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Tang Xiao suddenly slammed his hand down on the agarwood armrest beside him. The hard wood could not withstand his strength and cracked instantly. He stood up abruptly like a lion waking from a long sleep.
A loud, furious roar filled the hall. This roar was packed with his massive spirit power and the natural authority of a Sect Master. It exploded like a clap of thunder, immediately silencing all the insults and noise in the room.
The restless crowd below was terrified by this sudden display of power. The shouting stopped at once. Although their faces still showed anger and stubbornness, they did not dare to cause a scene again. They could only stand there and stare at Tang San in the middle of the hall with eyes full of hate.
However, the silence did not mean the conflict was over. Tang Xiao's attempt to stop the noise only made the Elders want to fight back even more. Seventh Elder was especially angry. He stepped forward and pointed his finger almost right at Tang Xiao's nose. His voice shook with pure rage as he spoke.
"Sect Master, what is the meaning of this? Are you really going to protect this bastard in front of the whole Sect? He has defiled our sacred Spirit!"
Tang Xiao's face turned cold. His eyes shot toward Seventh Elder like a bolt of lightning. He spoke in a very deep, serious voice.
"Seventh Elder, what exactly do you want? Little San is the child of my brother, Tang Hao. He is the grandson of the former Sect Master. They share the same blood, and that is a fact no one can change. The most honorable bloodline of the Clear Sky Sect flows inside him."
He took a deep breath, trying to stay calm so he could help Tang San.
"Besides, Little San did not come back here to hide or ask for help. He came back to help our Sect become strong again. He wants to restore our glory so we can be the number one Sect in the world once more."
When he said those words, Seventh Elder looked shocked. The other Elders, who had been sitting with their eyes closed or just watching, also opened their eyes. They looked at Tang Xiao as if he had said something completely crazy. Below them, the disciples started to sneer and laugh quietly.
Second Elder slowly opened his eyes. He was the oldest and usually the most calm person there. Even he had a mocking smile on his face when he spoke.
"Sect Master, you must be joking. Do you really mean him? A teenager is going to help us become strong again? You think he can do that with his unique Spirit?"
He said the word "unique" with a lot of sarcasm. This made everyone remember the gross descriptions they had heard about Tang San's mutated Spirit.
"I am not joking. Did you know that Little San is only fifteen years old, but his spirit power is already at Rank sixty-six? He is a real Spirit Emperor!"
Tang Xiao stood tall as he faced their doubt. He knew this was the only way to get them to listen to Tang San. He looked around the room and raised his voice so everyone could hear.
"A fifteen-year-old Spirit Emperor? That is impossible! He must be lying to us!"
The hall turned into a mess of shouting again. Everyone was shocked by that number. Even the Elders looked surprised. A Spirit Emperor at fifteen was something nobody had ever heard of before.
Tang Xiao was happy to see them so shocked. He decided to tell them something even more amazing.
"Many years ago, my grandfather, Tang Chen, was known as the Invincible of the Land. When he was fifteen, he was only around Rank fifty. Little San's talent is even greater than my grandfather's!"
His eyes were bright, and his voice echoed through the hall like a ringing bell.
"He is a genius like we have never seen. If we give him time and teach him well, he will definitely help the Clear Sky Sect become powerful again. In ten years, he will be the leader of his generation. Why should we push away a genius like this just because his Spirit had a small problem we don't understand yet?"
Tang Xiao's words were very strong. He was trying to use Tang San's amazing growth to hide the shame of the Spirit mutation. He wanted them to see Tang San as the future of the Sect.
The hall became quiet for a short time. Many people were thinking about those numbers and started whispering to each other. If the Sect Master was telling the truth, then maybe Tang San was special. However, Seventh Elder's face only got darker. He looked at Tang San and then back at Tang Xiao.
"Talent? It doesn't matter how much talent he has. If his Spirit is in such a disgusting state, that is a crime. You want to give the future of our Sect to a bastard who can't even keep his own Spirit clean? This is crazy. I will never agree to this!"
The argument was now between Tang San's talent and the shame of his Spirit. The focus went right back to the Clear Sky Hammer. Even though Tang San hadn't shown it yet, everyone was already making fun of it.
While everyone was arguing about the rumors of Tang San's "maggot hammer," Tang Xiao stood up again to explain.
"Please, everyone, listen to me. The reason Little San's Clear Sky Hammer changed is that he has twin spirits. Because he is training two Spirits at the same time, the power from his attributes crashed together. This caused a mutation when he got his first spirit ring."
Tang San had told this to Tang Yuehua on the way there, and she had just sent the message to Tang Xiao's mind.
"Twin spirits? Two Spirits at once? How can that be? The Clear Sky Hammer and that other Spirit Beast? It has been so many years since we saw twin spirits on the continent!"
Everyone was stunned by the news. Twin spirits meant he had unlimited potential. If he grew up, he would be one of the strongest people alive. Even Seventh Elder looked shocked for a second. Tang Xiao tried to use this moment to change their minds.
"That's right. Little San has twin spirits. Even though the first ring on his hammer had a problem, it can be fixed. If the next rings he gets are strong enough, they will cover the mistake and make him even more powerful. I am asking all of you to stop being so hard on him. Do it for the sake of his talent and his bloodline."
He spoke with a lot of feeling. He hoped the value of twin spirits would outweigh the bad reputation of the mutated hammer. But hatred is a hard thing to get rid of. Seventh Elder shook off his shock, and his face twisted with anger again. He pointed at Tang San and screamed.
"Stop being hard on him? You want me to be nice to this mongrel? Who is going to bring my son back to life? If that trash Tang Hao hadn't caused trouble, my son wouldn't have died fighting Spirit Hall. Tang Hao just ran away and left us to suffer while the Sect got weaker. Now you want me to forgive his son just because he has two Spirits? In your dreams!"
He became more and more upset as he spoke. All the sadness and shame he had felt for years finally came out. He started yelling terrible things at Tang San.
"You little brat! You and your father are both curses to this Sect. Your father was a piece of junk who couldn't control himself. He almost destroyed our foundation for a woman who was a Spirit Beast. You are trash too. You turned your own Spirit into something that isn't even human. You both are the shame of the Clear Sky Sect. You are sinners and you should be punished!"
These mean words, especially the ones about his father, hit Tang San hard. It was like needles being stuck into his heart. He couldn't stay calm anymore. Tang San's head snapped up. His eyes, which had been full of guilt, were now bright red.
Suddenly, a terrifying feeling of killing intent exploded from his body. It felt cold and thick, like he was standing in a place full of death. He activated his Slaughter God Domain. A dark red light spread out from him. The temperature in the room dropped, and it smelled like blood. The younger disciples felt like they were freezing, and they were shaking with fear.
"You can say whatever you want about me, but don't you dare talk about my father like that!"
Tang San stared at Seventh Elder with red eyes. Even though he was only a Spirit Emperor, he used his domain to push back against the pressure of a Titled Douluo.
"How dare you! You have no respect! This is out of line!"
The other Elders were furious. To them, Tang San was being disrespectful to his superiors. Many Titled Douluo released their pressure at the same time. It felt like mountains were falling on Tang San. His Slaughter God Domain started to shake. He groaned and a little bit of blood came out of his mouth, but he refused to back down. He kept his back straight and looked at them with pure determination.
"You use your age and your power just to bully me and insult my father. I, Tang San, am standing here today to challenge you! If I win, you have to apologize to my father!"
Seventh Elder thought this was the funniest thing he had ever heard. He started laughing loudly.
"Hahaha! You? A Spirit Emperor with six rings thinks he can challenge me? I could crush a brat like you with one finger!"
Tang San was too angry to care. He sneered back at the Elder.
"Are you scared, old man? Are you afraid you'll lose to a bastard like me in front of everyone? Are you worried you'll lose your pride?"
"You!"
Seventh Elder was so mad his hair was standing up. His spirit power started leaking out. It looked like he was going to attack Tang San right then and there.
"Seventh Elder, stop!"
Second Elder finally spoke. He reached out to stop Seventh Elder. He was very calm, but his voice was firm.
"You are an Elder. You can't just fight a kid. If people hear about this, the Clear Sky Sect will look bad."
He looked into the crowd and saw a strong young man.
"Tang Hu, come here. You are one of the best of the third generation. You will fight for Seventh Elder and see how strong this twin spirits genius really is. Remember, don't hurt him too badly. But if you lose, you will have to stay in the back mountain for a year to think about what you did wrong."
Tang Hu was about to step forward when a younger, smaller voice came from the crowd.
"Second Elder, wait!"
Everyone looked over and saw a young disciple named Tang Wei. He was not very tall and looked a bit shy. This was actually Tang Chen using a special skill to hide his identity.
"Tang Wei? What is it?"
Second Elder knew Tang Wei wasn't very talented, so he was confused. Tang Chen, pretending to be Tang Wei, bowed to the Elders. He acted like he was very brave and angry.
"Second Elder, why should Brother Tang Hu waste his time on a bastard who insults our honor? I am not the strongest, but I want to fight him and teach him a lesson for the Sect!"
Second Elder looked annoyed.
"Little Wei, you just reached Rank forty and you don't even have your fourth ring yet. How can you fight a Spirit Emperor? Stop playing around and go back to your spot."
Tang Chen did not move. He stood up straight and spoke with confidence.
"Second Elder, don't worry. I might not be strong, but I can see things clearly. I can tell that even though Tang San is Rank sixty, his energy is weak and messy. His killing intent is all over the place. This means he probably used some cheap tricks to get strong too fast. He is like a paper tiger. Even though I am only Rank forty, my foundation is solid. I can handle him easily!"
His words were heard by everyone in the hall. People started laughing.
"Did Tang Wei lose his mind today? A Rank forty fighting a Rank sixty? That's crazy!"
Tang San was shaking with rage. They were calling him weak and sending a Rank forty Spirit Ancestor to fight him? It was a huge insult. He breathed heavily, his eyes still red.
"Fine! Since you want to die, I'll let you! You fight me!"
He pointed at Tang Chen and spoke in a mean, raspy voice.
"But if you lose, what then? Will these old men apologize to my father? Or will you break your own Spirit in front of everyone?"
He sent his pressure and killing intent toward Tang Chen. He wanted to scare this "ant" who was insulting him. But Tang Chen just smiled a little bit. He wasn't scared at all.
"Okay. If I lose, I will break my own Spirit right here."
Tang Chen spoke very calmly, as if it wasn't a big deal.
"But what happens if you lose?"
"I can't lose!"
Tang San laughed like a crazy person. He was totally sure he would win.
"If I lose to a piece of trash like you, you can do whatever you want with me! Kill me or cut me up, I don't care!"
Tang San was too angry to think clearly. He didn't think there was any way a Spirit Ancestor could beat a Spirit Emperor. After all, according to Yu Xiaogang, having the higher rank means you have the advantage.