The short blade in Toji's hand had already been coated with lethal poison. Its edge gleamed with a faint black light in the moonlight as he closed in on Liang Wu in an instant.
Liang Wu had just been gravely wounded by Father Zhang's Soul Skill. His protective Soul Power had been torn apart, and his chest was drenched in blood, but he had remained on guard against Toji lurking in the shadows.
Seeing that Toji had appeared at just the right moment, Liang Wu's pupils contracted, and he hurriedly raised his long saber to block.
But he was still a step too slow.
Toji's short blade plunged viciously into his abdomen, and the lethal poison on its edge invaded his body in an instant.
"You..." Liang Wu's eyes widened. He tried to struggle, but the poison spread rapidly. His body began trembling beyond his control, and his face turned ashen in an instant.
Even Toji couldn't help marveling at how effective it was.
Fortunately, he was immune to all poisons. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have been worthy of a proper look from that poison-using Soul Emperor.
How could he have scared him off, then?
Liang Wu's fifth Soul Ring rose, and saber light wrapped around his entire body in an instant, forcing Toji to retreat unharmed. Toji slowly withdrew the short blade in his hand, drawing out a string of blood droplets.
"What poison did you give me?!"
Liang Wu let out an angry roar. Then his body began shaking violently, and black blood poured from his mouth.
His face began turning ashen. Clearly, the lethal poison had already spread rapidly throughout his body. His Soul Power circulated frantically inside him as he tried to suppress the poison's spread, but the poison was so overbearing that even a Soul Emperor expert like him could hardly force it out of his body in a short time.
Seeing this, Father Zhang unleashed an even fiercer attack without hesitation. His Soul Rings rose one after another, and the Soul Skills he released in succession surged toward Liang Wu like a tide. Although Liang Wu resisted with all his might, the poison made it difficult for him to bring out his full strength.
Toji, meanwhile, looked for openings at the side, harassing Liang Wu like a mosquito and keeping him from focusing on Father Zhang.
Before long, under their combined assault, Liang Wu gradually found himself unable to keep up. His body grew heavier and heavier, and his consciousness gradually blurred.
Finally, after a fierce clash, Liang Wu's body could no longer hold out, and he slowly collapsed.
Toji walked slowly over to Liang Wu and looked down at him. At some point, a crystal-clear pill had appeared in his hand. It gave off a faint, delicate fragrance, a stark contrast to the pungent poison.
"This is the antidote." Toji shook the pill in his hand and said calmly, "I can give it to you, but only if you're willing to cooperate with me."
"Co... cooperate?" Liang Wu forced the words out, his voice hoarse and weak. "What exactly do you want?"
Toji said, "It's simple. Starting today, you'll be my subordinate. Your Soul Fighting Arena and all your assets will belong to me. All you have to do is work for me."
"Uncle Zhang will help manage things, and you'll keep running these gray-market assets as before. You'll also assist Uncle Zhang."
Only then did Father Zhang realize why Toji had asked whether he was willing to manage gray-market businesses, and why it didn't matter even if he didn't know how.
So that was his plan.
If Liang Wu simply died, those assets could indeed be converted to cash in a short time, but then they wouldn't be able to make money over the long term.
If Toji wanted to continue cultivating, he would have to burn through a huge number of Gold Soul Coins. He urgently needed a way to make money.
After hearing Toji's terms, Liang Wu's face grew even uglier. He stared fixedly at Toji, his eyes full of anger and unwillingness.
He was a dignified Soul Emperor expert, a local tyrant in this small place, yet he had to submit to a boy who didn't even have Soul Power?
To him, it was an immense humiliation.
However, the excruciating pain in his abdomen and the poison constantly spreading through his body forced him to face reality.
If he refused, Toji would never give him the antidote, and he would slowly die in agony.
"I can agree to all those terms, but will you keep your word? Are you really willing to give me the antidote and let me live?"
Liang Wu's voice trembled slightly. Clearly, his resolve had wavered.
Toji's tone was calm.
"I keep my word. As long as you agree, the antidote is yours."
Liang Wu fell silent for a moment. Finally, he lowered his head, a trace of resignation and compromise in his voice.
"All right... I agree."
Toji smiled faintly and handed Liang Wu the antidote.
Liang Wu took the antidote and swallowed it without hesitation.
A moment later, his complexion gradually returned to normal, and the poison in his body was swiftly neutralized.
Only his weakness and injuries remained.
Liang Wu let out a long breath and slowly stood up. A hint of complicated emotion entered his eyes as he looked at Toji.
"Oh, right, I forgot to mention something." Toji looked at him with a smile. "The antidote I just gave you only works for one year."
"If you decide to turn against me before then, I'm afraid you'll die from the poison later on, without an antidote."
Right in front of him, Toji took out a bag and openly retrieved an antidote.
"If you want to get rid of the poison in your body yourself, you're welcome to try. I went to all the trouble of making a trip outside just to find a poison that only I know about. Otherwise, why would I dare bring someone along to take you down?"
He appeared supremely confident, but inwardly he was still a little nervous. After all, he knew everything he had said was made up, just to scare Liang Wu.
If he wanted a Soul Emperor to risk his life working for him, he would have to put in more effort.
Liang Wu sighed. Five years ago, he had already seen that Toji was mature for his age and obedient to his orders, but he had known that was only a disguise.
He knew Toji was smart, but no matter how smart he was, he was still just a child.
Who would have thought he would capsize in a ditch today?
"From today onward, everything in the Soul Fighting Arena belongs to you," Liang Wu said quietly.
"Any money earned from now on will be split nine to one," Toji added. "Nine for me, one for you."
"Yes."
Liang Wu said nothing more and merely nodded silently.
He had no room left to choose.
Even getting one share depended on Toji's goodwill.
"Uncle Zhang will manage the money." Toji looked at Father Zhang. "Come on, lead the way. Bring out everything you've saved up in your life, and cough up every Gold Soul Coin I've earned for you over the years."
Liang Wu forced an ingratiating smile. Though unwilling, the situation was stronger than he was, and he could only accept reality.
"Everyone, I'll lead the way."
He stood up and led Toji and Father Zhang toward the vault.
Toji was pleased that Liang Wu knew what was good for him, but the more obedient Liang Wu was, the more dangerous Toji found him.
If the situation became unstable, he might turn traitor in an instant.
After all, it had taken Father Zhang and Toji together to barely defeat him.
Toji spoke quietly to Father Zhang.
"Uncle Zhang, sorry for the trouble."
"It's no trouble. I'll help you keep an eye on him," Father Zhang said quietly.
The vault was in the Soul Fighting Arena's basement and heavily guarded. But with Liang Wu there, the guards didn't attack Toji or Father Zhang, even though he was covered in blood.
Liang Wu took out a key and opened one heavy lock after another, finally reaching the inside of the vault.
The vault was piled high with Gold Soul Coins and all kinds of valuables, gleaming enticingly.
Looking at the wealth, Toji couldn't help feeling a little excited.
It was the greatest wealth he had seen in this lifetime.
"All of this is wealth I've slowly accumulated over the years," Liang Wu said. "Now it all belongs to you."
"There are about thirty million Gold Soul Coins in total, all kinds of heavenly treasures, as well as precious Soul Tools I've collected, rare materials, and so on..."
Liang Wu carefully glanced at Toji, his manner exceedingly humble.
"My lord, please take your time counting it."