In a manor in the western district of Mingdu.
In the brightly lit hall, glasses clinked and elegantly dressed people mingled.
The air was filled with the soft glow of high-level Soul Guidance Lamp, the aroma of delicacies, and the intoxicating richness of top-grade soul wine.
The melodious sounds of string and wind instruments filled the air, and scantily clad maids flitted among the guests like butterflies among flowers.
Sitting in the main seat, Nangong Wan wore a magnificent robe and wore a smug smile.
At this moment, he was holding up a wine glass carved from a single piece of warm jade, the amber liquid inside shimmering with an alluring luster.
"Everyone." Nangong Wan's voice, carrying a trace of Soul Power, clearly resounded throughout the hall, overpowering the music and whispers.
He looked around at the distinguished guests with a broad smile.
They were all high-ranking members of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Legion, holding real power, and many of them were Level 9 Soul Engineer.
"It is an honor for Nangong Wan to have you all grace us with your presence today. The Xishui Alliance's current situation is entirely due to the strong support of you all." He bowed slightly, his posture humble, but the implication in his words was undisguised. "Now that the new emperor has ascended the throne and is determined to make progress, it is the time for us to join hands and seek greater benefits together. The Xishui Alliance is willing to serve you all faithfully, clearing the way for connections Mingdu and even the entire empire, ensuring that the sales of rare metal materials and the flow of resources... are unimpeded!"
"At that time, wealth will flow in and all of it will come into our pockets!"
His eyes gleamed with greed and ambition, and his voice suddenly rose, becoming highly inflammatory:
"For our shared future, for mountains of gold and seas of silver, gentlemen, let us drink this cup to the brim!"
"Good!"
"Leader Nangong is so generous!"
"Cheers!"
The Soul Engineer present also showed knowing smiles and raised their glasses in response.
For them, cooperating with forces like the Xishui Alliance that control underground channels is mutually beneficial.
The atmosphere is lively right now, making it a good time to solidify the relationship.
Nangong Wan let out a hearty laugh, tilted his head back, and downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.
The rim of the warm jade cup touched his lips, his Adam's apple bobbed, and the amber wine slid down his throat.
Just as he tilted his head back to drink, his neck completely exposed, in that one-hundredth of a second when his mind was most relaxed...
Without any warning, without the slightest fluctuation of Soul Power, without any spatial distortion, not even a wisp of breeze was stirred.
The air behind Nangong Wan seemed to be silently torn apart like the deepest curtain of night, and a figure appeared out of thin air, as if stepping directly from the reflection of hell into reality.
Toji, the greatsword in his hand, forged from countless fierce demons and slaughter, was already raised high.
There was no light shining on the blade, only a chilling, deathly stillness that devoured everything and froze the soul.
Time stood still at that moment.
Nangong Wan was still tilting his head back and swallowing, the joy of drinking still lingering on his face.
The Soul Engineer present were all smiles, raising their glasses in celebration.
The maid's tray stopped in mid-air.
The musician's fingertips rested on the strings.
Then... Toji brought down the large sword he had raised high.
"Whoosh!"
With a speed that surpasses the limits of vision and mental reaction, it slashed down fiercely from the very top of Nangong Wan!
There was no earth-shattering roar, only a chilling, dull sound of a sharp blade tearing through flesh and bone.
Nangong Wan's body stiffened abruptly, and the expression on his face, which had been one of carefree drinking, froze instantly, transforming into utter bewilderment and incredulous horror.
The warm jade wine cup in his hand fell to the ground with a clatter, shattering into pieces, the amber liquid mixing with...
Mixed with gushing, hot, viscous blood.
The line of blood started from the center of his forehead, running straight down his nose, lips, neck, chest, and abdomen...
Under the horrified, mind-numbed gazes of everyone, Nangong Wan, which had just been so spirited and raising his cup to invite others to drink, along with his magnificent robe, was neatly torn into two symmetrical pieces, like rotten wood sliced by the sharpest paper cutter.
Internal organs, intestines, and foul blood... accompanied by a nauseating stench, were splashed out with a loud thud.
Like two doors made of flesh and blood that had been violently pushed open, they slid helplessly to the left and right and spread out.
Warm blood, carrying a strong, pungent smell, rained down on the faces and bodies of the nearest Soul Engineer, like dense red drops.
That sticky, scalding touch instantly plunged them from heaven to hell.
The entire hall fell into a deathly silence.
Time seemed to stretch out countless times.
The smiles on everyone's faces froze completely, their eyes were vacant, and their minds were blank, as if they had been hit hard by an invisible giant hammer and had completely lost the ability to think.
He could only stare blankly at the two still slightly twitching, blood-gushing remains on the ground, and at the scattered fragments of internal organs, symbols of death.
Such a powerful leader of the Xishui Alliance, Nangong Wan...
That's it... gone?
This mind-blowing and extremely bloody scene, like the most terrifying brand, deeply seared the eyes and nerves of everyone.
However, the killing did not stop.
In the fraction of a second that everyone was in absolute stunned silence, Toji moved.
He didn't pause at all, nor did he even glance at the artwork on the ground.
With a slight twist of his wrist, the dark red broadsword, untouched by blood, slashed diagonally with a suffocatingly deadly trajectory toward the Level 9 Soul Engineer sitting to the left of Nangong Wan, whose face was covered in blood and bits of flesh and who was still in a state of complete petrification.
A dazzling light burst forth from the Soul Engineer's body—a top-tier, trigger-activated, automatic defense Soul Tool Shield Defensive Soul Tool, powerful enough to withstand Super Douluo's full-force attack.
However, before Toji's blood-red greatsword, which seemed to disregard all defensive rules in the world, the seemingly indestructible shield was as fragile as a soap bubble.
As the blade swept past, the protective shield shattered silently like a phantom bubble, without even causing a ripple.
The blade flashed without hesitation, precisely slicing across the neck of the Level 9 Soul Engineer.
"Puff--"
A head, frozen in a complex expression of astonishment, fear, and bewilderment, shot into the sky.
At the severed neck, blood gushed forth like a fountain.
Only then did the headless corpse twitch slightly due to a nerve reflex.
Until this moment, the belated screams and roars, filled with extreme fear and hysteria, exploded like a lit powder keg in the deathly silent hall.
"Ah--!!!"
"Enemy attack!!!"
"Leader Nangong!!!"
"Kill him!!!"
The surviving Soul Engineer finally recovered from their extreme shock, and their immense fear instantly transformed into a frenzied killing intent.