Chapter 212: The Power Clan
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Jiang Bai strode into the Temple.
Inside the main hall, several deacons were busily attending to their duties. Upon seeing someone enter, a young deacon stepped forward to greet him:
"May I ask who you are looking for...?"
He did not finish his sentence, for he had just clearly recognized the face of the newcomer.
It was a face he had seen countless times in portraits.
It belonged to the Spirit Hall’s Elder of Adjudication—Jiang Bai!
The deacon’s face instantly turned ashen white!
He hurriedly bowed in deep deference: "G-Greetings... Greetings, Elder of Adjudication!"
Jiang Bai nodded coolly and said, "Where is your Bishop? Tell him to come out and see me."
He had actually been hoping to trigger one of those cliché "snobbish underlings looking down on others" scenarios—the kind where he could deliver a satisfying smackdown to humble their arrogance!
The deacon hurriedly replied, "Please wait a moment! I shall go and announce your arrival immediately!"
With that, he turned and fled, stumbling clumsily as he nearly tripped over the threshold.
A moment later, an elderly man came rushing in.
He wore a magnificent crimson robe; his hair was silver-white, and his countenance was benevolent. Upon seeing Jiang Bai, he immediately bowed low in salutation, speaking with utmost reverence: "This humble one is Wallace, Bishop of the Spirit Temple. Greetings, Elder of Adjudication!"
Jiang Bai gave a slight nod: "Dispense with the formalities."
Wallace straightened up and asked cautiously, "Esteemed Elder of Adjudication, to what do I owe the honor of this visit?"
Jiang Bai replied, "Take a squad of Temple Warriors and proceed to the residence of the ’Power Clan’ in Heaven Dou City. Go and clean up the mess there."
Wallace blinked in slight bewilderment: "Elder... what has happened to this ’Power Clan’?"
Jiang Bai looked at him, his gaze utterly calm.
It was a look that seemed to say: You absolute fool.
Wallace shivered involuntarily as the realization dawned on him in an instant.
He hurriedly exclaimed, "Right away! Right away! Esteemed Elder, I shall attend to it immediately!"
Jiang Bai nodded, just about to turn and take his leave. He suddenly halted his steps and asked, "You are Wallace? Where is the original Salas?"
Wallace replied respectfully, "He was stripped of his position by the Papal Palace due to corruption."
Jiang Bai nodded, offering no further comment.
With a flicker of movement, his figure vanished from the spot.
...
The Residence of the Power Clan.
It was a sprawling estate situated in the eastern district of Heaven Dou City.
At this very moment, high above the estate...
A solitary figure hovered in mid-air.
Jiang Bai gazed down upon the estate below, his eyes betraying not the slightest ripple of emotion.
Some time ago, during the Soul Master Tournament, Yue Guan had sent Tai Long—a member of the Power Clan—flying with a single slap. The young man had been returned to the Power Clan’s doorstep half-dead.
He reasoned that since he was already here, he might as well take the opportunity to deal with them once and for all.
After all, the Power Clan served as an ally to Tang San.
If left unchecked, they would inevitably become a future menace.
Jiang Bai raised his right hand.
Within his palm, the Nine-Colored Glazed Pagoda materialized.
The pagoda’s form was petite and exquisite, yet it radiated a brilliant, nine-hued radiance. At its apex, the Heart of the Dragon God shimmered like a distant star, emitting a mysterious and sacred glow.
"Roar—!!!"
"Roar—!!!"
Two earth-shattering dragon roars pierced the heavens!
Two colossal figures materialized out of thin air directly above the Power Clan’s estate!
The Taotie! The Wind Dragon!
The Taotie measured over forty meters in length, its entire body clad in earthy-yellow scales; its massive head resembled a small mountain, and its gaping maw was filled with razor-sharp fangs.
The moment it appeared, a terrifying aura of oppression engulfed the entire estate!
The Wind Dragon spanned over thirty meters in length, its body a vibrant azure-green, its scales shimmering with a faint, ethereal glow. Its wings spread wide, blotting out the sun and sky; with every powerful beat, they whipped up a ferocious hurricane!
Such colossal figures, such terrifying pressure—the entire Power Clan was instantly thrown into a state of alarm!
"Why has the sky suddenly gone dark?!"
Someone looked up, and upon seeing the two gargantuan beasts looming in the heavens, their face instantly turned ashen white!
"Ah! What is that?! A dragon... it’s a dragon!"
"How could a Soul Beast appear here?!"
"Quick, someone! Run!"
The clansmen of the Power Clan were thrown into utter panic, scattering in chaotic disarray!
Some screamed as they fled in all directions; others slumped to the ground, trembling uncontrollably; still others attempted to seize their weapons to fight back, only to be crushed by a terrifying pressure that left them gasping for breath!
The entire manor was plunged into chaos!
Hearing the commotion, the Clan Leader, Tai Tan, stepped out of his room.
His hair and beard were streaked with gray; his short hair stood erect atop his head like steel needles. Tall and burly, with deep-set eyes, he stood there exuding an aura of natural authority—commanding respect without needing to show anger.
He was the Clan Leader of the Power Clan.
At this moment, upon seeing the two massive dragons circling overhead, his expression changed drastically!
"Are those... Soul Beasts?"
He murmured, his eyes filled with disbelief.
"But... how could Soul Beasts appear in Heaven Dou City? And judging by their auras... they don’t seem weak at all!"
He could sense that the auras of those two dragons far surpassed those of ordinary ten-thousand-year Soul Beasts!
Especially that earth-yellow dragon—its aura felt like an abyss!
"Tai Nuo!"
He shouted, "Where the hell did you run off to?!"
A middle-aged man squeezed his way out of the crowd, panting heavily. "Father! I’m right here!"
It was indeed Tai Nuo—Tai Tan’s son, and Tai Long’s father.
Tai Tan demanded, "What is the meaning of this?!"
Gazing up at the dragons in the sky, Tai Nuo’s face turned pale.
"Father, I don’t know either!"
At that very moment!
Up in the sky, Jiang Bai spoke.
"Kill them. Leave no one alive."
As his words fell upon the air...
The Taotie and the Wind Dragon simultaneously swooped down!
The Taotie opened its massive, blood-red maw and lunged directly toward the densest cluster of people!
"Roar—!!!"
It snapped its jaws shut!
Several disciples of the Power Clan—along with the bluestone pavement beneath their feet—were swallowed whole in a single gulp!
"Crunch, crunch..."
A bone-jarring sound of chewing echoed throughout the entire manor! The Wind Dragon threw open its massive jaws and unleashed a torrent of raging winds!
This was no ordinary wind; it was a storm imbued with the terrifying power of the wind element! The air currents sliced through everyone like countless razor-sharp blades!
"Ah—!!!"
Screams of agony rose in a ceaseless chorus!
In an instant, a swath of bodies collapsed to the ground!
Blood stained the earth crimson!
Witnessing his clansmen being slaughtered like mere ants, Tai Tan’s eyes instantly turned blood-red!
"Stop—!!!"
He let out a furious roar, and suddenly, a blinding radiance erupted from his eyes!
An overwhelming sense of power—utterly unparalleled—suddenly burst forth from his body!
Beneath his feet, eight Soul Rings flared to life!
Yellow, Yellow, Purple, Purple, Black, Black, Black, Black!
An Eight-Ringed Soul Douluo!
An earthy-yellow Soul Power surged around him like a raging tidal wave!
"Seventh Soul Skill—True Body of the Martial Soul!!!"
Tai Tan bellowed in fury!
His already tower-like physique suddenly swelled by several feet! His clothes burst apart, revealing muscles as hard as granite!
These muscles bulged and knotted, veins throbbing visibly—a body brimming with explosive power!
His arms grew as thick as massive pillars, and coarse, jet-black hair—stiff as steel needles—sprouted to cover his exposed skin!
He had transformed into a ferocious, humanoid beast!
Roaring up at the heavens, he charged straight toward the Taotie!
With every step he took, the ground trembled violently, leaving deep, sunken footprints in his wake!
The Taotie turned its head to regard the "ant" charging toward it.
A flicker of disdain flashed within its massive draconic eyes.
It opened its gaping, blood-red maw.
Then, it closed its eyes.
And calmly—steadily—it caught Tai Tan.
"Thud—!"
A dull, heavy impact resounded.
Tai Tan slammed into the Taotie’s jaws, as if crashing against a mountain of solid iron.
He struggled desperately, fighting to break free.
But the Taotie merely gave a gentle bite.
Three hundred thousand years of accumulated Soul Power erupted in an instant!
"Splurch—!!!"
Tai Tan’s body was crushed into a bloody pulp! Blood trickled from the corners of the Taotie’s maw.
Then, it swallowed it whole.
Gulp.
Witnessing this scene from a distance, Tai Nuo’s pupils instantly constricted!
His face turned ashen—pale as paper!
"No—!!!"
He threw his head back and roared at the heavens, his voice brimming with grief and rage!
"Father!!!"
He charged madly toward the Taotie, his eyes burning with nothing but hatred: "You damned Soul Beast! I’ll kill you!"
The Taotie gazed down at this charging ant.
It raised a claw.
And gave a gentle swat.
"Smash—!!!"
Tai Nuo: Compressed.
His body—like a tomato that had been flattened—instantly splattered into a pulpy mass of flesh!
Meanwhile, behind it, the Wind Dragon continued its rampage.
With its wings spread wide, a surging gale swept across the entire Power Clan!
The currents of wind sliced through every living soul like a myriad of razor-sharp blades!
Screams of agony, pleas for mercy, and cries of despair intertwined to form a macabre symphony of death!
Blood stained every inch of the earth crimson!
Corpses lay strewn haphazardly, piled high like mountains!
Before long...
The Power Clan lay utterly annihilated—bodies carpeting the ground, blood flowing like rivers.
Not a single soul remained standing.
Jiang Bai hovered in mid-air, gazing down upon the carnage unfolding beneath him.
His face remained utterly expressionless.
Nothing but...
Calm.
It was as if he had merely performed some trivial, insignificant task.
He sensed that Wallace and his men had just arrived on the scene.
He raised his right hand.
The Nine-Colored Glazed Pagoda flashed with light.
The Taotie and the Wind Dragon transformed into two streaks of flowing light, vanishing into the pagoda.
Then, with a flicker of his figure, he vanished from the spot.
...
A moment later.
Wallace, leading a squad of Temple Warriors, rushed to the residence of the Power Clan.
When they beheld the scene before them, everyone stood frozen in shock.
The main gates hung wide open.
Inside the courtyard, corpses lay strewn everywhere.
Blood flowed like a river.
The air hung thick with the pungent stench of blood.
The expression on Wallace’s face became a study in complexity.
He recalled Jiang Bai’s words: "Clean up the mess."
So this was what he had meant.
He took a deep breath and waved his hand: "Go in. Clean it all up."
The Temple Warriors filed inside.
They began the grim task of cleaning up this bloody aftermath.