Skybase King: "This is downright insane... but I love it."
Skybase King: "Suddenly, I feel like if I had this set of equipment, I could annihilate that scheming old bastard Karl right now."
Skybase King: "Hiss... this is tempting. Decision made—after the livestream ends, I'm gathering materials to forge my own Banner of Ten Thousand Souls."
Skybase King: "If I don't take care of Karl this time, I'll take his surname."
Dragon King Sprays Water: "Go for it, Sister He Xi! I support you in wiping Karl out."
Hungry Dragon Roars: "Go get him~."
...
—
Before them, only eight stubborn old men from the Clear Sky Sect remained, putting up a futile resistance.
Wu Tong watched indifferently, but Nether Soul, standing beside him, grew impatient.
Taking so long to deal with these old fools is just useless. Wasting the master's time—how could they ever make up for that?
It seemed it was time to let the souls within the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls engage in a bloody battle. Perhaps some powerful evil spirits could be cultivated in the process.
As Nether Soul pondered ways to enhance the banner's power, it lightly waved the small flag in its hand.
With the banner's renewed force, the previously deadlocked situation shifted instantly into an overwhelming advantage.
Within the barrier, where endless black mist had seeped in, the ethereal fog solidified into tangible chains. With a metallic clatter, the chains coiled around the figures of the old men.
Soul Weapon: Soul-Binding Chains.
Once ensnared, every soul became a lamb to the slaughter, utterly immobilized.
Seeing all the souls captured, Wu Tong curled his lips into a faint smile and withdrew the barrier. As it dissipated, countless vengeful spirits, along with the souls of the Clear Sky Sect members, surged into the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.
—
In the livestream:
Dragon King Sprays Water: "Woo-hoo! A seat amidst the sea of people~."
(Meme reference from "Gu Master.")
Don't Bully the Poor Youth: "This scene should be captioned: 'Slack off in cultivation, and you'll reunite in the Banner of Ten Thousand Souls.'"
No-Shamelessness: "No, no, it's more like 'a family reunion,' right?!"
Others: "..."
What kind of living Yama Kings are these people?
Indeed, every Earthling is a ruthless individual! (Except for those from romance genres.)
Dragon King Sprays Water: "By the way, now that these two sects are dealt with, what's next for you, Wu Tong?"
Truth-Seeker: "Eradicating the roots, of course."
Dragon King Sprays Water: "Oh, right. The Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect still has 3,000 members scattered abroad."
Dragon King Sprays Water: "Are you planning to hunt them down? But they're spread all over the continent. How will you find them?"
Truth-Seeker: "Simple. I kept two drops of blood when I wiped out the sect. Through bloodline tracing, anyone connected to these drops is undoubtedly from the Blue Lightning Tyrant Dragon Sect or the Clear Sky Sect."
No-Shamelessness: "Quite the grand gesture. But for 3,000 people, couldn't you just delegate to your allied forces? They'd handle such trivial matters, right? No need for you to personally intervene."
Truth-Seeker: "???"
Truth-Seeker: "Who said it's only 3,000 people?"
Truth-Seeker: "Moon Pavilion, Blue Tyrant Academy, the Four Single-Attribute Families, Thunder Academy..."
Truth-Seeker: "Aren't they all connected to these two sects?"
Dragon King Sprays Water: "Blue Tyrant Academy and Moon Pavilion? Liu Erlong and Tang Yuehua?"
Dragon King Sprays Water: "You'd actually go after them? Don't you have any... thoughts?"
Uh...
Reading Gu Ruoli's message, Wu Tong couldn't help but break into a cold sweat.
Where did she get the idea that I'm led by my lower half?
Asking directly was one of Wu Tong's strengths when faced with confusion.
Truth-Seeker: "Wait, how did you conclude I'm a lecher?"
Dragon King Sprays Water: "Aren't all transmigrators like that? Plus, your maid squad, the Flame-Chaser girls you brought back from Honkai, the trio from Highschool of the Dead—isn't that evidence enough?"
Truth-Seeker: "..."
Truth-Seeker: "Fine, I admit I have some interest in the people I brought back. But what does that have to do with eliminating my enemies?"
Wu Tong didn't deny his appreciation for beauty.
He wasn't some ascetic monk who could remain unmoved. Besides, those he brought back were either prodigies or future key allies—all trusted aides. And none of them had deep-seated grudges against him. Given their charm, it'd be stranger if he wasn't interested.
But no matter how desperate he might be, he'd never take his enemies as lovers.
Wu Tong never saw himself as some protagonist who could win over foes with sheer charisma, making them abandon vendettas for his sake.
He was acutely aware of one thing: he wasn't the protagonist.
So, if he had the means to eliminate threats, he'd do so without hesitation—not naively try to recruit them.
On this point, Marvel's HYDRA-infested SHIELD was a perfect cautionary tale.
Truth-Seeker: "I don't let my lower half do the thinking. I know the difference between enemies and allies."
Truth-Seeker: "Keeping them around would just invite trouble."
Truth-Seeker: "Besides, there's no shortage of beauties—not just across the multiverse, but even in Douluo Continent. Why would I need to keep those two?"
Truth-Seeker: "Take my maid squad, for example. Compared to them, what's so special about Liu Erlong or Tang Yuehua?"
Dragon King Sprays Water: "..."
She couldn't argue with that.
The quality of Wu Tong's maid squad was undeniable. Once, he'd shared photos of his leisurely life in the group chat, featuring a few maids in the frame.
Just those few glimpses of their stunning figures had left the entire chat seething with envy for days.
Recalling it now, Gu Ruoli still felt a pang of jealousy: Damn feudalistic luxuries.
(Q-version crying seaweed emoji.)
Compared to Wu Tong's maids, the only advantages Tang Yuehua and Liu Erlong had were their lineage and strength.
Skybase King: "This is what I call clarity of mind! Completely different from the protagonists in novels who preach 'eradicating roots' but always show mercy. Wu Tong's approach ensures no future problems—after all, if the source of the problem is gone, so is the problem."
Don't Bully the Poor Youth: "True. If you can solve it outright, it's best to eliminate all future threats."
Dragon King Sprays Water: "Alright, seems my stereotype of transmigrators was too rigid."
Truth-Seeker: "No harm done. Strictly speaking, your stereotype isn't wrong—I'm just an exception."
Wu Tong didn't mind Gu Ruoli's misunderstanding. After all, she wasn't entirely wrong—most transmigrators were led by their baser instincts.
But he wasn't among them.
Wu Tong's philosophy on beauty had always been: Appreciate, but don't lust; love, but don't covet.
...
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(End of Chapter.)