Soul Cleansing Operation

The Federation Supreme Council's resolution was like a boulder cast into a still lake, instantly stirring up towering waves. As General Chen Xinjie's proposal was formally passed, a lightning operation codenamed "Soul Cleansing" swept across the Federation with unprecedented speed.

The Sea God Douluo, renowned for his iron hand, personally served as the operation's commander-in-chief. The elite forces of the War God Hall under his command were like unsheathed swords, aimed straight at the festering tumors lurking in the shadows—the Evil Soul Master strongholds.

From the very beginning, the operation struck with thunderous force. This was no longer a series of scattered skirmishes, but precise, deadly large-scale raids.

Under Chen Xinjie's personal supervision, the intelligence departments operated with unparalleled efficiency.

One Evil Soul Master stronghold after another, hidden in abandoned factories, dark underground spaces, or even disguised as ordinary estates, was uprooted under the Federation Soul Engineer Corps' overwhelming firepower and the War God Hall Soul Masters' spearhead assaults.

Deafening explosions, the thunder of clashing soul skills, and shrill screams became the main refrain in certain remote regions of the Federation during this period.

The intensity of the battles far exceeded expectations. The Evil Soul Masters knew that the Federation was serious this time. It was no longer the perfunctory handling of the past; the Federation truly intended to wipe them out completely.

Thus, they resisted with extraordinary madness. Vicious curses, filthy Evil Soul Master secret arts, and evil formations that sacrificed living beings emerged one after another... Military forces across the land were even mobilized frequently for a time. Even the Eastsea Legion, where Liu Tianran was stationed, was ordered several times to intercept ships carrying fleeing Evil Soul Masters.

Some Evil Soul Master elders who had reached the Title Douluo level even personally stayed behind to cover the retreat of core members or destroy evidence, erupting into earth-shaking duels with the Federation's Title Douluo powerhouses.

The sky was torn apart, and the earth trembled. The aftershocks of Title Douluo-level clashes flattened everything around the battlefield, their brutality leaving even many battle-hardened veteran soldiers pale.

Amid smoke and ruins, one of the operation's greatest gains was the rescue of a large number of innocent hostages who had been imprisoned, tortured, and even used as "materials."

When heavy iron doors were smashed open and dark cages illuminated, the sight before the Federation soldiers was horrifying: emaciated civilians, vacant-eyed children, and Soul Masters who had suffered endless abuse... When they were rescued, many could not even endure the light after living so long in darkness and fear, crying out in terror.

The accompanying healing Soul Masters and support personnel quickly stepped in, pulling these pitiful souls back from the edge of hell.

However, when the rescued victims' identities were organized, verified, and compared against the Federation Political Department's internal database, a shocking fact came to light: a large portion of them closely matched the list of "missing persons" reported by the Political Department in recent years!

In the past, most of these disappearance cases had been brushed aside by local officials with excuses such as "population movement" or "leaving on their own," or simply suppressed and never reported, becoming one muddled account after another.

When the weighty list and its cold statistics were placed on General Chen Xinjie's desk, the military giant, long known for his composure, was utterly enraged. He slammed his hand down on the table, and the surface forged from Deepsea Sinking Silver was instantly covered in spiderweb-like cracks.

He summoned the heads of every relevant department and convened an unprecedented emergency meeting.

The pressure in the conference room was terrifyingly heavy. Chen Xinjie's face was as dark as water, and his sharp, hawk-like eyes swept over every official present, as if he intended to see through all the filth buried in their souls.

"Look at these figures!" His voice was not loud, but it carried a chill that seemed capable of freezing souls. "Look at the compatriots we brought back! They did not vanish into thin air! Their families reported their disappearances to you countless times and begged you for help! But what did you do?"

He suddenly raised his voice, his roar like thunder. "You turned a blind eye! You handled things perfunctorily! You were lazy! You neglected your duties! You were derelict in your responsibilities! You sit in these positions, enjoying the power granted to you by the people, yet you cannot even fulfill your most basic responsibilities, allowing these demons to run rampant beneath our very eyes and slaughter our citizens!

Are you worthy of those uniforms? Are you worthy of the Federation's trust?!"

Chen Xinjie's rebuke was like a heavy hammer smashing into every official's heart. Many turned deathly pale, cold sweat streaming down their faces. But this was only the beginning.

In his fury, Chen Xinjie revealed his iron-blooded side. He announced on the spot that every official involved in the matter who had clearly neglected their duties, regardless of rank, would be suspended and investigated!

For a time, the Federation's political scene was thrown into turmoil, and dozens of officials were stripped of their positions on the spot.

The deeper investigation soon exposed an even more chilling truth. Nearly half of the dismissed officials had not merely been guilty of "laziness and negligence."

Investigators discovered countless connections in their private communications, secret accounts, and even lists seized from certain Evil Soul Master strongholds.

Some had accepted bribes from Evil Soul Masters, providing them with protection and information;

Some had been blackmailed by Evil Soul Masters and forced to act as informants;

Still others had directly participated in certain Evil Soul Master "businesses," using the convenience of their authority to facilitate the kidnapping and transport of "materials" for Evil Soul Masters. They had completely fallen into becoming accomplices of Evil Soul Masters!

The exposure of these parasites gave the entire Soul Cleansing operation even greater significance.

This was no longer merely a campaign to eradicate external Evil Soul Masters. It was also a purge of the Federation's internal rotten forces, scraping away poison down to the bone.

The scope of the crackdown expanded further. It was no longer limited to the Holy Spirit Cult, and many Evil Soul Master groups unrelated to the Holy Spirit Cult were also uncovered.

The War God Hall's thunderous methods not only dealt a heavy blow to the Evil Soul Masters' power, but also declared to the entire Federation in an iron-blooded manner: any act of colluding with evil or neglecting one's duty would pay the most grievous price.

This storm was cleansing not only Evil Soul Masters, but also the corruption and rust clinging to the Federation's massive political machine.

During this vast operation, Xie Jiayun's Tree of Life martial soul far surpassed those of the same rank, and his healing and purification abilities were no weaker than those of a healing-type Title Douluo.

During this period, he was often temporarily assigned to military hospitals and battlefield logistics units across various regions, helping treat and comfort the wounded, so busy that his feet barely touched the ground.

Though he was rather busy, it allowed him to rapidly build considerable prestige among the military's lower and middle ranks.

This was because, as early as a month ago, Liu Tianran had used Ya Li's hair sample provided by Wei Heng to extract the trait of Ya Li's Wish Angel martial soul, which cultivated by gathering the faith and gratitude of others, and had fused it into Xie Jiayun's martial soul.

Thus, Liu Tianran took this opportunity to collect a batch of Faith Power and store it within the Sea of Consciousness Space for his main body and major avatars to study.

Regrettably, even now, none of the Evil Soul Masters encountered during the operation had included the Super Douluo-level Evil Soul Masters mentioned in the Western Legion's intelligence, nor any higher-ranking core members of the Holy Spirit Cult.

Although some Fixed Soul-Guided Artillery Shells had been recovered, the whereabouts of Soul-Guided Artillery Shells of level eight and above remained unknown.

The operation had never been able to reach the Holy Spirit Cult's core structure. Moreover, the entire Holy Spirit Cult seemed to have gone completely dormant, making further investigation increasingly difficult.