For the Spirit Hall, they had long been aware of the existence of Sea God Island, and there was a history of enmity between the two.
The reason the Spirit Hall chose to remain silent back then and not seek revenge against Sea God Island boiled down to three main points.
First, the incident was known to very few outsiders, so it had little impact on the Spirit Hall's reputation.
Second, Sea God Island's strength was simply too great. Even if the Spirit Hall could forcefully conquer the island, the cost would be enormous.
And the most important third point was that the sea soul masters of Sea God Island had never interfered in the affairs of the mainland. There was no direct competition between the two powers.
But now, the balance between them had been shattered. Not only had the incident caused a huge uproar, but the Spirit Hall would also lose face if they didn't take action.
Moreover, the fact that Sea God Island was likely the "mastermind" behind the Spider God Church made it impossible for the Spirit Hall to let them off easily.
On the other hand, Sea God Island had suffered heavy losses in their previous battle with the Sea Spider Clan. With morale at an all-time low, the sudden arrival of such a large group of uninvited guests naturally put them on edge.
The moment the two sides met, the atmosphere grew tense. Both sides sized each other up, and their hearts sank.
The Spirit Hall members thought, Why is Sea God Island so weak? Only two Title Douluos? And the other soul masters number barely over a hundred, with many being low-level soul masters like Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors. Are they setting a trap to lure us in?
Meanwhile, the Sea God Island members thought, What the hell? Who are these people? Why are they so strong?!
For this battle, the Spirit Hall had mobilized their elite forces, sending out a total of six Title Douluos—and that didn't even include Qian Daoliu, who hadn't shown himself. The number of other soul masters exceeded three thousand, all of them elite.
Even at its peak, Sea God Island would have struggled to face such a force, let alone now.
"Why have you suddenly come to Sea God Island?" asked one of the two remaining Title Douluos on Sea God Island, trying to maintain his composure as he addressed the overwhelming force before him.
"We're looking for someone," replied the Spirit Hall's leader, Chrysanthemum Douluo, bluntly. "Hand over the envoy of the Spider God Church, and we can talk peacefully. Otherwise..."
"What Spider God Church? We've never heard of it," interrupted the other Title Douluo from Sea God Island. The mention of the Spider God made her deeply uncomfortable.
"You don't know?" Ghost Douluo, standing beside Chrysanthemum Douluo, stepped forward. "Half a month ago, it was he who told us to come here and find him. Now you're denying it?"
"Whoever told you to come, go find them. Get out of Sea God Island now, or else..." The hot-tempered female Title Douluo was about to issue an ultimatum when the older Title Douluo stopped her.
The older Title Douluo gave her a meaningful look. Times had changed. Sea God Island no longer had the strength to confront these land-based soul masters, so they couldn't afford to be so bold.
"Or else what? I'd love to hear what comes after 'or else,'" Ghost Douluo taunted, his tone mocking.
The hot-tempered female Title Douluo's face turned red with anger, but she didn't dare say more.
"So, are you going to hand over the person, or do we have to fight?" Chrysanthemum Douluo remained calm. If they could achieve their goal without fighting Sea God Island, that would naturally be the best outcome.
"Apologies," the older Title Douluo, known as Sea Horse Douluo, clasped his hands in a gesture of respect. "There is no such person on Sea God Island. If you don't believe us, you're welcome to search the island."
"Sea Horse!" The hot-tempered female Title Douluo, Sea Maiden Douluo, immediately protested, her tone a mix of coquettishness and defiance.
Sea Horse Douluo simply patted her shoulder and sighed. The other sea soul masters around them also showed signs of despair.
Sea God Island, once the sacred land where the Sea God ascended, now had to bow its head to these land-based soul masters. It was humiliating.
All because of those damned spiders!
Meanwhile, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo exchanged a glance, seemingly reaching a silent agreement.
"We won't enter the island, but none of you are allowed to leave. You can send one person back to the island to deliver a message. Have them bring out the Spider God envoy in exchange for your safety."
As Chrysanthemum Douluo spoke, he couldn't help but admire his own cleverness.
The fact that the Spider God Church envoy had told them to come to Sea God Island was clearly a trap.
And the group Sea God Island had sent out today, while it included two Title Douluos, were only at the 91st and 92nd levels. The other members of their clan were even weaker, giving off the impression of a hollow show of force.
Now they were so easily allowing them to search the island? Something was definitely wrong!
Moreover, the Spirit Hall had clashed with Sea God Island before, and they had even lost a Title Douluo in the process. That couldn't have been the work of just these two.
This only deepened Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo's suspicions.
"Don't push your luck," Sea Horse Douluo said, his patience wearing thin.
He knew his side was no match, and they truly didn't know anything about the Spider God envoy. That's why he had decided to let them search the island.
It was already humiliating enough, but now they weren't satisfied and even wanted to hold them hostage, demanding that someone from the island bring out the Spider God envoy?
The island was now only populated by the elderly, weak, and sick. If there were anyone else, they would have brought them out already!
"Pushing our luck is good. It's how we stay alive and avoid falling into traps," Ghost Douluo retorted sarcastically.
"You..." Sea Horse Douluo's chest heaved with anger, but he couldn't find the words to respond.
In the distance, Fang Chang watched the two sides exchange words and couldn't help but curse inwardly.
Just fight already! Why waste so much time talking?!
Beneath him, in the depths of the sea, nearly two hundred members of the Sea Spider Clan had gathered, seemingly waiting for the two sides to clash before making their move.
"Attack, capture them," Chrysanthemum Douluo ordered, glancing at the sky. The thousands of soul masters behind him surged forward toward the sea soul masters.
"How dare you!" Sea Horse Douluo and Sea Maiden Douluo could no longer hold back. They summoned their martial souls and stood protectively in front of their clansmen.
The sea soul masters behind them, though weak in strength and outnumbered dozens to one, were also filled with rage. They summoned their martial souls and glared at the uninvited guests from the land.
This time, Chrysanthemum Douluo and Ghost Douluo wasted no more words. The two of them attacked Sea God Island's Title Douluos, while the other soul masters behind them joined the battle.
A "great battle" with a clear imbalance of power had begun.