Du Busi remained silent for a moment, his voice hoarse:
"Even so, the whole nation is filled with grief and indignation; a desperate army is bound to win. Add to that the old Kong Deming's consolidation of the Soul Engineer' power, and their momentum is unstoppable... The Three Kingdoms are in grave danger."
He turned his head, his cloudy yet still sharp eyes looking at Toji with a complex and indescribable expectation:
"You..."
Toji interrupted him directly, her voice flat yet carrying an undeniable determination:
"Teacher, I will not participate in this war."
The air froze instantly.
Those disciples of the Body Sect who were already filled with grief and indignation looked up sharply upon hearing this, staring at Toji in disbelief.
In his eyes, there was astonishment, confusion, and even a hint of anger at being "betrayed".
In their view, the Heavenly Tyrant, possessing such terrifying power, was now the key to turning the tide and saving the Heaven Dou from dire straits.
A barely perceptible hint of disappointment flashed in Du Busi's eyes, but more than that, there was a deep, almost tragic sense of relief.
He raised his hand, stopping the commotion that was about to erupt from his disciples behind him.
"Is it because of the fate that Di Qiu'er told you about?"
Du Busi's voice was low and weary.
Toji did not deny it, but calmly said:
"The inevitable tide of destiny is beyond human control. The unification of the Sun Moon is an unstoppable trend."
Du Busi closed his eyes and took a deep breath of the mountain wind, which smelled of gunpowder.
As a top expert, he could also feel the oppressive sense of despair that loomed over the Three Kingdoms.
He remained silent for a long time, and when he opened his eyes again, a flame that was almost tragic burned in his cloudy eyes.
"I... know." The voice of the Du Busi carried a desolate air of facing fate head-on, yet also contained an indomitable stubbornness. "I know the torrent is unstoppable, I know destiny is unshakeable. But..."
He clenched his fist tightly, his knuckles cracking.
"I was born and raised in the Heaven Dou Heaven Dou! The Body Sect is rooted here! How can I stand by and watch my homeland fall..."
"I can't do it! Even if it's like a mantis trying to stop a chariot, or a moth flying into a flame, I will still try! I will fight for that slim chance! I will challenge that so-called destiny!"
His words struck the hearts of every disciple of the Body Sect like a heavy hammer.
Grief and indignation transformed into resolve, and fear was replaced by fighting spirit. They all turned to look at Du Busi, their eyes blazing with renewed fire.
Toji quietly watched the Du Busi's eyes, a light that showed he knew it was impossible yet still did it. His face remained expressionless, but a very faint ripple seemed to pass through the depths of his eyes.
He offered no advice or comment, but simply nodded slightly.
"Understood." He uttered three words crisply and decisively.
Toji glanced one last time at Du Busi old but ramrod straight back of Du Busi, and at the Body Sect disciples behind him who were prepared to shed their last drop of blood for their homeland.
Then he turned and left.
"If you really can't win, don't be stubborn, just retreat. The lineage of the Body Sect will not be broken."
After speaking, Toji's figure seemed to blend into the shadows, taking a step and already dozens of feet away. A few more steps and he completely disappeared into the vast mountain forest mist of the forbidden area, as if he had never appeared at all.
Du Busi didn't turn back, but only gazed southward, at the ever-approaching flames of war and smoke, murmuring:
"Go, do what you're supposed to do. I'll take on this battlefield!"
He suddenly straightened his back, and a powerful, tragic, and fierce aura carrying a death-defying will soared into the sky.
"Belongs to the Body Sect!"
"Here!" The disciples behind him roared in unison, their voices echoing through the mountains and forests!
"Follow me—to die defending our country!"
"War! War! War!!!"
The mournful battle cries echoed through the valley, like the final horn.
At this moment, Toji, who had completely escaped the vortex of war, was speeding towards another direction on the continent at an illogical pace.
The target was none other than the Clear Sky Sect, which had been living in seclusion for ten thousand years and was detached from worldly affairs.
Xu Tianran is dead.
Next up is the Clear Sky Sect.
His goal, however, was to destroy the Clear Sky Sect!
The wind whistled in my ears, and the mountains and rivers below seemed to rush past me.
Toji's gaze gradually turned cold, showing no concern for the war situation on the mainland, only absolute focus on locking onto his prey.
The Clear Sky Sect, once the number one sect on the continent, is an ancient place of heritage that possesses the Clear Sky Hammer, known as the number one Tool Martial Soul in the world.
Its aloof arrogance, its rigid adherence to outdated rules, its self-righteous attitude of being above the rules... in Toji's eyes, it was already a path to death.
Clear Sky Sect, ten thousand years of glory?
Today, let us use your blood and bones to commemorate the souls harmed by your corrupt rules.
Use the collapse of your mountain gate to complete the descent of the Godhood throne!
His speed increased, the air was torn apart with a sharp crack, and the scenery below him blurred into a flowing mass of color.
An invisible, terrifying, and malevolent aura, like an ancient Ferocious Beast awakening, began to condense and rise from his body, locking onto the legendary, secluded Clear Sky Sect in the northwest, a place shrouded in mist and impossible to find.
A storm is about to rise atop the northwestern mountains.
The mountains of the northwest are shrouded in mist and clouds, and the wind is fierce.
A colossal fortress, so majestic it seemed to reach the sky, stood like a silent, primordial beast atop the highest mountain peak.
The heavy iron gate was tightly closed, its doors engraved with an ancient Clear Sky Hammer totem, exuding an aura of majesty and weight passed down through millennia.
This is Clear Sky Castle, which has been hidden from the world for ten thousand years and is regarded as a holy land in the Soul Master World.
However, this timeless tranquility has been completely shattered today.
A solitary black figure descended from the sky like a meteorite, crashing heavily at the end of the massive stone steps leading to Clear Sky Fortress, wide enough for a horse to gallop across, causing the entire cliff to tremble slightly.
Gravel flew everywhere, and dust filled the air.
Toji slowly straightened up, his black clothes fluttering in the biting mountain wind. The dark red, menacing knife in his hand pointed diagonally at the ground. The blade was unstained with blood, yet it already exuded a chilling aura that could freeze one's soul.
He looked up at the tightly closed, massive iron gate that seemed to separate two worlds, his eyes as calm as an ancient, icy pool, with only a faint crimson burning within.
"Who goes there?! How dare you trespass into the forbidden area of the Clear Sky Sect!"
A sharp shout, like rolling thunder, echoed from the towering walls of the fortress.
Dozens of figures descended like agile eagles, all dressed in tight-fitting clothes with the Clear Sky Hammer emblem embroidered on their chests. Each of them exuded a calm and collected aura, and their eyes were sharp as knives.
The leader was a burly man whose Soul Power fluctuations had reached the Soul Douluo level.
He gripped a heavy Clear Sky Hammer in his hand, watching the uninvited guest before him warily, who exuded an extremely dangerous aura.
"Get out of here."
Toji's voice wasn't loud, but it was like the friction of cold metal, clearly penetrating the mountain wind and striking the eardrums of every Clear Sky Sect disciple.