glowing Feather Douluo's long-range archery, the entire ancestral grounds of the Clear Sky Clan were within his range. He could shoot at will — they would never be safe unless they became bunker dwellers, hiding underground forever.
But wouldn't that truly make them rats?
Faced with Glowing Feather Douluo's arrows, some of the Clear Sky disciples thought about running, trying to find cover — but without exception, they were all sniped down by Glowing Feather Douluo with pinpoint precision.
Through death, Glowing Feather Douluo demonstrated that before him, there was no escape.
Cold sweat drenched the Clear Sky disciples.
At that moment, Qian Jun stepped forward and addressed everyone:
"Now, I would like to formally announce something."
"Please, Brother," Demon Subduing Duoluo said.
"After much deliberation, I've made a difficult decision. I intend to leave the Spirit Hall and become a free soul master," Qian Jun said.
"That is truly unfortunate. Our Spirit Hall is losing a Super Douluo," Glowing Feather Douluo said with a look of helplessness.
"Brother, are you sure you don't want to reconsider?" Demon Subduing Duoluo asked, unwilling to part.
Qian Jun replied, "Becoming a free soul master has always been my dream. My mind is made up; no need to discuss it further."
Tang Lie and Tang Xiao stared dumbfounded at this turn of events. Tang Lie's mind couldn't process it for a moment:
"What... what are they doing?"
Tang Xiao quickly grasped the situation:
"This is bad. If Qian Jun leaves the Spirit Hall, then he is no longer one of them."
As soon as he said this, Qian Jun leapt directly across the cliff, landing on the Clear Sky Clan's side.
With a cold smile, Qian Jun said:
"You're exactly right. I, Qian Jun, am no longer a member of the Spirit Hall — I am no longer bound by the Grand Worship's oath."
At that moment, the Clear Sky disciples on the cliff edge were now facing a Level 97 Super Douluo head-on. Their sweat poured even faster; their backs were drenched.
"You... You... You Spirit Hall people are shameless!" Tang Xiao stammered, pointing at Qian Jun.
Before he could finish, Qian Jun slapped him, sending him spinning through the air, making a full 360-degree rotation before hitting the ground.
"Spirit Hall? What Spirit Hall? I, Qian Jun, have already left Spirit Hall and am now a free soul master."
At this point, the Clear Sky Clan finally understood: the oath left by Qian Daoliu had no binding force on these people whatsoever.
Glowing Feather Douluo shot as he pleased; Qian Jun quit the Spirit Hall whenever it was convenient. The oath couldn't protect them at all.
Tang Lie's eyes turned red again, his breath ragged as he shouted:
"Are you truly going to commit such an act of extermination?"
Realizing there was no way out, the Clear Sky disciples summoned their Clear Sky Hammers, ready to fight to the death.
"So what if we wipe out you rats?" Qian Jun said with disdain.
"However, I'm not one to slaughter indiscriminately. If you meet my demands, I will allow you to survive here."
"What demands?"
Hearing they might live, Tang Lie's eyes no longer glowed red, and his breathing calmed somewhat.
Qian Jun walked straight to the Clear Sky Clan's mountain hall behind the cliff.
There stood a massive stone plaque, carved with three large characters:
Clear Sky Clan
On either side, the couplets read:
Majestic Clear Sky Clan,
Relying on the Battle Hammer.
Qian Jun stroked his chin and said:
"The name is good, the lines are fine, but there's one problem."
"What problem?" Tang Xiao asked through gritted teeth.
"You rats are unworthy of it," Qian Jun replied.
Hearing this, the Clear Sky disciples' eyes immediately turned red, their breath growing ragged.
"Thinking of fighting back?"
Qian Jun unleashed a terrifying wave of soul power, plunging them all into a pit of fear.
He leapt high with his Coiling Dragon Staff and smashed the plaque into pieces.
Tang Xiao, Tang Lie, and the other Clear Sky disciples clenched their fists, watching helplessly as the symbol of their clan's honor was reduced to rubble.
"Sixth Brother, catch!"
Glowing Feather Douluo channeled his soul power and tossed a giant plaque from across the cliff.
Qian Jun easily caught it and installed it where the old plaque had been.
The Clear Sky disciples looked up — and their blood boiled with fury:
The new plaque read three words: Rat Den
"To hell with it, let's fight! The Clear Sky Clan will not be humiliated!"
One hot-blooded disciple charged at Qian Jun with his Clear Sky Hammer — but before he got close, Glowing Feather Douluo shot him dead with a single arrow from across the cliff.
"Any rat that wants to die, step forward. I'll happily send each of you on your way," Glowing Feather Douluo said nonchalantly, toying with a miniaturized arrow in his hand.
Demon Subduing Duoluo also shouted:
"Remember this — this catastrophe you're suffering today was brought upon you because your people killed our Spirit Hall's Pope first. Allowing you to survive here is already the greatest mercy we can offer."
His words reminded the surviving Clear Sky members: who had really driven them to this point?
Tang Hao.
Did they hate the Spirit Hall? Yes — but their hatred for Tang Hao was a thousand times stronger.
Qian Jun landed and pointed at them:
"From now on, this place will be called Rat Den. You rats better listen: I will occasionally leave the Spirit Hall to inspect this place. If I ever see you change those three words, don't blame me for wiping you all out. Do you understand?"
"Un... understand."
"Louder."
"Understood!"
The Clear Sky members shouted in unison.
"Hahaha! Good — at least you know when to submit."
Qian Jun laughed.