The Tang Sect had recalled all its visible disciples to the Shrek City Tang Sect headquarters a year in advance.
Only a few covert operatives remained in various locations.
Even so, the Sun-Moon Federation police managed to uncover over 4,000 Tang Sect disciples in just one district of Mingdu.
This number shocked the high-ranking officials of the Sun-Moon Federation.
If the Tang Sect had not withdrawn its visible disciples, how many would have been discovered?
How many disciples did the Tang Sect actually have?
Just how much strength had the Tang Sect secretly accumulated?
The entire leadership of the Sun-Moon Federation was taken aback.
Even Yun Ming couldn't help but click his tongue when he heard the Federation's report.
He had known about the Tang Sect's underground armory and the fact that the Tang Sect had planted spies in other organizations.
He just hadn't expected the numbers to be so overwhelming.
Fortunately, the Tang Sect was currently without a leader. Otherwise, if Zang Xin gave the order for all these individuals to rise up at once, it might truly shake the very foundations of the Sun-Moon Federation.
"Now that we have made our move, we must act swiftly before the Tang Sect can respond, eliminating as many Tang Sect spies within the federal government as possible."
The Sun-Moon Federation's leadership quickly made a decision.
With the experience from the Mingdu Royal Academy District, other areas just needed to follow the same blueprint.
This was also why the Mingdu police had immediately forwarded the arrest report to other police forces and the military.
Not only the Sun-Moon Federation but also various organizations such as the Spirit Pagoda and Phoenix Group had begun large-scale internal investigations.
It wasn't just the Tang Sect—organizations like the Spirit Pagoda also had their own spies in other groups.
Initially, Qiangu Dongfeng had thought that they had already infiltrated enough.
But after seeing the number of Tang Sect spies, he finally understood—
Compared to the Tang Sect, the Spirit Pagoda was nothing but a minor player.
Qiangu Dongfeng immediately ordered the formation of special task forces from the Spirit Pagoda's main tower down to its branch towers to cooperate with the Sun-Moon Federation's military and police in investigating Tang Sect spies within the Spirit Pagoda itself.
Overnight, the entire Douluo Continent was set ablaze with action.
A massive operation to uncover the Tang Sect had begun.
Mingdu, Royal Academy District, Tang Sect Underground Armory
Yu Guanzhi personally led the elite forces of the Central Army Corps to take over this underground armory.
Although the police had seized it, federal law prohibited them from owning an armory, so it had to be handed over to the Central Army Corps, which was responsible for defending Mingdu.
As he examined the facilities inside the armory, even Yu Guanzhi, the commander of the Central Army Corps, couldn't help but be stunned.
"This armory, in terms of scale and equipment, is nearly on par with our own Central Army Corps armory. I wonder what rank this armory holds within the Tang Sect's hierarchy?"
Yu Guanzhi scanned the underground facility, his voice heavy.
Suddenly, he turned to his adjutant.
"By the way, if I recall correctly, the Minister of Police, the Heaven's Judgment Douluo, is only at Rank 97 Super Douluo, and he doesn't have a four-word battle armor, right?"
"Yes, General, but he does have a red mecha."
"A Rank 97 Super Douluo with a red mecha… What gave him the confidence to act alone?" Yu Guanzhi raised an eyebrow. "I've inspected this armory. Its defensive capabilities are extremely high. If the Tang Sect had been prepared, even I would struggle to break in quickly. Entering recklessly would have been a death sentence. So what gave the police the courage to storm this place on their own?"
"Sir, the police report explains this—they staged an infiltration and then released a knockout gas, incapacitating everyone inside, allowing them to take over the facility without bloodshed."
"It's not that simple." Yu Guanzhi's voice deepened. "This facility has over a thousand rooms, each equipped with air detection and filtration systems. For the police to knock out everyone simultaneously, the difficulty of execution would have been no less than launching a direct assault. A single misstep, and the infiltrators would have been wiped out instead. The Heaven's Judgment Douluo dared to enter here—he must have had incredible confidence."
"By the way, how is the interrogation of the captured Tang Sect members going?"
"There has been some progress. Some of the weaker-willed individuals have already revealed their accomplices. Our military is working with the police to carry out arrests across the Federation, but we've suffered some casualties."
The adjutant's face was grim.
"Casualties?" Yu Guanzhi's expression darkened. "The police managed to capture so many people on their own without casualties, so why are we taking losses now?"
"Sir, it's likely that the Tang Sect was caught off guard before, which is why they were taken by surprise," the adjutant replied with a bitter smile. "The General is well aware of how powerful the Tang Sect is. They have their own armories and are armed to the teeth. Each and every Tang Sect disciple is extremely dangerous. Their ratio of mecha and battle armor users is even higher than ours. Capturing them without casualties is nearly impossible. Both our military and the police are doing their best to minimize losses. I've heard that even the Poseidon Corps has suffered casualties while arresting Tang Sect spies."
"I see… Fine. Arrange a meeting for me with the Heaven's Judgment Douluo and the Poseidon Corps' commander. We need a better strategy."
Yu Guanzhi sighed. The Central Army Corps had already suffered heavy losses in the campaign against the Star Luo Empire and the Dou Ling Empire.
They couldn't afford any more.
A more refined plan was necessary.
Just then, another adjutant rushed over.
"General! Based on intelligence gathered from our interrogations and police investigations, we've identified a possible second underground Tang Sect armory in the Cangshan District of Mingdu. The Minister of Police, the Heaven's Judgment Douluo, has already led the criminal police unit in an operation against it."
"Another armory? Still in Mingdu?"
Yu Guanzhi inhaled sharply.
If there were two underground armories in Mingdu alone, then just how many did the Tang Sect have across the continent?
"Move out! We're going there now!"
Yu Guanzhi wasted no time, abandoning his current tasks and rushing to the second suspected underground armory.
Only after taking over the first one did he realize just how terrifying the Tang Sect's underground facilities were.
The police alone couldn't possibly handle this. A misstep could result in disaster.
"Heaven's Judgment Douluo, luck won't always be on your side. You'd better not mess this up."
Yu Guanzhi murmured to himself.
The Tang Sect would be far better prepared this time.
A reckless attack now would cost far more lives.