"Last night, the Tang Sect colluded with the Holy Spirit Cult to kidnap Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua and the senior members of the Blacksmith Association, as well as to seize the Passionate Douluo. The federal government has declared the Tang Sect an internal accomplice of the Holy Spirit Cult and will handle them as an evil soul master organization."
This announcement sent shockwaves throughout the continent. Though the Tang Sect's reputation had already fallen to a level comparable to that of the Holy Spirit Cult, no one had expected them to actually conspire with the cult.
Kidnapping Zhen Hua—what was their goal? Could it be that they intended to forge four-word battle armor for the powerhouses of the Holy Spirit Cult?
Everyone couldn't help but speculate.
What they didn't know was that Chen Xinjie and Yu Guanzhi had deliberately concealed the theft of the two Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition shells.
Otherwise, true panic would have ensued.
Two Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition shells were missing. No matter where they ended up, they could cause a catastrophe no less severe than the explosion of the Tang Sect's underground weapons factory.
After the previous explosion at the Tang Sect's underground weapons factory, many citizens of the Sun-Moon Federation's major cities had already begun fleeing en masse back to rural areas.
If news of the stolen Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition were to break out, no one could predict how much of the urban population would flee.
It was entirely possible that over half of the major cities in the federation would be left paralyzed.
The bloody example of Mingdu's Cangshan District was still fresh. Now that the Tang Sect and the federal government had completely fallen out, danger loomed both above and below—at any moment, the Tang Sect's underground weapons facilities could explode, or a Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition shell could come crashing down.
Under these circumstances, who would dare to stay in the cities?
To prevent mass panic, even the Sun-Moon Federation Council had not been informed of the stolen Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition.
Chen Xinjie and Yu Guanzhi hoped to recover the two missing shells themselves and then act as if nothing had ever happened.
To this end, they even secretly reached out to Cao Dezhi through contacts in the Sun-Moon Federation, suspecting that the Tang Sect was responsible for the theft.
They subtly hinted to the Tang Sect that if they were willing to return the Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition, they would push for the impeachment of Xia Yi, ensuring that he was no longer used against them by the federation.
At present, Xia Yi was leading both the Mingdu military and law enforcement in a large-scale crackdown on Tang Sect spies.
Every day, a large number of Tang Sect operatives were captured and imprisoned.
Cao Dezhi and Zang Xin were completely baffled. The Tang Sect's spies had been hidden so deeply—how was Xia Yi able to root them out so effortlessly?
Some spies had not even carried out a single mission after being recruited, yet they were still exposed and arrested by Xia Yi.
The Sun-Moon Federation now harbored deep hatred for the Tang Sect and had issued strict orders to all departments—any issue related to the Tang Sect was to be handled with unconditional cooperation with Xia Yi.
The Tang Sect, in turn, despised Xia Yi to the core, but they were unaware that what Chen Xinjie and Yu Guanzhi truly wanted were the two Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition shells. They mistakenly believed that their objective was to recover Divine Craftsman Zhen Hua.
But Zhen Hua had already been handed over to the Holy Spirit Cult.
With no other choice, the Tang Sect outright rejected Chen Xinjie and Yu Guanzhi's request.
"Pass down the order—all Tang Sect spies are to retreat to the Tang Sect headquarters in Shrek City immediately."
Watching so many painstakingly cultivated spies being wiped out, Cao Dezhi felt as if his heart was bleeding.
He knew very well that withdrawing these operatives at this moment was no different from actively exposing their identities.
In the future, attempting to infiltrate the federation again would be much more difficult.
Years of careful planning had gone up in smoke.
Cao Dezhi's heart ached with every beat.
At the Tang Sect headquarters, when news arrived that all surviving spies had safely returned, Cao Dezhi finally let out a sigh of relief.
Revealing their identities was better than losing their lives for nothing.
Finally, he had time to check on Zang Xin. Though Cao Dezhi had managed to trade Zhen Hua back from the Holy Spirit Cult in exchange for him, Zang Xin's condition remained dire.
Both his body and spirit had suffered immense damage.
But the most severe wounds were psychological.
From the moment he returned to the Tang Sect, Zang Xin had been obsessively vomiting and bathing.
Sometimes, he would stay in the bath for hours on end.
Even now, he remained locked inside the bathhouse.
"Damn you, Xia Yi. Damn you, Leng Yulai. You better hope you never fall into my hands. If you do, I'll make sure you wish you were dead."
Cao Dezhi watched Zang Xin with a heart full of pain. Picking up a bar of soap, he entered the bathhouse as well.
However, at that moment, a wave of intense fear suddenly surged in his heart.
Instinctively, he looked up at the sky.
The night was dark, the wind howled, and the stars were nowhere to be seen. A suffocating sense of oppression filled the air.
"What's going on? Could the Sun-Moon Federation be preparing to launch a direct assault on the Tang Sect headquarters in Shrek Academy? No… impossible. Yun Ming would never allow the federation's forces into Shrek City. I must be imagining things due to stress."
Cao Dezhi shook his head with a bitter smile.
This was the Tang Sect headquarters in Shrek City—what could possibly go wrong?
Yet, no sooner had he spoken than a sudden flash lit up the dark sky.
Reflexively, he looked up.
There, streaking across the heavens, was a radiant mass of light, dragging behind it a dazzling trail of flames as it hurtled downward.
The light grew stronger and stronger, unmistakably aimed at the Tang Sect headquarters.
Before he could even process what was happening, everything outside the Tang Sect headquarters turned green.
Without warning, the sky itself had turned green, casting the entire world in its eerie glow.
As the green radiance grew more intense, an overwhelming sense of oppression descended.
Even Cao Dezhi could feel his life force rapidly slipping away.
At this moment, as a four-word battle armor-wielding Limit Douluo, he was experiencing true terror for the first time.
"Twelve-class Fixed Soul Ammunition… No! I haven't rebuilt the Tang Sect yet! I can't die here! I must escape!"
Instinctively, he grabbed Zang Xin and bolted from the bathhouse at full speed.
There was no way to resist a Godkiller-class Fixed Soul Ammunition shell.
But as a Limit Douluo, if he tried to flee, even the Sun-Moon Federation's existing launch systems wouldn't be able to keep up with his speed.
As he broke free from the Tang Sect headquarters, another light flashed in the direction of Shrek Academy.
However, this one was purple.
From the sky above, one could see it clearly—one green, one purple. Two ever-expanding vortices were devouring everything in their path.
They continued to grow, swallowing up the entire Shrek Academy and Tang Sect headquarters.
All defenses crumbled before the green and purple lights.
"Skyshatter! Sunpiercer!"
From the heart of the purple radiance, Yun Ming's furious roar rang out.
The terrifying Skyshatter Divine Spear struck straight at the incoming Godkiller Fixed Soul Ammunition shell.
"Yun Ming… He didn't run. He chose to face death head-on."
Cao Dezhi was dumbfounded.
If he could escape, Yun Ming certainly could as well.
Yet Yun Ming had chosen not to.
"It's over. Shrek Academy and the Tang Sect are finished."
Cao Dezhi's heart sank into despair.
Even Yun Ming could not survive the explosion of a twelve-class Fixed Soul Ammunition shell.
The Tang Sect's name was already tarnished beyond repair.
If Yun Ming had lived, there might still have been hope for rebuilding.
But now, with him gone, neither Cao Dezhi nor Zang Xin could possibly restore the Tang Sect.
The Tang Sect's underground weapons factory was destroyed.
Their last remaining forces—spies and all—had just been recalled to headquarters, only to be annihilated by the Godkiller Ammunition.
The Tang Sect's foundation was gone.
With their reputation in ruins, rebuilding was nothing more than a distant dream.
Without a powerhouse like Yun Ming, it was utterly impossible.