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As soon as the words left Fatty’s mouth, all of the Golden Frost Sect disciples stared in shock. The Spirit Severing Patriarch’s face twitched, and then he took a deep breath and, with effort, spoke as if he were very moved.

“What an amazing kid. Amazing!! The sect will never forget you! You are our hero!

“Very well, I’ll bestow the tattoo unto you!” With that, the Spirit Severing Patriarch waved his right hand toward Fatty, causing the characters ‘Golden Prince of the Golden Frost Sect’ to appear on his back.

The characters were carved… quite deeply, causing intense pain that made Fatty clench his teeth, and even squeeze out some tears. However, he didn’t make a sound. Once the characters were inscribed, he took a deep breath, and then swept his fellow disciples with a meaningful gaze.

“I’m going now,” he said, “and perhaps I won’t return. Even if I die, I will still belong to the Golden Frost Sect, whether in flesh and body, or in spirit and soul!

“Fellow disciples! My beautiful, beloved companions! I’m leaving now!” With that, he flew out of the sect.

As he shot through the air, quite a few disciples had unsightly looks on their faces, and one even began to give voice to suspicions.

“I'm not sure, but wasn't Junior Brother Li acting a bit weird just now?” he asked.

In response to his question, there were a few disciples who frowned and were about to respond, when the Spirit Severing expert snorted coldly.

“Li Fugui is willing to risk his life for the sect, and even requested that I give him that tattoo…. ” After mentioning the tattoo, the Spirit Severing Patriarch paused momentarily, struggling with himself internally. Although he hadn’t picked up on any of the clues at first, he had lived for many years. In the end, how could he not have seen through Fatty’s incongruous behavior?

It only took a moment of thought for him to thoroughly understand that Fatty was milking the glory for all it was worth. Although the Spirit Severing Patriarch didn’t really approve, considering the current situation, he couldn’t very well say anything.

Not only was he forced to hold his tongue, he also had to help cover for Fatty’s earlier conspicuousness and make the story seem more convincing. As he realized this, he couldn’t help but sigh inwardly.

“Anyone who has any suspicions can go take his place if they want!” he continued.

When he thought back to how he had bestowed the tattoo, the Spirit Severing Patriarch couldn’t help but think that the whole thing seemed so fake…. “Why couldn’t Li Fugui put on a more convincing performance?” he thought. “d.a.m.n it all, what the h.e.l.l is a t.i.tular tattoo anyway...y-y-you…!”

However, considering the relations.h.i.+p Fatty had with Meng Hao, he couldn’t risk offending him. Therefore, he began to consider coming up with some good, justifiable reasons as to why he had bestowed the tattoo, reasons that everyone would believe.

Even as the Patriarch was wrestling with such thoughts, Fatty was flying out of the sect, his face as calm and unflinching as ever. Inside, however, he was grinning ear to ear.

“Hahaha!” he laughed inwardly. “Grandpa Fatty outsmarts them again! Especially that t.i.tular tattoo thing! It completely sets the matter in stone. In the future, if anyone dares to deny that I’m the Golden Prince, all I have to do is take my s.h.i.+rt off!” Feeling quite pleased with himself, he flew toward Meng Hao.

Meng Hao waited, hovering in mid-air. When he saw the s.h.i.+ning white ball of flesh flying through the air toward him, he gaped. Staring quizzically at Fatty as he arrived, he waved his hand, causing the area around them to blur. Then he noticed the characters tattooed on Fatty’s back.

“Well? What do you think?!” said Fatty, his expression one of wild joy.

Meng Hao stared for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

“What’s wrong?” asked Fatty, not looking very pleased. He subconsciously produced a flying sword and started to file at his teeth.

“How can you have such low ambitions?” said Meng Hao with a wry smile. “Why didn’t you have them write ‘Sect Leader of the Golden Frost Sect?’”

Fatty suddenly stopped filing his teeth, and his eyes went wide. He let out a roar, and his eyes went bloodshot.

“Dammit! DAMMIT! How come I didn’t think of that?! This won’t do. Meng Hao, don’t agree to the terms yet. Hold on a moment, I’m going back to the sect!” He turned, and was just about to speed back to the sect when Meng Hao reached out and grabbed his arm.

Meng Hao looked speechlessly at him. Then he thought back to how b.u.mbling Fatty had been back in the Reliance Sect, and he suddenly understood everything.

“Golden Prince is fine,” he said quickly. “Look at me, I’m a Sect Prince, too.” Worried that Fatty would continue to mess things up, he quickly projected his voice to fill the entire Golden Frost Sect.

“Golden Frost Sect, considering that Li Fugui has become your Golden Prince, I will exempt you from the death penalty for your act of besieging the Blood Demon Sect. From now on, you are a part of the Blood Demon Sect!

“I shall permit you to retain your core Daoist teachings and doctrines, but you must immediately provide soul strands and blood oaths!”

In response to his words, the Golden Frost Sect’s spell formations opened up to reveal the sect. The Spirit Severing Patriarch, as well as tens of thousands of disciples, all flew out and bowed to Meng Hao.

“We will obey the decrees of the Blood Demon Sect!”

The Golden Frost Sect surrendered, and its members gave soul strands and blood oaths. Fatty became the sect’s Golden Prince, and although some people didn’t approve, no one dared to say anything. After all, the threat posed by Meng Hao was far too great.

In any case, their discontent was not severe. Had Meng Hao personally forced them to raise Fatty to Golden Prince, the situation might have been different. In any case, resolving the issue of the Golden Frost Sect in this way was not the most ideal method for Meng Hao, but he could accept it.

Unfortunately, he felt a bit guilty for the Blood Demon Sect disciples. They had come to exact revenge, but in the end, hadn’t been able to kill anyone. Their fury and resentment could only fester in their hearts, with nowhere to vent it.

Killing intent flickered in Meng Hao’s eyes.

“Next, the Li Clan!” he shouted.

He had never had any good impressions of the Li Clan, especially towards Li Daoyi, whom he had met many years before. If one didn't consider their tangential relations.h.i.+p, then the only other person from the Li clan that Meng Hao had anything to do with would be the Li Patriarch inside the blood mask, who had been turned into a Soul of Lightning.

Meng Hao turned to the Blood Demon Sect cultivators behind him, to the disciples who had suppressed their killing intent for too long, and said, “There will be no surrender for the Li Clan!”

With that, he flicked his sleeve and flew up into the air. The tens of thousands of Blood Demon Sect cultivators turned into beams of light as they followed him, consumed by their desire for carnage. In the battle for the Blood Demon Sect, they had narrowly escaped with their lives, and the majority of their comrades had died. The resulting desire for revenge now burned hot and deep.

This was an enmity that could only be washed away with blood!

The Black Sieve Sect had essentially been empty. The Solitary Sword Sect surrendered. The Golden Frost Sect had Li Fugui. They could understand Meng Hao’s decisions, but their desire to kill had been held back for too long, and needed a release.

The place it would be released was none other than the Li Clan!

There was no peace and quiet in the Li Clan; everything was abuzz with activity. There were tens of thousands of clan members left alive, and the sole remaining early Dao Seeking Patriarch had been awakened from sleep to take charge. They were attempting to teleport the entire clan out of the Southern Domain.

Originally, they had a.s.sumed that sealing the clan off from the outside world would be sufficient to prevent reprisals from the Blood Demon sect. However, the Solitary Sword Sect’s spell formations had crumbled, which destroyed their hopes. As of that moment, they suddenly realized that… the Li Clan could by no means remain in the Southern Domain.

They considered surrender, but once the Golden Frost Sect did that very thing, the Li Clan’s Dao Seeking Patriarch realized that a great catastrophe was heading their way.

“The Blood Demon Sect mobilized to exact revenge,” said the Patriarch. “There was no slaughter carried out at the Black Sieve Sect, Solitary Sword Sect, or Golden Frost Sect…. That means that the Li Clan is in grave danger!” It was without hesitation that preparations began to teleport the clan out of the Southern Domain.

Unfortunately, at almost the same moment that their teleportation portal began to rotate, a ma.s.sive rumbling filled the air, and an enormous parasol formed of magical symbols appeared above the clan.

The parasol shone with boundless radiance as it immediately exploded, causing formless ripples to emanate outward. The ripples enveloped the Li Clan, not to destroy it, but to seal it.

Having been sealed, the Li Clan’s teleportation portals immediately ceased functioning.

The seal was formed by the power of a peak Dao Seeking divine will, and in just a twinkling, spread out for hundreds of kilometers in every direction.

This area was like a world unto itself, cut off from everything else.

Unless the Li Clan had another peak Dao Seeking expert, then even with the aid of some special magical items it would be extremely difficult for them to break the seal without expending a great deal of time. Furthermore, Meng Hao’s second true self now floated cross-legged in midair above the sect, eyes closed in meditation, completely ignoring the Li Clan down below.

He had been dispatched to the Li Clan directly from the Solitary Sword Sect, sent here by Meng Hao specifically to prevent the Li Clan from attempting an escape upon learning of what had happened.

Although the second true self sat there with eyes closed, his body emanated the pressure of peak Dao Seeking. All of the Li Clan members within the area of the seal were trembling in terror. It was a dread that came from the depths of the heart, and it quickly infected the entire clan.

“Meng Hao!” said the early Dao Seeking Li Clan Patriarch, who happened to be their 9th Patriarch. He flew out from the Clan estate, flicking his sleeve to cause a scroll painting to appear.

The scroll painting depicted a woman whose eyes were closed in meditation. At first glance, she seemed indescribably beautiful and striking, but upon closer inspection her features were somewhat indistinct. As soon as she appeared, shocking ripples spread out in all directions. The 9th Li Clan Patriarch performed an incantation gesture, causing the ripples to surge through the air in an attack on Meng Hao’s second true self.

Booms echoed out, and the air distorted. Meng Hao’s second true self slowly opened his eyes to reveal somber coldness. He looked down at the 9th Li Clan Patriarch, gave a cold snort, and pointed downwards.

The gesture instantly caused the city below to begin to quake. Signs of withering appeared within all of the cultivators; it almost seemed as if the natural law of the world inside the sealing area had changed.

The face of the 9th Li Clan Patriarch fell, and he cried out inwardly. Then he bit his tongue and spit out a mouthful of blood, which was then absorbed by the scroll painting.

“Ancestor, save me!!” he cried miserably.

As his voice rang out, the scroll burst into flames, and the woman inside opened her eyes!

When she spoke, her voice was raspy and yet strangely magnetic. “The Li Clan is not originally from Planet South Heaven, but rather, Planet North Reed. If you insist on slaughtering these people, Fellow Daoist, the Li Clan will not rest until you are dead.

“I won’t hold you accountable for your lack of knowledge about the origins of the Li Clan. Simply sever your arms as punishment. Furthermore, dig out both of your eyes…. That is the punishment for anyone not of the Li Clan who lays eyes on me.

“Now, as to whether or not you try to wipe these Li Clan members out, the choice is up to you.”