As dawn broke, the sun was just rising in the east.
The Breaking Clan's estate.
Lin Rong, who had stayed up all night, was currently sitting in the living room, tallying the spoils that Dugu Bo and Yang Wudi had plundered from the Wind Sword Sect.
"Gold, silver, jewels, jade, antiques, calligraphy, and paintings... all common trinkets."
"Wind Sword Martial Soul cultivation insights, my subordinates should find them useful; sword techniques..."
"Uh, Spirit Bones, there are four."
"A ten-thousand-year Head Bone, a twelve-thousand-year Torso Bone, a seventeen-thousand-year Left Arm Bone, and a twenty-three-thousand-year Right Arm Bone."
"The mighty Lower Four Sects, is this all?"
"Only one of the four Spirit Bones has an age exceeding twenty thousand years. Excluding this one, they don't seem much stronger than my family's inherited Spirit Bones."
"But thinking about it carefully, the Lower Four Sects don't have a single Titled Douluo. Having four ten-thousand-year Spirit Bones seems quite good already."
"After all, if their sect's inherited Spirit Bones had a sufficiently high age, the Lower Four Sects would have had Titled Douluo long ago."
Looking at the four resplendent Spirit Bones floating before him, Lin Rong slid one towards Dugu Bo.
"Take this Torso Bone. Although its age is a bit low, it's still a ten-thousand-year Spirit Bone. Make do with it and absorb it."
"Many thanks, my lord." Dugu Bo accepted the Torso Bone, his tone carrying a hint of pleasant surprise.
Although this Torso Bone was only twelve thousand years old, the lowest among the Wind Sword Sect's four inherited Spirit Bones, its position was the most precious among the six standard Spirit Bone locations: the Torso Bone.
Dugu Bo already possessed a Head Bone and a Left Arm Bone. Among the Wind Sword Sect's four inherited Spirit Bones, the only ones he could absorb were the Torso Bone with the lowest age and the Right Arm Bone with the highest age.
While the Right Arm Bone was over twenty thousand years old, in terms of preciousness, it was actually less valuable than the ten-thousand-year Torso Bone.
A twenty-thousand-year Head Bone would have been more comparable.
Next, seeing Yang Wudi with injuries, Lin Rong slid another Spirit Bone towards him.
"Take this Head Bone. Absorbing it will significantly boost your mental power, making it easier for you to remain calm in battle and less prone to getting carried away."
"Yes, I understand, old man." As Yang Wudi took the Spirit Bone, he inadvertently moved his wounds, letting out a sharp intake of breath from the pain.
In his battle with the former sect master of the Wind Sword Sect, although he had killed his opponent, he himself was not unscathed. He had been severely injured by a final blow from his dying foe.
If not for the potent effects of the healing medicine he had concocted, Yang Wudi wouldn't be standing here talking right now; he would have been bedridden recuperating.
Seeing this, Lin Rong activated his innate domain, pure life force flowing into Yang Wudi. Combined with the effects of the healing medicine within him, his injuries healed at a speed visible to the naked eye, returning him to his former state.
"Innate domain?" Yang Wudi mumbled, then asked, "My lord, why does your Martial Soul seem more like a support-type than a control-type?"
"This healing effect is comparable to that of a healing-type Soul Douluo."
Regarding this question, Lin Rong replied calmly, "There are numerous types of healing Martial Souls in the world, but over ninety percent fall under the category of Plant System Martial Souls."
"As a top-tier Plant System Martial Soul, isn't it normal for my Nine Bend Vine Dragon to have a stronger healing effect?"
After speaking, Lin Rong instructed again, "Alright, hurry up and have your clansmen pack their belongings and prepare for migration."
"The Wind Sword Sect has been destroyed, and the Spirit Hall's Red-robed Archbishop is still unconscious at the Wind Sword Sect's base. For the next few months, Windy City will be quite lively."
"It's best to leave this place of turmoil as soon as possible."
...
Two days later.
The tragic incident of the Wind Sword Sect's annihilation had spread like wildfire. From high-ranking officials to common folk throughout Windy City, everyone was discussing the matter during their leisure time.
According to whispers, someone had seen the Spirit Hall's Red-robed Archbishop emerge from the Wind Sword Sect's base covered in blood.
Although no one dared to confirm this openly, where there's smoke, there's fire. People were secretly discussing whether the destruction of the Wind Sword Sect was the work of Spirit Hall.
Inside a restaurant in Windy City.
At a wine table, Old Wang looked around furtively and leaned in to whisper to Old Li, "Do you think Spirit Hall really did this?"
"Hard to say." Old Li glanced around and replied in a low voice, "However, it's highly likely Spirit Hall did it. To destroy one of the Lower Four Sects so casually, only Spirit Hall has that capability."
"You've seen it yourself. Even the Breaking Clan, rumored to have enmity with Spirit Hall, was so scared they didn't dare to stay in Windy City. They abandoned the business network they had painstakingly built and moved their entire clan, disappearing to who knows where to seek refuge."
"Yeah." Old Wang nodded, took a sip of wine, and said quietly, "It's said that the fellow who claimed to have personally witnessed the Spirit Hall's Red-robed Archbishop emerge from the Wind Sword Sect covered in blood died gruesomely in his home the very night he released the news."
"If Spirit Hall had nothing to hide, why would they silence him?"
"But, Old Li, what do you think was Spirit Hall's reason for destroying the Wind Sword Sect?"
"Just a few days ago, wasn't the Spirit Hall's Red-robed Archbishop attending the former sect master of the Wind Sword Sect's birthday banquet?"
"This..." Old Li took a sip of his wine and guessed, "Perhaps it's because the Cardinal attended that birthday banquet and accidentally discovered that the Wind Sword Sect was hiding an unparalleled treasure."
"To claim that treasure for themselves, Spirit Hall dispatched several elders, rumored to be Titled Douluo level, and in a single night, utterly destroyed the Wind Sword Sect!"
As he spoke, Old Li made a throat-slitting gesture.
"Moreover, I estimate that the reason the Cardinal emerged from the Wind Sword Sect covered in blood was to interrogate the Wind Sword Sect's higher-ups about the treasure's whereabouts."
"This also aligns with the rumors that the bodies of the Wind Sword Sect's Soul Douluos bore marks of various tortures."
"Think about it, if Spirit Hall dispatched Titled Douluo level elders to be involved, wouldn't these dirty, thankless tasks fall to the lowest-ranking Cardinal?"
"Mm, that makes sense." Old Wang nodded, then added with a hint of mockery in his tone, "It's only those low-class scum who can't even awaken their Soul Power who would think Spirit Hall incapable of such a deed."
"But then again, Spirit Hall does awaken Martial Souls for their descendants for free every year!"
"Clearly, Spirit Hall only does this because new blood in the Spirit Master world is monopolized by the major nobles and sects. They can only use the method of awakening Martial Souls for commoners to find lucky individuals with mutated Martial Souls, relying on the vast base of commoners to support Spirit Hall's need for new blood."
After finishing, Old Wang was about to say more when Old Li beside him kicked his foot, and a faint voice reached his ear.
"Shh, stop talking, people from Spirit Hall are here."
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