The night sky of Heaven Dou City was especially chilly tonight, as dark clouds covered the sky, hiding the glittering stars except for the big lonely moon that somewhat brightens the city.
In the Ironblood Sect Headquarters, numerous guards stationed around the area with great vigilance and caution. Each guard were holding one rank 1 soul tool of various forms like a sword, spear and guns, they were enough to kill a small group of average people but they still looked nervous. That was because their weapons couldn't deal much damage to anyone below rank 20, and the people they were expecting had higher cultivation strength.
Even so, they had something that no ordinary person could ever hope to get their hands on.
The Douluo Continent might be technologically advanced compared to many millennia ago, with the great advancement of soul tools, but that doesn't mean that souls tools would be readily available for the average people, considering that only those with soul power could use them. Even for the lowest tiered soul tool, it costed more than 10 gold soul coins! That much money was enough to feed an ordinary family of four for three-four months!
These guards were the bronze members of the Ironblood Sect, the lowest ranking members of the sect; the cannon fodder! The only reason they hadn't fled from their position was because they'd be killed on sight for treason and that most of them was still confident their leader would kill their enemies.
One of the guards let out a nervous breath. He looked down at his hands inwardly cursed, he was trembling, of course he was. He heard about the rumors of the monsters that was supposedly going to attack the headquarters any day now.
Looking around for a moment, the guard decided to take a step back and started to smoke.
"Fuuuu…"
"What are you doing?"
"What the-!?"
The guard dropped his cigarette and hurriedly readied his soul tool weapon, an iron spear with strange blue markings around its shaft and blade, and turned to the side, only for his tensed shoulders to drop when he saw a familiar face.
"Zhao?! What the hell man!? You almost scared me to death!"
Zhao let out a cold snort and stood beside him. "Well, you deserve it. Who told you to smoke on the job?"
"Jeez, I just wanted to take the edge off." He clicked his tongue in annoyance and went to pick up his cigarette, ignoring Zhao's disgust, he started inhaling it once more. "Can you blame me? Having to wait for some invasion by a couple of monsters for so long, with the potential of getting killed, how can I focus on the job? If tonight is my last night, then I want to at least get smoke in before I croak."
Zhao let out a sigh. "Ren, you gotta stop smoking and being so pessimistic. I know your wife left you with your kids, but that doesn't mean you have to give up on life so easily."
Ren grumbled, "Easy for you to say, you still got a girlfriend and a house. You're going to be a family man soon, you have your whole life ahead of you! Me though? Except for being part of this organization, I've got nothing! That bitch took everything!" tears started spilling out of his eyes and he hurriedly wiped them off.
Zhao looked at Ren with a mixture of sympathy and frustration. He placed a hand on Ren's shoulder and said, "Ren, life is tough for all of us, but you can't let it consume you like this. Despite what you say, you still have your kids right? Do they still love you or not?"
"...They do."
"Good. Now, we need to stay focused."
Ren sniffed and nodded, attempting to regain his composure. "Yeah, yeah, I know. It's just hard, you know? The Ironblood Sect isn't exactly a place for those seeking a peaceful life."
Zhao gave him a reassuring smile. "I get it, Ren. We all have our struggles. But we have a duty to protect this place, and that's something we can find purpose in. Now, let's be vigilant. The Akatsuki might attack anytime soon."
As they resumed their watch, the tension in the air was palpable. The night seemed to stretch endlessly, each passing moment filled with anticipation and anxiety. The guards remained on high alert, their eyes scanning the darkness for any sign of movement.
After a while, Ren couldn't contain his restlessness. "Hey, Zhao, do you really think the... Akatsuki will show up? It feels like we've been waiting forever."
Zhao nodded, his gaze fixed on the shadows. "The intelligence is reliable. One of the Akatsuki, former Tang Sect heiress Tang Yan, is after the sect after we stole this place from her after murdering her parents."
"Wait, what? This is the first I've heard of this..."
"Unsurprising, it happened after you joined. Trust me, Ren, tonight won't be like any other night-" Zhao turned to look at his friend, only to find a dark-blue thorny vine piercing Ren's head, blood spilled across his horrified face as he let out a blood curdling scream when the thorny vine turned towards him.
"T-The... THE ENEMY IS HEEEEEEE-AAAAA!"
Similar thorny vines burst forth from the shadows across the compound, piercing through the air like deadly spears. The guards scrambled to react, their weapons drawn as they faced an unseen enemy but they were easily skewered in a matter of seconds. The atmosphere went from tense to chaotic in a matter of seconds.
"This is reckless, Teacher Ya."
Two shadowy figures appeared over the walls of the Ironblood Sect. They wore black cloaks emblazoned with red clouds, their heads were adorned with bamboo hats with veils. Huo Yuhao let out a sigh as he turned to Tang Ya, who was eerily silent after murdering all of the guards.
But with his Sharingan, he saw through her veil and saw the maddened gleam in her eyes and sadistic grin on her lips.
'It's no use. She's gotten too excited at the prospect of getting her revenge that her logic and patience have been thrown out of the window. Oh well, doing it stealthily wouldn't be of use to us anymore when we enter the compound anyway. They've activated Tang Sect's hidden detection traps that could even detect an assassin Soul Douluo, even Tang Ya herself couldn't disarm any of them.' Huo Yuhao inwardly let out a sigh and continued watching the situation whilst using his Spiritual Sharing Detection to help out Tang Ya.
It's been a few weeks since Tang Ya fought the Thunderclap Ox King, and absorbed the Fiery Red Flying Serpent and getting its soul ring.
They took a few weeks to initiate their plan of invading the Ironblood Sect because Tang Ya had suffered a bit of backlash of absorbing so much soul power and vitality from two ten thousand year soul beasts. Her backlash was severe, leaving her bedridden for a week, but the pay off was huge.
Tang Ya's cultivation was currently at rank 44, she's soul ancestor with a black soul ring as her fourth.
She had followed after her ancestor's footsteps, now, she could no longer be looked down upon by anyone else!
'No wonder Teacher Ya was reluctant to let go of this place, it's huge!' Huo Yuhao whistled as he and Tang Ya entered the former Tang Sect headquarters.
The buildings surrounding the main house were half as large as the villa, while the main itself looked like the size of a palace and the land was as vast and extended for ten miles. The beautiful trees and flowers planted around made the whole place look gorgeous!
'...Fuck, I want this place.' Huo Yuhao was having second thoughts about abandoning this place.
Huo Yuhao's eyes narrowed, sensing a seemingly powerful aura in the main building that wasn't at the level of a Soul Emperor.
'A soul sage? This is going to be a bit more troublesome than expected.'
Tang Ya continued to move forward, leaving a trail of destruction in her wake. The Ironblood Sect guards, caught off guard by the sudden attack, were unable to mount an effective defense. It was clear that the Akatsuki's intrusion had shattered the illusion of security within the sect.
Huo Yuhao activated his Spiritual Detection once again, scanning the area for any hidden traps. Tang Ya might've known where the hidden traps might be but that doesn't mean they hadn't added any extra traps.
As they ventured deeper into the Ironblood Sect Headquarters, the duo encountered stronger opposition.
"Well, well, well. If it ain't young miss Tang." A bald middle aged man let out an evil laugh, he had a goatie and was holding a smoking pipe. Standing around him were five more older men with vile smiles on their faces.
"You–!"
Tang Ya's eyes went bloodshot in an instant, she would've charged at them if it weren't for Huo Yuhao holding her back.
"Tie Chang! You and your slimey brothers are still alive?!"
"Bwahahaha! Young miss, you yourself are living quite well. How can we brothers not do the same as well?" Tie Chang licked his lips, a wide smile spreading across his disgusting face. The others beside him mirrored the same expression.
Huo Yuhao blinked, thinking, 'They're brothers? Like, actually blood related? Woah. This is the first time I've ever seen a sixtuplets.'
Tang Ya gritted her teeth, her eyes glowed an ominous purple hue and her hands turned jade white as her soul power surged throughout her body.
She knew Tie Chang and his brothers well, they were part of the group that besieged their home and assaulted his parents. The word 'assault' holds more meaning than it normally is.
'I'll kill them. Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill! Kill–'
"Teacher Ya,"
But Huo Yuhao's voice quickly snapped her out of her daze. She turned to him in confusion and anger.
"Yuhao, I–"
"Save your energy, you want to deal with the Ironblood Sect Mast right?" Looking at her shocked expression, Huo Yuhao chuckled and patted her head. "You go on ahead, I'll deal with these bastards and capture them so you can deal with them later on."
"You..." Tang Ya blushed, swatting his hand away from her head and looked away. "I'm older than you! You can't just pat my head like that."
"Well, I'm taller than you and I'm your teacher so I have that privilege."
"What?! B-But I'm older than you!"
"Sorry, but the tall person always has the power!"
Tie Chang and his brothers watched their interaction with a dark expression, simultaneously thinking, we're standing right in front of you and you dare flirt with each other?
One of them couldn't take their bullshit anymore and took a step forward, undulations of soul power surged around his body as four soul rings: three yellow and one purple, arose underneath his feet and his entire body underwent a great change!
His pupils turned sharp and vertical, blue scales replaced the human skin from his neck to his arms. His human arms disappeared and a pair of sharp blades appeared. His martial soul was the Iron Dragon Mantis.
"Talking so arrogantly like that, you're just a couple of brats! What gives you the right to look down on us like that?!"
Huo Yuhao smiled innocently, his eyes glimmering with confidence. "Why? Well, you're weak."
"Y-You little..."
Tie Chang and his brothers had popping veins on their foreheads, their anger evident on their faces. They charged at Huo Yuhao, their soul power surging through their bodies.
[Absolute Domain]
Only for them to get smashed into the ground by some great pressure, leaving them immobilized and unable to move.
Huo Yuhao stood with a calm expression, his eyes filled with a mix of pity and indifference as he looked down at the defeated Tie Chang and his brothers. "I gave you the chance to surrender peacefully, but you chose to attack. You only have yourselves to blame for this outcome."
"Y-You brat..." Tie Chang slowly looked with great effort, only for his face to go pale white at the sight in front of him.
Three soul rings circled around Huo Yuhao, one white and two black.
Two black soul rings! That color only signified one terrifying statement...
'T-Ten thousand year old soul ring!'
As Huo Yuhao dealt with Tie Chang and his brothers, Tang Ya continued to make her way towards the main building. Her eyes narrowed in resolution as she walked up to those familiar doors.
"Finally, mom, dad, I'm going to get our revenge."
.....
AN: Loving Dying Light right now, already at 60% of the story. Genshin Impact is updating now for the lantern rite and I am pulling for Xianyun and Nahida.
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