Chapter 129

Chapter 129

Victor even leisurely poured himself another cup of tea.

At that moment, the female boss finally understood just how terrifying the man in front of her truly was.

"Mr. Ashford, how powerful are you exactly?"

"Surprised?" Victor stood up and looked down at her.

"Did you really think a mere Formation could trap a true dragon?"

Those words scared the female boss out of her wits. She scrambled to her knees and kept kowtowing frantically.

"Don't be afraid. I've already crippled your Cultivation Base, so I won't take your life."

Victor turned and walked toward the door.

"You should be grateful this is Italy. Otherwise, your fate would be a hundred times worse than Nightingale's."

With that, Victor walked out of Serenity Tea House without looking back.

Over the next three hours, Victor wiped out every Moon Goddess Temple stronghold in Riverton.

During those three hours, the phones at Moon Goddess Temple headquarters never stopped ringing.

"We've been hit by Shura. Every Disciple stationed here has had their Cultivation Base crippled. The cash and ledgers have all been taken."

"Headquarters? Victor burned all our rare herbs in the shop, took all our funds, and crippled our Cultivation Bases."

One piece of bad news after another poured into Moon Goddess Temple through the phone lines.

Brad's face turned dark. He smashed the cup beside him.

"Useless! Every last one of you is useless!"

Brad shook with rage and roared, "I spent years training you, and when it actually matters, all of you together couldn't even hold out for three hours?"

Those strongholds didn't just hold Moon Goddess Temple's operations in the Mortal World. They also held the massive personal fortune he had spent years quietly accumulating.

And now it was all gone. It felt like someone had carved the flesh right off his bones.

He gritted his teeth and snarled, "Victor, I will never let this go!"

He then gave the order in a near-frenzied roar, calling all the elite forces on the mountain to gather and take Victor down.

The Deputy Palace Master's warning, the Sect's rules — he threw all of it out the window.

All he knew was that taking a man's livelihood was as good as killing his parents.

Victor and he were now mortal enemies. He would have Victor's life as payment.

Just then, a cold voice came from outside the hall.

"Brad, did you not hear a word I said?"

It was Mira.

Brad turned to her, his face still twisted with fury. "Victor didn't just kill three of our Moon Goddess Temple's envoys — he destroyed every operation we had down the mountain! If we don't avenge this, what face does Moon Goddess Temple have left in this world?"

"Face?"

Mira let out a cold laugh. "You're talking about face? When you were backing the Veiled Syndicate, colluding with the Japanese, and persecuting your own people — where was your concern for Moon Goddess Temple's face then?"

"And now, for your own personal gain, you've already thrown away three envoys, and you still want to march the Sect's best fighters straight to their deaths?"

"Brad, ask yourself — can you really live with what you're doing to your own name?"

Mira's rapid-fire questions left Brad with nothing to say.

The other elders who had just arrived fell silent as well.

They all knew Mira was right. Brad had gone too far over the years.

But at that moment, the nominal Palace Master, Alvin, stepped forward.

"Mira, that's not quite fair."

"Yes, Brad made mistakes. But Victor has gone way too far. He's not leaving us any way out."

"If we don't respond, the whole world will laugh at Moon Goddess Temple and call us a bunch of cowards."

Alvin wasn't actually standing up for the Sect's honor.

Just like Brad, he had billions in funds and rare resources stashed away in various strongholds down the mountain.

Now that it was all gone, how could he just swallow that?

Mira frowned slightly. She hadn't expected Alvin to step out and push back against her at a moment like this.

"Palace Master, what exactly are you suggesting?"

Alvin glanced at Brad. "This time, Brad is right. We should gather the Sect's elite and teach Victor a lesson. Let him know that Moon Goddess Temple is not to be messed with."

"Exactly!"

Brad immediately echoed him loudly.

The other elders in the hall nodded along in agreement.

As far as they were concerned, Moon Goddess Temple had stood for a thousand years with deep roots and vast strength. Why would they truly fear some fighter from the Mortal World?

The earlier losses were simply a matter of underestimating the enemy.

If they went all out, taking down Victor would be easy.

Mira looked at these people — blinded by greed and arrogance — and let out a tired sigh.

"In that case, I have nothing more to say. I wish you all the best."

She stepped aside and cleared the path leading down the mountain for them.

After the group marched off in full force, Mira turned to the three elders who had stayed behind in the hall.

"Do any of you have Victor's number?"

"Yes, Deputy Palace Master."

"Good. Call him right now. Tell him that Moon Goddess Temple is willing to submit to Shura Sanctum."

Mira's voice was calm. "We're also willing to hand over everything on the mountain — all the medicine, treasures, and assets — and ask only that he spare our lives. Former Palace Master Alvin, former Enforcement Hall Elder Brad, and the rest have already gone down the mountain to meet their end. He's free to wipe them all out."

One of the elders stared at Mira in shock. "Deputy Palace Master, why are you doing this?"

"Don't you understand yet?"

Mira said coldly, "Everyone who left Moon Goddess Temple today is not coming back. If we wait until they're all dead before we surrender, Victor will simply kill the rest of us along with them."

The elder stood frozen.

"Deputy Palace Master, you're betting the entire future of Moon Goddess Temple on that Shura?"

Mira watched the group of so-called "elite fighters" disappear further down the mountain, her voice flat.

"It's the only way we survive."

"Do you really think Brad and Alvin and that pack of fools stand any chance against someone who wiped out three envoys in the blink of an eye?"

"Anyone who can walk straight through the Four Seasons Illusion Array and kill three Immortals instantly has to be at least at the Golden Immortal level."

"It doesn't matter if it's them or even the Grand Elder — they're all dead."

Those words sent a chill running down the spines of the remaining elders.

They hadn't seen Victor fight with their own eyes, but they didn't dare doubt Mira.

This Deputy Palace Master's judgment had never been wrong.

"I once said that Victor coming up the mountain would be an honor for us."

Mira gave a self-mocking sigh. "I was wrong. Thanks to Brad and his idiots, the day Victor comes up this mountain will be the day Moon Goddess Temple ceases to exist."

She waved her hand. "Go. Call Mr. Ashford."

At that moment, Victor had just finished dealing with the last of Moon Goddess Temple's strongholds in Riverton.

He had to admit — these people were seriously loaded.

Nine strongholds. Over eighty billion dollars in cash and valuables seized in total.

Just then, his phone buzzed.

"Who is this?"

"Lord Shura, my name is Marshall Banks. I'm the Weapon Pavilion Elder of Moon Goddess Temple. I'm calling on behalf of the Deputy Palace Master. We'd like to make a deal with you."