One may not know, but, the walls of the gate tower were made from the same material as the hammer gate wall protecting the entire city-like forte. How had Sung Sung gotten that strong? Before he could react, he was grabbed by the collar again and kicked up through the roof to the second floor.

Tie Nse looked around the second floor and saw disciples running away. Most stopped to see as Old Iba beat up Gul Fulren. With his spirit sense, he searched the second floor and discovered there was nothing there. If he guessed right, the phoenix tears must be up on the top floor. He dashed towards Old Iba and grabbed a half-dead Gul Fulren from the kicked up through the other floors.

“Halt!”

The Elders had finally arrived.

Tie Nse almost snorted. He was now at the top of the tower, their goal was already in reach. Besides, none of the elders stood a chance. He nodded to Old Iba, who nodded and kicked Gul Fulren into the nearest wall. He was sure that Old Iba had felt the energy from the phoenix tears in the next room.

The elders were beyond angry. These two were looking down on them. When they saw that they had broken through the sacred room, they were in a full-blown rage. They rotated their energy and attacked. Tie Nse picked up the phoenix tears inside a crystal teal sitting on the stand at the centre and put it in his spatial ring.

“You dare?” An Elder bellowed, but they could not really do anything. Old Iba held a half-dead Gul Fulren in one hand and beat up the elders with this free hand. He swung his fist and a drum-like sound could be heard pulsing through the air. The echoes bounced through the bodies of the elders and attacked their spirit bodies.

They felt as though they had run straight into a wall. What kind of technique was this? Their bodies refused to move, freezing them in place. One of the elders vomited blood and fell to the ground. He pulled out an inscribed jade token and stamped it into his puddle of blood. Old Iba frowned at this, and so did Tie Nse.

They got what they wanted. It was time for them to leave. For effect, Tie Nse called to Old Iba.

“That is a summoning token. We must leave. Drop the idiot. Even though I wish him dead, living as a cripple is what he deserves!” Old Iba dropped Gul Fulren and opened a portal instead of just disappearing. They had displayed the power of those in the soul-seeking stage. As soul-seeking master cannot use the blink technique in the gate tower. Both of them stepped through to the other side. Before the portal closed, they saw an alluring woman in purple appear.

Gate Lady Fulren had received an emergency summons to return to the fate fort and rushed back. As she appeared, she saw a portal wink shut. Her eyes showed complete horror as she looked at the scene before her. Her son was mangled in an impossible posture, bleeding all over. From the look of it, he was forever crippled as she could perceive that his core had been shattered. The elders were semi-unconscious as some of them coughed blood. She could tell they had internal injuries. The sacred room was smashed all over and the phoenix tears were gone.

“Who did this?” she said through her teeth, but the elders were clueless. Disciples gathered and watched from afar.

“Who is it?!” she shouted so angrily, that red veins popped around her temple.

“Lady Master... we heard young master call one of them Sung Sung,” A disciple said timidly.

“Who is this Sung Sung?” she asked.

“We only know that he claims to be young master's sworn enemy. The young master had taken his sister as a child and when he attacked the young master, the young master cleared his entire village,” one disciple explained. This was, after all, a supposed rumour. They all knew of the young master's behaviour, but no one had really ever said it out loud.

“So he enters my hammer gate and does this? Crippling little Gul is one thing... but taking the phoenix tears too... this boy must die. Send out a message! One hundred thousand spirit stones for the person that brings me his head!” she ordered.