Seizing the Tang Sect

Seeing Gu Yue collapse on the spot, Li Qingxun froze, then stared in bewilderment.

"Wait, is this some kind of scam? Why did she just drop right here...?"

Li Qingxun took two steps forward and stopped before her. Gu Yue lay on the ground, completely unconscious, and he was genuinely baffled.

He could accept Gu Yue sending someone to kill him. That, at least, made sense.

He could even accept her working against him in secret. But coming to find him out of nowhere?

And then knocking herself out and delivering herself to him? What was she doing?

Li Qingxun couldn't make sense of it, but he couldn't leave Gu Yue here.

After all, that could cause him a great deal of trouble.

Yet he didn't know what to do with her, either. He couldn't just kill her.

They had no great feud between them. Killing Gu Yue outright was out of the question.

As he thought it over, Li Qingxun raised a hand. Bitter cold gathered in his palm.

The ice took the form of an Ice Chain, which bound Gu Yue's limbs. He left her there and paid her no further attention.

Gu Yue must have had her own reasons for coming to him, and they couldn't be simple.

For now, Li Qingxun couldn't guess what they were. He couldn't be bothered to dwell on it.

He was about to sit cross-legged and resume his training when, just as he closed his eyes, a message reached his mind.

His eyes opened. Toji Fushiguro appeared in his sea of consciousness, bowed slightly, and spoke at once.

"I saw something important. Three powerful presences left the Tang Sect branch with two groups of people. I don't know where they went."

"Striking the Tang Sect now may be better than waiting until tomorrow. No strong fighters remain inside."

"With my strength, I should be able to break through all their defenses and take every resource this Tang Sect branch has."

Toji Fushiguro spoke with his head slightly lowered, his tone respectful and steady.

Li Qingxun's eyes brightened at his words, and a measure of approval rose in his heart.

Apart from their absolute loyalty, the greatest advantage of these Clones was their ability to make sound judgments.

If Li Qingxun had been controlling a Clone himself, or if a Clone had simply been following orders, it would never have done this.

But Toji Fushiguro had a mind of his own. Once he determined that things would go more smoothly today,

he brought the matter to Li Qingxun and left the decision to him.

Li Qingxun had no interest whatsoever in hunting down the Tang Sect's so-called strong fighters.

He had targeted the Tang Sect and the Spirit Pagoda for their resources.

He needed those resources to grow stronger. Whether he killed their experts hardly mattered to him.

With that clear, Li Qingxun nodded decisively. "Go. I'll leave some Fantasy Power with you."

"If something goes wrong, it should be enough to get you out."

Li Qingxun breathed out softly. Once their minds were linked, a hazy image appeared before his eyes: Toji Fushiguro's view.

In the suburbs, the Tang Sect's enormous branch stood silent. Even from a distance, it was an imposing sight.

It occupied a vast factory district. The factories around its perimeter produced ordinary goods, but its heart was quiet and secluded.

As Toji Fushiguro gazed at the massive branch, he stepped forward. Not a trace of Soul Power stirred around him.

All manner of Soul Tools nearby could detect a Soul Master's strength, yet none sensed Toji Fushiguro. To them, it was as though he didn't exist.

From the moment he appeared to the moment he drew near, he made scarcely a sound.

Then his fist struck the entrance gate, shattering it in an instant.

As the gate burst apart, Toji Fushiguro sprang through.

Only after he broke in did the Tang Sect's alarm sound.

A shrill, repeating alarm rang through the entire branch. Several figures rushed out, all carrying Soul Tool Guns.

These were mid-grade Soul Tools, each shot packing the force of a four- or five-ring Soul Master's full-strength attack. Their power was nothing to scoff at.

The guns swung toward Toji Fushiguro, but he didn't spare their wielders a glance. His expression was icy.

He stepped forward and broke into a run, moving so fast he seemed to teleport.

In a few bounds, he was upon them. Gunfire cracked, sending specially made bullets toward him.

The barrage looked dense, but the bullets couldn't even track Toji Fushiguro, much less hurt him.

Only after every shot missed did Toji Fushiguro raise his fist.

His fists, palms, fingertips, elbows—every part of his body could serve as a terrifying weapon.

He closed in. Within tens of seconds, the Tang Sect disciples, most of them at the second or third ring, were dead.

The twenty or thirty Tang Sect members guarding the branch had all been killed in under three minutes.

Toji Fushiguro looked over the bodies strewn across the ground. His expression never changed.

He headed deeper into the Tang Sect branch.

Through Toji Fushiguro's eyes, Li Qingxun swiftly memorized its layout.

The Tang Sect's branches were arranged in much the same way.

Knowing the layout of this branch and the locations of some of its mechanisms would help him infer and judge where things lay in other branches.

Toji Fushiguro strode past the manufacturing area. It likely held plenty of valuable things.

But low-grade Soul Tools and materials would do little for Li Qingxun. He didn't need them.

So Toji Fushiguro bypassed the area and headed straight for the places deeper inside where the Tang Sect stored its treasures. His objective was clear.

He moved quickly, but as he left the outer area behind, the Tang Sect's defenses grew far more formidable.

The gates here were made from a strange metal alloy. Their defenses were far beyond those of ordinary doors.

Though this was only a Tang Sect branch, even a Six-Ring Soul Emperor—or a Seven-Ring Soul Sage—would struggle to open these alloy gates.

Toji Fushiguro merely glanced at the heavily fortified gate. His expression remained calm.

The material used in these gates was designed to counter Martial Souls and was highly resistant to Soul Skills.

Against someone like Toji Fushiguro, who relied entirely on his body, that resistance was bound to be far less effective.

Toji Fushiguro stepped up, clenched his fist, and drew his arm back.

Then he drove his fist forward like a cannonball. Boom! The blow struck the gate, and it shattered in an instant.

Toji Fushiguro stepped through the ruined gate, though his expression had darkened.

"Master, could you create a weapon for me afterward? Either Playful Cloud or the Soul-Devouring Blade would do.

"Without a weapon, my strength is diminished somewhat." Toji Fushiguro sighed softly, but his steps never slowed.

He pushed on, swiftly breaking through one obstacle after another that the Tang Sect had set in place.

For an ordinary Soul Master, those obstacles would have been devastating.

But every one of them used a standard method to lock onto its target: sensing Soul Power.

It was much like detecting a person's body heat—a sophisticated approach. Even the most unusual Soul Master needed Soul Power to function.

Against anyone else, the Tang Sect's method would have worked perfectly. Against Toji Fushiguro, it fell flat.