Toji left Liang Wu's office with the heavy bag of Gold Soul Coins in his hand, but he felt little stir in his heart.
A hundred Gold Soul Coins were no more than a single hair on nine oxen to Liang Wu.
Fortunately, he had managed to put aside quite a bit over the past five years.
He had at least a thousand Gold Soul Coins in savings by now.
His monthly wages in Gold Soul Coins were a little meager, but when he performed well in a match, like this time, his boss Liang Wu would give him a bonus.
"Hiss, that really hurts."
Toji glanced at his injured leg but did not dare seek treatment.
He had received treatment provided by Liang Wu before, only for the medical fees alone to be deducted from several months' worth of his wages and bonuses. It was outrageously expensive.
Even squeezing someone dry shouldn't go that far.
Besides, ordinary Soul Fighting matches basically paid no bonuses. Only a performance like this one, tearing an Earth Bear apart with his bare hands and fighting it head-on the whole time, drawing eyes and delivering thrills, would earn him one.
Normally, killing an Earth Bear would have been almost effortless for him, and he could even have done it without injury. But in pursuit of a bonus, he had ended up covered in wounds.
Still, the time was almost here. He had more or less figured out the situation.
Within the entire Soul Fighting Arena organization, Liang Wu had only two Soul King bodyguards, along with a large number of Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors as subordinates.
At his current level, he could be called invincible. No one was a match for him, and he could handle Soul Elders and Soul Ancestors as he pleased. But Soul Kings...
He still had a chance if he ambushed them, though he would probably suffer quite a few injuries in a head-on fight.
As for Liang Wu himself, he was also a Soul Master. Toji did not yet know his exact cultivation, but he guessed it was probably around the Soul King or Soul Emperor level.
After all, Liang Wu was a local snake. How could he survive without some ability?
On this trip, Toji planned to use his savings to buy some Soul Tools and arm himself.
When he returned, it would be the day Liang Wu the capitalist dropped his Gold Soul Coins.
He returned to his room, quickly packed his luggage, and changed into a clean set of clothes. Although he still bore a few injuries, they had long since become a matter of daily life for him.
"Five years..." Toji murmured. "It's time to go back and have a look."
After Toji had left the Soul Fighting Arena, Liang Wu stood on high, watching his departing figure without saying a word.
The two Soul Kings beside him, however, were already growing uneasy:
"Boss, Toji's getting stronger and stronger. You saw it too. He actually tore an Earth Bear in half with his bare hands. Even the two of us couldn't do that."
"If Toji decides to rebel, we won't be able to stop him at all."
Liang Wu said nothing, merely narrowing his eyes slightly.
"As he grows, he really is becoming more and more dangerous. To have such a performance and fighting strength at fifteen... even a friend of mine who's an inner court disciple at Shrek couldn't manage that."
A Soul King beside him could not help exclaiming, "Could Toji be even more terrifying than those genius disciples at Shrek?"
"You can't judge it that way. After all, he has no Soul Power, so he can't compare to those genius disciples at Shrek." Liang Wu raised a hand and rubbed his chin. "Does he know I'm acquainted with the person who sold him here?"
"He doesn't. We've kept the information from him and watched him at all times," the other Soul King replied. "Boss, do you need the two of us to follow him discreetly and keep an eye on him?"
Liang Wu pondered for a long time, then nodded slightly in agreement.
He too felt that Toji had become far too dangerous.
"What if Toji contacts the Zhang Family and the two of them join forces against you, boss?" the Soul King could not help asking again.
"Heh, that's impossible." Liang Wu smiled faintly. "As far as I know, the Zhang Family can barely protect itself now."
"Still, if Toji dies at the Zhang Family's place, that would suit me just fine. He's become somewhat difficult to control, after all. If I can't make money off him, so be it."
"I used the hundred Gold Soul Coins I spent back then to earn a million Gold Soul Coins over five years. Heh, no loss there, no loss at all."
The two Soul Kings promptly turned into bootlickers. "Boss, that move of yours, killing with a borrowed knife, is truly brilliant! No wonder you agreed to let Toji go out."
Heaven Dou City, that bustling city, remained as it had always been.
People came and went along streets lined with shops, and the air was filled with the aromas of all kinds of food and the bustle of the marketplace.
Toji walked along the familiar streets, an indescribably complicated feeling in his heart.
"I'll go to Zhang Lexuan's home first. With her family's help, I should be able to find a way to buy Soul Tools."
It was still too early in the timeline, so early that Huo Yuhao, that child of destiny, had yet to be born. As a result, countries other than the Sun Moon Empire had no idea how important Soul Tools were at present.
When Toji reached his destination, he saw that the main gate was ajar and smelled a heavy stench of blood. The smell was pungent and nauseating, and it also gave him a shock, making him quicken his pace.
This is bad. Something's happened!
Am I too late after all?
He hurried to the entrance of the residence. There were obvious scratches on the gate, as though it had been gouged by something sharp.
An ominous premonition rose in his heart. He hurriedly pushed the gate open and rushed inside.
As soon as he entered the residence, the sounds of a fierce fight reached his ears. They were mixed with the explosions of Soul Skills and other noises, making the battle sound exceptionally intense.
Toji gritted his teeth and immediately rushed toward Zhang Lexuan's room.
Zhang Lexuan, only around eleven years old at the time, lay curled up beneath her bed, hiding from something.
Only her mother was outside the bed, covered in injuries, yet her voice was unusually gentle as she spoke to the girl beneath it:
"Lexuan, no matter what you hear or what happens... you mustn't come out. Once you're found, you'll lose, all right?"
There was a tremor in her voice, but more than that, there was protectiveness and a mother's love for her daughter.
This might be her last chance to speak to her daughter.
Just then, footsteps sounded outside the door, drawing closer and closer. Mother Zhang's expression changed. She quickly rose and stood in front of the bed, using her body to shield her daughter from view.
Bang!
The door was shoved violently open, and three Soul Masters charged in, looking at Mother Zhang as though she were already dead.
"What a pity. Who told your Zhang Family to offend someone?"
The Soul Master at their head gave a sinister cackle. Four Soul Rings flashed into view together, with a white, yellow, yellow, yellow Soul Ring Configuration. Without a Thousand-Year Soul Ring, reaching Soul Ancestor could be said to be the end of the road.
But at that critical moment, a figure suddenly burst in through the window, smashing the glass.
Long saber in hand, Toji landed swiftly and swept his gaze ahead. The next moment, he shot toward the three Soul Masters like a bolt of lightning.
He was so fast that his movements were almost impossible to see. With a single burst, he reached the three Soul Masters in an instant.
His long saber flashed coldly, cutting through the air with a sharp whistle as it slashed viciously at one of them.
Before that Soul Master could react, he saw a blur before his eyes, followed by a burst of intense pain.
Toji severed his head in an instant. It tumbled to the floor with a dull thud.
The other two Soul Masters turned pale with shock.
He instantly killed a Three-Ring Soul Elder with one slash?
"Who goes there?!" The Soul Ancestor panicked at once. Even he could not display such terrifying fighting strength. As he shouted, his Fourth Soul Ring lit up.
But Toji was astonishingly fast. His legs drove hard against the floor, and with a whoosh, he vanished from the Soul Ancestor's sight.
The Soul Ancestor had only just unleashed his Fourth Soul Skill when he lost his target. He had no way to lock on, and he could not even sense where Toji was with his Soul Power.
Encountering such a situation for the first time, the Soul Ancestor panicked even more.
Who in the world is this?
Soul Power could not sense where Toji was at all. He was practically an invisible assassin; you had no idea when he would kill you.
The moment that thought entered his mind, he heard a scream behind him. The Soul Ancestor immediately turned to look, only to see that the other Soul Elder had also died a gruesome death beneath Toji's saber.
A look of terror appeared on his face, and his Third Soul Ring lit up again. He was just about to counterattack with a Soul Skill, but Toji had already appeared behind him like a ghost and placed his long saber against the Soul Ancestor's neck.
"Your Soul Skill is really good, but what use is it if it can't lock on to me or keep up with my speed?"
"Who exactly are you, sir? We haven't offended an important figure like you. Why not tell us your name, so the flood doesn't wash away the Dragon King's temple?" The Soul Ancestor's voice trembled. He had clearly been cowed by Toji's strength.
Toji did not answer. He merely sneered and pressed his long saber a little harder. The blade cut through the man's throat, and blood spurted out, staining the floor red.
Without even a chance to scream, the corpse fell heavily to the floor, lifeless.
Toji stood in the room, blood dripping from the long saber in his hand, like a god of war. He looked around and, after making sure there were no other enemies, slowly walked over to Mother Zhang.
Mother Zhang stood her ground beside the bed. As Toji approached step by step, she hurriedly said:
"Y-you, who exactly are you? If you've come to kill me, then make it quick!"
Toji had not expected Mother Zhang to have failed to recognize him outright. He immediately lowered his long saber and hurriedly said, "Sister, don't you recognize me? I'm Toji from five years ago-the Toji you always looked after, whose goods you spent large sums of money on."
Mother Zhang stared blankly at Toji. He was so powerful now and looked much like an adult, so she could not make the connection for a moment.
But his face still retained a little youthful softness, and there was that familiar feeling about him. Only then did Mother Zhang confirm that he really was Toji:
"You... are you really Toji? But didn't you disappear completely five years ago?"