To Tang Xiao... soul beasts were nothing more than food, living treasures wrapped in flesh and bone...
In the month he had lived until now, he had lost count of how many varieties of soul beast meat had passed through his mouth... Those devoured delicacies ranged from fiery rabbit head to tender tiger tail... To him, it mattered not whether they were wicked or pure... as long as they melted on his tongue, that was enough.
If possible, he would not even mind savoring the leaves of the Blue Silver Emperor... Lightly fried with a drizzle of oil and sprinkled with spices, they would surely taste divine.
But today, because of the Seventh Elder, he had to speak against his conscience and betray his heart... Tang Xiao was truly furious now.
"This damn old bastard... Don't let me catch you alone... otherwise, I will bury you alive." Tang Xiao raised a red flag against the Seventh Elder. He really despised those who liked to nitpick and target him...
"Heh... the Eldest Young Master must have been bewitched too. What evil and good... soul beasts are all evil." Hearing Tang Xiao lecture him, the Seventh Elder's anger flared, and he viciously scorned.
But Tang Xiao stood silent... He had already said and clarified everything he needed. Even if this dog of a Seventh Elder couldn't understand, his father and the other elders must have.
And his so-called little sister, who had been silent until now, must have also realized... who exactly Tang Xiao's true target was for making such a statement.
So why would he still waste his words arguing with this bastard of a Seventh Elder?
"Seventh, that's enough... Xiao'er has no fault in this matter. His cultivation is not high enough to see through that soul beast's identity. Even if it were us old ones standing before that soul beast, we would not have seen through her either."
"What we need to consider now is how to give an explanation to Spirit Hall regarding this matter."
At this moment, the First Elder, who was also the eldest among the elders, stepped forward and spoke. He was satisfied with Tang Xiao's stance... In his opinion, being able to speak this far showed that Tang Xiao had begun forming his own judgment and could stand neutral in any situation...
He also noticed the calmness in Tang Xiao's eyes when he spoke... which was one of the traits required for a clan leader.
Unlike others, the First Elder was farsighted... He knew that after this scandal, the possibility of Tang Hao inheriting the clan leader's position was nearly zero, unless by some unexpected turn Tang Hao could completely whitewash himself by killing that soul beast.
That way, it could be proclaimed to the world that Tang Hao was merely fooling the soul beast and keeping it for his ninth soul ring.
Of course, most would not believe it... Questions would inevitably arise, such as—when you could easily imprison the beast within your sect, why parade her at your side?
But that wouldn't be much of a problem for Tang Hao or clear sky sect... Strength silences all criticism, and after a few years, such talk would fade.
However, from the letter's content, it was clear Tang Hao was infatuated with that soul beast... So the likelihood of Tang Hao inheriting the sect was very low. This meant the next sect leader would be Tang Xiao... The First Elder understood this clearly. Thus, he interceded, preventing his seventh brother from speaking foolishly and souring ties with Tang Xiao.
Hearing the First Elder speak, even though the hot-headed Seventh Elder felt unwilling, he still shut his mouth.
"Yes... our first priority now is to give an explanation to Spirit Hall. Now that father's whereabouts are unknown and he hasn't returned to the sect for six years... if Spirit Hall takes this chance to target us, it would be troublesome." Tang Zhen spoke with a weary sigh.
"Heh... Do they dare?" the Seventh Elder fumed.
"Yes... Clan Leader, if they come, we will simply bury them here! Who fears whom?" The Second and Fourth Elders also spoke arrogantly.
It could be seen... under Tang Chen's rule, whether their strength had grown or not, in arrogance—other than a select few like Tang Zhen and the First Elder—everyone overflowed.
Seeing their response, Tang Zhen exchanged a glance with the First Elder and smiled wryly.
In the end, Tang Zhen could only downplay the gravity of the matter so as not to lower morale and said...
"Hah... Indeed, we do not fear them. But if we wish Spirit Hall not to expose this scandal to the world, then we must silence them. An explanation is still needed... So let us craft one. And, summon Bai He. We must discover the whereabouts of that foolish son of mine..."
At Tang Zhen's words, the hall erupted into discussion of plausible reasons...
Meanwhile, Tang Xiao and Tang Yuehua remained silent, refusing to meddle...
Tang Yuehua was full of worry for Tang Hao. She also didn't want to intervene in this matter for fear of displeasing Tang Hao.
Tang Xiao also had a similar reason... but his true purpose in not giving suggestions was that he did not want to alter too much of the events set to unfold in the coming four years.
For these four years, Tang Xiao wanted to remain as low-key as possible and cultivate quietly... perhaps even marry and father a child.
"I will only involve myself after Ah Yin sacrifices... Until then... Although I am not a dragon, I shall act as a sleeping dragon." Tang Xiao thought to himself with a touch of amusement.
...
After long hours of discussion, Tang Zhen and the other elders came up with a reason... That was to place all the blame on Ah Yin for now, absolving Tang Hao and their sect of responsibility.
In the end, they wrote a letter declaring that Ah Yin was a soul beast skilled in bewitchment arts who had seduced Tang Hao by some means... And they clearly stated that the Clear Sky Sect would arrest and kill her. The letter also emphasized that Spirit Hall had no need to interfere in this matter, as it was a Clear Sky Sect internal affair, and the soul beast ultimately belonged to them since it was their people who discovered her first... If Spirit Hall intervened, they would have to give an explanation and even pay a price for offending the Clear Sky Sect.
The letter's content was indeed domineering... After all, the Clear Sky Sect was infamous for protecting its shortcomings.
To this, Tang Xiao could only sneer inwardly...
Just because they said not to intervene and threatened lightly, would Spirit Hall stop? Haha... That was Spirit Hall... a behemoth with nearly twenty Titled Douluos... Among them, one Limit Douluo and one peak level 98... And they also represented justice across the mainland...
And most importantly, the person now eyeing Ah Yin was Qian Xunji, the Pope of Spirit Hall. Considering his nature, it was a foregone conclusion that Spirit Hall would exert maximum effort to capture Ah Yin... At the very least, Tang Xiao was certain Qian Xunji would mobilize five or six Titled Douluo.
And as he foresaw... one month later, Spirit Hall's reply arrived.