Spirit Pagoda Under Attack

Wind and rain lashed down, yet not a single drop could draw near Leng Yaozhu.

She gazed at the pitch-black night sky, the gale whipping her robes and hair into a frenzy.

"The matter is over; next, it is time to deal with those Evil Soul Masters." Leng Yaozhu retrieved the miniature Soul Guidance Communicator from her storage soul device, held it to her ear, and pressed a button. "This is Leng Yaozhu. Beginning the next phase of the plan now; prepare to track the movements of those Evil Soul Masters."

"Static—static—"

There was no reply, only the faint sound of electrical interference.

Not good! Something has happened!

Leng Yaozhu realized something was wrong immediately, then unfurled her wings and flew toward the Spirit Pagoda.

With her cultivation, it took her less than five minutes to fly from outside East Sea City to the interior of the Spirit Pagoda, but what met her eyes was a scene of desolation.

People were constantly moving in and out, their hurried footsteps adding to the sense of urgency. A massive hole had been torn into the side of the towering Spirit Pagoda, clearly the result of an attack.

However, Leng Yaozhu breathed a sigh of relief. Since they had already begun treating the wounded, it meant the attack had been repelled.

She quickly found Lu Fengnian, and to her surprise, an unexpected person was standing beside him.

"Long Yuan? Why are you here?"

Lu Fengnian was currently in his office directing rescue efforts and follow-up procedures, while Long Yuan stood to the side.

Hearing Leng Yaozhu's voice, Long Yuan raised his head and replied bluntly, "As the Deputy Pagoda Master of the East Sea City Spirit Pagoda, isn't it only natural for me to be here?"

"You—"

Leng Yaozhu felt stifled. She finally understood that this ancestor before her was the type who completely lacked social awareness. Even though she had forced herself to adapt, she still found herself choked by his way of speaking.

"Oh, Your Excellency Heavenly Phoenix, we owe it to Long Yuan arriving in time this time. If he hadn't beaten back the Title Douluo Evil Soul Master leading the opposing team, our Spirit Pagoda would have been in danger today." Lu Fengnian, having just arranged the matters at hand, hurriedly spoke up to mediate.

"A Title Douluo!" Leng Yaozhu's expression was one of astonishment. Although she already knew he was a monster, having a concrete battle record like this still surprised her slightly.

But she was someone who had seen great storms, so she quickly composed herself. "A Title Douluo? How could such a powerful Evil Soul Master emerge in East Sea City?"

"How would I know? Shouldn't you be asking the people at the Federal Administration Hall about that? East Sea City, the core city of the Sky Sea Alliance, actually allowed Evil Soul Masters to infiltrate it—and a Title Douluo at that, leading a whole bunch of experts where the weakest was a five-ring Soul King."

"Furthermore," Long Yuan glanced at Leng Yaozhu, "the Blacksmith Association was also attacked, and the one leading them was a Super Douluo."

The more Leng Yaozhu heard, the more alarmed she became. She had come to East Sea City to handle this matter at the behest of Qiangu Dongfeng, but she had never known that a Super Douluo was involved in this.

It made no sense. This wasn't twenty thousand years ago; with current soul guidance technology, every city was equipped with various models of soul guidance radar. It was impossible for Evil Soul Masters to just waltz in; if that were the case, what face would the Federation have left to rule the Douluo Continent?

Although the world was essentially a large, makeshift operation, one could never underestimate the power of a nation.

Therefore, Leng Yaozhu's intuition told her that someone had masked the movements of these Evil Soul Masters. Combined with some advanced soul devices, it was indeed possible to perfectly bypass those detections.

But who exactly was secretly shielding the Evil Soul Masters?

Leng Yaozhu fell into deep thought. After all, colluding with Evil Soul Masters was no simple crime. Given how the Holy Spirit Cult and Evil Soul Masters were universally reviled, once exposed, they would likely be nailed to the pillar of shame for the entire Douluo Planet and face judgment from all major powers, including the Federation...

"What are you still thinking about?" Long Yuan asked suddenly.

"Nothing." Leng Yaozhu shook her head, still not sharing her suspicions with Long Yuan.

Long Yuan nodded. "Whatever you're thinking, I suggest you go and pursue that Evil Soul Master. After all, the items stolen from the Spirit Pagoda haven't been recovered yet, have they?"

He had already checked the storage soul device of the Evil Soul Master Shi Qian. Unfortunately, aside from some Federal Coins, there were only a few soul devices capable of masking one's aura.

Although those one-time-use Level 8 soul devices were precious, they were clearly not what Leng Yaozhu was looking for.

As he spoke, he tossed a severed forearm to Leng Yaozhu; it was the one he had sliced off with the Golden Dragon Spear.

"Many thanks. Also, can you tell me what the martial soul of that Super Douluo was?"

Leng Yaozhu caught the severed arm; with this, she could more easily track the aura of that Title Douluo Evil Soul Master.

"That Super Douluo? According to his own words, his martial soul should be the Ten Thousand Soul Banner."

"Ten Thousand Soul Banner?" Leng Yaozhu frowned. She had never heard of an Evil Soul Master with this martial soul, let alone one at the Super Douluo level. She assumed it must be someone who had been lurking in the shadows all along.

But why had they suddenly emerged this time?

After chatting a few more times, Leng Yaozhu released her Heavenly Phoenix martial soul and flew away, carrying a specialized soul device.

As she flew, she dialed a soul communication.

A moment later, the call was connected, and a voice that commanded respect without anger came through.

"Hello, Yaozhu, is something the matter?"

"Pagoda Master, the intelligence for this operation was incorrect. Among the Holy Spirit Cult members, there was a Super Douluo and a Title Douluo. They used the two of them to lure me away, then attacked the East Sea City Spirit Pagoda and the Blacksmith Association."

"How is that possible?" Qiangu Dongfeng's shocked voice came from the other end. He then asked, "What is the situation now? Do you need me to send reinforcements?"

"No need. That Super Douluo is already dead; his martial soul was the Ten Thousand Soul Banner, but I have never heard of such a person..." Leng Yaozhu was silent for a moment. "I suspect someone is secretly assisting them. The scale of this Evil Soul Master team is massive. I am currently tracking that Title Douluo to see if I can recover the stolen goods."

Qiangu Dongfeng fell into silence. After a long while, he replied, "I didn't expect anyone to act as an inside man for the Holy Spirit Cult. It is fortunate that I sent you there this time, otherwise, we would have truly suffered a loss. Since that is the case, proceed as you see fit. If you need any help, let me know at any time."

"Understood!"

Leng Yaozhu put away the soul communicator. Although Qiangu Dongfeng had appeared normal just now, she remained suspicious.

There was no other reason; Qiangu Dongfeng had performed perfectly, but he did not seem like the person she usually knew.

He hadn't asked about the stolen cargo from beginning to end. If it were the usual him, he would have at least shown some concern.