Besides Zhao Ling and his wives, the biggest change was among the blacksmiths in his detached residence. Originally, all the blacksmiths in Zhao Ling's residence were Lou Gao and his disciples. Now, people from the Strength Clan had joined them. That's right, Zhao Ling had spent many years planning, and finally managed to trap Tang Hao and the Clear Sky Sect. He also successfully got the Strength Clan and the other three single-attribute sects to leave the Clear Sky Sect.
You ask what Zhao Ling did? Well, he naturally found a woman named Axiu, who bore some resemblance to Ah Yin in her features, and had her approach Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. She was quite short on money at home, yet spent lavishly, so she was very fond of money. Zhao Ling saw this trait in her and immediately gave her 500 gold spirit coins as an initial investment. He also promised that if she could achieve the goal of causing discord between Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, he would give her ten times that bounty. Seeing Zhao Ling's generosity, she naturally agreed without hesitation.
To be safe, Zhao Ling had her specifically learn Ah Yin's behaviors and habits, even trying to replicate her makeup. Ah Yin was baffled by her husband's actions. She was with him every day, so why would he specifically find a woman who somewhat resembled her to learn from her? And not only that, the woman even applied makeup to look like her. Ah Yin was naturally beautiful and rarely wore makeup, so when she saw another woman applying makeup to look like her, she felt particularly awkward. However, with her astute mind, she quickly connected it with the contents of the diaries she had read before, vaguely guessing Zhao Ling's intentions. She couldn't help but cover her mouth and chuckle. Her husband was truly wicked; not only did he steal someone else's wife, but now he was even arranging a fake to trick them. Shameless, absolutely shameless! Still, she also wanted to know if her husband's plan would succeed.
Undoubtedly, Zhao Ling's plan was very successful. After Axiu was fully prepared, the first time she met Tang Hao and Tang Xiao, both brothers immediately fell for her. They both felt that this woman might be the reason for the stirring in their hearts, the one they had been searching for. To get the 5,000 gold spirit coins Zhao Ling promised her, Axiu did her utmost. She maintained an ambiguous, elusive relationship with both Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. And she acted quite pure and understanding, yet also very strong, causing both Tang Hao and Tang Xiao to fall deeply in love with her.
Finally, after Tang Xiao and Tang Hao completed their travels around the world, they brought her back home with them. The contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master was somewhat bewildered when he saw his two sons return from their travels on the Douluo Continent with a woman. This woman seemed to be flirting with both of his sons. However, generally speaking, she seemed to have a better relationship with his eldest son. He could clearly feel that the woman was a bit more enthusiastic towards his eldest son.
So, the contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master privately spoke to Tang Hao, telling him to voluntarily withdraw to avoid hurting the brotherhood. As compensation, the family would choose a beautiful and well-mannered young lady from the affiliated sects to marry him. Tang Hao was very confused. Axiu clearly said she liked him; she only saw Tang Xiao as her older brother. Why should he withdraw? So he argued his case. In his opinion, if Axiu liked his elder brother, then as the younger brother, he should yield. But the problem was, Axiu said she liked him, not his elder brother. How could he easily give up the love of his life?
So, Tang Hao left his father unhappily. Late that night, Tang Hao went to find Axiu and asked her if she truly loved him or his elder brother. Axiu gently caressed his face and softly told him that in this life, she only loved him, Tang Hao. This further strengthened Tang Hao's resolve. He swore that in this life, he would never give her up to anyone.
But the next night, when Tang Xiao went to ask Axiu alone, she had the same expression and said the same words. She only loved him, Tang Xiao, in this life, and even said she would only marry him. As a result, Tang Xiao was greatly encouraged. He had originally thought that if Axiu was deeply in love with his second brother, then as the elder brother, he absolutely shouldn't contend with his second brother. But now Axiu told him that she would only marry him in this life. How could he still yield then? If Axiu was truly deeply in love with him, and he gave her up to his second brother, hurting her heart, would he be worthy of her?
And so, the struggle between Tang Xiao and Tang Hao became increasingly fierce. This indirectly led to conflicts between the affiliated sects that depended on Tang Hao and Tang Xiao. This news was then secretly conveyed to Zhao Ling by Axiu, and so he began his second plan. That was to have Bibi Dong send people to provoke conflicts with the Clear Sky Sect, causing the Clear Sky Sect to face both internal strife and external threats simultaneously. On one hand, there was internal discord and fratricide; on the other hand, there were wolves eyeing them from outside.
This made the contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master unable to sit still. He quickly went to find Axiu and asked her who she truly loved, demanding a clear answer. Axiu firmly told the contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master that she loved Tang Xiao. After hearing this, the contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master basically concluded that his intuition was correct; this girl liked his eldest son. Therefore, the contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master took Axiu to find Tang Hao and told him who she truly liked.
At this moment, Axiu's originally firm expression turned sorrowful and reluctant. But she still told Tang Hao that she loved his elder brother, Tang Xiao. At this point, Tang Hao's mentality completely exploded. He could basically conclude that Axiu liked him. But his father and elder brother insisted on forcing her to say that she liked his elder brother. This made Tang Hao very unconvinced. He was clearly more outstanding than his elder brother, and Axiu definitely loved him too. Why did his father want him to give Axiu to his elder brother? Couldn't they see the desperate sorrow on Axiu's face?
So Tang Hao first outwardly agreed to his father's request, which made the contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master very happy. He immediately ordered people to choose an auspicious day to hold a wedding for his eldest son, preparing to invite friendly forces and sects to the banquet.
But on the eve of the wedding organized by the Clear Sky Sect for Tang Xiao and Axiu, Tang Hao, who could no longer bear it, ran to Axiu's room and took her, escaping from the Clear Sky Sect. Tang Hao felt that he absolutely could not give up the person he loved. He had to take her away, even if it meant betraying the sect.
The next day, the contemporary Clear Sky Sect Master learned that Tang Hao had run away from the sect with Axiu. He immediately cursed "Rebellious son! Rebellious son!" a few times, then spat out a mouthful of old blood and collapsed...