When Toji dodged his grab, a flicker of surprise crossed Du Busi's eyes.
Moreover, the Heaven-Breaking Sword Toji had thrown had been a deliberate move, blocking part of Du Busi's vision.
By the time the Heaven-Breaking Sword dissolved, Toji had run so far that not a trace of him remained.
At that moment, he pushed his physique to its absolute limit.
Toji was gambling that even a peerless powerhouse like Du Busi could not sense him with Soul Power or Spiritual Power.
Blocking his vision for even a tenth of a second would be enough.
"Interesting. Truly interesting. After all these years, you've managed to stir a ripple in this old man's tranquil heart."
Du Busi was amused. He had never expected Toji to struggle in such a desperate situation while so badly injured.
"But unfortunately, in the face of absolute strength, everything is futile."
Before his words had faded, Du Busi vanished again. The next moment, he appeared out of thin air behind the fleeing Toji, his right hand reaching for the back of Toji's neck like an iron clamp.
Toji twisted sharply and narrowly dodged the grab once more.
But this time, Du Busi had used his Soul Power.
Though Toji avoided the grab, Du Busi's Soul Power still grazed his shoulder.
"Sshk-"
With a soft sound, a gash opened in Toji's shoulder, deep enough to expose bone, and blood gushed out.
Toji let out a muffled grunt, and his body faltered for a moment as he raced along.
That pause was fatal, finally giving Du Busi the chance to catch this slippery loach.
Du Busi seized the back of Toji's neck.
"Can you still run?"
Du Busi had never intended to kill him. He only wanted to see how far this young man could go in a desperate situation.
Judging by eye, he could tell that the young man's physical strength was already close to its limit, just one final step away from the next realm.
With a little more effort, he could take that step forward and achieve a breakthrough.
So Du Busi had brought ample pressure to bear, trying to help Toji accomplish that feat of taking a step forward.
Toji said nothing. He reached down and pulled out the Invincible Shield.
The Invincible Shield, which had been filled with Soul Power from the Milk Bottle beforehand, instantly expanded, attempting to use that external force to push Du Busi away.
But who was Du Busi? It would have been laughable if a Level 98 Super Douluo could be pushed away by that thing.
"A Soul Tool?" Du Busi frowned deeply at the sight of it. "Borrowing external power? Young man, you aren't pure enough."
Toji flipped his wrist, producing a short blade, and slashed behind him. Seeing this, Du Busi abruptly seized the hand holding the blade with his other hand.
"Another Soul Tool." Disgust filled Du Busi's face. He increased his Soul Power slightly and shattered the Soul Tool outright.
The next second, a look of astonishment appeared on Du Busi's face.
Though his other hand had held Toji by the scruff of his neck, Toji had somehow slipped free of his grasp again.
But Du Busi had no time to be surprised. The traits Toji had displayed made his eyes light up.
"I've found a treasure. I've really found a treasure."
It was definitely a Body Martial Soul, and one exactly like Du Busi's own.
Du Busi's Body Martial Soul was his very self.
Having walked this path for so long, how could he fail to recognize Toji's Martial Soul?
It felt so familiar.
Du Busi was wild with joy, as though he had discovered some rare treasure.
His earlier anger at Toji for killing a squad of his Body Sect disciples also subsided.
Trading a squad of Body Sect disciples for Toji to join the sect was an incredible bargain.
Toji had retreated several meters away by now, the wound on his shoulder still bleeding.
Du Busi had only stood rooted to the spot for a second or two in his excitement before reaching for Toji again.
Toji knew he had no chance of escaping now. Facing Du Busi, a sense of helplessness filled his entire body.
Damn it, it's just death. I'll go all out against you.
Clenching both hands into fists, Toji concentrated all his strength in his right fist and slammed it toward Du Busi.
Watching the fist come at him, Du Busi calmly raised his right hand, palm forward, and took the punch head-on.
"Boom!"
Fist and palm collided with an ear-splitting roar.
Toji's fist felt as though it had struck an immovable mountain, and the tremendous rebound force numbed his entire arm.
Du Busi stood rooted to the spot, unmoving. Gripping Toji's hand tightly, he said calmly:
"Good strength. Unfortunately, it's still nowhere near enough."
"Anything else?"
Before Du Busi had finished speaking, Toji ignored the hand Du Busi held, forcibly twisted his body, and whipped a vicious kick at Du Busi's head.
A cracking sound came from Du Busi's hand as Toji twisted the bones inside it out of place.
Why doesn't this kid care about his body at all?
Du Busi let go and simply raised his other hand to his head, easily blocking the kick.
As Du Busi released him, Toji's whole body fell toward the ground. At that moment, silver flashed before him, and several short blades shot toward Du Busi's abdomen.
"Poison?" Du Busi's keen eyes saw that the Soul Tools had been coated with poison. He waved a hand casually, destroying every blade.
Seeing that Toji had still failed to achieve a breakthrough after being pushed to the brink of death several times, Du Busi finally shook his head and knocked him unconscious. He caught Toji's body with one hand, keeping him from hitting the ground.
"Good, very good. This kid's temperament is just to my liking. Hahahaha." Looking at Toji in his hand, Du Busi praised him repeatedly. "Even with such severe injuries, judging by what he just showed, an ordinary Soul Emperor would have a hard time taking him down quickly."
His gaze then fell on Father Zhang, whom he had immobilized in the distance.
"All right, you can move now. I told you, this old man means no harm. I came personally this time to bring him back to the Body Sect."
"The Body Sect?!!"
Father Zhang, who had just been immobilized by Du Busi's Soul Power, trembled all over.
Beside him was Liang Wu, who had only just escaped death at Luo Tian's hands. Hearing the words "Body Sect," he could not help drawing a sharp breath.
Liang Wu could not resist pointing at the unconscious Toji:
"Wait, you're saying he's from the Body Sect?"
"That's right. Soul Masters with Body Martial Souls are presumed to be disciples of the Body Sect." Du Busi only added the explanation because he saw that they were both Toji's people. "By the way, this old man is curious about his past experiences. Why don't you tell me more about his past?"
Liang Wu immediately put on an exceptionally enthusiastic smile and rubbed his hands together:
"I'd be happy to!"
They had really latched onto a thick, sturdy thigh.
By the time Toji woke up, he had no idea what time it was or where he was.
All he could feel was that he seemed to be soaking in warm water, which bathed each of his wounds and made them itch.
Toji did not rashly open his eyes and look around. Instead, he quietly cracked one eye open and carefully surveyed his surroundings.
Am I... in a hot spring?
Toji seemed to think of something, and the corners of his mouth lifted slightly, almost beyond his control.
"Looks like Du Busi has taken a liking to me. My efforts weren't wasted."
That was right. Toji, who in Du Busi's eyes had failed to break through even when pushed to the brink of death, had actually been acting the whole time.
Perhaps that was also one of the main reasons he had failed to achieve a physical breakthrough this time between life and death.
Because he knew he would not die.
From the fact that Du Busi had personally come looking for him, Toji had concluded that the Body Sect would not want to kill him.
He would be of the greatest benefit and value to the Body Sect alive.
And people would never betray those who benefited them and could create value for them, or the things that did so.