The clubhouse was hardly grand in scale, but in a medium-to-large city like Eastsea City, it already counted as a rather fine establishment.
The young man pushed open the door and entered, with Li Qingxun following unhurriedly behind him.
The interior glittered with gold and splendor, but the moment the two stepped through the entrance, two guards in immaculate suits reached out to stop them.
Both guards were burly, their faces brimming with menace.
Yet once the young man produced the Holy Spirit Cult's special token, their attitudes immediately turned humble and respectful, and they stepped aside to clear a path.
The young man walked straight inside, while Li Qingxun stayed close behind him throughout.
Strictly speaking, his condition could not really be described as transparent.
He had not used any invisibility ability at all. This ability belonged to Sequence Six of the Visionary Pathway and was called Psychological Invisibility.
It was not invisibility in the true sense, but to ordinary creatures, its effect was almost indistinguishable from it.
The surveillance cameras could naturally capture his figure, but before long, the entire clubhouse and everything within it would change hands completely.
The two continued onward. Rather than heading upstairs, they began descending underground.
There were three basement levels here. The first was a parking garage, while the second and third were the Holy Spirit Cult's lair.
Li Qingxun followed the young man into the elevator and watched him gently slide open the lock cover over the buttons, revealing the options for the second and third basement levels. The young man then pressed the third without hesitation.
With a soft ding, the elevator began slowly descending.
Before long, the elevator came to a stop, and its doors slid apart, revealing an enormous bar counter with several people already seated beside it.
They held glasses and sipped their drinks slowly, their expressions languid and weary.
Some had gloomy faces, bloodthirsty brutality churning in their eyes, while others sat quietly in corners, looking no different at first glance from honest, ordinary people.
There were only six or seven people here altogether, each of a different sort.
As Li Qingxun looked at them, a faint golden light shimmered deep within his eyes.
What he wanted was complete control over the Holy Spirit Cult's organization in Eastsea City.
That goal was indeed no easy undertaking.
Working for the Holy Spirit Cult was fundamentally different from formally joining it.
The cult issued missions for ordinary followers to take on, while a large number of ordinary Evil Soul Masters mingled among those outside its membership.
Li Qingxun could not readily distinguish between them for the moment. After all, the most he could wield right now was the power of a Sequence Six Hypnotist.
The power he commanded from his own pathway was certainly formidable, but neither his own authority nor the Hypnotist's full array of methods gave him more than a measure of self-preservation.
His combat strength was ultimately limited, and resolving the current situation smoothly would be extremely difficult.
Thus, Li Qingxun decided to eliminate every last one of them.
Once the organization here descended into chaos or suffered devastating casualties, he would send someone to take over.
Although doing so would cost him some of his future strength, it would spare him a great deal of trouble.
As for who would take over, Li Qingxun had already decided. That person was Sunday.
Li Qingxun did not know whether Sunday's faith was reliable.
But his influence and capacity for empathy were strong enough that putting him in charge of a branch of an evil cult like the Holy Spirit Cult would undoubtedly yield much better results.
As for how far Sunday would ultimately go, that was not something he needed to worry about.
Having someone like him remain within the Holy Spirit Cult would surely be of great help to his future plans.
What he needed to do now was clear everything out in advance.
As the young man stepped forward, Li Qingxun's figure slowly emerged into view.
The Crystal Ball in his hand dissolved little by little into his body. A power so formidable it bordered on uncanny rippled around him, flecks of golden light lingering at his side. As he raised his hand, the phantom of a terrifying greatsword took shape.
At the same time, the power within Li Qingxun, vast as an abyssal sea, began gathering continuously. Blazing light illuminated the entire third basement level in an instant.
At the sight, horror appeared in many of their eyes.
Li Qingxun lowered his gaze, studying his own almost terrifying power.
He raised his hand, and the surrounding power of light swiftly gathered around him. A suit of pure golden armor then condensed over his body.
Feeling the power of the Dawn Armor and the Dawn Greatsword, Li Qingxun swept his indifferent gaze over everyone present.
His figure suddenly shot forward like a hunting leopard, moving at astonishing speed.
The instant he stepped out, his sword slashed down. Whether they were drinkers beside the counter or stunned Holy Spirit Cult members, they were cut down on the spot in the blink of an eye.
Small black snakes emerged around some of them, and those uncanny serpents swiftly lunged at Li Qingxun, snapping their jaws.
The young man who had first led Li Qingxun here had his chest pierced outright by the Sword of Dawn.
The instant the blade burst through his body, the young man died without even having time to use his abilities, much less release his martial soul.
The others reacted just as quickly, and the strongest among them already possessed the strength of a Soul Emperor.
They were not actually weak.
The problem was that, against Li Qingxun-or rather, against Li Qingxun in his dawn giant state-they were simply no match.
Li Qingxun had chosen the dawn giant, Sequence Six of the Giant Pathway.
His chief reason, beyond the light attribute's ability to counter these uncanny and dark powers,
Was the abilities granted by the Giant Pathway's other lower sequences.
With Sequence 7 Weapon Master as his foundation, his mastery of longswords, long sabers, and all manner of other weapons was instantly pushed to its peak. Precisely because of this, the combat strength he displayed now was nothing short of terrifying.
In his hands, the heavy greatsword was like a light saber. As he swung and slashed at will, combining his attacks with the overwhelming suppression of the light attribute, even the Soul Emperor was pinned down completely.
His opponent opened his mouth and let out one shrill roar after another, but those roars were utterly useless.
An uncanny black ape emerged behind him.
The ape's entire body was rotting, and powerful energy roared wildly within it.
As the Sixth Soul Ring lit up, the young man's body likewise began to rot, uncanny power enveloping him.
Yet as his opponent charged toward him, Li Qingxun's expression remained as calm as still water throughout.
His steps were light, landing without a sound.
As he took a step forward, his face looked as holy as a true god descending to earth, forming an almost uncanny contrast with the corpses strewn all around him.
Li Qingxun raised his hand, and the power of light around him ignited fully. It then transformed into a terrifying storm of light, forming an enormous vortex that swept forward.
The ultimate radiance tore apart everything around it, turning the entire underground stronghold into a veritable hell on earth.
Beneath the illumination of that power of light, everything here seemed incomparably holy.
Yet corpses and wreckage lay everywhere.
As Li Qingxun surveyed everything he had destroyed with his own hands, not the slightest unnecessary change crossed his expression.
He raised his hand, and the Crystal Ball reappeared. His figure once again vanished from everyone's sight.
He did not leave, but calmly headed toward the second basement level.
His gaze barely fluctuated from beginning to end. Only in his palm had an Ice and Snow Long Sword quietly taken shape.
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