Chapter 162: The Ironblood Sect
Heavenly Soul Empire capital, Heaven Dou City.
Led by Tang Ya, Furina's group arrived here. Bei Bei, unable to rest easy, had also followed Tang Ya along.
Xiao Xiao surveyed the surrounding streetscape with curiosity and asked, "Is this where the original Tang Sect foundation was located?"
Tang Ya gazed at the streets—both familiar and foreign—and a myriad of emotions surged within her heart.
She nodded gently. "Yes, this is the place. The Heavenly Soul Empire and the Dou Ling Empire were both formed from the division of the original Heaven Dou Empire, and the Tang Sect was first established here. However, the current Tang Sect site is not actually the original site from ten thousand years ago when it was hailed as the number one sect under heaven—but it still holds nearly three thousand years of history."
She paused, and a hatred she could no longer suppress seeped into her voice. "And now, the Tang Sect's foundation has been seized by the Ironblood Sect, a nameless, insignificant little sect."
As she spoke, Tang Ya ground her teeth, her eyes brimming with bitter resentment.
Hearing her words, Wang Dong felt, for some inexplicable reason, a surge of shame welling up in his own heart, as if it were his own foundation that had been taken away.
Sensing Tang Ya's emotional turmoil, Bei Bei gently placed a hand on her shoulder, offering silent comfort.
Tang Ya drew a deep breath, steadying her emotions. She turned her head to look at Furina, her eyes carrying both anticipation and uncertainty. "Furina, are we taking revenge today? Is it truly possible?"
Furina gave a slight nod, her expression composed. "Naturally."
She raised her eyes toward the sky, the corner of her lips curving upward. "Oh, he's already here."
No sooner had her voice faded than a blue figure descended from the sky, landing steadily before the group—it was none other than Long Ziyun, one of the Four Protectors of the Church of the Water God. He had now reached rank 77 in soul power, and his overall strength far surpassed the other three Protectors.
After landing, Long Ziyun immediately bowed in salute. "Long Ziyun pays his respects to Her Holiness, Pope Furina!"
Furina waved a hand dismissively. "No need for such formality. Rise."
"Yes, Your Holiness," Long Ziyun answered, straightening his posture.
Bei Bei silently assessed the blue-robed Protector before him. Judging by the soul power fluctuations, he was indeed at the Soul Sage level, consistent with the rumors. But he keenly detected that the soul power aura emanating from Long Ziyun was fundamentally different from that of an ordinary Soul Sage—just as Tang Ya's soul power, after cultivating the techniques imparted by Furina, had begun to carry a distinctive attribute.
Most likely, the Protectors and even the majority of the Water God Church's experts all cultivated different techniques, causing a qualitative transformation in their soul power that made them stronger than others of the same rank. No wonder rumors claimed that the four Soul Sages, through soul skill fusion, could hold their own against a Titled Douluo.
Feeling the oppressive force radiating from Long Ziyun, Xiao Xiao inwardly marveled: Truly extraordinary, worthy of someone from the Church of the Water God.
Wang Dong, meanwhile, looked Long Ziyun up and down, curled his lip, and spoke with a tone of dismissiveness: "Seems like nothing special."
He hailed from the Clear Sky Sect—though the sect had long since gone into seclusion, it was once one of the Upper Three Sects, with profound foundations. The auras exuded by his eldest and second uncles were, by his perception, at least at the Hyper Douluo level. A mere Soul Sage was naturally beneath his notice.
That said, the fact that the Water God Church could dispatch a Soul Sage-level expert did indeed place its strength above many smaller sects.
Yet for some unknown reason, an inexplicable thought surfaced in his mind: he felt a vague disdain for the Water God Church, as if joining it and becoming its vassal would be somewhat disgraceful, even an insult.
As soon as this thought emerged, Wang Dong violently shook his head, as if trying to fling it from his mind. The feeling was very strange—as if this thought did not belong to him, but had appeared out of nowhere.
Noticing his odd behavior, Huo Yuhao asked with concern, "Wang Dong, are you alright?"
"I'm fine, I'm fine!" Wang Dong hastily waved his hands, reverting to his usual tone. "Just some random thoughts popping into my head, don't mind it. What could possibly be wrong with this lord?"
Xiao Xiao also leaned in, chiming in with a grin, "Yeah, you're probably just overthinking things."
Hearing Wang Dong's familiar manner of speaking, and seeing Xiao Xiao agree, Huo Yuhao thought no more of it and simply replied with an "Oh."
Furina turned to Long Ziyun, her tone carrying a touch more formality. "Protector Long, I assume you know the reason for summoning you this time?"
Long Ziyun inclined his head and answered with complete confidence, "Of course. It is merely a matter of dealing with a small sect—nothing beyond this subordinate's capabilities. Please rest assured, Your Holiness. Your subordinate works cleanly and will absolutely avoid causing too great a commotion."
He paused briefly, then added, "Moreover, this subordinate has already secretly bribed the local city guards in advance. Even if some minor incident occurs, the guards will not come to interfere."
After receiving Furina's message, he had rushed to Heaven Dou City ahead of time. On one hand, he bribed the guards; on the other, he thoroughly investigated the Ironblood Sect. He was no muscle-headed gorilla like Yan Luo—he naturally handled matters with thoroughness.
The Ironblood Sect's sect master was merely a Soul Emperor-level expert, with two Soul King-level elders under his command, and the young sect master was a four-ring Soul Ancestor. Their martial soul was the Iron-Armored Bear—a very ordinary bear-type martial soul, which, compared to the Darkgold Terrorclaw Bear, was akin to the difference between the bottom of the food chain and the apex.
He himself was a Soul Sage, with cultivation that completely overwhelmed theirs; his martial soul, the Sky-Wing Tyrannosaurus, inherently suppressed the Iron-Armored Bear, and he also possessed the advantage of flight. The Ironblood Sect had neither researched soul tools nor possessed any high-quality soul tools to rely upon. No matter the angle, dealing with them was a mere trifle.
After listening, Furina nodded with satisfaction. "Very good. As expected of Protector Long, always so efficient."
She lifted her gaze toward the distance, her tone light yet firm. "Alright, let us go."
The group followed closely behind Furina, with Long Ziyun walking at the very front, leading them toward the former Tang Sect site.
In the distance, a gate gradually came into view.
In that very instant, Tang Ya's body trembled violently.
Two streams of tears, almost instantaneously, slid down her fair cheeks.
The gatehouse stood about two zhang tall and five chi wide. Walls one zhang high extended over twenty meters from each side of the gatehouse, the vermilion paint exceptionally striking and exuding a solemn aura. The roof of the gatehouse was covered with neat, tightly packed gray tiles. Upon the lintel, three large characters were prominently displayed—Ironblood Sect.
To the left and right of the gate hung vertical plaques: on the left, "Iron Blood and Loyal Heart," and on the right, "Unbending Pride Everlasting."
Once upon a time, this place had not looked like this.
The plaque above that gatehouse should have borne only two characters—Tang Sect.
This place is my home... this is my home!
Tang Ya abruptly raised her right hand and forcefully wiped the tears from her face.
Bei Bei noticed her distress immediately and quickly asked, "Xiao Ya? What's wrong?"
Xiao Xiao also leaned in with concern. "Yeah, Senior Sister Tang Ya, what happened?"
Wang Dong opened his mouth, but didn't know what to say. Huo Yuhao was also momentarily tongue-tied, unable to find the right words to comfort her.
"It's nothing..." Tang Ya's voice was choked with sobs, yet she forced herself to smile. "I was just... remembering some things from the past."
Bei Bei gently took her hand, his voice soft yet resolute. "It's alright, Xiao Ya. Haven't we come to help you?"
Furina turned around, her gaze calm but warm. "That's right. Don't cry anymore. Today, you will finally have your revenge."
Xiao Xiao nodded emphatically. "Exactly, Senior Sister Tang Ya, don't cry!"
Huo Yuhao silently offered a handkerchief. "Wipe your tears, Senior Sister Tang Ya. It wouldn't do to have a tear-streaked face."
Tang Ya accepted the handkerchief, looking at the group before her. Tears welled up once more, but they were no longer the tears of grief from moments ago.
"Yes... thank you, thank you everyone."
She vigorously wiped her face, inhaling deeply to calm the surging emotions in her heart. A moment later, she lifted her head, and a resolute flame had ignited in her eyes:
"Alright, I'm ready. Let's go."
"We will definitely make Tie Li and his ilk... pay the price."
"Yeah!"
The group answered in unison, their steps unwavering as they advanced toward that gate.