Heaven Dou City, Blacksmith's Association Headquarters!
"Immediately! At all costs, terminate all cooperation with Tang Sect!"
As soon as Zhen Hua returned to the headquarters of the Heaven Dou City Blacksmith's Association, he issued the order without hesitation.
The Blacksmith's Association, as one of the most important associations in the Sun-Moon Federation, had participated in the special council meeting of the Federation. Zhen Hua had attended the meeting, but as soon as it ended, he rushed back to the Heaven Dou City headquarters of the Blacksmith's Association.
The Blacksmith's Association had always maintained a close partnership with Tang Sect.
Now, however, Tang Sect's reputation had become synonymous with the Holy Spirit Cult.
At this critical moment, Zhen Hua had to return to the Blacksmith's Association as quickly as possible to draw a clear line between them and Tang Sect.
If Tang Sect ran into trouble, its members could retreat to its headquarters in Shrek City.
But if the Blacksmith's Association got dragged into this mess, its members would be doomed.
"President, do we really have to cut all ties with Tang Sect? Since the establishment of the Blacksmith's Association, Tang Sect has been our biggest partner. If we turn our backs on them now, wouldn't that be too ungrateful?" Some members of the Heaven Dou City Blacksmith's Association were strongly opposed to Zhen Hua's decision.
"Qi Yue, don't think I don't know what's going on. You've been reaping immense benefits from our collaboration with Tang Sect. In the past, I turned a blind eye because of your loyalty to the Blacksmith's Association. But now, we are at a life-and-death crossroads, and you're still thinking only about yourself? Did you really think I wouldn't notice?" Zhen Hua snorted coldly.
"The President is absolutely right! Tang Sect has committed such inhumane atrocities. Cutting ties with them is not betrayal but rather the Blacksmith's Association refusing to aid and abet their crimes!" a senior elder of the association said sternly.
"Our Blacksmith's Association branch in the Mingdu Cangshan District was also destroyed in Tang Sect's recent massacre! Fifty-three blacksmiths and over a hundred staff members were slaughtered. If you ask me, we shouldn't just cut ties with Tang Sect—we should demand an explanation from them!"
Aside from Qi Yue, nearly all the high-ranking members of the Blacksmith's Association agreed to sever all relations with Tang Sect.
Even Shrek Academy dared not openly support Tang Sect at this point. If a mere Blacksmith's Association continued working with them, it would be like carrying a lantern into a latrine—actively looking for trouble.
"If you all choose to be heartless, don't blame me for being ungrateful."
Qi Yue suddenly spoke in a slow, deliberate tone. He then raised his head and locked eyes with Zhen Hua.
"Divine Craftsman, I'll have to ask you to come with me."
"What do you mean?" Zhen Hua was caught off guard. Before he could fully process what was happening, a wave of dizziness overwhelmed his mind.
"You… Tang Sect… You!"
Zhen Hua raised his trembling hand, pointing at Qi Yue before glancing down at the teacup before him.
This cup of tea had been prepared by Qi Yue himself.
The next moment, his head tilted to the side, and he collapsed onto the table.
Just before losing consciousness, he finally noticed that every high-ranking member of the Blacksmith's Association in the room had also fallen unconscious—except for Qi Yue.
Even a Title Douluo like Zhen Hua, who wielded a full set of four-word battle armor, had succumbed to the drug. The other senior members of the Blacksmith's Association naturally had no chance of resisting.
"As expected, the drug provided by the Sect Master works wonders."
Qi Yue sneered and clapped his hands. A few so-called "members of the Blacksmith's Association" immediately entered the room.
Like Qi Yue, they were actually Tang Sect spies who had infiltrated the Blacksmith's Association.
"I'll escort Zhen Hua to the Tang Sect headquarters. As for the rest, take them to the underground weapons factory. Since they wanted to betray Tang Sect, they can spend the rest of their lives working for us instead," Qi Yue commanded coldly.
By now, Tang Sect and the Sun-Moon Federation had completely fallen out. In the future, it would be almost impossible for Tang Sect to legally acquire forged rare metals.
But these high-ranking members of the Blacksmith's Association—most of whom were Saint Blacksmiths—were invaluable assets. By capturing them, Tang Sect would no longer have to worry about rare metal supplies for the foreseeable future.
For years, Tang Sect had coveted the skilled blacksmiths of the association.
Now that their reputation was already in complete ruins, there was no need to hold back.
"Understood!"
The Tang Sect spies disguised as blacksmiths immediately began transporting the unconscious high-ranking members out of the association's headquarters under the cover of night.
Qi Yue also left Heaven Dou City quietly, taking Zhen Hua with him.
As he was still recognized as a senior official of the Blacksmith's Association, it was easy for him to move in and out of the city.
However, once the Sun-Moon Federation realized that all the high-ranking officials of the Blacksmith's Association had disappeared, it would become nearly impossible for him to leave Heaven Dou City.
Yet, when the Tang Sect spies arrived at the entrance of the underground weapons factory in Heaven Dou City, taking the elevator down 500 meters, they were met with an astonishing sight.
The factory entrance was gone.
In its place was an enormous boulder.
"What's going on?"
One of the spies approached the boulder and pushed against it, only to find that it wouldn't budge an inch.
"Let's check another entrance."
The underground weapons factory in Heaven Dou City was one of Tang Sect's sixteen primary facilities. To ensure security, it had five separate entrances, all hidden from sight.
But after checking all five entry points, the Tang Sect spies were shocked to find that every single one had vanished.
The first entrance was blocked by a boulder, while the others had been completely filled with earth.
Some of the Tang Sect members even started digging, burrowing several dozen meters in. By all logic, they should have reached the underground facility by then, but all they found was more dirt.
"There's only one possible explanation: our entire factory has been backfilled. This is a matter of utmost importance—we must report it to the Sect Master immediately!"
The spies' expressions turned grim.
Little did they know that, at this very moment, Cao Dezhi's soul communicator was overwhelmed with urgent messages.
Not just from Heaven Dou City—reports were pouring in from all over.
Multiple underground weapons factories had suddenly gone missing.
The speed at which this was happening left Cao Dezhi completely stunned. He didn't even have time to issue a "mutual destruction" order for the facilities.
After all, at depths of over 500 meters, there was no signal reception. Any messages had to be delivered manually.
Before the messages could even arrive, the facilities had already vanished.
"Sun-Moon Federation, we are irreconcilable!"
Cao Dezhi roared, his eyes burning with fury.
Who else but the Sun-Moon Federation could have the power to erase so many underground facilities in such a short time?
Though he had no idea how they did it.
Meanwhile, in the Dragon Valley Small World, the massive dragon souls observed the newly arrived weapons factories in stunned silence.
"A single sect managed to build so many weapons factories right under the Sun-Moon Federation's nose?"
"For thousands of years, the Sun-Moon Federation never noticed a thing?"
"What on earth was the Federation doing?"
"Master, what should we do with the humans inside the factories?"
The Mountain Dragon King couldn't help but ask.
When they transported the facilities into the Dragon Valley Small World, they had inadvertently brought all the human workers along as well.
Most of them had no idea they had even left the Douluo Continent.
"Keep them alive for now."
Gu Yue's voice was solemn.
Everyone inside these factories was a valuable asset. Killing them would be a waste.
Tang Sect's soul tool technology was on par with that of the Sun-Moon Federation.
If the soul beasts killed all the personnel, they would have no one left to teach them how to operate the factories. It would take who knows how long to get them running again.
Since they were now trapped in the Dragon Valley Small World, they posed no threat.
For now, they would be spared.