My path to defeat ended here. From now on, I would venture alone, deeper into the heart of error.
His growth had been astonishing, but it had left him scarred. In theory, Tool Person A Fei had now become a Second Order swordsman with absolutely no deviations from the path of the sword—so much so that even his sense of self had been cut away.
But as the culprit behind all of this, Fu Qian had no intention of continuing to wield a sword that had already been honed to its absolute limit.
It wasn't that he pitied him. In other circumstances, that might have been fine, but in this particular situation, the key to the bloody exploitation lay in the word that came before it.
To be exploited, you had to be able to bleed.
Don't forget the distinction he had repeatedly emphasized between a tool and a Tool Person.
The whole point of choosing this Tool Person in the first place was to let him act as a relatively independent being, stirring up cause and effect and tainting himself with World Poison in Fu Qian's stead.
Combat power had always been secondary.
What difference was there, really, between wielding a pure, painless tool and simply taking a knife and cutting people himself?
So in theory, Tool Person A Fei had already reached his limit. His value had been burned away without a trace.
Unfortunately, Fu Qian still had plenty to do.
So far, he had visited only one of the key points in this special research facility.
The platform marked with a "Prism," the one used to gaze upon Moore, was surely of great significance to this place as well.
And, more importantly—
Squeak!
Fu Qian leaped back to the only entrance and casually opened the door, surveying