After concluding the discussion regarding the secret manuals, Tang Xiao hesitated briefly before asking, "Boss Li, does your shop provide a person-finding service?"
Tang Lie stiffened, then erupted immediately. "Sect Master! Why are you looking for that beast who betrayed his ancestors?!"
"Seventh Elder," Tang Xiao said heavily, "he is still my brother. And he is powerful. If he can return to the Sect and atone for his sins, it would greatly help us overcome our current predicament."
"So we just ignore the disciples who died because of him?!" Tang Lie roared, pointing straight at Tang Xiao. His tone was no longer restrained. "He's your brother—are the disciples who sacrificed themselves not your kin as well?!"
The words were blunt and merciless, bordering on an accusation that Tang Xiao was unfit to remain Sect Master.
Tang Xiao's face darkened, but he could not refute him. He stood there in silence.
Tang Yuehua stepped forward, her voice strained yet firm. "Seventh Elder, the dead are already gone. We must think of the living. For the Sect's future, we cannot sacrifice the lives ahead for the sake of those who have already fallen."
Tang Lie sneered. "Then if I kill you and your entire lineage right now, would the Sect Master forgive me as well? After all, for the Sect's benefit, he surely wouldn't sacrifice me—a Titled Douluo—for a few already-dead disciples, right?"
The siblings were rendered completely speechless.
"A life for a life. A debt repaid in blood. These are the natural laws of heaven and earth," Tang Lie continued coldly. "If Tang Hao wants to return, he must first repay every drop of blood he owes."
He did not stop there.
"Back then, Tang Hao fell in love with a Spirit Beast and murdered the Supreme Pontiff of Spirit Hall. He was wrong from the very beginning. Instead of shouldering the consequences, he fled and went into hiding, leaving Spirit Hall unable to find him. So what happened? Their Titled Douluos came to our Sect demanding answers—and they angered the old Sect Master to death!"
His voice rose with every sentence.
"Did he ever think about the Sect? About the disciples? About the father who died from rage because of him? What—Tang Hao counts as family, but the rest of us don't? Your own father doesn't count either?!"
His words struck like hammer blows.
Tang Xiao and Tang Yuehua could only avert their gazes, looking as pitiful as small boats caught in a raging storm.
Li Rong watched silently, inwardly impressed. He hadn't expected this burly Seventh Elder to possess such sharp eloquence. Still, rules were rules.
Tap. Tap.
The sound of fingers rapping against the counter cut through Tang Lie's tirade.
"This shop is not a place for quarrels," Li Rong said calmly. "This will be overlooked once. If it happens again, you will be expelled immediately."
Tang Lie's breathing quickened. After a long moment, he bowed his head. "My apologies, Boss Li. I was momentarily overcome by emotion."
Li Rong nodded lightly. "Do not repeat it."
He then turned to Tang Xiao. "This shop's inquiry service does not involve third parties. We do not offer a person-finding service."
"If there is no further business, please leave."
Tang Lie paused, then suddenly took out an enormous block of metal. "Boss Li, please appraise this."
Li Rong activated his appraisal and was genuinely surprised. "Grade Six metal material—Thousand Refined Profound Iron. Due to its size, the value is increased. Estimated worth: 1.3 million sacrificial coins."
Tang Xiao and Tang Yuehua were visibly shaken.
Thousand Refined Profound Iron was legendary. High-iron-content ores refined repeatedly by a fire-attribute expert could eventually become Profound Iron—but Thousand Refined Profound Iron required far more. It demanded years of continuous forging by a Douluo-level blacksmith and relentless hammering to purge every impurity.
Tang Lie met every requirement.
Even so, forging such a massive piece must have consumed over a decade of his life.
This had once been meant for his son.
But during Tang Hao's rebellion, his son had died. Trapped within the Sect and unable to seek revenge, Tang Lie had poured all his hatred into the metal, hammering it day after day—until it became what it was now.
"I want to reserve those two secret manuals as well," Tang Lie said flatly.
Tang Yuehua bristled, anger flaring. Giving these coins to her brother would have strengthened the Sect far more. Tang Lie was only Level Ninety-Two—how much more could he improve?
She was about to speak when Tang Xiao stopped her.
He understood.
This was Tang Lie's answer to his disappointment.
"The Profound Iron is worth 1.3 million," Li Rong calculated. "Reserving the manuals costs 360,000. Remaining balance: 940,000."
Tang Lie did not retrieve his card. "Boss Li, with this amount, what else is suitable for me?"
"You wish to maximize your strength with a budget of 1.3 million?"
"Keeping coins is meaningless. Strength is what matters."
"Then I recommend abandoning the Heavy Force Art. It is only Grade Three. With your budget, a Grade Four cultivation method is more suitable."
Li Rong's voice remained measured as he introduced it.
"Profound Heavy Heart Sutra. A Grade Four method with seven stages. Spirit power becomes dense and profound. At the third stage, it forms an external spirit shield. At the fifth, it grants a gravity-affecting domain integrating offense and defense. At the seventh stage, essence, qi, and spirit unite—every movement carrying immense force."
"Mid-to-lower tier among Grade Four methods. Reservation fee: 480,000. With infusion and Instant Step, total reservation is 600,000. Final total: 1.32 million."
The three were stunned.
A Domain. Spirit Abilities. Complete integration of offense and defense.
"Agreed," Tang Lie said decisively.
Li Rong deducted the fee. "Balance: 700,000."
Tang Lie stepped back without looking at the siblings, signaling the transaction's end.
Tang Xiao exhaled slowly.
He had failed—as a brother, as a Sect Master, as a leader.
Yet he could not stop.
For the Sect. For the family.
He stepped forward once more.
"Boss Li," he asked quietly, "how can my sister's innate defect be resolved?"
_____________________
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