On the other side, aboard a massive ocean liner off the East Coast.
Inside the makeshift medical ward in the ship's hold, the atmosphere was oppressively heavy.
Members of the Japanese scholarly exchange delegation lay or sat in various states of distress, their faces deathly pale, cold sweat beading on their foreheads.
Nearly all of them maintained the same contorted posture—hunched over at the waist, both hands clamped desperately over their groins. Blood, vivid and unstoppable, seeped through the gauze bandages between their fingers.
The sharp odor of disinfectant failed to mask the underlying metallic tang of blood.
More than a dozen accompanying female nurses moved frantically among them, applying hemostatic measures, bandaging wounds, and administering analgesics.
"Baka yarou!"
Koizumi Ichiro lay on an improvised stretcher bed, his body convulsing uncontrollably from excruciating pain.
His eyes were bloodshot, his twisted features a grotesque mixture of unbearable agony and frenzied rage.
"Who was it?! Who the hell did this?! I will kill him! I will slaughter his entire family!"
His furious roar tugged at the wound, forcing a sharp intake of breath. He curled into himself like a shrimp, reduced to labored, wheezing gasps.
The delegation had been accompanied by dedicated security personnel—individuals of considerable strength, surpassing even elite special forces operatives in capability.
Yet every single one of them had been systematically eliminated.
Among the fallen were two shinobi bearing the title of "Kage."
A female intelligence operative approached with measured steps. She appeared to be in her mid-thirties, with willow-like brows and phoenix eyes. She wore a pale pink kimono cinched at the waist with an ornate obi, her long hair elegantly pinned into a dignified chignon at the nape of her neck.
Her voice remained calm and unhurried:
"Lieutenant Colonel Koizumi, the shinobi belong to the transcendent power sequence. It is highly probable that Great Xia covertly deployed operatives from Bureau 749's Dragon Group."
"Hayakawa Reiko! Since you possessed advance intelligence, why did you not warn us sooner? Do you have any idea what inhuman treatment we—esteemed scholars and scientists—have endured?!"
Koizumi Ichiro erupted in fury. His outburst tore open the wound in his groin once more; he grimaced and howled in pain.
The other Japanese scholars and scientists wore expressions of ashen despair. To lose the most precious organ of manhood was, for them, a fate worse than death.
The female operative's demeanor remained indifferent:
"Koizumi Ichiro, you hold the rank of Lieutenant Colonel in the Plum Agency and the Army. I, Hayakawa Reiko, am a Major in the Bamboo Agency. Between us, there exists no formal chain of command."
"Why do you think Bureau 749 dispatched the Dragon Group? Because of your reckless and provocative behavior. In the very capital of Great Xia, you dared to spout such insolent words. Worse, you secretly mobilized personnel to carry out operations that could cost you your heads. Did you truly believe Great Xia's Bureau 749 was a mere decoration?"
Hayakawa Reiko rebuked him plainly.
Koizumi Ichiro held a unique position: high-ranking spy within the Plum Agency, Army Lieutenant Colonel, and—publicly—a second-tier professor at a prestigious university in the Cherry Blossom Country.
At the same time, Hayakawa Reiko, as an operative of the Bamboo Agency, was fully aware of another concealed facet of his identity:
Using personal funds, Koizumi Ichiro had acquired a significant stake in one of the Cherry Blossom Country's largest adult film production companies—[Toujou Fukanetsu ("East Essence Not Too Hot")], ranking among its top ten shareholders.
Countless young women in the Cherry Blossom Country had fallen victim to his predations.
As for the other Japanese scholars and scientists traveling with him, they were far from ordinary academics. They were "bloodthirsty lunatics" who had participated in numerous exceptionally cruel human experiments and live vivisections, committing heinous crimes in hidden facilities across multiple continents. Hundreds had perished under their merciless procedures.
"Baka yarou! Bureau 749… Dragon Group operatives… I will make them pay! At the Global Pharmaceutical Expo, I will surely win!"
Koizumi Ichiro howled like a rabid dog.
Then, glaring viciously at the aloof and mature beauty beside him—Bamboo Agency operative Hayakawa Reiko—a dark flame ignited in his mind.
"Baka yarou! Hayakawa Reiko, you arrogant woman—keeping intelligence from us! My film company is extremely wealthy. I will make you one of its actresses. When the time comes, you will suffer beyond endurance!"
Such were the vile thoughts festering in Koizumi Ichiro's mind.
......…
Douluo Continent, Heaven Dou Empire, Notting City:
Tang Yi's cultivation progressed steadily.
After obtaining his first soul ring, bolstered by the two-thousand-year soul beast Azure Nether Longevity Crane, his soul power cultivation advanced by leaps and bounds.
The abundant vitality carried by the soul ring greatly nourished his Blue Silver Grass martial soul.
In merely half a month, Tang Yi advanced two full levels, reaching twelfth-rank soul master.
During this period, he also learned from others that Yu Xiaogang had taken Tang San away from Notting Academy temporarily to commence a period of intensive special training.
The "big sister" of the Seventh House—Xiao Wu—finding herself without Tang San as a playmate and feeling rather bored, once again came looking to make trouble for Tang Yi.
In Xiao Wu's view, this younger brother Tang Yi had repeatedly refused to obey his elder brother Tang San, contradicted him on multiple occasions, and even instigated Tang San to eat roasted rabbit meat—an utterly detestable act.
Xiao Wu's own strength had recently surged as well, rising from the fourteenth rank to the fifteenth.
In the evening, with a cold laugh, Xiao Wu blocked Tang Yi's path.
"Tang Yi, get down on your knees right now, kowtow, and apologize. Call me 'Big Sister Xiao Wu' and become my little follower. If you do that, I'll let bygones be bygones for everything that happened before!"
Xiao Wu crossed her arms, speaking with haughty pride.
In her estimation, as a fifteenth-rank agility-attack soul master, dealing with Tang Yi—a weak soul master with only first-level innate soul power—would be effortless.
"Step aside."
Tang Yi's expression turned cold.
This ten-thousand-year soul beast had come looking for trouble again?
Did she truly regard him as a soft target?
In the original story, Xiao Wu had always been fiercely competitive. During their time at Notting Academy, after Tang San defeated her, she repeatedly refused to accept the outcome and challenged him to solo duels.
"Hmph! Last time I didn't even use my martial soul! With academy teachers and Spirit Hall personnel present, I couldn't go all out. Today, you've run out of luck!"
With those words, Xiao Wu gave a light shout:
"Martial soul—Soft-Boned Rabbit!"
"First soul skill: Waist Bow!"
Her brows furrowed fiercely. Without further preamble, she tapped her foot against the ground. Her figure blurred instantaneously, leaving behind a streak of pink afterimage as she lunged straight toward Tang Yi.
The corner of Tang Yi's mouth curved into a faint smile:
"You possess a soul skill—and you think I do not?"
"Martial soul—Blue Silver Grass!"
Tang Yi summoned his martial soul and immediately activated his first soul skill:
"[Longevity Guardian Origin]!"
Under the amplification of the soul skill, the vitality of the Blue Silver Grass surged dramatically.
"Bang!"
A resounding impact rang out almost immediately.
Xiao Wu's "Waist Bow" struck squarely against the net of vines formed by the Blue Silver Grass.
The anticipated scene of snapping vines did not occur. The deep-blue vine network proved extraordinarily resilient; it merely bowed backward in an astonishing arc, dispersing the force layer by layer before abruptly rebounding with ferocious counterforce!
Xiao Wu felt an irresistible, colossal power transmit through her leg. Her body was hurled backward uncontrollably in a flip.
"You actually have a soul ring? And a thousand-year one at that?"
"Moreover, your soul power fluctuations are at least at the twelfth rank!"
"Third Brother said you were nothing but a trash soul master with first-level innate soul power?"
Xiao Wu barely managed to stabilize herself, her face filled with utter astonishment.