Li Qingxun's voice carried a chilling murderous intent that seemed to seep from the depths of his bones.
Though he was no bloodthirsty, wantonly cruel villain, neither was he a kindhearted soul who would show mercy easily.
Still less would he tolerate others provoking and offending him time and time again.
And so, as evening approached, Li Qingxun sat cross-legged.
The Crystal Ball in his hand churned ceaselessly in his palm, and the fantasy power within it spread outward.
Yet this fantasy power caused no disturbance whatsoever.
Meanwhile, in Skysea City, hundreds of miles away, Toji Fushiguro stood in silence.
He gazed down at his hands, where an eerie, sinister long blade was steadily taking shape.
The blade itself slowly solidified.
As he watched the long blade fully take form through the transformation of fantasy power, a gleam of unconcealable excitement appeared in Toji Fushiguro's eyes.
"The Soul Liberation Blade. With this blade in hand, my assassination abilities will rise to a truly terrifying level."
Toji Fushiguro murmured softly as he reached out and gently stroked the cold, keen blade.
Murderous intent filled his eyes, so terrifying that even the surrounding air seemed to freeze.
He took a single step, and like a phantom, vanished completely from where he stood in an instant.
The Spirit Pagoda in Skysea City was also considered one of the Spirit Pagoda's large branches.
The Spirit Pagoda's branches were divided into small, medium, large, and core branches.
Aside from helping Soul Masters undergo awakening, the Spirit Pagodas in small cities served little other purpose.
Some Spirit Pagodas in small county towns even had extremely limited stocks of the most basic soul spirits.
Those seeking a greater selection of soul spirits generally had to visit a medium-sized Spirit Pagoda.
Medium-sized Spirit Pagodas maintained comprehensive reserves of soul spirits and controlled some resources exclusive to themselves.
These medium-sized Spirit Pagodas were closely tied to the local governments, and the resources in their hands already gave them enormous influence over the surrounding county towns.
Large Spirit Pagodas, beyond their deep ties to the local governments,
also held numerous precious resources and had Soul Emperor-level experts stationed within them.
Some large branches might even harbor top experts at the Soul Saint level or above.
After all, a Soul Saint equipped with Two-Word Battle Armor already qualified as part of these major organizations' core fighting strength.
As for the eighteen core Spirit Pagodas, they not only possessed the Spirit Ascension Platform, an extraordinarily powerful money-making tool,
but might also have Soul Douluos, or even stronger top experts, stationed within them.
These eighteen branches held sway across the entire Federation.
Each region generally had only one core branch, which housed a Spirit Ascension Platform.
Inside Skysea City's Spirit Pagoda, Toji Fushiguro had already slipped silently past the layers of external defenses and successfully infiltrated the building without causing a single fluctuation of soul power.
Moreover, he was a top-tier assassin with exceptionally sophisticated concealment techniques.
Getting inside was, quite simply, effortless for him.
And with the Heavenly Restriction Tyrant's unparalleled destructive power and terrifying physical strength added to the mix,
he was a humanoid killing weapon in his own right.
Even with only a small fraction of his body's potential unleashed, he was still terrifying.
Toji Fushiguro would continue to grow stronger as Li Qingxun's power increased.
Even so, the strength he displayed in his normal state already far surpassed that of ordinary Soul Kings and Soul Emperors.
Among Li Qingxun's several clones, Toji Fushiguro and Sasuke Uchiha were the strongest in combat.
Seven could only barely compare to the two once he returned to his full-power persona.
As for Sunday, his specialty was spreading faith, not direct combat.
But when it came to assassination, ambushes, and robbery alone, Toji Fushiguro was undoubtedly the most useful trump card in Li Qingxun's hand.
As Toji Fushiguro drew closer, even the most powerful soul-tool detection devices could not discover his presence.
Like an elusive ghost, he slipped silently along the shadows and made his way deep into the Spirit Pagoda.
He held the Soul Liberation Blade in his hand, his eyes scanning his surroundings warily.
Toji Fushiguro's powers of perception were not particularly strong, so there were many things he could not ascertain.
Still, there was most likely an expert with seven or more rings inside this Spirit Pagoda.
Toji Fushiguro was no match for such experts.
He did not care, however, and quietly stepped forward.
A complete three-dimensional image slowly appeared in his mind.
Li Qingxun had drawn it during his earlier visit to the Spirit Pagoda. The layout was incomplete, and there might even be considerable differences between the two branches.
Nevertheless, accurately determining the locations of certain vaults and other important areas was not difficult.
Toji Fushiguro's steps did not falter in the slightest.
The elevators required an identification card, but the stairs were also accessible and had no restrictions.
With a few bounds, Toji Fushiguro quickly reached the upper floors.
There were quite a few powerful presences here, including many experts at the Soul King and Soul Emperor levels.
Compared with Eastsea City's branch, Skysea City's Spirit Pagoda was merely a large branch rather than a core one.
Yet Skysea City was actually the more prosperous of the two, with not only a larger population but a much greater size as well.
The only difference between them might have been their top-level fighting strength.
Eastsea City might have experts at the Soul Douluo level or above stationed there, whereas Skysea City probably had only Soul Saints at most.
The disparity was extremely clear.
At the lower levels of Soul Kings and Soul Emperors, however, Skysea City was stronger.
But Soul Kings and Soul Emperors could not stir up much of a storm.
The Soul Liberation Blade slid into the keyhole, instantly destroying the ordinary combination lock.
Toji Fushiguro stepped silently inside, and none of the soul power sensors or other devices there were triggered.
Although the surveillance cameras captured his figure, they had no way to raise an alarm in time.
Looking at the young man lying on the bed inside the room, Toji Fushiguro calmly approached.
He said nothing as the Soul Liberation Blade swept through the man's body.
There was no wound on the man's skin, but his soul had already been severed at the neck.
As his soul shattered completely, a Soul King-level expert lost his life in an instant.
Toji Fushiguro then took the special card from the man's body, swiped it through the checkpoint, and smoothly entered the higher floors.
As one of the major organizations, the Spirit Pagoda naturally had security measures and vigilance far beyond those of other organizations.
Yet precisely because it was one of those major organizations, the lofty Spirit Pagoda possessed absolute confidence.
No one would imagine the Spirit Pagoda being robbed. Even the robbery of that Tang Sect branch a while ago had already become the butt of many jokes.
After all, they were the Four Great Organizations. If the rulers in the open were the Federation Parliament and the Federation itself, then the rulers behind the scenes were the Four Great Organizations.
Moreover, the Four Great Organizations held at least a third of the parliamentary seats in the Federation.
In fact, much of the time, if the Four Great Organizations could unite, they could all but take over the Federation in an instant.
Such was the absolute authority of the Four Great Organizations, leaving others afraid to defy them in the slightest.
Unfortunately, none of that had anything to do with Li Qingxun.
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