Since the higher-ups of the three forces had already agreed to negotiate, and Zhang Lexuan had spoken openly, there was naturally no need for everyone to keep hiding things.
However, Xu Zihuang's gaze swept across Wei Na, Xu Jiujiu, Long Aotian, and the others opposite him, finally landing on Yu Tianlong.
Yu Tianlong seemed to know some secrets. Facing Xu Zihuang, his cold and stern face softened slightly as he gave a small nod and said, "Our Heavenly Dragon Gate has also decided to participate in this operation."
Xu Jiujiu still thought that Yu Tianhuang, who on the surface bore the identity of the illegitimate son of the current Heavenly Dragon Gate Sect Master, had a disharmonious relationship with the Heavenly Dragon Gate. She hurriedly stepped in to smooth things over.
"Now that all parties have reached an agreement, I'll speak openly about the current situation. When we first arrived in Mingdu, we didn't notice anything unusual. But as time passed and the competition entered the round-robin stage, we started to feel something was wrong. We had sent three waves of scouts back to the empire to deliver messages, but without exception, all three groups vanished like stones sinking into the sea, disappearing without a trace. Later, we raised our guard. After investigating in many ways, we discovered that a massive net seemed to have been laid around Mingdu. Now it's a situation where one can only enter but not leave. I think everyone can see the Sun Moon Empire's intentions."
"The Sun Moon Empire wants to deal with all the teams from the original Douluo Continent participating in this tournament," Ning Tian said gravely, picking up where Xu Jiujiu left off.
Xu Jiujiu nodded with an ugly expression.
"Exactly. And it's not just our participating teams that the Sun Moon Empire wants to target; they also want to deal with the potential forces that came with us to Mingdu. For example, the Body Sect behind Wei Na and the others, and the high-level members of Shrek Academy's Sea God Pavilion. All of us are elites from the original Douluo Continent. Wiping us all out in one go would be a significant blow to every nation. Not only that, the fact that the Sun Moon Empire dares to do this also means something even more important."
"That is, the Sun Moon Empire is already fully prepared to launch a war at any time. Even if it's just to break out, we should unite and cooperate."
Xu Zihuang quickly regained his calm. Smiling, he said to Wei Na and Xu Jiujiu, "Wei Na, Princess Jiujiu, I believe you two had already discussed things beforehand. Just tell us your battle plan directly."
A dimple appeared on Wei Na's charming face, like a pure and lovely lily.
But Xu Jiujiu resentfully glanced at Xu Zihuang. From the way he addressed them, she could clearly sense the difference in how close Yu Tianhuang felt toward each of them.
Ever since she witnessed the terrifying power Yu Tianhuang displayed when he annihilated the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Team, she did not doubt that in the near future, Yu Tianhuang would surely become the strongest of this era.
For such a peerless genius, if they could win him over, it would be immensely beneficial to the Star Luo Empire.
"Tianhuang, actually, you can call me Jiujiu directly, just like you call Wei Na."
"Sister Jiujiu, time is pressing. Let's talk business first," Wei Na said, her smile unwavering as she gently urged.
The demeanor of these two princesses was very proper, yet there was a faint sense of rivalry between them, and the source of that rivalry was undoubtedly Yu Tianhuang.
"Fine." Xu Jiujiu also smiled back at Wei Na. Then she withdrew her smile and looked seriously at everyone.
"The Sun Moon Empire has made thorough preparations, while we are far from ready. Therefore, we need to buy ourselves time. We must deliver a heavy enough blow to the Sun Moon Empire to slow down their offensive pace. The original plan that Jiujiu and I had was to attack the Mingde Hall. The most advanced and lethal soul tools of the Sun Moon Empire basically all come from Mingde Hall. If we can severely damage Mingde Hall, it might indeed achieve our goal. But after careful investigation, we realized we had underestimated the Sun Moon Empire's foundation. Even attacking Mingde Hall probably wouldn't delay the war. Only by assassinating the current crown prince Xu Tianran, who has always advocated for war, and causing turmoil in the Sun Moon Empire, can we maximize the preparation time for the three great empires of the original Douluo Continent."
"As for the specific battle plan, let Sister Wei Na explain it herself. In this assassination operation, the powerhouses from their Body Sect and your Shrek Academy will be the main force."
Wei Na did not decline and detailed the specifics for everyone.
First, the Titled Douluo from Shrek Academy, the Body Sect, and the Star Luo Empire would gather together to block all the Titled Douluo-level combat power on the Sun Moon Empire's side.
In the soul master world, there was an unwritten rule: whenever Titled Douluo-level powerhouses got involved in secular conflicts, to avoid mass casualties among ordinary people, the sky would be their battlefield.
After all, Titled Douluo-level powerhouses all possessed the terrifying ability to easily destroy an entire city.
Only the victorious side would have the right to act against those below the Titled Douluo level. But if the opponent still had even one undefeated Titled Douluo, none of the Titled Douluo-level powerhouses could interfere in the secular battle.
Even the Titled Douluo evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult did not dare violate this.
And the ones who would attack the Sun Moon Empire's imperial palace and assassinate Xu Tianran would naturally have to rely on those below the ninth ring.
Each side would send personnel to form an elite assault team. This would be the main force for assassinating Xu Tianran.
The negotiations went very smoothly. Everything was developing exactly as Xu Zihuang had anticipated.
However, on Shrek Academy's side, only Xu Zihuang, Ye Guyi, and Zhang Lexuan explicitly agreed to join this assault team.
After all, Shrek was just an academy; it was impossible to demand that students take on such enormous risks. In this regard, there was an essential difference between the people of the Body Sect and the Star Luo Empire.
Even convincing Zhang Lexuan to allow Xu Zihuang and Ye Guyi to participate had taken considerable effort. To Zhang Lexuan, Yu Tianhuang was far too important to Shrek Academy; she definitely did not want him to put himself in danger.
At that moment, Long Aotian, who had been silent all along, suddenly raised his head and stared intently at Xu Zihuang.
"Yu Tianhuang, during the match against the Holy Spirit Team earlier, that probably wasn't your full strength, right? I want to know, what level has your current strength reached?"
Long Aotian's words drew the attention of everyone present. Under everyone's gaze, Xu Zihuang merely gave a faint, calm smile, speaking in a completely matter-of-fact tone.
"Invincible below Super Douluo."
A simple sentence, yet it shook everyone's hearts.
Everyone's eyes widened. Even Ye Guyi and Ning Tian, who knew Xu Zihuang extremely well, were no exception.
"Good!" Long Aotian let out a low shout, the light in his eyes burning even brighter.
"In the finals of this tournament, I hope you will fight me with your full power."
As the undisputed number one among the younger generation of the Body Sect, Long Aotian was also extraordinarily talented. Before even reaching twenty, he had cultivated to the level of a seven-ring Soul Saint. Combined with his silver-level second-awakened Body Martial Soul and the realm of unity between man and nature, his combat power already surpassed many Soul Douluo-level experts.
That was precisely why, in the match that afternoon, he had been able to easily shatter the invincible protective shield of the Sun Moon Royal Soul Engineer Academy team members.
From the look in Yu Tianhuang's eyes, Long Aotian knew he was not exaggerating. What he longed for most was to clash with the strong, especially since Yu Tianhuang was also from the younger generation.
Meanwhile, Wei Na, Xu Jiujiu, and Mu Xue's lips parted slightly in disbelief, their minds continuously repeating Xu Zihuang's words.
Is Invincible below Super Douluo?
One must know that Yu Tianhuang was currently only at the seven-ring Soul Saint level. To possess combat power that surpassed ordinary Titled Douluo with just Soul Saint cultivation?
This was simply too unbelievable.
Xu Zihuang did not explain. He simply shook his head calmly toward Long Aotian.
"There probably won't be a final match in this tournament."
"Why?" Long Aotian instinctively froze.
Xu Zihuang's expression darkened slightly as he said, "This is what I'm about to tell you next. If we're going to take action, we should do it as soon as possible. Dragging it out until after the tournament ends will only play into the Sun Moon Empire's hands. Since the Sun Moon Empire has already decided to tear off all pretense with us, there's naturally no need for us to hold back any longer."
"During this Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament, the three major underground forces in Mingdu are also holding a soul engineer competition. According to the information we obtained, one of the three major underground forces, the Xishui Alliance, is very likely backed by the evil soul masters of the Holy Spirit Cult. This soul engineer competition involves huge profits from rare metal smuggling. On the day of the finals, high-level members of the Holy Spirit Cult will definitely appear. That will be the perfect moment for us to strike."
The information about this underground soul engineer competition had been obtained by Ning Tian through the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School's channels. He could not expose his memories from his previous life, so he could only make reasonable deductions this way and pass them on to everyone.
Wei Na, Xu Jiujiu, and the others immediately brightened. They did not doubt the authenticity of the information.
They had previously collected some information about this underground soul engineer competition and had a certain understanding of it, though not as detailed as Yu Tianhuang. Moreover, their interests were now aligned, and Yu Tianhuang had no reason to deceive them.
The collusion between the Sun Moon Empire and the Holy Spirit Cult was obvious. If the Holy Spirit Cult's high-end combat power was dispersed, their chances of successfully assassinating Xu Tianran would increase significantly.
After further discussion, everyone finally decided to act on the day of the underground soul engineer competition finals, that is, the night after the semifinals.
Xu Zihuang and Zhang Lexuan personally escorted Wei Na, Xu Jiujiu, and the others out. Wei Na and Xu Jiujiu seemed busy conveying messages and arranging battle plans, so they left rather hurriedly.
However, just before leaving, Yu Tianlong, who was at the very back, patted Xu Zihuang on the shoulder, his lips moving slightly.
"Our Heavenly Dragon Gate's participation in this operation was actually Grandfather's decision."
Watching Yu Tianlong's sturdy departing figure, Xu Zihuang's gaze sharpened.
He could tell that this cousin of his probably knew something about his true background. But what he knew might not necessarily be the full truth.
Ye Guyi and Ning Tian also walked over. Zhang Lexuan gave a gentle smile, understanding the situation, and left first.
"Tianhuang, you two should rest early."
Although Yu Tianhuang and Ye Guyi had just managed to convince her, she still needed to convey today's discussion to Elder Xuan and the other elders of the Sea God Pavilion through special means.
Xu Zihuang's expression returned to normal. He brought Ye Guyi and Ning Tian back to his room. Perhaps because he had filled all the emptiness in his heart during the day, or perhaps because Ning Tian had shown genuine concern for him earlier, Ye Guyi unusually left the space alone for Xu Zihuang and Ning Tian.
Gentle moonlight climbed onto the balcony outside the crystal floor-to-ceiling window. Xu Zihuang sat on the soft, spacious bed, pondering the deeper meaning behind Yu Tianlong's words earlier.
One thing was certain: the Heavenly Dragon Gate's attitude toward him was definitely not what he had initially thought.
"Tap, tap, tap—" At that moment, the clear sound of footsteps brought Xu Zihuang out of his thoughts. What entered his view was Ning Tian, dressed in a light blue long skirt and wearing delicate crystal shoes, approaching him step by step.
Because he was sitting, Xu Zihuang's face was level with Ning Tian's chest.
Ning Tian's eyes were filled with affection as she embraced Xu Zihuang, while her hands gently massaged his head.
She could see that Yu Tianhuang was preoccupied, and she was soothing his mood in her own way.
This scene reminded Xu Zihuang of that night five years ago at the Star Luo City Star Emperor Hotel. Just like tonight, the moon was bright, and the stars were sparse, the moonlight hazy.
"Do you still remember that night five years ago?" Xu Zihuang smiled slightly and held Ning Tian's fair, delicate wrist. He then stood up, took her hand, and led her to the balcony, where the two of them gazed up at the silver moon hanging high in the night sky.
"After five years, you, the sole heir and future sect master of the Nine Treasure Glazed Tile School, have truly given yourself away."
"What do you mean by 'given myself away'? That sounds so awful." Ning Tian pouted and nestled into Xu Zihuang's arms. The long lashes on her eyelids trembled slightly, and her water-blue eyes were filled with lingering affection.
"Tianhuang."
"Hm?" Xu Zihuang withdrew his gaze and looked down at Ning Tian.
Ning Tian, who had her arms around Xu Zihuang's waist and back, took the initiative to stand on tiptoe. Her platinum-blonde hair fluttered in the breeze.
Their breaths mingled, light and shadow overlapped. The beautiful scene of the young boy and girl embracing under the moonlight seemed to freeze time itself.
It was the same five years ago, and it was the same now. But the future remained unknown.
...
In such a leisurely and peaceful life, two days passed quickly. The semifinals of this tournament arrived as scheduled.
Although none of the four teams that advanced to the semifinals were from the Sun Moon Empire, the discussion and excitement surrounding this tournament showed no sign of decreasing. The fervent atmosphere in Mingdu continued to rise.
Continental Advanced Soul Master Academy Elite Tournament Semifinal Matchups.
Morning: Shrek Academy vs. Clear Sky Sect.
Afternoon: Snow Demon Sect vs. Heavenly Dragon Gate.
These were undoubtedly two clashes between powerhouses, matches full of highlights.
In the rest area, the four teams entered one after another. Not far from the rest area, the competition stage had been repaired and restored to its original shiny appearance. To welcome the semifinals, the organizers had even reinforced it once again.
On Shrek Academy's side, both the head and deputy team leaders, Zhang Lexuan and Ye Guyi, were present. However, facing the intensely competitive semifinals, no one on Shrek's team showed the slightest trace of nervousness.
The Sun Moon Empire's crown prince Xu Tianran had already arrived on the rostrum, accompanied by civil and military officials. But today, the only person sitting beside Xu Tianran was Juzi.
Ever since the Holy Spirit Team was annihilated by Xu Zihuang, Zhongli Wu had not appeared again. Meanwhile, Jing Hongchen now stood in the center of the competition stage; he would serve as the referee for all subsequent matches.
"Semifinal first match: Shrek Academy versus Clear Sky Sect."
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