Tang San pointed at himself and declared with unshakable dominance, "I, Tang San, Young Sect Master of the Clear Sky Sect, son of the Clear Sky Douluo."
"Has your Sacred Dragon Sect been hiding in Spirit Hall City for so long that you've forgotten your place? Can't even tell who truly belongs to the Upper Three Sects?"
During his time in Spirit Hall City, Tang San had noticed that many sects like the Sacred Dragon Sect had deep-rooted ties with Spirit Hall. Their sect leaders and disciples often hailed from Spirit Academy, creating a web of shared interests.
Moreover, Spirit Hall City's vast territory meant that even the surrounding cities were beyond the influence of the Seven Great Sects and the two empires. This had given sects like the Sacred Dragon Sect an inflated sense of importance, especially those with Titled Douluo among their ranks. They fancied themselves as rising powers, surpassing even the Lower Four Sects and daring to challenge the Upper Three Sects.
Tang San found this somewhat exasperating. While the Seven Great Sects were nominally grouped as the Upper Three and Lower Four, the gap between them was staggering. The Lower Four Sects were so weak that they didn't even have a single Titled Douluo. Their frailty made it seem as though the Clear Sky Sect, standing alongside them, was also a fading force destined for decline.
"Pathetic Sacred Dragon Sect, do you really think our Clear Sky Sect is as weak as those crumbling Lower Four Sects?" Tailong lifted his chin arrogantly, looking down at the three Soul Emperors from the Sacred Dragon Sect. The Clear Sky Sect wasn't declining—it was growing stronger than ever!
"You—" The three Sacred Dragon Sect members stared in shock at Tang Long and Tang Hu. They realized these two young men were already Soul Emperors, with Tang Long even reaching level 69—just one step away from becoming a Soul Saint.
But their Soul Power wasn't the most alarming part. Their age was. To reach Soul Emperor at such a young age meant they had the potential to become Soul Douluo, or even Titled Douluo, in the future.
"How is this possible? The Seven Great Sects were supposed to be in decline! The Titled Douluo of the Lower Four Sects have all died of old age, and even the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon's Titled Douluo is aging. How is the Clear Sky Sect different?!"
Their minds reeled with disbelief. While most sects had hidden reserves, for the third generation to already reach Soul Emperor and Soul Saint levels meant the second and first generations had to be at least Soul Douluo!
This level of hidden strength was absurd.
"Tang—" Before they could finish, Tang San cut them off coldly. "Your Sacred Dragon Sect has two choices. One, tuck your tails between your legs and scram. Two, if you're not convinced, go ahead and bring out your Soul Saints, Soul Douluo, or even your Titled Douluo sect leader. My Clear Sky Sect has no problem facing you in a Sect Showdown."
"And to be fair, we won't overwhelm you. Whatever numbers you bring, we'll match them. Ten Soul Douluo? We'll bring ten. However many you have, we'll answer in kind."
Sect Showdown!
The three Sacred Dragon Sect experts gritted their teeth but didn't dare retort. Their sect did have Soul Douluo—but only two. And as for Titled Douluo, only their sect leader held that title.
The reason their sect leader Tuo Ba Xi hadn't shown himself was simply because his strength was indeed inferior.
With only 91st rank Soul Power, Tuo Ba Xi couldn't defeat either Tang Hao or Tang Xiao. If either Tang Xiao or Tang Hao happened to be present, his appearance might lead to an ambush, so he had been observing from afar all along.
Never could he have imagined that just the third-generation disciples of their sect were enough to sweep through everything, without even needing the second or older generations to act. Currently, the strongest third-generation disciple in the Sacred Dragon Sect was Tuo Jia, who only had Soul Power in the forties.
Tang San's arrogant expression ignited boundless fury in the hearts of the Sacred Dragon Sect members. However, given the current situation, they had come to realize the vast gap in strength between the Sacred Dragon Sect and the Clear Sky Sect. It wasn't as they had imagined—that the Seven Great Sects had declined. At the very least, the Clear Sky Sect hadn't declined.
Suppressing their rage with great difficulty, the Soul Emperor leading the Sacred Dragon Sect waved his hand and left with a gloomy expression.
"Tch." Tang Hu watched these people who didn't even have the courage to fight, his heart filled with disdain.
Tang Long pondered for a moment before saying, "This Sacred Dragon Sect has given us some insight. The Seven Great Sects might truly need to change. In the past, although the Lower Four Sects weren't as strong as our Upper Three Sects, each of them had one Titled Douluo, while we had two, hence the collective name of Seven Great Sects."
"But now, the Lower Four Sects have completely declined, with no new Titled Douluo emerging in nearly a century. They no longer have the qualifications to remain as one of the Seven Great Sects. Their existence only drags down our reputation. Without sufficient prestige, it becomes difficult to attract Soul Masters graduating from academies, which isn't good for us."
The concept of the Seven Great Sects wasn't new. Long ago, it was established by the then seven Titled Douluo sect leaders. To put it bluntly, it was an alliance of seven sects with Titled Douluo joining forces to suppress other small and medium-sized sects, eventually forming the current Seven Great Sects.
Over time, weaker sects, unable to attract Soul Masters or secure good resource-rich lands, were either absorbed by the Seven Great Sects or simply vanished.
Tang San shook his head. "Cousin Long, let's leave these matters for the sect's higher-ups to discuss. We have more important things to attend to."
Hearing this, both Tang Long and Tang Hu put away their relaxed expressions. They had received Tang San's message about discovering a special ancient ruin—the remains of an ancient Soul Guidance Device sect.
Now, the Clear Sky Sect had prioritized Soul Guidance Devices as the most crucial aspect of their development, collecting all information related to them worldwide.
Tang San had once crafted some of the Tang Sect's Hidden Weapons, but this world still adhered to the laws of physics and energy conservation. Hidden Weapons like the Zhuge Repeating Crossbow could store only limited energy, rendering them less effective. Thus, Tang San planned to modify them into Soul Guidance Devices.
Tang Long said, "Based on the location you provided, we had the Min Clan investigate. But according to the reports from their disciples, that place seems unusual."
"Unusual?" Tang San had delayed coming here not just for training—the main reason was that scouts needed time to gather intelligence.
Tang Hu nodded and said, "Yes, within this Ancient Ruins, Soul Masters with strength above Soul Saint level cannot enter. If a Soul Saint attempts to force their way in, it will trigger strange Soul Guidance Device mechanisms and transport them to unknown locations."
"Entry forbidden for Soul Saints?"
Tang Hu continued, "Moreover, this Ancient Ruins remained undiscovered for so long because it only opens periodically, and the opening times are completely random. Currently, we only know it opens randomly twice within a week."
--Support me in Patreon for more chapters 35+ chapters in there
patreon.com/TLGod
Thanks!